Are you a happy owner of a reliable car? You take special care of your vehicle and try to choose the best auto parts for its repairing. To feel safe on the road in any occasion you should be aware of the repairing quality. Moreover accessories are also important - it seems that every driver wants his car to look smart and original.

I such case it’s worth visiting Go-part.com for this very on-line company has been occupying a strong position in the auto field for 10 years already. The staff has researched the market and the clients’ requests thouroughly to be able to cater for any need. They may put up for sale the great variety of parts for most popular car brands: Toyota Pruis parts, which are of great demand over the recent time, Pruis condenser. Radiators, cooling fans, lighting are on the market as well.

Choose from a huge variety of car makes either American or foreign:

• Lexus
• Jeep
• Nissan
• Mitsubishi
• Volvo
• Saab
• Volkswagen, etc.

Go-part.com has already gained its own patron base - who feel nothing but respect to the company staff devoted to their work quality.

Civic hybrid headlight is a novelty at the stock and it goes at more then a reasonable price.

The process of purchasing itself is very easy and convenient – it’s supported by toll-free phone service and live chat. The shipping is as fast as possible – you’ll get your purchase on the same day. You may also get top tips from real professionals.

The production of bio fuel can lead to significant acceleration of the climate change. As the result of cultivating corns, rape or pal, oil the amount of produced greenhouse gas is more than it is economized by using the bio fuel. These were the results of the research published in specialized magazines Science and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

In order to produce bio fuel the humanity cuts down rain forests and transform the released lands into agricultural areas. And as the result of burning off rainforest in Indonesia, the amount of extracted CO2 is 400 more than the amount it could be reduced by in case those areas were used for growing palm oil, writes Mr. Fargione a member of the environmental organization The Nature Conservancy. Brazilian rainforests transformed into soya plantations extract 300 times more CO2 then it is possible to reduce by using bio fuel for a whole year.

Moreover, according to the data received by the Nobel laureate in chemistry Pole Krutzen, manure extracts much more dangerous greenhouse gas – nitrous oxide than it was considered to extract before. The scholar believes that environment-friendly are only those kinds of bio fuel that are made on base of waste material from agricultural and forest industries or herbs with insignificant addition of manure.

Professor Krutzen says:

“I’m not an absolute opponent of bio fuel, I’m only against the ways it is used today.”

The professor demands in-detail and critical description of all the greenhouse gases extracted in the production of each type of bio fuel.

The politicians and scientists lay huge expectations on the bio fuel of the second generation which is totally Nature-friendly. All parts of plants (and thus all the waste materials) can be used for the production of this bio fuel of the new generation. Firstly, timber is processed into a gas using Btl-technology (Biomass to Liquid) and then it is processed into ethanol.

Passive Safety Equipment Issues: New EuroNCAP Tests

Each huge manufacturer is perfectly aware that releasing a new car involves facing a number of risks. Neither thousands of human-hours nor millions of euro spent on testing can ensure that the car will pass EuroNCAP tests with flying colors. Year after year the passive safety committee featuring experts from the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and other countries spends hundreds of thousands of euro on testing all the novelties entering the European market.

The first tests according to the set standards were carried out in 1997 – at those time only the front collision was obligatory. Nowadays, EuroNCAP rating includes front collision with a deformable obstacle at 64 km/h, side collision with a stiff barrier at 50 km/h, pedestrian accident at 40 km/k, and front stand collision (which imitates roll-over) at 28 km/h.

Three years ago the basic test program started featuring tests using recommended children seats. This innovation caused a number of hacks. For instance, Renault Twingo got only 4 overall stars as the recommended seats didn’t match the fastenings – for Renault such a result was a complete failure.

Nevertheless, Renault was the first European manufacturer to released a 5-star car on the market – Laguna 2002. A number of reliable organizations conduct tests according to EuroNCAP’s methods – the German ADAC plus a wide range of specialized Mass Media.

But the Euro committee is not planning to stop at this level: in the near future the standards will be reconsidered and the term “passive safety” will gain new meanings. It is no big secret that at the moment the overwhelming majority of cars get 5-star ratings and that forces the testers to toughen the requirements. Thus, this year the requirements will include active head-rests – they effectively protect the spine and head in crashed from the back.

But the most peculiar thing is that there will be new tests: ESP, ABS and other systems’ tests. In fact, the huge American and European manufacturers are able to answer to the new requirements adequately, but the case is not that obvious with the Chinese manufacturers. The exact dates of the introduction of the new standards have not been announced yet, but, according to a number of worthy sources, this introduction is inevitable.

What does that mean for the consumers? First of all, it is another rise of prices, isn’t it?

Engine of the Year Goes To…

Journalists have defined the best engines of the year.

Recently the results of the contest “Best engine of 2008” have been summarized. The first prize went to the Bavarian company: just like in the previous year the honorable title went to BMW. The second place went to Subaru, the third – Audi.

Best engines of 2008:

Under 1 liter: Toyota 1,0 (Toyota Aygo,Yaris/Echo/Vitz, Citroën C1, Peugeot 107, Subaru Justy)

From 1.0 to 1.4 liters:

VW 1.4 TSI Twincharger (VW Golf, Touran, Tiguan, Jetta (140/170 bhp)

From 1.4 to 1.8 liters:

BMW-PSA 1.6 Turbo (MINI Cooper S, Clubman, Peugeot 207, 308)

From 1.8 to 2.0 liters:

Volkswagen/Audi, 2,0 Turbo FSI (A3, A4 Cabrio, A6, TT, Eos, Jetta, Golf GTi, Škoda Octavia, Seat Altea, Leon

From 2.0 to 2.5 liters:

Subaru 2.5 (Forester, Impreza)

From 2.5 to 3.0 liters:

BMW 3,0 Twin Turbo (135, 335, X6)

From 3.0 to 4.0 liters:

BMW 4,0 V8 (M3)

Over 4.0 liters:

BMW 5,0 V10 (M5, M6)

Eco-friendliest engine:

Toyota Hybrid 1.5 (Prius)

The engine with optimal working figures:

Porsche 3.6 Turbo (911 Turbo, GT2)

Best engine of the year:

BMW Diesel 2,0 Twin Turbo (123d)

Choosing Car Rims: Custom, Standard and Light Alloy Rims

Choosing rims

A number of automobilists believe that rims differ only in one thing – their design. Nevertheless, it is completely wrong: wheels make the most part of unsprung mass which affects the smoothness and controllability. It means that it really matters which type of rims you choose for your car.

Pressed Steel Rims

Pressed steel rims which replaced spoke wheels (used at the beginning of the century) has a number of advantages: cheap, durable, producible

If such a rim is deformed the fault can be easily corrected using a machine (but it is also possible to do it manually: with the help of a hammer). However, such rims have distinct disadvantages: aesthetes have to install caps in order to hide the unattractive outlook and the emerging rust.

Advantages:

• Low cost
• Good durability features

Disadvantages:

• Weight
• Corrosion
• Unattractive appearance

Light-alloy Rims

First light-alloy rims appeared in the 30s on sport cars. After a few decades such rims became available for average auto owners. This type of rims differs from steel ones in the variety of design, lower weight and higher price. But, unfortunately, it also has disadvantages: light-alloy rims of huge sizes cost a fortune, weigh like a steel one and are almost irresistible to elastic deformation. The latter significantly decreases the life of low-profile tires and can lead to destruction due to microcracks.

Advantages:

• Attractive outlook
• Lower weight

Disadvantages:

• Surplus stiffness
• For big-size rims: the complexity of manufacturing, high weight, low durability

Composite Rims

The attempts to correct the faults of light-alloy rims lead to the development of composite rims in which a forged rim is linked to spokes with the help of titan bolts. Such rims are light, but cost much more than light-alloy ones.

That’s why such rims are generally used in sports cars and luxury vehicles.

Advantages:

• The possibility to manufacture rims of big diameter
• Exclusive design
• Low weight

Disadvantages:

• High cost
• The complexity of production

Light-alloy Forged Rims

One of the ways to make a rim lighter is to replace casting by forging. But for making rims of big diameter using such a technology powerful presses are required – developing loads higher than 10 000 tons.

Advantages:

• The lowest weight
• Excellent durability

Disadvantages:

• High price
• The complexity of manufacturing
• Simplified design

So we can arrive at the conclusion that the choice of rims is not a difficult one. If you need cheap and durable – buy stamped rims. When you want smart and light – buy light-alloy ones. If you want you car to stand out in the crowd – buy composite or forged rims.

American Standard or What Percentage of American Cars is REALLY American

With the modern phenomena like globalization and development of transcontinental companies, the world is entering the new era of its evolution – post-industrial society (in this very sense it is contrasted to the industrial one). What do I mean and what does it have to do with car and automotive parts? The answer is simple, but it comes in form of a question: what percentage of US cars is actually build here, in the States?

It is much cheaper to produce parts in offshore plants and factories (for instance, Mexico, Africa, South America etc.) If the major part of a car is made outside the US can such a car be called American?

To answer all these questions I decided to conduct a kind of research to find out what percentage of car parts are made inside the US. You won’t believe the information I found!

I learned that to find out what parts are made in the States and what are made offshore one can read in small writing on the window sticker of a new car dealership. But that is now the answer to the question, it is more like a means of arriving at the correct answer
Let’s take for instance GM. Car of this company are made all over the world. Most of the newer body styles are based on global platforms. Pontiac GTO is based on another GM car built in Australia. Chevrolet pickups are made in Canada and Mexico. At the same time GM has manes like Vauxhall in Europe and Holden in Australia. Under these names the cars are sold there.

Nowadays most “Japanese” cars sold in the US are built here. Volkswagens are supposed to be German but are built in Mexico.

The approximate percentage of US parts for the companies are:

• GMC – 79%
• Ford – 84%
• Dodge – 90%

But these data is too approximate to believe it blindly.

Back to GM. The company is one of the few American cars that are still out there. All models are designed in the US. But some, about 20-25% use foreign motors. Also it’s cheaper to build outside of the country, so about 80-90% are built in foreign locations.

So what conclusion can we arrive at? Mine is the following: no matter where cars are made, until they are sold under domestic flags and the money stays in the budget, they are American. Do you agree with me?

Here is a Simple Way to Learn A Lot about a Person by the Car he Drives. Part 2

A number of marketing analysts stress that recently there has appeared the new generation of buyers. They look upon the car as upon an accessory. From such people you can hear: “Who drives up the negotiations in an Alfa Romeo? Only BMW.” They are bored by technical details and car’s abilities, but it is extremely important that the car should match the color of their new iPod. These “new formation buyers” can spend 5 thousands on optional accessories like driving glasses or suede driving gloves.

Yet there is one more question: do men differ from women in their auto priorities? Women are obsessed with safety, reliability and price, whereas men think vice versa – drive, power and style.

As has been mentioned above car manufacturers have special branches where professionals collect clients’ “demography” data. It helps position new models properly on the market. For instance, the person who drives a Volvo will hardly ask for a Jaguar or Alfa Romeo prices. These brands have different clients and, which is more important, different approach towards positioning.

If you take the Swedish Volvo. Of course, the Scandinavians don’t sell as many cars as, for instance, Mercedes. But this fact doesn’t prevent the company to be a highly successful one and their cars – be in demand. Just look at how many married women with children prefer these cars from Goteborg. Volvo is considered to be the leading company in car safety and a great number of married couples buy cars of this brand.

But in fact, during the few recent years Volvo has been developing youth models. For example, the golf-class hatch-back C30. Such a policy will inevitably lead to the manufacturer’s expanding their client range and thus increase the overall selling capacity.

But there are people who will never understand Volvo owners – the owners of VW R32. The majority o f them are under 40, they are successful and easy-going. They don’t appreciate smart “cover” – they are for the quintessence. Such people are frank and responsible.

Actually the same can be said about Honda Accord owners – they are intellectual who enjoy “hot stuff”. Such people are aware of the latest fashion trends and never hunt for the title of a “society lioness.”

Mercedes CL-class. As a matter of fact, well-off people often drive this car: for example, high-class dentists or a plastic surgeon. He bought his Mercedes so that everyone could see that it is he who’s driving by. Such a man always surrounds himself with refined luxury, he knows that count of time and keeps open house. In life he is the master of any situation, a predator.

It is not possible to account on all the cars in a single article as it is impossible to speak about all the types of people. So the thing you need to rely on is your intuition. It is the intuition that will hint you on what kind of person is standing right in front of you.

Here is a Simple Way to Learn A Lot about a Person by the Car he Drives. Part 1