The MacPak Auto Blitz

Finding good used cars can be a frustrating, especially if you are not familiar with auto-mechanics. Where do you go to first? Do you go to a used car garage? Look through the want ads? Explore by word of mouth? Search the World Wide Web?

Firstly, when looking to buy used cars, I suggest that you get an idea of what you want. I once asked a car mechanic what he will suggest, and he said that Honda Civics and Toyota Carollas are what he recommends. Everyone has his or her different idea what they like for a good used car. So you must decide what type of car you want. Narrow it down to at least four types.

Then, it is recommended you do a blue book search. Visit www.KBB.com and get a rough idea of what these cars are valued at. Get the values for a variety of years.

Armed with the highest amount you can spend, and as clear an idea as possible of what kind of used car you want, and what the blue book values are, it is time to begin your search. I suggest you look in online bulletin boards such as craigslist.org or autoweb.com.

When you go to check out the car, if you have a friend who knows a lot about cars who’s willing to come too, that is of course ideal. Otherwise, it is suggested you go to a mechanic to get the car inspected. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Yes, it is inconvenient, but you do not want to end up with a lemon!

What many people do not know is that some mechanics will give you a deal on inspecting the used car you hope to buy, especially if you promise to take it to them if it needs work. Ask them about this. It could not hurt. They may have a special offer, where the cost of your initial car inspection ends up going towards the car fixing. In short, wheel and deal with you mechanic. You have nothing to lose.

If you do not take the step of going to a mechanic, then your seller must have accurate records of all labor and parts. It is highly important that they changed the timing belt for instance within the last 40,000 miles.

The best advice I have is this: if you trust the person you are buying from, you are more likely to get good used cars. I have bought several used cars and each one came from someone who kept accurate records.

One of the best tips to find a used car is to locate retired couples or elderly folks who are selling their car. If they are selling because the want to, not because they need to, congratulations, you have found your used car!

Now I can get excited about hybrid cars. The industry is finally thinking about the people that don’t want to sacrifice performance for gas mileage. The Japanese as always it seems are leading the way in this new segment of the hybrid industry working on cars that feature lithium batteries and electric motors. Incredible as it may seem there is a report that there is at least one sports car under development that is capable of producing 470 horsepower!

Hydrogen fueled cars are also being developed as well and it seems that Mazda is putting a lot of research into this segment using its rotary engine. Mazda has been working on being able to produce a hydrogen burning car for years and hopefully they will be able to do it without giving up performance.

The hybrid that seems to have the most promise currently is from the Japanese automaker giant, Toyota. Their Priapus is a normal gas-electric hybrid that is capable of accelerating from zero to sixty in under 4 seconds which seems to be the equivalent of the 4 minute mile for performance cars. The car also still maintains decent fuel economy getting over thirty miles to the gallon. The 70k price tag will make it less than affordable for most and it will be tough to make up for it in gas savings. Personally for another 10k I would have to buy the new totally electric car coming out next summer from the new Tesla Motors that will give you a real opportunity to recoup the investment.

The hybrid industry isn’t being dominated by just the Japanese; a couple of former designers from Jaguar are working on a V10 version of the hybrid that has even received grants from the government in England to help them bring the car to production.

Nations all over the world are instituting higher standards for fuel efficiency to try to force automakers into making cars with better fuel economy. With gas prices continuing to rise and the ever present instability in the Middle East you can expect to see more attention to be paid to hybrid research as well as other alternatives. On top of all of the savings we will begin to see some of the negative effects that gas burning cars have done to the economy.

With the recent trend to offer sports cars from the hybrid camps and the newly unveiled Tesla concept car being built by 2007 all fears that sports cars were headed the way of the designer are disappearing. We will see high performance sports cars that will offer the best performance imaginable along with great fuel economy or not using gas at all!

With the rising costs of fuel and just about every other good or service we purchase, many of us are looking for cheap car insurance. When it comes to cheap car insurance most of us are clueless as to how to go about getting a low cost car insurance policy. There are many factors that influence your car insurance costs drastically.

For example, did you know that the type of car you drive will influence the cheap car insurance you’re looking for? Or did you know that using anti theft devices will help reduce your over all car insurance costs? A good driving record will allow you to get cheap car insurance?

The deductible is the amount you pay first out of any claim for an accident. The car insurance policy’s cost is directly related to your deductible. A lot of people, especially those with a good driving record, who have had their insurance policy for a long time, have never considered varying their deductible. If you have a clean driving record and are prepared for the risk of paying a larger amount in the event of a claim you can save money by increasing your deductible.

Many times you can get cheap car insurance by combining policies with you existing insurance company. For example if you have a home owners insurance policy contact them and ask for discounts for switching your car insurance to them. If you don’t own a home perhaps you have renters insurance or life insurance, contact these companies about the savings you could get by switching your car insurance over to them. Most insurance companies are very accommodating to these requests.

It also pays to shop online for your cheap car insurance; many of the big companies offer a comparison of their coverage versus other companies. As you are requesting cheap car insurance quote online be sure to be completely truthful in answering the questionnaire. Additionally, you should know when you get your online quote you will need to follow up with actual paper work.

Whatever your motivation, with a little work you too can find the cheap car insurance you’re looking for.

Ask anyone what a sports car is and they will probably invent an answer. Ask a dozen different people the same question and they will probably provide a dozen different answers. There are a variety of ways to define what constitutes an actual sports car. With no standardized definition available within the industry, the term “sports car” is without certain meaning.

Originally, it was easy to differentiate between a sports car and a regular production automobile. If a regular person could buy it, it wasn’t a sports car. Sports cars were toys for the extremely rich and automobile-obsessed. They are also used primarily in situations that represented a radical departure from conventional driving. Road races, rallies and other competitions were the home of the sports car as manufacturers and designers went head to head, testing their newest technological advances and inventive ideas.

These sports cars were almost always designed for a single driver and no additional passengers. Occasionally a “co-pilots” seat might have been added. The notion of a backseat made little sense considering the purposes for which the cars were being used. They tended to be extremely small and exceptionally faster than most regularly produced cars.

This historical moment gave birth to a notion of the sports car that survives today among many automotive enthusiasts. These traditionalists will consider a car a sports car only if it is a two-seater and designed for racing.

This perspective was antiquated somewhat by the post-war experience in the United States and elsewhere. Cars based upon the test car technologies began to make their way into the garages of the public. With a more mainstream audience, some changes were made to the traditional sports car, including the frequent addition of a small back seat.

As time passed, sports cars slowly grew and the technologies pioneered by sports cars found their way into vehicles, which were not undersized or built for racing.

In the 1960s, John Delorean decided to drop a large V8 into a Pontiac Tempest. His new invention, the GTO, ushered in the muscle car era. Purists might argue the American muscle cars were not sports cars, but simply cars making use of sports car refinements. The distinction however, began to become lost in regular conversation and “sports car” began to refer to any fast or high-performance vehicle.

The line becomes increasingly blurred with every year. Traditional sports cars are becoming increasingly rare as automakers recognize a need to maintain some level of functionality if they are to entice buyers. The innovations spurred by traditional sports cars are being adopted into vehicles of every size and shape. While traditional racing style sports cars are maintained in many product lines and though some boutique manufacturers still focus their efforts on small high-speed cars, it is impossible to ignore the “crossover” appeal of many traditional sports car features.

Some may say there are sports cars, sporty cars and sporting cars and that they are all different things. To the average person, however, they blend into one.

Which cars are sports cars? Today, it’s hard to tell. You can be a hardliner and say only the racing-based two-seaters qualify, or you can be liberal in your interpretation and proclaim all high-performance vehicles sports cars. Either way, you’d probably be right.

Most people don’t realize just how exciting RC vehicles have become-the hobby quality RC cars made and raced today have can get up to speeds of 60 mph and feature suspension systems that can be tuned just like a real car. Perhaps the most exciting part is the wide variety of types of RC vehicles: you can drive a race car, run a monster truck on dirt tracks or even fly a plane!

Because of this, though, you should consider just what you plan to use your RC for before you decide to buy. On-road or racing cars are made for speed, while off-road vehicles like buggies are mean to take more rugged terrain. Plus, you can choose to buy your RC ready to run out of the box or as a kit to build it yourself. These and many other aspects are important to know before you buy your first RC.

There are RC cars and trucks for every kind of driver: nitro engines for the speed demon, reliable ready to run electric cars for touring, and for the advanced, even planes to fly. The electric cars run quietly and so are better suited to run right in your neighborhood, while the nitro motors give you the real feel of the racetrack. What you buy should depend on your experience-choose your RC according to your experience to avoid frustration later on.

Something to keep in mind from the outset is that RC vehicles are a high-end hobby, and can get quite expensive. If you plan to race your car, there are additional costs that come with competition. But if you’re prepared for the cost, and if you make your purchases carefully, you’ll be rewarded with an amazing new hobby whose rewards certainly outweigh the cost. These are the decisions that need to be made before you buy:
? Do you want a ready to run car or do you want build your own?
? Do you want an on-road or an off-road RC vehicle?
? Which is right for you- a nitro or an electric RC?
? What type of RC vehicle do you want- and what size?

No matter what you decide, if you keep your own experience and commitment level in mind, you’ll be certain to get the car that’s right for you.

Whether you race them or just tinker with their engines, RC cars are a great hobby for kids of all ages. Though it might seem overwhelming at first, you’ll find that the most you work on your car and the more times you race, the more fun and exciting this hobby can be!