There is no doubt in my mind that a car can be a work of art, and even more so when there is an individual behind it.

Most people identify with men like Enzo Fer­rari, W.O. Bentley, Ettore Bugatti – they all started with nothing and stuck passionately to their indi­vidual vision. It shows in their work.

The Bugatti is a perfect example. Made by an Ital­ian family of artists and sculptors, the Bugatti cars still take the breath away. Ettore Bugatti received classical art instruction, then taught himself engi­neering and began building racing cars.

Aesthetics seemed to be as important to him as technology. His cars have boldly styled bodies, and even the engines look like modern sculptures. The Antlantique was designed by his son Jean in 1936, but as it nears age 60 it still looks as futuristic as ever. Jean Bugatti was killed in a car crash and his father lost his business during the war, but their artistic cars remain as their legacy.

The Antlantique is like no shape I’ve ever seen – with rounded contours, and a studded seam along the top, it’s truly a remarkable vision.  On a race track today, it can still do 100 mph without any trouble at all.

Only three of these cars were ever built. One was demolished when it got stuck at a railway crossing. Ralph Lauren, the fashion designer, owns the second and I don’t know where the third one is, if it exists at all. I have only seen pic­tures of the car, and that was enough to start my heart racing.

When a young man grows up in North America I think it is unusual for him not to be car crazy. I can remem­ber vividly to this day all the cars my father had from the time I was ten years of age. There was a 1940′s Hudson coupe, a 1946 Dodge sedan, a 1949 Mer­cury, a 1954 Buick Century with the port holes on the side of the hood, and so on…

In those days I would sit with my friends and count the cars that went by. ‘Look, there goes a Stude­baker’; ‘There’s an Olds’; ‘There’s a Lincoln’.  Now most cars look alike. If they didn’t have the small indi­vidual logos on the trunk I wouldn’t be able to tell a BMW from a Toyota Camry. There are, of course, exceptions, and most of those fall within the sports car world.

I remember fondly my own cars of the past. In the 1950′s it was a Triumph TR3 and in the 1960′s it was a 1963 Stingray Corvette, with the slat in the back window.

There’s nothing like waking up on a nice sunny day, and going for a drive on a country road, and putting a good sports car through its paces.

The pleasure is not about trying to go fast – it’s the feeling of handling a thoroughbred: the way it comes around a corner, the way the mechanism feels when you shift, and, of course, the roar of the engine.

Each of the great cars that I remember from the past had a distinctive char­acter. I can readily call to mind the Alfa Romeo, the little Morgan, the Long-nosed D-type Jaguar, the Porsche 356 Roadster – some of the most beautiful cars in the world.

Now cars are sold at auction just like works of art, and the prices they command are getting higher and higher. As they become expensive antiques I hope all of them don’t get taken off the road. It would be sad to see them all locked up in large storage vaults or glass cases – after all, they were designed to be driven!

Peter Green, Founder of the antique school, Asheford Institute of Antiques, Internationally Syndicated Antique Columnist, Travel Writer and Owner of South Meadow Antiques. For more information of the antique school, click here Asheford Institute Of Antiques Institute Of Antiques.

For those who don’t know, the term white elephant refers to anything that has only imaginary or perhaps aesthetic value for the owner, but has no practical or functional value. When applied to any Japanese used car for sale, it seems to merit quite some thought.

To answer the question, one possible answer a collector of used Japanese cars might give is: no, my used Japanese cars still have practical and/or functional value. How so? Well, perhaps this car collector is still able to get some mileage out of his Japanese used cars. Perhaps on weekends, he brings one of his Japanese used cars out of his garage and takes his family out for a trip to church, or on a picnic to a nearby park, or even a bit further away to a beach for an afternoon of water-based activities. For such a person, his used Japanese cars would not be white elephants in the strictest sense of the use of the term because the vehicles can still be used though perhaps not as regularly as newer cars.

Another answer a collector of used Japanese cars would give would be the opposite: yes, my used Japanese cars are actually white elephants, in the sense that I do not derive any practical or functional value out of them. Many used cars are gas guzzlers, because their engines are not as efficient at burning fuel as when the cars were new. Others have deficiencies in car design that make them too bulky and too large for fuel efficiency.

If you spend an inordinate amount of money upgrading, renovating and taking care of your used Japanese cars, perhaps you need to examine your reasons for owning such vehicles in the first place. If you just like to look at them once in awhile (when you have leisure time on your hands), then leave them locked away for months on end, then perhaps you may need to ask yourself whether that is enough reason to hold on to your collection.

Some people go to great lengths to preserve the quality of their cars (regardless of what country made them) because they want to be able to use them for a long time. Then they sell their cars because they need to upgrade their mode of transportation to more efficient and less troublesome cars of newer make. In that sense, cars would not be white elephants because they do serve practical and functional purposes for the owners while they can still run. But what happens when your used Japanese cars completely die on you, meaning their engines go kaput with no hope of being fixed anymore? That is a fate that all vehicles (and their owners) have to face eventually.

In that case, the only real value your used Japanese cars would have would be if they were sold for scrap, or as spare parts for other used Japanese cars. If you seem to have become emotionally attached to your car, it may take time though before you can let go – but all of us have to let go of our material possessions at some point. Some just do a better job earlier than others.

Sadayoshi Miyakuni, CEO of M’s Crew Co., Ltd. who runs www.auctiondirectjapan.com. AuctionDirectJapan.com is A Japan Car Dealer in Japan, selling and exporting Japanese Used Cars and New Cars from Japan to the world. We supply Quality Used Japanese Cars of TOYOTA, NISSAN, HONDA, SUBARU, ISUZU, etc.

Everybody knows that to get the best car insurance quote, it’s important to shop at least five different car insurance companies. But before you even get those quotes, there are a few things you can do to make yourself (and your vehicle) more attractive to insurers.

1) Keep Your Credit Clean… Studies have shown a direct correlation between your credit score and the likelihood that you will file an auto insurance claim. For this reason, almost all insurers pull your credit report. Your credit report shows an insurer if you pay your bills in a timely fashion and have had the same credit accounts for a long time. Someone who does this is considered more stable than someone who pays late and frequently opens and closes accounts. This information is used to create your ‘insurance risk score’, which is one factor that determines your car insurance rate.

Tip: If your credit history is not strong, start cleaning it up. If there is unusual credit activity on your account, wait about a month for it to return to normal before shopping for car insurance quotes.

2) Think About the Type of Car You Plan to Buy… Insurers have a rating system for every car make and model. Most use a system devised by the Insurance Service Office, which starts with the cost of the vehicle and then factors in safety and theft data. Cars are given a rating from 1 to 27, and the higher the number, the higher your premium. Tip: Look up your car’s relative risk online. If you’re trying to keep your car insurance premiums low, it’s best to consider this risk before you buy that high-risk sports car.

3) Pay Your Insurance Premium in Full … ‘Fractional premium’ fees are usually charged when you pay your annual premium in six-month, quarterly or monthly installments. There is almost always an administrative fee to break down these payments also. This can really add up.

Tip: Ask about fees for paying in installments. If the fees are small enough, it may be worth it. If not, bite the bullet and pay for the insurance premium in full.

OK, you’ve cleaned up your credit, chosen a low-risk car and have budgeted to pay your full car insurance premium up-front. Now you’re ready to shop for your best car insurance quote!

Barb Dearing is a writer specializing in topics that help consumers save money. She recommends the following website for consumers shopping for online car insurance quotes – http://www.shop-car-insurance.com

Mom and Dad are all a-flutter. Susie is about to turn 16 and all she wants is her driver’s license. Thankfully, Mom and Dad know that they can find cheap car insurance for teen online. Too many parents get misled into thinking that buying insurance to cover a teen driver must be expensive. It doesn’t matter whether that Sweet 16 present is a good used car or simply her own set of keys to the family car, Susie must be covered by her parents’ car insurance policy. The good news is that it’s simpler than ever to find cheap car insurance online once you know a few easy tricks.

First, there’s no need to spend hours visiting multiple insurance company websites. That’s because you can make one application at an insurance aggregator web site and get multiple free quotes. An aggregator web site negotiates with insurance companies to get the best rates in exchange for making the companies’ many plans and coverages better known to the public. Car insurance is a highly competitive business, so the more exposure companies having to the insurance buying public, the better their business will be. What’s more, the more free quotes a buyer can get, the easier it is for him or her to do the comparison-shopping that will help ensure cheap car insurance for teen.

With the convenience of online quotes in mind, here are a few more tips about how to find cheap car insurance for Susie.

Get her a car that’s more affordable to insure. Yes, Susie is pining for a two-door sports car, but a four-door Honda will save both worry and expense. Hondas have a higher safety rating and a lower theft risk than any make of sports car. In addition, older cars often rate well for safety and theft risk, as well as standing up to the inevitable bumps and dings that a new driver can inflict on them. Since these cars pose less risk to the insurance company, the company charges Mom and Dad less to insure them.

Her policy or yours; you decide. This decision is a tough one, and it all hinges on cost. In some cases, it can be less expensive to add a teen driver onto a family policy, particularly if he or she won’t be driving an additional car. On the other hand, discounts for good students, or for students who’ve successfully completed driver education class, can bring the cost of an individual policy way down. The best solution here is to do the math; check on the rates to see where the best cheap car insurance for teen is offered.

Shop around. Finding cheap car insurance online starts with getting multiple quotes and comparing prices and coverage from multiple insurance companies. Using a website that provides instant quotes can uncover good buys for both family car insurance and cheap car insurance for teen.

So relax, Mom and Dad. Giving Susie her driving freedom isn’t going to require taking out a second mortgage. With some diligence, you can have your Sweet 16-er fully covered with cheap car insurance online.

If your teen-ager is ready to drive, don’t fret about the insurance cost. With one quick and easy application, you can find cheap car insurance online for your new driver. Cheaper Car Insurance can help you if you are looking for cheap car insurance for teen.

World renowned celebrities such as Madonna, Nicolas Cage and others are some of the usual clients who rent exotic cars from exotic rental car companies in the USA. The question arises well why can’t you do the same?

Celebrate and rent a top of the line car for a day, weekend or even a week. Wouldn’t that be a special birthday or anniversary gift for someone. If your accounts agree with you then you maybe able to lease it, or even own it on a fractional ownership basis.

In the real world if you approach a dealership about renting it they would dismiss you pretty quickly and tend to some real business instead of a fantasy walk-in customer. You cannot get an exotic car as a rental from a dealership primarily because of  liability and insurance complications.

Although, similar to renting a standard car like a VW Bug or Nissan, Mustang or SUV, you can rent a super exotic car directly from a car rental agency that specializes in these type of vehicles. Now you are one step closer to a 200 mph car. Although, we do not advocate going maximum speed in these cars.

Most Sought Exotic Car Rentals

The luxury sports cars and high end automobiles for rent is pretty extensive ranging from BMW, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Lotus to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Bentley manufacturers.
You may just settle on a standard green vehicle  but let it be known that legendary Italian sport car maker, Ferrari may include plans to use green technology in its California F-430, that is retro-fitted for lower emissions and even a Lamborghini Estoque. Furthermore, it will enhance fuel mileage.

Remember DiCaprio was seen driving a Prius in West Hollywood, possibly to ditch the constant photo flashers.  You can choose whatever you wish but you should definitely experience an elite car such as a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Bentley for at least a day. Then you can be the final judge

Why not check out some exotic car rentals near you so you can experience the car of your dreams. Take her out onto the open road and see what it can do.

Find Out More About Exotic Cars – Simply Click here –%26gt; http://www.InsideFastLane.com

In a view of a sports car buyer, speed and looks are the most important aspects of the sports car. However, both of these aspects need protection against the risk of damage and loss. The speed, at which a sports car is driven, increases the chances of an accident. A sports car has a stylish look and is embedded with expensive accessories that tempt thieves. Since qualified servicing and repairs facilities for sports cars are few and spare parts are difficult to source, maintaining a sports car can cost a fortune.

Car insurance saves money for sports car owners

A large portion of these ownership costs of a sports car can be eliminated by car insurance. It may seem to be an additional cost but car insurance is actually a timely investment for your sports car.

Car insurance shoulders the cost of repairs and loss that your sports can incur despite your best intentions while driving and your care for it. It covers the cost of repairs to the other car that has been damaged in an accident your sports car is involved in.

Medical costs of treating injuries in accident are also within the scope of the sports car insurance.

Car insurance premiums for sports cars

Be careful while choosing car insurance for your sports car as car insurance policies differ for different vehicles. Since sports cars symbolize luxury and thrill, they are likely to be driven fast and thus, increasing the chances of an accident.

As discussed earlier, they are costlier to repair. Also, being an expensive vehicle, there are chances of its parts or the car itself being stolen. As the chances of an accident and the cost of loss or repairing damage are higher, higher insurance premiums are charged to offer coverage for sports cars.

Also, the difference between third party coverage and comprehensive coverage may be more as compared to other types of cars due to the inherent risk of damaging a sports car or losing it to theft.

But you can locate the best deal by looking up your options online or speaking with agents. It will help to bring up a clean driving record during such a conversation to strengthen the case for a favorable pricing of the car insurance premium. Also, the older you are, the easier it is to get a better deal on sports car insurance as you are perceived to be a safer driver. Some sports cars also have an owners club whose members have special privileges and discounts for car insurance. Consider becoming a member of such a group. At the same time, make every effort on your part to ensure safety of your vehicle. This can be done by parking it in locked premises and fitting special gadgets that offer resistance to theft.

Whatever the premium is, car insurance is invaluable for a sports car. Remember, it will calm your mind whenever you see the speedometer rising!

It really depends on the person reading the review about used Japanese cars whether he should believe what is said about them. Reviews come in two major categories: either the review about Japanese used cars (and perhaps the preferred Japanese used car exporter of the reviewer) was made by someone knowledgeable about what to look for in a Japanese used car for sale, or the review is simply a comment from someone who does not know much about Japanese used cars. So, like opinions expressed by people in any industry, you should always take the content of reviews with a grain of salt (meaning, be cautious and skeptical until the review has been proven correct.)

Some people may create reviews about the inner workings of engines of the Japanese used cars, with emphasis on cars made by a particular manufacturer. For example, if you know quite a lot about the engines of Toyota models from years past to consider yourself an authority on the subject, then you might be able to create a legitimate and credible review about what people should look for in engines of Toyota-branded used Japanese cars. You could then expand your scope to comparing how engines from one car manufacturer rate against the performance of engines from other car manufacturers. Other reviewers might choose to focus their opinions about the external design of used Japanese cars instead. Using the same manufacturer as our example, perhaps you could make a comparative analysis of why the Toyota model for one year has a much better design than the Toyota models for succeeding years. You could say this Toyota model has a much more streamlined design that reduces drag and fosters fuel efficiency while boosting speed, while others that succeeded it are actually fuel guzzlers due to their inefficient design. In the same manner as an engine reviewer, you could then expand your range of topics to comparing designs from one manufacturer to those made by another manufacturer. These are just some ways reviews could be written though actually the potential for finding great topics to write about are practically unlimited.

Who takes reviews seriously? Why, people who don’t know much about buying Japanese used cars, of course, because they need someone who can guide them through the maze of technical information that will meet them once they start comparing used Japanese cars to choose from. And, there might also be actual experts on Japanese used cars, such as your friendly Japanese used car exporter, who might be interested in what you have to say. Of course, if you say something that departs from conventional knowledge, you will have to be able to defend yourself with facts and examples that would support those facts. Anything said in print is actually quite damning to the author if he is proven to have used incorrect facts deliberately.

So whether you are someone who just reads reviews about some Japanese used car for sale on the Internet, or are actually someone who writes reviews, the rule of thumb to be followed is truth above all else.

Sadayoshi Miyakuni, CEO of M’s Crew Co., Ltd. who runs www.auctiondirectjapan.com. AuctionDirectJapan.com is A Japan Car Dealer in Japan, selling and exporting Japanese Used Cars and New Cars from Japan to the world. We supply Quality Used Japanese Cars of TOYOTA, NISSAN, HONDA, SUBARU, ISUZU, etc.

Fuel and propulsion technologies
A radio taxi in New Delhi. A court order requires all commercial vehicles including trucks, buses and taxis in India to run on Compressed free articles directory Natural Gas See also: Alternative fuel vehicle

Most automobiles in use today are propelled by gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel internal combustion engines, which are known to cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming.[14]

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Increasing costs of oil-based fuels, tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for automobiles. Efforts to improve or replace existing technologies include the development of hybrid vehicles, and electric and hydrogen vehicles which do not release pollution into the air.

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Petroleum fuels Main article: Petroleum fuel engine Diesel Main article: Diesel engine

Diesel-engined cars have long been popular in Europe with the first models being introduced as early as 1922 [15] by Peugeot and the first production car, Mercedes-Benz 260 D in 1936 by Mercedes-Benz. The main benefit of diesel engines is a 50% fuel burn efficiency compared with 27%[16] in the best gasoline engines. A down-side of the Diesel engine is that better filters are required to reduce the presence in the exhaust gases of fine soot particulates called diesel particulate matter. Manufacturers are now starting to fit[when?] diesel particulate filters to remove the soot. Many diesel-powered cars can run with little or no modifications on 100% biodiesel and combinations of other organic oils.

Gasoline Main article: Petrol engine
2007 Mark II (BMW) Mini Cooper

Gasoline engines have the advantage over diesel in being lighter and able to work at higher rotational speeds and they are the usual choice for fitting in high-performance sports cars. Continuous development of gasoline engines for over a hundred years has produced improvements in efficiency and reduced pollution. The carburetor was used on nearly all road car engines until the 1980s but it was long realised better control of the fuel/air mixture could be achieved with fuel injection. Indirect fuel injection was first used in aircraft engines from 1909, in racing car engines from the 1930s, and road cars from the late 1950s.[16] Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) is now starting to appear in production vehicles such as the 2007 (Mark II) BMW Mini. Exhaust gases are also cleaned up by fitting a catalytic converter into the exhaust system. Clean air legislation in many of the car industries most important markets has made both catalysts and fuel injection virtually universal fittings. Most modern gasoline engines also are capable of running with up to 15% ethanol mixed into the gasoline – older vehicles may have seals and hoses that can be harmed by ethanol. With a small amount of redesign, gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85%. 100% ethanol is used in some parts of the world (such as Brazil), but vehicles must be started on pure gasoline and switched over to ethanol once the engine is running. Most gasoline engined cars can also run on LPG with the addition of an LPG tank for fuel storage and carburettor modifications to add an LPG mixer. LPG produces fewer toxic emissions and is a popular fuel for fork-lift trucks that have to operate inside buildings.

The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by Toyota in 2005 free articles directory Biofuels Main articles: Biofuel, Ethanol fuel, and biogasoline

Ethanol, other alcohol fuels (biobutanol) and biogasoline have widespread use an automotive fuel. Most alcohols have less energy per liter than gasoline and are usually blended with gasoline. Alcohols are used for a variety of reasons – to increase octane, to improve emissions, and as an alternative to petroleum based fuel, since they can be made from agricultural crops. Brazil’s ethanol program provides about 20% of the nation’s automotive fuel needs, as a result of the mandatory use of E25 blend of gasoline throughout the country, 3 million cars that operate on pure ethanol, and 6 million dual or flexible-fuel vehicles sold since 2003.[17] that run on any mix of ethanol and gasoline. The commercial success of ‘flex’ vehicles, as they are popularly known, have allowed sugarcane based ethanol fuel to achieve a 50% market share of the gasoline market by April 2008.[18][19][20]

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These days there are plenty of options for getting a car insurance quote; it can be done online, through a broker or directly from the insurance company. In order to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible it is a good idea to get a variety of quotes for comparison. However any car insurance quote is going to be largely based on how much of a risk you are to the insurance company. The best way to get low auto insurance premiums is to be a good driver.

Whenever you get a car insurance quote what you are really getting is an assessment of how likely you are to cause an accident. This is determined through the use of actuary tables and is extremely complex, but suffice it to say, the better driver you are the less you will pay. The most important factor in determining how good a driver you are is going to be your past history, if you have caused accidents before the insurance company is going to assume that you will cause more accidents in the future. This is a reasonable assumption on their part since past actions are usually the best guide to future behavior.

If you don’t have a good driving record, there are things that you can do to lower the amount that you pay in insurance premiums. A defensive driving course can go a long way to helping you get a lower car insurance quote. Learning to drive properly will certainly help to avoid accidents; it will also show the insurance company that you are serious about changing your ways. This will make you less of a risk and will result in a lower premium.

Another way to get a cheaper car insurance quote is to trade in the sports car for a nice, safe family sedan. It should come as no surprise that sports cars are involved in more accidents than family cars, usually because people in sports cars drive more recklessly. You may own a sports car and be the safest driver in the world but you will have to pay more because of the behavior of other sports car drivers. This may not seem fair, but that is insurance, it is based on generalizations of large groups of people. Family cars also tend to be safer in an accident than a sports car which is another consideration for the insurance company. The less damage after an accident means the less they have to pay out.

Simply driving less will usually result in a lower car insurance quote. Common sense says that the less time you spend on the road the less likely you are to be in an accident. Again this lowers the risk to the insurance company and results in lower vehicle insurance quotes.

Getting a cheap car insurance quote is not all that difficult, but you must be a good driver. If you have a poor driving history you are going to pay for it no matter how much comparison shopping you do. It is never too late to change your driving habits and doing so will make it much easier to get lower auto insurance premiums in the future.

Prince Chike is an oline marketer who writes on various internet marketing topics.
His followers are benefiting imensely from  his writings at: http://www.ohioautoinsurancequotes.co.cc/’

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