I am sure that all drivers have encounter at one point a huge traffic jam. Of course the first question that pops up in our heads is: “Why didn’t I go the other way around?”. You can’t always predict how the traffic will be like on one portion of the road, so all that you can do now is relax and wait for the traffic to clear up.
What can you do if you are in a traffic jam so you don’t get bored?
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Every new car owner is very happy of his new possession for the first few days. After this he begins to see all the problems that a car brings to your daily routine. Parking spaces are a driver’s worst nightmare in all big cities. There are never enough parking spaces!
Once you buy a car, you have to get up early in the morning to leave home 10 minutes earlier than before, to be sure that you can surely get a parking space right in front of your office. If you fail at this you will waste at least 10 minutes to find another parking space.
So, what can we do? We, the drivers, can’t do a thing. The authorities are the only ones that can bring us hope, by making underground parking spaces or special building designed only for parking cars. In Bucharest, the capital of Romania there are 1,2 million cars. Living here represents a continuous struggle for parking spaces. That’s just sad…
Photo: Farlig Bank
Kitsch cars can be found everywhere. In every country, every city and every neighborhood. There will always be one individual that thought that the car manufactures are just a bunch of idiots, and he is more of a designer/engineer than them.
The photos you will see are not only about cars appearance but also about how people think that their car will be more attractive.
1. The sponge wire taxi driver
I know that all of you know Ken Block after his awesome Gymkhana series. Well the daredevil managed to crash his WRC car, a Ford Focus RS WRC. Maybe many of you didn’t think it’s possible for such a good driver to ever crash his car, but that day has come. I am not glad about this, but a lot of people saw him like the god of the steering wheel. Well.. he’s not!
I am sure that all of you heard about all-season tires. The manufactures say that you can use them 12 months a year, meaning you don’t have to change your summer tires with your winter tires and the other way around. But are they any good?
As you may already know, I live in Romania. In the last few years the winters here were very cold, with a lot of snow. In these conditions, my all-season tires (from my Nissan Almera) couldn’t be used on the roads that were completely covered with snow. I had to buy some wheel chains to be sure that I wouldn’t remain stranded on a random road.
I think that all-season tires can’t be that good because summer tires are made from a more rigid material, but snow tires are made from a more soft material to allow any excess snow to dispel. Somewhere, the manufactures had to make a compromise. Maybe the tire is noisier, maybe they are safe only at lower speeds or maybe you are able to just use them once. The fact is that nothing compares to some sturdy winter tires and some slick summer tires. I always think that we should have in mind: Safety first!
Photo: jimbob_malone
What are the most important things you have to do when winter is near and you want to still use your car for a vacation or for daily use? To answer this question I have made a list with the most important things you have to do while getting ready for winter.
1. Change your summer tires with your winter tires. (In some countries you can get a ticket for driving your car in winter season without winter tires)
2. Check the integrity of your cooling system (leak test, pressure test) and put antifreeze in it.
3. Change your windshield washer fluid with the one specially made for winter conditions.
4. Have all your brakes and tires checked before making long trips.
5. Make sure you always have your battery fully charged.
6. Make sure you have some winter safety equipment in your trunk, like shovel, special salt (or sand), tire chains and all other equipment that is recommended by the law.
7. Keep your fuel tank to almost full to prevent ice forming in it.
8. Make sure that your windshield wipers are good to go for the ice and snow.
Beside this things to remember, try to check the weather forecast for when you plan a long drive or trip, so you can know what roads you better avoid. Drive safe!
Photo: JaniF
Everybody had a dream car in his childhood. Maybe some of you have the same dream car now as you had when you was just a kid. But what are dream cars? For me, my childhood dream car was Batman’s Batmobile. As you may already figure it out, I don’t have the same dream car now, because my dreams kind of changed.
A dream car is that car that makes you tell your mother you want to save money, the car that deserves a very good position on your wall, as a poster, the car that makes you egger to grow to be 18 (or 16) to be able to get your driving license. When you grow up, your childhood dream car isn’t as great as you once believed, so now you can have a dream car that can become your actual car.
My dream car now is the Audi R8. Although is not an extremely expensive car, I can’t afford it yet, so it remains in the category “dreams”.
Photo: multisanti
In our days everybody is eco-friendly, wants to help the planet live longer and to stop killing nature. I have to admit that I’m not that eco-friendly, I love big engine cars and I wouldn’t see myself driving a Toyota Prius. Nevertheless sometimes I have to save fuel, because I don’t have any money to spare for fuel or I have o gas station nearby.
What to do? Because I have a diesel engine (Mazda 6 2.0 CD), saving fuel is somehow self acknowledged, but not always. If I change gears at 3300 RPM, I get a fuel consumption of about 10L/100km (~24 MPG). If I change my driving style just a little bit and I change gears at about 2200 – 2500 RPM the fuel consumption can drop until 7L/100km (~34 MPG). For me this is a very good fuel consumption.
Another thing that helps reduce fuel consumption is turning off the air conditioning, and driving with your windows closed (especially at high speeds). The second one helps reduce air friction and provides you with a better fuel consumption.
Better fill it up once than adding another $10 or $20 dollars in your gas tank. You save money for all the drives to the petrol station and back. If you can drive with a consistent speed (cruise control will help you a lot) you can save precious money.
These are only some of the techniques that you can use to save fuel. If you consider that you aren’t saving as much fuel as you would want, then maybe you should consider buying an electrical car or a hybrid. These are the most fuel efficient cars out there. Maybe those are the cars for you!
Photo: Lars Trebing
Here is a list of songs that I really like to listen while I’m driving:
- Dub FX feat Mr Woodnote – Flow
- ACDC – Highway to hell
- Steppenwolf – Born to be wild
- Queen – I’m in love with my car
- R. Kelly – Ignition
- Tupac Picture Me Rollin
Illegal racing is a well hidden sport that is practiced in almost all the parts in the world where people have a passion for cars and obviously a car. If you haven’t heard anything about this in your city or state, that means that you don’t like racing cars or that you’re a cop. Racing cars in a town or on highways can be very dangerous because many people that are just cruising around can be involved in accidents.
In Romania Illegal Racing has become a very known “sport” in the last few years. Almost everyone knows a guy that participated in a 402 meters race. The good news for the race lovers is that in our days many race clubs try to organize as many legal races as they can, so that the fear of cops or the fear of getting caught won’t interfere with the level of focus that I driver needs to have when driving.
I have to admit that I never raced on the streets of my town, but sometimes I fool around with friends on open roads when there’s little to no traffic. I love watching organized races that take place on airports or closed roads. These are great opportunities for amateur drivers to show their skills and pump their adrenaline without the risk of hurting anyone or getting caught by the police.
Drive safe!
Photo: Coffe.dk