Winter driving hazards and cautions

It's that time of year again, when temperatures drop and ice and snow become the norm. Here are some of the most common winter driving hazards and cautions with tips on how to avoid or prepare for them.

Be Prepared

Before winter is in full swing, it's important to take steps to insure that your vehicle is properly prepared. This includes checking your battery, windshield wipers, tires, coolant, windshield wiper fluid, spare tire, heater, defroster, any element that you were experiencing problems with and checking for any leaks. If your vehicle is in need of a tuneup or oil change, get these things done before winter hits. If you live in a region that gets alot of rain or snow, then consider getting special tires for these conditions. Also keep a set of tire chains with you at all times.

Getting Stuck

Should you get stuck somewhere due to being stuck in snow or some roads that you need to travel on are closed, you should have some essential emergency supplies with you. These include blankets, several day supply of food, several gallons of water, rope, flashlight, first aid kit, extra clothing, shovel, cat litter for traction if tires are stuck, scraper, jumper cables and a wheel wrench and wheel jack.

Keeping Warm

One excellent tip for keeping warm if stuck in your vehicle for a long period of time is to carry a candle and some matches or a lighter. Lighting a candle in the middle of your car can keep your entire vehicle warm while it is lit. So have some long lasting candles in your car and you won't be cold if you get stuck.

Black Ice

Black ice is one of the worst hazards you can come upon when driving. You usually can't tell you are on it until you start sliding. Worse yet, if you hit your brakes, it can cause you to slide even more or even overturn. The best defense for black ice is simply to go slow in areas where you know the ground is frozen and it's been raining or snowing. In addition, you can use caution when applying your brakes if you start to slide. Pump your brakes slowly if you find yourself starting to slide. Also, if you start sliding in one area, it's likely there are more areas of the road ahead that have ice on them, so stay alert and keep driving slow and cautiously.

Unexpected Weather

The best protection from unexpected weather is to keep your radio on and stay tuned to a news and weather station. They will let you know of any hazards, whether to watch out for ice, snow, rain or fog and whether any roads are closed or require chains. You'll also want to keep a weather band or emergency radio in your trunk at all times with fresh batteries and extra batteries.

Handy Gadgets

The right technology can save your life. Consider getting a GPS for your vehicle, or a portable GPS. A GPS can stop you from getting lost and if you get stuck somewhere unfamiliar, it will show you how to get out and find help. A cell phone is something just about everyone has in their vehicle anyway. But consider keeping either a hand crank battery generator or a battery powered cell phone generator in your vehicle. Some flashlights and emergency radios come with a hand crank on the side, which you can hook up to your cell phone and give yourself virtually unlimited cell phone power, which can be a lifesaver in itself.

Future of hybrid cars

In the past few years, development, production, and demand for hybrid cars has increased at an enormous rate. While the cars currently on the market may already seem like technological masterpieces, the car companies are continuing to develop and improve new vehicles with features that improve fuel efficiency, performance and appearance. These future hybrid cars utilize the best in our available technology to create cars that will appeal to a vast array of people. While many car manufacturers are designing future hybrid cars to be high performance, sporty vehicles, the greatest increase in purchasing and production of hybrid cars has been in sedans, coupes, and SUVs, particularly in hybrid versions of cars that already exist. So, while it’s possible that cars will continue to bear a distinctive, futuristic, “hybrid” look, the most likely scenario is that future hybrid cars will look pretty much the same as non-hybrid cars.

Some of the new types of cars being developed by the manufacturers already get upwards of 60 mpg. By combining lightweight materials with better batteries and new methods of transferring power, these cars take the existing technology of hybrid cars and improve them. At the same time, work is being done to take larger, more practical cars and adapt them to hybrids, thus improving the mileage of what would otherwise be a gas guzzler to a more reasonable 20-30 miles per gallon.

Projections state that by the year 2008, 350,000 Americans will buy hybrid cars, and increase from a 1% share of the market in 2005 to about 2%. This may not seem like very many cars, but the demographic is changing. As future hybrid cars improve in performance, practicality, and appearance, they are being purchased by soccer moms and executives, rather than just fringe environmentalists. However, since they are still considerably pricier than their non-hybrid counterparts, they probably will not assume a much larger market share.

Some day that future hybrid cars will become obsolete as the economy moves away from gasoline and into alternative energy sources like hydrogen or ethanol. As of now, this doesn’t seem to be the case. While many car manufacturers are increasing their production and selection of hybrid cars, few if any of them are working on alternative fuel sources. What’s more, even if the economy did a sudden shift, hybrid cars could still be part of the process. Instead of mixing gas and electricity, future hybrid cars could just as easily combine battery power with another fuel, such as ethanol or hydrogen.

For information on buying and selling new and second hand cars and bikes visit bharathautomobiles. com/index. php

Financing a used car

If you don’t have enough cash on hand to purchase the car straight out, you will need to consider your financing options. If you are a smart shopper you should figure out how you are going to finance the used car before you begin shopping. There are three main components that will come into play when you purchase a car. The first is the monthly payment, the second is the down payment and the third is the price of the car.

The monthly payment is going to be how much you can afford to pay each month. This will help the lender determine the life of the loan and when the payments will be due. Many lenders will require that you use the car to secure the loan. The car can be used as collateral and in the event that you default on the loan the lender will repossess the car to satisfy your debt. Monthly payments can also be lowered if you are able to make a down payment.

The down payment is how much cash you can afford to put down before financing the car. This will help to reduce your monthly payments as well. The better a down payment you are able to supply to the bank, the less amount of money you will have to finance through the lender.

The purchase price will be determined to the answer to the two previous questions. These numbers are important to have handy when you are negotiating over the price of a car. If you have these two figures in hand while discussing the price of the car, you will be able to remind yourself of what you can really afford to spend.

You have two options in financing a car. One is to finance the vehicle though your personal bank or credit union. This route is highly recommended, as you will be able to work with lenders that you are already familiar with. You will also be able to be eased in your mind, as your money is going to be sent to a reliable institution. Lower interest rates can also be found at reliable lenders. Using a bank or credit union also makes it easier to stick to your budgeted amount and allows you to find competitive interest rates.

Your other option is to finance through the dealer. This is an option for those individuals who find their credit rating less than good. Many dealers work with people with poor credit and will prearrange financing through an independent source.

When you are car shopping you will want to be sure that you leave yourself enough time to arrange the loan before purchasing the car. You want to be prepared to hand over the money in the event that you do find the used car of your dreams that you have been shopping for. You also do not want to be dependent on borrowing money from a dealer, as they often do not have the best financing and interest rates available, especially on their used cars.

For more Car buying tips visit Atlanta Used Cars at UsedCarsAtlanta. us and Dallas Used Cars at UsedCarsDallas. us.