Archive for June, 2009
How to Rent a Classic Car
Posted by Alexander in Classic Cars on June 30th, 2009
Although we would al agree that a classic car is a very desirable thing to have, the very fact that they are so desirable tends to position the ownership of a classic just outside a lot of people’s price range. However much money you may be willing to spend, you need to make a value judgement. If you can afford the purchase, know that the car is the one you want and have the wherewithal to insure it properly, then good luck to you – that classic car can be yours today. However, the expense involved in buying a classic car can be dangerous – causing you to be in possession of a classic car AND a huge credit bill that you are not sure you can pay. That nagging realization will gnaw at your mind every time you get behind the wheel.
An option that has become increasingly popular in this day and age is rental. Renting a classic car for a certain purpose can be a solution for people who love classic cars but do not feel they can afford one just now. It can also work out for anyone who knows they want a classic car but does not want to purchase until they are certain that it feels right. As well as these situations, there may be a third that makes renting a classic car a worthwhile option. The combination of a love of classic cars and a special occasion is indeed a heady one, and may make for the best birthday, vacation or celebration of your life.
Yes, we all love classic cars. There is something indefinable about them that makes the feeling of sitting behind the wheel or looking out onto your driveway feel like an almost religious experience. It isn’t that the car makers of the past knew more about making a car than we do now – they did not. The cars of today are the result of years worth of accumulated knowledge and they will be classic cars in the future (at least, some of them will). It is more that classic cars represent a stylistic period which today looks timeless, but all those years ago was just of its time. But without even needing to intellectualize things, we can all agree that classic cars look great. Possessing one, even for a day, can feel pretty fine.
When it comes to hiring a classic car, there are just a few things to take into account. Because of the uniqueness of the car, there will be consequent unique terms and conditions as to its hire. Hiring a classic Alfa Romeo may feel like the best thing you have ever done, but if you end up denting it on the way back from the event it was hired for, it will put a crimp in your evening. Anyone would feel privileged to get behind the wheel of a Bugatti Veyron – but knowing how much it will cost could make you overly fretful about its condition and spoil the experience for you. Make sure, before you hire a classic car, that it will fit the experience practically that you had planned for it mentally. Otherwise, you could end up sour on the experience, which would be a pity.
Tire Basics
Tire Classes
Passenger Tires: Passenger tires are designed with decent all-around characteristics. They can handle a bit of snow, rain and are quiet enough on the road. Also, these tires feature a tread design and a rubber compound that gives you the most longevity for your money. Passenger tires feature a tread pattern that is omnidirectional, meaning it doesn’t matter which direction the tires spin in. If it’ll roll, you can go.
Performance Tires: Performance tires are designed to have better handling and/or handle more speed. The better handling and speed characteristics come from the specialty tread pattern and a softer tread compound. Performance tires feature a tread pattern that is directional, meaning that the tires are designed specifically to roll in one direction. This allows the tire engineers to shape the tire and treads for maximum grip and maximum handling.
Also, the Tread Compound, or rubber mixture, on performance tires is softer than on passenger tires. This softer tread compound grabs the road better, giving you increased handling and better traction. The drawback is that this softer compound also wears down quicker. So you get better handling and traction, but less mileage from the tire.
Competition/Racing Tires: Competition Tires are dedicated track-only tires designed for optimum performance. Some are federally approved (read: legal for the street) but they don’t have much tread life and are no good in any kind of rain or snow. Save these shoes for autocross or road racing.
Light Truck: Light truck tires are those designed for most consumer (non-commercial duty) trucks on the road today. They are manufactured with more plys, or layers, than passenger car tires, typically 4-ply or 6-ply (depending on the Load Range, see below.) They are designed to handle more weight so your truck can actually be used as a truck.
Speed Ratings
This gives a measure of how much speed the tire can handle for a given testing period (usually 10 minutes) without becoming damaged.
Common car problems
Brake Problem
The common brake problems are :
1. Low Brake Fluid Level 2. Contaminated Brake Fluid 3. Worn Brake Pads 4. Bad Brake Power Boost Unit 5. Vacuum Problems 6. Brake Line Obstruction 7. Air in the Brake Fluid 8. Master Cylinder Bad 9. Bad Brake Disc 10. Car Out of Alignment 11. Worn Front Suspension 12. Bad Wheel Cylinder 13. Parking Brake Fails to Release 14. Brake Pads Vibrating 15. Loose bolts and nuts 16. Worn or Broken Suspension Components
No Start Problem
Possible starting problems are:
Blown automotive fuse Battery corrosion Dead battery Bad ignition switch Bad starter connection Bad ignition coil Faulty distributor cap Broken or shorting coil wire Loose electrical connection Bad fuel pump and relay Clogged fuel filter Loose starter Bad injector Faulty cold start valve Chipped flywheel or ring gear Bad ECU or MAF
Automatic Transmission Problems
The most common auto transmission problems are:
Low automatic transmission fluid level Leaking automatic transmission fluid Clogged automatic transmission filter
Steering and Suspension Problems
Possible steering and suspension problems:
Low or uneven tire pressure Uneven or excessive tire wear Bad alignment Bad steering components Sticking brake caliper One or more wheels out of balance Worn shocks or struts Broken or slipped leaf spring Low power steering fluid Loose or worn power steering belt Bad power steering pump Leaking power steering rack Broken steering rack mounts Wheels out of balance Loose wheel bolts Worn or broken tie rods or steering rack Worn strut bearings Loose power steering belt Worn power steering belt
Engine Problems
Possible engine problems are:
If you have a carburetor (there are still a few out there), the choke may not be set properly, or the choke may not be working correctly The engine may be running too hot The fuel pressure regulator may be operating at low pressure The ignition timing may be set wrong Ignition system problem There may be a fault in the computerized engine control system The fuel filter may be partially clogged Torque converter (automatic transmission only) may not be locking at the right time, or it may be slipping There may be a vacuum leak Possible internal engine problems EGR valve may be stuck open Drive axles may be loose or worn The fuel injectors may be dirty Dirty air filter The spark plugs may be dirty or worn The ignition wires may be bad You may have water in the gasoline If you have a carburetor, you may have a bad accelerator pump or power circuit The fuel filter may be clogged Your catalytic converter may be clogged
visit www.fixcarsyourself.com for more information and updates on common auto repair problems
Pennsylvania Environmental and Recycling Update
Posted by Alexander in Other Car Articles on June 30th, 2009
Pennsylvania Environmental and Recycling Update
Pennsylvania is a crossroads state, the northern side of the Mason-Dixon line. Philadelphia, in the east, is part of the sprawling Northeast Atlantic Coast megalopolis which runs from DC to Boston. On the West, Pittsburgh is part of the so-called Rust Belt, the Industrial Midwest. In between is an expansive agricultural zone, home to the Amish as well as much of this country’s agriculture. Environmental concerns have increased in Pennsylvania along with the rest of the United States, and auto recycling and salvage is a significant component of all that. Here’s the latest environmental and recycling news from the Quaker State.
Recycling Improves in Pittsburgh
The famous steel city, Pittsburgh has made the jump from heavy industry to high tech—some of the most innovative technology in the world comes from Western PA’s big city and its universities. Still, despite all this invention and creativity, Pittsburgh has been somewhat behind in terms of recycling. The Pennsylvania Resources Council aims to change that.
The PRC is a longstanding environmental organization in Ohio, one of the state’s biggest advocates for recycling and other ecological programs. They have recently deployed a program to simplify and promote recycling in the city called “Zero Waste Pittsburgh.” Among the most innovative features: recycling audits for businesses and homeowners, and recycling for common hazardous materials like Cathode Ray Tube monitors and TVs, other electronics and compact fluorescent light bulbs.
State, Activists Join Forces to Turn Golf Green
Golf courses have been anathema to environmental activists for years. The sprawling links consume inordinate levels of water, an increasingly scarce resource. And the only way to keep the greens green is with kilos of toxic chemicals. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently directed one of the state’s most prominent environmental groups—the Pennsylvania Environmental Council—to produce a guide for green golf course development and maintenance, a survey released this month to the public.
With input from an environmental consultant, the guide promises to be of use to local government and green-minded course developers around the country. Among its most valuable ideas is the use of native vegetation to reduce water usage, a strategy used by homeowners everywhere now. They also outline ways to preserving floodplains, streams, creeks and other watershed areas often damaged by courses.
Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor Passes Environmental Review
Three Mile Island has been synonymous with nuclear disaster ever since a partial meltdown in 1979 created the nation’s closest nuclear power close call. No new nuclear plants have opened since, though several have begun construction in recent years. With new management, the environmental activist bugaboo still operates today.
As part of the renewal process of its 20 year permit, the plant submitted to an environmental review from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission this year, and was given a clean bill of health this month. The permitting process rolls along, expected to be finished by the time their current permit expires in 2014, but Pennsylvania residents are glad to know things are safer at Three Mile Island.
Bharatbook.com : Rural India will boost the Two Wheeler Industry growth
Posted by Alexander in Motorcycles on June 30th, 2009
Indian Two-Wheeler Industry : Rural India to be in the driver’s seat
The Indian two-wheeler industry has come long way since its humble beginning in 1948 when Bajaj Auto started importing and selling Vespa Scooters in India. Since then, the customer preferences have changed in favour of motorcycles and gearless scooterettes that score higher on technology, fuel economy and aesthetic appeal, at the expense of metal-bodied geared scooters and mopeds. These changes in customer preferences have h
bharatbookcom rural india will boost the two wheeler industry growth
Rising income levels, reducing excise duties, higher loan tenure and loan-to-value offered by the financing companies have all fuelled the growth of two-wheeler sales in the country. Besides, mounting traffic chaos and limited parking
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space has also increased the demand for two-wheelers from households that can afford or actually do own a car. Furthermore, with increasing women working population, changing social philosophy and broad-mindedness, the penetration of two-wheelers that is currently at abysmally low level is expected to increase significantly going forward.
It has developed a statistical model that attempts to forecast the domestic two wheeler sales on the basis of ownership cost and the target population that in
Category › Motorcycles
Title › Bharatbook.com : Rural India will boost the Two Wheeler Industry growth
cludes young populace that can afford but do not own a two wheeler. Other qualitative factors like macro-economic outlook, consumer confidence, willingness of vehicle financers to finance TWs, etc. have also been quantitatively built in demand forecasting model.
It foresees the growth of two-wheeler sales to be healthy during the period FY09-14, albeit with some short-term hiccups. According to Research, rural India would drive the growth, whereas the opportunity in urban India, especially bigger cities, is limited.
Abundant and low cost labour coupled with local availability of raw materials like steel, aluminium and natural rubber has placed India amongst the low cost producing centres of two-wheelers. Consequently, it anticipates buoyant growth in two-wheeler exports as well.
Given the currently subdued macro-economic scenario and weak consumer confidence levels as well as cautious stance of the two-wheeler financers, it expects domestic sales growth to remain muted in the medium term. However, lower penetration and rising income levels makes the longer term outlook healthy. Abundance of low cost labour and raw material gives India an upper hand in the export market. The report on ‘Indian Two-wheeler industry’ forecasts domestic sales as well as exports of two-wheelers for the next five years till FY14.
The report is divided into four sections. Section I gives the overview of the Indian two-wheeler industry. Section II provides a detailed outlook on the industry. Section III provides an overview of the top 3 players in the industry, while Section IV contains various data tables as an Annexure to the report.
I. Industry Section
This section begins with providing an introduction to the industry including the industry evolution and the types of vehicles sold. The characteristics of the industry and the demand drivers are discussed at length. It also covers the duty structure of the industry. Detailed analysis of historical trends for each vehicle segment (namely, motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and electric two-wheelers) and sub-segment (based on engine capacity) is also presented in this section for both domestic as well as export market. This section also discusses about the players and competition in the industry, their respective products/brands and how each of the players fared in the industry. Cost analysis of the industry is also provided by discussing the key cost items and trends thereof, the trends in the prices of key raw materials and the trends in the operating margins of the industry for the last three years.
II. Outlook Section
This section exclusively provides the outlook on the industry. The forecasts of domestic two-wheeler sales for each vehicle segment for each of the next five years till FY 2013-14 are provided in this section. This helps in identifying the opportunity for a particular vehicle segment. The methodology to forecast domestic sales is also discussed in depth in this section as a box item. The forecasts of
Chevrolet Navigation Car DVD Player with Digital Panel for New Epica/Lova/Captiva
Posted by Alexander in Other Car Articles on June 30th, 2009
Qualir Recommendation:
Suit Chevrolet New Epica & Lova & Captiva, without crack installation 7″ Digital High Definition touchscreen Support RDS & CDC Key Features:
Built-in GPS navigation system, you can enjoy music radio while navigation Digital 7″ 16:9 800*480 TFT LCD motorized touchable Monitor Built-in Bluetooth iPod control function (support iPod 1st generation ~ 5th generation, don’t support iphone completely) Steering Wheel Control Auto Dimmer (Standard/bright/soft/customer video mode) Play DVD/ DivX/MP4/VCD/CD/MP3 With external analog TV Receiver (the analog TV is unavailable in USA and Canada and Russia. If you are American and Canada customers, you can buy ATSC digital TV receiver. If you are European customers, you can choose to “add external DVB-T receiver”, and you can control the DVB-T by the DVD player.) Built-in Radio FM/AM/RDS (RDS receiver is useful for European customer) Built-in 4*45W Amplifier Super Bass output 5.1 Mode 1 AV Output (3 Zone) 1 AV Input Car Camera input Support CDC function (SANYO) Electronic Anti-Shock Protection One TF SD card slot for GPS, one mini SD card for Music Entertainment Dual Zone function: listen to Radio in the front and watching DVD/TV from the back Monitor at the same time Specification:
1.Car PC Operating system: Windows CE 5.0
2.GPS Processor: SAMSUNG S3C2440A-40
3.RAM Memory: 64MB SDRAM
4.Storage device: Support 4GB NAND FLASH maximal.
5.Display output: CVBS, Y/C, YPbPr
6.GPS receivers channels: 20
7.Supported Maps: PolNav, IGO,ROUTE66,TOMTOM and so on.
8.Multiple language supported: English, Deutch(German), Franch, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and so on, totally 18 languages.
9.GPS antenna: 1 in-dash GPS antenna interface on the back
10.GPS dual zone: music or radio while in GPS Navigation mode
11.Electronic & mechanical anti-shock system
12.DVD formats played: DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/MPEG4/DIVX/CD-R/WMA/JPEG
13.Media: all popular media can be read, including DVD/DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/MP3/MP4(DIVX)/VCD/SVCD/US
14.SD, USB port?
15.Built in 445W amplifier (stereo)
16.Bluetooth version: V2.0, Support AD2P (Bluetooth Stereo Music), can play stereo music through Bluetooth. Built-in microphone, can receive and dial phone calls
17.Radio Frequency: Europe, USA1, USA2, Japan, Russian
18.AM Frequency range: 522-1620 (Europe/China), 530-1710 (America)
19.FM Tuning range: 87.5-108 (Europe/China), 87.5-107.9 (America)
20.Stereo/Mono Switch (for FM): Yes
21.1 video in/out
2 audio in/out
1 Aux in
Warranty: 1 year
If you are interested in this item, then please check here for details
Get Molded Carpet Dash Covers: Get Lifetime Protection
Worried about the diminishing appeal of your dashboard? Looking for some sure shot way to protect them against color fading and damage? No worry, there are custom made dash covers that can effectively prevent dangerous UV rays for a life time. Amazed? Well, molded carpet dash covers are capable of providing superb protection for your dashboards.
There are varieties of elements that cause damage to your dashboards. The harmful ultra violet rays and sun heat are the main culprits behind discolored dashboards. The dirt and dust and other pollutants prevalent in the air also cause them ugly and unpleasant. In order to prevent such harming factors and enhance the look and feel inside your vehicle, getting quality dash covers is the only option.
Custom made to fit on your dashboards, the reliable dashboard covers are made of very tough Polyester material. However, the manufacturing process used that is used to produce the effective auto accessories is the principal reason behind such effectiveness.
As the name implies, the molded carpet dashboard covers are made using special thermal process. As a result, the custom made dashboard covers are very strong and snug fit. The pre-molded and tough dash covers don’t lose shape easily. The hard and fitting auto accessories don’t slip and thereby, provide greater protection to your dashboard and convenience.
Available in huge array of exciting colors, the custom fit dash covers provide excellent choice to choose from the best suitable color that suits your taste and the theme inside your vehicle. Therefore, whether you are looking for desired fitting or colors of your choice, durability or effective performance, with Molded Carpet dash covers you can expect complete protection for a longer period of time.
So, if you are looking for a hassle-free way to protect your dashboard, that is, at affordable cost, you can depend on Molded Carpet Dashboard Covers.
Silverguard Plus Car Covers: Effective ‘PLUS’ Affordable
Concerned about the diminishing charm of your car? Looking for reliable and cost effective car protection regimen? No worry, maintaining your car’s exteriors can be a hassle-free activity. With the car covers such as Silverguard Plus car covers, getting such a protection is affordable and effective.
Cars suffer lots of abuses and have to negotiate with wide range of extreme weather conditions. These include extreme UV rays, extended rain, snow and storms among others that cause severe color
silverguard plus car covers effective plus affordable
Besides these factors, dirt, chemicals in the environment, bird droppings, pets and many other hazards also damage the paint and finish of your car. If left uncovered, these hazards will cause severe color fading, scratches and rust to your car. Therefore, you need to protect your vehicle against these elements. If you get the quality car covers, you can easily prevent hazardous elements effectively.
Though there is a wide range of car covers availa
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ble, it’s important that you get quality car covers. In order to provide effective protection, the car covers you get must have certain qualities. These include fitting, stretch, strength, breathability, water resistance, UV resistance among others.
The custom fit car covers are especially designed car covers. Since these are prepared according to the specifications of your vehicle, the custom-fit Silverguard Plus car covers provide complete fitting.
Made of 300 denier polyester and heavy
Category › Cars
Title › Silverguard Plus Car Covers: Effective ‘PLUS’ Affordable
duty polyester felt, the affordable car covers are very effective in all weather conditions. With the double coating with Polyurethane (PU), the quality car covers are exceptionally effective in most of the weather conditions.
Along with excellent water resistance and UV reflective features, the effective car covers are available for most of the car makes and models. Therefore, whether you want Mercedes car covers or Ford car covers or car covers for any other car brand, the Silverguard Plus car covers are available for all.