Thursday, December 16, 2010

Bumpers Have a BIG Job!


If you drive either a Civic or CR-V from Honda Salisbury, then you can rest easily at night knowing that your auto brand cares enough about your safety to pay special attention to your bumpers.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety took SUV and car pairs from seven different auto brands and put them in 10 mph fender benders with one another.  While we do not have results for the vehicles found at Chevrolet Dealer Medina, if they are anything like their domestic competition over at Ford then the results were costly and unattractive.  There are laws in place that require the bumpers on passenger cars to be between a height of 16 to 20 inches above the ground.  However, the SUVs, trucks, and minivans from Chevrolet Dealer Westlake and every other auto maker out there do not have any bumper height regulations in place. 

The IIHS tested these vehicle pairs so that one vehicle was standing still and the other one was traveling at only 10 mph.  The most expensive repair occurred when the Toyota Corolla sedan rear ended the Toyota RAV4 SUV; a total of $9,867.  The car sustained only $3,852 worth of damage while the SUV sustained $6,015 worth of damage.  This was because the car struck the spare tire on the back of the RAV4 rather than the bumper, and the spare tire is not designed to have that kind of force applied to it.  Bumpers actually do serve a purpose and their construction is meant to absorb impact so that the rest of the vehicle is not damaged. 

The other brands tested against each other were Ford, Honda, Nissan, Kia and Hyundai, Dodge and Jeep, and Volkswagen.  The two that had the best results were when the Honda CR-V rear ended the Honda Civic; a total of $2,995 damage resulted.  The other lowest cost repair was when the Kia Forte rear ended the Hyundai Tucson for a total repair bill of $3,601.  On average, the repair costs were higher when the car struck the SUV, and that is because there would be significant damage to the internal engine components of the car as it slid underneath the SUV. 




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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

2 Scariest Roads!


The cars at Gaithersburg Acura Dealers might be trendy and luxurious, but they sure won’t protect you in the event of a random accident on the road.  There are some scary places across the country to drive, and it doesn’t matter if that cute little Acura RL Woodside vehicle comes with all-wheel drive or not because some roads are just known for being dangerous.  The best advice you can get is to drive carefully and pay attention to your surroundings.  Then you can find great deals at Rhode Island Used Cars for your next purchase. 

The hands-down most scary place to drive is probably on U.S. 550 in Colorado between Silverton and Ouray.  This highway is known as the “Million Dollar Highway” and truck drivers have a united opinion that it is the most dangerous place to be driving in America.  The lanes are narrow, the road is twisty, and being high up in elevation adds to its treacherousness.  Winter time brings more than its fair share of avalanches and some of the hairpin turns do not even have guardrails to protect you from the steep cliffs and mountain passes.  If you can take an alternate route, it might be worth it!

On the opposite side of the country in Florida is U.S. Highway 19.  According to NBC and Dateline a few years back, this stretch of highway is the most dangerous in the entire country.  The main area to watch out for is the stretch between Pasco and Pinellas County.  The death toll was calculated for a five year period and it was found that 262 people were killed and a shocking 100 of those were pedestrians!  There really is no lesson to be learned here except that drivers need to be aware if they are coming into an area that is frequently dangerous or has accidents.  Pay attention to the road cautionary signs and drive extra safely if you are not familiar with an area. 




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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

If You Don't Keep Up With Your Car Maintenance, Just Run It Into A Tree


Making sure that your car is in good shape, all of the time is not difficult. All it takes is preventive maintenance to avoid the hassle of taking it to a repair shop when the engine suddenly dies or the lights in the control panel light up. Bradenton Auto body staff would be more and happy to assist consumers with different tricks of the trade to maintain your car.

Peoria Volkswagen and Orillia Volkswagen encourage consumers to invest an little time in researching different tips for keeping car maintenance on an Volkswagen or any other vehicle.

Before going out for a drive, it is wise to check the brakes, the tires, the oil and the steering system to make sure that everything is normal.While driving the car, you hear a sound or noise that was not there before, take it to your mechanic or local repair shop to have it checked.

Have the mechanic check all the parts or the of the ignition system for usual nosie, for example: check the spark plugs as their condition is a very good indicator of how the engine is performing. They should be changed every 100,000 miles but there is no harm in checking them every 30,000 miles just to be sure that everything is alright.

The rotor and distributor cap are made up of plastic, which deteriorate over time due to wear and tear. To make sure that not causing any problems when starting the vehicle have them checked.

The filter acts as a deterrent against rust and other harmful objects that may disrupt the performance of your vehicle. There several filters such as those for oil or fuel. These filters should be checked frequently – about every 3,000 miles.

The car’s mileage can be checked by calculating the amount of fuel purchased and the miles driven as shown by the odometer before and after fueling. If there is a sudden change in the number of miles per gallon, be concerned and take the car to the repair shop for analysis.

In the event that the car’s sensor lights come on, pull the car over to the side of the road. Then call for help. There is a possibility that the problem can be remedied there or it may have to towed to a repair shop.

Even if a car come with better and smarter engines, the possibility of something going wrong is still there. By taking every precaution, the driver can get to the place where he wants to go safely.