The tires on your car take a heck of a beating. Most passenger tires can handle 40,000 miles or more before needing replaced, and that’s a lot of pot holes, curb checks and hard braking.

Occasionally the life of a tire will be cut short by a puncture, generally in the sidewall, that is not fixable like a nail hole in the tread area.

Unless you’ve been under a rock recently, you’ve probably seen Progressive’s new marketing campaign advertising their new Snapshot device.

The Progressive Snapshot is a small digital device that plugs into the diagnostic port on most 1995 and newer vehicles. By using Snapshot, Progressive claims you can save up to 30% off your car insurance rates.

Your tires take a lot of abuse and you may eventually find yourself with a flat or damaged tire from a road hazard such as a pot hole, a sharp object or a curb.

If you’ve had to replace a tire, you know that a new tire with mounting and balancing can cost anywhere from $80 up to several hundred dollars depending on the cost of your tire.

New tests conducted by the Institute for Highway Safety have rated the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the Dodge Ram 1500 and the Nissan Titan pickups poor for side impact crash protection.

The Ram, equipped with standard side air bags, earned the second-lowest score of marginal. The Titan and Silverado received the lowest mark of poor when tested without optional side air bags.