Thursday, June 13, 2013

8 Vehicles You Probably Didnt Know You Could Still Buy New

 

Looking for a real bargain? Here are 8 cars dealers cant wait to get off their lots...because they arent even being made anymore. One of them hasnt been in production since Fall 2007, but you can still find it, likely at a big discount.

From Automobile.
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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Highway Sign Hacking Hits Miami




You might remember a rash of highway message sign hacking a few months ago,warning of zombies in Austin, Texas and Collinsville, Illinois and of raptors (the prehistoric birds, not the Ford pickup).

Well, now the message is getting racist, or political, or both. Early morning drivers on Palmetto in Miami ran across the above sign and the highway department had to come out and turn it off. Except it kept rebooting. Authorities finally had to turn the sign away from drivers while they worked to erase the memory.

Highway Technologies of Illinois owns the sign and is renting it to the highway department. They say theyre using "all their resources to find out how the sign was hacked and who did it."

The likely charge, vandalism. Though someone will undoubtedly try to build a hate crimes charge in there, too.
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Sunday, June 9, 2013

Kia Forte Review


Imagine youre Toyota or Honda...secure in the knowledge that you build high-quality small cars, that even if you slip a bit, it will take a long time before the perception diminishes after 30 years of performance.

About three years ago, though, you see a tiny dot in your rearview mirror. Long way back...dont worry.


But the dot gets closer and bigger faster than you could imagine. Now its on your bumper. If youre Toyota, recent recalls, controversies and suspension of production and sales could erase the narrowing lead.

The dot is the 2010 Kia Forte. Base price 2 grand lower than Corolla and Civic. Base horsepower higher. EPA mileage estimates a virtual draw.


But what puts Kia into tailgating territory is a quantum leap in exterior styling and interior quality. Kias have always been not quite there when it comes to the details. In the Forte, theyre there. Theres not a hint of cheapness or corners cut.

Victory? A new champ? Well, the Forte is certainly deserving of notice, but in terms of winning the hearts and minds of compact buyers, theres that perception issue we mentioned. It will take Kia a while to convince millions of compact car buyers that they have something to offer beyond price...and that "resale value" and "Kia" are not mutually exclusive terms.

Once that happens, though, watch out.
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Friday, June 7, 2013

How to remove the gearbox on the VAZ 2109

To replace the faulty parts to the clutch mechanism of VAZ 2109, should be removed from the vehicle transmission. To do this, set the car on the lookout hole, open the hood and fix it securely in the open position. Under the hood of the car performs a variety of operations. First disconnect the battery terminals. Disconnect the wires from the retractor to the starter relay. From the body disconnect the speedometer cable drive by removing the cap nut for this. Bulk wire is disconnected from the clutch. Loosen the screws, unplug the cord grip of the lower tip. Remove the two bolts clutch to the engine block, located at the top. On the left exhaust manifold stud fastening fasten the bracket to fasten the power unit. To support the engine, set to drain grooves crossmember. Its hook hooked on the bracket, which was previously installed on the heels of the exhaust manifold. For hanging the engine can use a manual hoist. Proceed in an observation pit. Acting from below the car, remove the engine splash shield and the bottom cover clutch. From the gearbox drain the oil. Wire switch reversing lamps must be removed from the switch. Loosen the clamp and remove the rod from the pivot rod gear selection. Unscrew the nut with the pin that attaches the top of the gearbox. Ball joints suspension arms detach from the steering knuckle. Hammer punch to knock out the inner joints of the drive poluosevyh gears. Take the side drive shafts. On the left side Loosen the three nuts from the bolts attaching the gearbox to the left bracket car engine, then loosen the nut of the bracket. Remove the bracket from the stud gear and remove the mounting bracket of the lug spar body. Remove the screws that secure the rear suspension support engine. Loosen the bottom bolts to the starter and remove the starter. Loosen the bottom bolt to clutch to the engine. Slightly lower the engine, move the gear box assembly with clutch case to disconnect the input shaft box and clutch disc. Trying not to rely on the diaphragm spring input shaft, remove the gearbox from the vehicle. Recent operations should be conducted with an assistant.

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Unanimous Harrison NY PD Agrees Driver Error Not Unintended Acceleration


The one on the right is the gas pedal. The one on the left is the brake pedal. The chief of the Harrison, New York Police Department says, yep...the 55 year old woman who crashed her Toyota Prius hybrid into a stone wall two weeks ago...the one he said couldnt have been driver error at the time.....was, well, driver error, the most common cause of fully investigated unintended acceleration incidents.

Captain Anthony Marracccini says his departments investigation confirms what Toyota and the NHTSAs found...that the throttle was wide-open at the time of impact...with no sign of any application of the brake.

AP story via The Detroit News here. Conversations among Prius drivers on the PriusChat forums.
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Monday, June 3, 2013

Checking the fluids and oils

Check engine oil level in the Mazda 3. To check the oil level we need to probe - a special tool, which is located on the right side of the engine. For accurate test results of oil, the procedure should be carried out either before the trip or after 20 minutes. Tool to check the oil. Remove the dipstick from its "nest" and remove it from the end of an oil liquid. Now paste it to the end in place and re-extract. Inside is a sort of ruler, and it is possible to observe two bands. So check the oil level is on this scale. One mark on the dipstick is approximately one liter of oil. If the oil level does not meet the recommended, it will be necessary to top up. To this end, twisting the cap from the inlet "throat". It is located on the engine, and more precisely on the cover of the cylinder. After using a funnel, fill the missing amount of oil. Liquid cooling. It is very important to monitor the level of cooling fluid! He checked with a probe or a label on the tank with the liquid. If the motor car is well warmed up, the rate of cooling fluid must rise to the top division in the tank. If this does not happen, you need to fill the tank of cooling liquid. Checking the cooling fluid, we look at what would be its level was at elevation between the empty [low] and complete [full]. At low add water and antifreeze to the desired mark. Before pouring fresh fluid, you want to check on the quality of the old. If the liquid that has already been filled earlier, gained, dirty shades or in it there is rust, you have to wash the entire cooling system and change all the coolant. Liquid for washing glasses. A barrel of liquid for headlight glass you will find by opening the hood and look in the right front corner. Check the fluid level, pay attention to what would be the liquid was near the top serif, on water "throat." During the summer, fill the tank only 2 / 3, and in winter, it is necessary to fill the keg ice solution. In order to avoid defects in paint on the body, we advise not to add antifreeze to the tank. Brake fluid and clutch fluid. Checking brake fluid level, it is necessary to pay attention to what would be the level is between the marks, minimum [min] and maximum [max], which are deposited on the wall of the barrel. If the level of required liquid below the recommended need to fill it with a special mixture. Will also need to check is already flooded with liquid quality. If the old fluid is observed rust, water or mud, it should be required to drain and fill the reservoir with fresh fluid.

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Saturday, June 1, 2013

VIDEO 911 Call From Crash Victim Help Takes Two Days To Arrive


Your car goes off a highway down a ravine, out of sight of traffic. Your cell phone works and you call 9-1-1.


But...GPS only narrows your call down to the nearest cell tower and the Highway Patrol cant see the wreckage from the road.

Betcha think theyll launch a chopper, given the terrain and whats at stake.

But watch this video and youll hear the Arizona Department of Public Safety say they cant and wont do that.

And so the man on the phone and his young son died waiting for help to arrive....their bodies found when it became a "missing persons" case two days later and the helicopter finally went up.

Story from ABC15 (KNXV-TV, Phoenix...my day job).
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