Guide car

Archive for September, 2009

Whats The Best City Car?

Whether youre spending all your time zipping around an urban jungle or sitting in grid lock on your way home from work you know the city demands a lot from vehicles. Not all cars are designed to crawl along in traffic or squeeze effortlessly into compact parking spots having snaked through small city streets. If your daily routine demands this kind of driving you have to make sure youre driving a car designed for it.

Your car has a great deal to do with just how stressed or comfortable you feel behind the wheel. If youre driving the wrong sort of car for city driving you might well undermine your safety and the safety of other drivers on the road.

To choose a good car for the city you need to think a few things. First of all you need to think about how well the car is going to fit in on the streets. Second you are going to need to think about how easy it is to park. Finally you need to think about how easily you can see from the drivers seat what is the visibility like and how easy is it for you to handle and maneuver the car. How comfortable do you feel in the drivers seat?

Apply these questions when you have a general shortlist of cars that you like. You will be able to answer many of the questions by noting some of the key details about the cars themselves. The turning radius for example is measured as the outer radius of a circle that the car would make with the steering wheel cranked all the way in one direction. Generally this is considered to be perhaps the single most important numbers to look at when shopping for a good city car. According to one senior auto test engineer interviewed in Consumer Reports the turning radius is a measure of the cars maneuverability and how easy it is to park.

The next thing to think about is the footprint of a car. The footprint refers to its overall length and width of the vehicle. It is especially important for city driving because as a general rule the bigger the car the tougher it is to maneuver on roads crammed with doubleparked vehicles and trucks that are loading and unloading.

Once youve thought about the maneuverability of the car you need to think about your visibility from the drivers seat. Its all very well if you can zip back and forth and around about but if you cant see anything to gauge distances youre going to be stuck.

Outward visibility of the road and surrounding cars is very important but its largely a personal issue. Some people prefer SUVs because of view over the road and other cars. Others find it very difficult to see objects that are low down however and they often find themselves missing curbs and obstacles. To a certain extent the height of the driver and the position of the seats matters too but it is crucial to review the visibility for your car of choice before you make a decision to buy.

According to Forbes Autos the top ten best cars for city driving are:

1. Honda Insight
2. Toyota Prius
3. BMW 3 Series Coupe
4. Mini Cooper
5. Scion xB
6. Honda Civic Hybrid
7. Volvo V50
8. Audi A3
9. Saab 92X
10. MercedesBenz CClass

The topten worst cars for city driving are:

1. Hummer H1 Alpha
2. Maybach Type 62
3. Lincoln Navigator L
4. RollsRoyce Phantom
5. Hummer H2
6. Chevrolet Suburban
7. Cadillac Escalade ESV
8. Lincoln Town Car Signature L
9. Infiniti QX56
10. Bentley Arnage RL

Of course youre free to choose the type of car you want without reference to these lists but if you are driving in the city it may be a very good idea to invest in one or other of these models. The more comfortable you are in the drivers seat of your car the more likely you are to drive well consistently.

About the writer:  Tim Cartwright writes for AutoBidsOnline.com a place to research car prices new car comparisons reviews and much more. Build your own car spesifications and get competitive quotes from car dealers in your areas.

Rules And Regulations For Auto Transport

The auto transport industry has to follow the trucking laws while transporting vehicles from one place to another for their customers. There are many rules and regulations that have to be followed by them to ensure that the vehicle that they are transporting reaches the destination without any problems.

The auto transport company should have a number of years of experience and should possess a license which is active. They should give you a bill of lading where all the dents or damages in the vehicle being transported will be noted. This is signed by both the company and the person owning the vehicle at the time of pick up of the vehicle. This is again checked when delivery of the vehicle is done. The vehicle should be properly insured. Generally the payment has to be made in advance or a certain amount of money has to be given in advance. You can use a credit card to pay. All the details should be in writing so that you will not have a problem later.

A fixed delivery date should be given by the auto transport company. If for some reason they cannot deliver on that date they should inform the customer. You should find out whether your vehicle is being transported in an open or enclosed truck. You should also find out whether the delivery is from terminal to terminal or from door to door.

The auto transport industry employs drivers to drive huge trucks which transport the vehicles of the customers to their destination. These huge trucks have to driven with care to ensure the safety of the vehicles. Most of the roads in the country will have axle weight regulations that have to be followed. So the weight carried becomes very important. The roads should be able to handle the weight. So it is necessary to know the route that will be taken to deliver the vehicles. There will be many weigh stations and check points on the way where you will have the weight of the truck checked. So even before you start on the trip you should be aware of the weight that the truck is carrying so that you are within the limits. If you exceed the weight the best thing would be to leave on car behind and transport it later.

The truck size and specifications should also conform to the laws. When you are transporting a vehicle only certain size and weight of truck can transport it. If the right size is not used then you will be going against the law.

The next thing you must be aware of is the how securely you have tied the vehicles inside the truck. There are certain rules and regulations that have to be followed to ensure that all the cars are tightly tied to the truck. If you have not adhered to the rules you will be fined heavily. You will be putting yourself and the others on the road to danger.

The driver has to also follow certain rules. He should only drive for a certain number of hours in a day. This should not be exceeded as it is dangerous and can lead to accidents. All the hours that the driver has put in should be logged.

The truck driver should have in the truck the log book insurance information and other necessary documents and other equipments that are given to you by the auto transport company. These are essential things that should be in the truck all the time.

The truck is generally checked before it leaves the transport company while it is traveling and when it reaches the destination. So all the rules and regulations should be followed to ensure the safe and secure transfer of the vehicles in the charge of the driver to the destination.

About the writer:  Shijina is an expert author for auto transport and car transport. She written many articles like car shippingvehicle transport and vehicle shipping. For more information visit our site www.aaat.com Contact me at shijinaseogmail.com

Volvo C30 Waging Hatchback War

The Volvo C30 a premium hatchback was delivered by Volvo to grab the spotlight of the auto industry. With the attention on the BMW 1series Audi A3 and Volkswagen GTI the automaker has to come up with something as interesting as those vehicles or perhaps better to wage pretty good hatchback war. So Volvo unleashed the C30 not only to improve sales but to enhance the standing of the automaker in the industry.

The Volvo C30 a small family car is a threedoor fourseat hatchback version of the S40 V50 and C70 luxury vehicles. It is powered by I4 and I5 engines. It is built on the Ford C1 platform which is the same one used by its siblings. It also shares identical sheetmetal. The production Volvo C30 was officially unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show.

The hatchback is specially designed to cater to the needs of the young generation Volvo buyers. The edgy design of the vehicle that features the exotic frameless glass tailgate a confident stance and the broad shoulders that eventually became Volvos design hallmark made it a stunner. “The new C30 is an ambitious new car for Volvo” said Fredrik Arp President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation. “It is a car that aims for a group of young singles or couples with intense urban lifestyles. These people prioritize excitement in design and driving characteristics and this car should suit their varied tastes perfectly.”

The Volvo C30 is offered with a wide variety of diesel engines and gasoline. Diesel engines include the 109 horsepower 1.6 liter inline4 and a 180 horsepower 2.4 liter inline5. Conversely petrol engines include a 100 horsepower 1.6 liter I4 a 170 horsepower 2.4 liter inline5 and a 220 horsepower turbocharged 2.5 liter inline5.

The hatchback is also equipped with an upgraded sound system includes a digital 5130 watt ICE Power amplifier from Alpine featuring Dolby Pro Logic II Surround and 10 loudspeakers from Danish Dynaudio. This feature is especially designed for the youth market. In addition C30 also caters to personal choices of the customers; far different from those offered by Volvo 940 parts. “The Volvo C30 is a very exciting car with emotional appeal. We anticipate that the C30′s youthfulness and dynamic design will catch the hearts and minds of people beyond Volvo’s traditional customers” said Anne Blec President and CEO of VCNA.

“The C30 has plenty of muscles in a sporty and compact package” said Steve Mattin Volvo Car’s design director. “Anyone who recalls the Volvo SCC Safety Concept Car or the classic P1800ES will recognize the exclusive and convenient rear tailgate. The distinctive tail lamps ensure that no one will be uncertain about which car they are following.”

In connection with the vehicles safety features Volvo boasts its legendary reputation in said aspect. The Volvo C30 is available with the BLIS Blind Spot Information System which aids the driver in identifying another vehicle in the blind spot. As a true Volvo the hatchback is also equipped with the Intelligent Driver Information System IDIS WHIPS Whiplash Protection System and a Side Impact Protection System with side airbags and the Inflatable Curtain IC. The Volvo C30 is also given the patented front and rear structure to absorb and redistribute impact on the vehicle. In cases of accidents the car also features seatbelts with unique pretensioners to safeguard occupants.

“The new Volvo C30 plays an important role in our push towards a volume of 600000 cars a year. We are broadening our model program to make it possible for new younger customers with an intense urban lifestyle to choose a Volvo with the right appeal as early as possible” Arp noted. The automaker intends to sell 65000 cars every year. Seventy five per cent of those sales are expected to come from the Europe market.

About the writer:  Glady Reign is a 32 year old is a consultant for an automotive firm based in Detroit Mi. she is a native of the Motor City and grew up around cars hence her expertise in the automotive field.