Cars Blog October Archive

No More Shivering In The Morning... Remote Car Starters!

By dustin michael at 10/24/08 10:33

If your like me, one of the worst things about mornings in the winter is going outside to warm up your car! Thats what I thought this morning. Not only does it slow down your morning routine, but who wants to go outside in the freezing cold to and start their car then go back in the house to wait for it. Some of you might sit in the car and wait for the windows to clear. Thats not a good start to your day.

My suggestion is to get a remote starter. If you have a newer car you might already have a factory remote starter installed. Now for those of you that don't, you might consider getting one. You won't regret it!

Read more: No More Shivering In The Morning... Remote Car Starters! [click]

Winter time = New brakes

I am going to kind of continue what the last blog was saying. Living in a rural mountainous area, I have to get my brakes changed every year in time for the winter season. If I don't I may as well not even try to drive in the winter time with my car. I'm sure there are those of you out there that are asking yourselves, "what is this guy talking about? I live in flatland Ohio and I never need my brakes changed." Well, that may be the case, but in the areas of higher elevation, you need your brakes changed ever year even if the winter isn't bad.

I can see in other areas that brakes aren't that big of a deal. But when you have to traverse many different hills day in and day out, you may just understand what I'm saying. Just last winter I slid right through an intersection that was FLAT due to icy roads and bad brakes. My brakes were changed the very next week. So take my advice, and get your brakes changed before the winter storms set in.

Are You Ready For Winter?

Fall is here. Which means Winter is right around the corner. Are you ready to go against the cold temperatures and icy roads? Now is the time for you to winterize your vehicle.

The most important part of your car that you want to maintain is tires. You should check the tread on them to see if they are reliable enough to make it through the winter. If not you should get some new ones. I prefer getting all seasons tires. That way you don't have to switch them in the spring.

Another thing you would want to check is your thermostat. The thermostat lets your engine know when to heat and cool your car. The last thing you want is to start your car for work one morning and realize you don't have any heat!

Keep a "survival kit" in your trunk in case you happen to get snowed in or break down in a bad storm. Put things in it like food, flashlights, and extra clothes and blankets etc.

How To Install A Custom Sunroof

Want to install a sunroof in your car but don't have the money to take it to a professional? You can do the easy installation yourself! Here's how..

First, you have to find a sunroof you want to put in. You could either buy a new one, or you could just go to a junk yard. I got mine from a junk yard for $15! You want to try to get one from the same type vehicle you have. That way you are sure to have the right curve of the glass.

Now for the install.. Measure the roof from front to back, and side to side. Find the center of your roof. Place the sunroof frame in your center measurement and trace the track. Use a jig saw to cut out the hole. Dry fit the frame to make sure it will fit. Now that it fits, put a bead of epoxy around the entire frame and set it in the roof hole. Now screw the assembly into place as tight as it will go. Make sure the interior ceiling fabric gets tucked into the assembly.. With a wet rag, clean off all excess epoxy from the roof. Give epoxy time to dry.

Now you have a custom sunroof!!

Wish I Lived in Venezuela to Get This Deal

Just read an article on CBSNews.com about how Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is giving away a great deal to his citizens. Swap in their big gas-guzzling vehicles for smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Chavez will even throw in a year of free gas. That's what caught my eye, until I read the second sentence. Gas goes for about 12 cents a gallon down there.

Now what if something like that would happen in the US? What would even happen? The world may never know, just like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

Pimp Your Ride With Butterfly Doors

Do you want to do some jaw dropping customizations to your ride? Butterfly Doors are the way to go. Instead of your doors opening regularly, your doors will open 90 degrees vertical! One disadvantage would be that sometimes its a little more difficult to get in and out of your car.

Your butterfly door kits comes with specially made brackets and gas shocks to open yours doors straight out slightly, then up. The doors close and seal tight just like your stock doors would. If you decide you want your doors to go back to the stock operation, most kits are reversible!

Check out some of the looks on these popular cars!

YouTube Video

Green Cars in Paris

Paris' vast exhibition halls in the south used only one color, green, with the message hammered home that their car industries have staked its economic future to the green revolution.

Paris has 19 of the industries' hottest contest to develop a mass marketed electric vehicle. Most of them run with electric batteries that can be plugged into regular outlets at home or any charging station on the street.

Driver might be temped to allocate tens of thousands on a new breed of car to satisfy their urge to go green.

Link: Electric Cars at the Paris Auto Show - TIME

Have You Seen the Gas Prices Lately?

We all know how much the gas prices have been affecting everyone. But did you see the dramatic drop? Well, it was a dramatic drop to me, see as it went from $3.55 to $3.39 in the time between my trips to the pump. I don't know if this occurred over a week's time, but I was shouting for joy in my car.

I think if it gets down to something like $2.99, I would probably pass out where I stood. What would I do with the extra money I was saving? Wow, it just occurred to me that I couldn't have said that statement a year ago. More money in my pocket is always good.

A Hobby of Mine Reborn

I have always been fond of model cars, my favorite being any of the 70's muscle cars. But I really didn't have anywhere to put them in my home besides a box in the corner of my living room. So I went to the local construction store and bought some pieces of plywood and some 2x4's. After about an hour in my garage, I fashioned myself a workbench that could easily provide me with a great place for my models.

What's even better is I can store all of my extra tools under the bench, so I guess you can say I killed two birds with one stone. The top serves as my showcase for my models and a designated an area for further model building fun.

So if any of you out there are as into models as I am, take my story as advice and fashion your own workbench in an abandoned corner of your garage.