Why Do Cars Rust?

One thing that scares car owners is rust. This pesky problem can make a car almost undriveable. However, you can keep your car from declining into a rusty junkheap. It requires monitoring and regular maintenance, but with some work, you could keep rust at bay. What causes rust in the first place? Here’s a technical explanation for the curious:

Rust is iron oxide, a molecule consisting of two iron atoms and three oxygen atoms. It's the product of an electrochemical process called corrosion. To create rust, three factors must be present: an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte. An anode is a piece of metal that will readily release electrons under the right circumstances. Cathodes are metals that will accept electrons. Electrolytes are liquids that facilitate the movement of electrons.

As electrons flow from the anode to the cathode via the electrolyte, the anode metal corrodes. In the case of metals with iron in them, part of the anode metal becomes rust. As the metal corrodes, it weakens. That's not something you want to have happen to your vehicle.

There are several points on your car that are more susceptible to rust. For example, your car's engine, frame, chassis, exhaust system and trunk compartment can develop rust. Optional equipment, like trailer hitches, can also fall prey to corrosion. Rust can even attack painted surfaces on your car.

Getting rid of rust is challenging. It's easier to take steps to prevent rust than it is to eradicate it. In the case of rust, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Read the full article (and get some great rust prevention tips!) here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/vehicle-maintenance/prevent-automotive-rust.htm

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How To Stay Sane While You're Stuck in Traffic

Traffic during your commute to and from work can be a nightmare. It'll go much easier the less stressed you get. This article from eHow.com will help you stay sane and safe while you're stuck in traffic.

Things You'll Need
•    Music
•    Books on CD
•    positive attitude
•    coffee
•    alert mind

Instructions
1. Before you get in your car brew a good cup of coffee and pour it in a to-go mug. Stopping in traffic is stressful, and this way you won't have to think about stopping to get your caffeine fix.

2. Get online and go to a website that will tell you what routes have traffic jams. Sigalert.com is a good choice and makes it easy to see which freeways are experiencing traffic jams through a five color system. Red means severe traffic jams, orange means moderate traffic jams, yellow is minor traffic, blue means traffic is going around 30 mph, and green you're in the clear!

3. Once you get in your car, roll down the windows to get some fresh air on your face. This will help you stay awake and alert in traffic. If it's cold outside, put the heater on and direct it at your feet and roll down the windows just a little so you still get fresh air.

4. Make sure you have traffic maps or a good set of directions if you are going somewhere for the first time. Concerns of getting lost or getting delayed because you don't know where you are going only add to the stress of driving in traffic.

5. Turn on your local radio and find out relevant traffic information- if any traffic jams have cleared up or changed while you have been driving you can take alternate routes.

6. Put in a CD of upbeat music to keep you positive and energized while driving. If you are sick of all your music, invest in some books on CDs. They provide an incredible distraction from the traffic around you and also provide an opportunity to catch up on the good literature you haven't read because you've been stuck in traffic!

Click the link to read the entire article from ehow.com: http://bit.ly/14iernn

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Famous Cars: Where Are They Now?

Rosa Parks' bus? Kennedy's limousine? Bonnie and Clyde's death mobile? These are some of the most famous American cars, but whatever happened to them? These cars are almost as legendary as the people who drove them - but unlike their owners, the cars still reside in different locations all around the world. Some of them went through very interesting to journeys to get to their current resting spots.

AOL Autos explores the stories behind these legendary vehicles and lists where you can find them today, just in case you'd ever want to go on a journey yourself to see these famous vehicles.

Bonnie and Clyde's Death Car
When Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow it was, by all accounts, love at first sight. The love resulted in three years of haphazard robbery, kidnapping, murder and shootouts across the country. The pair met their end when police sprayed the stolen 1934 Ford Deluxe they were riding in with 130 rounds of bullets on May 23, 1934.

First, the car was towed to the local furniture store and funeral parlor in downtown Arcadia, La. The car was bought and sold by various promoters for use in sideshows at county fairs and circuses. There were many imitators, but the original car had various proofs of authenticity, including Barrow's torn and bloodstained shirt signed by his sister and several letters attesting to its authenticity. Theses items are on display, along with the bullet-riddled Ford, at Whiskey Jack's Casino in Primm, Nev. The casino operator bought the car, bloodstains and all, for $175,000 in 1973.

Elvis's Pink Cadillac
To say Elvis was a fan of the Cadillac is a bit of an understatement. The King gave away countless Cadillacs to family, friends and hangers-on. At his funeral, a 1977 Miller-Meteor Landau Traditional Cadillac hearse transported Elvis' body, with a silver Cadillac limousine leading the procession and 16 white Cadillac limousines behind filled with mourners heading to the Memphis Cemetery.

His favorite Cadillac of all was a pink 1955 Fleetwood 60 Special, which replaced a pink 1954 model after it caught fire due to faulty brake lining. Elvis would own his pink Cadillac for the rest of his life. He originally bought it for his mother, but she never drove it. The pink paint was mixed just for Elvis and is known as 'Elvis Rose'. The Fleetwood has been on display since 1982 at the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum at Graceland.

Rosa Parks' Bus
The bus that helped Rosa Parks launch her role in the Civil Rights movement survives to this day. On December 1, 1955, the 42-year-old Parks boarded the bus after a long day as a seamstress. When the "whites only" seats at the front of the bus filled up, a white man asked her to get up so he could sit. Parks refused, resulting in her arrest under Jim Crow laws. Her arrest helped sparked the famed Montgomery Bus Boycott, the first of many nonviolent protests staged by marginalized black populations in America.

The General Motor's bus rusted in a field for 30 years before The Henry Ford Museum spent $300,000 restoring it. The bus is currently on display at the museum. Visitors are welcome to sit in the bus, which is filled with interactive displays and teaching tools.

 
Kennedy's Limousine: SS-100-X
SS-100-X was the Secret Service name given to President John F. Kennedy's navy blue 1961 Lincoln 74A Convertible. The Lincoln featured $200,000 worth of modifications, but no bulletproofing. There were several domes that fit over the top of the convertible, but it made the cabin extremely hot and was also not bullet proof. It was in this Lincoln that Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the Texas governor and his wife sat in on November 22, 1963, when three shots fired from a book depository ended the President's life.

Surprisingly, the Lincoln was kept in service another eight years after the Kennedy's death. After the assassination, a company called Hess & Eisenhardt added reinforcements and safety measures that were missing when Kennedy rode in the car. The Lincoln was outfitted with titanium armor plating, bullet-resistant glass, and a permanent bulletproof roof. The Lincoln was also painted black by incoming president Lyndon Johnson, who thought the original navy blue paint would be too reminiscent of the assassination. In 1967 the presidential limo was replaced, but the 1961 Lincoln was kept in the fleet, doing less important duties until it retired to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., in 1978. The car is still on display there and is rumored to be haunted.

Click the link to read the full article from AOL Autos and learn what happened to other legendary vehicles: http://aol.it/11G6oQR

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How to Keep Insurance Costs for Your Teen Driver Low

Having a teenager on your insurance policy can inflate your annual cost through the roof! Take a look at the most expensive and inexpensive states, and learn helpful tips that could lower your insurance rates.

It’s known that teens are the most dangerous drivers on the road.  Per mile that’s driven, teens between the ages 16-19 are three times more likely than drivers aged 20 to be involved in a fatal crash, according to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).  Therefore, it is not surprising that adding teens to a car insurance policy would eventually result to an increase in policy cost.

The most surprising is how much the policy increase varies from state to state.

When adding a teen driver to an insurance policy, the annual premium can increase by 84 percent (about $2,000) on average.  But that number can be much lower and higher depending on where you live.

To add a teen driver to an existing policy increased the most in the following five states: Arkansas (116 percent increase), Utah (115 percent), Wyoming (112 percent), Alabama (111 percent), and Idaho (107 percent).

However, the following five states listed showed the smallest percentage increased: Hawaii (18 percent increase), North Carolina (59 percent), New York (62 percent), Massachusetts (65.9 percent), and Montana (66.06 percent).

Hawaii policy structure is a little different.  Their unique law disallows insurance companies to consider age, gender, or length of the driver’s experience, when determining the insurance premium.

Insurance industry experts were surprised by the findings and explained that the reasons for the differences in premium increases were many and nuanced. They stem from many factors, according to Mike Barry, spokesman for the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute, including state geography, local driving patterns, and how insurance is regulated in each respective state.

Parents looking to keep insurance costs down can take a few different actions. These include buying your teen driver an older car, ensuring your teen has a safe car and taking advantage of the numerous discounts offered by the major insurance companies.

Continue reading about policy rates and ways to find insurance discounts: http://aol.it/12zJpoI

 

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Backseat Drivers

What’s worse than annoying driver? Someone telling you how to drive in your own car…aka, a backseat driver. This blog breaks down what the biggest annoyances are that backseat drivers cause.

On the road, other drivers have plenty of bad habits that irritate and distract us, but what about those coming from inside the car? The most annoying is "advice" from other passengers, and according to an Insurance.com study, spouses make the worst backseat drivers. 

The agency polled 500 drivers, and 34% of women said their husbands are the worst backseat drivers, followed by their mothers at 18% and friends at 15%. Men responded similarly: 40% said their wives are the worst passengers, with 17% listing friends and 15% mothers.

Both men and women ranked children fairly low on the list, especially teens. Only 7% of respondents listed adult daughters and 4% sons. Even lower, only 3% cited teen daughters and sons.

According to Insurance.com's study, the biggest annoyances include:

•    Comments on driving speed: 47%

•    Gives directions: 29%

•    Talks too much: 19%

•    Pushes imaginary "brake" with foot: 15%

•    Fiddles with radio or CD player: 10%

•    Talks on phone or texts: 7%

•    Sings: 6%

•    Eats: 3%

Family therapist Jane Greer recommends that passengers think before they speak. "Rather than commenting on how fast or how badly someone is driving, speak to the impact it is having on you. So instead of saying, 'You're going too fast,' say, 'I'm feeling scared and unsafe, this is making me uncomfortable, please slow down,' " she said in a statement. If that doesn't work, you can always try the ejector button.

Article courtesy of: http://bit.ly/14pp1Um

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