Archive for December, 2009
Toyota Launched The 2009 Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a compact car produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota. In 1997 the Corolla was recognized to be the best selling car model in the world with over 30 million sold as of 2007. The name Corolla is Latin for small crown. It follows the Toyotas naming tradition of using the name Crown for their cars.
The tenthgeneration Toyota Corolla was launched for the 2009 model year. The 2009 Corolla is a 4door 5passenger family sedan available in 8 trims ranging from the Base 5Spd MT to the XRS 5Spd AT.
The Base 5Spd MT is equipped with a standard 1.8liter I4 132horsepower engine that achieves 27mpg in the city and 35mpg on the highway. A 5speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard. The XRS 5Spd AT is equipped with a standard 2.4liter I4 158horsepower engine that achieves 22mpg in the city and 30mpg on the highway. A 5speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard. The new Corolla has made many improvements to its power train auto parts and chassis.
Its evident that the new design has not evolved much from the old ones. One thing is sure that the new car’s exterior is improved only not as impressive as most of the competitors.
The exterior features standard P205/55R16 tires with full wheel covers colorkeyed front and rear underbody spoilers fog lamps front sport seats leatherwrapped steering wheel black headlamp housing chrome exhaust tip.
Its interior is described as roomy comfortable seats simple and has logically placed controls.
The drivers seat is extremely soft and comfortable with lowerback support as well as more thigh support.
All models will be equipped with a heavy
duty rear window defogger a satelliteready AM/FM/CD audio system with
MP3/WMA capability auxiliary audio input jack tilt and telescopic steering
wheel 60/40 split folding rear seats and much more.
Safety features include standard driver and front
passenger airbags front seatmounted side airbags and tworow side curtain
airbags. Front seats employ active headrests as standard equipment. Toyota’s Antilock Braking System ABS is standard on
all models of the Corolla and Vehicle Stability Control VSC is standard on
the XRS.
According to usnews.rankingsandreviews.com the 2008 model received very good scores in government and insurance industry crash tests. So even though the 2009 Corolla has not yet been crash tested we all can rely on its road safety because all safety features for the 2008 is also featured for the 2009 only improved.
About the writer: Anthony Fontanelle is a 35yearold automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.
Tips For Shipping Your Car Internationally
There are occasions when you may have need to ship your car overseas. You will not only need to find a reputable shipping company but also prepare your vehicle for being moved overseas. You can’t just leave it as is since this could cause problems in transit. So here are a few tips to help you ship your vehicle safely internationally.
Clean your car. Getting all the junk out of it and removing any valuables is best. This ensures that your car can be transported safely without fear of something sliding around inside and possibly causing damage.
Take a Polaroid. Or any other kind of photo. Take dated pictures if possible so you have proof of what condition your vehicle was in when you left it at the shipping company. If your car is damaged in the car of the shipping company you will need to prove that this was their fault and that you left your car in good condition. Take your photos outside with good lighting so any scratches or flaws are readily visible.
Get rid of gas. You only want about 1/8 of a tank of gas in your car. It will need to be moved so you’ll need to leave a little gas in it but the less weight the better! If you need to just drive around a bit to bring the gas down or siphon it off into an approved container for use elsewhere.
Disconnect the car alarm. The last thing you need is for the alarm to go off halfway across the ocean and wear your battery out! This is a big one so be sure that the alarm is not just disabled but disconnected to prevent it from accidentally being set off. There is a lot of movement when a vehicle is being moved so it’s possible for things to get shaken up a bit.
Make sure everything is secure. You don’t want loose bolts or lug nuts since these can vibrate loose during the move. So tighten everything up before shipping your vehicle to prevent problems upon arrival. Small parts can shake loose and get lost completely.
Get the paperwork done early. The sooner you finish up the paperwork the easier it will be for you to get your vehicle shipped without extra delays. You will have left yourself time to get any changes made that may be necessary.
Research the paperwork. Every country has different rules as to what they require but you will most likely need to prove ownership of the vehicle and possibly get a special visa for it. Some countries will require you get special permission and to declare your imported vehicle. Without registration you’ll need to leave the country and come back in every few months to get a new visa depending on the country.
Find out about import taxes. You may be required to pay import taxes when your vehicle goes through customs. This is pretty common and sometimes can be avoided if you have the right paperwork. Again this all depends on the country that you are shipping the vehicle to each one will have its own regulations that need to be met.
Shipping a vehicle overseas can be stressful but if you plan ahead and do everything correctly you should be able to do it without any problems. Most importantly you eliminate the need for a rental car as you’ll be free to drive your car in the country that it has been shipped to once you have cleared customs and done up the paperwork required.
About the writer: Discount Car and Truck rentals offers a wide range of rental cars and rental trucks at very competitive prices and even has free customer pickup and dropoff.
The Technique For Braking Well On The Track
Before entering a corner on a track you’ll almost certainly need to brake hard to achieve the correct entry speed. While doing this you’ll probably want to retain steering control of your car so locking up all four wheels may not be the best strategy!
Threshold braking is the technique you should strive for in this situation which is the quickest method of reducing speed. This method of braking involves braking to the limits of grip without allowing the wheels to lock. However it is sometimes very difficult to judge the amount of brake force the tyres will accept before locking up. This technique must be practiced regularly in your racing car before you can accurately judge the brake pressured required in different conditions.
The key to this technique is progressive braking inputs. If you stamp as hard as you can on the pedal the resulting spike in forward weight transfer can cause wheel lock at the rear if you don’t have ABS fitted whereas more progressive braking inputs will allow the front wheels to load up more gradually without compressing the front suspension to extreme limits. This doesn’t mean you can’t brake hard but try to apply the braking in a progressive yet rapid manner. As you load up the front wheels with the forward weight transfer you artificially increase the amount of grip available which will further aid your deceleration.
If you do have ABS this progressive technique is still relevant as sudden weight transfers also upset the balance of the car which needs to be stable before entering a corner quickly.
Another factor to consider is the change in state between a rotating wheel and a locked wheel. Tyre rubber doesn’t change between these two states as rapidly as you might think and there is a transition period of ‘slip’ before the wheel finally locks. The maximum braking force a tyre can provide is actually just as it begins to slip and this is the point to aim for with threshold braking. Sounds tricky and it is!
The next thing to consider is what to do if you do lock up one or more wheels under braking this will happen fairly often until you become very familiar with your car and the track. When wheel lock occurs you have several options.
- Keep the brakes on the wheels will remain locked so this is only really an last resort option if your desired path is straight ahead. Beware that the directional stability of the car will be compromised in this state. If you need to turn you’ll need to release the brakes to get back steering control.
- The second option is to release the brakes slightly and reapply with slightly less pressure. This should free up the locked wheel and allow you to steer. Now you can resume attempting to threshold brake.
- Cadence braking involves reapplying the brake but repeatedly continuing to experience locked wheels. Keep releasing and reapplying the brakes as smoothly as you can to try and find the threshold point. This will give you a compromise between braking and steering but is not the fastest method of braking. Cars with ABS automatically try and find the threshold point by rapidly releasing and reapplying the brakes.
To sum up aim for threshold braking but until you’re a very experienced driver make sure you have a contingency up your sleeve!
For more information on braking techniques please click here