Fall vehicle maintenance... and zombies at Ricart Mazda

You’re taking a pleasant walk with your dog through the woods at a park. It’s twilight, and the shadows among the trees are starting to take on other-worldly appearances. You aren’t worried though, having walked the trails of this park many times.


As the light fades more noticeably and you start to head back to your car, your dog begins to whine as if sensing something in the surrounding trees and bushes, but you hear or see nothing out of the ordinary, and coax the canine to follow you. After a few more steps, the dog becomes dead weight on the leash as he stops, facing back up the trail with a low rumbling growl. You turn to see what has gotten into the dog, and notice a figure lumbering through the trees. Then you see another figure, then a couple of more. Something must be wrong with those people because they all seem to be stumbling through the growing darkness. It’s time to get back to your car!

You pull the leash hard, and with it the dog, as you begin to walk with greater purpose toward the parking lot. Suddenly the dog passes you, whining loudly, as he begins pulling you hard down the path to where your car is parked. The reassuring sounds of nightfall, the crickets and the fading calls of song birds, are quickly overwhelmed by the growing din of a large group of people now crashing through the underbrush and trees. You move faster and faster, the dog pulling you ahead harder and harder. You look over your shoulder and see many of the dark figures following you now, and notice they don’t seem to move quite right, but you are too scared now to try and figure out why.

With your car just ahead, you are running full speed, the dog still racing ahead of you jerking the leash and your arm hard. When you reach the car, you yank open the door, the dog leaps across the driver’s seat to sit shotgun, you hurl yourself into the car, jam the key into the ignition as you see the first zombies spilling from the woods onto the parking lot and heading toward you! You turn the key in the ignition, and… you guessed it… the car does not start!

Maybe it’s the battery, maybe the starter. Who knows? Had you taken the time to get your vehicle serviced regularly by the Factory trained and certified technicians at Ricart, you would be half way home now, and not a snack for the zombie horde.

Sure, zombies are not real, but rain, ice, and snow storms are. So are dark nights in a lonely parking lot. So to avoid having a bad vehicle experience under any conditions, make sure to follow the vehicle maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual, and call Ricart Service at 614-836-6300 to set up your next appointment.

Before there was a ricart.com...

There is an overwhelming chance you have researched a new vehicle on-line. That’s because more than 8 in 10 folks now go to at least one web-site to do some research when they start thinking about a new vehicle. When they get to that web-site, they see full color pictures of cars, trucks, SUV’s and CUV’s, and lots of them! There are videos, and live chat, and payment generators for both leases and purchases on the site, along with links to articles about the vehicles, and social sites so you can see what other people are saying about the car you want and the store you want to go to (umm, that better be Ricart!).


Color, sound, video, chat, and oodles of information are what you find on our website today, and that’s are far cry from the first website, which went live 21 years ago this month!

Wow. That’s pretty boring. And does anyone still refer to the ‘net as W3?

Actually, when you think about it, when Tim Berners-Lee published the first web-page from his lab in the Swiss Alps, it was a pretty major event. Of course, back when Tim was working for the European Organization for Nuclear Research his site was designed to be used by fellow researchers. That was the World Wide Web long before you started checking your Facebook status, or even received your first email… and forget about that smart phone you have, or live streaming video, instant messaging, or any of the other stuff you now accept as part of your life!

So the next time you hop on ricart.com to look at that new car, or make a service appointment, or check Facebook or Twitter to see what community event Ricky Ricart will be hanging at this weekend, remember it always didn’t use to be that way. Life was hard back in the day, wasn’t it?

There's a free show coming just before sunset on May 20th, 2012. Hey! That's a Sunday! Great! Let's hope for nice weather!


No, it's not a live performance of "Dark Side of the Moon", but it's really cool, and your Ricart Mazda Family didn't want you to miss out the chance to enjoy something you just can't see every day... a partial solar eclipse. If you want to see the total eclipse, grab the family or some friends, fill up your Mazda, and Zoom west a few states.

To see the partial eclipse, find a good place to look westward with as few ground objects between you and the western horizon as possible. Plan on arriving at your spot by 8 p.m. or so on the evening of the 20th, weather permitting. The event should begin a bit after 8:00, and you should begin to see the Moon's shadow blocking a bit of the Sun's disc. The Moon should cover as much of the Sun it's going to by about 8:40, or about the time the Sun will set completely.

Remember to never look directly into the sun! That would not be good because it can damage your eyes. So if you are gonna view the eclipse, check out how NASA suggests you do it. Make sure any children with you follow the viewing guidelines, or stay at home and watch it from Mt. Fujiyama in Japan at go-green.ae.

If you want to find out even more, you can check out Annular Solar Eclipse May 20. 2012 on Facebook. While you are on Facebook, just go ahead and like Ricart Automotive too. You know you want to!

So pack some snacks, and maybe a blanket for the ground... put together a good tunes list on your player or phone, hop in your Mazda, and head to that spot you have picked out. It'll be a great way to end the weekend, so have fun! If we don't see you out there, we'll see you the next time you visit the Ricart Megamall.

  

   When you were younger, did you ever fly a sled or saucer down a hill covered snow that was not too dry, not too wet, but perfectly packable. So perfect that you felt like you really were flying. Remember that feeling? That my friend is Zoom-Zoom, the thrill that comes from not just driving a car, but driving a Mazda. And with the addition of Mazda's Skyactiv technology for the 2012 model year, the Zoom is even Zoomier, and more economic at Ricart Mazda.

   Forget the one horse open sleigh this year, and riding down-wind of the exhaust system of the horse pulling it. Go with the Mazda 5, CX7 or CX9 instead and get the whole clan to the party safely, in style, and with a huge smile of driving satisfaction on your face. 

   With visions of the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6 dancing in everybody's head this time of year, Ricart Mazda combines value with selection to make Zoom-Zoom dreams come true for all, and to all a good drive!

   And if chill air and snow just aren't your cup of Holiday Cheer, how about a trip south in a new Mazda Miata? With a little luck you should be topless by South Carolina. (That'd be the car top down, not... never mind.)

   You get the point. It's a great time at Ricart Mazda in The Ricart Megamall to get the Zoom-Zoom you really want this Season, and make your driving the merriest it can be.
  

Mazda SKYACTIV Technology comes to Ricart Mazda.




SKYACTIV-G

     O.K. If you are not a motorhead, or gearhead, then a whole lot of talking about things like compression ratios,(14:1 for the new Mazda SKYACTIV-G engine) or Volcano-Top pistons, or torque-converter slippage elimination, or any of that other stuff you need an MIT graduate to translate means pretty much nothing, even if it all looks so impressive.
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    Speaking of impressive, oh look! It's a picture of Mazda's new SKYACTIV-G gasoline engine. In a nutshell, and without all the techno-speak, this engine delivers the fuel efficiency of a diesel while giving great performance never possible before! This is the engine that achieves a 14:1 compression ratio by the way.
(Sorry, we had to learn a bunch of stuff with the new Mazdas, and we like to show it off now and then!)

   What is SKYACTIV? You know you have been wondering that since the first paragraph, and the answer is really easy. It's what happened when Mazda told their designers, engineers, and researchers that they should "reach for the sky" with what they were building. That's when Mazda threw out all the old notions and confined automotive thinking, and started to create vehicles which would have a 30% increase in fuel efficiency over the 2008 Mazdas, but have all the Zoom Zoom (and then some) of current Mazdas, because if the new technologies and developments were not worth driving, then they would not be worth building.

   Before you ask, Mazda SKYACTIV technology in your new Mazda does not mean your Mazda will have transparent panels like this one.It does mean that the components of your Mazda have been tweaked, re-tweaked, thought about, and tweaked even more as part of an entire rethinking of how to use technology and push envelopes to achieve what most auto-makers have been trying to reach for with hybrids and electric vehicles. However, Mazda does it with cars that give you the performance you crave, and the responsiveness you live for when you get behind the wheel. Seriously. This is Mazda we're talking about here. Did you expect anything less. NO! THAT'S WHY YOU DRIVE A MAZDA. And if you don't drive one yet, you can test drive one at Ricart Mazda in the Megamall!

  
   Mazda's SKYACTIC Technology is combination of advancements in engines, transmissions, exhaust systems, aerodynamics and more, all executed to the highest possible tolerances so give you the best possible performance and fuel efficiency without losing any of the fun. And with the money you'll save on gas (and eventually diesel here in the US) with your 2012 or newer Mazda with SKYACTIV, it'll be even more fun.

   Check out Autoguide.com's video review, and also Edmund's Insideline blog for more of that technical stuff you need and engineering student to decipher. Actually, both are pretty clear in explaining how it all works in unison for the next gen Mazda Zoom Zoom.

   The new 2012 Mazda 3 with SKYACTIV will be arriving at Ricart Mazda October 2011.

2012 Mazda 5 now at Ricart Mazda!

Have you seen the television commercial for that bloated,

lunkering van that blares "The Helion" by Judas Priest as the rear gate opens to reveal a Marshall amp and speaker stack worthy of KK Downing and Glen Tipton (Priest's guitar players). Oh, and then you see the head of a Lemmy clone floating in the stage fog. It is all so wrong in so many ways.

Mazda, on the other hand, has gotten it right once again with the new, redesigned,
2012 Mazda 5 which is arriving now at Ricart Mazda in The Ricart Megamall.

You can call the 2012 Mazda 5 a "minivan", and you'd be right!
You can also say it's a "crossover", and be right as well. Huh? How could it be both?

Well, with seating like a minivan, and the size and economy of a crossover, there is no other vehicle around that matches up with the 2012 Mazda 5. It really is versatile, fun, gets 28 mpg highway... a great value! Oh, and you can test drive one now at The Ricart Megamall's 6 acre test track and see for yourself. You can also check out the specs for the 2012 Mazda 5 at Mazda's main 5 site, and you should see what Motor Trend had to say about their test drive experience of the new 2.5 liter Mazda 5.

The new, 2012 Mazda 5 is in its own class, and the perfect blend of vehicle philosophy and styling, performance and just plain fun that other manufacturers just don't care to make. That means it sucks to be them, and great to be you, now that the new Mazda 5 has arrived at Ricart Mazda. See you soon for your test drive!

Mazda 3 Gets IIHS Top Safety Award... get yours at Ricart Mazda

What happens when you make a car that's an absolute blast to drive, looks great, is priced to make it a real automotive value, and is awarded the prestigious Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)? Well, to answer this query yourself, all you need is five minutes behind the wheel of a 2010 Mazda 3 on The Ricart Megamall Test Track. Okay... maybe you'll only need three minutes.

Mazda has gotten pretty much everything right with the redesigned 2010 Mazda 3, and by earning the highest possible rating of "good" for the IIHS front, side, and rear crash tests, combined with the 3's electronic stability control (which is standard equipment for most 2010 Mazda 3 models), it's a car that easily leaps to the front of its class. Don't worry though, 'cause even if the 2010 Mazda 3 is the teacher's pet, it still has a rowdy soul that knows exactly what to do when you push your foot down on the accelerator. The new 3 will never be disappointing in the Zoom-Zoom department!

To get the straight dope on the IIHS test results and ratings for the 2010 Mazda 3, check out this article. And for a close, personal look at the 2010 Mazda 3, grab your keys and head out to The Ricart Megamall and your Mazda Winner's Circle store for a test drive.