Basics of Subaru WRX Maintenance

by Colin Hogue

Basic WRX Performance Tricks
Here are a few WRX performance tricks that I have come across that may give you that extra punch next time you pull up next to a Corvette at a stoplight. Please keep in mind that oftentimes increasing horsepower comes down to some common sense.
Oil Changes
Let's start off with an easy one. How about changing your oil? I can still hear my dad saying, "Make sure to change that oil every 3000 miles!" Nowadays, most cars don't require that oil be changed quite that often, but if you drive hard, it never hurts to put some fresh synthetic oil in there to help things run a little smoother. The Subaru WRX manual says to change the oil every 7,500 miles under normal driving conditions or every 3,750 if you drive hard. I suggest the latter.
Fresh, Properly Gapped Spark Plugs
Keeping your spark plugs inspected, cleaned, and gapped properly are also easy ways to keep your WRX running at its best. The proper spacing for a 2002 or 2003 WRX is 0.028"-0.031" (0.7-0.8 mm).

Fresh Air Filter
Some of these things are so basic that I hesitate to mention them, but a lot of the time, the things that we forget to do are the simple things. So, when was the last time you checked your air filter? Imagine trying to breath through a dirty pillow. Sounds difficult, right? That is what your car is doing every day unless you make sure to clean your air filter. Better yet, upgrade your intake system to some type of Ram Air kit to allow your WRX to inhale as much air as possible.
Premium Gasoline
With gas prices at an all-time high, this is one tip that is hard to swallow. Saving those extra pennies at the pump seems a good way to pinch pennies, but don't do it. Save money elsewhere. Pump the premium. Why? The higher the octane, the more power for the engine of your Subaru WRX. There is a reason that race cars run on high octane fuel. MORE POWER!

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Run Your Car On Water And Save Thousands!

by Adam Hefner

The price of gas has risen astronomically, more than doubling in the past five years. Although scientists claim to be working to develop more efficient motors and better fuel alternatives, they are concealing a critical truth from the public. One of the best kept secrets in modern research is that it is possible to run your car on water.
Ethanol, a well-known alternative, saves users $.50 to $.60 per gallon of gasoline, saving users about $7.50 for a 15-gallon tank. In comparison, hybrid cars allow consumers to increase their fuel efficiency by 10 to 15 miles per gallon, which results in a net savings of approximately $15 in cars with the same size tank.
In contrast, when you run your car on water, you can save up to $25 dollars a tank. Does this sound unbelievable? In fact, some users have reported that their car's fuel efficiencies more than doubled when adding this simple water converting device.
You probably are wondering how much you would have to pay to install one of these devices in your car. Actually, these converters are so inexpensive that it seems incredible that science has hidden this gift from the public for so long. They cost less than $200 to build. Additionally, they are so easy to make that an amateur mechanic with only a little experience can do it!

One other amazing benefit of this technology is that you are eligible for a tax rebate for using this device. The cost of both the converter and its installation can be written off on your federal taxes. Let the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pay for this money-saving innovation!
If these converters are so easy to make, save so much money, and are so efficient, why isn't the scientific community telling us about them? The reason is simple. You can run your car on water and they make almost nothing from this invention.
Is this information shocking? It's hard to believe that such a beneficial device could be kept secret for so long. Unfortunately, scientists want to make money from their research, and this truth simply isn't that profitable to them.
Researchers would rather spend millions of dollars for research, and develop less useful alternatives, than share these secrets with you. Now that you know about the amazing new technology that lets you run your car on water, the choice is yours. Will you take advantage of this secret, or continue to waste thousands of dollars each year?

Some say gas prices are going to $4 a gallon. To find more on how you can run your car on water and how you can save money, check out http://WaterFuel.Superior-Products101.com/

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The Differences Between The Sexes and The Cars They Want

by Victor Martel

There is an interesting ongoing debate regarding the differences between the sexes and their cars.
According to the results of J.D. Power & Associates' Power Information Network's (PIN) most recent survey of the cars with the highest percentage of female ownership is the Volvo S40. The luxury car with the highest male ownership is the high-performance Audi RS4. It does not take a psychologist to conclude that men are more likely to buy cars with their heart and women with their head.
The RS4 has a starting price of over $66,000 and can zoom from 0 to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. The S40 has a sticker price of around $25,000. Apparently it doesn't matter how fast the S40 can go from 0 to 60. What does matter is that it aced the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's frontal crash test.
Interestingly enough, there wasn't a sports car to be found in the top 10. Instead, there were sensible, entry-level cars and small SUV's that emphasized safety, quality, reliability, and value.
Of course, that is not to say there aren't thousands of women who don't enjoy driving fast or wouldn't choose a Ferrari over a minivan given the choice, but these women would seem to be the exception. To arrive at its conclusions, PIN surveyed hundreds of dealerships around the U.S. through the end of August, 2007. The nationwide sample includes about 24% of U.S. retail automotive sales, including both loans and leases, luxury and non-luxury brands, but excluding fleet sales.
So, What Do Women Want? A Volvo.
Not only did the S40 nail the top spot; the Volvo brand dominated the top 10 with three winners, which, along with the S40, included the V50 wagon at No. 7 and the S60 sedan at No. 9. Volvo was also the No. 1 luxury brand for female ownership overall, at 42.5%, vs. a luxury-brand average of 35.8%.

So how does this popularity translate to sales? Year-to-date through August, women bought or leased more than half (53%) of the Volvo S40 sedans retailed in the PIN sample, which is fairly representative of the total market. However, that doesn't necessarily mean good news for the struggling Swedish automaker, which is a division of Ford Motor because sales as a whole for the model are weak. As of August 2007, North American sales of the S40 were 13,513, which was down about 17% year-to-date. Overall, Volvo's North American sales were off 9.4% to 72,476, according to Automotive News.
Men clearly still buy the majority of cars. For example, the racier and more expensive BMW 3 Series is the perennial sales leader in the entry-luxury sedan segment, and is increasing its domination. Through August 2007, 3 Series sales were up about 25%, to 97,039, according to Automotive News. But it didn't even make it on to PIN's top 10 list of women's favorite luxury cars.
Across the industry, including non-luxury brands, women bought 37.3% of new vehicles in 2007 through August, based on the PIN sample data. Looking beyond luxury cars to include all price categories, the S40 was the fifth-most-popular model for female buyers. The most popular, according to J.D. Power, with 58.3% of all female buyers, was the Volkswagen new Beetle. Including non-luxury brands, Suzuki was the No. 1 brand purchased by women through August 2007, the data said. Reinforcing the PIN data, a separate customer survey by another market research and consulting company, San Diego's Strategic Vision, showed many of the same Volvos at the top of a similar list for the previous model year (the most recent one available), including the S40 at No. 1.
Known Quantities
"We're known for one thing. We 'own' safety," said John Maloney, vice-president for marketing communications at Volvo Cars of North America in Irvine, Calif. "Safety is sort of a foundational value for everyone. But on a relative basis, it is more important to women," says Maloney.
Nevertheless, Volvo is trying to expand beyond its "safe" image. The company's new brand message continues to emphasize safety while still aiming to convince consumers that its cars are also rugged and fun to drive (Business Week, 9/14/07).
Some Like a Lexus
If Volvo is synonymous with safety, Toyota's Lexus Div. is synonymous with quality and reliability. (It has won the J.D. Power dependability survey 13 years in a row. Lexus had fewer Top 10 female-owned models than Volvo, but the Lexus was the No. 2 luxury brand overall, in terms of female ownership, at 41.2%, according to PIN data.
In liking Lexus, women are little different from men, since Lexus has been the No. 1-selling luxury brand in the U.S. since 2000. The biggest reason for the brand's high overall female ownership is the Lexus RX model, a car-based SUV typically purchased for family use. The RX is the single biggest-selling Lexus at 67,686 unit's year to date and ranks sixth on the list of the 10 most popular female-owned luxury vehicles.
Primary Decision Maker
Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for PIN, noted that most of the models in the most popular luxury list purchased by women are at the entry level for their respective brands, all of which have MSRPs of under $40,000.
"You're not going to get that many single women buying an $80,000 vehicle. To some extent, the lower the price, the higher percent female," he said. According to Libby, to determine the percentage of ownership, PIN looked at the finance contract to see if a woman was the sole owner or the top signer. The data do not include marital status.
Colleen O'Dea, sales manager for Kundert Volvo of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., said it is not at all uncommon for women shopping alone to come in and buy or lease a Volvo. She believes most of them are married. "It's probably a household decision, but it happens all the time that women are picking the car, picking colors and the equipment. Maybe 10 or more years ago, women would do that, and then the men would come in and negotiate, but today it's just the opposite. The woman is definitely the primary decision-maker," she said. O'Dea said that according to Volvo statistics for the Northern New Jersey sales region, 63% of the S40 buyers for the last 60 days were female.
No Condescending Salesmen Allowed Another sign of the changing times is that women are increasingly knowledgeable about cars. As a result, men and women indicate that they are equally satisfied with the automotive sales experience, at least according to the most recent J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Index. Both sexes gave the dealership where they bought or leased their new car an identical satisfaction rating of 847 on a 1,000-point scale a record high for the 20-year study.
Of course, there are some dealerships where salesmen treat less well-informed women condescendingly, or suggest that they "come back with their husbands," assuming that the man is the real decision-maker.
"Women want a vehicle and an experience with the dealership that says she is respected for the smart choice she made, that she is an expert at knowing what she wants," said Shedroff of Strategic Vision.

Victor Martel is an expert in buying and selling luxury and exotic cars.
Do you want to learn more about luxury and exotic cars? Visit his website http://www.finestmotorsports.com Also visit his blog at http://www.finestmotorsports.com/blog to understand the car buying and selling experience.

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Customize the Interior of Your Vehicle with LED Lighting

by Matthew Barr

Automotive lighting technology has reached new innovations and frontiers. Now you can just light up any place imaginable as long as you are confident with your design. From the car exterior which aesthetically improves your car's visibility, LED lighting tubes are now used in the car's interior for that cool cozy effect that sets up your mood.
Interior LED lights come in all shapes and sizes, each with the objective to make your car stand out. You can choose from a wide array of rods, tubes, and strips that can fit seamlessly in your car to give your interior an immediate radiant glow; all with the help of the patented lighting technology.
LED lights are known for their economic value due to its durability, low power requirement, and efficient brightness. Because of its versatility, they allow illumination of any interior as its fits anywhere inside your car. LED lights are adapted for their fashionable design that delights the car enthusiasts. With the extended durability, LED light producers can offer more generous warranties which make LED lights a safe buy.
One viable example of interior LED lights is LED rods. These rods can glow in one direction, or radiates in wide angles. The wide angle feature makes your lights glow smoother and brighter. With LED rods, much of the car's interior and padding is illuminated to a radiant glow. This LED tubes can be mounted anywhere, from the side of your trucks, to undercar lighting, and to interior lights. If you can find the right mix, LED lights create an unbelievable effect.

LED tubes can be easily installed right out of the box with convenient connection to the car lighter or permanent wiring. LED tubes can hold as much as 2.1 million colors with room to hold more. With the mass variety of colors available, advanced LED interior tubes can be programmed to strobe, flash, and dish out patterns that pulses through music with built in digital sound activator. Interior LED tubes are used to highlight the bottom of the car interior that produces an inert aura in your car's interior. Coupled with an already tight configuration, these interior LED tubes could be the deal breaker in customizing your car.
Other LED tubes can be placed strategically to highlight your dashboard, seats, amplifiers, speaker boxes, air vents, doors, and a lot more. It is important to have a variety in LED tube lengths. Placing them on the underside panels will create a glow effect in places where you don't think it is possible to decorate.
With a proven LED technology, paired with state of the art product lines, you can never go wrong if you decide to shell out money for these lighting tubes. Not only do these products put you to the echelon of car customization but it will also help reflect your personal taste. It is a definite must have for hardcore drivers who always look to add a little more glitz to their vehicle.

About the Author: Matthew Barr is a successful webmaster of http://www.urban-neon-car-lights.com He provides more information on car interior led lights, neon accessory lighting, led car lights, and car strobe lights on his website.

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Counting the Cost of Travel in London

by Andrew Regan

In 1900, motoring was a luxury hobby in Britain, and there were only 8,000 cars in the whole of Britain at the start of the 20th century; but by the end of the century the car population had soared to 21 million. The number of cars on the roads began to rise during the 1920s as manufacturers started to make small, lightweight and cheaper vehicles for a wider market. Cars at this time were still relatively expensive. The Austin Nippy, was at the top of the Austin 7 sports car range and cost £152 - about £8,500 in today's money.

The boom in car ownership occurred in the 1950s and 60s. Car ownership in London quadrupled between 1950 and 1970 as standards of living rose and car prices fell. By the mid-1960s, there were 1.5 million cars registered in London and the numbers continued to rise until the end of the century when 2.2 million cars were registered at London addresses.

Increasing car ownership meant increasing traffic congestion. By the 1960s, London's traffic problem was considered to affect only the evening and morning rush hours in central London. It was not until the 1980s that congestion came to be a problem across London at more or less all hours of the day. This culminated in 2003 with the introduction of the controversial London congestion charge, a fee for motorists travelling within those parts of London designated as the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ). The main objectives of this charge were to reduce congestion, and to raise funds for investment in London's transport system.

Nowadays, with the rising cost of oil resulting in higher petrol and diesel prices, the cost of owning a car in London is higher than ever. According to the AA, the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol was 104.2p at the end of 2007; a litre of diesel would have set you back 109.2p.

But the rising price of fuel is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the cost of motoring. According to Sainsbury's Bank, the average cost of running a car, excluding petrol, is now just over £1,000 a year. And if you have borrowed money to buy your vehicle, as most car owners have, the costs are even higher.

The astronomical expense of motoring has encouraged many people to reconsider whether they need to own a car at all. If you live in a city and only have the occasional need for a set of wheels, it could work out considerably cheaper to ditch your vehicle and instead consider car hire Rental vehicle companies and city car clubs provide a service that allows you to hire cars near your home for anywhere between half an hour and a month at a time, with the end result is that for a fraction of the cost of running your own car, you could enjoy similar access to a set of wheel whenever you need them.

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.

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HHO Water Fuel

by Timothy Payn

HHO water fuel is a clean and sustainable way to run our cars and power our domestic appliances. Of course there are many other industrial applications for HHO water fuel. Here we focus on hydrogen fuel for the average consumer. We also look at how we can incorporate it into our everyday lives. The bare fact is that any vehicle can be quickly, cheaply and easily converted to run on HHO water fuel.
You don't need to hold any kind of special 'green' agenda to understand that putting water in your tank costs less than filling it with gas. Once you understand just how efficient HHO car conversions are, you can also appreciate the way you can take less from the earth's natural resources. Renewable energy may be a sort of fetish for a few people, but that doesn't preclude the rest of us from taking an interest and even joining in. When it makes sense. In the case of HHO water fuel for cars, it does.
Well, there is an area in which HHO water fuel makes sense for all of us. That is for running our cars, our refrigerators, our stoves and electrical appliances. This is a win-win situation. We can put more money back in our pockets. And, if global warming and diminishing resources prove to be true, we will be doing our bit for the environment at the same time. Now that really does make sense.
A decent HHO water fuel guide is absolutely essential. Making a conversion kit yourself is the best way to go, but the quality of that manual is critical. Only by getting HHO water fuel systems right can you expect to reap the benefits. While the underlying technology isn't particularly complicated, most people will need proper guidance on how to make conversion kits for their cars and white goods.
Explore the available guides thoroughly, select the best, and get going. Don't be a cheap skate. Expertise doesn't come cheap, although I wouldn't expect to fork out over $100 for a genuinely good manual.
So what are the facts and statistics about hydrogen fuel technology which are of interest to us ordinary mortals?

Well, to run a car, you could be looking at cutting your gas costs to zero with one of the proven HHO conversion kits.
Hybrid hydrogen fuel systems can reduce your car's gas bill by half.
There are more than 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. running on home-applied HHO water fuel.
More than 20% of Norwegian homes run their domestic appliances via hydrogen fuel cells and own a vehicle powered, at least in part, by hydrogen water fuel.
Transportation, in toto, within the European Economic Zone, now has 0.6% of vehicles running on HHO gas.
Every single day across the globe more than 1,500 people are converting their cars to run on HHO water fuel themselves.
The majority of individuals doing these conversions now reside in first world economies.
HHO water fuel can be employed to generate power for most things you can think of in your home.
It is absolutely true that the only emission from a hydrogen fueled car is water.
Fuel cells were first used almost 160 years ago and are used extensively today in space exploration programs.
Take your time. Sit down and evaluate the various DIY manuals on HHO water fuel. Just ensure it also covers batteries and generators too if you want hydrogen fuel to supply all your household energy needs.

Timothy Payn's blog: http://mikey890.wordpress.com

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In-Depth Automotive Review - 2008 Honda Accord - It's Fantastic & Revolutionary

by Shaun Patrick Davidson

Just when you think the midsize sedan market could not get any more competitive, Honda has released a fantastic new Honda Accord. Honda's hottest selling car makes large strides to keep it on top of the volume leader boards with head turning style, comfort, and the reliability like nothing else out there. I'm eagerly anticipating the drive, so I take the 4-cyl Accord for a ride and give consumers the 411.
I've driven my fair share of the previous models in rental car form, so that would be an outstanding comparison to base off of. The one most striking difference is how well designed the Accord is, in its segment, it was easily a couple years ahead of its time. I personally thought the cutting edge shapes and panels to be true-blue Honda and was a welcome look in comparison to it's rounder rivals. Fit and finish is what I expected in this car, and there were no surprises. Additionally, the Accord is a little bit bigger car, not exactly a negative, consumers can all use the extra room. Wheels were designed nicely, paint quality outstanding, and feature all of the top of the line safety and security hot spots. A definite winner!
Secondly, the treasure trove of options going into the inside never stops. Great quality in all of the dash panels and seating fabrics, they will most certainly sustain many years of abuse. Buttons and controls were easy to reach, albeit more buttons to get used to than other cars, it was no problem. This just meant there is more to be desired from the new Accord. Safety further enhances with a full assortment of airbags, remote keyless entry for base models, and a factory alarm system. The radio sounded good with no distortion and comes with iPod hookups. The overall interior ambiance was a little monotone, but the quality far exceeded any opinions on color. I felt comfortable in the front buckets and the rear is huge. Passengers can literally do jumping jacks back there, lots and lots of room. Moreover, the ride was quiet and there was very little wind noise. I was impressed further.

Driving dynamics was exactly what I expected with quick witted transmission and fantastic power from the four banger I drove. California freeways were no match for the Honda ingenuity! Again ride was compliant, however, there was a little bit more body roll with the larger size and weight. That's a fair tradeoff for extra comfort and room. Gas mileage is still among the best, I averaged about 27-28 mpg's, very efficient. Price of my test model was just over $22k, worth every penny, and market competitive with the rest. Expect about $800-1,800 between invoice and MSRP when you decide to go one on one with the salesman. A true value, best bang for the buck!
And so we close with some endearing news, if consumers thought the sedan is a marvelous car, the 2-door coupe is absolutely stunning. I'll soon take that bad boy for a spin as well, believe me, I leave no stone unturned. The new 2008 Honda Accord will be a perennial fave with families for generations to come, there's no stopping the success gauntlet! A truly inspiring stepping stone to further sales success.

If you enjoyed this article and are currently in the market for an outstanding midsize, please feel free to visit my other car reviews at: http://kookoox10thereviewspot.blogspot.com/
Shaun Davidson-Automotive and Finance Consultant-2008

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