The Auto Repair team of researchers have been hard at work trying to solve the problem of the automotive cup holder. Ok, it was me, my brother and my sister-in-law, but we’ve spent years griping about spilled drinks and sticky, non-working cup holders. How many times has your center console turned into a tiny bird bath filled with coffee or soda? Unless you’re Jon Bon Jovi or 50 Cent, you don’t need a hot tub inside your car.The answer is finally here, and like many things genius, it was the simplest of answers. I was driving a Porsche 911 at the time (an anti-cup-holder company) and had been helping a friend hang some signs around the neighborhood. In a very ghetto move, we were using duct tape. On the way home we stopped by the great Double-D for a warm-up cup. As I sat down my hand was drawn to the roll of duct tape on the floor, and I inserted my coffee. Amazing! It has enough weight to hold the cup upright, and enough grip on the floor to keep from sliding.Depending on your usual drink of choice, you can choose between the regular 1-inch wide roll of tape or the 1 1/2-inch width for extra-large coffees or Big Gulps. If after a few months your cup holder is looking like a giant dust bunny, you can replace it for $4! You can even switch it up depending on your mood or the seasons and buy blue, red, black or even white duct tape. The duct tape cup holder may not cool your drink or use LEDs to guide you to the hole, but it will keep your drink off the floor, and that’s what really counts. Plus there are so many other uses for your duct tape, like an emergency roadside hose repair! Form, function and versatility, what more could you ask for? News source: About Auto Repair

Fall is a good time to change oil and filters. Check your owner’s manual for the rating and viscosity, but most cars nowadays use an SJ-service rated oil. This rating is some measure of the oil’s longevity and resistance to oxidation and evaporation. SJ oil is fine for older engines that specify an SG- or SH-rated oil, because the rating always improves when a new one is introduced. The SAE viscosity rating is a measure of how thick the oil is. All modern cars should use a multigrade oil, probably a 5W-30 or 10W-30. The W in these ratings stands for a winter viscosity. A multigrade oil will be as thin as the thinner (5W- or 10W- rating) when the engine is first started. This will allow oil to flow more rapidly and lubricate parts that have had all the oil drain off of them overnight. A thicker oil might not be pumped to remote parts of the engine rapidly enough. On the other hand, a thicker oil (the second number in the rating) will resist becoming too thin when the engine reaches operating temperature. The American Petroleum Institute is an industry watchdog and oils bearing the API emblem can be expected to meet their specifications.In spite of what your brother-in-law the shade-tree mechanic tells you, don’t use a heavier grade of oil just because you used to in your older car. Modern cars were engineered to use 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil year-round. Check the owner’s manual to be sure. The lighter oils are also better on fuel consumption and can significantly improve mileage. News source: Men MSN

PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CSK ProShop, the wholesale side of CSK Auto, Inc., the largest specialty retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the Western United States based on store count, announced today an agreement with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) to offer the CSK ProShop NASCAR Performance Network, a membership program intended to help qualified independent auto repair shops compete with other nationally-branded competitors. Benefits of the CSK ProShop NASCAR Performance Network program include a nationwide repair warranty supported by over 30,000 participating repair shops in all 50 states, a comprehensive marketing and advertising package flying the NASCAR and CSK ProShop co-branded logo, complete diagnostic resources, and a business locator service on NASCAR.com. Greg Livingston, Vice President of CSK ProShop, says he is proud of CSK’s new association with NASCAR. “The CSK ProShop NASCAR Performance Network program lets us bring something unique to the automotive service professionals we serve: the ability to attract new business by offering trusted NASCAR-licensed replacement parts and a nationwide repair warranty program on work performed at their shops,” said Livingston. “Consumers looking for quality auto repair shops will be naturally attracted to businesses associated with NASCAR.” The CSK ProShop NASCAR Performance Network membership program is the first co-branded initiative of its kind. The co-branded venture will be represented through the use of a CSK ProShop NASCAR logo, which will be incorporated into all avenues of communication, advertising and promotion. “We’re excited about this new relationship with CSK Auto,” said Mike Dever, director of the NASCAR Performance Network. “We see the program as another way NASCAR can support its 75 million fans that are looking for quality repair shops, and at the same time add value to auto repair businesses that are looking for better ways to serve their customers.” News source: Businesswire

Chrysler LLC is discouraging white-collar employees from applying for jobs at former parent Daimler AG or its Chrysler Financial unit in a bid to keep jittery workers from leaving the automaker during its transition under a new owner and a new chief executive.Requests to interview for positions at Chrysler Financial and other Daimler units, including Mercedes-Benz USA, “are currently not advised,” Rita C. Rinner, Chrysler’s manager of global staff, wrote to senior Chrysler employees Monday in an e-mail obtained by The Detroit News. “Any exceptions must receive prior approval and should be channeled through HR.”While the note was sent to senior-level employees and aimed primarily at them, the directive applies to all white-collar employees and their staffs.The move came the same day new parent Cerberus Capital Management LP announced it had named former Home Depot chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli chairman and CEO of Chrysler, replacing Tom LaSorda, who will remain as president and become vice chairman. Cerberus’s $7.4 billion purchase of Chrysler was finalized Friday.Nardelli is known for aggressive cost cutting and has vowed to quickly improve efficiency at Chrysler. His hiring has prompted nervousness among some employees, who took note of his record of cutbacks at Home Depot and General Electric Co. Nardelli earned his management stripes at GE, then moved to Home Depot after losing out on the top job at GE.Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines said the “moratorium” is temporary and motivated by Chrysler’s status as a company in transition.“Hold still,” he said. “We have a lot of other things to worry about. We are a new company with a new boss. Let’s get through the next few months.”Dave Elshoff, another Chrysler spokesman, said the memo was aimed largely at people in the financial and accounting departments at Chrysler. “The idea is to build some stability while we are in a transition period,” Elshoff said. The move is to “hold them to their current responsibilities until we get through the beginning of the new Chrysler.”The e-mail said exceptions to the policy could be made “when there is a good business reason to do so,” such as when a department must cut a job and an employee wants to leave. Also, employees “not succeeding in their current assignment” could pursue a job that “is a better fit” at Daimler or Chrysler Financial, Rinner wrote.The transition is moving quickly at Chrysler.Nardelli will take LaSorda’s old office at the top of Auburn Hills headquarters. LaSorda will move into the office of Eric Ridenhour, who was chief operating officer until he resigned Friday.Nardelli returned to a family vacation in Mexico after the announcement Monday. LaSorda had delayed the start of a vacation in California meant to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary. Both will be back at work next week.On Monday, Chrysler also announced it had promoted a long-time financial employee, Ronald Kolka, to chief financial officer. Chrysler has made accounting and cash management a key priority under Cerberus. LaSorda said Monday that the firm instituted “daily cash” accounting after Cerberus announced it had agreed to buy 80.1 percent of Chrysler in May.Daimler, said spokesman Han Tjan, had no policy barring Chrysler staff from applying for jobs. “We don’t have a policy of discriminating,” he said. “We try to get the most suitable employee.” Daimler, which retains 19.9 percent ownership in Chrysler LLC, wants to maintain a “collegial” relationship with Chrysler, Tjan said.“From a collegiality standpoint, you wouldn’t try to poach key people from each other, but I think everybody would look for a mutual solution” if someone wanted to move from one company to the other, Tjan said.Human resources experts questioned whether Chrysler would be able to enforce its requirement that employees seek prior approval.Dave Ulrich, a business professor at the University of Michigan, said the memo could lead to good employees leaving. “What they need to do is create a clear process for dealing with all employees,” Ulrich said. “In the face of employment ambiguity, bad thing happen. The best employees who have choices elsewhere, leave and take jobs with another firm.”“It behooves leaders to design a clear process for jobs and to communicate and then over-communicate what is happening to employees. If talented employees walk out the door, Chrysler is in trouble.” News source: Neponauto

There are a number of used car dealer stories out there that describe the salesmen as pushy, controlling, and money-grabbing yet still charming and warm. It is a delicate combination of qualities that allows them to convince people to buy cars from that particular salesman. That combination of traits also grants the average used car dealer a very negative reputation. Although some might argue that it isn’t deserved, the truth is that there are a number of used auto lots that willingly do some questionable things to help improve their chances at getting a sale. The pushy salesman with the TV-manufactured smile is often just the tip of the iceberg.The most practiced and most well-known practice is called “clocking,” which is the turning back of the odometer. The odometer, for those who aren’t savvy about car terms, measures the distance that the auto has been driven. By “clocking” an odometer, one reduces the mileage that shows on the odometer, giving the impression that the vehicle has only been slightly used. While not indicative of an auto’s overall condition, the distance on the odometer often can be taken as a reflection of how much longer the machine’s life is. The general assumption is that the longer a vehicle has been in a person’s possession, the more miles will appear on the odometer. By altering the number the odometer reflects, the used car dealer is giving the illusion that the car is relatively new and has not been used extensively yet.Also, a buyer has to watch out for the worthless extended service plans that salesmen push on customers. A practice that the average used car dealer has picked up from retailers, the extended warranties are worded such that the contracts appear useful to the customer but, in the legal details, actually disavow the dealership of any responsibilities except in certain scenarios. It goes without saying that the aforementioned scenarios do not happen very often. Even if the coverage is fairly decent, the warranties often come with so much fine print in the contract that a dealership can easily argue their way out of what may or may not be the dealer’s responsibility. The decision often comes down to who one asks; the dealership or the customer.Perhaps, one of the most nefarious practices that a used car dealer can engage in would be the masking of the vehicle’s repair records. Every year, automobiles, which are in need of some level of repair, get sold. The machines then end up in used auto businesses, where they are often repaired just enough so that the vehicles can be driven for a while. This indicates that the myth that dealerships repair the vehicles just enough so that they fall apart, after the warranty has expired, has a level of factual basis. Repairs are conducted, but usually, the dealerships are unwilling to pay for full repairs and instead, opt for machines repaired to retain just enough functionality to convince a prospective buyer. A salesman neglecting to mention that an automobile has gone through extensive repair due to collision damage is not completely unheard of and, in reality, is a common anecdote of used car buyers.While a specific used car dealer can have other methods, the three listed above are the most commonly practiced. The above practices can be circumvented, however, if the buyer is aware of them and knows how to deal with them. For example, certain areas of the auto, no matter how well-repaired, will still show signs of damage, provided a complete replacement of the vehicle’s chassis is not done. There are also ways to check if an odomoter has been tampered with. Finally, even the best used car dealer cannot force a customer to take an extended service plan if the buyer is really opposed to the idea. With a little knowledge and a little preparation, any customer can avoid being fooled by a crafty used auto salesman. News source: pr-gb

Here’s a quick bad joke for you courtesy one of my automotive colleagues here at About.com: A [insert the politically incorrect interpretation of a general idiot of your choice”> pushes a BMW into a gas station and tells the mechanic it died. After he works on it for a few minutes, it is idling smoothly. “What’s the story?” asks the car owner. “Just crap in the carburetor,” replies the mechanic. The owner asks, “How often do I have to do that?”Ok, the joke is really bad, but it does remind us of one minor auto repair maintenance procedure that can save you big money. The best way to keep crap out of your fuel system (regular dirt and dust, too) is to keep your air filter clean. If you haven’t replaced your air filter recently, now’s the time to get to it. News source: About autos .com,

Whether shopping for a new washer, a new home or a new car, everyone is always looking for the best deal, right? And why not? The capitalistic system is built on a free market where businesses compete with each other to offer the best product for the lowest — or at least fairest — price.And in no other realm is the search for the best deal more coveted than in the new car dealership. Indeed, for some folks, haggling, and getting, a lower price when they buy new cars not only means more dollars in their pocket, but it can also be a badge of honor. Something about “getting a deal” — and even better, “not being snookered” — has always been a source of considerable bragging rights, whether at the Rotary Club, the water cooler or the corner bar.Various theories abound on the best time to buy new cars. Some have touted the holiday season, the beginning of the week or a rainy day as among the best times to try and reel in that low low price. But one sure time that consumers can usually land a bargain when they buy new cars is at the end of the month. News source: AOL Autos That’s because the sales staff at most car dealerships generally operate on a quota system, where they receive an incremental bonus (otherwise known as a spiff) each time they hit their next sales “mark” for that month. So, if a car dealer is coming up on the end of the month and he’s a few cars short of that next spiff, he or she usually has an incentive to get the sales manager to knock down the price of a car in order to hit that quota.”Actually, car salesmen receive bonuses from both the dealership and the manufacturer for meeting certain sales goals,” says Michael Royce, a one-time high-volume car dealer in Southern California, who is now a consumer advocate dedicated to educating car buyers. To that end, he wrote the book ‘Beat The Car Salesman’ and runs the Web Site, [url”>http://beatthecarsalesman.com.“These goals can and do change as the dealership’s and manufacturer’s needs change,” says Royce. “Sometimes salesmen may receive a bonus for meeting a certain sales goal for the month. For example, if they sell 10 cars in a month, they might receive a $1,000 bonus. Or they may receive a bonus for achieving a “first” — like a $100 bonus for selling the first car on a Saturday morning. Bonuses make selling cars more fun for the salesmen and most importantly, it supplements their income.”Bonuses have become more and more important to the car dealers over the past few years. You can use this to your advantage when you buy new cars.”This is because car buyers are becoming more and more savvy due to the volumes of valuable free car-buying information on the Internet,” says Royce. “And because buyers are now more savvy, they are becoming better negotiators — and therefore, paying less for their new cars. That means that the car salesmen are earning less, because they work on commission. So, the dealerships and manufacturers began pumping up the bonuses in order to keep their salesmen. Bonuses are now an integral part of the car salesmen’s income.”Beyond the car salesman’s fatter wallet, there’s another incentive to cut a deal near the end of the month. The car dealerships themselves also have monthly quotas to hit. “If they meet or exceed their targets, the manufacturer may allocate more vehicles to that dealership,” notes Royce. “That gives that dealership a larger inventory and more vehicle choices for their customers. If they don’t meet their goals, the manufacturer may cut back on that dealership’s incoming inventory until the excess inventory is sold.” This means that the sales managers are also more prone to shave a little off the price if the end of the month is looming and those goals have not been met. A car dealer at a Honda dealership in San Francisco, who wanted to remain anonymous, concurred. This is good information to know when you buy new cars.”Yeah, if the end of month is approaching, and the sales manager or general manager sees that the dealership might be in danger of not hitting its sales quotes for that month — if it looks like they won’t sell enough units to make the manufacturer happy — they will definitely get more aggressive on the pricing,” said the car dealer. “If it looks like they’re not going to sell enough units that month, they’ll definitely do what they have to do to push extra units out the door as the 30th of the month gets closer. They definitely want to make more money — to pay the rent, pay for the cars, etc. So they’ll definitely be more willing to cut you a deal.”So the question becomes — how much can you expect to save if you buy new cars at the end of the month?Car Shopping?Educate yourself before buying a car:Used Car Buying Tips Buying Tips: Negotiating Prices Affordable New Vehicles Best Deals of the Month That depends on the car dealership, the brand and the size of the market. Each car dealership has a specific minimum profit that they are willing to accept on each car, Royce points out.”And that’s usually in the neighborhood of several hundred to a thousand dollars over their cost — their invoice price,” Royce explains. “However, if a dealership is struggling to meet its monthly sales quotas, then it’s not unusual for some dealerships to sell their new cars at very little profit — or even no profit. They do this knowing that it helps them reach their sales quota — and that they’ll make it up by earning big profits from their service department.”One way to find out your dealership’s “magic number” is to take note of their inventory when you buy new cars.”If you see several vehicles of the same model you want to buy sitting there on their lot, then you can reasonably assume that the dealership needs to move them out ASAP,” advises Royce. “If the car you want to buy is harder to find, then they may not be willing to go low on the price. Ultimately, it’s all determined by supply and demand.”Royce also offers this tip: The largest car dealership in your area will most likely have the biggest inventory and therefore, they have the biggest incentive to move their cars out at a discount. Great research and reviews on the new CUV segment: Are they for you? Find Out InsideWhile the end of the month strategy is generally true, there is something else to keep in mind. Car dealers earn a higher commission on cars sold at higher prices — which means that, if prices are being cut at the end of the month, their commissions will be lower. It all amounts to something of a balancing act, and the amount of your end of the month discount may depend on how it all shakes out for the individual salesperson when you buy new cars.Another caveat to consider: At the end of the month, the car dealerships’ vehicle inventories are down — at least, they are if the dealer is doing a good job of moving his or her product. So this might mean you won’t get exactly the trim level or option package you’re looking for. That is, you might have to settle for a black paint job instead of the silver coat you wanted. Or you might have to forego the posh amenities that come standard on a higher trim level and accept the more basic features of a lower-line edition. But that can be a small trade-off if you are one of the many car buyers out there for whom money is definitely an object when you buy a new car.

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Imus is fired Anna’s Nicole baby’s father is named do I care no so why do the news outlets keep throwing this trash at me I wonder why gas is so high why is beef on the climb where are we going in the overseas wars Tell me something I care about and stop the trash Every survey I have read says we don’t care about this junk reporting so stopBut I suppose I have to accept the fact there are numerous 24/7 news channels and they have to fill the air waves with somethingMaybe there should be a disclaimer like for adult themes such as This report is for idiots only

The FBI says police officers are about as likely to be killed in a vehicle crash as with a criminal’s gun. Cops drive in a high-threat, workload-intensive environment: blaring sirens, flashing computers, screaming radios, civilian drivers seemingly bent on kamikaze attacks, and, at their destination, angry bad guys who don’t particularly respect public servants. All reasons that cops take driving very seriously. With feedback from officers in the field, law-enforcement driving instructors have compiled numerous tips to help their students avoid becoming a statistic. Here, we pass those along to you. News source: Auto Media Watch Your Hands Airbags save lives, but many a police officer has been unnecessarily injured because their hands were over the airbag when it went off. At the school for law-enforcement driving instructors I recently attended, the story was told of an officer who was driving with his wrist draped over the top of the steering wheel. His attention was diverted by the in-car computer and he smashed into a car that suddenly pulled in front of him: the deploying airbag broke his lower arm and caused his own hand to break out his front teeth. While driving straight, police instructors say that your hands should be at three and nine o’clock on the steering wheel. If you MUST be lazy, try four and eight o’clock. Also, the police instructors say, learn the “shuffle steering” technique where the left hand never ventures to the right side of the wheel and vice versa. To turn right, first pull down with the right hand. Next release the right hand grip while pushing up with the left hand and raising the right hand up to grab more wheel. Repeat. With practice, it’s possible to drive as fast as possible through the tightest course without your hands going above 10 and two. Side Windows Side windows should be all the way up or all the way down. Imaging a pane of glass, edge on, banging into your temple. Now picture a side-impact car crash that snaps your neck against a partially open side window. A guillotine is only slightly more efficient. Because few officers enjoy collecting dismembered body parts from the roadway, your side windows should be all the way up or all the way down. For vehicles with side windows that don’t go below the top of the door, this means “all the way up all the time.” Fully raised is preferable over fully lowered because it’s far better to hit your head against the raised side glass than, say, the brush guard of the SUV that T-boned you in the door. Lock Your Doors Preventing carjacking is but a side benefit of this tip. A closed car door will help keep your arms, legs and head inside the vehicle. Police driving instructors claim that a locked door is 10 times more likely to stay closed in a crash. The incredible forces in a wreck mean that even belted occupants can be partially ejected if the doors fly open. In secondary impacts, flopping heads can be smashed against the roadway and dangling limbs can be ripped off. Makes a carjacking seem like a desirable experience, no? Back In Since about one-third of driving incidents involving officers on duty occur when the cruiser is in reverse, cops are instructed to back into parking spaces when they’re not under pressure. You should do the same thing. The main advantage for you is that it’s much easier to see–and avoid–cross traffic when pulling forward out of a parking space. Ever park between two giant SUVs? As you backed blindly out, your car was perhaps two-thirds into the traffic lane before you could see around the behemoths. When responding to an emergency call, cops can’t, or don’t, take time to back out slowly. Crunch! Since police have no more right to leave the scene of an accident than you, if their brother officer was getting a butt kicking, he’ll have to hope someone else responds to the call for backupSince so many cop crashes occur while reversing, officers do a LOT of backing up in their driver-training courses. You should, too. Find an empty parking lot. Using traffic cones, PVC pipe, or soft-drink cans, mark a 9-foot wide parking space that “T”s into an 8-foot-wide traffic lane. (Hint: Put a little extra fudge room opposite the parking space.) Practice backing down the lane and in and out of the parking space. Police driving courses add a backward slalom. In cop-driving-school, if you’re moving backward, you must be looking backward: to check your car’s nose or look through the outside mirrors, you must come to a complete stop. (Imagine having a highway patrolman inside your car assessing if all motion has ceased. Trust me, that’s pressure.) Here’s the technique: grasp the steering wheel between your thumb and forefinger at 12 o’clock (the airbag won’t go off in reverse), grab the passenger’s seatback with your right hand, and, in order to see well out the rear window, raise yourself up by pushing your left foot against the floorboard. Right Foot Only Police driving instructors, seeking ways to reduce the overload, insist that their students brake with only their right foot. The instructors also say that in a panic, some left-foot brakers push both the gas and the brake to the floor; not the optimum technique for a short stop. The other side of the coin is that a vast majority of racear drivers brake with their left foot. The police instructors and I found common ground: Left-foot braking is a legitimate advanced technique, but one that’s far too advanced for the vast majority of Americans. The Fog Line Ever been driving down a 2-lane road at night and the other driver failed to dim his brights? Here’s what you do: switch on the blues, take-downs, and hi-lo siren, do a quick U-turn and bust the snap. But, if you lack the authority to do that, instead focus on the white “fog line” along the right side of the road. Keep track of the high-beam birdbrain with your peripheral vision. If you allow the bright lights to ruin your night vision, it will take between four and seven seconds for it to recover. By keeping your eyes averted to the right, you’ll limit the damage to your night vision. Lights Down Preserve your night vision by turning down the dash lights to the minimum required to safely read the speedometer. It’s much more important to see what’s outside the car. Over-bright dash lights do nothing save hurt your night vision. Final Tip Here’s a final tip: if you see blue lights in your mirror, pull to the right immediately. If they’re for you, stop immediately. Turn on your interior lights and place both hands on the wheel. Answer all questions with either “Yes, officer.” or “No, officer.” Have a nice day.