Car Lover's Blog

High costs at the pump have you troubled? Find yourself at the pump yet again dishing out another $50 - $100? Well, you're not alone. The rising price of gas is on most of our minds and pocketbooks these days leaving us wondering if and when there will be a reprieve.

Until gas prices do normalize, there are some things that you can do to stretch that next tank of gas. Here are 10 tips that should save you a few extra bucks at the pump:

1. Instead of running multiple errands, consolidate your trips into one thus eliminating significant and unneccessary travel.

2. In congested, urban areas, avoid rush hour traffic. Grid lock and its start and stop travel is one of the quickest ways to drain that gas tank.

3. Resist the temptation to drive alone. Car pool with your co-workers. Carpooling with three of your colleagues means you only drive every fourth week saving you a bundle in fuel costs over the course of a year.

Read the full fuel economy article by William Bolton.

BMW is presenting the H2R Hydrogen World Speed Record Car. This prototype impressively proved the potential of a hydrogen car with a combustion engine, achieving nine international records in one day. This clearly proves the BMW Group's long held belief that hydrogen can replace conventional fuel without having to forego the performance and dynamics of a modern premium automobile.

Hydrogen being the lightest element in the universe is also the most common, available in an infinite supply. When mixed with oxygen, hydrogen burns in a virtually clean manner, creating water vapor as exhaust. Thus, BMW believes hydrogen is the fuel of the future.

BMW has seen the promise of hydrogen as a fuel for years. And today, hydrogen-powered, high-performance BMW vehicles are a reality. But building concept cars is just the first step; BMW's long-term goal is to help create a world of "sustainable mobility." Eventually replacing the cars that run on fossil fuels -- gasoline or diesel oil -- with vehicles that use this clean burning, environmentally friendly element is the carmaker's vision.

With numerous international partnerships, each dedicated to helping the world build a better future, based on hydrogen energy, BMW is set to achieve its futuristic goal.

Sleek and aerodynamic, the BMW H2R ("Hydrogen Record Car") is one of the first of a new breed of racecars specially developed to run on liquid hydrogen fuel. With combustion engine that can run on liquid hydrogen or gasoline to propel the vehicle, BMW H2R has already set nine international speed records at the Miramas Proving Grounds in France.

Read the full BMW hydrogen article by Jenny McLane.

First, let's answer the question; Why should you change your own oil? Because you can save time and money. You don't have to wait in line at the service garage or quick oil change shop. For ten bucks you can get the best oil and a brand new oil filter. And, it's so easy to do that you could train a monkey to do it.

Changing your cars motor oil is a very simple three-step process: 1. Drain the old oil. 2. Replace the oil filter. 3. Add the new oil. But before we go through the steps, lets answer a few basic questions.

When should I change my oil?

Look in your cars owners manual. Most auto manufacturers recommend changing the motor oil every 6,000 miles for normal service, or every 3,000 miles for severe service. I change my oil every 6,000 miles, and my engines run like new when I trade my vehicles in with well over 100,000 miles on them. One thing that I do is change a new cars oil after the first 300 mile break-in period. Then, after that, I change the oil every 6,000 miles.

What kind of oil should I use?

You are not going to save money by using an off-brand oil because your engine will wear out sooner. Use oil that meets the American Pertroleum Institute (API) classification SL. I use Valvoline, Quaker State, Pennzoil, or Havoline brand oil. These quality oils contain additives that make them work better and longer.

Read the full motor oil article by Stephen Bucaro.

People have to work to survive. The desire to maintain increasingly indulgent lifestyles drives 13% of workers to travel over 100 miles a day to get to and from work. These so called “stretch commuters” make the majority of these trips by personal vehicle, but when it comes to trading in their tired automobiles for newer models should they just settle for a bank auto loan?

Stretch commuters do not have a lot of time on their hands. They spend most of their working week either at work, or travelling to and from it. When they get home exhausted the last thing they want to do is to look for the best deal for a car loan. Therefore, getting a bank auto loan is the easiest and most convenient option.

Let’s quickly take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of this.

Advantages of bank auto loans

1. Convenience – Most consumers with checking accounts have held their account with one bank for a number of years. This may be due to inertia, but it is easier to manage finances if check accounts and a bank auto loan are held in one place.

2. You know your own bank – banks have strong brands and financial strength. They have spent years building a good reputation in society. This engenders trust from their customers who may find it daunting to take out a car loan from an unknown finance source.

3. Lower rates than car dealers - Bank auto loans will probably be able to provide you with lower interest rates than dealer loans. Most banks will offer to pre-approve customers for their loans so that they will have better bargaining power on the car lot.

Read the full car loan article by Peter Siu.

If you are a car owner who occasionally works on his or her own car, please don't go out and spend thousands of dollars on high priced tools. Professional mechanics make a living with their tools and need the best. If you are doing minor repairs on your own vehicles a lower cost tool set will do just fine. We have teamed up with AutoBarn.com to bring you the best price on tools for the DIYer. Keep in mind you can find most of these tools at your local parts store, but probably not at these prices. Let's look at the basics you will need for most common jobs.

The oil change:
Lifting tools: To gain access to the oil pan you need to get the front wheels off of the ground safely. Never leave the car supported only by a jack. A good set of jack stands or ramps are the safest way to go. Also don't forget to chock up the rear wheels to keep the car from sliding back. Even though you may have the emergency brake set, they can fail.

Oil filter wrench: Nothing is more frustrating than trying to get an oil filter off without the right wrench. I have gone to the extent of poking a screwdriver through the filter to spin it off..... this is not the cleanest way to change an oil filter.
Funnel: You have to get the new oil into the engine, and the less you spill, the less will burn off later while driving. Any funnel will do, but look for one with a long flexible neck, which will help getting into those tight places.

The brake job:
Disc brakes: You will need some special hex or torx sockets to get the caliper loose. Do not try using the wrong tool like a vise-grips or filed down bit.... you will damage the bolts. You will also need to retract the brake pistons once you have the old pads out. Using a C-clamp does work, but you have to be careful not to damage the pistons.

Read the full auto tools article by Kevin Schappell.

Most metropolitan areas have an abundance of tint shop choices. In the San Francisco, CA area alone, there are 30 different tint shops within a 25 mile radius. How does a consumer choose the tint shop that does quality work? What is the difference between a "Dr. Tint" and a "Quality Window Tinting"?

We at TintCenter suggest that you do a little research. First compile a list of 5 potential tint shops that are likely to do good work. Ask your friends an co-workers who have tinted their cars which tint shops they chose, look in the Yellow Pages and mark down the tint shops with large professional advertisements, or come to TintCenter.com and get price quotes from a local tint shops.

Once you have this list in-hand, its time to interview each dealer:

- How long have you been in business at this location? Do you have other shops in the area?

Good tint shops prosper despite other local competition by offering good service at reasonable prices. You should find a tint shop that has been in business for 5 or more years at the same location, this shows a stable business that will be there years down the road if somehow the tint goes bad.

Often times successful tint shops also open car tinting branches in neighboring cities. Although the installers may not be the of the highest quality since opening new shops means training new employees; however, branches are a sure sign of a successful tinting business.

Read the full car tinting article by Harrison Hung.

The all-new M6 features weight-saving technologies such as a carbon-fiber roof and 19-inch forged aluminum wheels that are almost four pounds lighter than regular cast wheels. With almost 500 horsepower available, BMW claims the M6 will hit 60 mph in under 4.6 seconds, and it will run to 20 5mph without the traditional 155-mph speed limiter. The suspension, though similar to that of the M5, is specially tuned to take advantage of the M6's shorter wheelbase and lower center of gravity. Massive cross-drilled brakes enable the M6 to pull up from 60 mph in less than 118 feet.

It is the most powerful 6 Series yet to be produced as it shares its power unit with the recently released M5. Acceleration is from 0-100 km/h comes in 4.6 seconds and the M6 reaches 200 km/h about 14 seconds. Top speed is limited to 250 km/h. It has a 5-litre V10 engine with a power output of 373 kW at 7 750 r/min, while torque is 520 Nm at 6 100 r/min. In city driving where not much power is needed, the BMW M6 automatically sets off in its comfort-oriented P400 performance program with 296 kW (400 bhp) engine output. The V10 power unit requires roughly twice as much cooling air as the V8 in the BMW 645Ci. The V10 is indeed the most demanding engine in technical terms. BMW’s high-speed engine concept allows an optimum gearbox and final drive transmission ratio. The two five-cylinder banks in the V10 are arranged at an angle of 90° in order to optimize the standard of vibration control and motoring comfort offered by full mass compensation on the crank drive. Taking the substantial forces of the combustion process, high engine speeds and vibrations into account, the crankcase comes in bedplate design. The extremely stiff crankshaft, in turn, runs in six bearings.

The engine control unit is ionic current technology serving to detect any tendency of the engine to knock, misfire and suffer mis-combustion. BMW’s seven-speed SMG transmission is precisely the right manual gearbox for conveying the power of the V10 via the drivetrain to the rear wheels. This gearbox from BMW M is indeed the world’s only sequential transmission with seven gears and Drivelogic. With qualities even greater than on a six-speed SMG gearbox, this transmission allows manual selection of gears with extremely short gearshift times as well as comfortable cruising qualities thanks to the automatic gear selection function.

Read the full BMW article by Jenny McLane.

Getting the best deal on your car insurance does not mean that you have to forgo the security of being covered by a well-known insurer. There are many ways of tailoring the policy and considerations you need to make to provide the cover you need at a lower cost.

1 Excess
All policies have an ‘excess’ or deductible – that is the amount you will have to fork out if you make a claim on your car insurance. It can range from £50 ($90) upwards. However, choose to pay an additional excess on top of the compulsory excess and you’ll pay a lower premium.

2 Residence
If your car is garaged overnight or on your driveway, you’ll pay a lower premium than if it was left in the street.

And those who live in the country will pay less than someone living in an inner-city.

3 Grouping
While you may be able to pick up a second hand Porsche at a bargain price, you’ll more than make up it for the cost of insurance. Check out the group - the lower the group number, the lower the premium.

Read the full car insurance article by Jason Hulott.

If you decide to finance your car, be aware that the financing obtained by the dealer, even if the dealer contacts lenders on your behalf, may not be the best deal you can get. Contact lenders directly. Compare the financing they offer you with the financing the dealer offers you. Because offers vary, shop around for the best deal, comparing the annual percentage rate (APR) and the length of the loan. When negotiating to finance a car, be wary of focusing only on the monthly payment. The total amount you will pay depends on the price of the car you negotiate, the APR, and the length of the loan.

Sometimes, dealers offer very low financing rates for specific cars or models, but may not be willing to negotiate on the price of these cars. To qualify for the special rates, you may be required to make a large down payment. With these conditions, you may find that it’s sometimes more affordable to pay higher financing charges on a car that is lower in price or to buy a car that requires a smaller down payment.

Before you sign a contract to purchase or finance the car, consider the terms of the financing and evaluate whether it is affordable.

Read the full car financing article by John Mussi.

Whether you buy a new or used vehicle, fuel efficiency--good gas mileage--is high on the list of most buyers' concerns. The difference between choosing a fuel-efficient car or one that guzzles gas, will either save or cost you money over the life of the vehicle, which could be substantial. Fuel efficiency varies widely from one car to the next. Obviously you can check the EPA rating for city/highway MPG on the window sticker, although most of us know the average car never reaches those numbers.

You can also check consumer guides, car magazines and Web sites, Web site forums or ask friends, relatives and co-workers which vehicles they recommend as fuel-efficient cars. Don't buy more car than you need, as larger vehicles generally have bigger engines that are less fuel-efficient. Find the most fuel-efficient car in the size group you're interested in, whether a two-seater, compact, mid-sized, SUV or pickup truck. There are several online sites where you can compare fuel consumption ratings of any car.

Your choice of transmission can also affect the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Generally, a car with manual transmission is a more fuel-efficient car than one with automatic-assuming you shift properly. And a manual with overdrive, tachometer or shift indicator is the biggest fuel saver, saving up to 10% on fuel costs. If you do buy an automatic, which makes more sense for larger cars, the more gears the better.

Under normal driving conditions, smaller engines offer better fuel efficiency and economy than larger ones. All other things being equal, the larger engine and the more cylinders it has, the more fuel it consumes. Additionally, cars with smaller engines usually cost less and gas costs are lower because you don't need higher octane gas. That doesn't mean a bigger engine is never a good choice. In some cases, a larger, more powerful engine may provide the greater fuel efficiency. If you use your vehicle for work or often tow heavy loads, a smaller engine could burn more fuel if it has to work too hard and function beyond its most fuel-efficient range.

Read the full fuel-efficient car article by Andrea Glass.

Your cooling system should be flushed every other year. No, I'm not crazy, but with all the new chemicals they use today, it will literally eat up the rubber hoses and deteriorate the heater core, and the radiator core.

Have a drain pan under the drain plug, or the lower radiator hose, to catch the old fluid. EPA doesn't want you to let it run out onto the ground--it will contaminate Earth!

Make sure the engine is cold! Hot antifreeze burns dramatically and it will burn you, too!

If you can get to the drain plug, (sometimes it's hard to get to) you can put a piece of 3/8 inch hose onto it. Put the other end into the drain pan and open the drain plug. This will let the fluid empty into the drain pan--that way all the fluid will go into the drain pan and not spread out and drip all over the place. Remove the radiator cap.

If you want, and it's much faster, you can remove the lower radiator hose from the radiator. Use caution, though, you don't want to break the neck on the radiator--that's a no-no.

It is better to have the drain plug opened, though, when you start to flush.

A word of caution! Antifreeze/summer coolant is very toxic. Don't get it on the body paint, or on your skin. Wash it off with water! Another thing, it will kill your pets if they drink it, so keep them, and children, away from it, remember, I warned you.

Read the full car cooling system article by Tommy Sessions.

Since new cars suffer high rates of depreciation in the first year, it is generally better to buy a relatively new car (at least one year old) that has already experienced its greatest loss in value.

Almost-new used cars represent the best values for automotive consumers and offer most of the benefits of new-car ownership at lower cost. Here are some of those benefits:

- Manufacturer's warranty is still in effect. Most new cars have 36 month general warranties, many have 48 months, and a few have 60 months -- all transferable to new owners.

- Manufacturer's new-car rebates and low-interest loans, which are very common, drive the price of used cars down. Almost-new used cars are currently undervalued for this reason.

- Optional equipment and packages on almost-new used cars are generally greatly undervalued, compared to original cost.

- Safety equipment is up to date, and comparable to new cars.

- Less risk of hidden problems than with an older car.

Read the full car buying article by Al Hearn.

Or is he only interested in one company?

There’s a relatively unknown market in the insurance industry that consumers need to know about. This is a market where a single agent can offer you multiple choices from multiple companies. This is the independent insurance agency market.

When you have an independent agent (IA) who you know and trust, you shouldn’t have to find a new agent again. As an IA you have the ability to “shop” a customer with numerous insurance companies, finding them the best rate and coverage, so they don’t have to. Imagine what happens the next time the renewal comes on your insurance and the premium is suddenly $500 higher than it was before. With an IA, all you need to do is call. They have the ability to try and find a similar policy with another company; you haven’t changed agents, given personal information to strangers, or gone through the monotonous task of shopping your insurance. Instead, you left it to an expert.

Depending on the size of the agency you are dealing with, they may represent over 20 different companies. This means you no longer have to go online and fill in the boxes, deal with 1-800 numbers, or “call-around” to different agents, each with one company to choose from.

Why have so few people heard of this market? While these companies do represent multimillion-dollar organizations, and some of the largest organizations in the world (i.e. AIG and Zurich), the majority of these agencies are smaller companies, not having the resources to launch advertising campaigns to the mainstream market via television, radio, and other forms of media advertising.

Read the full auto insurance article by Jordan Walt.

One of the most important steps in buying a new or used car is the test drive. You can do all the research you like, but it all comes down to the test drive. Driving the car must be comfortable, easy, and enjoyable. Follow these few steps and get the most out of your next test drive.

Check over the car before you leave the dealer's lot. Tires, fluids, and lights should all be checked before you drive. Also make sure there is gas in the car.

·If at all possible go on the test drive by yourself. You need to concentrate on the driving experience and the noises of the car. A babbling salesman will distract you and not let you get a good read on the car.

·Before leaving the lot, adjust the seat, mirrors, and the climate control system. You do not need to be distracted while driving an unfamiliar car. Make sure you are comfortable and have a good view of everything around you.

·Drive a variety of roads. Mix it up with some city driving followed by highway if you can. You should make sure to try every gear and reach highway speeds to fully test the car.

·Test the brakes. The steering wheel should not shake while applying the brakes. Also, check to see if the car pulls to one side while braking. Squeaks and rattles could also indicate worn pads.

Read the full test driving article by Kevin Schappell.