Car battery maintenance

Vehicle engines draw nearly twice the amount of power from a car battery in winter. Interstate Batteries technical service manager, Gale Kimbrough says, "Preventative measures - such as keeping vehicles in garages, purchasing a battery heater and choosing the right type of battery for specific regions of the country - are always helpful in conserving your battery's life Over time your car battery terminals can get damaged by a build-up of corrosion, so occasionally you should disconnect the battery and use battery terminal cleaning tool to scrape off the corrosion from the metal connectors.

The average life of a battery, depending on car usage, is three years and you must have the vehicle battery tested at every oil change. Keep the distilled water topped up in the battery cells, or have it done by a mechanic. And last, keep your fingers crossed that the car battery that uses oxygen or the experimental carbon fiber based energy dense batteries, will be a reality pretty soon and affordable enough in the years to come.

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Transmission fluid viscosity

Transmission fluid lubricates the moving parts of the car engine, the gears, bearings and torque converters, which are transmitting power to the wheels. The transmission fluid keeps these parts operating smoothly and also keeps them cool by absorbing the heat produced. Fluid temperatures can rise to as high as 175 degrees Fahrenheit (79 degrees Celsius), but rise higher in cars with automatic transmission. When your car is running sluggish, losing power, or doesn't have the punch it normally does then it's time to change the transmission fluid. It should be changed at least twice a year, or more if your car is clocking longer mileage....the detail mileage for transmission fluid changes are mentioned in every car manual.

The newer low-viscosity transmission fluid are said to be "fill for life" fluids and don't require any change with normal driving conditions. Low viscosity transmission fluids reduce internal drag and shift effort when the engine is cold. They also reduce CO2 emissions.

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Classic car auctions

Gorgeous actress Amber Heard loves classic cars, telling FHM: "I spend all my money on classic cars. I've had loads. Right now I have a 1968 Mustang and a 1967 Mercedes 250SL.". Here she's posing inside a Dodge Charger in a promo photo for her appearance on the BBC auto show "Top Gear". Classic cars like this will available for purchase, and general viewing pleasure, at the 2012 Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance and other events being held in the US state of California this weekend.

Desert News reports that classic cars will be auctioned in hundreds of deals ranging from less than $2,000 to well into six figures. Keith McCormick's Palm Springs Collector Car Auction kicks off the weekend on Friday and continues to Sunday, featuring nearly 600 classic cars at the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, California. And the 2012 Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance on Sunday at the Westin Mission Mills Resort in Rancho Mirage, California, will showcase about 200 classic, exotic and rare vehicles.

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Scooters mopeds demand

With high fuel prices, US consumers are buying less gasoline, and the demand for scooters and mopeds is growing. Cale Arneson, the Sales Manager at U Motors tells WDay: “We sold over 50 scooters last year and I’d assume if gas prices keep going where there going, you know, we could see an increase of up to 75 to 100 scooters.” Mopeds and scooters are also in demand because they are covered by less regulation. People whose licenses are suspended fro driving under the influence, are free to commute on mopeds in some American states. Moped drivers are also not required to wear helmets for their protection even though they get into accidents. The demand is so high that mopeds and scooter are increasingly being stolen! It can take as little as 10 seconds for a thief to steal a moped by hot wiring, or simply by wheeling it away.

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Male drivers distracted

A study shows that more male drivers in the US state of Connecticut are cited for distracted driving than females. Since 2006 52 and 54 percent of the tickets issued for distracted driving were given to men. The causes of distracted driving are talking on the phone, texting, distraction by passengers, and distractions on the street. A study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found that male drivers with passengers were nearly six times more likely to perform an illegal driving maneuver and more than twice as likely to drive aggressively. As for distractions on the street, it's easy to imagine that pretty female pedestrians are a great distraction for young males!



A 2010 study by New York city's Transportation Department found that in 80 percent of city accidents that resulted in a serious injury or death of a pedestrian, a male driver was behind the wheel.

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US consumers buying less gasoline

According to credit card company MasterCard, data collected since 2004 on the credit-card swipes and cash and check payments at about 140,000 US gasoline stations, consumers in America are reacting to record high gasoline prices. Drivers bought 8.01 million barrels a day in the seven days ended Feb. 10, down 3.1 percent from a week earlier. Gasoline use over the previous four weeks was 5.3 percent below the 2011 period, the 47th consecutive decline in that measure. John Gamel, a gasoline analyst and director of economic analysis for SpendingPulse, told businessweek: "We've been seeing 5 percent declines in demand for the last four consecutive weeks. This isn't weather-related. This is demand-related. Consumers are reacting to the highest prices we've ever seen."

In the US Midwest, gasoline is $3.42 a gallon, while on the West Coast a gallon of regular cost $3.71. Normally gasoline prices hit their loftiest levels when there is greater buying for travel, like during Memorial Day and the Fourth of July holiday weekends. At that time gasoline prices could go to $5 a barrel, if two international situations show no change: European sanctions against oil exports from Iran, and reduced refining capacity in the US and Europe.

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Women NOT clueless about parking or driving

The cliché that men are better drivers and that women are clueless about parking cars has been busted! The British car park firm NCP, employed a team of researchers to observe 2,500 drivers across its 700 car parks for one month. They found that though men are more confident, they lack the patience to park their cars properly. Women are slower but they follow instructions better and retain more information from driving lessons. So women on the whole proved to be better at parking cars.....in car parks. The study did not cover parallel parking, in which men are bound to be better because of their confidence.

The pretty girl in the photo is actually actress and singer Victoria Justice; she's not trying to look clueless, just posing for a photoshoot in a classic red Chevrolet!

Another study in the US last month, by an online insurance group compared statistics of traffic violations and accidents between male and female drivers. The results: women are 27 percent less likely to be in car accidents than men! Because of their confidence, men tend to take more risks, and are generally more aggressive drivers. The study by 4autoinsurancequote.org found that men are more likely to get citations for speeding, and reckless driving. Auto insurance for men is also higher than for women.

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