Exhaust

Imagine a driver wearing a gas mask in rush-hour traffic, not because he feared terrorist activity but because of exhaust... exhaust from the poorly maintained vehicles that surround him.

The fumes include: Carbon monoxide - It's lethal. Hydrocarbons, which are linked to lung cancer. Carbon dioxide, a cause of global warming. Oxides of nitrogen - a primary cause of smog . Finally, sulfur dioxide - an ingredient in acid rain. Some harmful exhaust emissions, such as carbon monoxide, are invisible. Hydrocarbons, on the other hand, from unburned fuel, produce a black exhaust.

Blue-black smoke generally comes from burning oil, usually the result of advanced engine wear. The catalytic converter may camouflage the problem, burning off the harmful ingredients in the exhaust gas. So, if the converter renders the exhaust harmless the environmental problem goes away, right?

Wrong, says the Car Care Council. Eventually its own intense heat destroys the converter, causing a dramatic increase in emissions. Soon the chain reaction has caused the engine to guzzle gas, run poorly and become hard to start. All of this is in addition to violating the atmosphere. All of which could have been prevented with proper car care.

For more maintenance information, log on www.carcarecouncil.org.