You may have seen the late-night infomercials, now CBS 13 puts "Auto Cool" to the test. This gadget supposedly blows "hot air out of your car while it's sitting in the sun, thereby keep your car cool." Video after the jump.
They said hot air was coming out and cool air in, yet how did it go up 30 degrees? My theory is that it was so hot that it didn't make a difference...
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Posted at 08/02/2006 1:38pm by
kiely
IT BLOWS!!!!!! hah
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Posted at 08/02/2006 2:39pm by
kayne001
? I thought it was a small solar powered air conditioner, I guess not. just a fan that blows outside air in.
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Posted at 08/02/2006 2:46pm by
doh
it got hotter because of the weather stripping. it's blowing a little bit of hot air out, but not enough cool air is going in, so the air inside just gets hotter and hotter.
i would suspect if you let the opposite window open a crack and then set it up it would create a small cross breeze that would indeed cool your car slightly. certainly not enough to set up that crap though.
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Posted at 08/02/2006 3:26pm by
clark_kent
they put the thing in WHEN the car reached the parking spot WHERE the air condition would be ON prior to that! OF COZ it would be cooler than AFTER the hocus pocus thingy was put on. Either way, that blower thing just wouldnt make any difference. The overall volume inside the car would heat up exponentially faster than what that thing would suck out. It's better to leave the windows slightly down or the sunroof open than to buy that dingy black piece of junk that would probably cost you a fortune to pay for the advertising fees the manufacturers paid for.
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Posted at 08/02/2006 4:20pm by
Ryan
Alright, the temp from the gold car was when it was parked in the shade was 150. They moved it into the sun and only let it there for a half hour. I'm willing to bet that it says in the directions that it has to be X amount of time for it to make a difference.
Anyways, I'm not defending this product, I'm just saying that whenever a local news crew tests out these types of things, they are complete morons and have too many variables to have an accurate conclusion.
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Posted at 08/02/2006 5:46pm by
Hoop
can we sue them for not knowing how the IR thermometor functions?
It reads SURFACE TEMP based on the ir, you notice the freeze frame of the thermometor pointed at the dash , yet ... every other time its pointed in at a cloth surface .. these "investigators" need to investigate the instructions of the temp gun before anything else .
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Posted at 08/03/2006 00:06am by
Thomas
I agree with Hoop in the first post! They did not use the IR thermometer properly. Of course the dash will be warmer after being in direct sunlight! I have never been bothered by the air temperature in my car.... It is always the incredibly hot steering wheel or a seatbelt clip that is a few degrees from melting down!
I agree the product is useless... to cool the inside surfaces there would have to be a VERY high flowrate across them, especially when the surface is only 50 degrees warmer than the air around it. For some reason I don't think that the little solar fan moves air that strongly across the dash, or any other part of the car :) But it did not actually heat the car!
Bottom line.... Bogus report on bogus product!
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Posted at 08/03/2006 08:01am by
我不喜欢-Blog » “Auto Cool” Test
[...] 原始文章/Original post and Wobuxihuan.org [...]
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Posted at 08/03/2006 10:19pm by
2dayBlog - Technology Journal, New Gadget everyday! » Blog Archive » A test on Auto Cool
[...] [via Techeblog] [...]
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Posted at 08/05/2006 02:59am by
Mike
even if the thing worked as well as its suppost to...the inside of the car would never get colder than the temperature of the air outside. might as well just leave the windows cracked and save $14.99.
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Posted at 08/05/2006 8:29pm by
Jacko
What a "gay" product. I get in my car when hot and turn on the air and it still takes thirty minutes to cool the cabin. So, how is a stupid little fan going to make a difference? People will buy anything! Idiots!!!
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Posted at 08/06/2006 11:19am by
KC
Well, 12 postings, and not one from a person who actually tried the product. I'd like to hear from someone who actually purchased the item.
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Posted at 08/06/2006 6:49pm by
Roy
The only way for it to be "accurate" is if they took 2 identically sized cars, with identical initial temp and parked them 1 by the other both in direct sun, and had the thermometer sitting inside, with 1 car with the auto cool....
and check after like 30 minutes
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Posted at 08/07/2006 12:54pm by
llks4b
This thing is useless and a waste of money. It does not work at all. I purchased it a couple of months ago and it has made absolutly no difference to the temperature inside my car, all it does is blocks out some of the view through my windows. Take your money and put it to better use, you are just throwing money away if you buy this.
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Posted at 08/07/2006 8:03pm by
Robert Butler
Where is the address or phone number to contact the company. I find none on the very attractive container. There was no address or phone on the instruction sheet.
I think CBS should pull it from the air. Buyers should get a refund if they knew where to return th product.
I just tried Auto Cool today. After 3-1/2 hours -- IT DOESN'T WORK!! Does anyone know how we can get a refund?
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Posted at 08/10/2006 9:48pm by
grannyroberta
AUTO COOL customer service phone number: 1-800-372-4729
address:
Merchandise Direct, 400 Fullfillment Drive, Wallington, Ct 06494
Be sure to get a tracking number. I insured mine with a return receipt, but then you are out more money, because they will NOT be returning your postage. They also will NOT be returning any shipping and handling charges that you paid up front.
I told the lady it was a rip-off. She said she was tired of hearing that every night and slammed up the phone.
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Posted at 08/10/2006 11:27pm by
PBPD84
I HAVE TWO OF THE AUTO COOL SYSTEMS AND THERE NO ADDRESS TO MAKE CONTACT BACK WITH THEM TO GET YOU MONEY BACK I GUESS BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT WAS NOT GOING TO WORKD IF YOU FINE THE ADDRESS PLEASE EMAIL ME THANK YOU
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Posted at 08/12/2006 2:55pm by
Trisha
I ordered the auto cool and saw the money was taken out of my account, but I haven't received it yet. Can I call them for a refund and just put return to sender without opening the box, so I don't have to pay for postage?
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Posted at 08/19/2006 10:42pm by
Chris Lee
I drive a Lincoln so I bought two. Parked at work all day in Florida summer sun with both properly installed. These are ripoff gimmicks -- made no difference at all in the interior temperature of the car when I left at the end of the day.
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Posted at 09/06/2006 00:08am by
Kenny
Can anyone tell me how the charge shows up on your credit card statement. "Auto Cool", "AutoCool Tv" etc..
Thnx
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