Before transporting your vehicle make sure that you prepare your vehicle for transport. Make sure you disable your alarm, protruding accessories and/or low hanging spoilers etc. If there is any fault in engine transmission, drive trains, wiring systems, window motors, air bag, brake systems, power steering or clutch cable, transporter is not responsible. The transporter will inform the customer by phone prior to delivery. When the customer comes to know about the delivery date he should keep the full payment ready.

If there is any damage in engine, batteries, cooling system, transporter is not held responsible. The pickup and delivery dates provided by the transporter to the customer are only estimates. The transporter is in no way responsible for delays caused due to rain, snow, traffic etc. Customer should not keep any convertible tops that are loose, torn or have visible wear, vehicle boots, caps, masks, bras or any other type of canvas or material covering in the car. Before handing over your car to the transporter do note down all the damages of the car in bill of lading form and sign the form. Again follow the same procedure, note down all the damages if any at the time of delivery.

If any damages have occurred during transit you can claim from the insurance company. All claims must be made in writing within 15 days of delivery with a statement of specific damages claimed.
When a customer makes payment to the transporter it should in the form of cash or cashier's check. If customer cannot make payment at the time of delivery, he has to bear all the storage expenses of the car. If customer cannot accept delivery for any reason, his vehicle will be stored. Any and all storage and/or delivery or re-delivery charges will be the responsibility of the customer. Prices are subject to change due to individual state fuel charges.

It is the responsibility of the transporter to provide insurance for the vehicle. All claims will be settled at actual cost. If the customer wants to cancel the order it has to be in writing. On receiving the order for cancellation, auto Transport Company in no way will be obligated to arrange transport for the vehicle. However, in the event that the vehicle(s) were assigned before cancellation of the order you will incur a $200 charge because you failed to properly cancel the order. Customer should pay all the storage fees, terminal fees, additional trucking fees, if any, would be due and payable to the transport company either in cash or cashier's check before release of vehicle(s) to customer or customer representatives.

Author: shijina

About the author:
Shijina is an expert author for auto transport and vehicle transport. She written many articles like car shipping, car transport and auto shipping. For more information visit our site www.aaat.com Contact me at shijinaseo@gmail.com

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

We associate the name of Mercedes with wealth or car quality. What many of us don't know is that the car itself dates back to over a hundred years.

To tell the story of Mercedes brand cars, you first must know the characters involved with the company. Those characters are Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz. Both men were born only 60 miles apart in southern Germany. Daimler was born March 17, 1834. A decade later, on November 25, Carl Benz was born. Although they grew up with little in common, machines from an early age fascinated both boys. Because their approach to building cars was quite different, it is doubtful, though, that they met or even knew what the other was doing.

In 1886, Carl Benz built a motorized tricycle. His first four-wheeler, the Victoria, was built in 1893. The first production car was the 1894 Benz Velo, which participated in the first recorded car race, the Paris-Rouen race. In 1895, Benz built his first truck.

In 1886, Gottlieb Daimler literally built a horseless carriage. Although we think of the car as being German, its history dates far back into America as well. In 1888 Daimler made a business deal with William Steinway (of piano fame) to produce Daimler's products in the US. From 1904 until a fire in 1907, Steinway produced Mercedes passenger cars, Daimler's light trucks, and his engines on Long Island.

Ironically, history says Daimler, generally considered to be the father of modern automobiles, never liked to drive. On March 6, 1990, Daimler died, leaving control of his company to his chief engineer Wilhelm Mayback. By November 22 of that year, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschat had produced a special car for Emil Jellinek. Jellinek named the car after his ten-year-old daughter Mercedes. This car was lighter and smaller than the standard car of its day and because of this was able to reach a top speed of 55 miles per hour.

Up until 1908, Daimler had overshadowed Benz in racing endeavors. At the 1908 French Grand Prix, Benz took second and third place behind Lautenschlager driving a Mercedes.

At the beginning of the First World War, both factories were converted into production sites for war materials, although both resumed producing cars after the war. Social unrest and a falling economy characterized post-war Germany. Little or no fuel for cars and a 15% luxury tax made automobile production increasingly disastrous.

The German economy continued to worse and a new Benz automobile eventually cost 25 million marks. Although nearly 15 million cars were registered in the world in 1923, over 80% of them were registered in the US and over 1/2 were Fords. The Mercedes was too expensive.

In 1924, from sheer economic necessity, Benz and DMG signed an 'Agreement of Mutual Interest.' Although both companies retained their identities, the agreement was valid until the year 2000. The two companies merged with relative ease on June 28, 1926.

A new insignia was needed to represent the merger. The design was a three-pointed star wreathed with laurel. The word 'Mercedes' was at the top and the word 'Benz' was at the bottom. The merger did the new company well. Production of Mercedes-Benz rose to 7,918 Mercedes-Benz automobiles in 1927. The Mercedes-Benz diesel truck was put into production in 1927, also.

The first two automobiles to sport the Mercedes-Benz name were the Stuttgart and the Mannheim. Then in 1928 the Mercedes SS was introduced by Mercedes-Benz. This graceful body was made possible by a hood line that barely cleared the engine.

Mercedes-Benz launched their biggest and most prestigious car to date in 1930. The 770 Grosser was powered by an 8 cylinder, 7.6 liter engine. A car for the truly wealthy of the world, it was quite an automobile for showing off in a world economy still reeling from the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

The cars of the 1930s produced great racing success for Mercedes-Benz. The silver metal bodywork gave rise to the name Silver Arrows when the W25 racer (of Rudolph Caracciola fame) had the white paint removed to lower its weight.

W125 (200 mph top speed) won seven out of thirteen races in 1937 followed by the successful W154. In 1939 Mercedes-Benz built a small V8 races specifically to win the Tripoli GP. It did win!

The Mercedes-Benz 170V gave Mercedes the capability of surviving and then recovering from WW II.

Today the Mercedes of course is still being built and is still revered as a car of quality.

Author: Greg Chapman

About the author:
Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV's. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit www.gregchapmanmotors.com.


Article source: Free Cars Articles.

Everyone wants to possess their dream cars. Those who can live their dream of riding and steering their dream car want to make the vehicle outstanding. The whole experience of looking at your car should be wonderful and people must stop and appreciate the car. If you desire to have your look different and better than everyone else's then the only option you have is to go for car graphics.

No one wants to be considered average with their dream cars. You have to prove to the world that your car not only works marvelously but looks equally stunning, you must get yourself some car graphics that are available aplenty in the market. But it is important o get your vehicle the graphics that suit them the best. There are different types of cars that people buy. Some are strong and masculine, some stylish and sleek, some small and warm and other colorful and sporty. You cannot go for the same type of graphics for all cars. It is vital to make the correct decision when you are trying to get your car some wonderful graphics and stickers. Remember that choosing the wrong graphics for your car can ruin it own charm forever.

Previously car graphics were used extensively by businessmen who wanted to make their vehicles a part of their advertising process. They would stick the names, addresses, telephone umbers, the logo and other details of the company. This way they strengthened their branding process. But most of the time these graphics were not very pleasing to look at and only used for utility purposes. However, ordinary car owners too stared using the graphic stickers to adorn their cars and trucks. They normally selected designer graphics that goes well with the mood of the vehicle.

But most of the time you will find graphics which are pre created for brands of cars. You might not get the graphics and stickers that define you and your vehicle well. Search online for customized car graphic options and you will be surprised to see the variety on offer. With their help you can get the designed stuff within a week. You can start the process by simply sharing your ideas with their designers. They would soon come up with concepts that are sure to please you. After you final their options they will deign the final products and get you car designed with the graphics as quickly as possible. The power to decorate and personalize their cars is in your hands now.

You are free to dream up any image and concept you like and there will be designers who will make sure that your ideas are transformed into realty the way you want them to be. The standard car stickers last for long time depending on the condition of the car and the levels of caring that go into the car. They are stylish, classy, flashy, bright, attention-grabbing and innovative.

Author: Mikus

About the author:
Mike is author of this article on Car Graphics.
Find more information about Truck Graphics here.

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

As fair weather spreads across of the continental US, construction professionals and boating enthusiasts both inspect their machinery for the season ahead. What to pleasure boats and earth movers have in common? According to professionals at AV Products, Inc. they have one issue in common with several other classes of vehicles, including cars, trucks and RVs: vibration. Vibration isolation mounts are an integral part of these machines. Large boats need marine engine mounts to keep in working order, and construction machinery needs engine vibration mounts to function safely.

How do they work? Anti-vibration mount technology is based on the principle of planned isolation: using systems to prevent a mechanical system's vibrations from spreading to the surrounding structures. Without planned isolation, the powerful engines used in forklifts, larger boats and industrial machinery would be impossible. Built up vibrations would eventually damage the surrounding structures and tear the engine apart. A static mount such as a metal frame is ineffective because it will either transmit the vibrations into other structures anyway, or bounce them back to the machine, tearing it apart.

That's why machines need mounts that will not only suspend the engine away from other structures, but provide a way to dissipate vibrations. The engine 'floats' on its mounts, which absorb vibrations without significantly transmitting them to the rest of the structure. Vibration isolators do this by providing an opposed force; the net result of the two reduces the final vibration to a negligible level. The secret lies in using the exact materials, size and shape required so that when the mount is subjected to force from the engine, it contains and deflects it. Think of dropping a rubber ball. It bounces back because of the opposed force generated by its impact. If you were to tie the ball to your palm instead and slap the ground with the same force, you wouldn't feel the ground, but you would feel the ball pushing back, deflecting the force of the impact.

Rubber anti-vibration mounts are far more sophisticated than this, however, because they are calibrated for the specific amplitude or intensity of the attached machine. The physics of vibration are well understood, so vibration isolators can be built for specific engines and other machines with a high degree of precision. Vibration isolation mounts are made of materials that match the necessary specifications. For example, rubber is a common material because of its elastic strength, but a mount will actually be made of a type of rubber designed to meet a specific vibration capacity. If the rubber is too soft, it won't provide opposing force. If it's too hard, too much of that force will deflect back, damaging the engine.

Unfortunately all systems wear out in time, so whether your machines are used for business or recreation, checking your anti-vibration mounts for wear and tear, and paying attention to unusual noises and vibrations should be one of the fundamentals of spring maintenance. Your anti-vibration mounts are essential. If they don't work, the engine doesn't work. Order the right replacements as soon as possible.

Author: Chris Gill

About the author:
AV Products, Inc. is a leading supplier of mobile and stationary machine mounts for industrial and marine applications, including marine mounts for workboats and pleasure boats and rubber vibration mounts for power generation systems and construction vehicles.

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

For a lot of us moving a car means getting into a car and driving from your old home to new one. If you want to ship your car for long distance then auto transport would be the best option. Some people may need to ship cars, trucks, caravans, motorcycles, boats and other vehicles. In such a situation, professional assistance would be cost effective.

Find out a well qualified, licensed and bonded auto shipping company to ship your car. Find out a company that has certain years of experience in this industry. Shipping a car within your home country is reasonably straight forward, but shipping internationally can be more complicated, and require special attention. Make sure that international shipping company help you with documentation, fees, restrictions and regulation of your chosen destination country as well as ensure that your vehicle gets there in one piece, and on time. Many companies use large vehicle transporters for standard-sized vehicles and your car may travel all over the country to deliver other loads before it reaches its destination. In some countries the transport truck will have to go through customs, weigh stations and check points. Also ask car shipping companies to give a fixed delivery date. Find out if auto Transport Company can provide you door to door service or should you go to the terminal to pick up your car. The transport vehicles are often too large to negotiate small residential streets. Different vehicle shipping companies provide different services like open transporters, enclosed vehicle shipping, terminal shipping or door to door shipping or international auto transport. Choosing enclosed vehicle shipping can protect your vehicle from certain elements like sun, rain, water, snow etc. Your main aim should be safety and security of your vehicle.

Before selecting auto transport company do check up if they would provide insurance cover for your vehicle. See to it that they provide insurance cover while your car is in transit so that if any incident happens you can claim compensation from them. Check out company's terms and conditions before you hire them! Once you have selected your vehicle mover you have to prepare your vehicle. Almost all the vehicle shipping companies will check your vehicle for damages before loading it. They will write the current state of the vehicle in the bill of lading form and get it signed from you. Like this, before receiving your car check are there any damages in the car. Before transporting your vehicle, you need to wash your vehicle thoroughly.

Author: shijina

About the author:
Shijina is an expert author for car shipping and auto transport. She written many articles like luxury car transport, vehicle transport and auto shipping. For more information visit our site www.aaat.com Contact me at shijinaseo@gmail.com

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

There are many flood damaged cars being sold on the market. Usually, flood damaged cars, SUVs and trucks are placed in salvage yards. Some though, are made spick and span and put into the car market and they will be up for sale. But the problem is, there really are no tell tale signs of flood damage that would give them away. This is because the cars will be restored so they would look almost like new. The damages caused by the flood would be erased or covered. After the changes, the cars will then be sold to unsuspecting buyers who thinks they are getting a good bargain.

Fact is flood damaged cars are being moved by unscrupulous merchants. Consumers can and should protect themselves against being taken advantage of in the auto market. Luckily, there are several things consumers can do to protect themselves from buying flood damaged cars.

The best things a consumer can do to be sure if a car is flood damaged or not is to get the history of the vehicle. You can do this by submitting the vehicle identification number (VIN) of a car to a website which provides vehicle history information. What these websites do is search a nationwide database of car information then gathers research on the car's title, maintenance record, registration, and odometer. You will instantaneously know if the vehicle has been stolen, has had a troubled past, or has had its odometer rolled back through the report that the website will return. Just a little research on a car's history will reveal if it has been salvaged, flooded, rebuilt, or is basically a 'lemon.'

Prospective car buyers should be aware of flood damaged vehicles being sold on the car market. Why shouldn't you buy flood damaged cars? Well simply because water leaves a lasting damage. Even if the devices and machines requiring electricity will restore it, it will probably fail sooner or later because mold and mildew aren't' easy to remove. And when a car is flood damaged any warranty warrant is voided.

Below are several things you can do to check if a car is flood damaged:

Check for moisture and dirt. Flood damaged cars usually have moisture trapped and dirt inside the lights. Dampness can also be seen inside the compartment with glovesF, console and trunk so you better inspect these spots. Dirt, which can also be a sign of flood damage, can also accumulate under the hood. Moisture can also accumulate under the seat. Of course, rust is another telltale sign of flood damage.

Smell the car Mildew can be easily detected by smelling. Mildew often forms on soaked fabrics so sharpen your sense of smell when you're on the lookout for a new vehicle. Also try to detect other smells that could be caused by flood damage like spilled oil or fuel.

Check if components match Mismatched component could mean that the component are changed hurriedly after the car has been salvaged from a flood. So try to see if the carpet, seats and stereo components looks too new for the car.

Also try to check if the car has been titled several times from different states, which is usually a hint that its owners are trying to erase the questionable and negative history of the car by looking for spots where disclosing defects is not required or is easily evaded. Cars that are titled several times are usually salvaged or totaled.

Test drive Of course the best way to check the performance of a car is to take it for a test drive. Check the electrical system including all the lights and the sound system.

Ask an expert Have an expert mechanic or technician check the car. Have a second opinion if you may. Expert mechanics and car technician can detect flood damaged cars easily than ordinary people.

Remember that in buying a vehicle, never ever take a chance. Buying a damaged vehicle can cost you more than your money. It could also bring serious accident even death. If you suspect that someone is selling you a car that has been flood damaged immediately say no then walk away. The dough you will save in buying a flood damaged car will quickly go away by the headache it will bring.

Author: JC Schwartz

About the author:
Learn about garage sale pricing and garage sale ads at the Garage Sale Tips site.

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

International moves involve a myriad of requirements that domestic moves don't. One of the biggest issues is customs and shipping regulations both in the country of origin and the destination. An international car shipper has expertise in these laws and knows what documents are required. If the paperwork for your car transport overseas is not properly completed, there may be a delay before you can retrieve your vehicle. When shipping a vehicle out of the country it is strongly recommended that you engage the services of a reliable, experienced international automobile moving company. International car shipping can be made easier with a firm that has expertise in foreign customs requirements.

Moving from one state to another is a different matter. For these types of domestic moves, an interstate car transport firm is your best option. All reputable carriers shipping a vehicle provide insurance coverage equivalent to the car's Blue Book value as soon as the care is on the transport truck. Make sure that any transport firm you engage provides this level of coverage. An item to note is that any personal items in the vehicle are not covered, violate Department of Transportation regulations and are shipped at the owner's risk. A respectable car shipping company will tell you this, as well. Most firms will require a deposit of fifty percent or more prior to picking up your automobile.

There are many car transport firms that provide both domestic and international services. Because all car shippers transport many vehicles at a time, they are usually unable to provide a specific delivery date and instead will estimate a window of dates for the move. Whether you are staying in the United States or moving overseas, taking the time to find a reputable car shipping firm at a decent rate is well worth the effort.

Author: sturat

About the author:
Sturat is article marketer, copywriter and enjoys writing on topics like Car Transport Overseas and Interstate Car Transport . For more information on these topics, please visit us.

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

For those that don't know auto auctions are the quickest and easiest ways for banks and government agencies to get rid of seized and repossessed vehicles. These auctions can be found all over the United States and can occur daily, weekly, and monthly and are a good place to find the automobile you've been searching for at a significant savings.

Here are six quick reasons why buying a car at an auction can be a good idea.

1. When you find a good auction site you will have piece of mind knowing they stake their reputation on providing a good experience.

2. Seized auto auctions can be a lot of fun. The sheer volume of vehicles to choose from can be quite an experience.

3. It can help you keep your budget intact when it comes to buying a new/used car.

4. You can set a maximum bid level that keeps you from overbidding and letting your emotions get the best of you.

5. You can save time and effort by not having to visit high pressure dealerships or driving from private sale to private sale hoping to find the car you are looking for.

6. Seized auto auctions are a great place to get great bargains on just about any type of vehicle. If you are interested in a high end vehicle, but don't care for the retail price tag, then government seized auto auctions are great for you.

As you probably already know, car dealers will do anything to get you into the car of your dreams. Dealers attend these private auctions to buy cars at a fraction of their retail value and subsequently turn them around, increase the price, and sell them to you at a dealership at a huge profit. Just think how much you could save if you bypassed your dealership and purchased directly from their sources. Car dealers know this, and they go to great lengths to protect this knowledge from the general public.

When you start bidding remember to stick with your plan, bid with your brain and don't let your emotions get the better of you. Don't get caught in a bidding war because one thing you have to keep in mind is the buyer's premium. This is usually in the 5% range and is a commission that is paid to the auction house on top of the winning bid on the vehicle. This means if you place a winning bid of say $20,000 you will pay an additional $1,000 to the auction house for their services. This can be a problem if you didn't take that into account when you got caught up in a bidding frenzy in which you used every last dollar you had. Use your head and you'll do fine.

Online auto auctions are a great place to find the car or truck you have been looking for at a rather large discount. By doing your research and bidding smartly you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on great cars.

Author: Andrew Bicknell

About the author:
For more information about finding an Online Auto Auction near you please Click Here.

Article source: Free Cars Articles.

All Weather Floor Mats

Protect the carpet from dirt and moisture by adding all weather floor mats to your car. These are typically made with ridges to trap mud, dirt, sand and water and keep them away from the carpet.
B20, B100:
Seen at diesel pumps, these designations indicate the amount of biodiesel blended with petroleum-based diesel. So B20 is 20% biodiesel, 80% low-sulfur diesel, while B100 is 100% biodiesel.

Backup Sensor
Backup sensors can be audible or visual and help eliminate the risk of hitting or running over things.

BEV - Battery Electric Vehicle
A battery-electric vehicles uses an electric motor for power source. The electricity powering the motor is stored in a battery pack that must be recharged from an electric power source.

Biodiesel
Diesel fuel made at least partly from non-petroleum sources, such as used restaurant grease. Most diesel-powered vehicles can use biodiesel without conversion or alteration of the engine.

Bioethanol
A vehicle fuel based on starchy plant materials, commonly corn in the U.S. It has a lower emissions rating than petroleum. Also known as ethanol.

Bumper Guards
Protect your bumpers with bumper guards. Bumpers can get banged up when you're loading and unloading your trunk. Protect your bumper from nicks and scratches.

By-Wire Technology
Similarly to 'Fly-by-Wire' technology found in fighter planes, hybrid car 'Drive-by-Wire' technology replaces mechanical connections with electrical connections to reduce weight and provide more sophisticated and reliable responsiveness.

CAFE Standards
Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Each automaker must average the mileage of every vehicle it builds. The standards were enacted in 1975 to increase overall fuel efficiency. The standard for 2009 is 27.5 mpg for cars, 20.7 mpg for light trucks, and 23.1 mpg for trucks under 8500 pounds.

Cargo Net
A cargo net helps keep your groceries and other items from rolling around in the trunk. They are typically very easy to install. You'll wonder how you ever lived without one!

CBG - Cleaner Burning Gasoline
Cleaner-burning gasoline is fuel that meets requirements established by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). All gasoline sold in California for use in motor vehicles must meet these requirements, which have been in effect since Spring 1996.

Chassis Stiffener
A chassis stiffener bolts on to the subframe to make the unibody stiffer. Your car will feel more stable an will turn sharper and be more responsive.

Diesel
This petroleum-based fuel gets higher fuel efficiency than gasoline. It used to have more tailpipe emissions, but technological innovations in the past decade have nearly erased this concern and dropped diesel emissions to near gasoline levels.

E85
A fuel blend that contains 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline.

Engine Block Heater
Engine block heaters let you start your car quicker in freezing weather. This saves fuel and battery power for your hybrid cars.

EPA
Environmental Protection Agency. Together with the Department of Energy, the EPA issues mileage and emissions ratings for all cars sold in the U.S. See FuelEconomy.gov.

Extended Range Electric Vehicle
A type of PHEV where the car drives entirely on electric power, but there is a small gasoline engine on board that runs a generator to provide electricity for the batteries and electric motor. The addition of the gasoline engine allows the electric motor to go further on a charge.

Ethanol
A high-octane, low-emissions fuel long used in racing. Now it's made from renewable plant materials and can be used in regular vehicles, though it gets lower fuel economy ratings than gasoline.

EV
Electric Vehicle. These cars have only batteries and an electric motor-no gasoline or other fuel required, and no emissions are released into the air. They are refueled by plugging the batteries into an outlet.

Electric-Only Mode
Also known as Stealth Mode. In full hybrid cars, electric-only mode allows the vehicle to drive at low speeds without the engine turning on.

EV Mode
An EV mode switch lets you run your Prius in electric only mode up to 34 mph to increase your hybrid mpg and performance. While this option is built into every Prius, it is disabled for North American hybrids. An EV Mode Option lets you turn this option back on.

Flex Fuel
A vehicle that can accept regular gasoline or an ethanol blend, such as E85.

FCEV - Fuel Cell Vehicle
A fuel cell vehicle is an electric vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel instead of a battery to produce electricity. There are no moving parts, as the fuel cell utilizes a catalyst to perform a chemical process that combines oxygen from the air with hydrogen fuel to produce electricity.

Fuel Efficiency
Using the least amount of fuel to drive the farthest number of miles. This can be measured miles per gallon, which is standard in the U.S., or in gallons per mile, which is more common in the rest of the world.

Gas Mileage Devices
There are a variety of gas mileage devices on the market. Popular items include the EV Mode Option, the Kiwi dashboard plug-in which teaches you how to drive more efficiently, and Juiced Hybrid's custom Voltage System GT, which stabilizes the voltage in your car.

Green Car Cleaners
From car wax to green towels, various green car cleaners and supplies help you keep your ride looking good while still being environmentally friendly.

Hybrid Car
A hybrid car refers to a vehicle that has two sources of power: gasoline and electricity. Today's hybrids combine a gasoline engine with one or more electric motors (and a traction battery pack). In the automotive sense, this is a vehicle that has a gasoline-powered engine and an electric engine that work together to deliver better gas mileage, usually 40+ mpg. The batteries are recharged by systems like regenerative braking. The 1999 Honda Insight was the first commercially available hybrid; the Toyota Prius became the first popular hybrid car.

Hybrid Car battery
There are two batteries on hybrid vehicles, the traction battery and the auxiliary 12-volt battery, which powers accessories and the car's computer.

Hybrid Car Engine
In hybrid cars, engine refers to the gasoline combustion engine, not the electric motor.

Hybrid Synergy Drive
Toyota's next generation hybrid powertrain, improving upon the Toyota Hybrid System in the original Prius.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell
These cells use hydrogen gas and air to create an electrical current to power a vehicle, with only water as a byproduct. Creating an infrastructure of hydrogen fueling stations has been an obstacle to the manufacture of hydrogen-powered cars.

ICE
Internal Combustion Engine. The same old gasoline-powered engine we've been driving all our lives.

Liquified Natural Gas
Natural gas that has been cooled to form a transportable liquid. Vehicles that run on LNG cannot use any other type of fuel without major modifications.

Lithium Ion
A type of battery used in cell phones, laptops, and electric cars. These batteries store a lot of energy for their weight.

Low-Emission Level Standards
There are several measurement standards for low-emission cars, including California Air Resources Board standards known as LEV II, Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) and Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standards. There is also a Federal standard called Tier 2-Bin 3.

LNG
Liquified Natural Gas. See above.

MPG
Miles per gallon. The number of miles a car can travel on one gallon of gasoline or other liquid fuel.

NHTSA
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA administrates the CAFE Standards, based on fuel efficiency data from the EPA.

NiCd
Nickel Cadmium sometimes called NiCad. A type of rechargeable battery used in electric cars.

NiMH
Nickel Metal Hydride. A type of rechargeable battery used in electric cars.

PHEV
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. See Plug-in Hybrid.

Plug-in Hybrid
A vehicle that has a gasoline-powered engine and a bank of batteries that can be recharged by plugging them into an outlet. These vehicles usually use the electric motor for 40 or so miles, then the gasoline engine as a backup. The supposedly forthcoming Chevy Volt is a PHEV.

Receiver Drop Hitch
Alternately called trailer hitches, a receiver drop hitch lets you tow trailers with your car.

Regenerative braking
Regenerative braking is a feature in hybrid cars that allows the motor to act as a generator when braking. The process converts kinetic energy of the car's motion into electric energy that recharges the battery.

Vehicle to Grid
Technology that allows electric utility companies to reclaim small amounts of energy from plugged-in EVs. Boulder, Colorado, has a pioneering VtG program.

Water Car
Proponents of the idea of running a car on water say it's a similar energy conversion process to hydrogen fuel cells. The conversion of energy, though, seems to lose a lot along the way, making any benefit null.

Window Deflectors
Add window deflectors to reduce wind noise while still allowing fresh air to come into your car.

Author: Sarah Collins

About the author:
Sarah Collins is author of this article on Hybrid Car Glossary.
Find more information about Prius Accessories here.


Article source: Free Cars Articles.