Ever panicked about your car failing on you? It’s a common fear. Many people would panic if something went wrong internally, and if you know more about your car’s aesthetics rather than its inner workings, its likely that you’re going to need a bit of help when something develops a fault. Of course, many men who pride themselves on their vast vehicle knowledge would get a bit stuck when the car has an internal fault, particularly if it is a gearbox malfunction. Car gearboxes are notoriously hard pieces of kit for people to get their head round, and just looking at one may surprise you when you learn that it is a main function of the car. There’s no way that you can believe a part like that controls so much. Naturally, if you notice your car’s gearbox isn’t functioning properly, the best thing to do is to check it in at a repair centre immediately.

Car Surgery

With car faults, the garage will need a certain amount of time to check things over, in which case you may be asked to leave your car overnight. Some people regard it as a hospital admission for their beloved friend. Whereas some won’t bat an eyelid about leaving their car at the garage for open heart surgery, others will get quite distressed about the whole thing. But don’t worry – the mechanic will get the car as good as new when the gearbox has been repaired, or replaced – whichever they recommend. There are 3 options the mechanic will inform you of – you can either have the gearbox replaced with a brand new one, have a reconditioned gearbox fitted, or have the existing one repaired. Usually, you can choose whether you have a new gearbox fitted or have a reconditioned gearbox put in place, and the choice boils down to the cost. In the world of car gearbox repairs, cost is always an important factor and a reconditioned gearbox is the cheaper option for all parties concerned.

Safe Driving

Once you have made your mind up about which gearbox you want, your car will soon be back on track.   Since the gearbox is an important internal function, you’re not going to be moving very far without it. If you don’t have your gearbox repaired, you may as well send the car for scrap. Let the mechanic get to work and then you can pick your car up and carry on with some happy motoring.

Technorati Tags: Automotive, autos, car gearboxes, car parts, car repairs, Cars, Driving, gearboxes, Motoring

For anyone owning their own company using a van or even perhaps if you are part of a bigger company we all know how many problems the van can give you at times.

A big problem for van owners is that people tend to sneak into the back and attempt to steal some of the goods. This can only take a clever criminal a couple of seconds in which during this time thousands of pounds could be lost. The best piece of advice is to lock the van at all times even if you are just popping into somewhere like a shop for thirty seconds as the whole of the vans goods could be stolen in this time if you have someone who knows what they are doing.

Smokers have been hit even harder as you are not allowed to smoke in your van if it is used for working in. This is mainly due to the fact that various items of stock could come out the van stinking heavily of smoke which is certainly not something a paying customer wants with their product.

If you were to crash your van and items were to break then would your normal insurance actually cover this? Normal insurances like business insurance will not cover you and the office insurance is not going to help you out either.

This is where you can look into getting business vans insurance as this will help you out when it comes to the above problems. Because the insurance is catered around the van itself it will cover you from things like loss of stock as well as collisions and even if a fire breaks out.

It may be worth looking into some of the deals out there as there are some that to not cost too much at all. Nowadays a few stolen items could mean the end of your business days.

Technorati Tags: Crime, Driving, insurance

People love gadgets that they can use in their everyday lives, none more so than those gadgets found in cars or that can be used in cars. Lets take a little peak at 3 gadgets that have either only just been launched or are set to go mainstream pretty soon.

Electronic Cigarette. With all the new smoking bans being but in place in public locations, the car is on of the last bastions for smokers. That said, nobody want to have their car stinking of cigarette smoke, especially when you have to give people a lift. Not to mention the mess that the ash from the cigarettes makes. The electronic cigarette wont burn your upholstery, won’t stink out the car and isn’t even bad for you. The best bit is you can recharge these gadgets using the cigarette lighter port, so it’ll save you a fortune.

Sound Interruption Head Rest. This is one of these gifts for men, when they are trying to concentrate on the task at hand. A small devise that fits into the headrest of a car, emits quiet, low frequency sound waves that form an invisible barrier around the driver’s head, meaning all unwanted noise is kept out. I think you’ll agree that this gadget is a must for anyone who gets constant nattering in their ear or from the back of the car, when all they are trying to do is get from A to B.

Auto-Adjusting Car Seats. Not only does this technology help drivers be more comfortable, but also reduces their chances of being injured in a crash. Expected to be released by Ford in 2012, these new seats adjust automatically to your body shape and weight, giving you the best ergonomically friendly driving position. You can even program the seat to move to different positions depending on what style of driving you want to do. The best bit is that if you are involved in collision, the seat will move into the safest position possible in a fraction of a second.  If there is no one in the seat behind, the driver’s seat and passenger seat move backwards and downwards, moving the person as far away from the impact zone as possible.

Technorati Tags: auto, car, Driving, Gadgets, Technology

In the UK, we’re used to having to drive with extra caution if there’s a blind curve in the road or even pulling out at a junction. These often get labelled by the Police as “accident black spots”, places where a high frequency of car accidents happen and for good reason too. 

There are many injuries, even deaths caused by drivers not being careful in these areas and in a lot of these cases the whole situation could have been avoided by someone driving slightly slower or paying a little bit more attention to the road.

There are roads in the world though, that are so treacherous that even the most skilled and experienced motorist could have trouble traversing safely.  These roads are invariably in extremely poor condition and a large percentage are etched high up a mountain with a steep drop to the valley below.

One such road is the Guoliang Tunnel in the Taihang Mountains, China.  Its name translates to “The road that does not tolerate mistakes”, the road is carved into the cliff face where the road goes into the rock in small tunnels with worryingly exposed tight corners and 30 “windows” along the way, and it’s definitely one of the roads you dread seeing someone approaching from the opposite direction!

Also in Bolivia is the North Yungas road, affectionately known as “The Road of Death”, where the road traces around the Bolivian Andes for the nightmarish 70 km drive from La Paz to Coroico.  The road is frequently coated in fog and mist from the tropical rainforests below, which is probably best as it obscures the 3,600 m drop where many lorries, cars and buses lie.  A fatal accident occurs every couple of weeks cementing its position as the world’s most dangerous road.

Closer to solid ground the Russian Siberian road to Yakutsk is a government-certified road and the only road to Yakutsk which will often slow down or even halt many truck drivers’ journeys.  The rain in the region turns the clay road into a muddy bog that rivals any wet weekend at a music festival!  Photos show lorries overturned, half eaten by the mud and tractors buried besides the cars they were tasked with rescuing.

For the vast majority of us we will thankfully never have to experience the fear of driving along these roads but those that do have to be aware at all times, control their speed and keep their wits about them.  The same can be said for driving everyday in this country, changes in weather whether it’s hot or cold can change crucial factors like braking distances or visibility so make sure you drive safely.

Related topics include car loan, yes car finance and used car finance

Technorati Tags: Driving, Motoring, roads

Some of the best driving roads on earth are found in America. Route 66 is probably the most famous road but there are many more like that all over.There are some high quality roads running both east to west and north to south, so getting where you want to go is relatively easy. But what is the best form of transport for yourexciting holidays in America?

Camper van. In true back-packer fashion you can pick a cheap campervan at one end of the country and trek across the states in until you sell it at the other end. As you get quite a bit more room with these vehicles, you can take more with stuff with you and also more people. It’s also great if you’ve got a tight budget as you can cook your own food in the van and also spend the night in it as well

Convertible. There is nothing more iconic than cruising across down those long roads with the top down and the wind in your hair. Convertible cars are ingrained in American culture and so there is plenty around to choice from.  Personally I would go for an old Cadillac and would rent rather than buy one. This is what a lot of people do on fly drive trips  All you need now is a model  girlfriend/boyfriend and some country and western on the radio to make your trip complete

Motorbike. Traveling around on two wheels is one way to put some fun into your trip, especially if you’re bike is big and the sun is out. This is the most amazing way to soak up the atmosphere and scenery on your travels that America has in abundance. Harley Davidson are top dog in the States and a great choice of bike to go for. They can be rented almost anywhere you go and are very reliable. If you go for this option then make sure you invest in some decent safety gear as the last place you want to end up on your trip is in the hospital

Technorati Tags: America, Driving, holidays, tour, transport, vacation

New cars and those that have been retro fitted with the new innovative LED lights can be spotted from miles away. Their beams shine a much cleaner and purer white light and they illuminate all they hit with more detail than is possible from standard bulbs. These lights are more popular than ever now and selling faster than they can be produced. but how come they are so good?

Firstly they provide much higher quality light that aids driving. Wolfgand Huhn, Audi’s lighting exert said recently “everyone who has seen these lights in action is not only astonished by the excellent output but also thrilled with the homogenous distribution of light and the agreeable, daylight-esque colour of the light.”

The LEDs have proven to have much great efficiency than the standard car bulbs.  The average energy consumption of the lights in a car using normal bulbs is around 200w while a car fitted with the new LED’s will only demand around 15watt of power.What this means is than fuel consumption can actually be reduced and their is less strain put on your battery. This in turn helps you do right by the environment as CO2 production will be reduced.Your finances are likely to benefit too from the LED lights as not only are you saving money on fuel but also you’re likely to need never change the bulbs.

Lastly, these innovative lights will act to increase driving safety. Their reaction speed can be up to 10 times quicker than incandescent bulbs and with a purer, higher quality light obstacles can be spotted easier. Their durability means that there is less chance of a bulb going out and leaving you in the dark. Now that the new lights are being used for both high and low beams, and even indicator lights and licence plate illuminators, their benefits are now able to be multiplied.

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Technorati Tags: bulbs, Car lights, Driving, headlights, LEDs, new cars