I'll Notice The Dirt

As a car enthusiast I notice a lot of things, that most drivers simply over look.  Furthermore, my keen eye for the automobile allows me to help my friends, family,and even neighbors.  It's not something I can control, it's something I was born with, developed, and now is ingrained into my subconscious.  These are the things I cannot ignore and always look for, even before getting in the vehicle.

Low Tire Pressure

Yes, the first thing I look at when walking up to any vehicle, whether I'm driving or not, is the tire pressure level.  I'm not talking about having a flat, I mean I can look at most vehicles and tell if you are 10-15 lbs of pressure low.  Yes, it's important, having the proper tire pressure means more than just better gas mileage, it also translates into safety.  Furthermore, ride quality suffers if the tires are not properly inflated, which leads me to my next inspection point.

Consistency Of Drive Quality

Obviously I'm familiar with how my vehicle drives and am in tune to any out of place noise, vibration, or quirk.  But my super human abilities reach even further, I can sense issues with other peoples cars simply by riding along.  I may not be able to point out the exact problem, but I am capable of knowing if something is out of place.  This uncanny ability is both a gift and a punishment.

Body Imperfections

Another curse that I am forced to live with, the inability to ignore blemishes in automotive body work.  It tears at my brain and eyes, that smudge in the paint, that dent in the fender, I can pull my eyes off of it.  The good news is that I'll gladly suggest to you the best way to repair and buff out these problems, but rest assured, that just because you think it's not noticable, potential car buyers and enthusiasts know that it's there.

Throttle Hesitation

My wife can't tell, some of my friends can't tell, but no matter what vehicle it is, I can feel a throttle hesitation.  This is typically caused by dirty injectors, bad gas, or just a floppy pedal.  All of these are easy to remedy and can be taken care of by proper maintenace and the addition of a throttle body cleaner to your fuel system.  Being the buff that I am, I prefer running some Sea Foam through my vacum hoses and added to my fuel on occasions.

Conclusion

Just because you don't notice these imperfections, hicups, or annoyances doesn't mean others around you don't.  This point becomes increasingly important if you are looking to sell your vehicle anytime soon.  Ask a friend with super human abilities like myself, to make sure it passes the automotive enthusiast test.

(more...)

Car Maintenance

Some of us drive to work each day. Then we come home and go shopping or go out for a night on the town. So that means we put on a lot of miles on our vehicles. Then there are others who work from home or just don't drive as much. When you put a lot of miles on your car you have to do maintenance more often.  Things like oil changes and replacing air filters is a common thing.

Some people who do not put a lot of miles on their cars think they can just skip almost all maintenance. This is far from the truth. Sure you won't have to change your oil as often but other parts on your car will still need to be maintained.

One thing you need to do is keep your tires inflated. Regardless of how much you drive your car your tires need to stay at the rated pressure. If you do not keep your tires at the rated pressure they can wear in the wrong places. Have you ever seen car tires that are wearing on the outer edges? This can be caused by more than just a bad front end alignment. It could also be because they have ran them either pumped up too hard or they are running them too soft. Keeping your car tires inflated properly also will give you the better fuel mileage. A flat tire can make you lose fuel economy.

You also need to check your tires for wear and tear. A tire may look good from far away but up close you may see signs it needs replacing. If I tire starts to get weather cracks in the sidewalls and in the tread badly then you need to replace it. It does not matter how much tread is left on the tire if they are either old are starting to look bad replace them for your own safety.

Another thing you need to keep up with is your battery. If you do not drive your car hardly any and it just sits there then you need to either keep a eye out on it once a month or you need to disconnect the terminals
from the battery so they cant corrode. Even when you use your car your battery can corrode and sometimes does. You can use a baking soda and water mix to help remove acid buildup on the battery posts. Just make it sorta thick but make it runny enough so you can poor it on the terminals. Then get a brush and brush off the acid.

The last thing you should check is the fluid levels in your vehicle. You need to check your oil and transmission fluid often. This can tell you if they are low and if your car has a leak or is using oil. If you just had your oil changed and a month later your oil is low then you need to have your car looked at.

Maintaining your car is important for your own safety and the safety of others on the road. If you keep your car maintained you can lengthen the life on your car by a long ways.  This maintenance becomes especially important if you plan on storing your car for the winter.

Almost everyone has been shopping at a busy time of day or during a holiday. One thing about shopping during those times is how crowed the parking lot is not to mention the checkout lines. So you go shopping and park your car only to come back out with a bunch of bags and can't find your car. I know we have went shopping even during regular times and came out only to not see our car. Then you go around everywhere looking for your car until you finally find it.

Here are some ways to remember and find your car in a parking lot.

1: Park near Landmarks

Landmarks are basically signs or something that will not move that can help you find your car from a distance. Like at a theme park you can remember where you parked by
looking at what row and section number you parked on. At your local walmart there are not row numbers but there are landmarks. For instance you could use the front doors
as a land mark. All you have to do is park on the row in front of the doors. When you walk back out all you have to do is walk straight across and down that row.

2: Make your car look unique

I have done this before. You come back out say at night and you are looking for your car. You find one that looks almost like yours and you look into it realizing its not. In some cases I bet people have even put their key in or used the remote to try and unlock the car only to set the alarm off or find out its not their car! Every car is mass produced unless you build your own car so there are bound to be look alikes out and about while you are shopping. Making your car look unique with bumper stickers,magnets,decals or a custom tag can help you find your car easier amongst the look a likes.

3: Use the Panic Button

This tip works pretty good if you have a basic idea of where your car is. The wireless remotes that come with cars now days to unlock your car have a descent operating range on them. You can use this to your advantage to help you find your car. All you have to do is to hit the "Panic" button once and listen for your cars beep or whatever noise it makes. Do not hold in the panic button as the car alarm will turn on and make a lot of noise. In some cases vehicles make a sound when you unlock or lock the car so you could avoid accidentally setting off the alarm by hitting the "Lock" or "Unlock" buttons instead of the "Panic" button.

If you put these tips to work I bet they can save you a lot of time and hassle when it comes to finding your car in a packed parking lot.

Finding your Car.

Is it a 'look at me' personality or a need to blend in with the herd?  Wait, no, that's stupid, what are people thinking when they deface their cars with such ugly paint jobs?  I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what drives someone to paint a car with zebra stripes and I don't have an answer.

The good news is that it provides some entertainment for those of us who like to point and laugh.  I don't care how immature it is, I'm laughing at you, not with you.  Check out these ugly paint jobs below.

Looking towards the upcoming holiday I took it upon myself to find a collection of creepy vehicles for your Halloween themed pleasure.  Now these spooky and admittedly scary cars, trucks, and vans are a collection based on different reasons.  Not only can a vehicle be scary for what it looks like, but more importantly who may be driving them.

Free Candy Van

The Mitsubishi Eclipse has been around for quite some time, actually first manufactured in 1990 and was built under 3 different names.  The Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, and Plymouth Laser were all the same with different brandings.  In addition to different labels we've also seen some great performance versions, even the first generation Eclipse had a turbo version, the Eclipse GS-T.

Here we are 18 years later and more than just the cosmetics have changed on this 4 cylinder, cult inducing, small size car.  Below is a stroll through memory lane with the Mitsubishi Eclipse and where it came from to where it's going.

Check out more information about the changes the Mitsubishi Eclipse has gone through over the years at Wikipedia.

Mitsubishi Eclipse on eBay

Mitsubishi Eclipse GST Eclipse GST Turbo project Not running but new moter    US $200.00

Mitsubishi Eclipse gsx 1990 awd turbo eclipse gsx    US $610.00

Mitsubishi Eclipse turbo eclipse automatic front wheel drive car    US $1,200.00

Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse AWD Talon Laser Turbo GSX TSI    US $1,825.00

Mitsubishi Eclipse 1999 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE GSX TURBO AWD    US $2,100.00

Toyota is doing another push for the love it or loathe it Scion, with the special edition Scion Hot Lava xD.  This will be a very limited edition Scion with Toyota making only 2,000 units.  The Scion marketing ploy will entail 12 major cities, Website Banner Ads, and Newspaper ads all over the US.  This week it will be hard not to see some face of the Scion in your day to day life.

"Release Series vehicles give us the unique opportunity to communicate what our brand is about but with a twist," Jack Hollis, Scion's vp, said in a statement. "The smoking mobile billboards and street teams wearing the protective heat gear will engage consumers and bring additional awareness of the Scion brand and excitement to the xD RS 1.0's distinctiveness."

The Scion xD release marks the 5th Anniversary for Scion in the US and frankly it's being met with mixed reviews.  As far as a collectors car, time will tell, but for the giddy car lover in me I don't want one.  Of course, i was never one for the go-cart driving feel of the Toyota Scion.  But for a teenager who gets everything, $17,169 delivers the Toyota Scion Hot Lava xD.

Hyundai has announced that they will be releasing a Lithium-Ion Hybrid Elantra model by next year.  To me that says they will have this giant energizer bunny that seats 4 available by January 09.  The problem is that I've seen dates like this come and go and if released too early causes nothing but battery recalls.

Despite all the technology it's only expected to produce less than 40mpg.  Don't get me wrong, this is great, but guessing at what the price tag will be I could still buy a lot more gas by buying a cheaper car than what this thing could save me.  $4 per gallon hurts, but if buying a $10,000 less car means I can put gas in my existing car for a further 8 years, so be it.

Is it possible, can a car be so lean, so mean, so...so really plain that it can sell itself for less than $3,000? No doubt, when released the Tata car will be the lowest priced new vehicle in the world. Low priced goods may be the staple for India, but this is a new low that could possibly shake up the entire auto industry.

The uber low cost Tata is possible because the developer, Tata Group, decided that creating automobiles needed to be rethought. That is to say, more is not always better and options are not 'always' needed. Evidenced in the Tata car, the first one rolling off the assembly line will have no power windows, power steering, radio , and less one windshield wiper.

The biggest problem I have with the cheapy cheap car is safety. After all, how safe could a little vehicle be that sports less metal than a Britney Spears concert and twice as much glue?

Source Herald Tribune