Online window shopping in other languages

One of the neat things about the internet is the ability to visit websites from all over the world. Dream of buying that Maserati? It's easy to find them online, not just in the US but in Italy as well. Think that finding auto usate milano "car sales in Milano" won't help you because you don't happen to know Italian?

Google and other browsers will translate webpages for you. While not all of the words always translate from the language of the website into proper English, some terms are easy to guess without a translator, like vendita auto usate, auto is self explanatory, usate is sale, so it's easy to guess the phrase is used car sales.

More detailed information can be harder without a translation, through Google I can learn that
Antonino Aldo created Garage Del Parko was created back in 1978 with his son now in charge of the family business and a lifelong love of cars.

So, you can window shop for that dream European car or even make arrangements to buy a car from overseas and have it delivered. Either way the ability to compro auto usate compare auto sales, translate features, costs, and even be able to find online sources to change euros into dollars so you get an idea of what the car would cost in US dollars can all be done right from your home computer.

I love eHow

There are some mechanical repairs that can not be done easily by the average home mechanic, but there are some that can. My daughter's boyfriend recently got a used car that needs some work. Some of what it needs I know is beyond my husband's abilities as a weekend mechanic, but using sites like eHow help determine if it's possible or not.

As an example, their project -- changing the power steering pump is marked "moderately easy" -- this means they have a good chance of pulling it off and being able to save the boyfriend almost $200.00 depending on how much the tool rental is.

eHow also confirms for me that one of the other car repairs is not something they want to attempt -- replacing a tie rod since that is "moderately challenging."

:-)

How to pretend to be rich and famous...

Ever dream of pulling up to an event in a F430 Ferrari? I was surprised to learn there are actually rental car companies out there that specialize in renting out top end "dream cars" for one day or monthly. It's pricey, costing almost as much for one day as a typical rental car would cost for a month, but? For those of you interested in creating one heck of an impression, it's out there thanks to the internet as well as a variety of other items related to luxury cars including Ferrari parts (just in case you have one and there's not a local dealer). For those of you who have less exotic cars, you could also pick up a set of Ferrari floor mats, or one of the yearbooks that Ferrari puts out to adorn your coffee table.

:-)

The joys of cars and electronics...

Our car has become a daytimer, which means it can only be driven during the day since something happened and the rear tail lights no longer work. It's not the bulbs, those have been replaced/tested and the brake lights as well as the turn signals work. It's not the fuses, those have been checked.

It's really strange problem that so far the only thing that has been suggested could be the solution is having the wiring looked at. Which is of course not cheap. So while some may be thinking about auto accessories, I've been calling around to see how much mechanics charge by the hour to find one that will do it without costing more than Miguel paid for the car...

Until then? The car is a daytimer, which will be even more interesting with the time change this weekend...

:-)

What does your car say about you?

Can the type of car or the type of car accessories say anything about what type of a person you are? Sometimes I wonder...I've seen people with cars that were really expensive have no accessories and I've seen cars that were really not that expensive at all decked out with the latest in spinners and ground effects and other decorative items. Our car we have right now has one decoration I wish my husband would get rid of that came with the car, it's one of those fake decorator license plates in the back window with a hand with it's middle finger extended...However he won't remove it...

Lawmakers take issue with Pennsylvania & Ohio losing most

Interesting article that caught my attention Lawmakers Chide Automakers Over Dealership Cuts:

Out of the 1,323 General Motors dealers targeted for elimination, the most will come from Pennsylvania. Ninety dealerships will be forced to wind down in the state. Pennsylvania is followed by Ohio with 79, Illinois with 66, California with 65 and New York with 60.

This is going to have a big impact on these states, and there has been a great deal of discussion if there is any political motivation to the closings.

CNN has more:

The dealers and John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, argued that closing dealerships does not affect the automakers' bottom lines. Dealers are independently owned and operated, and do not receive significant administrative support from manufacturers, they said. Furthermore, many of the dealerships set for termination are profitable.

"Everyone agrees that both Chrysler and GM need to decrease costs and increase revenue to survive, but eliminating dealerships does neither," said McEleney, in testimony. "The manufacturer's costs do not vary whether there are 6,000 dealers or 3,000 dealers."

The dealership owners agreed. "Our dealerships do not cost auto manufacturers a penny," said Alan Spitzer, who owns Spitzer Automotive Group of Elyria, Ohio, which has seven dealerships that are slated to be shut down by GM and Chrysler. "All products and services, which Chrysler and GM provide to a dealership, are charged back to the dealership at a profit. If we lose money it comes out of our pocket, period."

Which if that is true, leads to interesting questions as to why this is being done...

Things I should have done this week...

We have a car again, well...kind of...It's not running yet, but there is a 1994 Chrysler New Yorker that is just waiting for some mechanical TLC that will hopefully only be the starter that needs to be replaced, sitting at my house. When my one daughter asked me how it drove (she forgot it didn't run) I told her, well, we can say it tows well. :-) I needed to start checking parts prices which...well I didn't do.

The one thing I didn't miss about not having a car was car insurance, though the wonderful former insurance company we had seemed to feel it was necessary to report my husband for canceling our last policy. I don't know about you but traditionally when you can't replace the car that was completely totaled by meeting "Mr. Bear" and they know it was totaled since they paid off the loan, you don't need car insurance on that vehicle any more. This will create a need for free insurance quotes again because after the hassle we had to go through with the State, I'll never go with that insurance company again. The first notice we called the State who said we had to call the former insurance company, they claimed they notified the state that the violation notice was in error. The State then suspended my husband's driver's license for not having an insurance on a car that was scrapped...Thankfully it was resolved not that it really mattered at the time since he didn't have a car to drive anyway...At least with this car? Any Bears better look out, this time the car might win as opposed to Mr. Bear...

After watching the movie Taxi...

Yesterday was a snow day, so my youngest spent time in my room, while I was trying to work, watching movies. One of the movies she picked was Taxi, which is part love/crime story that involves a taxi that is supercharged and some car racing moments. Some of the scenes almost surpass Gone in 60 Seconds as far as driving.

Which made me flash back to my motor head days for a brief moment though things are now much different than then. Now you can buy a variety of superchargers online; buick supercharger, mercedes supercharger, pontiac supercharger or just about any manufacturer, yes even ford for those ford fans out there.

If you are new to all of this and you don't know the difference between a nose cover or a supercharger or a turbocharger, that's online too. Considering what we are driving right now after the "Miguel met the bear" incident, I can't imagine investing in enhancing it though we have joked around that it would make the perfect low rider...

White House steps in where Senate fears to tread...

I assumed when I got on the plane yesterday to fly back to Toledo from California that the automotive bailout plan for 15 billion would end up being approved, I discovered upon landing at 1:21 a.m. that didn't happen. So it was interesting reading today that the White House is going to step in and provide a temporary cash infusion.

Yet what caught my attention:

The government officials said they expected the companies and the unions would be asked to make significant concessions. They also did not rule out the prospect of a bankruptcy for one or more of the companies, but vowed that it would not be “uncontrolled,” meaning that enough financing would be provided to enable a reorganization.

I think it's fairly easy to guess which company will be the one that will go bankrupt. At least one gets that idea from this headline, GM to cut production by 250,000 vehicles . What kind of an impact it will have on the US, including my part of the nation that has GM plants is not known. It was stated earlier none of the plants slated for closure are in Ohio, but I was not sure of which plants were involved in the first temporary shut down until I found this link.

Things I didn't know about tire chains...

I admit living here in Ohio where tire chains are not used often, I have always wondered exactly how they are supposed to work. Ironically even instructions on how to put on tire chains exist on the internet, as well as the various state laws of where they are legal and when they can be used. At times I think back to before the internet and how it was at times harder to get information about something that just came into your mind that you wondered about. It's not as if tire chains often come up during the course of a conversation. Which means for someone like me who starts thinking about the oddest things at times, I can find the answer to what I'm looking for and then entertain you with how my mind works.

:-)

She listened and saved...

Once in a while children actually take your advice, recently in discovering my oldest daughter was paying quite a bit more for her car insurance than we were, it was suggested that she take the time to get an auto insurance quote to find out of the company we were going through would charge her less. It ended up she was able to get the same coverage that she currently had but for several hundred dollars a year less, which is proof that every now and then you should make sure you are getting the best deal when it comes to your car insurance costs...

Okay so I thought a billet grille was for cooking...

What can I say, while I do know quite a bit about cars from a mechanical standpoint, when I heard the term billet grille, I thought it was some type of a French grill used for cooking. Now of course I know it's a decorative grille for a car, which while I do know some people have cooked using their car engines...is not what the manufacturers of this particular after market car accessory had in mind. Thankfully I researched before I said something or it could have been a little bit of an embarrassing moment...

If you haven't gotten your car ready for winter?

If you haven't yet done the preventative maintenance you should do to your car with winter approaching, especially those of us who live where the weather does get quite a bit colder, there is still time and a chance to save money. By taking advantage of some of the great discounts offered by AAMACO not to mention you can enter their contest and perhaps win a trip for two to Hollywood.

Here in Ohio, it's especially important to make sure that your radiator fluids are rated for the colder weather and it's also a great time to make sure that transmission fluid is flushed. If that battery hasn't been replaced in a few years? It's also a good time of year to have that checked out as well since those cold winter mornings if you have a weakened battery that doesn't put out the cold cranking amps you need to get started can be a less than pleasant experience. That actually makes the idea of winning a trip to the warmer climates of Hollywood even more tempting to think about those cold winter mornings...AAMCO has over 800 locations all over the US so chances are, there is one not far from you.

The birds do not like our car...

I don't know if the birds around here are not happy with the fact that I'm not putting out as much birdseed during the less than colder days or not but for some reason my side of the car seems to receive a daily dusting of bird poo. Since our garage has been taken over to store items for my one daughter who moved in, car covers might work, but then again, we'd have to hose those down as well...

Great stress reliever, demolition derby

No, I'm not suggesting going out there with the family sedan and crashing up other cars but earlier today we had a bit of fun with RC cars and our own version of demolition derby. Granted you don't want to do the car version of battle bots with some of the nicer remote control cars out there but when you have some older ones...it can be fun...

:-)

Car insurance information when you don't have an info guru

Even before I became a blogger of many blogs, my ability to search online for information has made me the "go to person" when it comes to all kinds of matters, including advice on things like car insurance quotes. Yet not everyone has the ability to be able to know the magic combination to get the best information from a search engine and this is where websites like CarInsuranceRates.com can come in handy to have as a bookmark. They go well beyond providing the basic information on how to get the best insurance rate that can be found on a myriad of websites out there.

What earns them my recommend is the details they provide, which includes a state by state listing since insurance regulations do differ from one area of the country to another, their informative articles and their insurance guide which provides more than just a basic glossary of terms. I highly recommend all smart consumers check from time to time to make sure they are getting the best deal possible on their insurance needs, but being an educated consumer is even more important. The next time you decide to check for auto insurance rates, stop by their website first for great advice on how to not only have the coverage you need, but at the best price.

Is it better to slow down or to buy a radar detector...

One of my daughters makes frequent trips up into Michigan and a friend was trying to tell her that she should look at radar detector reviews and purchase one so that she could get there faster. Sometimes it is fairly easy to guess who on the highway with you actually has a radar detector, or the ones who don't care if they run into a speed trap...

:-)

Driving Smart Minds

The title of this post is a play on Isuzu's "Smart Minds Drive Alike" campaign, the purpose of this post is to take a look at the isuzu pickup. I've had many different vehicles during the days when I used to drive, and among those years ago was a Isuzu owned by my ex-husband. So while I have not had the opportunity to drive any of the newer line, including the crew cab, I do know that that truck took quite a bit of use and at times abuse and kept driving. One of his favorite things to do was to drive out through the fields where his family lived up in Michigan, going "mudding". His truck was one of the few that never got stuck and more than one time pulled out other daredevils.

Pick up trucks are of course not supposed to be "pretty" but the whole Isuzu line is an attractive one, especially the Ascender SUV. The 7 year 75,000 mile warranty is an added bonus and I like the comparison feature on the Isuzu website. It's available for the Ascender, the i370 and the i290. Personally I would have been happier had my husband decided to get the extended cab i290 rather than the 5 passenger Chevy he bought, having the ability to haul items as we frequently end up doing with the way my daughters move in and out of our home would have been a plus.

It is Car Insight...

As most of you know, I have children, five to be exact. Three of my daughters have their own cars and despite the fact that I know my way around an engine, the same can not be said for their level of skill when it comes to dealing with cars or simple things (or at least what seems simple to me) such as keeping track of car maintenance needs. Finding out how easy it is for them to manage that and so much more by stopping by to Park Your Car on MyCarPage - It's free was an awesome find this morning. All three girls spend enough time on the internet that making this so easy to do online might be a solution to our never ending last minute car crisis moments. Thanks to AskPatty.com all three girls can have their own page for their cars with specific information for their make and model and be able to schedule maintenance, track service records, get maps, coupons, directions (yes, this could end me having to be Mom GPS). I highly recommend checking out the online tour for yourself to see all of the things that are included. The motto is "More than a Car Sight. It's Car Insight."

Cheap Cars For Sale via Auction...

I have always found it interesting when companies find a way to use the internet to help promote their business and to attract people from the surrounding area to be aware of things like used cars for sale in Chicago. North Shore Used Car Auto Auction has created a new website to be able to give prospective car buyers more information online on their twice monthly Chicago public auto auctions.

One of my main pet peeves with some of the smaller local auctions that we have here is you really have no way of knowing what cars will be for sale, so I really like their new feature of allowing you to view cheap cars for sale. Especially for those of us who would be driving there from a bit farther location, while the barbecue may start at 12:30 p.m. on auction days, finding the type of car you really want and knowing it's there as well as some basic details about it is an added plus. Another great thing about North Shore Used Car Auto Auction is they donate part of every sale to charity. This is also a great way to suggest a mini-vacation in Chicago...See the Windy City? Come home with a nice car for one of my daughters...

:-)