Friday, July 25, 2008

Muscle Cars

Muscle Cars are fast performance cars manufactured for the most part in Detroit, Michigan from 1964 through 1975. The muscle car manufacturers placed sizeable V8 engines in mid-sized vehicles, giving them high levels of performance and setting off strong competition between the manufacturers to produce the most powerful and quickest muscle cars for sale throughout those times.


Although auto makers had occasionally experimented with placing the performance based V-8 engines in a lighter mid-size platforms, and full-size cars such as the Ford Galaxie and Chevrolet Impala had high-performance models, Pontiac received most of the credit for starting the muscle car era with its Pontiac GTO. Started by Pontiac a, the GTO was far more admired than anticipated, and inspired many imitations and an  advance towards performance, both in the true muscle car class of intermediate vehicles as well as smaller muscle cars like the Ford Mustang, Plymouth Barracuda and AMC AMX, and more luxurious and expensive cars such as the Buick Riviera.


However, a huge part of the demand behind muscle cars was that they were mostly reasonably priced models that young drivers could manage to pay for and use them for drag racing. For instance, Chevy placed an particularly large 396 cubic inch engine in its small Nova body. This would be analogous to taking Chevrolet Cobalt and putting a  Corvette Z06 engine in it. Mopar also had several low-cost models, such as the Super Bee and Roadrunner.


Between 1964 and 1971, the Detroit corporations were in a rivalry for the bragging rights to the highest horsepower engine and offer the fastest muscle cars for sale. Horsepower numbers generally hit their peak in 1970, with the Chevelle SS 454 from that year is usually considered to have had the highest output, producing 450 horsepower. By 1971, most muscle cars began to fall out of support with Pontiac's Trans AM model being the only remaining one by 1975.


While they were fast cars in a straight line, most had sub-par performing brakes, suspensions and tires which were inadequate to handle the acceleration and speeds the engines made achievable. These factors have mostly been addressed by after-market suppliers.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A Biodiesel Spill On The Mississippi River

Just to show that oil spills aren't confined only to petroleum based oil, here is a look at a barge carrying biodiesel that had a spill in the Mississippi River. There is still some dispute over how much of the fuel spilled out of the barge, but the report as of right now is that the barge did indeed break in half.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Did you know that alternative power sources were first used in 1920, yes electric vehicles and steam-powered engines capitulated compared to the internal combustion engine (the motors we are more familiar with today) during this period of time. A similar period of time much like this early age, is starting to appear again as we see alternative power systems used to power our everyday vehicles, and it will no doubt continue to come for the up coming years.

Millions of dollars have been spent for development of alternative power and is still being spent on further developing new means of vehicle impulsion, that too with good reason. The automobile industry is underneath an increasing pressure to cut down pollution by developing eco-friendly cars (such as the Toyota Prius). Other motives include the rising cost of oil and gas, and the further development of Hybrid and Biodiesel technology.

Certainly, the incorporation of any alternative power will not take place overnight. Such revolution could take 15 to 20 years before any thing could significant would arise in technology. But as eco-friendly fuel cells continue to develop as the alternative power source the auto manufacturers are looking for, the result will be an impressive change in what makes a vehicle drive; as well as the technology required to produce them.

Friday, July 11, 2008

A Great Source For Auto Loans Of All Kinds

One of the most exciting times in many people's lives is that moment when they buy a new car. Even if it is a used car, it is new to them and can still bring with it an exhilarating feeling. A new car can mean many things to many different people including, a sense of reliability, the chance to be able to include more friends or the entire family in a larger vehicle, and of course just the opportunity to have a visually appealing car that anyone would feel proud to own.

The downside of getting a new or used car is trying to come up with the financing or funds needed. The internet is great for providing a place to find the best auto loans possible. A site like One38.org is a great resource in that it offers not only an incredible amount of quality information dedicated to putting as much auto financing information in the hands of car buyers as possible, but also a great source for the loans themselves. It can serve everyone from those that are looking for information on bad credit auto finance to those looking for a way to refinance their current auto loan.

Solving the financing and funding side of car buying can be a very relieving experience. When searching for the perfect automobile, the last thing a buyer needs to worry about is whether they can arrange for the financing or not. Having that solved ahead of time makes for a much better car buying experience.

Costa Rica To Go 100% Biofuel

In a huge announcement, it appears that the entire country of Costa Rica will be going green in terms of fuels offered. The government of Costa Rica has said that they will be phasing out fuel that is solely petroleum based. All fuel sold in the country will have some component of biofuel in it from now on.

The story is here.

Eliminating The Hassle Of Getting Insurance Quotes

Going for a long drive with some great music and good company.
Taking a family vacation to an exciting destination.
Visiting some good friends that you haven't seen in years.

These are all great things to do that involve your automobile. A car symbolizes many things to many people. To some it means independence, to some it means security, and to some it just means another way to have a good time. There are also some things associated with a car that in the past have not been so pleasant. One of those things is automobile insurance.

Getting auto insurance quotes now is not nearly the hassle that it once was. No more driving around from insurance agency to insurance agency looking for the best price. No more calling insurance agency after insurance agency and waiting for callbacks that may never come. It is now possible to take advantage of sites like Ridoe.net and get online quotes for your next car insurance coverage. They also have the ability to check for quotes for home insurance too. This is definitely a worthwhile website to come back to again and again.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

There Is More Out There That Is Eco-Friendly Than Automobiles

The absolute most popular thing talked about in the news, newspapers, and on the internet right now is environmentally friendly things that can make the world a better place. Specifically there is a lot of focus on environmentally friendly vehicles. This is a natural of course with the price of fuel being what it is these days. There is more to this "green" movement than just automobiles though. People are thinking of the environment when they build their homes, when they buy their food, and people are even showing a larger interest every day in purchasing eco-friendly gadgets.

There are more and more energy saving gadgets being put on the market every day and the current trends show that many more people are purchasing them than ever before. There are so many new developments on the market; everything from wearable phone chargers that get their energy from the dance moves that the owner performs to a low power pc that uses as little as 8 Watts of power and still performs all the necessary tasks that standard computers do. These and other eco-friendly gadgets are proving the direction the world is moving to, and it is an environmentally friendly one.

Another exciting thing about seeing what environmentally friendly gadgets are out there now is wondering what will come next... it could be nearly anything.