October 20th, 2009 by admin

What’s up with Hybrid Vehicles?
If the price of gasoline has got you scared, and you’re thinking about maybe trading in your car for a moped, you’ve got half the solution right. It might be time to trade in your car, but forget the moped — get a hybrid car instead. The dictionary defines the word hybrid as: Offspring resulting from breeding between parents of two different species, and that’s a good definition for our purposes. That’s because a hybrid car has a power plant that’s a cross between a gasoline powered engine and an electric motor. What’s the big deal about hybrid cars? The automobile industry claims that a hybrid car can give you as much as 20 to 30 miles per gallon more performance than a standard gasoline engine. That means that you buy less gasoline, and buying less gasoline leaves more money in your pocket. You’ll need that extra money, however, because hybrid cars are still relatively expensive compared to traditional gasoline-powered cars. As more hybrid cars are sold, manufacturing prices will drop, and that drop will be seen in the selling price. How does a hybrid car save gasoline? In a typical automobile, the engine is connected to the transmission via a mechanical link called the drive train. When the engine’s sparkplugs fire, they ignite gasoline vapor which pushes a piston up and down. This piston movement gets transferred to the transmission via the drive train. The transmission turns the wheels and the car goes down the road. Well, the hybrid car is almost exactly the same except that in addition to the engine being connected to the transmission, an electric motor is also connected to the transmission. Actually, there are two different versions of hybrid cars. The one that was just described is called a parallel hybrid, because there are two different energy sources connected in parallel to the transmission. The other type of hybrid car is called a series hybrid because the gasoline engine works in series with the electric motor to power the car. This is accomplished by having the gasoline engine either charge the car’s batteries, or power the electric motor. The gasoline engine doesn’t actually turn the car’s wheels at all. The parallel hybrid operates off of the electric motor when the car is being driven below a certain speed, and the gasoline engine kicks in when that speed is exceeded, or when sensors in the car indicate that the driver has accelerated suddenly as if to pass or to avoid an emergency situation. Of course, the gasoline engine is always running even when the electric motor is powering the car, so some gasoline is always being used. The series hybrid is always running off of the electric motor, which restricts the top speed of the car, and the gasoline engine only kicks in when the batteries need to be charged. Like all automotive claims, your mileage may vary. Even so, if you’re looking to spend less money at the gas station, and avoid much of the effect of rising gas prices, you might want to park a hybrid car in your garage. Diane Nassy is the founder of <a href="http://www.save-on-gas-prices.com">http://www.save-on-gas-prices.com</a> . Visit her website for great tips on ways to save on rising gas prices. Email : <a href="mailto:httpdeeljeabiz@gmail.com">deeljeabiz@gmail.com</a>
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

A Woman's Guide to Basic Tire Care
Women certainly are not helpless. But sometimes we are a little overwhelmed working a 40-hour week, taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. The car is just another added burden when there isn’t a man around to tinker with it. For the woman who finds herself in this situation, this is a short primer on routine tire care that will extend the life of your tires and hopefully make your life a little bit easier. Check Tire Pressure Regularly: Tire pressure should be checked whenever you suspect a problem or at a minimum, seasonally. Symptoms of improper tire pressure include excess wear and squeeling when going around a corner (for under-inflated tires) and reduced traction (for over-inflated tires). Even the temperature can affect your tire pressure. Check your owner’s manual to find where they’ve posted the proper tire pressure (usually on one of the doors) and be sure to keep it at that level. An improperly inflated tire not only wears quicker, it can also be dangerous when stopping and can cause tread separation. You can purchase a tire-pressure gauge at your local auto parts store, use a gauge at the gas station or ask your tire dealer to check it for you. Have Your Tires Rotated: Tires should be rotated every 5000 - 6000 miles. For various reasons, all four tires on a car do not wear the same. The purpose of the tire rotation is to allow for even wear and an extended life for your tires. Some manufacturers recommend “cross-rotation” (moving the right-front tire to the left-rear, etc.). Check your owner’s manual for it’s recommendations. Have your tire dealer rotate your tires regularly. Check Your Wheel Alignment: If you’ve hit a pothole or scraped your tire on a curb, your wheels may have been thrown out of alignment. Symptoms of wheels that are out of alignment are excessive wear (one tire may wear more than the others) and steering problems. You may notice that your car veers to the side when you’re on a straight road or the car doesn’t steer properly in a turn. Unless you notice any of these symptons, you should have your alignment checked annually. Have Your Wheels Balanced at the Same Time They’re Rotated: An improperly balanced wheel will cause a vibration at higher speeds (50-70 MPH) which is noticable in the steering wheel (if a front tire is out of balance) or in the seat (if a rear tire is out of balance). It will also increase wear of shock absorbers, struts and suspensions. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should have your tire dealer take a look. He will need to locate the heavier part of the tire and attach a lead weight opposite it to counter-balance it. Unless you notice any of these symptoms, you should have your wheels balanced every time you have them rotated (every 5000 - 6000 miles). Debbie Pettitt Everything Tires http://everythingtires.com Debbie Pettitt is webmaster for Everything Tires. For additional articles and information regarding tires, visit http://everythingtires.com.
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

US Government Car Auctions
In the United States of America (US), it is very simple to get a pre-owned vehicle. People know that the finest place to buy or sell their cars is not through dealers or showrooms, but the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA is a federal agency that offers vehicles in auction. Individuals can also sell their own vehicle through auction. Government agencies such as IRS, DEA, FBI and the police departments acquire 1000s of cars each month through seized and foreclosure laws that are auctioned off to the general public. These cars are listed and sold at up to 95% off of their original values and sometimes, these auctions may start from $100 only. These cars are sold very quickly as their storage costs are very high. A large number of fresh or approximately new cars get forfeited or seized by the financial institutions everyday as thousands of people fail to pay their car mortgage or lease costs. These cars are also auctioned off in a hurry, because the rate of accumulating the cars compensates the banks’ ability to get the lost money back (similar to the police auctions, etc.). As a result, for some fortunate people who have the access to straight sources, find themselves weighed down by very cheap car offers that look unbelievable to the average car buyer. This is real and is advantageous to many car dealers. In addition, US government also sells its own vehicles after a certain period of time due to either change in policies or due to financial concerns. At these times, the vehicles are written off the books by selling out to the general public. Government Vehicles may come from several different sources. Generally, a vehicle can only be sold at a government auction if it is purchased under a federal or state government contract. To appreciate the numbers of vehicles up for the suction in this way, one needs to think of the long list of the different departments and levels of government in the US. Some of the sources of these used vehicles include the Federal Government, State Government, Local Councils organizations, Police Services / departments (incl. Sheriffs/Marshalls Dept.), Fire & Emergency Services, Religious Groups & other Non-profit Organizations, Universities & other Education Organizations, as well as Hospitals & Ambulance Services. Thousands of repossessed and seized vehicles are also auctioned off at these auctions. By carrying out a simple hunt on your Internet, one can benefit from these great cars available in all kinds and price range. Car-Auction has a database full of thousands of different cars waiting for the bid. One can convert their dream car to reality by purchasing it from government & surplus auctions! Buying a car can be a difficult and stressful process but GAS makes it enjoyable and fun experience. However not everyone can buy cars in this manner as this source of revenue is protected for the majority of car dealerships and not journalized. The general masses might have to go through the dealer or a classified ads routine. However, several organizations have gathered enough information and access rights to be able to let their members enjoy a multitude of the direct sources, whereby one can find their next vehicle with up to 90% savings off the book value price.Get yourself a cheap car by browsing our section on <a href="http://www.gov-auctions.org/">Government Car Auctions</a>. Get all-important updates about <a href="http://cars.gov-auctions.org/">Local Car Auctions</a> through our Blog.
Source: www.ArticlePros.com