>From 1st July 2007 the UK bans smoking in enclosed public places with as many as 600,000 people forecast to quit smoking as a result. This article looks at if charging people to drive will have similar results for the Motor Trade.

In The Beatles classic song Taxman the lyric goes, “We’ll tax your feet”. Whilst the government hasn’t yet decided to do this it seems the introduction of “pay as you drive” schemes may soon be hitting the roads of the UK but what impact (if any) will this have on the UK Motor Trade.

Well there appears to be a few factors that road users might want to consider:

1. If you’re a driver who drives infrequently or at less busy times you could end up paying less. 2. Or you might drive an average number of miles but due to you driving at rush hours (on you way to/from work or school) you will end up paying more money 3. You may want to use public transport more often 4. You and your friends may set up a car pool scheme so you take it in turns to drive 5. If you spend a lot of time on the road travelling to see friends and family maybe you won’t be able to visit them as often as before 6. If you spend time travelling for work maybe you won’t be able to visit customers as much or worse still increased transport costs may mean your less competitive or jobs have to be cut

And what about people in the Motor Trade itself?

If the smoking ban just announced makes people stop smoking then maybe forcing people to pay more to drive will mean people will simply drive less often. Therefore less cars are needed, less people are needed to service and repair them and jobs are lost in the Motor Industry.

Of course these are all what if’s as nobody really knows what impact this decision will have on the transport system, the motor trade or indeed modern life.

If maybe a positive move with a journey to work being halved due to less vehicles on the road. It may mean a change in the opening hours for businesses or schools so not everyone is fighting to get to and from work as the same time as the school run is being done.

It may mean more money is invested in public transport so we have buses, trains, tubes and other forms of transport that are reliable and we’d be happy using.

Or of course it may mean nothing changes apart from the fact that we have less money in our pockets.

If the results of this survey conducted by Northern Counties Insurance Brokers are anything to go by.

People were asked what impact will having to pay per journey have on you?

- 40% said no impact as they couldn’t live without their car

- 13% said they would stop driving altogether

- 6% said they would drive less often

- 21% said they would use public transpoty more often

- 11% said they would car share to cut costs

- 5% said they would walk more often

- 3% said they would still drive as often but at different times

Whatever your thoughts are on the governments new “pay to drive” schemes the chances are it will happen and the impact on the motor trade could be massive

We’ve all been bombarded with ads, emails, commercials, and billboards saying how much we can save on our auto insurance by switching to another company. It’s a competitive industry. Just because another company is offering a better rate doesn’t mean you should rush to call and cancel your insurance and switch. There are a few things you need to make sure of before you do.

Here are a few things to watch out for before you switch your auto insurance to another company.

If you’ve been with one company for many years and they offer a credit that waives the first accident you have, you may want to stay or see if the other company can match it. Sometimes this is referred to as good driver discount or a longevity discount or accident forgiveness. The company rewards you for your loyalty by waiving the first accident you have.

This discount can be pretty significant. Since most accidents can raise your rate by 40% for 3 years the potential savings could be several hundreds of dollars over that 3 year period. But when you switch companies, you lose this credit you’ve built up. If you have an accident with that new company how much are you going to regret not having that accident forgiveness by seeing your rates jacked up by 40%?

Another thing to be mindful of is to make sure the company you are switching to is not offering you just a teaser rate for the first 6 months to get your business and then bump you up 6 months later once they’ve got you on their books. Since auto insurance is a profitable industry, companies may offer you a low ball rate to get you to switch and then once they’ve got you increase your rates at the renewal. If the rate the new company quotes seems too goo to be true do more research. Check out insurance forums or search Google for "XYZ insurance + Reviews."

Watch out for hidden fees. This is one that can surprise you. Some companies charge you for making monthly payments - usually $3-$5 a month. Over the course of a year that comes out to $36-$60. That one fee can take a big bite out of your potential savings so make sure you factor that into the rates you are comparing. Make sure you are really saving money when you switch.

Two other things to keep in mind when shopping around for auto insurance are the new company’s website and hours of operation. Make sure their hours work with your hours. If they are only open from 8-5 and you work 8-5, when are you going to be able to call them if you have a question or need to make a claim? If you do all your business online you want to make sure the company you are looking at has a capable website that can help you 24 hours a day.

You can save money by shopping your auto insurance around. Just be sure to keep in mind the things I’ve mentioned to make sure the deal you’re looking at is really a great deal.

So you just got a stock V6 Mustang and you want to make it faster. Well there are a few things you will or should know before you consider this. As im sure a few older gents on here would back me up on this post so here we go.

1. What are your long term goals for this new car?

2. What is your current budget to spend on this car?

3. Do you want to make it a daily driver? Trailer queen? or road course?

4. What is you basic knowledge of vehicles and electrical systems?

5. Do you have the time?

Alot of people want the fastest car, the best looking car or the loudest car. That is becuase everyone who owns a mustang gets the itch. And im not talking about down there, im talking about the power itch, the speed itch, the ability to take that corner at 55 and come out running. With most major bolt on mods, you can do them yourself with some specialty tools and a good set of hand tools. Some require welding, which most places can do for a flat rate of “X” amount of dollars where “X” is the hourly shop rate.

Now were going to get into the specific mods.

CAI- Cold Air Intake.

There are many different type of CAI available on the market. The fender well CAI places the air filter in the fender well to get cool air as it rushes under the passenger headlight. This is an excellent first mod, because all you need are some hand tools and the instructions.

Plastic vs. Metal

These are the two types of materials CAI come in. Some people like the metal chrome brushed ones because it adds a nice look under the hood. Unfortunately Metal heats up from outside sources(ie., engine bay) and internal friction of the air passing through it. Plastic on the other hand stays cool because it is not a conductor of heat. the engine bay heat or air friction will not cause this intake to heat up.

Mass Air Sensor and Housing

This is the peice that is inside your stock air box, and is, in my opinion, one of the bottle necks on the intakes today. The Mass Air Sensor, or MAS, measures the amount of air comming into the engine and sends that information to the ECU, where the ECU does its thing and tell Mr. Fuel Injector’s how much fuel to dump in accordance to the Air Fuel mixture. Lets say you have a 3″ (76.1mm) CAI and a stock MAS. You’ll be pulling in alot of air fairly quickly @ Wide open Throttle, or WOT. Lets do a in home test, if you have a cylindrical container about 6-12″ long get it. If it is open on both ends, blow threw it, and what happened? The air came out the other side with no problems, right? Now cover up 1/3rd of the other end and try again, little harder? Same concept on your intake. Still need convincing? Have you ever tried to vacuum up something to big for the vacuum? kinda struggled didn’t it? exactly.

Throttle Body

This is one of those black sheep parts where bigger isnt better. 99+ Stock I think has a 65mm Throttle Body, or TB from now on. If your not turbo, supered or No2′ed this mod shouldn’t be in the future until after a Power Adder, or PA.

Headers

Well, once again this is another mod that doesn’t really do anything for your vehicle unless you have significant mods and are going for a PA in the future, otherwise, youll get some hourse of “Fun”

Exhaust

The second mod most people will do if not the first on their mustang. When concidering an exhaust you have to take into account that a V6 will never sound like a V8, its impossible unless you buy 2 more cylinders. The stock V6 exhaust comes out of each exhaust manifold and “Y”’s into on right after the catalytic converters. When buying a kit, you can either look for one that is complete, meaning comes with the Y adapter and passenger side hangers for the muffler and tailpipe. Or you can piece together one for a few bucks cheaper and hope it all fits. My advice, dont go cheap, becuase you get what you pay for. Which brings me to backpressure. When your choosing your exhaust make sure you dont go over 2.5″ or else youll lose backpressure. without backpressure the V6 will hate you and will not run right at all. You can go bigger then 2.5″ if your Turboed or Supercharged, other then that I wouldnt recommend it.

Exhaust Tips

We can get this one from our axis the ricers. Exhaust tips dont add HP they add noise, it is more of a placebo effect when you add 3.5″ tips on your 2.5″ exhaust, you think it is faster becuase the box says “adds upto 5 RWHP!!!” well it doesnt. But when you get in your car sounds louder then it did before, so you think its faster.

Under Drive Pulleys

There are a few out there some are cheap and some are expensive. What to look for when buying a set is the hardware they come with, instructions and a package deal. RPM-Outlet has 42% MotoBlue Underdrive Pulleys, or UDP from now on, for around $208 shipped. If you have a big stereo in your car, I would say 2000-5000Watts, you really want to be carefull of the UDP’s. They will slow your accessories a certain %, and could affect your cooling, charging and Air Condition. They wont affect every car, but there is a possibility. Steeda and ARP have some 25% UDP which are a little more expensive and, well your paying for the name mostly. Installation is about a 1-2 hour job depending on your mechanical level. Hint: A pulley Puller helps installation.

This tonneau cover was designed and built to fit your specific make, model and year pickup truck. Made in the USA by a man “with a working mans PHD”

Truck Covers USA boasts this retractable tonneau cover to have the smallest canister on the market sizing in at 8”x 8”.They say that this truck bed cover has double- walled panels and can support over 500 pounds. That’s a whopping quarter ton plus.

The American roll is tension driven and has stop and lock points at every 12 inches which comes in handy when carrying different loads. It has a textured black powder coat finish which is very tough and durable.

Dirt is kept out of the side rails and canister with the aid of high quality automotive grade wool and brushes. This is where some retractable tonneau covers have a problem.

This is a clamp on tonneau cover with a minimum drilling of holes for the drain tubes of the canister as is for other retractable tonneau covers. They say it can be installed within 2 hours. From what I read it can be any where from a half hour to three and a half hours. Truck covers USA designed and manufactured the clamps themselves especially for this cover. This cover is backed by a 2 year warranty which is a real plus for a retractable tonneau cover. I must say, this is a nice looking tonneau cover.

People who have installed this cover said they have done it quite easily. It only takes a few common tools. You may need some help lifting the canister into place but after that the rest should be a breeze. If you have a bed liner you will probably have to make some cuts in the liner where the clamps need to go and again at the tailgate where the lock of the tonneau cover ends up. No big problem though. If you open and close the cover a lot you may find having to unlock the cover a bit of a pain. This cover locks automatically. It’s great for a fifth wheel. A quite of few people have commented on how strong the cover is.

As is with other retractable tonneau covers you may get slight leakage with a lot of water. I must say that this has to be my favorite manual retractable tonneau cover. Lets just go over some of the good points. It will save you gas - it will deter thieves by keeping things out of sight out of mind not to mention the added locking system which is one of the better locks on tonneau covers today – the American roll will allow you to use your truck bed for tall loads without removing the cover – Easy installation – the cover will stop every twelve inches to accommodate your load - It comes with a 2 year warranty.

Now some of the negative points. May have slight leakage in heavy rain – You need to unlock the cover every time you use it – If you have a bed liner you may have to cut small sections of it for the clamps.

Now you decide if the American Roll tonneau cover is the cover you want for your truck bed and to protect your belongings.