We're not talking world wide, because that happened about a year ago, but Toyota has officially sold over 1 million hybrids in the United States. This sales figure includes all hybrids under the Toyota and Lexus branding, quite a feat. Gas prices last summer obviously helped drive the hybrid market, but there is something to say about having over 1 million hybrid cars on the road today from one manufacturer.
Toyota has been dominating the hybrid market with over 75% of the market share. Furthermore they have been offering 6 differnet hybrid badged cars under Toyota and Lexus manufacturing, where other domestic manufacturers are simply trying to catch up.
Continually pushing the hybrid envelope, Toyota plans to offer a luxury edition Priusy hybrid in 2010. No doubt, if anyone has any money left, greenies will be buying this luxury early adopted technology right off the manufacturing line.
So are we getting into the wrong time of year for a buyer looking for mustangs for sale? Personally I'm already kicking myself for not buying a new project Mustang to play with and break over the winter time. Unfortunately with warmer weather comes higher prices for mustangs for sale.
I sold my 92 LX last summer, mainly because I was over my head. Now, I've been getting the itch, like everyone else, which is driving the cost of Mustangs through the roof on eBay and local classifieds. While during the winter a nice running mid 90's Ford Mustang GT could be had for under $5,000 with plenty of goodies.
The outlook doesn't look good and I fully expect the price of Mustangs for sale to continue to rise until sometime in December. Maybe I'll luck out and find an actual local listing for a decent Mustang on Craigslist.
I just got done playing with a nifty little automotive gadget, a solar power digital tire pressure gauge. The auto gadget in question is from BudgetGadgets.com, which shipped from Hong Kong, so be prepared for a slighly longer lead time on your order. That aside, this Digital Tire Pressure Gauge arrived in great condition and professionally packaged for the long haul.
As for the tire pressure gauge itself, it is a phenomenal little auto gadget. It's well made, feels sturdy, and the plastic that it's made out of actually feels good in your hand. Although a little large, it obviously would fit perfect in a glove compartment and since it's solar powered you never have to worry about keeping batteries changed.
Some features that I immediately noticed was the red LED light positioned right at the tip of the gauge. This enabled easy finding of the valve stem in the dark or in poorly lit areas. Likewise the digital screen is backlit with a low red glow which makes for easy reading in any light.
As for accuracy of the digital tire pressure gauge, it appeared spot on. I checked pressures against a traditional tire pressure gauge and found no descrepancies, other than the digital being more specific. Also, the readings were returned immediately, no waiting necessary so less of a chance to lose air when checking tire pressure.
All in all I would recommend this $7.34 auto gadget to anyone, even if you already have a traditional tire pressure gauge. It definately makes a no brainer for my wife and serves as a pleasant reminder to keep our tires in proper pressure condition. Visitors from The-Grayline.com are also able to get a coupon for their purchase by using the code CM5OFF4, which will give a 5% discount at checkout.
Buying auto insurance becomes a complicated buying process, if you avoid the cheapest is best scam. One common difference between policy is full auto coverage and only liability coverage. So, what is full auto coverage?
I would consider full auto coverage an insurance policy that covers you if you cause an accident and if you are involved in an accident caused by someone else. Liability insurance only covers the person's vehicle you get in an accident with, it will not cover the damage to your vehicle. Full auto coverage however will cover both you and the other persons car in the case of an accident.
This question came up to me recently when I paid off two of our vehicles. If you have a lien on your vehicle the lien holder requires full coverage to protect their investment and loan collateral. Therefore, I had the option to drop down to a lower cost liability only auto insurance coverage. No thanks.
For the little cost involved per month, I would much rather sleep easier knowing that my vehicle was under full auto coverage. My wife and I are both really good drivers and (knock on wood) have only been in 1 accident our entire lives. But the peace of mind knowing that we will have money towards a replacement vehicle, because of our full auto coverage, helps me breathe easier.
Without a doubt there are a number of front bumpers to choose from when buying off of online auction sites like eBay. However, there are risks involved when buying a used front bumper, that may put your passengers at risk.
Bumpers are specifically designed to work with the vehicle they are mounted to. Furthermore most front bumpers are designed to crumple or flex a certain way under low impact. The potential for a used front bumper to have already been damaged, but massaged back to good looks, is high, so buy with caution.
A front bumper is not an interchangable item with other manufacturers or in some cases even model years. This may seem simple to some, but take it as a word of warning when trying to save money by buying a front bumper online. Also, be sure to check shipping rates before jumping into a good deal, only to find out it's not UPSable and can only got freight line.
Buying automotive oil for your car is like picking out a type of cereal, there are tons of options. Furthermore, each brand and type seem to offer the best solution and advancements others don't have. So how is a person, looking to change their own oil, supposed to pick out the right price point for the best benefit to their engine? Well, I'm here to help you sort it out.
In this article I will only be covering standard automotive oil for passenver car and trucks. If you are looking for automotive oil for a big rig, atv, or something else, please move along because that starts getting a little more complicated on the type of application you want to protect against. Let's start by looking at the factors that need to be considered with your individual car, to make the right decision.
How Many Miles
Depending on how many miles your car has will dictate what type of oil you need, or rather which would be best suited to protect your engine. Special automotive oil for high mileage vehicles, over 75,000 miles, will be formulated to better treat seals, rings, and other engine components that become brittle in older engines.
Valvoline recommends a product called Max Life, which specifically treats engine seals to help prevent leaks which are common on high mileage engines. Furthermore it aids in cold starts, prevents and cleans deposits, and ultimately improve fuel consumption and horsepower.
Valvoline also offers automotive oil in what's called a dura blend formula, which also protects agains the previously mentioned ailments of high mileage engines. It's a blend of synthetic and conventional automotive oil, which provides longer life and time inbetween oil changes. Also it contains additives that protect against your engine better than any conventional motor oil currently on the market.
Temperature also plays a vital role in which automotive oil you need to give your engine to drink. Sythentics are recommended for extreme temperatures, since it's less likely to break down in extreme heat or cold. By providing faster oil flow at colder temperatures Valvoline's Full Syn Power is capable of providing optimal starting power in extreme cold weather.
For high temperature environments full synthetic blend will protect your engine from wear. The sythentic oils improved viscosity stability means more protection in bad weather conditions.
The 'W' in engine formulations refers to Winter, contrary to popular myth that it's referring to weight. The w is found in automotive formulations like 5w30 and 10w30. Again, the W in automotive oil is short for Winter, not weight.
Traditional oils were graded by indications of say 10 SAE and would have the same viscocity as say a 10w30 multi grade automotive oil would have. Additives were added to the automotive oil so that any multi-grade oil you choose would keep a consistent viscocity rating throughout the seasons and temperatures. Generally speaking in most of the US, you wouldn't have to worry about so extreme tempertures to go with anything other than a multi grade 5w30 or 10w30 automotive oil.
To find out exactly what type of multigrade oil your car uses, simply refer to your owners manual or inside an engine information tag. One wouldn't necessarily be better than the other, just go with what your manufacturer recommends. Consider that 10w oil is tested for cold cranking down to -13 F and 5w is tested down to -22 F, are you really going to tell a difference?
Summed Up
I hope this article has shed some light on your next automotive oil purchase. As times get tough more and more drivers are changing the oil themselves and will save lots of money during the life of a vehicle. Just don't forget that oil filter no matter what type of oil you end up using.
Back in September I sugested using CenterCaps.net as a source for old hubcaps and center caps for almost any vehicle you drive. Unfortunately, the company has not held up it's end of the bargain and has done nothing but frustrate customers that I've sent to them. This post is a warning to those looking to buy centercaps, look elsewhere.
Some comments about Centercaps.net:
It looks like a good website but these guys have no customer service and do not stand behind what they sell. I ordered a cap and they sent me the wrong one. They would not respond to numerous e-mails about exchanging the cap and they do not have a phone number you can call. BUYER BEWARE!
I agree with Unsatisfied. I also purchased from centercaps.net and the items never arrived! Called, emailed — never heard from them. Had to dispute the charge with Visa in order to get my money back.
I’ve gotten into a big mess trying to help my folks who are not Internet-savvy to find center caps for their car. Here I thought I was doing them a favor, and it’s just a ripoff.
Avoid CenterCaps.net when possible, the reviews speak for themselves and I would hate for someone else to get ripped off. Remember, when buying online always make sure the company you are buying from has published contact information, this helps build integrity. Furthermore, it's much safer to do business via a brick'n mortar business as opposed to a wholesale drop shipper.
It's official, the 2010 Indianapolis 500 pace car will the 2010 Camaro. It's badged and beautiful and brings back memories of the 1996 Brick Yard Camaro pace car debacle I found myself a little too close to.
I used to work for a very large Kmart, where myself and the general manager were car nuts. Well, I believe it was Budweiser who helped bring in the Pace Car for promotion purposes and it was supposed to remain on Kmart's premises. The manager got special permission to take the car out for a night for a drive, being the nut he is, well I was gonna get to go for a ride. That ride never happened.
The next day I found out that the manager had let his 16 year old son drive the car around the block of his neighborhood. The planets aligned, but so did a Chevy Silverado in the side fo the 1996 Chevy Camaro Pace Car. Nobody was injured, but the car was a compelte wreck.
We never were priviledged enough to receive special edition vehicles at our location. And others were warned never to trust any Kmart employees with keys.
Believe it or not the Opel Ampera is a Chevy Volt for the European market. Not just simply rebranded like the Australian version Holden Volt, the Opel simply looks like a car I would want to buy. So why does the European version of the Volt look so much riskier than the American version?
Opel Ampera
Of course we are still probably 2 years away from it's actual release and concept cars have been known for their extreme styling, but the idea is grand. The lowered look, performance design, its possible out of an electric car...right?
Hard to believe only a few short months ago I was talking about how safe the Toyota Yaris was going to be for the US market. This little toy car was supposed to set records for safety and protection of it's drivers, despite it's small size. Well, apparently the experts found out otherwise and now Toyota is facing a large recall of the Yaris.
According to reports a foam pad near the seat belt could ignite during collisions. Sounds interesting, considering anything that's flammable has the ability to ignite in any type of friction collision. So to me, sounds a little suspicious, but I'm the type of person who believes in conspiracy theory. Hopefully Toyota will get the Yaris back on the road and selling to start improving sales figures going into 09.
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