Five Places to Take Family during the Holidays in North and South Carolina

Lights, trees, gifts and even a ride on the Polar Express

Make special holiday memories that your kids will remember for a lifetime and even incorporate into the traditions they will eventually share with their own children.  The Carolinas offer many special holiday events, from train rides to light displays and more.

Take a ride on the Polar Express
The popular children's book and movie comes to life when you and your kids board The Polar Express from Nov. 9 to Dec. 30.  The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad transforms into the beloved Polar Express train as it departs from Bryson City, N.C., and makes a magical stop at the "North Pole" where Santa will board the train and give each child a silver sleigh bell.  More than 42,000 passengers rode on this version of The Polar Express in 2011.  Click here for more information.

O' Christmas Tree
Create fun Christmas memories with your family when you cut your own tree together.  The High Country of North Carolina around Boone, N.C., features many choose-and-cut tree farms - there are more than 60 such farms in the state.  To locate a farm where you can cut a Fraser fir to take home, visit www.ncchristmastrees.com.  Some of the farms also offer hot chocolate, wreaths and other greenery.

Light up your Holidays
An amazing light display is in store for visitors at the Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, S.C.  The Roper Mountain Holiday Lights display features a tunnel of lights to pass through on the way up Candy Cane Lane, where there are dozens of fantastic attractions like a Ski Jumping Santa and Santa's Toy Factory.  The lights are on display between 6 and 10 p.m. nightly from Thanksgiving to Dec. 30.  Plan your visit at www.ropermountainholidaylights.com.

Everything's coming up ... Gingerbread
Every November in Asheville, N.C., the famed Grove Park Inn welcomes guests with the heavenly aroma of gingerbread filling its halls.  Gingerbread crafters from all over the country gather at the hotel in hopes that judges will pin a ribbon to their gingerbread house creations.  Entries from the 2012 National Gingerbread House Competition will be on display throughout the Grove Park Inn through Jan. 2.

Glittering Candles
Nights of a Thousand Candles takes place on three weekends in December at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrels Inlet, S.C. from 3 to 10 p.m. on Dec. 7-8, 14-15 and 20-22.  Participants can walk the paths amid the glow of more than 5,500 hand-lit candles and numerous sparkling lights.  Dinner is also available in addition to the admission price.  Click here for more information.

Enjoy the magic of the season as you pay attention to the sights, sounds, aromas and the squeal of excitement from the kids when they catch of glimpse of Santa at the mall!

Black Friday Savings and Giveaways

The idea behind the term "Black Friday" is that on the day after Thanksgiving retail stores have enough sales to put them "in the black" for the year.  "Black" refers to the accounting practice of recording losses in red and profits in black.

OK - so that tells us why stores participate in Black Friday.  The real excitement here, however, is the amazing savings that get passed on to customers for this one day ONLY.

Rick Hendrick Chevrolet is excited to take part in this American tradition this year with some AMAZING specials and giveaways!  Here's what we've got in store for you this year:

• Every person who test drives a car on Black Friday will receive a $25 gift card and will be entered to win an iPad mini - the giveaways will be going on all day!

• NEW 2012 Chevy Sonic just $14,990

• NEW 2013 Chevy Spark just $11,990

• NEW 2012 Chevy Cruze just $15,990

• Up to $10,000 off EVERY Chevy Silverado

• Oil Change with a complimentary tire rotation just $19.95

• $15 off diesel or synthetic oil change

Enjoy you Turkey today and get ready for some amazing savings tomorrow -- Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

GM Helps Find Jobs for Military Veterans

GM’s $250,000 donation to Hiring our Heroes program will fund nationwide job fairs

General Motors is committed to helping the nation’s returning veterans find meaningful employment. GM and the GM Foundation recently made a contribution of $250,000 to the Hiring our Heroes program, run by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation. The program is a national effort to help both returning veterans and their spouses find jobs, as many of these individuals had to put their careers on hold due to long separations and overseas military deployments.

 

The $250,000 given by GM will help fund at least 20 job fairs for veterans around the country; at these fairs, GM, a GM supplier and a GM dealer will act as sponsoring hosts.

 

“The best way to thank the men and women who volunteered to serve our country is with a good job when they return home,” stated GM Chief Diversity Officer Kenneth J. Barrett, a retired Navy captain.

 

“Between this gift and the combined efforts of our GM family, we hope to help more veterans jump-start their new careers in the civilian world,” Barrett continued. “Veterans bring discipline, a work ethic and skills to employers unique to their military training, so hiring them isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”

 

Hiring our Heroes was launched in March of 2011; since then, the program has helped more than 9,500 veterans and spouses find jobs, according to the National Chamber Foundation. The Foundation is on track with various partner agencies to host 400 hiring fairs this year and is working to get the business community to commit to hire 500,000 veterans by the end of 2014.

 

Numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the May unemployment rate among veterans who have served since 2001 was 12.7 percent, significantly higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.2 percent.

 

“As the auto industry continues its own recovery, we hope to help identify as many jobs as possible within the GM family – including suppliers and dealers – for qualified veterans,” Barrett said. “At GM, we have nearly 5,000 veterans in our workforce today and 45,000 more who are retirees.”

 

David M. Warner, a Marine Corp veteran, is a perfect example of how valuable these job fairs are. Warner attended a job fair for veterans in Livonia, Michigan; soon after, he began working at the GM Fairfax (Kansas) Assembly as a material group leader in the plant that constructs the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse.

 

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” said Warner. “Many of my fellow Marines are seeking work, and I hope their search goes as well as mine did.”

 

Another benefit of the Hiring our Heroes program is how employed veterans can relate to those still seeking jobs. “Because military men and women are trained to not brag about personal accomplishments, they sometimes need coaching to sell themselves in the civilian world,” stated Ryan Church, an assistant program engineering manager for the Chevrolet Equinox. Church is also a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. “Veterans can identify when they see and talk to ’one of their own’ on the other side of the table at these job fairs.”

 

GM is also involved in helping veterans find employment through the GM Talent Acquisition; weekly updates on salaried job openings are sent to state employment agencies, veterans’ groups and outplacement firms.  Additionally, the GM Careers website features a “Veterans” section on the home page that links to the company’s recruiting calendar. As a corporate participant in the Army Pays program, GM ensures that all service member participants will receive a job interview when they apply for a position.

 

With so many veterans currently struggling with unemployment and many more expected to leave the service in upcoming years, it’s imperative that businesses help these heroes move on with their lives and give them opportunities to provide for their families. GM’s contribution to the Hiring our Heroes program is a significant step in the right direction.

9 Winter Car Maintenance Tips

Take these steps now to keep your car on the road all winter
By David Muhlbaum, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com

Perhaps the first frosts have already coated your windshield, forcing you to dig out the scraper. As you adjust to the coming chill, give a thought to your ride, and check out these nine tips that will keep your car rolling smoothly through winter’s challenges.

We're assuming you've covered the basics (such as the scraper!) and are up-to-date on your car's regular scheduled service. Don't postpone that -- an annoyance in summer can be a hazard that strands you in the winter.

Don't make compost in your car

As you tackle fall's bounty on your lawn, leave some energy for removing the leaves that find their way into your vehicle.

Leaves, twigs and other organic matter can cause havoc with gutters on your house -- and the equivalent on your car. When debris builds up in areas of your car where water is supposed to flow out, you can get leaks or corrosion.

The air plenum near the windshield is a classic spot where this can happen.

If you have a sunroof, open it up and poke around in there, too. Sunroofs have drains that flow water that sneaks past the seals down to the ground. Leaf gunk in there can make for wet headliners or worse.

Less common, but more problematic: Animals may make nests under the hood You may need a mechanic and an animal trapper to fully solve this problem

Consider Winter Tires

So-called "all-season" tires have been on the market for decades. Coupled with front-wheel-drive and anti-skid systems, they have allowed many folks to avoid mounting a true snow tire for the winter months. But there are two trends in tires you should be aware of:

1) Styling priorities have led to manufacturers fitting wider, low-profile tires on a variety of cars. Wide and low profile, on balance, makes a tire worse in the snow. Pressures to improve tire fuel economy have also worked against the snow utility of all-seasons.

2) Winter tires have improved their behavior from the era of knobby, loud "snows" that looked like they belonged on an army truck. New tread patterns and rubber compounds make them quieter on dry roads, yet even more effective on frozen stuff.

If you choose to go with winter tires, note that vendors such as The Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct offer packages with the tires already mounted on a new set of wheels. Switching the entire wheel/tire combo for the winter is more cost-effective than having two sets of tires mounted on your existing wheels twice a year.

Whatever you choose for tires, make sure there's enough tread on them as you head into winter. Getting through snow requires the deepest grooves possible, and worn tires on which you might have skated by in summer will put you into the ditch in the white stuff. See if you have enough with this coin-based test from The Tire Rack.

Wipers for Winter

Fog, snow and rain will cut down your visibility in winter.

Check your wiper blades, which have a lifespan of about a year. If your car doesn't have the newer "beam blade" style wipers, consider a pair, especially for the winter months. The beam style blades don't have an external spring to freeze up.

When snow or other freezing precipitation threaten, make sure you turn off the wipers when you park so that the next time you turn on your car, the wiper motor's not fighting to get frozen wipers moving. This can burn out the motor.

Some folks pop their wipers up so they're not touching the windshield. This little trick will make it easier to scrape your windshield. Some folks believe this wears out the spring that keeps the blade on the glass. And some folks think it's an affectation. We'll leave it to you.

Is Your Battery Juiced?

Winter puts more stress on your battery, particularly if you park your car outdoors.

Avoid the sinking feeling of hearing nothing when you hit the ignition with a proactive check of your battery and charging system now. Repair shops don't usually charge very much to load-test your battery, and some car-parts stores will do it for free.

If you find out your battery's going south, you can replace it at your convenience, instead of being at the mercy of whomever your dead car's been towed to. Note that some big-box stores such as Costco offer a good price on batteries for those of you willing to change one yourself (not usually all that hard, though batteries are heavy.)

Check Your Nethers

To improve aerodynamics and save fuel, today's cars are equipped with increasingly elaborate underbody panels and low-hanging air dams. 

These can be vulnerable to damage, and driving over a snowdrift in the winter could turn a small problem into a more expensive one.

So before the ground's too chilly to lie on, take a look under the car, starting from the front, to see if there's anything loose flapping about. Maybe you can just pop it back into place. Maybe a zip tie will take care of it.

The Antifreeze

This is many people's first thought when it comes to winter car care. "Flush and fill" promotional signs abound at service stations as the weather cools.

But chances are good your engine coolant (a better name for it) is just fine for the winter ahead. If you've followed your car's service schedule regularly, give this pitch a pass. Most newer cars have been fitted with coolants that can last as long as five years or 150,000 miles. Read your owner's manual.

If you've missed a service interval or have another reason to doubt your coolant, go ahead and have it "flushed and filled." Just make sure your mechanic uses a compatible coolant to refill your car. Some coolants, such as Prestone's Extended Life, work for any car.

If your car has moved to a much colder climate and you're concerned that your coolant might not be up to the deep freeze, you can check its effectiveness with a simple, under-$10 tester from the car-parts store.

Check your Tire Pressure

Here are two good reasons to get down there with the gauge and unscrew the valve caps as the weather cools:

1) Tires lose a pound of pressure for every drop of 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) An underinflated tire won't "bite" through snow down to the pavement as well as one at pressure. It's similar to hydroplaning on water -- and just as dangerous. You may have heard the guidance to let air out of your tires for sand or snow to get more contact surface area. That only applies only if the surface is bottomlessly soft, like a beach or foot-deep, unplowed snow -- not the mix of cleared road, ice and packed snow most of us encounter in daily driving.

Don't forget to put the valve caps back on (or, buy new ones) when you're done. Letting in moisture, which then freezes, could let the valve core leak out air.

Survival Kit (of some sort)

Everyone should have a space blanket in the car, tucked in the glove compartment or some other storage space in reach of the driver.

The most complete survival kit in the world won't do a bit of good if you're upside down in a car you can't get out of and the kit's in the trunk.

The shiny space blanket's ability to keep you warm could be a lifesaver -- and it takes up virtually no space and costs less than $10.

Next things we'd add:

• Whistle
• Plastic bag for gathering snow for water
• Plumber's candle & lighter
• Single-edged razor blade (cut up your upholstery for insulation)
• Empty metal soup can (for melting snow with the candle)

You can -- and perhaps should -- keep going (some people suggest packing a wordy novel). The more rural and remote your roads, the more you'll want. Check out a thorough approach from the folks at the North Dakota Department of Transportation -- they know snow and ditches.

Wax your Lights

Okay, we admit it's a little detail, but in winter's gloom and short days, every last lumen you can squeeze out of your headlamps is going to improve your safety.

Here's an easy two-minute drill: Make sure the headlamps are clean of dirt, rub car wax (any type will do) on the lamps, let it dry and buff it off. Repeat. For bonus points, do the taillights.

The slippery surface you leave behind will be less likely to build up an "icicle" coat when road slush refreezes on your car -- and will make it easier to remove it if it does.