OPTIMA^® Batteries and the Golden State Foods Foundation officially announced a partnership today to support children through an all-new charitable Build-A-Bike program. This charitable element integrated into the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car franchise will work to leave a lasting, positive impact on the communities where key performance automotive and industry events take place. The Golden State Foods Foundation, a non-profit organization established to help children in need, was the ideal partner for the Build-A-Bike charitable program.

Together the two organizations aim to instill the same passion for customization among children across America by providing them with an opportunity to build and customize their own bicycle next to industry insiders and enthusiasts, while giving them a memorable and positive experience.

“As a kid, the first vehicle I can remember taking pride in and customizing was my bike,” said Cam Douglas, Director of Product Development and Marketing for OPTIMA Batteries. “I think a lot of folks in the automotive enthusiast community feel the same way. And they can remember what it was like to add new chrome cranks or pegs, put on decals or install a new seat. It’s where we first started to discover our passion for the industry.”

A series of four total OPTIMA Build-A-Bike events will occur at OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car events where children will assemble bicycles with the help of industry volunteers. These events include:

o   OPTIMA Faceoff at HOT ROD Power Tour

Friday, June 8, 2012

Location: QuikTrip Park (1600 Lonestar Pkwy, Grand Prairie, TX 75050)

o   OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America

Friday, June 22, 2012

Location: Andrew¹s Chevrolet (1500 W. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53209)

o   Holley LSFest

Friday, September 7, 2012

Location: Beech Bend Raceway Park (798 Beech Bend Road, Bowling Green, KY 42101)

o   2012 SEMA Show

Friday, November 2, 2012

Location: Las Vegas, NV

In order to raise funds for the bicycles and helmets OPTIMA Batteries and the Golden State Foods Foundation have arranged an online auction on eBay. The auction, which runs from July 5, 2012, at 7 p.m. PDT through July 15 at 7 p.m. PDT, is open to all U.S. and Canadian residents. Items in the auction range from high-end automotive parts packages to exclusive VIP experiences to custom made bicycles. Auction Cause, an online cause marketing agency, will manage the auction. For a full list of auction items and additional information about the OPTIMA Build-A-Bike program visit http://www.optimabuildabike.com.

“We are proud to be partners with OPTIMA Batteries,” said Mark Wetterau, Chairman and CEO of Golden States Food. “Through our partnership young people in four communities across America will have an opportunity to build a bike and at the end of the day, ride off with a new sense of purpose and belief in themselves.”

Several industry celebrities and organizations have stepped up in support of OPTIMA’s Build-A-Bike charity initiative. Troy Ladd, of Hollywood HOT RODS, built a bicycle and custom painted guitar in the traditional Hollywood HOT ROD style. Pete Chapouris and Jimmy Shine, the legends behind So-Cal Speed Shop, also built a custom designed bicycle for the Build-A-Bike auction. The attention to detail and overall look from both shops mirrors the fine work that goes into their vehicles.

Other companies and industry figures that have contributed to the auction include: Monster Jam^®, Wilwood Disc Brakes, K&N Filters, MagnaFlow, Former WCW and WWE Wrestler Bill Goldberg, MSD, Vintage Air, Chris Alston’s Chassiswork, the World Challenge SCCA Pro Racing series, Offshore Powerboat Association and drag racing legends Tom McEwen and Don Prudhomme (on behalf of Beckett Media) among others.

“It’s been amazing to see the industry come together to make a difference in the lives of these kids,” said Douglass. “Based on this year’s success we’re hoping to expand the program to give out even more bicycles and reach more markets in the future.”

To find more information on OPTIMA’s Build-A-Bike program including volunteer opportunities and a full list of auction items, please visit http://www.optimabuildabike.com/

About OPTIMA^® Batteries
OPTIMA^® YellowTop^®, RedTop^® and BlueTop^® batteries are available through leading battery distributors globally. When looking for OPTIMA Batteries consumers should look for the unique, colored-top and SIXPACK™ design which OPTIMA is known throughout the world. In 2012, OPTIMA added to its product line with the innovative OPTIMA^® Chargers Digital 1200 Battery Charger for all automotive and marine batteries. To find out more information or purchase OPTIMA products consumers may visit www.optimabatteries.com. Consumers can also call 1-888-8OPTIMA (1-888-867-8462) for additional information.

OPTIMA Batteries are manufactured by Johnson Controls, Inc. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI – News) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of more than 150,000 employees creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com.

About GSF Foundation and Golden State Foods

The Golden State Foods Foundation (GSF Foundation) is a non-profit organization established to help children and families in need. A natural extension of Golden State Foods’ value-based business, the Foundation is designed to improve the lives of individuals in the areas where GSF’s associates live and work through personal involvement and contributions. More than 80 percent of GSF associates participate in the Foundation, leading its 26 local committees throughout the U.S. A key differentiator for the Foundation is 100 percent of all donated monies go directly to its charitable partners or programs. For more information, please visit www.gsffoundation.org. Golden State Foods is a $5 billion diversified supplier to the quick service industry. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif. the 65-year-old company services more than 20,000 restaurants in more than 50 countries. Its core businesses include: processing and distribution of liquid products, meat, produce, bakery and other services. For more information, visit www.goldenstatefoods.com.

Did you know many of the “bad” batteries returned to retailers are really just deeply-discharged and work fine, when properly-recharged?  Unfortunately, many battery chargers simply will not work on batteries that have been discharged below a minimum voltage level, which can be as high as 10.5 volts!

OPTIMA’s new Digital 1200 12-volt battery charger can recover many deeply-discharged batteries, including batteries discharged all the way down to 1.25 volts!  That’s great news for any battery owner, but what if you don’t own one of these chargers yet?

There are some other methods for recovering deeply-discharged batteries and we decided to create a YouTube video, which explains the options most consumers have in recovering deeply-discharged batteries.  Be sure to check it out, because the few minutes you spend watching that video could end up saving you time and money that might otherwise be spent buying a new battery.

One of the perks of being a contingency sponsor for the NHRA, as well as the primary sponsor on David Grubnic’s Top Fuel dragster, is that it allows us to get out to the dragstrip and interact with many of our customers.  One of those customers came by the OPTIMA rig on Friday to talk to us about problems he was having with the dual RedTops he had mounted in his Sportsman drag car.

As he explained what had happened, he indicated he stored his car last winter with the kill switch activated, which disconnected his batteries from his vehicle.  However, when he went to start his car in the spring, his batteries were discharged to the point that they could not turn his engine over.  He then indicated that after charging them, they eventually discharged again and seem to have trouble maintaining proper voltage.

We then asked him if he remembered the voltage of his batteries either when he parked his car for the winter or when he brought it out in the spring and he had a puzzled look on his face.  He didn’t seem to know specifically, but indicated when he charged them, he got them all the way up to, “12.1 or 12.2 volts.”  Unfortunately, his experience is not unique amongst battery owners and it is commonly believed that a 12-volt battery is fully-charged at 12.0 volts.  However, the truth is, most batteries are more than 50% discharged at 12.o volts.  This racer’s RedTops are not fully-charged until they reach about 12.6-12.8 volts.

We then asked to come over to his rig and take a look at the charger he was using.  As we suspected, he had been using a charger that had a “Gel/AGM” setting, which was probably not fully-charging his batteries, even though it indicated the batteries were fully-charged.  Whenever batteries are discharged below 12.4 volts and allowed to sit in that state, sulfation begins to diminish both capacity and lifespan and in the case of these batteries, it sounds like they had spent almost their entire existence discharged below 12.4 volts.

The solution for this driver was a simple one.  He decided to order our new Digital 1200 battery charger, but in the interim, we suggested he simply charge his batteries using his charger’s “Regular” setting.

Last month, we brought you the extended version of our new OPTIMA RedTop battery commercial, featuring Mark Stielow’s amazing Red Devil Camaro.  This month, we present to you the :30 second spot in all it’s glory.

While you’re visiting our YouTube channel, be sure to check out some of our other videos.  We have fishing reports from OPTIMA pro angler, Edwin Evers, Tech Tip videos covering everything from charging our batteries to selecting the right battery for your application and even a few interviews with our sponsored NHRA drivers.

In fact, OPTIMA Jim is headed down to Georgia this weekend for the NHRA race and he will probably interview the drivers again.  If you have any questions you’d like to ask Alexis DeJoria, Jeff ARend, Doug Kalitta or Dave Grubnic, be sure to post them in the comments section on our videos.

Have you heard of Pinterest yet?  If not, let us bring you up to speed.  Pinterest is a site for sharing photos and originally became very popular with women.  While that is still the case, an increasing number of men are signing up. Why would men care about new hairstyles, favorite recipes or fashion tips?  They may not, but Pinterest has plenty of photos that interest men as well.

We signed up a while back and we’ll admit, we’re pretty addicted to it.  Pinterest allows you to create your own cyber bulletin boards, where you can “pin” your favorite pictures.  OPTIMA now has 14 such boards, each dedicated to something different.

If you want to see photos of vehicles from SEMA, we have a board dedicated to it.  The same is true for drag racing, open road and salt flat racing, boat racing and tournament fishing, off road, road racing and autocross racing and a board that shows our favorite places to do all of that stuff and more.  We even have boards set up just for station wagons, red vehicles, yellow vehicles and blue vehicles!  If users find a board they like, they can follow updates to that board or every board from that user.

Pinterest also has an app that allows you to view photos on your smart phone.  Stuck at a doctor’s office with a stack of Ladies Home Journal and National Geographic and not a hot rod magazines in sight?  Open up your Pinterest app and start browsing photos of the most-amazing vehicles on the planet.  If you have a thing for non-Cobra Jet ’69 Mercury Cyclones, search for those and start pinning them to your own board.  If you still aren’t convinced, check out OPTIMA’s pinboards and see if there aren’t more than a few photos that appeal to you.  Once you check it out, we think you’ll get hooked!  Once you sign up, be sure to follow a few of our boards, so you’ll know what is going on in the world of OPTIMA.