First it was steam-powered cars. Then it became gasoline-powered cars. Now, air-powered cars are to come this way. This only shows that man has advanced so much when it comes to vehicle technology. But what really are air-powered cars? For those who don’t know yet, it is a type of car equipped with an air-compressed engine that can travel up to 124 miles for less than $2. Interesting, isn’t it?

Air powered cars can run at 68 miles per hour to cover 124 miles. That’s approximately 8 hours worth of traveling time. On that premise alone, you can see that these cars are way better than electric cars. Electric cars can only run half that distance. At first, these air-powered cars are just plans. Now, they are on their testing stages. The Moteur Development International had successfully created OneCAT, the first commercial prototype of the air-powered car.

There are two ways to make an air-powered car work. First, you have to recharge the tank. To do that, connect the car to a power outlet for about four hours. The second way you can power up your car is much easier. You just have to attach the car to the air pump found in most gasoline stations for two minutes. After which, your car should be ready to roll again. Just basing on these facts, it is easy to see that air-powered cars are more economical and ecological. Also, maintaining them is not as much a headache than most of today’s cars.

Right now, MDI is looking to create four types of air-powered cars. They have created archetypes for a cab, a sedan, a van, and a pick-up. Approximately these cars will be sold at little less than $11,000. If the American car buying public liked it, the total sales of these types of cars are expected to hit the mark.

These air-powered cars by MDI have taken 10 long years worth of research, testing, and building. Finally, they have something solid to show people. With the production on the way, a lot of people are expected to shift gears to this new car, especially the budget-conscious, the environment-conscious, and the technology-conscious.

The company is looking to create more than 30,000 air-powered cars annually. They currently have 70 people on their staff working eight hours a day to meet the launch. The company is actually producing dual type of engine. These cars use the new air-power technology and the conventional gasoline car technology alternately.

The car is going to work this way: It will detect the speed of the car and switch engines accordingly. For slow speeds of 50 kph, the air-powered engine will run. Once the driver goes over that, it will activate the fuel engine for more power and better performance on the road. It is said that this new breed of car can use different types of petrol such as gas, bio-diesel, alcohol, and LPG.

The air-power mode of the car is ideal for leisure driving around the city. However, if you intend to drive up the highway and on a long journey, the fuel mode of the car is going to be helpful. This new engine technology in cars is surely something to look forward to.

The Ford Festiva was one of the smallest vehicles to ever be made by the blue oval and unleashed on the American public. With a 1.3L engine that created a tire shredding 63 horse power this car could only be considered festive if used as a decoration.

So why is this car an all-star? Simple, they are always available under $1000 bucks and depending on your intended purpose they could actually be a fun car to own. Maybe its because the wheels are the same size as a shopping cart’s or it could be the fact that Ford actually offered different trim levels, but there is just something about these cars that gives them super status as a daily beater.

If your looking for a really fun sleeper project a Festiva could actually be a great choice with popular engine swaps like the turbo fours out of the Mazda 323 GT and GTX that can actually propel this shoe box to fun and probably unsafe speeds. A somewhat un-known version of the Festiva is the SHO-gun which was available with a mid-mounted yamaha V6.(even Jay Leno has one).

So the real question is why would I buy a Festiva? Well of course these cars are great little gas savers, but you could also use it for any of the following such as a fun sleeper project, winter car, cheaper alternative to a four wheeler, small stackable storage bins, stunt vehicle, reverse status symbol, cheap rally car, 24 hrs of lemons loser, and much more!

Overall I think the Festiva is just another car that is awesomely bad and of course you can probably find and buy one now for under $1000 bucks so if you need a dirt cheap ride or are just looking for a new toy then go out and pick up a Festiva today!

From time to time, you may have seen some young men driving flashy sports cars. In your heart you may be thinking either they are young and successful or they are born with a silver spoon. Little would you know that they may have bought these cars from repossessed car auctions? The truth is that you can save thousands of dollars when you buy repo cars, also called repossessed or seized automobiles from a government seized auto auction.

The government agencies and banks are busy seizing vehicles like sedans, sports cars, Sports Utility Vehicles, Multi-Purpose Vehicles, trucks, RVs and motorcycles every single day. These automobiles are repossessed mostly from tax and loan defaulters or during raids on drug syndicates or criminal hangouts.

Since it is expensive to continue carrying them in the inventories as well as the daily depreciation in the vehicle values, the agencies cannot wait to quickly “dispose” of these automobiles. This creates a buying opportunity for anyone who wishes to buy repo cars as their own personal vehicles or to resell for profits.

Car depreciation is hardly a problem you want to fuss over when you buy repossessed cars since there wouldn’t be any to start with. This is quite unlike a new car which loses as much as $4000 or more the very moment you drive it out of the car dealership. Since you could be paying for as little as 10% of its original price tag for your repo car, you are already in a better financial position.

Seized auto auctions used to be the playground of used car dealers rather than private individuals. This is no longer the case now for you after reading this article. Perhaps you cannot wait to head to the automobile auctions to buy repo cars at rock bottom prices. Second hand car dealers have long been car hunting at these seized vehicle auctions to buy vehicles at way below the Blue Book Values. They then resell them for generous margins through their dealership or second-hand garages. If you have owned a second-hand car, it could have come from the auctions.

Dealers are well-informed about these auctions but this is about to change completely. Recently, automobile websites have been emerging with huge databases detailing the locations of repossessed vehicle auctions. At these sites, you can easily find the car make and model you like and know exactly where it is offered should it be available.

Forget about the conventional methods of browsing through the local newspapers as well as car magazines for outdated news. Using these online websites, you can instantly know where to find and buy repo cars. Hurry and perform a quick check now at my auto blog.

Possible brake problems of Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Redline are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) following 40 complaints from owners on the poor braking performance of the said vehicles.

Autblog.com reports that many owners are having difficulty slowing the vehicle down. The results of the investigation have yet to be released and as such, there are no recalls for the vehicles yet.

This news has somehow made me wonder, how is General Motors (GM) taking care of this matter? Safety is one of the important factors car buyers consider when looking for a new car. If the results of the investigation point a guilty finger at GM, this will surely affect sales and may stain the reputation of the popular US automaker.

Often when we talk about classic cars, the image that comes to mind is of a small, sleek sports car that, for all its beauty, looks as though any collision with anything larger than a tennis ball would leave it irretrievably damaged. This is less true of American classics, as where the European manufacturers of the past would tend to favor a more sleek, sporty look the American manufacturers were more in favor of a rugged look, aiming for the kind of car that looked as though it could handle rough driving without needing repairs costing almost the same as the initial purchase. The Ford Crown Victoria – in all of its incarnations – is an example of this. It has been around in one form or another for more than fifty years. Now that is durable.

In fact, the first Crown Victoria hit the road in 1955. They looked different back then to the cars that go by the same name today, but then 1955 was a while ago. Certainly, they looked more ostentatious. They looked broadly similar to the older Ford Victoria, with a stainless steel band running over the roofline which extended the B-pillar line from the sides of the car right over the roof. In front of this steel band was a panel of glass, which may well have been what ended the reign of this incarnation of the vehicle as it made the car’s interior uncomfortably hot in warm summers in the Southern states. It actually found favor later in Sweden, a country which in this case benefited from having a vastly more temperate climate.

The Crown Victoria name went into cold storage for a time – until 1992, in fact, when it reappeared completely redesigned and remodelled for the present day. Critics were divided by its shape, and with some honing it went on to become as popular as its ancestor. It was the 1992 version which would see the Ford Crown Victoria becoming the popular car it is today – although there have been restylings since, the basic shape of the car has remained. The variations have been aimed at creating the perfect Crown Victoria for its purposes, which have become clearer as time has gone on. You see, the Ford Crown Victoria may not be the most popular private vehicle, but it has become very hot property in public service.

Go to New York and have a look at the yellow taxis. A large number of those will be Ford Crown Victorias, due to the great deal of interior space that the vehicle offers. If you are going to travel in a Crown Vic, this is probably one of the better ways of doing it – letting someone else do the driving, watching the scenery and not having to worry about anything. This is not everyone’s experience of the Crown Vic, as it is also used as a police car in many jurisdictions – being popular among the police forces for its durability and its body-on-frame construction, which allows it to ram getaway cars into a spin which allows the police to make an arrest. Can any other car say it has been more influential on a wider public?

I love the American classic cars, and it doesn’t much matter what the car is as long as it was built in the USA, I do tend to like muscle cars a bit better then just regular American classics, the classic cars had such a stylish and classy look to them, and they didn’t all look the same, the cars today are more plain and drab.

There is nothing like the feeling of driving a true American muscle car, from the moment you fire the engine up, your blood begins to pump, you feel like a gorilla on steroids, like nothing can beat you, or even match you in a power contest, because you car and you are invincible, of course you know that it’s not true, but at least you have had the opportunity to have the feeling.

It’s the same feeling that you had as a kid when you got your first muscle car, and drove it to the local drive-in for a burger, you had your lady by you, and one mean car that you were driving, it doesn’t matter if it was a Mustang, ‘Cuda, Camaro, Corvette, or any other muscle car, as long as it was your car.

The second you pull in the the drive-in all the eyeballs are on your new ride, and the guys in the other cars look at you with anxiety wondering what your new ride has under the hood, wondering if it’s all factory, or if you have worked it over, and they won’t know that until you race them.

All the ladies have gathered around to see who it is in the new muscle car, they are anxious to go for a ride, and your glad to oblige, now that you have had an opportunity to show your new hot rod off, it’s off to hang out with the boys on the main drag, a place where you can prove your machine to all of them.

The time has come to have you first chance to race your new car, and you pull up to the light, give the driver next to you the sign, and engines begin to rev, as the clutch is held to the floor, as you anticipate the light turning green, you see it in your mind, you feel the moment approach as you wait, your car wants to obliterate the car next to you.

Your machine is breathing fire, and the light turns green, you let the clutch go, and your car immediately turns side ways, as the tires begin to churn smoke off of the pavement, and the smell of rubber comes up through the air vents in the car, as you hit second gear you car fishtails in the other direction, as you wrestle the wheel to bring it under control.

You quickly slam it in to third gear, and you car grabs traction about half way through third gear, as it get the all needed traction it slams your head and body back in the seat, like a gorilla suddenly reached around for behind you and pulled you in to the seat with all his might, as you engine winds up again, you shift to your last gear.

There you find solace, as you begin to pull away for you competitor, you win the race by a nose length, now it’s time to brag about your new muscle car, it’s time to shoe it off, and the boys will be back to the main drag next week end, and then you’ll see your competitor’s answer to you win from last week end.
Super Car Blog Muscle Cars

There have been few people on this planet that have made such an impact on the automotive racing and design world than legend Carroll Shelby. Now well into his 80’s, Carroll continues fueling his passion for high performance automobiles. Carroll Shelby starting out racing back in the 1950’s and he was hooked from that point on. After retiring from the racing scene in 1959, he took his passion for high performance and turned it to building cars under the Shelby American name.

The first incredibly successful car built was the AC Cobra, which remains one of the most sought after vehicles ever produced. To build this car Carroll Shelby took the British AC Ace and combined it with a Ford V8 engine to produce a fast little convertible roadster. Although at the time, the Shelby Cobra was not a financially viable car to produce, it Only 1003 Shelby Cobra’s were every built and shipped throughout the world between 1965-1970.

Shelby was also very busy assisting other car companies in making high-performance versions of cars that they were already producing. Many people will remember the Shelby Mustangs of the 1960’s. These cars were the joint effort of Shelby and Ford to produce a unique, higher performance Mustang than was previously available by Ford alone. The two Mustangs that were produced from this project were the Shelby GT500 and the Shelby GT350. This relationship with Shelby and the Ford Mustang is still in existence today and a Shelby Mustang.

In the 1980’s Shelby went on to help Chrysler in turning around from several years of poor economic performance. With the help of Carroll Shelby, they went on to build a few successful models.

In 1999 Shelby Automobiles went in a different direction and designed a car on it’s own from the ground up. This resulted in the Shelby Series 1 which is an incredible performance sports car. Only 249 of these cars were ever produced, making them a rare find.

Another car that has taken the world by storm is the Shelby SSC Ultimate Aero, which is created by a company called Shelby Super Cars. This company, is named after it’s owner, Jerod Shelby, who is no relation to Carroll Shelby. This supercar is an example of American engineering. The SSC Ultimate Aero recently was named the faster production car by the Guinness Book of Records. Surprisingly, this fast car uses a V8 engine to produce over 1000hp. With everything that this car has to offer in terms of performance, it’s a bargain. Comparable only to the Bugatti Veyron, this car is about half the cost of the Veyron – about $600,000 U.S.

The Shelby name is synonymous with performance automobiles, whether the the Shelby Super Cars (SCC) or the original Shelby American. If you have the chance to own one of these magnificent cars, take full advantage of it! The Shelby name will live on in American automotive history.

Globalization has been increasing steadily and this has made the distinction between American cars and foreign cars. In the U.S. market, Asian and European brands are making their presence felt. American car makers on the other hand are extending their reaches to other regions of the world.

With these things going on, it is hard to find out which vehicle is really American. This attribute plays a major role for American car buyers who are loyal to the homegrown brands like Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler. The line between foreign car and American cars has been blurred though by globalization.

Asian and European car manufacturers are producing their vehicles in the United States. On the other hand, American car makers produce their vehicles in other parts of the world. These then would be later be shipped back to the United States to be sold.

To add to the confusion, there are American branded vehicles produced in the United States but owned by a foreign company like in the case of Dodge being owned by DaimlerChrysler AG based in Germany.

To help patriotic Americans find out which cars in the market are really American, USA Today the American newspaper with the widest circulation named “which cars are really American”. USA Today ranked vehicles for the 2007 model year by U.S. or Canada Content Percentage depending on where they are produced, and, of course, the brand name among others.

Topping the list of the most American car are four models from the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Edge, Econoline, Expedition, and the Lincoln MKX got the highest percentage rating of 95 percent. The Ford Crown Victoria got a 90 percent rating along with other models including the Ford F-150, Mercury Grand Marquis, the Chevrolet Impala and Silverado, and the GMC Sierra.

The list shows that the market offers no totally American car which means that globalization is doing its work and even an EBC pad cannot stop it.

Other car which posted 85 or above percentage rating came from the Big Three’s various brands. The Cadillac DTS was rated to be 87 percent American by USA Today. Vehicles which received 86 percent ratings are the Buick Rainer, Chevrolet Express Savana, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy/XL, GMC Savana, Hummer H3, Pontiac G6, and the Saturn Aura. All of these models are produced in the United States.

Models which got 85 percent rating from USA Today are the Dodge Viper, the Ford Freestyle, the Lincoln Mark LT, the Lincoln Town Car, the Buick Lucerne, the Cadillac XLR, the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chevrolet Colorado, the GMC Canyon, and the Saturn Ion.

More and more car makers from other countries building facilities in the United States, and U.S. car manufacturers setting up plants on different countries, the distinction between an American and a foreign car will get even more blurred. For some Americans, this poses a serious problem when choosing a new car to buy.

Have you ever used an industrial air hammer? Have you checked on your automotive starter system at one point or another? Have you ever seen an electric bell assembly? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you probably know what a solenoid valve is.

Solenoid valves are electromechanical valves that are controlled by stopping or running an electrical current through a solenoid, in order to change the state of the valve. A solenoid is a coil of wire that is magnetized when electricity runs through it. The solenoid valve makes use of this solenoid in order to activate a valve, thus controlling water flow, airflow and other things with electricity. Basically, there are three types of solenoid valves: the general-purpose type, low-pressure steam type and the high pressure steam type.

Solenoid valves are composed of several parts such as the solenoid coil, electrical connector, bonnet nut, seal cartridge, O-rings, end connector, body and union nut. All these components are critical to the overall performance of solenoid valves. If any malfunction, it will affect the entire operation of the automotive starter system, as well as the industrial air hammer and the electric bell assembly. That is why this should always be maintained and regularly checked in order to keep the solenoid valves functioning at their best.

But just like any other parts of the starter system, air hammer and electric bell, the solenoid valve can get damaged after a period of time. Thus, a replacement solenoid valve will be needed. It’s a good thing that many dealers offer quality solenoid valves at affordable prices. When selecting a solenoid valve, be sure to consider the valve type, aperture size, pressure rating, coil voltage and type of connection to each port.

To please a new generation of customers this year and beyond, Ford of Europe has done some reinventions in its small car range and come up with its all new five-door Fiesta. The production version of the Verve Concept car, the stylish Fiesta is powered by a Duratec 1.6-liter Ti-VCT that combines power with fuel economy.

I have only seen pictures of the car online but I can already tell it will delight customers (especially American car fans) because of its new “kinetic design” exterior, craftsmanship and high-tech features.

Dubbed as the first product of Ford’s major global product development, the car will be sold in between 2008 to 2010. The car will be unveiled tomorrow at the Geneva Motor Show.

For more exciting details, click here.