drivemecrazy

Perhaps, one of the pitfalls of hybrid vehicles is that they can be so sluggish. That was basically the problem with this vehicle. This is because hybrids use underpowered gasoline engines and electric motors that are only good for lessening fuel consumption but are not actually designed for acceleration. And this is commonly the reason why people, especially those that are after the performance of a vehicle, do not choose such kind of ride. However, the use of hybrid vehicles should be considered by majority of road users to bring something good for the environment. With this fact, manufacturers of hybrid vehicles are converting their hybrids into something more powerful than before.

Though most of the new generation sporty hybrids are still being worked on, there are a comparative number of hybrids that are not that slow compared to the traditional hybrids. The fastest hybrids in the auto market are not that speedy compared to non-hybrids and are not fuel efficient compared to the rest in their lot. However, if you are a kind of driver who wants both acceleration and fuel efficiency in their vehicle, the fastest hybrids are worth considering.

Topping the list of the most powerful hybrids offered in the auto market nowadays is the Lexus GS 450h. Its quickness is far compared to the smaller and lighter Porsche 911. Also, General Motors’ Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, and GMC Yukon Hybrid made to the list. These full-sized SUVs have exceptional towing capabilities for hybrids.

Still, it is a problem that these hybrids cost more than their conventional counterparts. With this, people tend not to patronize them. However, with the unstoppable oil price hikes, it is much practical to invest in such kind that is more expensive compared to enduring everyday the price of fuel.

Biofuels had been the solution of most auto manufacturers and owners for the unstoppable oil price hike and even the threats of global warming. Its use had been widespread and it has been adopted by most auto owners. However, a potential was seen that these biofuels could contribute to global warming rather than counteract it. Two separate studies conducted by teams from Princeton University and Nature Conservancy had attested to that fact.

Timothy Searchinger, a researcher from Princeton University, said that biofuels that people are currently using could substantially increase greenhouse gases. The emissions should not only be the ones to be looked at in terms of the benefits of biofuels. Instead, its production should not be overlooked. The process of growing, harvesting, and refining fuels could make greenhouse gas emissions twice as much for the next 30 years.

With the two studies’ findings, the name of biofuels as “green fuels” had been tarnished. With this, it is about time to reconsider biofuel policies of different countries worldwide.

My previous post discussed the scents that should be kept away from the vehicle’s interior, and more importantly, to prevent the driver from experiencing these scents. In fear of the possible effects of smells to your safety, you could come into a decision not to give your car a scent. But, it would bring you no good too. Studies even show that having a neutral smell inside your car could lead drivers to be disturbed that could lead to irritation and hallucinations.

If there are scents to be avoided, there are some that are beneficial. These are as follows:

• Peppermint and cinnamon. This makes the drivers become less irritable and improves the concentration levels.

• Lemon and coffee. Also for high concentration levels, these are also good for clear thinking.

• New car smell (cleaning products and organic solvents). This has the power to make drivers concentrate more and practice more care while driving.

• Sea ozone. This encourages deep breathing that helps relax the muscles, relieves stress, and calms the mind.

In the event that you are inviting passengers to get inside your vehicle, they will surely be turned-off with smells like pet odor, stale smoke, dirty interior, smelly gym gears, urine or vomit, sickly air fresheners, food wrappers, spilled drinks, mildew from air conditioning, and more.

So, get these things out and stick to the recommended ones. Have a great ride always.

The notion that auto manufacturers of today only produce vehicles just for the sake of coming up with new ones is a hoax. Though the competition among all auto makers is indeed getting tougher, auto companies do not engage in this kind of battle. That is supported by the results of J.D. Power and Associates’ Initial Quality Study.

This study measured the quality of new vehicles during 90 days of ownership. It looked into the problems that were experienced by the owners in terms of quality of design and defects or malfunctions. The group found out that the overall quality of new vehicles improved by six percent this year as compared to last year. This result connotes that many auto manufacturers today are making much effort to provide quality improvements in their vehicles.

To attest to this, some Honda models have gotten three segment awards in this year’s study. These Honda vehicles are the Civic, CR-V, and Fit. Also, Chevrolet, Dodge, Infiniti, Lexus, and Mercedes Benz got to take home two segment awards each. Included are the Malibu and Silverado LD of Chevrolet; Dakota and Durango of Dodge; EX-Series and M-Series of Infiniti; LS and RX of Lexus, and; CLK-Class and E-Class of Mercedes Benz.

At the bottom line of the survey, the Porsche 911 has the fewest seen quality problems in all the new vehicles of the entire automotive industry. It only has 67 problems as per 100 vehicles. Other awardees for quality are the Ford E-Series, Lincoln Navigator, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan, and Toyota Sequoia.

When you plan to purchase a vehicle, of course, you should analyze first your needs so as to find one that is perfectly functional for your day-to-day activities. One thing that would make it difficult for you to decide which one to get is when you have kids to consider as passengers. You should find a vehicle that would entertain them during most of their rides and would be a safe place for them during travels. Plus, how much more would it be difficult if you are on a tight budget?

With three things in mind (entertaining, safe, and affordable), it won’t be difficult for you anymore.  This is because auto manufacturers have made so much effort in upgrading the entertainment capability and safety of their vehicles for children. They are also making such without being much of a burden on the pockets of auto buyers.

Talking about the affordability of child-friendly vehicles, all the luxury and non-luxury vehicles of 2008 that are priced $20,000 to $45,000 have passed the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety crash test rating for front, side, and rear impact collisions. Two of the most kid-friendly vehicles are the Honda CR-V compact SUV and the Toyota RAV4 midsize SUV. These two vehicles are said to offer different kinds of comfort that give kids the feeling of being at home even when they are on the road. In fact, the CR-V is equipped with a retractable center tray table that allows kids to comfortably eat snacks or even play games. The RAV4, on the other hand, has a rear-seat DVD entertainment system.

Purchasing a new vehicle at this point in time would indeed cost you a lot of money as compared to the time when you bought your old one. With this, it would be more practical for you to preserve the service of your vehicle rather than replace it as a unit. Making your current vehicle last longer would surely make you spend less. So, I assumed that you want to know how to make your vehicle serve you longer. I compiled these for everyone who may be interested in this.

• Allow your vehicle to breathe easier. It may not be new to you that when the air filter is clogged, the engine would not properly operate. Therefore, you need to regularly maintain the good working condition of the air filter. The problem in the operation of the engine could make it fail sooner, thus making your vehicle fail as well.

• Make it cool. Overheating in the engine won’t do you any better. With that, it should be noted that it is a need to maintain the cooling system and ensure that there is a proper coolant level in it. With that, you could be saved from spending more of your money for the repair of your engine.

• Have the tires’ pressure checked. If you often neglect the tires in your vehicle, then you better reconsider. Ensuring that the tires are given the right pressure means a better fuel economy and safer ride for you as well. With this simple and free task that you can do, you could help lengthen your vehicle’s service.

• Check the gauge. You could purely rely on the gauge to know if there are problems with your oil pressure, cooling system, or even tire pressure. So, you need to keep an eye on your gauge and do the necessary actions depending on the results you may be reading from it.

• Allow professional mechanics to check your ride regularly. Establish trust in one repair shop and one mechanic where you can regularly bring your vehicle for check ups.

• Inspect your vehicle closely. It is advisable that you spend at least five minutes to walk around and look at your vehicle. Check the tires if they are wearing off unevenly. Also, open the hood and see the condition of the hoses. Make sure that all the lights are at the top of their shape. The list of things you should check is endless but it does pay to check them regularly.

• Follow check-up schedules. You could work on this if you have a trusted mechanic that checks your vehicle. This is because he would know when was the last time something had been done to your vehicle. And of course, he has the right knowledge as to what will be done to your vehicle each time you bring it to him.

• Be a smart driver. If you don’t know still, the way you drive will directly or indirectly affect the length of your vehicle’s life. When you drive smoothly, you are being kind to your vehicle. On the other hand, when you drive carelessly, you do no good to your vehicle.

• Maintain the vehicle’s cleanliness. Cleaning both the exterior and interior of your vehicle could very well help preserve the service life of your vehicle. Regular washing and waxing of the exterior would also help. For the interior, regular vacuuming of the carpets should be done. The moment you see spills on it, clean them immediately so whatever was spilt on it won’t be difficult to remove.

• Keep your vehicle covered. Don’t expose your vehicle to the sun too much. It could do harm to your vehicle. With that, watch where you park your vehicle.

Doing these for and to your vehicle could save you from the costly act of purchasing a new one. However, you should take note that there’s a proper time to replace your vehicle. Pay attention to this detail as it would definitely do you no good to preserve the service of your vehicle when it is not anymore able to serve you as you need it to. Have a good drive always.

Nowadays, people are taking seriously the effect of vehicles to environment’s condition. With this, they tend to concentrate purely on minimizing the emissions of harmful exhaust gases. Among their efforts are converting their vehicles into hybrid ones and producing alternative fuels that will give off safer emissions. However, what is commonly unknown to us is there are simple things that we usually do in our car that contributes, in a way, to the deterioration of our environment. An example of this is the do-it-yourself (DIY) car washing. So no matter what effort you do in using alternative fuels or hybrid vehicles, if you do you wash your car at your own garage, you will continuously be blamed for the worsening condition of the environment.

In a test conducted two years ago by the Environmental Partners, Inc. in Issaquah, Seattle, the possible impact of untreated car wash wastes was measured using the fish mortality as a measure.

Fish toxicity tests were done using water samples from a car wash event. This gave way to a result of a hundred percent mortality of fish. They found out that detergents, even the biodegradable ones, could be harmful to the fishes’ gills and could wash away the natural oil that helps them absorb oxygen.

You might wonder how this test could be related to your simple act washing your own car. Well, listen. When you wash your car, the detergents and surface residue directly run to the nearest storm drains. When these reach the streams, rivers, oceans, and any other body of water, the effects will surely be felt by aquatic life.

On the other hand, in commercial car wash centers, the dirty waters are not sent to storm drains. It is a must for them that their water be discharged into a separate sanitary sewer that would be even treated and recycled. With that, they do no harm to aquatic life.

May this be a message to people to be more responsible in everything they are doing, even the smallest things. So, let’s continue our fight for a healthier environment.

For the seniors out there, here is the continuation of my previous post. Even if you are not old yet, you are still welcome to read. I know that all of us will reach that time in life. So keep reading.

The third one is adjusting your vision. As we all know, driving concerns 95 percent visual information. However, the vision declines as a person gets older. With this, seniors should adjust to their vision such as limiting their driving only when the sun is high and seeking the help of eye specialists.

The fourth one is engaging in physical rehabilitation. Various types of exercise and physical therapy could greatly help seniors. A research conducted by Yale University School of Medicine finds out that even a 15-minute exercise a day could improve flexibility, coordination, and speed of movement of extremities in drivers aged 70 and above, especially those who are suffering from arthritis. With this, driving performance is projected to improve by at least 8 percent lower crash occurrence over two years.

Also included here is enhancing cognitive skills. A research in Maryland finds out that if a driver fails a cognitive test, that driver will be 25 percent more likely to get involved in a crash. As a person ages, the cognitive skills somewhat declines yet some scientists believe that such could be recovered still.

With that, a web-based simulation program was developed. Practicing it for 20 minutes a day, thrice a week, could improve the driver’s reaction time, short-term memory, visual scanning ability, and eye-hand coordination.

The last one is having tougher licensing laws. The state should be able to establish standards in determining when seniors should be prohibited to drive without being unfair to older drivers who are still capable.

So to seniors, I believe we can make the road a safer place to drive in. Have a good ride.

Many are taking a bow to the growth of hybrid vehicles in the auto world nowadays. Indeed, it is a fact that hybrid vehicles are one of the friendliest to the environment. There is no question about that. Seen nowadays as the savior of the worsening situation of our environment, hybrid vehicles are faced with a big problem that might stain their image. What could that be?  It is said that hybrid vehicles have health risks for people who come in contact with it.

Scientific studies reveal that the flow of electrical current to the motor of a hybrid that allows it to move at low speeds produces electromagnetic fields. These electromagnetic fields are now being associated with serious health effects such as the possible risk of leukemia among children.

In the current setup of hybrid vehicles, their batteries and power cables are often placed close to the drivers and passengers. With that, exposure to these electromagnetic fields could not be avoided. However, Toyota and Honda, the most dominant hybrid manufacturers, claim that according to their internal checks, their vehicles do not give added risks to occupants.

The National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute even agree and acknowledged the possible hazards of long-term exposure to a strong electromagnetic field. Though the amount of safe exposure to the electromagnetic field is still unknown, further studies are being considered. This is because experts say that it is not a good idea to ignore such potential risks, especially if the concern is people’s health. With that, I hope the answer would come out the soonest.

Again, I’m back talking about the promised DON’Ts in driving. I know you appreciate the fact that accidents should be avoided as much as possible. Who would want to be in an accident in the first place? I assume that even the most adventurous person in the world would not wish to be involved in this kind of situation. So here, take a look.

• Don’t remain in someone’s blind spot. Same as tailgating, keep a consistent space from other vehicles. Moving so close to one would be like begging for an accident, I tell you.

• Don’t assume that trucks drive like cars. It would be great trouble if you happen to be involved in a collision with a truck. So keep your distance. Remember that trucks could not be operated as easily as your car.

• Don’t play loud music. If you think that driving only requires the use of your eyes, you’re wrong. The ears should be used as much as the eyes are used. With loud music, how could you possibly hear other cars, especially horns and sirens? Think about it.

• Don’t fool around. There’s no point in imitating what you see in movies. Concentrate on your driving instead.

• Don’t drive when you’re tired. Did you know that driving when you are tired is a lot similar to driving under the influence? So when you really need to drive, take a nap first or take an energy drink or get some coffee.

• Don’t commit intersection errors. Stop and look in all directions before you dare keep your car running in intersections.

• Don’t give in to road rage. When you are angry or emotional, better not drive. The road could be so stressful and you may suddenly be in a road rage. That’s a problem.

I hope that upon knowing all these things, you are now ready to face the road without much fear of accidents. You know, accidents are sometimes in our hands. If we only make an effort to avoid it, we can do so. So, have a great ride!

So here is the promised continuation of my previous post about getting away from accidents. I hope this could help you. Take a look at the sixth to ninth reminders. Let’s start.

Fifth, beware of precipitation. When it rains, be aware that the roads will be slippery, a result of oil mixing with water on the road surface. Therefore, you should watch your speed.

Sixth, know your route. As much as possible, before you go driving through a particular route, you should know it completely. However, when it could not be avoided that you look at a map for directions, make sure that the map you got is easy-to-read and basically has large fonts so you won’t be distracted so much from your driving. If it is indeed hard to read, stop and read it.

Seventh, use hands-free devices for communication. With this, you would not anymore be tempted to use the phone making your other hand unavailable. You know it is important in driving to use both hands.

Eighth, follow road rules. You know this already! There’s no more need for elaboration.

Ninth, you should plan things ahead of time. There’s no point in wasting your time on the road thinking about where you’ll be heading. Remember, when you are in front of a steering wheel, a hundred percent of your attention is needed.

That would be all for now. Follow these as much as you can. I know we have the same desire of avoiding accidents. These are the DOs to avoid accidents. How about the DON’Ts? Watch out for my future posts on that. Have a safe ride always.