My perspective on reality has been altered, and that doesn't often happen. Especially when it's because of car tires.
First of all, hope you had a great Easter. I know we did, especially with all the goodies I whipped up yesterday, including a ham with an orange-ginger glaze that turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Between that and all the chocolate the Easter Bunny (who did visit) left, it was a good day.
But now, back to the blown mind. One of the things I did on my day off Friday was to bring Loraine's car in for an oil change. While there, I asked the service technician to check and see if her tires needed replacing. He said “no”, that they look fine, but DID mention that the treads didn't have a “great winter pattern” to them. When he said that lots of things clicked in my brain, especially regarding the fact that Loraine's car doesn't seem to handle as well on the snow as some of her others.
And that's how I discovered “All Season” tires are really just “Three Season” tires.
Her car came with “All Season” tires, which we figured were just fine for winter driving because, you know, winter is a season and “All Season” is in the tires' name. But after the guy at Fox Marquette Chevrolet pointed out what he saw, we did a little digging, and found that “All Season” tires really aren't made for winter and don't work really well when the temperature is under 40 degrees. Their name is, basically, a lie. Sure, “All Season” tires may work in places like Florida where every season is pretty much the same, but in the UP where we actually DO have four seasons? Not so much.
Now, “All Weather” tires apparently work in all weather, including winter. And that's what we'll put on the car. But Loraine's a little upset (and rightly so) that when she bought her car she wasn't given the choice between the two kinds of tires. Basically, Chevrolet is assuming that every car they sell is going to someplace where “All Season” tires will be okay. But there ARE places—especially in Chevrolet's home state—where it might be better to offer “All Weather” tires. Yet, for some reason (and I'm quite sure it's because they're cheaper) her car only came with “All Season”, and for people (like us) who don't pour over the minutia of cars and think “All Season” actually means, you know, ALL the seasons, getting “All Season” tires would seem to be fine.
Until you notice that whenever you have to drive through snow and/or in temperatures under 40 degrees (a possibility 10 months of the year around here) things just don't seem right.
I'll be the first person to admit that I don't know everything, especially when it comes to things like (and I can see my dad cringing right now) cars. But when I DO learn something new, especially something that really makes no sense or could lead to actual danger while driving, my perspective on reality gets altered.
And not always in a good way.
Tomorrow, the story of how my very weird life has gotten even weirder. And slightly embarrassing, as well.
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