Archive for February, 2010

Car Tire Information You Should Know



Your car tire is one of the things that can provide you with a great riding experience. Even the most expensive and stylish cars are nothing without a good set of tires. If you want to personally shop for your tires, here are some important pieces of information that you should never neglect.

Size Matters

Different tires don’t just have different brands. They also come in different sizes. Your car tires should always fit the type of vehicle you are driving. Examples of various types of tires for vehicles are passenger and light truck type tires. If you get a smaller size than is appropriate, you could endanger yourself or end up paying more for tire maintenance.

You would know your tire size by looking for it in your car manual or on the sidewall of your tires. The sidewall print also contains other pieces of important tire information. If you are not sure how to interpret the sidewall letters and numbers, you may want to consult a tire and car website for proper interpretation. Some sites will simply let you enter information on your car’s model and make so you can get your tire size information.

Rims Should Match

Aside from the size, you should also have the appropriate rims for your tires. The rims give your tires the right support. Getting the wrong rim for your car tire may result in too much tension on your tires. This could damage your tires sooner than they should be. If you want to customize your wheels, make sure you consult experts who know which tires fit with which rims.

Many Different Tires

There are various options for car tires. You can have tires for the winter and summer. Tires are also categorized according to type of vehicle. Passenger tires have different dimensions from those used in vans and SUVs.

One other category of tires is according to use. Each driver may have very specific driving styles. Some may also drive more often in rough terrain than others or may need their vehicles for frequent transport of heavy load. There are specific tires depending on your intended use and the way you use your tires.

Tires Don’t Last Forever

Regardless of the tire brand and how carefully you take care of your tires, they will not last for a lifetime. Part of keeping yourself safe on the road is to know exactly when your tires should be changed. You can follow manual suggestions for when tires should be changed. You should however also manually check your tires. Look for leaks, tears, wear and bumps on the rubber of your tires.

You Shouldn’t Guess

If you aren’t sure about anything about your tires, then you shouldn’t make guesses. You could put your life in danger. If you need any help with tire information or tire changes, you should ask a qualified tire dealer.

Never underestimate the value of getting the right car tire. Save on money and effort by asking experts to help you get your tires.

Jobs Available with an Automotive School Degree



Many who are interested in getting an education from an automotive school are unsure about the job security an automotive career can offer. There are a wide variety of jobs available to graduates of automotive school programs. Because car ownership and usage has only expanded in the past few decades, and continues to increase dramatically by the year, anyone with an automotive background is virtually assured a job.

Oil and lube technicians

Cars require a lot of regular maintenance, such as oil changes, a service that each car owner will need done every three months or less. As a result, there are many oil and lube shops that provide these services. The tight time schedule many of these shops adhere to ensures plenty of jobs for technicians who have the knowledge and experience to perform these tasks quickly and easily. Any graduate of an automotive school will be able to easily defeat the competition for these positions.

Automotive technicians

Automotive technicians are often hired by shops that provide more services than oil changes, air filter replacements, and other simple maintenance. Automotive technicians may be hired to mount and dismount tires, balance wheels, change brake pads, and perform tune ups, in addition to changing the fluids and filters in cars.

Mechanics

Mechanics tend to have more responsibilities than technicians, therefore requiring more education and experience. Mechanics may do all of the jobs often assigned to automotive technicians, but they also perform more complex repairs. Important components, such as shocks and struts, drive shafts, alternators, starters, etc. are usually replaced by mechanics. Additionally, more complex or critical maintenance tasks, such as readjusting the valve clearance in an engine, replacing the timing belt, and performing other engine work, are done by mechanics. Any good automotive school will provide the education and hands-on training necessary to perform maintenance of this caliber.

Master mechanics

The title of master mechanic is one any automotive school graduate would be proud to hold. Many schools include more advanced degree programs, providing the education and hands-on training necessary to be a master mechanic. Master mechanics can find jobs at almost any high quality automotive shop, garage, or dealership maintenance department. Naturally, the pay for a master mechanic position is considerably higher than that of an automotive technician or mechanic.

Auto body and paint specialists

Most have noticed the increased number of accidents you see on the road today. Someone has to repair all of that damage. Auto body and paint specialists are therefore in quite high demand. Auto body technicians are responsible for replacing exterior body parts and repairing the damage caused in accidents. Paint technicians paint the car once the damage has been repaired and the necessary parts replaced.

Parts sales people

There are, of course, the brave car owners who attempt to keep up on their cars’ maintenance and repairs on their own. Therefore, there are also many parts stores and dealership parts departments to keep up with this demand. Graduates of automotive school programs make great additions to parts sales teams, because they have the ability to do more than just look up a part number and grab the part off the shelf: they can discuss problems with the customers, try to help diagnose, and tackle the problems that occur when parts catalogues are wrong and computers fail. Most part sales departments like to have at least one very knowledgeable person on their team.

Automotive sales people

Just as with parts sales, there isn’t a better person to sell a car than someone who knows a lot about them. If you have an education from a good automotive school and you have a knack for selling just about anything, you will always be guaranteed a job at any car dealership. Dealerships love to have knowledgeable, smooth-talking salespeople on their team. A person to represent the dealership’s interests and also knows cars inside and out.

Automotive manufacturing

There are more and more cars on the road every year. Although there are many unskilled positions in automotive manufacturing, there are also many openings for people who know a lot about cars. An automotive degree will give you the knowledge and experience necessary to quickly climb the ladders in automotive manufacturing.

Automotive design and engineering

Cars change more than their looks each year. Technology is constantly making them better, faster, and more reliable. One of the most prestigious jobs in the automotive world is to be one of the concept designers or engineers who make those new cars possible. Designers and engineers must have a solid understanding of automotive theory, as well as engineering practices. This advanced education begins at a good automotive school.

These are only a few of the many jobs available to automotive school graduates. The automotive industry is a demanding field that includes many different positions, from the creation and sales of brand new cars, to the upkeep and repair of cars that are currently in use. An automotive degree will ensure that you always have a place in this exciting and constantly expanding industry.

Toyota Tundra Joining the List of America’s Most Popular US Made Vehicles



An automotive sales index online has identified the Toyota Tundra as one of the best-selling vehicles built in America and its partly attributed to the new Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas Inc. plant in San Antonio.

And for the first time, the Tundra which was built at the facilities in Princeton, Ind., and San Antonio with parts made like the Toyota control arm bushing kits primarily in American factories has finally made it into Cars.com’s American Made Index.

Every year the American Made Index identifies the top 10 models of vehicles that are in essence American and that pertains to where parts are produced and also with regards to the vehicles popularity among cars.com buyers.

So far the top produced “American” vehicle according to the index is the Ford F-150 which is primarily assembled in Claycomo, Mo., and Dearborn, Mich. The Toyota Camry on the other hand which is assembled in Georgetown, Ky., and Lafayette, Ind., ranked second only.

The Fort Wayne Ind., and Pontiac, Mich.-built Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ranked third while the Lordstown, Ohio-built Chevrolet Cobalt ranked fourth and the Wayne, Mich.-built Ford Focus ranked fifth.

Toyota’s Tundra came in at 10th place on the list. The Chicago-based cars.com works with more than 200 newspapers, television stations and their Web sites to buy and sell new and used vehicles.

Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC which is a company owned by media conglomerates Belo Corp., Gannett Co. Inc., The McClatchy Co., Tribune Co., and The Washington Post Co.

About Toyota

Toyota is a Japanese multinational corporation and the world’s largest automaker by sales revenue as of 2007 toppling General Motors in the position. Together with its half-owned subsidiary Daihatsu, the company was the second largest auto company by revenue of $179 billion and total vehicle production, making it as one of the most profitable automaker with net income of around $11 billion. Toyota was also the world’s eight largest company by revenue last 2006.

Toyota owns and operates Toyota, Lexus, Scion, and parts of Daihatsu brands, divisions, and companies. The company includes 522 subsidiaries.

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