Car Corner

If you have the pleasure of owning a Subaru SVX, you are instantly drawn to this luxury car’s striking features and distinct look.

Although the Subaru SVX is well renowned as being dependable and reliable for the most part; this car does come with its own pitfalls and mechanical problems. The main issues most owners run into with a Subaru SVX are wheel bearing issues, transmission problems and even transmission failure. Having the transmission repaired on the SVX can prove to be costly and sometimes not worth fixing. Because the SVX is set in a higher weight class than most vehicles in its group it is also prone to having problems with warped rotors.

While all of these issues can be fixed, they can also be expensive, mainly due in part to the fact that the Subaru SVX is an imported vehicle and in order to find parts, you need to either see a Subaru dealer in your area that specializes in repair and maintenance or you need to order the parts from a reputable manufacturer. Either way it can be rather pricey.

There are other resources and places to look when you are in need of parts for your Subaru SVX and you can utilize these ideas to locate the parts you need to fix it yourself or to acquire the parts and then have a licensed mechanic finish the work and repair the Subaru SVX. This will save you hundreds of dollars.

Purchase the Parts Wholesale

If you happen to know someone who works for Subaru or works in their parts department you can easily purchase the parts you need for your Subaru SVX through them. You will need to have a licensed mechanic or someone knowledgeable with Subaru to do the repairs.

Your Local Subaru Dealer

If you are able to fix the Subaru SVX yourself or you know someone who can help you repair the vehicle, you can obtain the parts through your local Subaru dealer. The cost for the parts won’t be as cheap as if you were to buy them wholesale.

Internet Auction Sites

There are many popular Internet auction sites that you can bid on or even purchase the parts you need for your Subaru SVX. Not all auction sites need you to bid on the item you want, although if you choose this option, you can save hundreds of dollars and you also have the option to buy the product directly from the seller.

Online Vehicle Part Swap Sites

If you perform a simple Google search you can easily find online vehicle part swap sites. Here, many times there are sellers who are looking to swap their used or new parts for something else. This is great if you happen to have what the seller is looking for and you are short on funds.

Junkyards

Junkyards are a great way to find the parts you need for your Subaru SVX. You need to take into consideration that these parts are used and may need to be removed from the vehicle before you can purchase the parts.

Vehicle Auctions

There are several vehicle auctions available that auction off the Subaru SVX for rock bottom prices, this is a great way to get a back up vehicle or use the vehicle for parts to repair the Subaru you currently have.

By utilizing multiple resources you can easily find the Subaru SVX parts that you need to get your vehicle back and running in no time.

US President George W. Bush once advised Americans to invest in buying and patronizing hybrid vehicles to help cure and eliminate the country’s addition to oil. Because contract oil prices in the world market have always been very volatile, there is a pending need to significantly lower all industries and peoples’ reliance and need for oil. Car experts now recommend buying hybrid cars more than any other type of cars.

What are hybrid cars? Basically, these are vehicles that run on two sources of energy—the usual gasoline or oil and electricity stored within an imbedded battery. The electricity from batteries serves as a back up or an assisting energy source.

There are operations and functions of the hybrid car that utilize the electricity. This way, full consumption and reliance from the gasoline engine is lowered, making consumption of gasoline significantly lower. These days, hybrid cars provide about 60-40 gasoline-electricity power, wherein gasoline energy components make up majority of the car functions.

Is there a need to prefer a hybrid car? Before any purchase transaction for such a fuel-efficient car, it would be wise and logical if you would first consider the following checklist:

1. Is a hybrid car the right and appropriate car for you?

2. Are your personal driving habits in favor of using a hybrid car?

3. What are the helpful and necessary options available?

4. Do you have enough information to validate the reliability and credibility of the dealer and manufacturer?

5. Are there options in terms of car dealers? Will it be viable to buy in dealers from another state or area?

6. Is there a sticker price or manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) that is the actual price of the hybrid car, no more, no less?

Looking at the pros and cons of buying a hybrid car is easy. First of all, you would be able to generate a significant amount of savings in the form of gasoline consumption declines. However, it is just logical that hybrid cars currently cost higher than the normal and traditional cars.

Hybrid cars are much lighter in weight and the basic structure and components and made of lighter alloys and metals, as weight is also a significant factor that boosts crude consumption. For its disadvantage, some people less prefer light structures and components in cars as such materials deform easier and are not too durable.

Hybrid cars perform full functions and features of a regular car. However, in comparison, hybrid cars fall less. For instance, if you are very particular about speed, hybrid cars would surely disappoint you. That is because electricity is not yet a viable source of power and energy for cars. That is why it just installed as a back up and secondary source of power in hybrid cars. If you are worrying about charging of batteries, do not worry.

Hybrid cars are designed to have components that facilitate conversion of mechanical energy to stored-electrical. That is why through braking and acceleration, the car’s battery is being charged. The disadvantage of this is that the major weight of the car and the overall space consumption can be directly influenced by battery installations.

It is advisable to buy a hybrid car, but if you are after superior performance, wait further because carmakers are still in the process of researching and developing better and more powerful hybrid cars.

As people become more aware of environmental issues and conscious of their actions, demand for hybrid cars, to buy and rent, has risen.

A hybrid car is a car which can run on two or more fuel sources – most commonly an engine and an electric motor powered by batteries. The motor and batteries help the engine work more efficiently which means you spend less on fuel and emit fewer emissions.

The Toyota Prius is probably the most well known hybrid car. It first went on sale in 1997 and since then, more than 10,000 Prius’ have been sold in Australia. The Australian Government’s Green Vehicle Guide website rates all new vehicles based on greenhouse and air pollution emissions and fuel consumption. The Prius is currently the top performer in all 3 with a fuel consumption of 4.4L per 100kms.

To give you an idea of what this means – a Hummer H3 Adventure has a fuel consumption level of 13.2L/100km, Toyota Rav 4′s fuel consumption is 9.6L, a Mercedes Benz C Class C180K is 7.6L and a Honda Civic 1.8L sedan has a fuel consumption of 7.2L. According to Toyota, a Prius has up to 50% less consumption than a comparably-sized family car and that one tank of fuel could theoretically get you over a whopping 1000km!

While hybrid cars are still quite expensive to buy – a Toyota Prius 1.5L petrol/Electric combination CVT will set you back $37,400 (from www.toyota.com.au), renting one may be within your budget.

DriveAway currently have Hybrids available to rent in France and the USA, but with car rental suppliers adding more ‘green’ cars to their fleets, this is sure to grow over the next few years.

Renting a hybrid does cost more than renting a similar sized non-hybrid car (due to supply and demand and the fact that hybrids are more expensive for the rental company to buy), but you will save money on fuel and of course, it’s better for the environment. Click here for more details.

Hybrid cars are considered as the car of the future. It is able to effectively conserve fuel and at the same time, it only produces low levels of toxic fumes. Because of these benefits, hybrid cars are now growing in popularity every single day. Many people are now considering getting rid of their conventional cars and purchase a hybrid car to help in cutting fuel consumption cost.

Hybrid cars have two engines for it to effectively conserve fuel consumption. It has the traditional gasoline engine and it also has an electric motor and batteries. The two engines work together in order to cut fuel consumption. With this technology, you will be able to cut fuel usage by more than half. Just imagine, with a hybrid car, you will be able to go more than 60 miles to the gallon. With this kind of savings, hybrid cars are definitely the car of the future.

Hybrid car owners virtually do not feel the increasing cost in fuel prices. This is the main advantage of the hybrid car. There are other advantages that a hybrid car can give you. Recently, the President of the United States has signed an agreement that hybrid car buyers will be able to enjoy tax incentives. This means that by owning a hybrid car, you will be able to save money on taxes.

There are other benefits that the government imposes on hybrid car owners, such as free parking, and free entry to car pool lanes. Some even offer discounted fees on toll gates.

The braking in hybrid cars is also configured to capture the energy released and uses it to charge the batteries inside the hybrid car. This means that unlike electric cars, hybrid cars do not actually need to be charged from your home electric outlet.

However, with all the advantages that a hybrid car can give you, there are also disadvantages. The main disadvantage of hybrid cars is that the retail price is quite expensive. Only people who have enough money can purchase hybrid cars. However, the twist in all this is that hybrid cars are actually cheaper when compared to conventional cars in the long run. If you compute the total fuel consumption of both cars, you will actually see that you can save a lot more money on hybrid cars.

The only thing is that hybrid cars are expensive right from the car lot.

Hybrid cars are relatively heavy because of the heavy batteries installed inside the car. This is why hybrid car manufacturers integrates smaller internal combustion engines and are constructed with light materials and should be aerodynamic in order to maximize efficiency. This means that hybrid cars can never really go fast.

Another issue about hybrid cars is that it is very risky in accidents. What makes a hybrid car work effectively is also what makes it risky if it ever gets involved in an accident. This is because hybrid cars stores high amount of voltage in its batteries. This means that there is a high chance of getting electrocuted when you get involved in an accident. This also means that it is relatively difficult for rescuers to get the drivers and passengers out of the hybrid cars because of the dangers of high voltage in the car.

These are the advantages and the disadvantages of hybrid cars. Car manufacturers today are now looking for ways to get rid of the disadvantages of hybrid cars. In the near future, you will see that hybrid cars will be lighter and also contains less risk due to high voltage dangers.

So you have decided to start your search for a Toyota Camry. Being one of the most reliable cars on the road, they are also one of the most popular, especially when it comes to gas mileage and the economy. Before you start to dive into your search head on, there are some easy steps that you can take to ensure that you find the best possible deal on a Toyota Camry – no matter what year you want.

Before you start your search for a Toyota Camry, you need to do some research online for what the different models will go for. Kelly Blue Book has a great, user-friendly site that will easily tell you the approximate value of a Toyota Camry for any given year. So, you will have a good idea of what you want to spend and what that particular year is worth before you ever start looking. Knowing what they are worth will help you spot the deals.

Once you know your basic price range, it’s also a good idea to check out the different years and know what you want in your new car. Different year models have different options, and you can learn which ones come on the year Toyota Camry that you would like to have so that you know what you are looking for when you start test driving.

The best place to start your search is on Craigslist. You can find tons of listings for Toyota Camrys on your local area Craigslists, usually for a great price as well. And, these are normally from individuals that want to sell a Toyota Camry, not just a car dealer or wholesaler who wants to get the most that they can from one.

If you don’t find anything on Craigslist that suits your fancy, you can still check your local classifieds for listings on Toyota Camrys in your area for sale. One of the problems with local classifieds is that there will be more dealer ads than individuals here. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t find some good deals.

When you finally come across that Toyota Camry that strikes your fancy, and your budget, the next move is to get the VIN number of the car and do a CarFax report on it. Most buyers don’t do this and end up with a lemon, when all they had to do was take the extra time for this one step. This report will tell you anything wrong with the car that has happened in it’s lifetime, such as wrecks or major damage. And, if you do find your new Toyota Camry at a dealer, they will normally provide this report for you.

If you do find that the Toyota Camry that you want to purchase has had problems in the past, has a rebuilt title, or has been seriously wrecked or worse – then you can easily back out of the deal before you lose your time, money, or worse. A CarFax report is one of the wisest investments that you can make when purchasing a used car so that you know exactly what you are getting into before you pay your hard earned cash.

In the end, if you simply do a bit of homework before you start your search and buy a Toyota Camry, you will end up with a car that you’ll be happy with for a long time. The vast majority of Camrys on the road today have the potential to go over 200K miles if they are just treated right.

BMW is likely to spawn sedans to top its model range in the coming years. The upcoming premium four-seat sedan will be based on a concept vehicle shown at the Shanghai auto show. Tom Purves, the CEO of BMW of North America, said that the German automaker probably will build a car based on the CS: “We have a reasonable number of examples where we have built a concept car and relatively small examples where we have not built a concept car.”

The BMW Concept CS was undeniably one of the breathtaking stunners of April’s Shanghai Auto Show. The sleek coupe-like vehicle with four doors has pulled mostly raves and lots of hints from BMW execs that the CS is a car they would like to see built. The Concept CS is a low-slung, four-seat sport sedan equipped with cutting edge auto parts like the improved BMW clutch disc, engines, radiator, suspension and more.

The forthcoming sedan will be designed to rival vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the upcoming Porsche Panamera. Both competitors call their cars coupes. But like the BMW show car, they have four doors and a low roofline. Without coming out and saying so, Purves all but said that the CS will likely make its way to production.

The Mercedes Benz CLS-Class, based on the coupe version of the E-Class model, uses the automaker’s W219 designation. The car marked the return of the automaker to the executive-size coupe market since the termination of E-Class coupe variant. According to a Mercedes-Benz press release, the CLS-class was produced to combine the “strong, emotive charisma” of a coupe with the “comfort and practicality” of a sedan.

The Porsche Panamera, on the other hand, is a four-door, four-seat coupe set to be launched in 2008. The front engined and rear wheel drive coupe is powered by an enhanced version of the 4.5 L V8 found in the Cayenne. The coupe is said to be the longed-for fruit of Porsche’s 989 concept from the late 1980s.

According to Purves, the dealers loved it, he sees room at the top of the range for it and that BMW usually does concepts with the intention of bringing a production version to market later. Sounds like a done deal to us.

The BMW Concept CS illustrates that the automaker is “predominantly interested in building very beautiful luxury sport sedans,” said Purves. The CS is “not a stretch or modified anything,” he added. “It has aerodynamic style and presence, which is important for customers in that category.”

Purves said that the automaker which is headquartered in Munich, Germany sees a market above the seven series but below the Rolls-Royce models. Formal market research from the Shanghai Auto Show is not in, but the preliminary reaction to the Concept CS has been positive, added Purves. “Our dealers, having seen the photos, are very excited. They love it. I don’t know the research from the auto show. If media and dealers like it, there’s a good chance the customers will.”

BMW has always had a very tight community following. Analysts say that the German car maker is one of the few automakers that support driving their cars to their limits, suggesting “spirited driving” in certain operation manuals. This reputation is well secured by the German automaker. This is why the company is absorbed in producing remarkable cars with exceptional performance, ergonomics and styling.

So you own a Subaru and want to know how to take care of it, or maybe you would like to own a Subaru. Well in this article you will find 6 tips on prolonging the life of your Subaru and improve overall performance.

A Subaru is like any other car, (although true Subaru enthusiasts will say the opposite), and certain maintenance routines must be availed of to keep that baby ticking over. When you find that your Subaru is running sluggish or isn’t performing as it should keep the following in mind as a checklist:

Fuel Lines: Insulate Them

Subaru cars, like any other cars, reach higher levels of engine power when the temperature of the fuel entering the combustion chamber is cool. By insulating the fuel line you are permitting more fuel and air to enter the combustion chamber. The easiest method of doing this is by using air conditioning or refrigerator insulation available from the hardware store.

Less Weight Means More Power

It may sound obvious but many people underestimate the value of loosing weight from Subaru cars. Before you go stripping down your Subaru of vital engine parts I suggest you start in the trunk where lots of useless items get dumped in over time. By doing so you are reducing the load your Subaru is carrying around and making a small saving on fuel over a longer period of time.

Oil Change

No rocket science here, just common sense. Many Subaru owners fail to change the engine oil when it’s due and cause unnecessary engine wear. Ideally the oil should be changed in Subaru cars every 4,000 to 7,500 miles depending on how heavy your foot is on that pedal.

Air Filter Spotless

Okay maybe not spotless but reasonably clean. Take the air filter out whenever you look under the bonnet and clean out any dust or other foreign bodies that may have accumulated in the air filter. Ideally an air hose should be used when cleaning the air filter in Subaru cars.

Get That Gap Right

What am I talking about here? Spark plugs. Make sure the gap in the spark plugs is the correct spacing. This might seem like a small worry but could make a difference to the power you receive from your car. For the correct spacing just check the Subaru cars owners’ manual.