Links to former articles Not all Electric Cars are Dogs Do You Really Need Brakes Already? coming soon

SNOW DRIVING TIPS Practice makes perfect: you don’t want to find out how your car reacts in snow when you are sliding towards the truck in front of you. Find an empty parking lot when it’s snowy and practice. Sneak up on the limits, see how your car turns and stops. Get it sliding and practice regaining control. Watch out for those light poles – they have a way of ‘jumping’ out in front of you when you least expect it. Keep in mind that there are many different driving conditions in a typical Colorado winter. The slushy wet stuff feels very different than crunchy dry snow than does black ice. Avoid any sudden moves: smoothness is your friend, it makes the race car driver win the race and makes you safe on the road. Brake and accelerate gently and begin the deceleration process long before you get to a turn. If you don’t have daytime running lights, turn on your lights when the visibility is low, even if you see well enough, make sure you are seen by other drivers. Traction Control is not AWD or 4WD. Many owners manuals will actually advise you to turn off your traction control, if you are on gravel or snow or ice. It is designed to work with the ONE tire that looses traction when you hit a pot hole for example, but not for low traction situations on all four wheels. Many of the new technologies we have on cars today tend to lure drivers into a false sense of security. They is no substitute for learning how to drive in snowy or icy conditions. Look as far ahead as you can. Watch out for shady spots, they are more likely to be icy, so are bridges and overpasses. If you need traction, go for the snow, it is usually grippier than ice. When you are going down a slippery hill, select a lower gear - you can do that with an automatic transmission as well. In "Drive" your car may shift into a faster gear and roll faster, just when you don't need the car to speed up, and then you have to brake and fight the car in order to slow down. When it is extremely icy, or you suddenly encounter ice, Neutral is usually the best choice. 4WD is not 4Wstop!!!! 4WD/AWD gives you extra traction going up an icy hill or starting to move from a stop, but you don't STOP/brake any faster with a 4WD vehicle, than in a 2WD car. A 4WD or AWD car will get you out of the ditch faster, but you slide into the ditch just as fast in 4WD/AWD as you do with a 2WD car. NOT ALL ELECTRIC CARS ARE DOGS Perhaps it’s a sign of the times but almost every major automaker has unveiled some kind of electrified vehicle, with everything from battery-powered supercars to hybrid urban runabouts making their debut in either production or concept form. Until the recent past, pure electric vehicles and hybrids have mostly been the domain of the eco movement but thanks to the efforts of companies like Tesla, which have shown that electric powertrains can be applied quite successfully in sports car platforms, mainstream automakers and consumers alike are starting to catch on to the notion that electric vehicles can be both green and fun. In early 2011 French automaker Citroen unveiled its new Survolt electric sports car concept. The Survolt is making an appearance at the “Smart Efficiency“ themed Hanover Messe in Germany this week. With its 100 percent battery-powered drivetrain--a rarity in the world of racing--the Survolt charged around the legendary Le Mans Circuit at a special rally event, followed closely by the previous GTbyCITROEN concept and a parade of DS3 hatchbacks. The Survolt concept’s two electric motors provide up to 300 horsepower, a top speed of 162 mph and a 0-62 mph time of less than five seconds. The twin 300 pound lithium-ion batteries can cover 124 miles and can be re-charged in just two hours with a specific power supply, or in 10 hours on the standard 220 Volt network. Sadly, there are no production plans for the Survolt. V. Vijayenthiran DO YOU REALLY NEED BRAKES ALREADY? Getting Value for your money First things first: Do you really need new brakes? Sales people at brake places and the service advisor at your mechanic’s (who are paid commission) frequently sell people brake jobs long before they actually need them. There are 2 main components: pads and rotors (drums in some cases). The pads press against the rotors when you depress the brake pedal, and you will replace pads several times before you need rotors. Rotors can also often be re-surfaced or machined before you need to replace them. There are two way to determine whether the pads need replacing. First, visually: if it's less than 1/8 inch, you're getting close to damaging the rotor, so it’s time. This varies slightly from car to car, but is a good general guideline. Second, by ear: most brake pads come with a "brake warning sensor" that will emit a squealing noise when the pads are worn to a point where they should be changed. This noise will usually be heard when your foot is off the brake and disappear when you step on the brake. It's not uncomon that even when the squeakers come on many cars still have a few thousand miles left. How to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples when comparing prices: I price shopped this week for rear pads for an 07 Infinity G35x and got quotes from $150 to $250 for the same thing, or was it for the “same thing”? There are many different materials as well as quality differences, affecting both longevity of pads as well as their effectiveness and the prices vary greatly, so when you compare prices, get very specific, not just if it is e.g. a ceramic pad but which one it is. Types of pads are: Organic: decent grab in standard driving conditions. Ceramic: excellent grab in standard driving conditions. Semi-metallic and metallic brakes are for performance conditions that tolerate high temperatures, but do need some warm up time for optimum response.

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