Archive for June, 2009

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American Racing Atlas Wheels Make Your Vehicle Appear Legit For Racing

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

American Racing Atlas Rims are the cornerstone of tweaking your car and giving yourself a advantage in the world of urban style and caliber. Making yourself an figure of incredible trendsetting and defined style isn’t easy but adding custom wheels to your car can go a long way in earning the status to your car and you.Check out American Racing Atlas Custom Wheels.

Considered not only intimidating and snazzy but to be an ageless representation of refinement and quality, Custom Rims describe their owner. The slick, pimp refinement and marked brazen look of quality Custom Rims outlines an assured level of both refinement and power among drivers.

Making an impression on the streets is the hope of a lot of vehicle owners and the sole way to achieve that goal is defining yourself above the rest. A amazing set of Custom Wheels brandished on a slick truck is the unchallenged beacon of decadence and style. Buying your car some immediate fame and street cred these Custom Wheels will help implement the presence any driver is looking for.

Manufactured to perform and show off, American Racing Atlas Custom Rims understand that there is more to your car than just looking cool after a wash. Every bundle of Custom Rims are built to withstand all the destructive forces of modern driving and travel. Manufactured from the bottom up to perform as aggressively as they look, these Custom Rims are made ready for everything the road has to send at them.

When it comes to investing in a set of Rims the choice shouldn’t weigh on you. Putting your trust in a high end distributor like American Racing Atlas Rims is a sure-fire way to ensure you buy Rims with a quality that will last you for years. Building a top quality Custom Wheel that can maintain the best of performance and ability long after the purchase is the kind of reliable product you want.

Providing a plethora of compatible Rims and models to suit the expectations and requirements of any vehicle model is just one of the multiple unique abilities that Rims can give a prospective owner. With a unique and classy design that blends seamlessly into any vehicle model or type these Rims are the perfect accent for any slick car.

Elevating yourself apart from the crowd is paramount in defining yourself. Rims offer a wide selection for customizing and unique tweaks and variations to help give your ride that distinct and unique look you’re after to ensure that no other automobile on the road is the same as yours.

Dictating the unsurpassed standard for years, American Racing Atlas Wheels And Rims is the street certified king of rims when it comes to a tasteful look and ferocious performance. These American Racing Atlas Chrome Wheels And Rims continue to be the iconic example of authority and taste in the streets.

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Coping with the Traffic Jam Blues

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

This summer a lot of us will be hoping to get away for a few days, whether it’s for a weekend break from work or perhaps one of the many UK music festivals.  The by-product of this mass exodus from the city is that the motorways and roads can get congested, leaving us sat on the motorway in a big trailing queue of like-minded drivers.

These traffic jams can be caused by accidents (and the rubber-neckers slowing to catch a glance at the scene) or just the sheer amount of cars on the road.  Either way it means that there’s a good chance that you’ll have to add up to an hour or two to your planned trip time.

It can be very easy to loose your temper with the situation but this may have an adverse effect on your driving, possibly leading to silly decisions and potential accidents.  If you were to pair the beating sun, a car full of excitable kids and only moving 50 yards in the past hour then this would certainly test the patience of a saint!  How can you keep calm under pressure?  Here are three tips to help keep the Traffic Jam Blues at bay.

1.    Keep yourself entertained
Keeping your mind off the annoyance of being stuck in a queue by listening to some music, preferably something calming (blasting Metallica or Eminem may not help everyone keep calm!), sing along if that helps.  Playing games like I spy can help keep children under control; even in car DVD players which attach to the back of your seat can keep them quiet for a few hours.

2.    Stay cool
Whilst the weather in the UK isn’t always the best there are times when we get intense sun and should you be trapped on an open motorway with the sun beating off the tarmac you could easily find yourself getting hot and bothered. Winding down the windows is an obvious measure but at a standstill with all the heat coming up off the road and other cars can actually make it very hot and you’d be better off with the windows up!  Obviously Air Conditioning is a bonus and luckily most modern cars have this feature, although beware it can affect your fuel consumption.

3.  Plan your trip and plan for the worst
For those who have driven their route before and know what to expect they may take an alternative route or time their departure time with the off-peak driving times.  There’s a wealth of trip planning and mapping websites some of which will actually include live traffic updates, many car Sat-Nav systems will do this too, knowing when the best time to set off is key to beating the rush. 
Having back up routes is important also, it may be a road that is a couple of miles longer or a round-about way of getting to your destination but if it’s a lesser travelled road then you may end up beating the crowds queued up on the motorways and get there quicker.

So this summer don’t just be another sheep following the herd, plan ahead and you’ll be able to avoid the queues and save yourself a lot of stress!

Related topics include guaranteed car laons, used car loans and bad credit car finance

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Buying cars second hand to get great results

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

With a tight budget it’s important to ensure that you get the best deal for your money without having to compromise when it comes to selecting your next set of wheels.

Buying a used car is often the better option financially for many people, as with any major purchase though it’s important to make sure you are careful when choosing a car.  Below are a few points that you could be considering when you search out that second hand deal:

Set yourself a budget

It’s a good idea to have a figure in your head that you are comfortable with spending on your next car, many older vehicles can cost under £1,000 and whilst these may be mostly smaller models they are often the cheapest to tax and insure.  When formulating a budget it’s important to think of the bigger picture and consider how much your insurance, road tax and MOT will be and how this totals up with the money you want to spend.

Know your requirements

Never mind the in-built Sat-Nav voices and the seat warmers, make a list of your basic requirements and what your car needs.  If you have a large family with small children then obviously a three door run-around isn’t going to cut it.  Likewise if you will be only using the car for your commute to your place of work then a smaller, less powerful car would be more to your taste (not to mention being able to squeeze into the last free space in the car park!)

Lose the stigma of “used goods”

There are many things you wouldn’t want to buy as second hand; for example you wouldn’t want a second hand toothbrush but you should consider buying a second hand car if you’re on a budget.  In the second hand market there’s plenty of vehicles going up for grabs which have low mileages or are being sold through necessity like the seller needing to up-size their vehicle for an addition to the family or an elderly person unable to drive anymore. 

If you take the time to check out the car by arranging a viewing then you can get a good impression of the condition and how “worn in” it is.  There’s also the point that new cars have shocking depreciation levels and if you were to buy new then when it came time to sell it then you’d not make much of a return on what you paid for it. 

Choosing your next car can be a lengthy process, but as long as you are certain of what model and features you are after and you have a budget in mind when the best car comes along then you’ll be prepared to make the purchase and be happy with your decision.

Related topics include guaranteed car finance, yes car and used cars

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Beat the Meter Maids: Avoid Parking Fines

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

If you were to ask any motorist what the worst job in the world was then there’s a good chance that they would report back “Traffic Warden”. Traffic wardens are possibly in the bracket of the one of the most disliked groups of workers in the country.

We’ve had TV documentaries and comedy skits on the parking warden for many years, and no matter how much we think we are in the right, falling foul of parking regulations within sight of a traffic warden will almost always end up with a ticket on the windscreen and a hole in our wallet/purse!

So how can you avoid the eagle like gaze of the parking warden?  Well there are a number of interesting tips and tricks that some motorists have tried in the past from leaving your hazard warning lights on to claiming you had pulled up to stop a mugger. Unfortunately, as wild as your imagination is, it tends not to wash with the parking police.

Over the years there have been a number of supposed “loopholes” such as the parking attendant has to fill out all details correctly and affix the ticket to your car, some speedy drivers have seen a warden in the process of writing a ticket and darted out to their cars and driven off before the warden had time to ticket the car.  A clever move but in doing so you could find that you drive off in such a hurry that you pull out into another car, costing much more than the parking fine.

Another trick people have tried is parking on yellow lines that are broken, in that they are not a continuous yellow line, resurfacing or the wear and tear has left them unrecognisable. 

This actually has happened but before you go parking on double yellow lines because there is a tiny fleck of paint missing the cases which were disputed were where the yellow lines were hardly there and were not signposted nearby.  Remember that parking on double yellow lines is dangerous as they are normally there for safety reasons, not to inconvenience the average driver.

So how can we avoid the wrath of the parking officer?  Well reading all signs and road markings is vital, if there are instructions not to park somewhere, don’t park there, and don’t be looking for loopholes as they can be arduous to fight in court and hardly worth the bother.  Signs are not always easy to find, some parking spaces can have their signs high up on walls or attached to business premises’ windows, it may be sneaky but if you’re vigilant you’ll know where’s best to avoid.

Be mindful of how long you have to leave your car where you park, if there’s a ticket then it’s easy to see how long you have left, set a timer on your phone or watch five minutes before your time is up, so you can get back to your car in time.

If you pay attention and play by the rules then you shouldn’t find yourself in the situation to get a parking ticket and save the money you’d end up having to spend on a ticket or a clamp being removed!

Related topics include guaranteed car finance, welcome car credit and bad credit car finance

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Songs About Car Makes

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Ever since an automobile was invented it became an indispensable part of our lives. The more it developed, the more dependent we became on it. Not only that, a car has found its way into the entertainment industry, and films have not only commemorated some of the car makes and models, but have also offered a glimpse at the future of cars. These days, when you hear about transformer cars, or cars that can turn into an aircraft, the vision first expressed in sci-fi movies finally comes to life.

The music industry, however, was by no means late to the party, and we have quite a few melodic paeans to such makes as Cadillac and Mercedes. What is interesting is that the songs almost never focus on a single car brand. Take Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” song. “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz”, she sang. Well, who wouldn’t want God to buy them a Mercedes – especially when you, very much like Janis, “worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends”? And in the meantime those friends “all drive Porsches”. Such is life you may say; but as you notice Joplin commemorated two car makes at once in this song.

A similar thing occurs in “Pink Cadillac” song. Whether it was Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Cole or Jerry Lee Lewis telling the story, the Cadillac invariably had “crushed velvet seats” and was “oozing down the street”. The car existed because the guy’s love “was bigger than a Honda, it was bigger than a Subaru”. Interestingly, the lyrics also had an environmental message in it: “Now some folks say it’s too big and uses too much gas, some folks say it is too old and that it goes too fast”. But this was hardly a problem – as long as the car had “crushed velvet seats” and was in fact a pink Cadillac.

Related topics include guaranteed car finance, welcome car credit and used cars

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Selling Cars Online: A How To…Blog

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

It has been a very long time since I last went shopping for a car; so long in fact that I have noticed that the whole nature of car shopping has changed irrevocably. A few years ago the process was exceedingly simple indeed. You simply drove to a dealership, took a car for a test drive, paid your money and then drove your new car home. The whole process has become convoluted with the advent of new and superbly impressive technology.

Research shows that 54% of car buyers consulted a video of a motor vehicle before even considering a purchase. These videos can be Youtube user-generated content, or footage filmed by dealers themselves. Either way, the buying public are requiring more information before making their purchases.

These are figures worth considering for any car dealers or prospective car sellers of any nature. The fact that automotive videos account for 20% of the videos watched on Youtube should interest anyone who wishes to make money from the car trade. Even more interestingly 55% are “much more likely” or “somewhat more likely” to consider making a purchase after viewing an auto online video. These are statistics that your average car dealer cannot afford to ignore at all.

So now it is a given that a car dealer has to have an easily found internet presence, the next step it would seem would to be to offer video as standard. This can be either done by embedding Youtube Videos into the dealer’s site, providing links to relevant pages, or by filming footage yourself and adding it to sales pages or blog portals.

There are many fine examples of Dealers taking on the new technological advancements in terms of marketing strategies. The encouraging forecast is that these techniques all seem to be working extremely well. So if you are planning on joining the car trade, keep up by adding videos to your site.

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Show Your Discerning Style With American Racing Estrella Wheels And Rims

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Custom Wheels

 

American Racing Estrella chrome rims are the pivotal point of stylizing your truck and giving yourself a advantage in the world of urban style and degree. Making yourself a figure of extraordinary trendsetting and unique style isn’t easy, but adding custom wheels to your truck can go a long way in turning eyes to your truck and you.

A car enthusiast understands the unbeatable strength and unique look of a quality set of rims shining proudly on a quality vehicle. Channeling a spirit of both effortless style and intimidating strength, tricking your vehicle with rims says that you care about both the quality of your vehicle and the appearance it has.

Making an impression on the streets is the hope of many drivers and the only way to achieve that goal is establishing your vehicle apart from the rest. A beautiful set of custom wheels placed on a classy car is the unchallenged beacon of decadence and class. Scoring yourself some immediate notoriety and street cred, these custom wheels will help achieve the appearance any driver is looking for.

Engineered and constructed to offer an unrivaled capacity for performance and ability, American Racing Estrella chrome wheels and rims is the flagship of power and compatibility when it comes to top-notch performance. Maintaining peak performance and handling in any weather or road condition while looking amazing is the ultimate goal of custom wheels and for decades they’ve been beating the competitors.

Not only do these rims outperform the posers, they also outlast. Investing in a set of high quality rims is a long-term decision that surely will not disappoint. American Racing rims are built from the ground up to last mile for mile in the most brutal conditions and to be pushed to their limits each and every day without fail. The unyielding stamina of these rims is well known to drivers and enthusiasts alike.

Offering an assortment of compatible custom rims for any make or model of car, these glossy custom rims are available for almost any car you can find. Built and designed with a exclusive sophistication and flashy appeal, American Racing Estrella custom wheels and rims are exclusive and intimidating to fulfill the requirements and desires of almost any driver, regardless of their car.

Lifting yourself apart from the peasantry is paramount in defining yourself. Custom rims offer a wide selection for customizing and unique tweaks and variations to help give your ride that refined and independent look you’re after to ensure that no other vehicle on the road is the same as yours.

American Racing has set the standard not only within the industry of custom rims, but in the streets where they are judged. These Estrella Custom Rims are raising the standard to a much higher level of accomplishment in every way.

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A Dash of the Hard Stuff Improves Fuel Efficiency

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Just as president Barrack Obama announced regulations that that require the fuel efficiency of all new cars and trucks to be raised by an average of 30% by 2016 the Ford Motor company revealed test results of a unique ethanol assisted engine that make it as fuel efficient as a petrol-electric hybrid.  

The new engine, called a direct-injection ethanol engine, runs primarily on petrol. But when the engine needs some additional power, to climb a hill or accelerate to overtake, the engine management system adds a dash of ethanol to the fuel.

This results is an improvement in fuel efficiency of around 23% for an average car.   This is due to the fact that the engine operates at a higher compression ratio. The compression ratio is a measure of how much the fuel and air mixture is compressed before being ignited. Higher compression ratios would normally result in premature ignition which is commonly called knocking. Adding ethanol to the fuel-air mixture suppresses knocking.

A pick-up truck fitted with one of the new engines, along with an additional ethanol fuel tank, showed a 23% improvement in fuel efficiency while maintaining performance levels. It was estimated that a 40 litre auxiliary tank of ethanol would last for around 30,000 kilometres.  

It is expected that the next phase of testing and evaluation will see the new engine used in a variety of vehicles. More testing is to be carried out to assess whether the new ethanol assisted engine becomes unstable when the ethanol runs out.

The cost of these new engines is around one third of the extra cost of a hybrid petrol-electric engine. Hybrids typically deliver an improvement in fuel economy of between 25 and 35%. The new direct-injection ethanol engine looks like it is a strong contender that will meet Obama’s projected fuel efficiency figures.

It was on May the 19th when Barrack Obama announced at the White House: “The goal is to set one national standard that will rapidly increase fuel efficiency, without compromising safety, by an average of 5 percent each year between 2012 and 2016″.

The new rules would require vehicle’s average fuel economy standards to be 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Specifically, an average of 39 miles per gallon for cars and 30 miles per gallon for trucks. In 2009 the average fuel efficiency is 25 miles per gallon.

These new regulations will inevitably mean additional costs for motor manufacturers, which will be passed on to consumers. But although people will be paying more for their cars and trucks they will be paying less for fuel. Obama said that it was estimated that the average driver would save as much as $2800 by improving their gas mileage.

One way that anyone interested in a new car can save money is to consider financing their new transport using a car lease. Car leasing offers personal and business customers many advantages over outright purchase. Looking out for new model Fords using the new direct-injection ethanol engine on a Ford lease could be a practical way to save a small fortune.

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Low On Budget But Still Want Fun? Get The Toyota Matrix

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

During the early part of this decade Toyota was examining its car line up and the decision was made to build a vehicle to entice young people who were searching for something that was little, fun to drive, and reasonable. Whilst the Corolla served faithfully in this capacity, Toyota required something that spoke excitement. The Corolla just wasn’t that sort of a vehicle and something radically different was required. Enter the Matrix. Based on the Corolla platform, the Matrix does what no Corolla can do : turn heads. We’ll have a look at this sporty compact and see the way in which the 2006 model stacks up.

In 2003, the Matrix was introduced to the northern US market. Built in California as a joint venture with General Motors - the Pontiac Vibe is its twin - the Matrix is directed toward budget conscious young people who wish to have a car that makes a statement. To save cash, the Corolla frame was employed, but the Matrix stands some three inches taller and is eight inches shorter than its Toyota sibling. The roof line on the Matrix is completely different too as it slopes from front to back and ends in a wedge, giving the vehicle sort of a truck look to it. This rakish appearance is what gives the Matrix its unique look as well as an extra bit of room for people and their stuff. Indeed, both driver and front passenger sit higher up, very like in a small SUV or as in an automobile like Chrysler’s PT Cruiser. With four doors and a rear lift gate, the Matrix acts more like a truck, but its swish exterior simply refutes that fact.

Motorists have a choice between front wheel drive and a 4 wheel drive versions of the automobile, something not offered on the Corolla. The standard motor for the Matrix is a 1.8-liter DOHC 16-valve VVT-I 4-cylinder engine. Mated to a five speed manual transmission, the engine turns out a respectable 126hp. For more power, there is also a higher tuned version of the same engine delivering 164hp. It is getting twinned with a six speed manual transmission. Four wheel drive versions of the Matrix come equipped with a 4-wheel anti-lock brake system [ABS] which is optional on 2WD models.

Gas mileage for the Matrix makes the automobile a motorist’s dream. At 30 mpg city and 36 m.p.g road, the front wheel drive version of the vehicle produces some of the finest results of any non-hybrid auto sold in North America. A 13 gallon fuel tank makes 400 mile trips a likelihood on only 1 tank of gas; this is particularly good for the scholar who has to drive back and forth between college campus and home.

Unlike many vehicles of its size, the O.E.M crowd has produced a wide selection of products to help Matrix owners customise their vehicles. Hood protectors, tail light covers, polymer air dams, mist lights, hood scoops and vents, mud flaps, and paintable window covers are some of the Toyota parts and accessories pitched to youth, who are the first owners of the Matrix.

MSRP starts at US$15,110 [CDN$17,200] with a top of the line Matrix topping out at just below US$20K to about CDN$25K.

For the entire North Yankee market, Toyota sells nearly 100,000 Matrix’ every year. Not bad for a vehicle whose origins are reasonably easy but whose heart is actually sporty and youth minded.

For more reviews about sports cars, visit thesupercars.org and while you are at it, you might also want to have a look at used Toyota Previa.

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Wisely Purchase Your Next Car

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Rarely do people get the opportunity of purchasing the car they always wanted from the money that’s already saved up in their bank accounts. This is actually a dream come true for many people. That is the main reason why individuals who want to own their dream car opt for car financing. Car financing rates go hand in hand with car financing.

It does not matter if you are in the mind set of buying a brand new car or a used one. Car financing rates are more or less the same for both types. Luckily there are enough of online auto finance providers who offer competitive car financing rates to their clients. The agreements and contracts signed by both parties are very much flexible nowadays, giving the client more benefits than what they could have reaped in the past.  Then, if you have a Z4, you’ll need a BMW Z4 windscreen windblocker wind deflector.

With all sorts of car finance plans in the internet it is sometimes hard for a newcomer to the field to figure out which plan would give them the best benefits. Comparing the prices from several of these companies will help you in big time to come to terms in who will provide you with the best option.  Then, if you have a Z4, you’ll need a BMW Z4 windscreen windblocker wind deflector.

Times have changed for the better. Many auto finance companies today provide car financing loans to clients even if they suffer from bad credit scores. Some companies do not consider the credit history of a person, but focus more on his or her ability of repaying the loan with their current assets. Car financing rates are usually higher in almost every company; therefore one must be sure of their ability of paying back. Then, if you have a Z4, you’ll need a BMW Z4 windscreen windblocker wind deflector.

There are many third party online stores to provide several car finance rates so that you can choose the best which suits you. Having an idea about the value of the car that you are going to buy will assist you in this sort of a service. You can also track the rates with the previous history of the finance dealer with the graphs provided in the internet.  A rate trend index will provide you with the weekly updates in car finance news and events. Experts’ comments would also help you gain few tips in finding the next best car finance for your needs. After all getting a car finance could well be the biggest investment in your life and hence you are required to be double cautious about it.

 

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