Thursday, May 24, 2012

Pros and Cons of Driving Straight Drive

Pros and Cons of Driving Straight Drive

When buying a car you have two choices you can either get a stick shift or an automatic. If you have driven a stick shift you already know what it’s like if you have not the only difference is that instead of the transmission changing the gears for you, you push in the clutch and move the gear shift into the appropriate gear.
Picture of gear shifter of manual transmission truck

Since you know what a straight drive is i can start telling you the pros and cons of it. The first positive thing i can think of is that it gets you more involved with your driving. This can help you stay awake on those long drives. Another good thing about driving a straight drive is that you don’t have to wait as long for it to warm up because you are the one changing the gears. Also when driving a stick you can save gas by coasting down a hill by pushing in your clutch this allows the gears to spin freely and therefore uses less gas because it doesn’t have to move as much.

The pros of driving an automatic transmission are that you can multitask even though that isn’t the best thing to while driving and that just about anybody can drive these without any practice. The bad thing about driving automatics is that it is a whole lot more expensive to replace a transmission if it goes bad than if the clutch goes bad in a straight drive.

Compare Contrast

Compare Contrast

In this blog I will talk about the many differences between new and old cars. The first difference that you may notice is that the body styles back then were not made of cheap materials like today's cars are. The way they were made back then was from steel which helped to protect you better. Another difference is that all of the buttons and electronic controls we are so used to in our cars. The main things the older cars had in their consoles were controls for the radio stations and maybe an air conditioner switch depending on the year of the car.


New Camaro an 69 Camaro

Although there is many differences there is some things that haven't really changed over the years one of these things are that the reason cars are made have pretty much remained the same. The reasons being transportation and for recreational use such as racing or just working on it to make it better.

New Mustang compared to old Mustang

Some other differences that you might not notice without being under the hood is the engines on newer cars are regulated by computers instead of you having to make adjustments on the older cars. Personally I like to make the adjustments by myself because i am more of a hands on learner and if your computer breaks in your car it will give you the skills you will need to get your car back to running right.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Interview Post


People in this time tend to let other people do their repairs on their cars instead of themselves. There could be many reasons for this, the main cause for it I think is that people were not educated on how to do these things. Even if it is small things such as changing your oil or rotating your tires you should have a certain extent of knowledge about your vehicle. This knowledge can come in handy probably more than you think.

Everyone in my family either works at a garage or take their cars to the garage but most just make their own repairs to save money. Because my family has access to a garage with professional equipment we are able to make repairs and do tune ups to our cars with very little or no charge. But other people might not be as lucky as me and they may have to go to Autozone or other stores that sell similar products and this might cost more but some garages may overcharge you if they think you are inexperienced with this type of thing.

If your are going to go to a garage then you should call at least three and get an estimate of how much the job will be. Also you should check to see if they have had any bad references or not and then choose the best choice.

I interviewed my friend, Carlos Martinez about this. He has three brothers and only one sister, and he lives with both of his parents. This year will be his last year in high school and he drives a Chevrolet Malibu. Carlos and I have been friends ever since elementary school.

The first question I asked Carlos was if his family works on their own cars he answered:
Yes me and my dad and my brother do all of the repairs to my mom and dads cars.

The second question I asked him was what all he knows how to do to fix cars and he said I know how to change the oil and the tires but my dad and older brother do most of the main repairs but they are trying to teach me more.

Unfortunately our interview was cut short because he had to do his chores. What I got from the interview was that each family has their own way of bonding and his family's way of doing that is working on their cars. This is also a way that my family gets to spend time together too.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Chevrolet Volt

In this blog I will tell about a new hybrid that Chevrolet has come out with. The car that they have come out with is called the Volt because it is a hybrid. When these cars first came out they were very expensive but with advances in technology they can make the parts needed for cheaper and with less wastes.
Picture Of Chevrolet Volt                                      
http://totaltrust.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/chevy-volt.jpg

What a hybrid is, is a car that can run on both electricity and gasoline. The reason that hybrids were created was to save gas for the people who have them. Also it created more jobs because not everyone can work on them because of all of the technology incorporated in them..

Because these cars are electric they people working on them must wear protective rubber gloves. This is one of the few setbacks to being a hybrid owner but the savings will be a great help in this tough economy. With the rising gas prices Americans need all the help they can get when it comes to saving money.
                           
Picture of  engine and electric generator thanks to Carsabout.com                                                                             
http://0.tqn.com/d/cars/1/0/f/L/2/ag_11volt_engine.JPG

Even though I like cars with more muscle I would drive this sleek car. For 34 miles per gallon and 375 miles per tank of gas I think just about anybody would too.