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If you’re like many people with their own car, you no doubt like to personalize certain aspects of it’s interior or exterior from time to time. From after-market alloy wheels to designer seat covers, personalization is something that most car owners do at some point to stamp their personality on their car and make it their own.One of the most popular ways to tailor your cars specification to your driving and personal style is to add or customize the in-car audio system. Whether it is a new car or one bought second hand, many people make the decision to personalize the audio components in their car to reflect their personal tastes and enhance the quality of the music experience where possible.

From simply adding a CD player to completely upgrading the sound system to a DVD audio visual entertainment package, there are a variety of options for most tastes and budgets.Whilst there are numerous retail stores both on and off line that sell vast ranges of car audio equipment, to get the best value for your money, you may want to consider purchasing wholesale car audio equipment. Many people may believe that buying car audio products wholesale requires buying in quantity, but this is not always true. Through car audio wholesale companies you are able to purchase different car audio components to allow your car audio system perform at its maximum potential. Unless you have purchased defective parts or just simply ordered the wrong parts for your audio system model, you shouldn’t have any problems. To prevent this, ensure you have the precise specifications of your existing audio system together with exact details of any add-on components you wish to fit.

Following this one very simple step will ensure that you receive the components that are right and compatible for your car audio system first time. When looking to purchase car audio equipment from wholesale suppliers, a few things you may want to check on is the warranties or guarantees that are available as well as the exchange policy. This information can save you wasted time and money if you purchase defective parts or ones that are not compatible with your car or model of audio system.Once you have received your car audio components all you need to do is have them installed correctly into your audio system. If you have the technical expertise to fit audio components you will save money and be sure of a good job but, first ensure that you are not invalidating any warranties by customizing the system yourself. Some manufacturers require that systems are fitted professionally to maintain the standard warranties.

So to get the maximum potential from your customized system it is essential that they are installed correctly After the components are installed check out the performance of your newly personalized audio system, if results are satisfactory, you can add the car audio wholesale dealer to your list of reliable car audio dealers for any future improvements you might make.

Drink Driving - People who under the influence of alcohol believe that they can control or handle a vehicle while inebriated are taking a big risk. Think about it, there are just as many automobile accidents with sober drivers, so what chance has a drunken dimwit got while intoxicated. Leave the car keys at home if you are going out for a couple pints. You will enjoy the evening better - not having to worry about taking chances. Risks are normally taken by the drunkard - purely because they are afraid to leave their car behind in the pub car park - fearing it may be stolen or vandalized. A good idea is to leave it in the garage. Drink driving - not a match made in heaven and believe it or not - this is where many an innocent pedestrian or driver has ended up (Heaven)The latest updates on drink driving offenses committed this Christmas totaled to a number of 225 but news updates said that fewer motorists were apprehended for driving under the influence of drink or drugs. A car is classed as an exhibit i.e. murder weapon if driven by a drunk.

Think before you drink and drive because of the devastating consequences that occur if control of the vehicle is lost. Drink driving - kills, maims and comes with a prison sentence if found driving over the legal amount of alcohol consumption.Motorists who risk having a pint or two of lager or couple of whiskeys and get behind the steering wheel of car could pay for it for the rest of their lives. If you are convicted of drink driving: then you go on file i.e. having a criminal record. Banned from driving on the roads, and your insurance premium will go through the roof.The current legal limit is: 35 microgram’s of alcohol in 100 milliliters of breath; 80 milligram’s of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood; 107 milligram’s of alcohol in 100 milliliters of urine. If you have been apprehended - for causing death by careless driving while under the influence of - booze or drugs, the maximum penalty imposed is 10 years in prison and unlimited fine and a ban for up to two years. So you see offenses as such can change your whole life and that of close members of your family - and not forgetting the family of the innocent road victim you killed that lies on the mortuary slab. Sorry will not bring them back.

Driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit or unfit through drink. The maximum penalty is 6 months imprisonment plus a fine of £5000 and a ban for at least 12 months, this ban triples to three years if you have been convicted twice in 10 years. Remember that after you blow into the bag i.e. breathalyzer, the result (reading) will decipher how long you are going to prison - for drink driving.If you refuse to provide a urine specimen or blood sample then this carries a maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment plus a fine of £5000 and a ban for at least 12 months. So it makes sense to let common sense prevail i.e. leave the car at home and you can drink your self into a state of oblivion. The mind boggles getting into a state as such (Drunken Stupor) i.e. not knowing if you enjoyed your self the night before or more importantly did you kill someone when drink driving.Drink driving kills whether your the driver or not. Be careful crossing the road.

Tire maintenance is an often overlooked aspect of car safety as car owners often focus on various exterior aspects and functionality of the car such as waxing and grooming, car engine & radiator system etc. The importance of properly maintaining your car tires cannot be overemphasized as tires are the only contacts between your car and the ground surface. Any damage done to the tires could result in unstable handling and potentially dangerous especially when the vehicle is going at high speed. There are 4 major functions of tires and they are as follows:* To support the weight of your vehicle - a average car weighs between 1.4 to 1.8 tons which is equivalent to the weight of about 30 people. The air and the build up pressure in your tire play the important role of supporting the weight of the car plus the driver and passengers on board.* To absorb road shocks - the tires, together with the car’s suspension system act as shock absorbents to reduce the effect of bumpy roads felt by the driver and the passengers in the car.* To transmit traction and braking forces - being the only contact between your car and the road, the rough surface of your tires provide traction when your car is moving off and also, provide the necessary braking when your car is coming to a stop.* To change and maintain the direction of travel - the tires turn according to the turning of the steering wheels, thus changing the direction of travel.It is important to maintain your tires well for a few main reasons:1. Tire are the only contact between your car and the road. The proper pressure level will ensure that it provide the right level of shock absorbent, required traction and braking, provide proper directional steering and lastly, support the weight of the car and the passengers within the car.2. Whether you like it or not, your tire loses pressure either on a continual basis due to passage of time or whenever your tires hit a hard object such as a curb or went pass a high hump.3. Tires can experience uneven wear and tear among the tires due to weight variation, over or under inflated tire will also result in uneven wear and tear on each individual tire.
After knowing why the tires are important to your car’s safe handling and your safety, here’s some tips on help you in knowing how to properly maintain your tires:* Know your tire pressure rating - this information is usually provided and can be found in the car’s user manual or in the glove box or at the car’s door jamb.* Keep to the required tire pressure, by checking your tire pressure on a weekly or monthly interval and when the tire is cold - which basically refer to one that has not been driven on for at least three hours. The reason behind is that tires that are ‘hot’ after some traveling will demonstrate higher pressure thus produce inaccurate result.* Tire rotation - the main reason for tire rotation is to ensure even wear and tear among the four tires. Tires of the car can wear at different rate due to the uneven weight distribution of the car or passengers in the car (over a period of time). It is the responsibility of you, the vehicle owner, to know that the vehicle tires need to be rotated and highlight to your mechanics when you want your tires to be rotated. The direction of rotation is usually provided by your car manufacturer, if otherwise, your car mechanic will usually know how to go about rotating the tires for the given the brand and type of tires that you are using. Make sure that proper wheel alignment is maintained after each rotation.* Visual inspection of tread wear - from time to time, you should check how well worn are you tires as worn tires can be dangerous as it only provide diminishing friction with the road and thus affect the optimal brake distance. Some tires come with marks to let you know when your tire needs to be changed, so look out for these marks and take action accordingly when it is time to change your tires. Another alternative to know the tread depth is to use a penny with a

Major car manufacturers have made claims that the hybrids are the vehicles of the future. This is due to the demand that people are now making as a way of negotiating the overpriced gas prices that have risen steadily over the past few years. The hybrid vehicle is certainly the solution that many people have been searching for.Gas prices have increased so dramatically over the recent years that many people are using public vehicles as way of going about their everyday lives instead of using their cars. So are hybrid electric vehicles the answer?It appears so as since the launch of hybrid vehicles and promise of cost savings the sales for many hybrid cars were much higher than expected. It is fully understandable that many people have keenly awaited the launch of the hybrid automobiles on the car market.

It’s time to discuss the technical aspects of the hybrid. Such vehicles are generally referred by that name if they run on joint power. Which is currently petrol and electricity which is stored in large capacity batteries.The reason why hybrid cars save fuel is because the car is not permanently running on petrol. There are time when the car is powered by the electricity from the batteries. This is the reason why the consumption of gasoline is dramatically lowered thus reducing the petrol bills of the owner.Over the years the technology that is involved in making a hybrid cars is constant evolving which is helping the manufactures make significant strides in modifying and making continuous improvements.Hybrid vehicles use a rechargeable energy storage system that is also referred to as RESS which comes with a propeller that supplies the fueled propulsion power that drives the car. Other countries refer to the hybrid automobile as a petroleum electric hybrid which also goes by the name of hybrid electric vehicle that use petrol to help provide the cars internal combustion engines, technical term being ICEs and the electric batters provide the requirement to power the electrical motors.

The major car companies from all over the world are currently in tight race to produce hybrid cars on a large scale. They seem to believe that hybrid electric vehicles the answer to many commuters large gasoline bills. The competition is getting so stiff that these types of cars are becoming more intensely marketed with the cars becoming more stylish.Opportunities do really come in time of crises so giant car makers are rushing to each offer the consumers their own hybrid car versions and models and at the same time, underpin rising demand for such cars, equating logically to higher sales and company revenues. Japan’s Honda and

Owning your favorite car is like catching up your dreams. Obviously, you would celebrate on buying your favorite machine. But, some people may find it difficult to buy brand new cars. This does not mean that you are devoid of your favorite and the most lovable dream machine. It is understood that your joy would know no bounds on owning a beautiful and shinning car.

If you are not able to afford a new one, then you can settle for used car. It may happen that the term used car may not give you a good feeling, but it is not that you will get a worn out car. If you have got up your sleeves up to buy used car, then you are in need of a used car dealer. If you stay in New York, you can visit your nearest used car dealer to check out a variety of colors of you favorite car. Black, blue, silver, red, maroon and various metallic colors are usually available with the dealers. With so many colors at display, you can select as per your choice. In this way, you will get your favorite car along with your favorite color. This is like getting more than expected.

Buying used car from a reliable dealer can be the best option available for you. Money is a big constraint in buying your dream machine. Buying used cars is a cheaper option available for you. It is because you tend to get your dream machine in quite a less price than brand new cars. In fact, the price drops down to at least twenty to thirty percent. Apart from the market price of the used car, prices also depreciate on the basis of the car’s condition. Whatever the case may be, at least you are getting the car in lower rate. While, buying used car, just remember that everything that shines is not gold. You should not rest assured that used cars will not accompany defects. It is always mandatory for every buyer to check the car completely, if they have some serious defects or not. Apart from this, another thing to be noticed in buying used cars is that you should cross check depreciated price so that you really get a best deal from used car dealer. If the dealer is charging higher amount than the genuine one or any defect crops up again after getting it amended, you can take the help of a lawyer to solve this matter. Under the Lemon Law, you can catch the dealer or manufacturer for this cleverness. Before taking this step, you should ensure that all the documents and papers of that used car are available with you. Whether in New York or any other city, used cars are available everywhere for buyers. If you are caught up in your working schedule and willing to go for a used car, searching online is the best option. Looking for used cars on sites enables you to have hand-on useful information. This information can prove highly beneficial for you in buying you dream car. Moreover, you will be on safer side as all the necessary information will be at your disposal.

People of all ages and backgrounds are becoming aware of the joys and benefits of owing their own personalized number plate. However, private number plates have not always been so affordable and were once seen as a status symbol for the rich and famous. Here is a glance at some famous registrations over time and the proud owners of these number plates.

To start with we can look at our Royal Family, who are no strangers when it comes to personal number plates with some excellent examples owned in the family. Queen Elizabeth 2nd owns the registration A7, which is one of the most prestigious car registrations ever released, originally issued by London Council in 1903. A1 was the first registration number ever issued in London and was picked up by Earl Russell, who set up camp outside the registering offices in order to secure the ultimate number plate. Other Royal registration owners have included the late Queen Mother who owned NLT 2 and HRH Prince Philip who has OXR 1. Princess Margaret used to own the registration 3 GXM whilst YR 11 is the Duke of Kent’s personal number plate. Last but not least is Princess Ann who once owned 1 ANN; however she gave it up for security reasons.Another “Royal” number plate that has graced the number plate market was sold at a DVLA auction in 1993. K1 NGS was bought buy an anonymous bidder for the royal sum of £235 000. For over 13 years this held the title of the most expensive private number plate ever sold until it stripped of its title by 51 NGH (SINGH) for £254 000.

Since then the record has been broken again and again. The owner of Chelsea Football Club Roman Abramovich recently increased the spending at Stamford Bridge, only this time it was on his very own personalized number plate! It is reported that Mr. Abramovich paid £285 000 for the registration VIP 1, which at the time equated to the most expensive personal number plate signing in the country! It was initially issued by the DVLNI (which is the Northern Ireland equivalent of the DVLA) for the forthcoming visit of Pope John Paul II. Since then it changed hands a few times before being signed up at

For most of us, the idea of buying a new car fills our hearts with dread. We nervously approach the salesperson. We discuss. We haggle. We finally walk out of the showroom with the keys in our hand, but we can’t shake the feeling that we may have overpaid for the car.How do you know what you should be paying for a new car? The answer is easy: Do your homework.

A little bit of time spent researching at home gives you the option of purchasing a car with confidence.The sticker priceThe sticker price of any vehicle is a nice bit of fiction. It is an inflated dream the dealership would love to realize. Car salespeople tell you that the sticker price should be the starting point of your negotiations. It shouldn’t be. In fact, the sticker price bears no relevance whatsoever to the proceedings to come. Don’t even look at it. The only reason to glance at the sticker in the window is to determine what options are available on that specific car if you are thinking of purchasing it off the lot. Otherwise, disregard sticker price entirely.

Where do I start?Your research should be complete before you ever leave the house. Begin by choosing the perfect vehicle. All car manufacturers have detailed websites that allow you to research the vehicle thoroughly and even “build” an ideal car. Once you have found the ideal car, it’s time to find out how much the car really costs. Again, the internet is your friend.Many websites offer insight into how much the dealership actually paid for the car – the invoice price. This price should be your starting point for negotiations. Once you know what the dealership has paid for the car, you can figure out what a reasonable profit would be.

Think you’re done? Not quite. While figuring out the profit margin of the dealer can be a good strategy to getting a better price on a car, there are a few other things to consider as well.Check to see if the dealer is receiving any rebates from the manufacturer on the vehicle. These rebates are offered to dealers on certain models. If a rebate is available, then even if the dealership sells at or below invoice price, they are still making a profit. Most car-comparison websites offer this information.Consider the popularity of the model. If you are trying to purchase a car that is in extremely high demand, you may find that there is no negotiation. The sticker price – or even above – may be the best deal you’ll find. Thankfully, this is an unusual situation.

With most car models, there is significant room to bargain a price you’re comfortable with.Once you’ve gathered all your information, you are ready to shop. Visit several dealerships and see who offers the best price. Once your salesperson realizes you are armed with all the inside info, you’ll get the best deal possible.

Of all the driving mistakes committed on our roads, incorrect signaling and changing lanes incorrectly are one of the most common. If you ask drivers what they most dislike about other drivers, nine times out of ten you would hear the response “drivers not changing lanes properly”. Making mistakes when changing lanes and signaling can often result in serious or even fatal injury. For people serious about learning defensive driving, lane change techniques are a vital skill to learn.SIGNALING - GET INTO GOOD HABITSIt is not always a legal requirement to signal when driving. In some states, you are only required to signal if your change in movement is likely to affect drivers around you. For example, when driving down a deserted freeway at 4.00 am with no other drivers for miles, it may not be necessary for you to signal a turn. Having said that, it is wise to “always” signal turns and lane changes. From a defensive driving standpoint, if you signal on every occasion, no matter what the circumstances, you create a habit which kicks in on autopilot, helping to keep you safe and accident-free.The important point about signaling is to ensure you are sending clear information. Take care to signal at just the right moment. Signaling too soon or too late causes other drivers confusion about your intentions. For example, oncoming drivers can interpret your signal to mean you want to turn later or sooner than you really intend.Some drivers deliberately do not use turn signals, believing that by forecasting a lane change other drivers will counter their move by closing their “gap” in the lane. Although this does happen, fortunately it only occurs in the minority of cases. Most drivers WILL make a space for you if they know you want to switch lanes.DEFENSIVE DRIVING LANE CHANGE TECHNIQUESLearn and developing these defensive driving skills for correctly changing lanes will go a long way towards ensuring you remain safe and accident-free on the roads.Scan the road ahead and plan in advance. Before changing lanes, scanning the road ahead and checking what other drivers are doing is vitally important. Things to watch out for include pedestrians about to step on to the road, other vehicles reducing speed, and drivers about to merge across your lane. Keeping an eye on the brake lights of vehicles in front of you is also a good indicator of trouble ahead. Cars beginning to slow down will usually hit their brakes giving a vital warning to alert drivers behind.Monitor the rear vision mirror. The rearview mirror gives a much wider view than the one provided by your side mirrors. The rearview mirror should be checked with a quick glance, simultaneously keeping your main focus on the road ahead. Things to watch out for when glancing in your rearview mirror include traffic coming up faster than you are driving. Also keep your eyes peeled for vehicles signaling to change lanes behind you who might be increasing speed to pass your vehicle.Always signal your intentions. Communicating with other drivers is the most important part of defensive driving. Signaling is done to communicate to other drivers what you are about to do. By signaling to other drivers, you give them the chance to slow down and allow your lane change to be made safely. For example, drivers in front of you who is planning a maneuver may stay put if they see your signal. It always wise to remember that people often make unexpected moves. Don’t take anything for granted and get into the habit of anticipating the worst!Don’t forget your blind spot. Turn your head and take a quick glance over your shoulder to ensure there is no other driver in the lane beside you. If you do see a vehicle there, stay in your own lane until the vehicle has gone past.Recheck ahead….(again) before changing lanes. Immediately before turning the steering wheel to navigate your lane change, check once again to make no driver is slowing down or straying into your path. Move gradually into your lane change with only a slight adjustment of the steering wheel. If it is not possible to change lanes when you check the blind spot, cancel the maneuver and prepare to begin all over again.Don’t change lanes at intersections. Make sure you plan your lane changes either before and after intersections where side roads, streets or crossroads meet the road you are using.When it comes to defensive driving, lane change techniques and signaling correctly are important skills to learn and implement into your daily driving. Make sure these are skills YOU learn and become familiar with, your life may depend on it!

Most of us never would want to see the inside of an auto body repair shop. At the most we can often smell the solvents being emitted by automotive body vehicle repair shop as we drive by and wonder how those people can make it through a work day never being precise and accurate in both matching the color of car panels and repairing auto, truck and S.U.V bodies after vehicle collisions.It is only by accident – car accidents that most of us end up inside the premises of our local, dealer or a chain auto body shop.Most shops now bear little relation to the establishments you may remember as a child – dark and dusty surrounded by both piles of used and new car parts as well as a mean guard dog in the yard.

There may be a few of those still around but they are a dying breed. Repairing cars now, especially with the electronics in today’s vehicles, requires both skill, education and training, sophisticated tools and an ultra clean, modern shop.Modern body shops now seem to be uniformly clean, well laid out and well lit. As well many body shops are laid out in several distinct separate staging areas. Vehicles are estimated in one area, body work done in another, electronic repairs in yet another area, painted in a very separate area, and finally detailed and presented to the customer in a display area.

If the vehicle has major damage, then it is moved to a disassembly area and onto a frame machine. Unibody construction is utilized by most autos today. Unibody is a an automotive and mechanical body term which describes how sheet metal is stamped, formed and welded together to form the structural portion of the car or truck body.

The purpose of the “frame machine” is not to straighten the car frame now – rather it is to straighten the unibody construction of the vehicle.Measuring the vehicle body for correct unibody alignment is more than critical. As little as one millimeter error is all that is allowed by most car, truck and S.U.V. manufacturers. Laser measuring systems are used by many body shops along with the frame machine to ensure that everything is straightened accurately to the decimal point.With the unibody of the vehicle straight, the car, truck or S.U.V. moves to the metal work area where new sheet metal is mounted and damages area straightened. This work is still done by skilled technicians and tradesmen using hammers and dollies, but even the work done by body shop technicians has been changed by modern technologies. Overhead vacuum lines are connected to the grinders and sanders to pull dust and dirt away from this part of the shop. Modern body shops can remain very clean and dust free- indeed modern electronics , and even the most modern hi tech electronics of hybrid vehicles demand this.With the entire metal straight, it’s on to the paint preparation area, commonly referred to as “paint prep”.

Quality shops will use dust extraction systems to remove the dust when sanding and spraying the paint primers. Infrared lighting systems may be used to cure primer paint quickly and properly. These infrared lights can shorten the cure time from 24 hours remarkably to as little as 20 minutes. All of these procedures both help you to get a higher quality assured job and get you back on the road in a minimal time span.Painting the final colors and clear coats is done in a paint booth. There are many types and brands of paint booths, however it is generally accepted the best are the “downdraft” units where fresh filtered air enters the top of the booth and any underspray is pulled downward and out through grates in the floor. The downdraft procedure of paint booths can produce the best and most consistent of paint finishes. In addition a well trained operator can make a great difference in final paint and appearance quality and consistency. A dust free paint booth of any design is better than a dirty and dusty paint booth of the highest end. Before spending your money or committing yourself to the job or repairs it is always best to ask to examine several examples of the shops work on several vehicles.

In addition ask to see finished examples of several different body types – cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. Look for smooth finishes with minimal dust specs and colors that match from panel to panel. These are the signs of a quality paint job done by a skilled and professional painter.It goes without saying that a professional paint shop will be proud of their faculties- the layout, equipment, training of their staff – and most of all their people.Such a shop should have no trouble, barring practical logistics, of allowing you a tour of their facilities. Indeed after all of their careful efforts they should be most proud to give you a tour and point out their strong points and capabilities as well as examples of their finished product.

We don’t have flying cars yet, but super expensive luxury and sports cars can already park themselves, adjust the window tint, or automatically slam the brakes to prevent an accident. While those options haven’t filtered down to the majority of vehicles yet, here are some amazing car features in ordinary vehicles that keep you safe, make driving easier, or are just plain cool.Steering Wheel Mounted Audio Controls: This “safety feature” is a must have for music lovers. Most systems will let you adjust the volume, CD track, change CDs, or switch between different CD and radio without taking your hands off the wheel, making enjoying your music nearly effortless.Intelligent key: This is a type of remote keyless entry that allows you to enter your vehicle and start it without taking it out of your pocket. Some of these systems also have a sleek push button start.Touch Screen GPS: Not only will these systems guide you through unfamiliar terrain, the touch screen makes them incredibly easy to operate.Memory Seats: This feature allows you to save two different settings for the driver’s seat, so if someone else drives your vehicle, just press a button and it returns to your saved setting. Some models even link the setting to each key, and will adjust automatically.Heated and Cooled Seats: Leather has always had a reputation for being cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but with heated and cooled seats, drivers’ bottoms will be comfortable in any season.Telescopic Steering Column: In addition to tilting up or down, the steering wheel can be pulled closer to you, or pushed further away, allowing increased comfort, especially on long trips. In some luxury models, this is a power option and can be set as part of your memory seat system.Advanced Airbag Systems: Once upon a time, cars didn’t even have seat belts. Now intuitive safety systems use body panel sensors to determine where an impact comes from, how severe the accident is, and uses this information to deploy the proper airbags at a rate proportionate to the force of the accident, occupant weight, and seat position.Stability Control Systems: Taking traction control one step further, these systems monitor individual wheel speed and direction, as well as driver input, to determine if control is ever lost, and can increase or decrease power to individual wheels to help the driver maintain control. These systems are so effective that they will eliminate any loss of traction, even full throttle acceleration in rear wheel drive, 300+ horsepower vehicles on gravel or mud.Adaptive Cruise Control: This technology allows the car to slow down or speed up in relation to surrounding traffic.Bluetooth: Talk hands free on your cell phone using your vehicle’s speakers and a hidden microphone. Unlike other systems, it uses your cell phone minutes instead of requiring an additional service.Most of these options aren’t standard in economy cars yet, but they may be soon. Side air bags are standard equipment in many cars, and all these features can be found in vehicles less than $35,000, and most in vehicles around $20,000 to $25,000.