Information about Cheap Cars, Car Parts, Car Loans and Others

Rising economic gloom in every industry has made a great impact on the consumers pocket. Talking about auto industry – ‘buying of a new car’ today has become a dream that would take some time before it comes true. In such a deploring situation, it is better to keep your old car function smoothly. And its true that if you take proper care of your old car, it will deliver more than the desired output. Few important car care tips that would surely take your car in the long run. Just note down these maintenance tips for old car.

Car Maintenance

Most Important – Avoid Rash Driving – Love your vehicle as you love the sophisticated & antique showpieces of your living area. If you drive carefully, you have fair chance of saving your car from any kind of breakdowns.

Go for Routine Maintenance – Its better to spend few dollars every fortnight than to waste thousands of dollars on complete car repair. A closer look at automotive parts and keeping eyes & ears open will help you identify any upcoming problems.

Interior As Well As Exterior Maintenance – One always thinks that it is important to maintain the exterior of vehicle and do not pay attention to the interiors. But friends, you must realize that both the interior and exterior of any vehicle needs equal attention. Ensure that you take care of your car’s interior accessories so that every time you drive, you have a fresh & new feeling.

Brakes As Well As Engine Maintenance – This is one the best way to keep your car functioning properly. Take proper care of your automotive braking system and car’s engine to ensure that your old car doesn’t brake down.

Proper Checks of Automotive Fluids – Keeping a check on the engine fluids or steering fluids always helps. Get the fluids checked after regular interval.

Windshield & Window Glass Maintenance – Obviously, this tip comes under exterior maintenance. But, I guess, it needs special mention. Most of us neglect the windshield or just wipe it off once. Such a cleaning does not even clean the dust & dirt, infact leaves stains.

These were just a few reminders to let your old car function smoothly. Trust me, if you maintain your car, it won’t be necessary to buy a new vehicle when in the midst of economic crisis. Save some money now and you will definitely do so by not spending money on buying a vehicle.

Read 101 Car Maintenance Tips that are easy as well as wont cost you much.

For the legendary Lamborghini sports car stable of fantastic ultra high performance and styled vehicles it all started with ordinary Fiat automobiles and tractors.

Mr. Lamborghini – fully named – Mr. Ferruccio Lamborghini got his start with Fiats and then went on to a large successful manufacturing concern that grew from a small manufacturing shop into a major producer of tractors. However at a certain point in every person’s life they search out to complete what their real passion is. In the case of Lamborghini was finely styled and crafted motor cars. At 60 years of age, an established manufacturer of agricultural tractors – Mr. Lamborghini – decided that he could a better job of building a high end, beautifully styled, performance racing automobiles than either of the two dominant Italian auto firms of that auto industry sector – Ferrari and Maserati.

The first product out of the door had a chassis that was multi-tubular; the engine was front mounted sporting a 3.5 liter 12 cylinder V-12 engine. The V-12 engine itself was fitted with six Weber carburetors and ran four overhead camshafts. It all clocked at 360 ultra smooth horsepower with the transmission drive being through five speed stick shift. Suspension involved a coil and wishbone independent suspension set up. In one word it was wow – both in terms of performance of the hop as well as the automotive styling.

Although the styling of those early Lamborghini models may be considered standard Italian sports car design – designs which have worked their way into the so called standard “sport scar designs “and “sport scar flair”, at the time it was new and innovative and for the most part if was twenty five years ahead of anything produced in the good old U.S.A. . The one American sports car which might be considered an exception to that point was the Chevrolet Corvette. For years to come nothing else really matched or was similar to the clean aerodynamic lines and styling of the early Lamborghini classic autos.

Even then Lamborghini had such innovative products the establishment and reputation of the Lamborghini product line was no easy road to hoe. Although the first cars were produced in 1963 it was not for two years later – at the Turin Motor Show that the car began to attract solid interest and for the reputation of the car and its studio to grow and begin to become accepted for what it should be.

The first real product of record for Lamborghini was what was marketed as Miura T 400 model automobile. Its first year of manufacture was the 1966 model year. The basic layout and design of the Miura T 400 was a mid-engined coupe with a slightly larger version of the overhead cam engine – the classic V-12 laid out transversely behind the two seats of the car. The rear wheels were then driven by this engine through” spurs gears”. Interestingly the gear boxes and rear axles were Lamborghini products all by themselves -so they shared a lineage that was unique and not the same as any other of the competitor’s models.

What was performance of this little cat? The V-12 engine could pour out a total of 385 barrel horsepower. Top speed of this little coupe was over 180 miles per hour. It could more than carry its weight with the local Italian contenders – even the famed Ferraris.

If the was one complaint from drivers or riders it was of noise levels in the car’s cockpit. It can be said that this was the price to be paid for success or in this case speed and performance. If you cannot stand the heat don’t stay in the kitchen. Certainly the buyers of Lamborghini fine motor cars who bought the product and established the revered name for its performance and advanced styling and forgo this small shortcoming or foible as the car as an assumed fact – even a luxury.

The next model in the Lamborghini stable was introduced approximately two years later. The entire life of the production run of the popular Miura model was nine years – with two cars being produced a week ( a production figure of only 100 or so cars a year). The name of this vehicle was the Espada. For the new Lamborghini model, the Espada, Lamborghini went back to a more standard front engine layout. Perhaps this was in response to concerns over noise levels in the cockpit of the Miura and the need to produce a more “standard” or “civilized “vehicle product. No one really knows what went on in the mind of the genius Ferruccio Lamborghini. However what was retained for sure were the Lamborghini basics – the four liter V-12 massive highly tuned engine with whizzy overhead cams and multiple choke carburetors all putting out massive automotive performance and handling.

In the end it can be said that the Lamborghini automotive and automotive styling and performance legends are more than unique and reek of power, thrust and acceleration.

BMW – a reputation built on quality without compromise

 As an experienced driver, you know the importance of keeping your BMW in tip-top condition. Regular servicing will extend your car’s life and identify defects before they become catastrophic.

When you consider the history of BMW and how the Company has built its global reputation for prestige and performance excellence, booking a BMW service that is conducted with care and precision is vitally important in retaining the characteristics of this prestige car.

BMW facts you may not know

BMW has its roots in pre-First World War German aviation.

Gustav Otto, son of the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, set up an aircraft factory and training school in 1910. However, after persistent quality problems with production, his business was bought by a consortium in 1916. The company became known as Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW) and began manufacturing aircraft under licence from Albatros Werke. It soon became the largest aircraft manufacturer in Bavaria, but at the end of the First World War demand collapsed.

Meanwhile, in 1913 an engine designer Karl Rapp had set up an aircraft engine manufacturing company, but vibration problems with their own engines meant that they switched production to Austro-Daimler V12 engines, under licence. A man called Franz Josef Popp was put in to supervise the manufacturing. He managed to persuade Karl Rapp to employ a talented design engineer from Daimler, Max Friz. Friz quickly designed a new engine and made such an impact with the investors, that Karl Rapp was ousted from the business in 1917. At this point the company name was changed from Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH to Bayerische Motorenwerke BmbH (BMW).

However, in December 1918, BMW was forced to close down by the government at the end of the First World War. However, in less than three months BMW was allowed to reopen and began designing a new array of engines, although the company was forced to cease aircraft engine production. At this point, an Austrian financier, Camillo Castiglioni, had become the majority shareholder in BMW.

In the summer of 1919, BMW began building brake assemblies under licence from Knorr-Bremse AG, and around a year later Castiglioni sold his shares in BMW to Knorr-Bremse.

Following the sale of his stake in BMW, Castiglioni became interested in purchasing BFW which he completed in 1922. On the back of this, he moved to purchase back the BMW name and engine building division from Knorr-Bremse. He was successful, and with the merger of BFW and BMW, under the BMW name, he also secured the design and management skills of Max Friz and Franz Josef Popp, plus valuable engine drawings and patents.

BMW began production of replacement engines, whilst Castiglioni did a lucrative deal with the Czechs to licence the production of BMW aircraft engines for use by their military.

During the 1920s, BMW supplied Russia with aircraft engines and Castiglioni, as well as being the majority shareholder, siphoned off a brokerage fee on every transaction to his ‘private’ companies.

Along with military engines, BMW began to successfully manufacture small agricultural engines and motorcycles, starting with the R 32 in 1923. These formed the basis of the project to design a BMW production car in 1925. Then in 1928 the company expanded into full car production with the purchase of the Eisenach Car Factory that made the Dixi (or Austin Seven manufactured under license). The car became known as the BMW 3/15 and it was not long before BMW was producing its own designs.

However, Castiglioni’s business dealings got himself and BMW into trouble. After selling a majority shareholding to Deutsche Bank in 1926, to raise personal funds, his irregular commission payments were duly revealed. He settled out of court with a large payment back to BMW and stepped down from the board. In 1929, he sold the remainder of his shared to Deutsche Bank to prop up his finances.

The Castiglioni affair had also cost BMW. The Russian government became aware of the ‘commission’ payments and demanded compensation. BMW handed over a licence to produce the BMW VI engine for free and relations with the Russians came to an end in the early 1930s.

After successful expansion of the motorcycle and car businesses in the 1930s, BMW was forced to abandon civilian production by the National Socialist Party during the Second World War and focus on the production of aircraft engines. This included the use of forced labour.

Towards the end of the war, BMW was hit hard by allied bombing and when the war ended, the sites in eastern Germany were seized by the Russians. Meanwhile, whilst BMW survived in the West, they were banned from manufacturing engines for three years and BMW car plans and their chief designer Fritz Fiedler were taken to England to begin Bristol Cars. And so it was not until 1948 that production of BMW motorcycles recommenced and not until 1952 that car production was started again.

The initial post-war car models, such as the 507 and 503, were not highly profitable and in 1959, BMW discussed selling the business to Daimler-Benz. This was an unpopular move with the workforce, and fortunately Chairman Kurt Golda increased his stake in the company to secure BMW’s independence.

During the 1960s the release of more sporty models spelt success for BMW. The BMW 1500 (that followed the BMW 700) led to the BMW 1600 and BMW 1800 models and in 1967 two door and convertible models that became known as the BMW 02 series. These developments eventually led to the creation of the famous BMW 3 series.

The company expanded, with new production facilities and a new headquarters in Munich.

Going into the 1970s, the BMW 5 series replaced the sedans, the coupes were replaced with the BMW 3 series and a new BMW 7 series was launched, thereby giving BMW three distinct sports sedan ranges that continued into the 1990s.

BMW became a global brand in prestige car manufacturing and sales increased 18 times. Production expanded from Germany and has spread to across continents, including facilities in the UK, America, South Africa and India. The company has also formed partnerships over time with Russian and Chinese producers.

In the mid 1990s, BMW bought Rover from British Aerospace. However, the company struggled to find a role for the English brands and make a profit. In 2000 it disposed of Rover to Phoenix Venture Holdings and sold the Land Rover brand to Ford. However, BMW retained the Mini, Triumph and other brands. BMW has since successfully rekindled the Mini brand and also gone on to secure full use of the Rolls Royce brand (in 2003).

From its humble origins as pre-First World War makers of aircraft and aircraft engines, BMW has survived as a result of post-war entrepreneurial spirit and grown rapidly to become a major global player in the prestige car market.

Book your BMW service with confidence

So when you book your next BMW service, you can be confident that Service A Car understands the heritage of BMW and conducts BMW servicing with the passion and precision your prestige car deserves.

Happy motoring,

Howard.

Chairman Service A Car