Why You Should Learn How To Drive Stick

I used to be very intimidated by the stick shift. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. When I was 18, some friends and I went on a road trip across the country from Ontario to Alberta. The car was a manual transmission and I didn’t take my turn at the wheel until the third day… it wasn’t pretty.

Then, one winter, I got a job in the Rockies, where all we had to drive were trucks… all of them manual. I had no choice… either get mocked for not being able to drive, or suck it up, get over the intimidation of it and learn to drive stick. I learned and I love it!

Why would people choose a manual transmission over an automatic?

Control – Many drivers prefer the enhanced sense of control that comes with the additional attention required to drive a manual transmission They also get better performance when passing, and better road feel when rounding curves and driving on steep hills, especially when they’re slippery. Many also believe that the more interactive style of driving helps them to remain more alert.

Save Money – Driven to full efficiency manual shift vehicles offer the best economy. The acquisition cost alone can save you $1,000 or more, plus the additional taxes and finance charges. Your fuel savings can vary from 10% – 15%, which could easily add up to several hundred dollars per year. Brake replacements tend to be less frequent and transmission repairs do not require a specialist.

Vehicle Choice – Some vehicles come available only in manual shift. This may be especially true of new sports cars during the early stage of their launch into the market. There are also those who derive tremendous pleasure out of driving a manual transmission correctly. For these people sheer joy of driving is unimaginable without a manual transmission. Once they drive one they will probably choose it for life.

There are other reasons, such as:

Travel – Traveling to Europe? Renting a vehicle is certainly a convenient way to wander off the beaten path and discover less well-known attractions. Renting a manual transmission can save you thousands of dollars and you have a wider range of vehicle selection. The fact is, most European rent-a-car agencies rent only stick shifts. Automatics are rare and very pricey. What’s more, even when you book ahead, you can’t be guaranteed of getting one.

Job Opportunities – Whether it’s landing a role in a film or being a hotel valet or a car jockey, knowing how to drive a shift opens up countless jobs.

Emergencies –You’re better able to respond to any emergency, especially if immediate medical attention is required. Possessing the skill to drive a manual vehicle can make all the difference. And save lives. Though less urgent, but equally as important, you can be the designated driver when a friend has had “one too many.”

There are many websites that will walk you through the process of driving stick shift, or you can contact a driving school… either way, I know driving a manual transmission has made me a better driver, and gotten me out of a few slippery situations. I suppose the general rule “Be Prepared” is a good one to take from my driving experience.

Bennett GM
445 Hespeler Road,
Cambridge, ON N1R 6J2
1 866 892-8483

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The Chevy Orlando Family Day Weekend Adventure

The weekend before the Family Day long weekend we gave our Facebook followers a chance to enter and win a Chevy Orlando to drive for the long weekend. We had an overwhelming response and selected our winner from a long list of entrants!

Our contest winners were Jennifer & Nate Robertson, we followed their adventure via twitter. Nate did a fantastic job telling us exactly what he loved about the Chevy Orlando during the drive up to the Cottage in Muskoka. Here is one of the tweets that went out by @nate_robertson “The only good thing about being stuck in traffic is being #stuckintraffic in a #ChevyOrlando @bennettgm @momstownKW”

We can’t wait to hear what the Robertson’s thought of the Chevy Orlando, we will be sure to follow-up this blog with theirs!

Stay tuned… there’s more to come.

Bennett GM
445 Hespeler Road,
Cambridge, ON N1R 6J2
1 866 892-8483

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The Chevy Sonic

I’m not sure if you’ve been following the adventures of the Chevy Sonic, but over the past few months this vehicle has gone skydiving, bungee jumping & it did a kickflip (which is essentially a roll over in the air before landing safely back on its wheels).

Now the 2012 Chevy Sonic has been given the distinct honor of a 5-star safety rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  The Sonic garnered the overall 5-Star safety rating following evaluations in rollover resistance, and side/frontal crash, including the “pole test” in which the vehicle was driven into a poll or tree at 32 km/h.

“We developed the Sonic to exceed customer expectations of subcompacts in terms of segment-leading safety features. From the largest vehicles in the lineup to the smallest, we are putting overall crash worthiness at the top of the list of must haves.” said Gay Kent, a GM executive for Vehicle Safety.

If you’re ready for a new kind of car with an appetite for good times that’s as big as yours while keeping you and your passengers safe, stop by Bennett Chevrolet… we’d love to set you up with a Sonic test drive today!

Bennett GM
445 Hespeler Road, Cambridge, ON N1R 6J2

Related articles

• Report: Chevy Sonic crushes NHTSA crash tests, earns 5 stars (autoblog.com)
• Another reason to love the Camaro (Bennett GM blog post)

Chevrolet & Race Cars

Chevrolet and racing… those two words have gone together since the beginning of Chevrolet and racing. We love both, which is why we sponsor race car #13 at Flamboro Speedway in Millgrove Ontario.

Speaking of which we’d like to shout out a big Chevy congratulations to our driver Brad Collison…he finished number ONE in the final standings for 2011 in the Thunder Cars division!

For those who don’t speak race car, the Thunder Car division is open to any make of North American built rear-wheel drive automobile. Since Chevrolet was founded in Detroit 100 years ago and since one of our founders was a race car driver, we feel proud to continue on with the tradition still today.

This is a picture of our race car hood for the 2012 season… we’re looking forward to another exciting year!

You might not be  a race car driver, but  we all like to daydream a little… so if you are interested in getting behind the wheel of a vehicle built by a race car driver, for race car drivers, stop by Bennett Chevrolet today… take one out for a test drive… and dream a little!

Bennett Chevrolet 445 Hespeler Road, Cambridge, ON N1R 6J2

Another reason to love the Camaro

SEMA named it the “Hottest Car” of the year & the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave it a perfectly scored safety rating (2012)… beautiful & safe, it’s the best of both worlds.

The SEMA award looks for the most accessory-friendly vehicle, “After more than two years on the market, the Camaro continues to inspire creativity and Chevrolet is thrilled to see that expressed in all the wonderfully personalized examples here at the SEMA Show,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Global Chevrolet Marketing and Strategy. “Camaro has always been a car customers love to personalize and we are doing all we can to support them and the aftermarket industry with parts and accessories that help turn their dreams into reality.”

The NHTSA passed the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 2 DR RWD with a perfect score. It’s the first car to do so since the NHTSA revised it’s crash testing.

This car is meant to be driven. And loved.

Stop by and take one out for a test drive… see what all the fuss is about!

Bennett GM  445 Hespeler Road, Cambridge, ON N1R 6J2 (519) 621-1250 

Think ‘Winter Driving’

Winter driving, fun for some, a little scary for others.  Here are 8 tips to help you make it through this winter as confidently as possible.

1. Be prepared – keep a blanket, boots, gloves and a flashlight in your vehicle. A bag of kitty litter is always handy, it could help you if your tires are spinning and need grip.
2. Nothing beats a set of maintained wipers in a blizzard or sleet storm, and make sure your washer fluid is topped up, you don’t want to be that person on the side of the road throwing snow on your windshield to clean it off!
3. Keep your fuel tank at least half full, this can prevent your fuel line from freezing up when things get really cold.
4. Take your vehicle to your service technician and have them look at your battery & coolant system. Older batteries & weak antifreeze might not protect as well in cold weather & can actually cause damage to your vehicle when it’s not running.
5. Understand how your breaking system works. If they’re anti-lock brakes don’t pump them, instead press firmly on the brake                                                                    pedal and let the system do what it was designed to do.
6. Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to avoid situations where you may have to break suddenly on a slick surface.
7. Winter tires are very strongly recommended… they are designed with snow and ice in mind & we have snow and ice on our roads for 5-ish months.
8. If you really aren’t very comfortable driving during the winter, you might be interested in taking an advanced driving course that teaches emergency driving skills… give yourself the confidence you need to get to your destination safely.

If you would like one of our service technicians to take a look at your vehicle please call us 1 866 892-8483 or book an appointment online

At Bennett GM, we are committed to providing you with service excellence in our first-rate GM service department in Cambridge.

Celebrating 100 years of Chevrolet

On November 3, 1911 Louis Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company with William Durant… it was the start of a beautiful thing. Their partnership didn’t last for very long, it broke up in 1915, but Louis’ spirit lived on in the vehicles built under the Chevrolet name.

There are a lot of stories that can be told from the past 100 years, stories that take us around the world. Chevrolet has been busy building quality cars people everywhere want to drive, they’ve grown and changed with the times, maturing in a way that makes sense today.  In late 2010 General Motors began a small production of the plug-in electric Volt, which later was announced as the 2012 North American Car of the Year and World Green Car of the Year.

Now who wouldn’t want to be a part of a company that strives to make the world a better place? Here at Bennett GM, we’re proud, so very proud of the vehicles we sell.

Bennett GM
445 Hespeler Road, Cambridge, ON N1R 6J2