Automotive in Monroe

The ARCA-sanctioned half-mile semi-banked oval speedway Toledo Speedway hosts stock car racing melees every Friday night of the summer months. Sportman, street stock, four-cylinder, and figure-8 action will entertain speed-craving spectators with the sight of daring inside passes and near-misses; in events such as the R & M Recycling Street Stock feature and Jeff’s Collision 4-Cylinder race, drivers careen around the speedway in a daring ballet of leaping pistons and pirouetting axles. SpongeBob and his geometric wardrobe will warm up the crowd while kids storm the track to dog-pile their favorite drivers for autograph requests before the racing commences. Seating at the speedway is first-come, first-serve, allowing attendees to come early to avoid being seated behind the top-hats of confused 19th-cenutry horse-racing bettors.

On March 4th, 1902, Chicago hosted a meeting of like-minded futurists. They represented nine different automobile clubs that had recently formed as vehicles started hitting the roads across the nation. They came together at the summit to form a national motoring organization, and the result of their efforts became known as the AAA. Today, AAA takes the attendant hassle out of driving with roadside assistance, insurance, vehicle maintenance, and travel guides for the entire country.

AAA Northwest Ohio Car Care Plus focuses specifically on tuning up and repairing vehicles from three company-owned facilities scattered across Toledo. At each location, skilled techs wield the latest equipment to perform everything from simple oil swaps to full-service mechanical and electrical repairs and upgrades, such as teaching cars not to shut off in panic whenever they hear lightning.

Blossoming from the original Pennywise, established in 1969, Expresso Car Wash now shoos dirt form begrimed automobiles at six convenient lube-and-detail facilities. Upholding a focus on swift service, mechanics perform quick 10-minute oil changes, towel off 12-minute full details, and scrub cloths on their eight-minute abs. As environmental stewards, the detailing staff carts off all used water to a water-treatment facility and uses fewer chemicals than home washings tend to.

Each vehicle's aesthetic and under-the-hood beauty gets continual boosts with additional services, including air-conditioner and timing-belt repair and transmission flushes. When they are not pampering autos, the Expresso staff lends philanthropic support to nonprofits, including local schools, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and teenage cars saving up for a new driver.

At Tuffy's, motor-vehicle caregivers spruce up patrons' horseless carriages and prepare them for a new season of dutiful service. After installing a new oil filter, auto artisans remove the old sludgy glop clogging the car's arterial system and replace it with up to 5 quarts of Valvoline 5W-30 or 5W-20 conventional motor oil (a $26.99 value, diesel or synthetic oil costs extra). The staff will also rotate tires to prepare four-wheeled wonders for safe gliding (a $12 value) and make sure air-conditioning systems function properly to bring you to the brink of coolness faster than Fonzie’s leather jacket ($9.99) . Finally, a pair of fresh wiper blades (up to 22")—grown locally by organic-blade farmers—supplants worn-out window-rubbers ($22) and a specialist conducts an extensive 41-point maintenance inspection.