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California Wildfires Lingering Effects On Your Cars Air Filter

If youve ever smoked a cigarette you know how nasty the filter gets. Even after just a few puffs the recently white tip will turn a disgusting orangebrown. The Southern California Wildfires have burned up hundreds make that thousands of acres filling the air with ash smoke and dust.

During the fires you could actually see the particles floating through the air. As the fires died down you could still see their presence on your car. I would walk out of my house in the morning to find a thin layer of debris coving my car every morning. It was disgusting; and not only because my car was dirty but because we were breathing that air.

The news advised the residents of San Diego who werent evacuated to close their windows shut off their air conditioning and stay indoors. Basically people should avoid the poor air quality as much as possible.

After a week or so the presence of tiny ash particles started to disappear and people slowly started to spend more time outdoors. But the air quality was still really bad. Even though the dirty air wasnt visible we are still breathing. Not only is this bad for your lungs but this air can really take a toll on your cars air filter. People can deal with having bad health but when car starts problems start to cost money they arent happy. Thankfully a few car companies have been very understanding and have provided customers with free services during these tough times.

For example Goodwrench is currently running a promotion for the month of November where they will replace all air filters for GM cars. Their website states
Due to the recent wildfires ash and other particles in the air could impact your vehicle’s engine air filter. To help starting November 1 2007 November 30 2007 GM Goodwrench will offer to residents of the eight affected southern California counties an engine air filter replacement free of charge on your GM car or truck.*
The offer is available at participating dealers only and to residents of the following counties: Los Angeles Orange San Diego San Bernardino Santa Barbara Ventura Riverside and Imperial.

Volkswagen has also been very helpful. We at Volkswagen are sending our thoughts and prayers to those affected by the recent devastating southern California wildfires said Steve Mears. For customers who were severely impacted with damage to or loss of their residence and/or business Volkswagen will defer their lease payments and extend their loan payments for up to 90 days. Customers will not accrue any additional charge or loan interest for the designated period.

In addition they offer free air filters for any Volkswagen car in the San Diego area all models 1998 and newer.

I know what youre probably thinking free air filter Big Whoop. But hey its better than nothing. What does a dirty air filter mean for you? Decreased gas mileage worse performance and can lead to early engine failure. So sure you may not get a free car but a new air filter can greatly benefit your car. Act quickly because the offer is only until the end of November!

About the writer:  And for those of you who dont live in Southern California be sure to change your cars air filter once a year. KN is a personal favorite of mine. Mike Rosania

Brief History Of Ford

Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company currently the third largest carmaker in the world with the Dodge Brothers in 1903. While Henry Ford has been building motor vehicles before this 1903 is the year when he supported by twelve investors established the famous company.

Fords first cars were named chronologically with letters: the model A was introduced in 1903 for example. In 1904 Ford introduced the world famous T Model that was to become a symbol of the American motorcar industry.

In 1907 Ford launched its current Blue Oval Trademark but it wasnt until 1928 that a Model A had the first version of the familiar Ford script.

Henry Ford had witnessed a huge success with his vehicles especially with the T Model and by the early 1910s he expanded overseas with production facilities in France Denmark and Germany England and Austria.

When the First World War started Ford was producing half of the cars being sold in the US and almost half of all cars being produced in England. During the war Ford produced many of its cars for the military.

In 1922 Ford acquired Lincoln Motor Company in the desire of expanding its market share as Ford wanted to enter the luxurious car market.

By 1941 Ford owned the largest assembly plant in the world and during the World War II Ford produced not only your standard military vehicles but also B24 Liberator bombers and tanks.

Henry Ford died in 1947 and by that time Ford was a reputed world carmaker. It is said that over seven million people paid their final respects at his funeral.

Post WWII Ford was a company that developed and evolved very fast. Many famous models were produced in the 1950s and the 1960s such as the Thunderbird 1955 the F1 truck 1948 and the Mustang 1964. Ford also continued to develop and implement the latest technologies in their cars and they had become one of the most important carmakers in the world during the Cold War.

During that time Ford Motor Company continued to expand overseas looking for other possible investments. In 1979 they bought a quarter of the Japanese carmaker Mazda in 1987 Ford bought Aston Martin and in 1989 Ford acquired Jaguar. In 1999 Ford acquired Volvo and Land Rover in 2000.

In 2003 Ford Motor Company celebrated its 100th birthday and it introduced a series of special commemorative cars such as the new Ford Mustang. In the recent years Ford has faced some financial problems the company reported losses of over 12 billion for the 2006 fiscal year that led to the selling of some of the brands from the Ford group: Aston Martin Jaguar and Land Rover.

As gas prices in the United States continue to soar the Ford Motor Company will need to keep pace with current market trends and foreign manufacturers know for smaller cars and better fuel economy to stay a viable and profitable business.

About the writer:  Donald has always had an interest in the promtional products and other marketing supplies that car dealers use to attract customers from the roadside.

Apply Brakes To Car Theft

India ranks the highest in vehicle theft rates with one car being stolen every minute. These stolen vehicles are usually sold out to stolen car dealers who further change the identifications and resell the car in low price. It has become a lucrative business opportunity in the country.

In India the stolen vehicle market is estimated to be 1000 crore in India with Delhi Mumbai and Bangalore reporting the highest incidences of theft. According to National Crime Records Bureau Maharashtra topped the theft rate. The number of car theft incidences in Delhi was reported to be 4337 in 1999 4225 in 2000 and almost over 5789 in 2007. Total numbers of more than 40000 cars costing about 160 crore are stolen every year in the country. Some of the lost cars have also been traced by the National Crime Records Bureau NCRB.

The proportion of stolen cars is more in case of old cars as compared to brand new cars. This is because its easy to mold the basic features and accessories of the old cars. New cars have smooth finish and excellent appeal. With such a good finish it becomes difficult to sell the car in the stolen car market. Selling a brand new car at a comparatively low price creates uneasiness among the car consumers. For them its really hard to believe the lowcost availability of new cars.

Even the insurance companies are taking benefits of the increasing numbers of car theft. These companies have raised their insurance premiums in answer to car theft cases. Here too car buyers are facing a tough time.

As the number keeps on growing in 2007 the government made it compulsory for al car owners to equip antitheft devices in their cars. Still various measures and steps have to be taken by the car owners to reduce such incidences. Till the car owners themselves dont participate in the war against car theft the government transport authorities and crime branch can do nothing.

Every car owner is not lucky to have his or her car traced. So it is important to take some preventive measures and give a blow to car thieves. Outfitting the car with antitheft devices is one of the best ways to reduce the theft cases. Today a wide range of such devices are available including the steering lock tyre lock car alarms gearshift locks electronic key and many more. These anti theft devices are not foolproof but they definitely help to deter car thieves and slow down their stealing process. Many antitheft devices are also help to protect car burglaries and vandalism.

So try to install at least some of the most effective antitheft devices this will help the crime branch functional to catch hold of car thieves. Eventually the associative work will slow down the number of car theft cases.

About the writer:  Buy new cars sell used or preowned cars from Indias First Interactive Car Portal. Click Compare and Choose your car. Get free car price quotes.Carazoo.com