Auto Influence

A lot of you - hundreds in fact - have been asking whether there will be new Chevron Cars this year and whether Chevron is planning to continue manufacturing new Chevron Cars. Some of you have even been wondering whether it makes sense to go on collecting Chevron Cars.

We are delighted to let you know that there will be new cars this year and next and Chevron remains committed to these popular and fun products collected by young and old alike.

In the fall of 2008 we expect a new series of sports Victor E. Vans. Some but not all of these cars will be available on the website. We apologize for the one or two Victor E. Vans that will not be available but this is due to contractual reasons we have no control over. Rest assured that most of the new sports Victor E. Vans will become available on the site, in limited quantities. We expect a new Breast Cancer Awareness car this fall as well.

For the holidays we are looking forward to a brand new Chevron Car, one of the best ever and one thousands of you have been requesting for years. Stay tuned, it will be fabulous.

The risks of smash-and-grabs and hijacking have become a reality for all South Africans. This has changed our driving habits and most of us approach intersections at night with caution, slowing down ahead of traffic lights and trying to "time" the green light!

Can we do anything to be more prepared against the risk of a hijacking? The Arrive Alive Website received a request for info on "whether Arrive Alive offers talks to organizations with regards to anti-hijacking?" The Department and the RTMC do not provide these talks but there are private consultants offering this assistance and I am aware that the Volkswagen Driving Academy at Kyalami also provides training to improve the preparedness of road users.

The request for assistance was forwarded to the VW Driving Academy who promptly responded as follows:

"As per your mail to the Arrive Alive website, we at the VW Driving Academy offer Hi-jack Prevention Training.

We have two options available, either as part of the Advanced Safety Driving Course, we will cover the Skidpan, Defensive Driving and Hi-jack Prevention or we can do Hi-jack Prevention as a stand alone option.

If you require any additional information please feel free to let me know."

Content on "Avoiding hijacking" has been made available on the Arrive Alive website. This includes a discussion of the questions:

%u2022 How do the hijackers operate?
%u2022 When am I most at risk?
%u2022 How do I avoid being hijacked?
%u2022 What do I do when confronted?

Best advice is to be prepared and to equip ourselves with information on this topic. We would like to encourage road users to attend safe driving courses and gain information about this life threatening intrusion!

Car repair is never an easy or even affordable event to go through. More then likely that damaged car is the only source of transportation you have so this can be especially frustrating. You will be faced with many decisions as you strive to get your beloved car serviced and one of those will be using new parts or old parts.

While you may want to jump to the new and shiny equipment first, a comparison should really be made. Often times, going with something else will save you hundreds of dollars while providing the same, if not better performance. First, let us take a look at these "new parts"

Original Equipment Material or OEM is used far more often by mechanics instead of just saying new parts. OEM parts and equipment are not necessarily built by the company that constructed the car, but by the company that created the parts in that car. Many find OEMs preferable without giving any real thought to why. Often times, Aftermarket equipment will run far less then OEMs in price range and may even provide a higher quality product. Aftermarket materials are created by other companies and are still considered new.

On the other hand, "old" parts and material will be much more affordable then either OEMs or Aftermarkets but due to the stigma attached to these parts they are overlooked or rejected. These old parts are recycled or remanufactured from previously owned vehicles. These parts and materials are called Like Kind Quality, or LKQs. The LKQs will come from a vehicle that is the same year, model, and make as yours and have the same quality as OEMs. The only difference between this and other types are that LKQs are not new and have been previously used and restored. Since LKQs were previously owned and used there may be minor visual blemishes or differences.

Many car owners want only the best and believe that only OEMs can satisfy this. However, there are many considerations to keep in mind as you make such a decision.

Now, you need to be aware that your Insurance Company will probably make the final decision for you. Insurance companies prefer LKQs to that of OEMs, though some will compromise for Aftermarket material. The reason for the preference for LKQs is cost. LKQs are often far more affordable and provide the same function as other parts. To the car owner, this may be unacceptable as they want the newer part. While owners can choose to go with the OEMs they will probably not be reimbursed for the expense.

You may also want to consider the car's age and overall health. Unless the car has a significant sentimental value to you, it is never advisable to pay more for a repair then what the car's overall value is. For older model cars, an OEM can cost far more then the Blue Book value so settling for a LKQ just makes since. If, the car is a classic or means something special to you, OEMs will be a sound investment.

No matter what type of vehicle you own, when you take your car into the repair shop you will be faced with this decision. Mitsubishi repair, general truck repairs, and even motorcycle repairs can used either new or old parts.

Here are some basic car maintenance tips to save gas.

1. A faulty oxygen sensor can be very bad. Replacing it can improve your mileage up to 40 percent.
2. Replacing a clogged air filter can save up to 10 percent. It also protects your engine from contamination and long term damage.
3. Replace spark plugs every 60-90K miles. Spark plugs get weaker over time. An improperly firing spark plug will decrease engine performance. Platinum plugs are usually only a few bucks more too.
4. Don't speed. I don't like this one either, but it does help. Note that best gas mileage is not low speeds but usually around 50-60mph when you transmission gets into top gear.
5. Easy on the brakes. Don't speed up to stop. If you are coming to a stop, take your foot off the gas earlier. Using brakes equals bad gas mileage.
6. Overuse of AC compressor. A/c does not really take that much to run, but having cranked to max all the time will hurt a bit. Try a lower setting.
7. Lose gas gaps. Takes less than a second to check the cap each time.
8. Keep Tires properly Inflated. You can improve your gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure
9. Dirty or wrong engine oil. Do not used unsealed or unknown oil. Go with a Valvoline, Castol, Penzoil, etc, etc. Also be sure to use the exact oil. Using the wrong oil can take a few MPG off your trip.

Crooks never rest when it comes to brewing new ways to con innocent people out of their hard earned cash. Just when the public gets wise to a scam, another one is hatched and the cycle begins anew. All we can do is try to keep up, and maybe one day we'll get a step or two ahead of the tidal wave of swindles and hoodwinks that plague the auto repair industry.

The latest repair scam to rear its head is especially egregious because of its choice of victims. While this one could be pulled on any unwary driver, con men have set their sights on the elderly. Older drivers are often more trusting of firm promises and official-seeming garb or paperwork which makes them easy targets for scumbags, but the fact that so often they are living on a fixed income makes it much worse. It goes something like this. The con man spots an elderly driver on the road and flags him down, telling him there is something wrong with his car and it might be dangerous to continue driving. The crook then jacks up the car and loosens the lug nuts, causing the wheel to wobble. He then assures the driver that he can fix the car on the spot for much less than a repair shop, all he needs is a small fee and the money to buy the part. You see where this is going: fake part replacement, miracle car cure, money changes hands, scam successful.

There's one rule that will help you avoid this and many other scams -- never let somebody fix your car in a parking lot, it's never a good plan.

When you are looking at your car, you may not think that you will have to have auto parts or even panels for your new car, but you will have to think about it so that your car can look great going down the road.

When you decide to do something with your body panels, you will need to know what you are doing and what can happen if you are not careful with your body panel planning. You will want to have a few things for your body panels before you even start and these really begin with a design so that you know what you want to go with. This can be a big thing for your auto parts and what you need. You just have to take a look at what you want.

When you start on your body panel work, you should have all of your auto parts in front of you so that you will be ready when you are done with the customizing that you will need to do to your car. This makes it so much easier when you are putting it back together and you won't need any auto parts either.

If you are doing it yourself, you will need to know what you are going to do for your paint as well so that once you have is created, you can paint it to match your car and your cars other auto parts. This may seem like a no brainer, but many people will put the body panel on and not bother to paint it. Sometimes this is because they think that they will paint the whole car in the future. If you are not sure if you are going to paint the car in the future, I would go ahead and paint the panel so that it looks somewhat right on the car.

When you take the time to find out what you need to do with your auto parts needs, you will be more likely to have a good running and good looking car in the end. Body panels are not hard to do if you are Ok with working with the auto parts that you will need as well as getting dirty under car. You may not understand that this body panel is going to make your car run better and faster in the end.

Great Auto Parts

Tips for buying used auto parts

The automobile is one of the largest industries today however it also got a lot of waste products. There are a lot of used auto parts being salvaged nowadays that are still useful. There are many parts of a car that could still be useful including used Alternators, wheels, bumpers, motors, electronics and others. Buying a used auto parts can help you save money and you could save the environment as well. The internet is a good place to find used auto parts. If you look around there could be stores found in your local area.

When buying for used car parts say for example used tires, there are some things that you need to remember. First is asking the identification of the car tires that you are buying. You could ask the seller where these tires come from. Ask the year it was manufactured and some other pertinent information. Ask also the seller to give you a warranty on the said car part. This way you can exchange them if they found defective.

If you are a person on the budget and don't want to spend to much on car parts, then buying used auto parts is a good alternative. If you open your eyes in finding good used parts then you might have a problem and find yourself a better deal.