Automotive Business

Archive for the ‘Auto’ Category

Improper Wheel Alignment – Common Reason For Wear and Tear in Tires of Trucks

The importance of the wheel in your truck cannot be overstated. It is the component that travels at hundreds of miles per hour and enables you to travel over long distances. The alignment of the wheel is very important because the wheel cannot simply replicate the movement of the other wheel fitted on the other side.

If you are turning left, the wheel on the outer side should move faster than the wheel on the inner side. Only then will the vehicle make the turn. On the other hand, if both the wheels are traveling at the same speed, you would continue to travel in a straight line or you would find it very difficult to make the turn.

Hence, when you turn the steering, you must keep in mind that the design of the wheel facilitates faster movement of one wheel and slower movement of the other. Needless to say, the tires enter the picture as well. If the wheels are not aligned properly, chances are high that the tires will not respond to your instructions.

Further, since the tires are in contact with the surface, they will suffer damage from the rough surface as well. Whenever you hear about stories of the tire simply popping out of the wheel during a turn, you must understand that the alignment of the wheel was suspect or the tire was damaged very badly.

What should you do to avoid this complication? If you want to make sure that the wheels of your truck are functioning properly under-aligned, you should get it checked by a professional. The alignment of the wheel depends a lot upon the weight of the truck, its usage and other factors.

You cannot just check the alignment on your own. There are numerous service providers who offer computerized services that will analyze the alignment of your wheels and judge the extent to which the wheels respond when you turn the steering wheel.

Proper alignment of the wheels also gives you an opportunity to take a look at the functioning of the tires. If the tires are in a need of replacement or re-treading, you can carry out the remedial steps because the vehicle would be off the road for the proper alignment of the wheel.

You should get the alignment checked every time you replace the tire or remove the same for replacing a puncher. Of course, you can travel in your truck without any fear but you should get it checked as quickly as possible.

Super Golf Wheel Chair that Enables Disabled Golfers to Play Normally

Last week when I was at the driving range I noticed a number of young disable people working on their games. I was very impressed by a young lady who, despite the fact that she was sitting in a wheel chair, was able to drive the ball straight for around 120 to 150 yards. It was a real joy to watch her play. Every time she hit a good shot her face lit up in a radiant smile of pure pleasure.

Watching these young people having such a good time got me thinking.

A good friend of mine is a disabled golfer. He lost a leg in a land mine incident when he was serving in the army as a young man. Bob has never allowed his disability to stand in the way of making himself into a very competitive golfer. In fact this year he has been elected captain of our golf club.

So last Saturday I cornered Bob and asked him to tell me more about disabled golf. Now Bob is a real enthusiast, so I got myself cornered for a good half an hour, but it was worth it, because he told me about this amazing golf wheel chair for paraplegic disabled golfers. Take a closer look at the photo on my web site.

This golf wheel chair is the brain child of Anthony Netto a South African born golf professional and trainer. Anthony suffered a neck fracture after a no-fault car accident, in 1995. This led to him being wheelchair bound for months. After numerous operations and a lot of time in hospital the 37-year old was able to resume work as a teaching pro in 1997. However, in October 2000, he suffered a further setback when multiple sclerosis struck him down. Since that time he has been confined to a wheelchair.

Netto is a fighter; he told himself, “One does not die from this disease.” A course of magnet-field therapy helped him, but he wanted to resume his life as a teaching professional and to that end he started to develop the special golf wheel chair, which has enabled him to play again.

The chair, powered by a tank battery, drives him around the course just like any other buggy. However, when he arrives at his ball, the seat swivels round so that he can face his ball. The seat then stands him up and supports him so that he can address his ball, just like a ‘normal’ golfer.

The golf wheel chair works well because Anthony Netto is now the trainer of the German national disabled golfers team and he has initiated project KidSwing to teach young disabled golfers. He works successfully with sick and disabled children in Cologne, Germany. His aim is: “to establish golf as a therapy and a rehabilitation scheme.”

As far as I can find out the golf wheel chair is currently just starting to go into production on a very small scale. It is therefore expensive, my informant wasn’t certain, but he thought the price was currently around EUR17,000.00 ($22,000.00 approx.) I would expect this price to decrease dramatically once mass-production starts.

My informant also told me that the company marketing the golf wheel chair is being run in such a way as to limit their own profit percentage in order to make the golf wheel chair more widely available to disabled golfers.

There is more information about Anthony, some pictures of his golf wheel chair and links to other sites which talk about this wonderful machine on the Winning Seniors Golf web site.

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Wheel Horse tractors have developed a solid reputation for dependability, performance, and affordability. Not many small businesses have been as successful as Wheel Horse, and even fewer machines as productive as this long-established line of hardworking garden tractors. It started in the 1920s, when a few good men decided to pool their talents and make a go at the garden tractor industry.The 1920s encouraged the daring and innovative to experiment, and so it all began with a small group of talented handymen. Working hard with spare motorcycle and automobile parts, the group sensibly united to develop a garden tractor that would take America by storm. In just a few short years, Wheel Horse founder Elmer Pond and his cohorts started a company that assembly-line built these powerful tractors. They did a whopping $4.5 million in sales by the late 1980s. This, as expected, commanded the attention of large corporations throughout the industry especially Toro, one of the leaders in the industry, who later purchased the company.

With their prudently engineered engine mount located between the legs of the driver, and a variable-speed, belt-driven transmission design, Wheel Horse tractors begun their true coming of age. Consumers also benefited from the various tractor attachments and quality-crafted engines when their plant rolled out its GT-14, which housed a 14-horsepower, large-frame design that was all the 1960s rage in garden equipment. Rear tires the size of 27 X 9.50-15, its vertical shaft engine, and the vertical input trans-axle brought it up to the next level performance wise. Thanks to this, as well as its easy handling and advanced engineering, the upstart company begun to carve out a sizeable piece of the industry for themselves.

Wheel Horse tractors are as competitive in price as they are in quality. Purchasing one is more like an investment than an expenditure because the longer you own one the more you realize its value. When Founder Elmer Pond manufactured his first tractor back in the mid ’40s he could never have imagined that his creations would one day become collectors items. Today, there are several online communities and collectors groups that meet regularly to share their passion for collecting these red vintage garden tractors.

With all of its highly developed engineering, the Wheel Horse tractor has positioned itself as a front runner in the garden tractor industry. The flexibility and abundant variety of attachments make it possible to equip them for almost every consumer requirement, such as lawn renovation, driveway grading, snow throwing, and a variety of hauling needs. An old saying around the plant was that they were “speedy, sporty and spirited,” and that saying still rings true today.

The best way to buy custom wheels and tires on line for your car, truck or SUV is to buy them as a package deal. Pick out a set of your favorite custom wheels and tires, then have your preferred on line merchants match them up perfectly. To encourage or persuade you to buy both custom wheels and tire from them, most on line suppliers will give a discount when buying both the tires and custom rims together.

If you live in “small town USA” chances are you won’t have any custom wheel street stores. Most larger cities may have one or two custom wheel stores but they may only carry a couple of wheel brands. However, major large cities such as Houston, Los Angeles and New York may have more choices. If you don’t live in one of these major large cities then shopping for custom wheels on the web is good judgment. On line merchants also make sure you don’t increase the weight of your wheel and tire combo by using plus sizing. This method improves handling capabilities by mounting tires that are wider and have a shorter sidewall on a larger diameter custom wheel.

Another advantage to wheel and tire packages is that on line merchants mount your tires and wheels scratch free plus hide the balancing weights. Some even offer free shipping with wheel and tire packages, so shop around and get that great on line deal.

In America, they’re known simply as “Wheel Clamps” or “Wheel Boots”; but regardless of what they’re called, they all mean the same thing: you did something illegally & now because of that, you can’t move. This is the typical case, but sometimes you’ll see Wheel Clamps on trailers or caravans so they won’t be towed away; or even expensive cars so no one will steal them.

The original name was actually the “Immobilizer” & was invented in 1944, but patented in 1958 by a man named Frank Marugg. What’s peculiar is that Frank Marugg was, in reality, a Violinist for the Denver Symphony Orchestra, but had more than enough “good friends” within the Denver Politician Group & Denver Police Department. Since the Police Department was having a lot of issues with enforcing parking laws, they needed a better method than just handing out parking tickets & taking all vehicles to the impound where they would eventually be sabotaged. When a man named Dan Stills finally got tired of this charade, he eventually approached Marugg with this growing dilemma. As stated by some random placemat in Gunther Tootie’s circa, Marugg had created a remarkable device that was designed to lock spare tires that were installed onto the outermost part of the vehicle.

The first time it was used was recorded on January 5, 1955 & had accumulated more than $18,000 in it’s first month of use! Since producers thought that it may have been a little too heavy because it was made out of steel, they swapped it for a lighter Aluminum material. After Marugg saw that this Wheel Clamp was such a success, he eventually sold it to parking lot owners, hotels, ski resorts, & even made a “Massive” version for people who owned farm equipment & larger vehicles that resembled those huge farming vehicles. It’s such a milestone in the Automotive World that this Original Wheel Clamp has it’s own display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. I really don’t know about what you think about this, but really? The Smithsonian?

When it comes to regular street laws, police officers & traffic wardens have the authority to put Wheel Clamps on vehicles that are parked illegally; but in many other countries, the law says that landowners also have the authority to issue Wheel Clamps on vehicles that are parked on their property without authorization. There was a man that literally got so tired of his wheels being clamped all the time that at one point in time, he removed the clamp himself with something called an Angle-Grinder. So as of now, he is known as a modern-day “Superhero” that calls himself the “Angle-Grinder Man” that offers to remove clamps for free. Measures have become so drastic that motorists will either cut off the clamp using bolt cutters or they will even just clamp their own cars before anyone else can. Who knew people would be so overprotective, right?

Wheel Clamping may be outlawed in some states because they say that it is “unethical”, but despite everything everyone else says, the state of Washington continues this trend to “show everyone it is not right to disobey the law”. Wheel Clamping has become such an impact on society that it even has had an “appearance” in the kid’s movie Cars, in the TV Series Seinfeld, & pretty much even has TWO reality shows: Parking Wars & Operation Repo. In my opinion, when something as serious as this appears in the media & places where people seek amusement, no one is going to take it seriously. They’re just going to think, “Oh! This is just like the episode where….”; but that’s just me.

Management is a multifaceted skill, each facet seemingly standing on it’s own, and yet all so interdependent that alone they are almost meaningless and only function fully when all are in place. This is rather like the old fashioned wagon wheels, several spokes supporting the wheel rim around the hub. Without all the spokes in place, the wheel would probably turn but the ride would certainly be bumpy, and the risk of calamitous failure of the wheel extraordinarily high.

In this series of articles I intend to deal with each of the spokes of the mythical “Management Wheel”, hopefully demonstrating how they hang together and how important the are to the functioning of the organization as a whole. I have selected organization as the first spoke to talk about, not because it is the most important, although it certainly is important, but because it is without question the most basic, and the most abused.

Let us review what passes for organization in most small companies. (Do not be embarrassed if you recognize your company here, you are not alone.) The owner is convinced he can do it all, and while the company is small, he can. The three main functions of the business, get work, do work and get paid are all he is concerned about.

Get work or sales, is what he does when there is not enough real work for him to do, and he either does it himself, or assigns his most senior operations guy to help, after all “You got to know all about the job to sell it!” The ‘do work” part needs skills and training, so over time the owner builds up a group of workers he can trust. He often will appoint a supervisor for a part of the group, but when he is around everyone knows who is boss.

Finally, as far as “get paid” is concerned, the boss hates paperwork, so he gets his spouse, mother, or daughter to do that. “Just call the CPA, he will set you right”. Of course she also handles payroll, so she gets stuck with dealing with all those nasty discipline issues the boss hates also. “Can’t chew someone out, then ask them to work Sunday can you?” No job descriptions, no organization chart, no established lines of communication or authority, If this owner does make it through the first few years he suddenly realizes that he is working way to hard, and he is earning less than he pays his employees.

Compare that with functional organization. The entire organization is studied to define all the work that is required to be done. All the tasks thus identified are congregated into “functional’ boxes, and authority levels are defined for each box. Also defined are the measures of performance that will be applied to each box, and the most appropriate lines of communication and responsibility are also defined. Doing this defining achieves a secondary objective, it creates a “functional description” for each box, commonly referred to as a job description. The process also creates by default the most appropriate organization structure which can pictorially be presented in an organization chart,

Now, and not until now, do we look at our people. Each employee is matched with the each box, with some picking up more than one, while some boxes cannot be matched with current employees suggesting new hires may be required. (Regrettably, the reverse is often also true, some employees cannot be matched with a suitable box. As difficult as this may be it helps identify the dead wood in the company.)

As the saying goes, “If you don’t tell people what you want them to do, don’t be surprised if they disappoint you.” A well conceived and documented organization with defined authority and appropriate measurement is the first and most effective step towards creating an organization where employees are responsible and accountable. It requires a definite investment in time and effort but the dividends will be enormous and they will be measured in profit and peace of mind.

Review

Volkswagen’s Transporter and People Mover range celebrates 60 years of production this month, and what better way to enjoy your diamond anniversary than with the release of an all-new model… Or is that mostly-new?Simply speaking the new Volkswagen Transporter is a very thorough half-body revision, with almost all the changes made forward of the ‘B’ pillar. It can be bought via van lease hire as well.

Overview

The rework makes a lot of sense from a cost perspective, and has helped Volkswagen pass on big savings to its customers. It’s also certain to come as good news to the wallets of existing customers wanting to transfer expensive custom-made body modules from their existing Transporter to the new model with the cargo bay remaining mostly unchanged.But why go for this new model at all I hear you ask? Surely a freshly chiseled front-end isn’t enough reason to raid the piggy bank. Perhaps not. You can always use van contract hire or van leasing. But in restyling the Transporter and People Mover range for 2010, Volkswagen have also made a raft of changes beneath the skin that are well worth considering, especially if safety, running costs and cabin ergonomics feature high on your white van wish list.

New Features

Among the improvements, new Transporter and People Mover models now feature: a 3.2 tons admissible total weight; new infotainment programme; new climate control systems; antenna(s) integrated in exterior wing mirrors; gear shift indicator; new headlamps and tail-lights; new front mudguards, grille and bonnet; new fog lamps with integrated cornering light function (optional); new wet clutch seven-speed DSG transmission (optional); new-generation 4MOTION all-wheel drive (optional); regulated power steering pump; new-generation ESP; new front brakes with 17-inch alloy wheels; Hill Start Assist; new exterior mirrors; new steering wheel; new dash panel inserts; new fabrics; and new colors. Joining Caddy and Crafter models, Volkswagen’s entire Commercial Vehicle and People Mover Range now offers Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP) as standard.The newly revised ESP system on Transporter which can be bought through van leasing, Multivan and Caravelle now incorporates Hill Start Assist, Active Rollover Protection, Ready Alert Brake (prefill), Fading Brake Support, Hydraulic Brake Assist and a Brake Disc Wiper within the one program.

Options

The system, among the best in the world for commercial vehicle applications, self-adjusts according to load conditions and is joined by other electronic safety features including: Anti-lock Braking System (ABS); Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR); Engine drag torque control (MSR); Electronic Differential lock (EDS); seatbelt buckling warning in the instrument cluster and new front dual-piston caliper brakes (on 132kW TDI models).Inside the revised cabin, high levels of safety continue with dual front, side head/thorax and (optional) full-length curtain airbags available. An integrated cornering/fog lamp, reversing camera (on models fitted with a top-hinged tailgate and RNS 510 satellite navigation only) and radar-based blind spot recognition system (integrated in the vehicle’s wing mirrors) are also available as optional equipment. With all these options preloaded, you can get this van pretty cheap with van lease hire, or van contract hire.

Wheels are among the most vital parts in the car. They are the ones that keep it moving and thus, they are indispensable in a vehicle. The size and the quality of the wheels significantly affect your ride quality and handling so always make sure they are in perfect shape and condition. Taking care of them is a must so as not to sacrifice your vehicle’s performance. They also need special attention since they are closest to the road; hence, they are exposed to a lot corrosion-causing elements.

Aside from contributing to ride quality and handling abilities, the wheels can also make the car look better and a lot sportier. People have always been concerned with how their vehicles should look and thus they replace or customize some of the parts to make it different from the rest on the road. The wheels are among those that are often replaced to achieve their desired appearance. Accessories are also added to the wheels, such as the hub caps and wheels covers. These auto accessories are designed to match the user’s various driving needs and moods.

In buying replacement wheels for your car, there are important things you need to know, especially if you are new to driving. You cannot just choose any kind of wheel in lieu of the original wheel of your car. There are different wheel specifications for every kind of vehicle and car model since suspension design varies from one vehicle to another. Take note that the wheels work hand in hand with the suspension system whose job is to keep the tires in tight contact with the road as the vehicle turns, brakes or is driven down the road without sacrificing comfort of the passengers.

Three aspects of the wheels are relevant to the suspension design: wheel offset, aspect ratio, and tire width. All these should be considered in choosing the best replacement wheels for your vehicle.

Offset refers to the distance from the very center of the wheel to the mounting surface of the wheel disc at the hub. Wheel offset can be positive, negative or zero. A “0″ offset means that the mounting surface of the wheel is in the center of the wheel. This measurement is very important in positioning the tire. This also provides for adequate dual spacing.

Aspect ratio is the ratio between the width of the tire and the height of its side wall. A tire specified as “205/60/15″ for example, has a width of 205mm and 60% aspect ratio. The “15″ refers to the size of the wheel to which it is fitted. You shouldn’t buy wheels or tires with lower aspect ratio than what is required because this will wear them out easily as ride quality will deteriorate. However, this could also result to more precision in turning.

You might be thinking of getting wider wheels to give your car a racing car look. Better think about this again. While is it true that wider wheels and tires can give your car a chunk of gutsy looks, they can also ruin your driving satisfaction. This is because the weight of the vehicle would not be evenly spread over the wheel and tire width. Resistance is also increased, thus you wheels and tires could wear out fast.

If you want to know more about car wheels, you can search for car enthusiasts’ sites that feature different kinds of wheels or go to the car manufacturer’s site and check out your car model’s wheel specifications.

You may have seen this item in the TV infomercials or advertised over the web. The Ab Wheel, an exercise machine that promises to tighten and tone your abs in just minutes a day and it also promises that you will feel great and full of energy all over.

The advertisement of the Ab Wheel, much like other infomercials that you will see asking you to buy X product to have a mean six pack abs, starts with a man with an obvious beer belly struggling hard to lose his love handles through various exercises like sit ups and side crunches. Then he starts to use the Ab Wheel and voila, he gets a toned and tightened midsection.

But upon further inspection, you will see this new model not only has a tightened abdominal area, he also has ripped shoulders, a toned chest and muscular legs. Do you think the Ab Wheel did all these?

You are right in answering “no” to this question. Because a machine like the Ab Wheel, which targets a specific group of muscles only cannot make that once chubby man into a lean person good enough to become an exercise model. An abs specific machine does not give you any shoulder toning, chest toning and leg toning effects simply because it is beyond the machine’s capability.

This mode most likely went through a total body workout program coupled by the correct and healthy way of eating. He did not have that perfect and awesome body JUST by using the Ab Wheel.

A program that will give you a total body exercise and at the same time give you a crash course in the very confusing world of nutrition is The Truth About Six Pack Abs. This e-book, created by the world renowned nutritionist and training guru Mike Geary, contains all the needed information for you to get that six pack abs you’ve always watched in the movies and at the same time, it will correct all your misconceptions about belly fat.

The e-book is the marriage of proper exercising of the entire body and a balanced nutrition. Initially it will give you an instructional manual to follow to help you learn the proper ways to exercise. None of those inefficient ones that will just tire you out but exercises specifically geared towards losing that beer gut. Then, the program will teach you the ropes about nutrition. It will strip you off of the wrong information you believed all this years that the media and food corporations have fed you. It will teach you how to eat properly and at the same time it will allow you to enjoy what you eat.

These are the actual things one needs in the pursuit of a perfect six pack abs. No abdominal machine like the Ab Wheel can make you have the tightened and toned tummy of an exercise model. Only Mike Geary’s program, The Truth About Six Pack Abs can lead you to the proper direction to having that sexy tummy and lose weight overall, the safest and the healthiest way possible.