How To Tell If You Need New Tires

Tires - they’re kind of like the feet of your car. If your car’s tires are in good shape, you car will… run… smoothly. If they’re not taken care of, you might have some problems. Regularly replacing your car’s tires is important to ensure safe driving, and there are a few warning signs to look out for to know when it is time to replace them. Be on the lookout for vibration, bulges, or cracks, and check the tread, and age of your tires for best performance.

1.      Vibration

Vibration is normal to feel while driving, however knowing the normal amount of vibration is important. Although there can be a number of reasons your car is vibrating, many times it can be fixed by new tires. Even if the problem is something else, (such as your struts or breaks) eventually it can lead to tire damage and then tire replacement.

2.      Bulges and Blisters

Regularly checking your tires for any bulges or blisters forming can prevent you from having a blowout while going down the road. If these bulges and blisters are ignored for too long, they can cause damage to your vehicle and injury to yourself and others. Remember to keep a close eye on weakening spots.

3.      Cracks

Cracks can be found on the sidewall of your tires. If you can easily see cracks, it is important to get them checked. This could indicate a leak or lead to tire failure. It is good to catch cracks early on to prevent any further issues.

4.      Tread

A tread wear indicator bar is found on most new tires. When the tires are new these should be practically invisible. If one or more of these bars begin to become visible, it means your tread is wearing down. If you don’t have a tread indicator bar on your tires (or don’t know if you do) stick with the ol’ penny trick.

5.      Age

It‘s recommended you replace your tires every six years. If you’re not sure of the age of your tires, it’s best to have them looked at to be safe. After all, better safe than stranded.

At Tenvoorde Ford, we are fully capable of checking your tires. We can determine if your car is suffering for regular wear-and-tear, if it’s time for new tires, or if your car is suffering from more serious issues.

It’s in Our Blood - The History of Tenvoorde Ford

If you are a native of Central Minnesota, you have probably heard of Tenvoorde Ford. But how much do you really know about the oldest family-owned Ford dealership to this day? Tenvoorde Ford is currently working on its fifth generation of ownership. It’s amazing how a man who loved bicycle racing had a dream that turned into a landmark in automotive history.

In The Beginning

Let’s start the story off with John Tenvoorde, one of the founders of St. Cloud, Minnesota. His son, Steve Tenvoorde, a bicycle enthusiast, turned his passion for wheels into the nation’s second Ford dealership in 1903. Ford Motor Co. was incorporated only 3 short months later, meaning Tenvoorde Ford is older than Ford Motor Co., but they still shared their 100th year anniversary together in 2003. Automobile business for Tenvoorde didn’t start off very well. In their first year, only 1 car was sold. That didn’t slow down Steve; 7 years later he opened his first sales floor in downtown St. Cloud. Inside a two-story brick building was a five-car showroom and a service department.

Moving Through the Generations

Steve’s three sons took over the ownership in 1943 when their father passed away. At the same time, the automobile industry transformed into a military manufacturer, meaning car dealerships didn’t have any new cars to sell. All but one of Tenvoorde’s salesmen were let go, and Tenvoorde Ford turned their focus onto servicing their customer’s vehicles. With this new flow of income, the business was growing again. Steve’s son Cy actually made more profit from servicing vehicles than he did from selling cars.

In 1951, a larger facility was built on a ¾ acre lot in downtown St. Cloud. “My dad paid cash for the building because he didn’t believe in credit,” says Cy’s son, Jack in a 1997 article for Automotive News. The family-owned business almost lost the title in 1966 when Cy’s siblings wanted to sell their stock in the company. Cy decided to buy out his sister and brother and was able to pass the company down to his children. On St. Patrick’s Day in 1978, the new Tenvoorde Ford dealership opened on 10-acre lot Cy himself plowed when he was a boy. This time, however, the expansion was not paid with cash. Since that day, the 45,000 square foot dealership has been remodeled 4 times to keep up with changing times. Up until 1992, Cy was always a part of the day-to-day life of Tenvoorde Ford.

In 1995, Cy Tenvoorde passed away two days shy of his 90th birthday. Jack Tenvoorde still remembers the day his dad got to drive the 4 millionth Minnesota-built Ford out of the Twin Cities plant in 1976. “Dad drove a bronze LTD off the assembly line in honor of the occasion,” Jack Tenvoorde told Automotive News.

The Now Generation

Tenvoorde Ford remains on track for keeping the business in the family. Three of Jack’s four children and one grandson are involved in the family business. Deb took the customer service department from last place to third in her first year on the job, winning Tenvoorde Ford the American Customer Excellence Award, she is now the Customer Relations Manager. Brian is the Assistant Service Manager; his duties include dispatching all the service work to the technicians and keeping the workflow moving in a timely manner. Eric, Deb’s son and the 5th generation is the Sales Manager at 1st Choice Auto, a pre-owned car lot owned by Tenvoorde for vehicles $10,000 and under.  Jack's son Mike took over ownership beginning in 2009.

To learn more about Tenvoorde Ford’s history, please visit our website.

       

       

       

Winter Driving Tips

Driving in the winter can be a dangerous task for Minnesotans but your risk can be lowered by following a few simple steps before starting your journey on the snowy roads of Minnesota.

Share the roads with snowplows

Snowplows take up most of the road and affect a driver's vision while clearing the roads, but just remember they are making the roads safer for you. Be patient with snowplow drivers and stay back at least 5 car lengths so you can avoid the snow cloud that trails behind them. Slow down for the road-clearing vehicle and stay alert, as they tend to exit frequently and the warning signs can be difficult to see.

Slow down and be in control

Some drivers forget what could be on the roads in the winter and don’t adjust their driving,  which is what causes most accidents. Slow down and allow extra space between you and other vehicles. Avoid driving while tired to make sure you are focused on the task at hand when driving through a storm. Take away the distractions from your car and put away the cell phones.

Check your vehicle

Get your vehicle ready for the winter with a maintenance check-up. Make sure your windshield wipers are prepared for the weather and your tires have traction to bare the icy roads. Don’t forget to put your ice scraper in your car. Lastly, it is not a bad idea to keep washer fluid effective to –24.8 degrees and don’t let your fuel level go lower than half tank.

Be prepared

Have emergency supplies with you. This includes a charged cell phone or spare battery, non-perishable food, water, flashlight, blanket, warm clothes, winter boots, jumper cables, shovel and traction mats or sand.

Stay home in bad conditions

Don’t go out on the roads if you don’t have to. There is no point putting yourself and others at risk if the conditions are too much to bare. You may be able to drive in rough snow, but others might not be so fortunate. Check the weather before making travel plans to avoid any disappointments or major delays.

Put yourself and family first this winter season and take precaution when going out to drive. If you are looking to get a new vehicle to tackle Minnesota winter driving conditions, visit Tenvoordeford,com to check out our selection of new and used vehicles. Stay safe out there!

Prepare Your Vehicle for Winter

Summer has faded, the leaves have fallen and winter is on the horizon. With winter comes sledding, snowmen, ice-covered lakes, and hot chocolate, but it also brings a couple months of dangerous driving. At Tenvoorde Ford, we want to help you prepare for winter driving with some tips to get your car ready to take on the winter season.

The best course of action is to plan ahead. It is important to be ready for the snow to come at any time, especially when you live in Minnesota.

• Check your radiator - either on your own (if you know how) or with a professional. Make sure to add antifreeze if needed.

• It’s never fun when you use windshield wiper fluid and it freezes instantly. Buy a wintertime mixture and keep it in your car in case you run out.

• Check your tires. Your tires will directly impact how your car can handle the snowy season. Make sure your tires have enough traction or replace your current tires with winter tires for added traction for the icy roads. You’ll also want to make sure the air pressure in your tires is at a normal level.

• Never go below a half tank of gas. During the winter it is important to keep your gas tank near full at all times, which will help avoid ice in the tank and fuel lines.

• Consider replacing your windshield wipers with winter wipers. Winter wipers have rubber coverings which keep ice from collecting on the blade providing you a clear view.

• If you have a car with rear wheel drive, put a couple of bags of sand in the back to add extra weight to your car. The extra weight helps increase traction on your back wheels.

Plan longer trips thoroughly ahead of time. Check the weather before you leave; if it calls for a snowstorm change your plans to avoid dangerous road conditions. After all, there’s no destination so important that you need to put yourself or your family at risk to get there.

Now that you know what you need to do, go do it! Don’t wait another day as winter is fast approaching. Most winter problems come from the driver simply not being prepared and finding themselves in a situation that could have easily been avoided. Visit Tenvoordeford.com for more information on preparing for winter driving.

The Best Minnesota Road Trips for Fall Color

Everyone’s favorite part about Fall in Minnesota is seeing the beautiful change in the trees. The golds, reds and oranges light up the trees for miles and miles. While you may be able to enjoy the Fall colors right where you are, we want to fill you in on a few of the most amazing places to visit to get the most out of those fall colors this season.

St. John’s University - St. Joseph, MN

Located right here in Central Minnesota, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (CSBSJU) is a local favorite for beautiful scenery year round. Surrounded by beautiful trees, buildings and landscaping, CSBSJU is a picture-perfect destination for Fall colors. Whether you decide to take a walk by the water or visit the iconic stick sculpture, you’re sure to see a beautiful sight anywhere you go. Don’t forget to bring a camera to this destination!

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum - Chaska, MN

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is the perfect place to see the Fall colors with over 1,000 acres of beautiful trees and scenery. Take a look at some of the many sculptures scattered throughout, appreciate the flowers in the gardens or walk through the beautiful trees on the trail. Whatever you decide to do with your time at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, you’ll be in awe by the amazing scenery.

Minneapolis Grand Rounds Scenic Byway - Minneapolis, MN

The Minneapolis Grand Rounds Scenic Byway is the perfect way to experience the beauty of nature without leaving the comfort of the city! Drive the 46 miles around the byway or take a walk on the paths to see some beautiful trees and Fall colors surrounding the city and the Chain of Lakes.

Superior National Forest Scenic Byway

Take this 61 mile drive and we promise you won’t be disappointed! The Superior National Forest Scenic Byway runs along Lake Superior and delivers some of the most spectacular views of Minnesota wildlife. Enjoy the trees, the colors and watch the sky for migrating birds. You might even see an eagle!

Sadly, there isn’t much time left before the snow falls, so be sure to plan your trip soon. If you need a new (or new-to-you) vehicle to get you there, visit our website or stop into Tenvoorde Ford in St. Cloud.

Ford launches new Transit van | Tenvoorde Ford

Company brings ‘the pick-up truck of Europe’ stateside to replace its E-series platform.

Company brings ‘the pick-up truck of Europe’ stateside to replace its E-series platform. 
 
KIRTLAND, Ohio – At a dealer launch event east of Cleveland, Ford Motor introduced the Transit, its latest offering for landscapers and lawn care operators looking for an alternative to the traditional pick-up truck.

MinYang Jiang, Ford Transit brand manager, called the Transit “the pick-up truck of Europe,” saying it has the same presence across the pond as a V8 long bed does in the states. The company introduced the Transit – a miniature box van, essentially – in 1965 in Europe and has since sold 7 million of them on the Continent.

She said Ford has seen a trend toward small business owners “right-sizing” their vehicles – buying just the power, utility and features they need, and not a lot extra.

The full-size van segment fits that growing demand, she said. The Transit has been brought to the American market to replace Ford’s outgoing E-series vans, which have long been popular with landscapers to equip irrigation, lawn care and lighting crews.

And while it’s not a replacement for many owners’ preferred pick-up truck, the van offers different benefits: it’s a 100-percent enclosed and lockable vehicle, and offers rolling billboard space with its large side panels.

While the Transit gains significantly more interior space than the outgoing E-Series, it loses much of the towing power that made the old van an easy choice for landscapers debating between a pickup or a van. The least capable E-Series van, an E-150 with a 4.6-liter V-8 and an extended wheelbase, was rated at 5,900 lbs. for towing, and the most capable could pull 10,000 lbs.

The Transit lineup, powered mostly by V-6 engines, has tow ratings stating at 3,100 lbs. and ranging as high as 7,600 lbs.

Jiang acknowledged that van owners who had been used to pulling heavy loads with the E-Series may feel the need to move up to a pickup rather than a Transit. Before launching the new van, Ford surveyed its customers and found that the Transit met the towing needs of nearly 80% of its customers.

The new Transits are built at Ford’s Kansas City, Mo., plant, and designed to be modified. The new models come pre-built with bolt holes in the sides and roof to accept a wide configuration of shelving, storage, etc. previously, upfitters had to drill their own holes after the vans were built, which put the vehicle at greater risk for premature rusting.

Jiang said any upfitters interested in working with Ford are required to have a location near the plant – company representatives say 11 have already set up and more are moving in.

Ford introduces the full-size Transit after several years offering the smaller Ford Transit Connect van. The four-cylinder Connect, first introduced in 2009, is built on a Focus platform and starts at $22,000 MSRP. 

The 2015 Ford Transit has three engine options: The base model comes with a 3.7 liter V6, which produces 275 hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. Next is the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which produces 310 hp and 400 lb.-ft. of torque, the same engine available in the F-150. The Transit also accepts a 3.2-liter Power Stroke diesel produces 185 hp and 350 lb.-ft. of torque.

With two wheelbases (129.9 and 147.6 inches) and three roof heights (83.6- 100.8 and 110.1-inch), the Transit comes in 58 total configurations. The largest option gives operators 487 cubic feet of storage space. Max payload is 4,650 lbs., and towing capacity tops out at 7,500 lbs. The base model start at $29,565 MSRP.

Other features include:
- Driver assist – forward-facing cameras watch lane markers, and give the driver some gentle reminders to focus if the vehicle starts to drift without the turn signals engaged. The steering wheel vibrates and
- The vehicles can be equipped with Ford’s Crew Chief tracking software
- The rear doors in the long wheel base model swing open 270 degrees and are held in place with magnets. Both the rear and side doors are wide enough to accept a pallet.

Ford debuts 2015 Edge with glitzy 'reveal' | Tenvoorde Ford

Edge is a showcase of Ford innovation, from a new design that excites to technology that comforts, the all-new 2015 Edge sets a new benchmark for Ford utility vehicles. 

When you're beautiful - but not over-the-top gorgeous and perhaps a bit shy - like the upcoming 2015 Ford Edge, it helps to get a rousing reception from the big bosses.

It doesn't matter if the big-do involves a dose of hype, mainly because the Ford folks shrug and say it's not hyperbole if it's true. That's what happened at the summer unveiling of the 2015 Edge at the Ford Motor Co. headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

During the Edge show-and-tell, none other than Alan Mulally, former president at Ford and one of the most pursued biz execs in the world (not hype, Google just landed this former Boeing CEO on its board of directors) showed up to work the room and press the flesh. The party and unveiling had the trappings of a Hollywood preview. All this for a 2015 crossover utility vehicle that won't go on sale until early next year.

But Ford already is working to establish its bona-fides as the reincarnation of the best that can be in the burgeoning world-wide demand for compact and midsize five-passenger crossovers. The Edge, to hear Ford's big talk, is such a design and technology marvel, with superior construction and workmanship, that it is the benchmark for all of Ford's utility vehicles to come. Some items: It is all-new from the tire patches up, with taut, fresh styling that shrink-wraps around all of its components, many state-of-the art.

The Edge is the first Ford vehicle to come with its EcoBoost turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as standard equipment. Product briefers said they could not divulge the horsepower or fuel consumption because the numbers had not been certified by the EPA. But the sneaky printed press materials gave the estimated horsepower as 245 with 270 lb.-ft. of torque. Based on various sources, the guesstimate here is it will deliver about 24 mpg overall.

It comes with a suite of technology marvels that would appear to rival the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which now is considered to be at the top of the innovation heap. Among them: adaptive cruise control and collision warning with automatic braking; adaptive steering to ease handling and control; parking assist that automatically parallel parks or backs the Edge into a space; fuel saving engine stop-start system; a 180 degree front camera with washer; a glove box mounted knee airbag; blind spot warning and cross traffic alert; inflatable rear seat belts; a hands-free power rear hatch; and Ford's MyTouch and Sync communications and entertainment system with an 8-inch touchscreen.

Because the introduction in Dearborn was classified as a so-called "reveal" or first look, nobody got to drive the new Edge. When that eventually happens, drivers will experience a stylish midsize, two-row crossover utility vehicle with front-wheel or all-wheel drive. It is slightly taller and wider than its predecessor with an extra inch of wheelbase - the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.

Prices were not announced, but based on the 2014 model the new Edge likely will have a sticker of about $32,500, with an additional $2,000 for the all-wheel drive model. Options obviously will drive the price higher, perhaps into the mid- to high $40,000s for top-line versions.

Ford did announce there will be four versions: SE, SEL, Sport and Titanium. The last is Ford's designation for expensive ultra-luxury models - a first for the Edge.

The 2.0-liter four banger is the base engine. If ordering the Sport model, you get a 2.7-liter EcoBoost turbocharged V-6 engine with an estimated horsepower of 300. All the engines deliver power via a six-speed automatic transmission that can be shifted manually with paddles on the steering wheel. The paddle shifters always are switched on, available any time the driver wants to shift.

Ford intends the Edge to be world class - it will be sold in 100 countries. U.S. sales in 2013 totaled 129,109. The new model will be built in a Ford plant near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, modernized to the tune of $700 million.

Raj Nair, Ford's global product development chief, said the Edge "delivers more of the technologies our customers want in a package that meets the highest expectations for quality and craftsmanship."
Hype? Wait and see.

2015 FORD EDGE SE

VEHICLE TYPE: 5-passenger FWD compact CUV

BASE PRICE: $32,500 (est.)

MOTOR TYPE: EcoBoost turbocharged 4-cylinder w/DI

DISPLACEMENT: 2.0-liter

HORSEPOWER (net): 245 (est.)

TORQUE (lb.-ft.): 270 (est.)

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic

LENGTH: 188.1 inches

EPA MILEAGE RATING: TBD

Source: http://www.chron.com/cars/article/Ford-debuts-2015-Edge-with-glitzy-reveal-5683559.php