Understanding Hybrid Car Structure

A hybrid car has more than one power source that can provide propulsion power, directly or indirectly. Hybrid cars are significantly reduce the emissions caused by the gasoline and increase the mileage. Most hybrid cars on the road at present are gasoline-electric hybrids. The gasoline electric hybrid cars have the following parts.

• Fuel tank: A hybrid car's fuel tank is the device that stores energy for the gasoline engine. Batteries have less energy density than the gasoline. For instance, to store one gallon or seven pounds of gas energy thousand pounds of batteries requires.

• Electric motor: The hybrid cars' electric motor is very sophisticated part. When additional power is needed, electric motor will assist the gasoline engine. The electric motor also convert the energy from regenerative braking or the engine into electricity and it stores in the battery. So it also works as a generator. When needed the electric motor starts the gasoline engine instantly.

• Generator: The electric motor and the generator are similar. But the work of the generator is only producing electrical power. It is used in a series of hybrids.

• Batteries: The batteries are the most important parts in the hybrid vehicles. The electric motor convert the energy into electric power which is from regenerative braking or engine. Then, it sends the electric power to store in the batteries. When the engine requires additional power, electric motor withdraws the electric power from the batteries.

• Engine: The engine in the hybrid cars are much like as gasoline powered cars engine. But the hybrids engine is smaller and much efficient than the traditional gasoline powered engines.

• Transmission: The hybrid cars and the conventional cars' transmission performs the same basic function. At present, some cars have conventional transmissions and some cars have radically different transmissions.

When compared to the non-hybrid cars, some hybrid cars models like Toyota Prius emits 90 percent less pollutants. This will be helpful to the environment with low harmful chemicals. As they are environmental friendly, the United States government encouraging to buy the hybrid cars by providing tax write off. Because of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulation,  almost every manufacturer launched or announced to launch the hybrid version.

The hybrid automobile makers are also giving warranties for years, within this period the car owner can replace the most expensive parts if needed for free of cost. When compared to the gasoline powered cars, hybrid cars depreciation is at a lower rate. The maintenance of hybrid cars is also not required as much more than a gasoline car. Therefore, investment in a hybrid cars is useful in both environmental friendly and lower your expenses on the car when compared to a gasoline vehicles over a period of time.

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Tips for Selling Cars Online

Before the advent of the Internet, there were only two ways of selling your car: selling it to the dealer or selling it privately. Nowadays, digital marketing has made selling of car a hassle free process. Here are some simple tips that help you sell your car.

1) Prepare your car and organize important documents: When selling your car, make it as attractive as possible.

• Start with cleaning your vehicle. Get your car's exterior waxed. Remove the trunk clutter and all interiors. Vacuum clean the interior surfaces.
• Replace fused off/burnt off lights and check for all fluid levels.
• Collect all the important documents like vehicle history report, maintenance records, etc. that a prospective buyer would like to see.

2) Snap some pictures: A key to online selling is using quality photos. Capture your vehicle's pictures from every angle. Keep in mind the following points:

• Highlight special features that make your car stand out.
• Shoot pictures clearly and to keep focusing on the vehicle, use a non distracting, simple background.
• The number of photos you like to post depends on the package you apply/select.
• Show off your car interiors and electronics. Do not be afraid of posting pictures of scrapes and dents, as the buyers would also like to know what is wrong with the vehicle. This will help build credibility and prevent surprises when a buyer comes to look at the car personally.

3) Write car description: This is the most important step in the process of selling your car. You should:

• Give honest, clear and thorough details about the vehicle, as this will build the trust.
• Think about what attracted you when buying that particular vehicle. Write about the number of cup holders, rear seat entertainment system and other features that make it a perfect family car.

4) Find a buyer: Buying a car online can be stressful for the buyer, as he is the one who will pay for the car that is unseen. To ease him, create an effective bridge of communication with him.

• Include several forms of contact number for the potential buyer when placing an ad.
• Be direct and honest if the buyer asks several questions.
• Try encouraging the potential buyer to see and test drive your vehicle.
• After discussing, follow up the buyer. Be careful if the information provided does not check out.

5) Take payment and transfer ownership: Whether you are dealing with person on phone, through email or in person, always be aware when taking payment. Remember the following points when taking payment:

• If a buyer is willing to pay via money order or check, accept only the exact amount.
• If possible, go to the bank with the buyer for verifying check's authenticity.
• If the buyer wills to pay by money order, follow the same safe payment guidelines for accepting checks.

After taking payment for the car, it's time to transfer ownership. Have both parties signed before the transaction is complete.

Step by Step Procedure for Cleaning Your Car

When it comes to cleaning your car, nothing will be worse than the poor technique of cleaning, thus ending up wasting time or more worst scratching your car permanently. Thus, giving your car to local car wash. But cleaning and washing the car by yourself isn't that difficult, here are some simple steps that will help you in cleaning your car efficiently.

Procedure for Cleaning your Car
1) Gathering all the materials for washing and cleaning the car
The first step in washing your car is to get prepared with the right washing material. Take a bottle of car washing detergent, and you will need a sponge for washing the body of the car, brush for cleaning the tires, bucket and a water hose with running water.

2) Rinsing
With the help of a water hose, give your car a thorough rinse to get off all the dirt and grim. If you scrub with the sponge without rinsing, you will be just pushing the grime around. You will also require to re-rinse your car before washing each section, especially if it is summer season as warm weather can make your car dry soon.

3) Washing the top of the car
Next step is to rinse and wash the top of the car, the dirt will rinse down from the side of the car windows, thus saving your efforts and time. If you are cleaning the top in the last, then all the dirt will again mess the cleaned body of the car.

4) Washing the front of the car
The next step in washing your car with hand is to clean the car's front. It might be covered by dead bugs and dirt. The cleaning should be done first as it will get the time to dry out while you are washing the rest of the car.

5) Washing the body of the car
Wash and rinse car's each section, repeat this until you clean the entire body. Scrubbing in circles means that you will miss out some spots, so it is advisable to scrub side to side from left to right or right to left.

6) Cleaning the wheels
After washing and rinsing car's body, brush the wheels. Wheels are the dirtiest as they do most of the work, so using a wheel cleaner will be a better option. Further, if you want to make your tires shine, spray your tires with blackener.

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How to Replace a Car Stereo

The stereo in a car is one of the most common devices that do not need any introduction to readers. In this article, we will see the useful steps while you need to replace your car's stereo like buying new one, removing old stereo and installing new stereo.

• Evaluate current stereo: First, you need to evaluate your current stereo system. Most modern vehicles are having premium audio systems. These are not easily replaced. Check for the logos on the door panel or on stereo like Infinity, Harmon, JBL, BOSE etc. If you find anything like that, you probably have a premium stereo or audio system. If that system is factory made audio system, better do not open by yourself. Find a qualified professional to replace the system. If you do not find any premium audio system signs, follow this.

• Buying a stereo:  Before you buy a stereo, make sure that what will exactly fit for your car. If you have any doubts check with the retailer's websites, they will tell you what is the best suitable. For the older Nissan which are pre 1995 to 1996, some European vehicles and for GM vehicles you may need to buy an antenna adapter also.

• Removing old stereo: To install a new stereo, you need to remove the old stereo in your car. Before you start to remove the vehicle's stereo, remove the negative cable from the battery to prevent the accidental short-circuiting.

• Tools required: You need some tools to remove and install the stereo on your vehicle. Those are antenna adapter, vehicle wiring harness, dash kit, wire stripper, small metric socket set and some screwdrivers. Some European and Ford vehicles require special tools; you can find them in many auto supply stores.
• The factory stereo mounted in any one of the two ways - secured in a metal mounting sleeve by spring clips or bolted to the dash with brackets.
• Spring clip mounting: In this case, you need a pair of DIN tools. Until a click is heard, insert the DIN tools into either hole on either side. Once it clicked, spread the tools apart slightly and pull out the stereo.
• Bolted in place: Some vehicle stereos are covered with one or more trim panels and you need to carefully pry them away from the dash, hidden pressure clips may often secure them. Disassemble the other pieces of panel by locating and removing the bolts. Once you got the access to the stereo check for the screws at side brackets, front of the dash or any other place you shown them and remove it from dash.
• Unplugging the old stereo: Behind the stereo at least one plastic wiring harness will be appeared if the vehicle has a factory stereo or wired before with a stereo prep package. That plug or plugs connects stereo with vehicle's electrical system and speakers. Unplug the wiring harnesses and antenna to complete the stereo removal process.

• Installing: Connect the vehicle and stereo wiring harnesses color to color. If you have any doubts regarding to the colors check with the guide given in the kit. Insert carefully into the slot and mount it. Reconnect the negative battery terminal.

If you do not have proper tools to change the stereo, you can buy in any auto supply stores, or give it to a qualified professional to replace but do not experiment with incompatible tools. It will damage both stereo and the car.

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Inspection under the Bonnet While Buying a Used Car

There is no need to become a mechanic to perform a reasonable or basic inspection under the bonnet before purchasing a used car. Taking the car to a mechanic can provide the best insight, even though there are many items you can check yourself. There is no need of any tool requirement except a few clean rags. The inspection has to perform before the vehicle start and the engine is off. And second time is after the car is properly warm up.

Battery: Batteries have sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is highly corrosive. Check for signs of corrosion at the area around the battery and battery terminals. This indicates a leaking or a bad battery. Clean with baking soda around that area, if needed. Check for whether the battery is firmly attached to the frame.

When the car is running, loose battery vibrate excessively and eventually the battery terminals may loosen. Check for the adequate water levels in each cell. For maintenance, free batteries there is no need to check for water levels.

Radiator: The engine must be cool at anytime when the radiator cap is removed. There is no need to look at the color of the radiator fluid, because the colors are vary as per the brand. Check for any metal particles floating in the fluid. The oil in the radiator coolant may indicate a leaking gasket or a cracked cylinder head.

Engine oil: A build up of sludge and thick or dirty oil may indicate a lack of proper maintenance. Milky or Grey colored oil may means presence of water and can lead to serious engine problems.

Check for Engine number and VIN: Check for the engine number and the vehicle identification number or body number. The numbers on the certificate of registration and these numbers must have to match. The vehicle identification number contains numbers and letter and it is the unique identity of the car.

If you are unable to find the number, ask the seller to point out the number to you. If you did not find the number or the number is not matched with the documents, you should not buy the car. Check for signs of interference like drill holes, grind marks, scratches etc. These are the illegal interference with the numbers.

An engine with oil or dirt may indicate poor maintenance or or mechanical problems. While engine is idle check or listen for any knocking or rattling or irregular running noises. Check for the signs of different shade in the engine bay. This is called as over spray and it may indicates that the car met a crash and the paint sprayed again. If you find any freshly welded signs, it is an indicator of damage.

Know How Engine Control Unit of Your Car Works

The engine control unit (ECU) is also known as engine control module (ECM) or powertrain control module (PCM). The engine control unit is a small computerized unit. The function of this unit is getting information from the sensors and run some automatic tasks accordingly. If there are any errors or problems in the engine control module, it will give signals in the form of light on the dashboard. If you have little knowledge and skill on this you can clean the system for optimization by yourself.

• Time: The engine control unit regulates the spark time to start the engine. If there is any issue, it adjusts the time accordingly.

• Fuel: The engine control unit adjusts the fuel release during acceleration. It will send the signal to inject fuel based on the gas pedal pressing.

• Air: The air sensors control unit makes sure that optimal temperature and flow are maintained. It does as follows:
• The air temperature (IAT) sensor gives the signals of air temperature at which air is going into the engine. When the temperature of the air is low, the car performance is high. Generally located at the pipe going from the air filter box to the throttle body or on the air filter box.
• The mass air flow (MAF) sensor measures the volume of air entering the engine. It contains a heat sensing element. The temperature of this element has to be constant. But because of air inflow the temperature will decrease. The engine control unit uses this information to adjust the spark ignition timing and injector pulse width.
• The bar sensor measures the air pressure. With this signal, the engine control unit recognize the current attitude of the vehicle.
• The RPM of the engine is steadily observed by the idle air control valve.

• Coolant: If the engine is too cool, it will consume excess gasoline. On the other hand, if it is too hot the head gasket leaks. To give good functionality of the engine, the temperature is important. The coolant is a liquid. It is used in vehicle's radiator to maintain the temperature. The engine coolant temperature (ECT) sensor gives prompts the engine control unit when the heat is high, and will send signal to run the radiator fan to decrease the temperature of the coolant liquid.

• The accelerator pedal is linked with the throttle position sensor (TPS). It gives the signals to the engine control unit about the movements of accelerator pedal.

If any sensor fails or continuously shows the same reading for a long time, the engine control unit ignores the signals of that sensor and get into the safe mode. Sensors are very important they make sure to start the car when needed.

Power Window Problems of The Car

In the beginning the power windows are available only for the luxury cars. But now a days these are available for many cars. It is looking good when the button pressed, window is moving down or moving up. But when it stuck and not working properly, Become very difficulty. If the window is stuck in the middle and the rain is started while driving will be more difficult to bare. The mechanical system in the power window and the manual operating widow are same. But the power window needs power to make it work. Generally the power window system is very complicated to brake. Very rare cases they have the problems. Now we will see them.

• Check the Fuses: If no window is working, check the circuit is receiving electricity or not. In the panel check the fuse for the circuit. If you are unable to find the location check your owner's manual. The fuse can test with multimeter ohms settings. And then test main control to ensure the power is receiving. It has twelve volts direct current. If the problem is not in the main control, look for the broken wire which is going to the control panel. If the windows are working occasionally the problem might be in the wiring.

• Problems with motors: Window motors can fail because of the old or aged. When a motor is receiving power or voltage but not working means it is failed. So the motor has to be replaced. Accessing the motor area is difficult. You can purchase new motor for that. Follow the instructions to install the motor, if anything given. The weather sheeting in the door may not stick back in place. Which is located between the door panel and the mechanisms. Electrical tape or duct tape can use to hold the plastic to the door frame. Check whether window is operating correctly or not before you replace or fix the door panel. You can add a quality lubricant for working smoothly to the moving parts of the track.

• Tracks: When the tracks were broken the window can stuck. It is also occurred when opening forcefully during the freezing conditions. Remove the door panel manually and check the track whether the window seated correctly or not. We can break the small plastic components which are causing for system malfunction on the windows track. Replacing of the broken plastic components is not a difficult. These can be available at auto supply stores.

• Buttons: Test the button with the multimeter. Check both the driver control and the individual control window buttons. If it is not working, you can replace them. These can be available in many places and the cost is also less.

You should need to troubleshoot the problem. If you find exactly it will be easy to repair. Be careful while you need to break anything like plastics, the pressure may lead to the glasses.

How to Lease a Car ?

Leasing a car inolves using a the car for a particular length of time at the sum of money that is agreed between two parties; the buyer (lessee) and the seller (leaser). Leasing a vehicle allows you to drive home new vehicle without payment of cash which will be a huge amount.

Points to be considered while leasing a car
Leasing a car is an task, but still you need to know how to lease a car. Consider the following points.

• Select a type of car: When trying to lease a car, first thing is to decide is the type of car you need and what kind you prefer the most ? The types include an SUV, sedan, convertible, station wagon, hatch back or minivan.

• Picking the model you prefer: When deciding to lease a car it is better to do some homework and make a list of types of the car in terms of price, mileage, safety features about insurance premiums. This is to be done regarding the models you are preferring.

• Test driving the car: Once you have shortlisted the cars you are preferring now it is time for you to test drive. Each car should be taken for test drive that will help you to understand much about a car. Much attention should be paid to the comfortability, visibility, steering and brake pedals. At this stage you should not mention whether you are buying a car or leasing a car.

• Ensuring about safety: During the test driving stage, you should ask the sales person about the safety features in the vehicle like air bags that are head protecting, anti lock brake system and electronic stability control.

• Comparing the lease deals: After a test drive when you are satisfied with a car, go home and take sometime to calculate lease deals that was offered thereby figuring out the monthly payment you require to pay. Consider the amount you will pay every month is affordable.

• Discussing the price: When returning to the dealer to deal, you still not mention about your plan to lease until the price of the car is negotiated. When leasing a car, most of the people don't know that their payment is done on the price that is finally agreed.

• Negotiating the price: Finally when everything satisfied you, begin to negotiate with low price. If the dealer is not satisfied, raise the price slightly. When both the parties are satisfied with the price, it is better to finalize now.

• Payment of lease: If the amount of initial down payment is large, you need to pay less amount of installment monthly. As in case of any other bills, penalties will be faced by you if the monthly payments are not done on time.

However, there are some drawbacks in leasing a car :

• When the lease period expires, you will not own the car. It is like renting a car and not owning it.
• Over time, the amount of leasing cost will exceed actual purchase price of the car.
• You will face penalties if :
• You are not keeping the car in good condition especially the interior and the exterior.
• When you are exceeding the miles that was mentioned in the contract when leasing.
• If there is any wear and tear in the performance and appearance of the car.

The procedure to lease a car is less complicated when compared to buying a car. It is important for you to have more information and knowledge about leasing a car.

The Teenagers Safety Driving Tips

Most of the teenagers drive aggressively, that may cause road hazards, traffic crashes etc. and the reckless driving is dangerous, even with the safety equipments. The following are safety tips that every teenagers should follow to drive safely.

• Teenagers should switch off their mobile phones while they are in drive or else should not lift until you stop at safe place.
• While driving the car you should not text, even it may be five second that may cause loss of focus on road and lot can go wrong and can cause serious damages, sometimes even death.
• You should remember that the car is yours and you own it. But you should not own the road.
• You should drive within the limits, because too high a speed is 40% more fatal for teens and do not jump on red signals.
• You should not eat, drink or play music loudly, because it may cause serious damage as your vision or mind get wander for few seconds, which is enough to lose control on your car and can cause distractions.
• Don't drive after driving or abusing drugs. Of course, this is a serious problem with all age groups but it is very dangerous when comes to teenagers.
• Every teenager should use seat belts, because when met with a serious accidents it may cause serious damages and even kill them. Teenagers more lax in wearing seat belts when compared to adults.
• Night driving for teenagers may very risk when compared to adults. For the teenager who are in beginning stage may in high risk activity.
• Check the mirrors and adjust if they are in wrong position and make sure that they are clear/clean.
• Check for all includes tires, lights, wiper, washer fluid levels, oil, transmission, etc.
• Limit the passengers, not as per the seat but the seat belts.

These are the safety tips, when applied that will make you to drive safely.

Debut of new cars in LA auto show 2009

The LA auto show has given hopes of recovery of the auto market of Los Angeles. The show was a hit and the cars that are shown here are really good. Taking a look at the show stealers of the entire event …

• Audi R8 Roadster: It’s much awaited – cool-looking sports car from Audi.
• P-NUT: Personal-Neo Urban Transport in abbreviation. This is whimsical three-seat subcompact from Honda.
• Boxster Spyder: This is lightweight car from Porsche - I must say the lightest car. This falls into the category of company’s much-loved mid-engined roadster but with enhanced performance.
• Up! Lite: A sinister looking diesel hybrid car from Volkswagen that gets 70 mpg combined. It presages a three-door hatchback version of the upcoming Up! subcompact which is set to release in 2012. It weighs 1,500 pounds. Now you know why it’s called Lite.
• Chevrolet Cruze: Not to introduce it specially – the legendary Sedan from General Motors. It features a downsized turbocharged engine and six-speed transmissihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifons, advances that earn the Cruze 40 mpg on the EPA’s highway fuel economy cycle.
• A3 TDI: This car was awarded Green car of the year. Not to mention that this is from Audi – this works on clean-diesel giving 42 miles per gallon on the highway.