As promised in our last newsletter, Tom Torbjornsen discusses anti-aging for your automobile.

For Tom Torbjornsen, maintaining cars is easy and cheap compared to the work and costs of major repairs when owners neglect and ignore simple instruction. So the host of radio's America's Car Show - heard on 45 stations across the country by more than 1 million people - doesn't have a lot of patience for those who don't take his advice to heart. "I repeat it like a mantra, but some people refuse to listen," he says. "If you want your car to last, change your oil every 3,000 miles, flush your radiator every 24,000 miles or two years and change your transmission fluid every 35,000 miles. And do it like clockwork!"

While oil, water and transmission fluid may be the ABCs of longevity, according to Tom, automobile owners shouldn't forget that lubricants run throughout the car's engine, including brakes, suspension and power steering systems. "Pay attention. Things dry out and when they get dry, they crack and become brittle," Tom explains. "It's like humans who lose cartilage as they get older."

Anti-aging for automobiles is not a new subject Tom recently began to study. In fact, he tells a philosophy-changing story about a customer who showed up at his shop for an oil change in 1972. Back then, Tom says he and other car owners expected major repairs at about the 50,000-mile mark. And yet Sheldon Siegal, a New York advertising executive who commuted 180 miles to work and back in a 1965 Comet Caliente convertible Torbjornsen named Cally, had an odometer that proved he'd driven 120,000 without a single major repair. When Tom asked the reason for this near miracle, Sheldon simply stated that he diligently followed the factory's maintenance schedule.

And he did follow exact instructions. As Tom's customer, Sheldon showed up regularly for everything his factory manual suggested. Cally, the Comet Caliente, ran beautifully for more years than she should. Finally, the 1965 convertible underwent one single major repair at her 200,000-mile mark before being laid to rest 50,000 miles later with an engine that still ran. "Before knowing Sheldon, I had concluded that poor design and inferior lubricants caused engine failure. But I learned that neglect was the real culprit."

Tom says changing oil and ensuring that vehicles are well lubricated throughout are vital to auto longevity because of the hostile environments of internal combustion engines. He asks people to consider the high number of fast moving metal parts that constantly rub against each other. When dry, it's metal against metal internally, which results in friction, overheating, early wear and ultimately, major engine failure. "The internal combustion engine is an amazing thing, but it needs what it needs."

Old oil and lubricants are better than none at all, Tom admits, but they are full of soot, ash, sludge, moisture and other contaminates that can also produce devastating damage to an engine. New lubricants are smoother and allow engines to do their jobs with less stress and more vigor. "In summary," Tom says with a laugh, "Demands made on oil are very draining."

In addition to hosting America's Car Show, Tom is currently a regular guest on a Buffalo television show, writes a column that appears in five newspapers, and is a regular contributor to EMAZING. In addition, he hosts his own Web site (www.america'scarshow.com) where he posts articles, offers advice, provides links, and has a panel of automobile experts who answer questions and provide technical information. Torbjornsen.

Are Additives Advantageous?

Before you ask, Tom says the answer is no. 'Mechanics in a can' don't do what they say will do. But if they really can make an engine last longer, offer better gas mileage, silence undiagnosed noises, double the mileage between oil changes and so on, Tom wants someone to prove it. "Show me the scientific evidence!" he keeps telling those who want him to endorse their products. Until then, Tom will continue to refer to such additives as 'snake oils' that do nothing more than give people a sense of false security.

The fact that people pay a few dollars for fake lubricant enhancers isn't what's got Tom in a tizzy. It's that people pay lots of money to repair engines that have prematurely failed because they were duped into believing an additive could replace an oil change. "Everyone is looking for a magic elixir," he says. "That would be great, but there is no hard evidence to show that any additive out there performs magic. Until there is real proof, pay a few dollars more and have your oil and filter changed."