Thursday, November 27, 2008

The Right Way to Buy Fuel Saving Cars : new cars 2009

The Right Way to Buy Fuel Saving Cars
by Jim Warren
You should be extremely careful in buying your new car what with sky high gasoline prices in the market. Not exercising care in this aspect would mean you ending up getting a car that will gulp down a lot of fuel, yet not get you driving anywhere.Jack Nerrad, managing editor of Kelley Blue Book, believes that there is an element of being wise by the pennies and foolish by the pounds.Getting StartedFueleconomy.gov is one of the best places you could get started. This site is operated jointly by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. This site gives you the city and highway fuel economy for all the cars, market passenger cars and trucks, sold in the USA.A new testing system was introduced last year. This testing method has produced realistic numbers as opposed to previous years, which did give some really inflated numbers for the cars.Along with these information, you would get all the additional information that will help you in choosing a car. All you have to do is to click on a particular car, and you would be able to find all the information you wanted to find.In the page where all the details of the car are given, you would find the annual fuel costs. This is one good comparison between vehicles. In an instant, you would be able to compare a fuel-efficient vehicle with let's say a Suzuki sedan.The Chevrolet Tahoe and the Ford Expedition differ just by the 2-mpg. But did you know that in terms of fuel costs, the difference is about $435 every year. On the other hand, you also have the Toyota Corolla compact car and the Toyota Camry midsized car, both different by about 4-mpg, but differing by $270 in terms of fuel costs.You would certainly need to keep an eye on the fuel efficiency as this is one of the main determinants before you get buying a car.Fueleconomy.gov's annual fuel cost estimates are based on 15,000 miles per year of driving. This number is evenly split between the city and highway. Before looking at these numbers and trying to apply them to your case, you would do well to look into your case.Factor in All Other CostsBefore buying a car, you would need to factor in the depreciation costs. This is the difference in the cost at which you bought the car, and the price at which you can sell the car, at the time of selling.Let us take the example of The Honda Fit and Ford Focus. These cars do not differ a lot in their prices. The Ford Focus car is lesser efficient in fuel. This almost causes it to lose $3,600 more in depreciation over a period of time as compared to the Honda Fit Model. Depreciation costs thus play a deciding role in making you choose the right car.Just so you know, this depreciation cost would not be too big in difference in the case of cars that are priced similarly.Don't Get Caught Up in HypePeople often make the mistake in thinking that buying hybrid cars would get them to be more fuel-efficient. This is a myth that requires some explanation.Hybrid vehicles are not available a lot in the market. Add to this the fact that some of the non-hybrid vehicles come cheaper than the hybrid vehicles. One of the main reasons for this is the use of hybrid technology in the hybrid vehicles, which makes them a touch expensive.Compare Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the Toyota RAV4 for example. You would find that the Highlander has a fuel economy of 26 mpg. This makes for a spacious and a three-row SUV. On the other hand, you would find the Toyota RAV4 is a touch smaller than the Highlander. With that being said, you would also find that the price of the RAV4 is a touch less.You could look at the Toyota Prius if you are really preoccupied with the thought of buying a hybrid vehicle. This car surely gives good performance and other features that makes it a car to buy for the price you would pay for it.One of the best known cars for effective use of hybrid technology is the General Motors' Saturn Vue Green Line. This car uses a mild hybrid system. Use of the mini hybrid system ensures that the car just does not run on electric power alone.This enables the car to give good fuel economy. Overall, it must be said that the supplies of components for hybrid vehicles are tight.From this summer onwards, you would find a lot diesel trucks hitting showrooms as opposed to the gas trucks. Now, these trucks do have a good fuel economy but are also priced a bit higher than their gas counterparts.Gains on the fuel economy front and a higher resale price of these diesel cars surely should make them good buys over the next couple of years. Considering that these benefits will stay with you for some time to come, you would find that diesel cars are indeed popular.Don't Forget Your Real NeedsOne of the important things you would need to think of is your need. Why do you really want to buy a car? Do you really require a SUV for your driving needs? Get out of the mindset that small cars do not offer space for people to sit in.Small cars like the Nissan Versa offer good legroom and seating space for people to sit in. This could easily be compared to some of the midsized cars like Toyota Camry. One big advantage of using a Versa is its fuel economy. This car runs four miles further than some of the midsized cars thus saving you about $269 every year.One thing you need to look at carefully are the trade-offs. This could hurt you in the longer run, especially if you wish to resale this at some point of time.With most cars, you would need to take into count the advantages of an all-wheel drive. See if it impacts your fuel economy. If it does, you would be advised to stay away from it, because somewhere down the line you would realize that the resale value for such cars is low.Gas prices are an important point to think of before you get buying a new car. With that being said, this surely should not be the only thing that consumes your mind. If you look only at the gas prices and not think of other benefits the car may offer you, you could end up on a losing deal.
Posted by Land Of Smile &
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Friday, November 21, 2008

Beware of the Doghouse- Hilarious!

This is a great video, and comes to rescue us men just in time for the holidays... avoid the dog house at all costs! But check out this video!

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Friday, November 14, 2008

Can A Truck Really Run On Water? : New hybrid water cars review

Can A Truck Really Run On Water?
by Jim Warren
Have you heard truck that runs on water? It may sound surprising to some but it is quite real. Some people just do not believe it to be true and think that someone would have played a joke on them. And it does! To be honest, this new idea does break all rules that truck has to run on some form of gasoline.
Even electrically run trucks can be thought of but to think of a truck that can run on water is outrageous. The idea is noble and in a sense, can save one a lot of money provided they take interest.
The gasoline prices are anyways high, and by using water as an alternate fuel instead of gasoline, you could convert the gas guzzlers into mean machines for sure. For you to know, how can you use water to run your trucks, you should read this article.
You would already be thinking that you should be pouring water into the engine. Do that and be prepared to be hit by a hefty repair bill. See - Water is made of Hydrogen and Oxygen. All you have to do is work a technique in separating the Hydrogen and Oxygen. Once you do that you could use Hydrogen, a highly inflammable substance as fuel.
Now they key is - How do you do it? With a process of electrolysis, you could easily break water into Hydrogen and Oxygen separately. There comes the need of an electrolysis device that could do this task, because you cannot do this manually.
A truck that runs on water uses an electrolysis device. This device is used to extract hydrogen from water. The hydrogen extracted can be used as a fuel source in the engine. There are couple of challenges with this working here - 1) Enough amounts of Hydrogen has to be generated, and 2) There has to be a mechanism by which the hydrogen can be transported to the engine. Drivers who have used this as a source have reported difference in results. Thus, you may be better off finding if you can use this as a source or not.
"There's a sucker born every minute," carnival king P.T. Barnum allegedly proclaimed in the fall of 1869. And while Barnum was never known to own an auto dealership (after all, he died in 1891 -- several years before Henry cranked out his first Ford), some might believe his words live on in the heart of every car salesman.
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Honda is on Charge : New honda 2009

Honda is on Charge
by Mark Creese
To all intents and purposes Formula One should be the most exciting sport on Earth. Just one look at the key ingredients that concoct this sport has me salivating with excitement. Firstly you have a global giant of the car world such as Honda breaking away from the hatchback market and producing nearly 1,000bhp in a car that weighs less than the original Mini. Secondly this outlandish performance is put in the trust of 20 of the most skilled drivers on the planet, who are only ever 2-3 seconds away from a high speed shunt. Thirdly, the races take place in the most exotic locations around the world, including: Bahrain, Monaco, Brazil, Australia and Singapore. Why oh why then is it so dull?
As a child I'd drag myself out of bed at 3am just to watch a Friday practice, before repeating the feat for Saturday qualifying and Sunday race day. I knew all the drivers statistics, why rear down force shouldn't be an issue around the Hockenheim circuit and the past winners of the championship for 50 years. Much like a lot of the population I've tired in recent years of no overtaking, the same winners and consistent rule changes that try and fail to re-ignite excitement. Michael Schumacher was the greatest driver in the history of the sport but his constant winning also destroyed my love for it.
Then there was the tobacco sponsorship ban of a few years ago. Such a furore was made over banning the cancer-givers that the sport's focus was lost. So what that I fancied a cigarette after watching 'Marlboro' on Schumacher's car cross the winning line again, the advertising really wasn't the root of the problem Formula One was suffering.
Not content with banning cigarettes, overtaking had to be improved (or at least occur once in a race). So cars were slowed down and made more difficult to drive. The result? The best drivers were still in the fastest cars and could cope far better than the weaker drivers already in cars to suit their abilities. The emergence of Lewis Hamilton last year has certainly gone some way to undo the monotony of the now-retired Schumacher era. Not only is he the first black driver in Formula One, but he's super-quick - if a bit erratic.
Problem is that even if we overlook the unsolved overtaking problem, the President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Max Mosley's sexual preferences, constant rule changes and Lewis's efforts to promote the sport, there's one massive problem that looms like an Eagle over its prey - global warming. With the Earth dying thanks to mankind's greed it seems everyone from every walk of life is being encouraged to recycle, use less energy and travel using green transport. I guess doing four miles to the gallon at 200mph every other weekend, with hundreds of articulated lorries, private jets and motor homes in tow doesn't quite reflect that Formula One is listening.
Well maybe Honda has got the hint with their 'Earth' car from the 2007 season. Sponsorship free and painted with the planet Earth on it, Honda sold every pixel on its livery with each donation helping towards climate change. This season's car has continued with promoting the dangers of climate change in a more subtle manner and once again no sponsorship - wise when you consider the car was previously run by BAT - British American Tobacco.
Ok so you like Formula One, you love Honda, support Jenson Button (although you agree he's not much cop) and therefore want to reflect this in your everyday life - whilst saving the planet. The answer is a simple three words - Honda Civic Hybrid. Yep Honda has produced an eco-friendly car that doesn't need plugging into the wall, look stupid or cost the earth. The Honda Hybrid looks like any other saloon which when you consider the stylings of most electric or hybrid cars is a major plus point. Road Tax in the United Kingdom is stupidly expensive so having to fork out a mere £15 a year for driving the Civic Hybrid is probably all the encouragement you'll need to buy one. The other justification for buying one is that other than great fuel economy thanks to the electric motor doing a fair proportion of the work, it's actually a good drive. Yes it's not a 0-60mph monster but every other aspect is as you'd expect from a car from the Civic range - it's a main contender in the green race.
So there you have it, buy a Honda Hybrid and watch Formula One guilt free. Now if Jenson could just overtake someone…
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Monday, November 10, 2008

What Syd's Eastside Dugg

http://digg.com/users/AutomotiveParts
If you are writing articles to promote your business, create awareness for your cause or to establish your own professional expertise, you will probably want to add Digg to your publishing resource toolbox.

Even if you are not an article writer, Digg.com seems to have caught on because it allows users to list, promote & view each others news, images & videos found anywhere on the net. So it would also come in handy for photographers, graphic artists, videographers and podcasters, as well.

And being able to recommend not only your own works, but the stuff on the internet that you find and want to share with your friends is really what social networks are all about, anyway. And because of its broad range of coverage, Digg is easily a great tool that is intertwined as a news, photo, art and video promotion service by the online community as a whole.

See what Syd's Eastside has Dugg on Digg:
http://digg.com/users/AutomotiveParts
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Our Page on SearchWarp

http://searchwarp.com/Author69559.htm
SearchWarp is also a great place to use for article distribution. But please note that we don't simply write an article and upload it for redistribution on other websites, we usually hold onto them for a period of time before we allow them to be redistributed, thus establishing that our website is the original source for such duplicated content.

Our own article directory can be found in our own Syd's Eastside Auto Parts website Articles section. By keeping an archive of our articles here for some time before redistribution, Googlebot will have scanned our website articles and had any particular article available through search long before it shows up on any article site. This can usually be verified by using the WayBackMachine.

Finally, after a period of time on our own website, we may release any articles we have written through article directories such as SearchWarp.

SearchWarp is a unique website though, because it is more than an article directory. It is also a writer community and offers assistance to those who want to learn how to write, or to learn how to write better. This is why SearchWarp is also identified, to me, as a social networking site, because of the existing community and the effects a membership can have on that community. Plus little contests are run for writing articles on certain subjects as are appropriate and relevant to the time.

Our Page on SearchWarp:
http://searchwarp.com/Author69559.htm
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Squidoo

http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/SydsEastside
Squidoo offers great Social Networking Site Integration and Easy Article (Lens) Publishing.

Squidoo offers a great place for those who are interested in articles on any particular subject. Squidoo actually refers to each article as a lens, and their writers as lensmasters. They claim they are doing it just to be difficult, but I gather it has something to do with good old fashioned marketing. It is interesting, though, how they are a popular social networking site without relying so heavily on generic keywords.

Although I found the article editor hard to use because of the lack of good instruction while using it the first time, after posting the lens (article) I easily was able to realize my first time mistakes and will probably get it right the next time. However, if you are using Squidoo to distribute previously written articles, it seems that it might be a little harder to use as simply another distribution outlet because you shouldn't simply copy the article and paste it in as on most article distribution websites such as one of our favorites, SearchWarp.

Our Page on Squidoo:
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/SydsEastside
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Saturday, November 8, 2008

On Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/people/Rork_Feimer/1625856528
Facebook is actually quite a lot more interesting than I thought it was. It also can act like a homepage for the not-so-geeky oriented who like an easy way to setup a homepage, much like Blogster or CarSpace, but it goes yet further by incorporating many of your other social networking services, too. Its easy to setup groups, as well. It's also easy to upload & share photos and video. Your default public profile page acts as a "wall" that you write on and you can easily communicate with your friends this way.

I suppose some may say that I had cheated, as I had put-up a profile to represent and promote my employer. The name RorK Feimer I used is actually derived from the owners of Syd's Eastside Auto Salvage, Ron & Kathy Feimer. And this may be so, but you have to remember that I am employed to promote the Syd's Eastside Auto Parts website, and not to promote my own websites and business interests. In the same manner, I still want a profile on Facebook that reflects me and my own interests, both personal and business related. On top of that, the business and my opinion may differ on a variety of things.

That said, if I am cheating, so are a great deal of other businesses which are doing the same thing on Facebook. All we are looking for is a profile that we can promote as an employee, while maintaing a separate personal profile for ourselves outside of work.

So, I'm actually not worried about it. Heck, this blog entry will appear on Facebook, anyway. Because Facebook is configured to post my blog entries that I post here on that site, as well. So by adding blog entries here, I am also updating Facebook.

Facebook also supports a variety of other social networking websites. Twitter is one, Digg is another. As these services are updated, so is Facebook.

The Syd's Eastside Auto Parts Page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rork_Feimer/1625856528
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Twitter

http://twitter.com/AutomotiveParts
Twitter is a microblogging system where users can give shout-outs in 140 character chunks. Although I would honestly recommend allowing up to 255 per post myself (and am often ticked off that it isn't), it is an interesting concept that allows some interactivity between friends. Plus, there are a variety of tools for it that I haven't even explored, yet.

Despite its micro limited posting format, Twitter seems to be not only a decent way to communicate, but also to promote your business, your websites, your blog, your portfolio, your groups and even your causes.

In the long run, Twitter works. But I do think 140 characters is too tightly wound and someone else will probably come along and offer the same idea with a more generous 255 character limit. Perhaps someone already does, and I am yet to find it.

But Twitter has also embedded itself into the social networking scene because a few of the social websites actually display your latest Twitter posts within your public profile page (once you have set it up with your username on Twitter). The result is that by using this one service, you could potentially update several other websites, including your own.

Our Page On Twitter:
http://twitter.com/AutomotiveParts
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Edmund's CarSpace

http://www.carspace.com/blogs/autoparts/
Edmunds sponsors a great automotive community website. Both individuals and businesses are welcome to sign-up for free. Each account has a blog available and automotive community groups are easy to start.

Sure, CarSpace is a way to get you into the Edmunds branded websites and further promote their brand. But if you look around their really isn't anything like this for the automotive community that I have found. There really aren't too many niche sites available that are dedicated to the automotive industries for automotive businesses, car clubs, or racing & auto enthusiasts.

I am just starting at CarSpace, but I'm not going to be giving up our blog here and shifting over to their blog, either. For now that will just compliment this one. So for now I'll kind of post there as I discover the website and figure out how we might best make use of its services. Because there is a whole community of like-minded people and a ready established market there to tap into if you know how to do it. Perhaps Syd's Eastside will eventually take that page over if it becomes important for us.

My Page at CarSpace:
http://www.carspace.com/blogs/autoparts/
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Delicious

http://delicious.com/SydsEastside
One of the first social networking sites I signed-up a very long time ago was del.icio.us, a worldwide web bookmark (or shortcut) sharing site. Here I have been trying to keep track of all of our own websites, their pages and our pages on other sites that we belong to, though I now see that I have to update it quite a bit with these new listings for the social networking websites I have been joining.

Google also offers a bookmarking service, so that you can access your bookmarks anywhere. But Delicious goes a little further by allowing you to share your bookmarks with the rest of the world.

This is service is actually a fantastic idea and I think it will go far in the future as it has all sorts of possibilities for expansion. Some are already copying the idea (and even the format).

OUR PAGE:
http://delicious.com/SydsEastside
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Social Networking Resources

I have honestly been having a bit of fun checking out some of the Social Networking websites and resources that have been appearing in the past couple years. In fact, I've actually been so impressed that I thought that I should post something to the blog about them.

However, I have actually been working on this post for quite a few days, already. There are so many social net websites out there that I was trying to include in this one post that I realized that the only way around this was to split this blog entry into a bunch of little posts that will tell a bit about each site. That way, I don't have to have every single social website pegged in one big post.

Heck, there are still a bunch of these social networking groups out there that I want to check out. Some of these actually have optional tools developed specifically for them, so there are actually little cottage support resource sites for some, built to support them, allowing extra plug-ins or software tools to make them more convenient to use.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with the automotive industry? Well, the truth is that these are often great places for auto enthusiasts, car clubs, as well as neat places to promote auto shops or trade parts. Most allow easy setup, and may support blogging. Some even offer a great place to post news and articles and would be a great way to distribute them to an already large pool of social networking users. Others offer a great place to promote your (auto related) website by allowing the sharing and promotion of bookmarks. Users of these sites that are logged in can sometimes also vote on the materials of the resource(s) in question, making them even more popular or notorious.

One of the very first new trends was the blog and some of these services even allow you to incorporate your current blog.

Remember that as the trends move in the online industry, the automotive industry must adapt, adopt them, and move with them in order to maintain a high profile to the masses or regions that they are targetting as customers and clientel.

So, eat this stuff up guys, because social networking websites utilities, and software applications are not only fun to participate in, but actually strengthen the market and provide new interest.

To most this will be understood, others will have to check it out. But as a webmaster I understand that the security of a managed and constantly updated network is much better than the vulnerability of an open source software based website that is usually chock full of security holes.

And if the security is not an issue, there are other things that should be, like the fact that these social sites already have an established user base, like the fact that your firends and community are probably already online using them.

If nothing else, these are great opportunities to promote your existing website. Yet, they really are so much more.

Anyway, in order to share this information as quickly as possible, I will be spotlighting these social networking websites and tools. Each site or resource will be discussed individually, showcased in their own blog entry. This will also allow me to update them individually, should I need to. And I will always identify each service by through our membership so that you can join us and have a friend on the site.

Look for a bunch of blog entries to follow very shortly.

-Syd's Eastside Auto Parts webmaster
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New Used Equipment Section now Online at Diesel Rebuild Parts

I have finally finished putting all the Used Equipment online at our Diesel Rebuild Parts website. This has been a big chore and I am very happy to have it listed in my Mission Accomplished column, now.

If you are interested in any of the heavy equipment, utility trucks or construction vehicles there, we would be glad to help you out with it. Just click on a photo (that isn't marked as sold) in the main Equipment Catalog Index page and you will be presented with more photos and info concerning that item. Our contact information follows the detail page description.

Let me know if you see any spelling errors, or anything that looks strange. I did address a few problems before making that whole section public. But as you know, I'm not perfect.

This section actually comes from a corresponding section on the Syd's Eastside Auto Parts website. We thought that since establishing the Diesel Rebuild Parts website back in June of 2007, that we should move this section to that website where the information is more on-topic and relevant to the website content material, since it is already geared at supporting equipment and truck overhauls.

So, now that this has finally been accomplished, I can go back to promoting our websites as my primary webmaster duty for a little bit (until the next big website project comes along).

LINK:
Used Equipment For Sale Catalog Index
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