Simple Summer Car Cleanup Ideas With The Right Automotive Accessories

Now that we are out of the wild Midwest winters up here, it is time to pull off the car covers and get cracking on cleaning up our beautiful rides. No better way to make your cars and trucks look better than to pick out some great, but cheap automotive accessories.

Car and Truck Floor Mats

One of the easiest ways to make your car, or truck look great, and hide those nasty stains on the floor is to pick up some new car floor mats. Sure, a traditional, cheap floor mat may be what you usually buy, but why not look into something more exquisite? Custom-fit sheepskin floor mats for your Mercedes, or even a great "catch all" style floor mat that covers the entire floor of your vehicle.

You would be amazed how well a floor mat can hide driving disasters. I can't even tell you how many times I have spilled something that is never coming out. I am a big fan of any sort of red drink. Soda, juice, you name it. If I spill that stuff I have no other choice, but to cover it up until I can get a serious carpet cleaning, and even then it may not work.

Car and Truck Seat Covers

Another great way to keep your car looking fresh and clean is to don some new seat covers. Car seat covers can hide a lot of wear and tear in a vehicle. Those pesky coffee stains that you can't get out, those nasty gum stains that you probably couldn't get rid of with a blow torch, and of course they protect admirably against all types of pet stains and deep pet odors.

Unless you go for an extremely high end material seat cover, they traditionally are machine washable, and make it even easier to keep your car in top shape. When they inevitably get a bit dirty themselves, just pull them out and get them cleaned, and your car is perfect once again.

Now all you have to do is get your car detailed, cleaned, and waxed, and you can cruise the beaches in style. Just make sure that you clean your seats and floors before you put these things on ;).

2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Review

Just got done listening to a podcast by Jorge Garcia (Hurley from the TV show Lost) in which he had Desmond on and they talked about him driving a Camero on the show a bunch of times so I figured this was a good place to go with today's review. Besides we need to talk about our toys a bit sometimes.

When you first look at the Chevrolet Camaro SS, especially if the paint color is pumpkin orange (not its real name) with black racing stripes, you're somewhat awed. The car is gorgeous, with enough retro from the 1969 Camaro to evoke serious memories (if you're old enough to remember). The only (slight) flaw is that the top looks like it has been chopped (lowered) and the windows are too narrow.

Get in it and fire up the engine and a whole new set of senses come into play. First, there's the sound. The 6.2-liter V8 emits a powerful roar through what must be well-tuned exhaust pipes. then there's the smell. Fool around with the gas pedal too much and there's a scent of exhaust gas that permeates the cabin. It also happens if you blip the throttle when you're driving. It isn't enough carbon monoxide to kill you, but it is enough to set your heart pumping a bit faster. Full review

Subaru "New Eyestight" Safety Device

There can never be too much safety in vehicle can there? Subaru has developed a 'New EyeSight’ driving assist system – a unique active safety device that uses camera technology to help drivers avoid collisions.

Using two forward-facing cameras mounted either side of the rear-view mirror, New EyeSight incorporates a ‘Pre-Collision Braking Control’ feature, which sounds an alarm to warn the driver of a potential collision with a vehicle in front. If the speed difference between the driver’s vehicle and that in front is below 30 km/h, and if there is no action taken by the driver, the system will also automatically slow or stop the car in order to avoid a collision or minimize damage.

Interesting piece of tech I must say. Certainly will help those who are distracted by their wedding invitations in the passenger seat , or the texting they are doing while they drive ;).

2010 Chevrolet Traverse AWD LTZ Review

It isn't exactly as expensive as the Cadillac SRX we looked at the other day, but it still rakes in about $42,000 on the sticker, and will likely cause a few people to get out the wrinkle creams by the end of their loan.

For some time now, a family friend of my daughter’s in Ashland, Virginia, has been trying to convince her and her husband to purchase a Chevrolet Traverse. Ross Luck’s philosophy is that it would be an ideal vehicle for a family living miles out of town on a dirt road who needs reliable transportation and occasionally all-wheel drive. After a week behind the wheel of a Traverse, I must agree. Here is a solid sport utility vehicle that has a ton of features, decent power and good size. The only flaw I could find was that the economy could have been better. We only averaged 14.3 mpg in our test, even though the EPA estimates are 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. full review

Young Adults Can Build Credit Early With a Car Loan

TAbout the only credit a young adult can get is a ridiculously high interest rate credit card. In fact, you can probably get 20 of them if you want. I know I had $10,000 in credit at 19 years old with NO JOB. America, where credit is given to those who can't afford it.

A more standard way to start credit building for youngsters is with the purchase of a car. You are much more likely to pay this one as they can take your car away if you don't, and you only get that credit once, as it isn't revolving like credit cards you can use to buy just about anything now like booze, order Phentermine online, and play poker.

Here is an article about how to do it, and advice on how to do it right.

Ford and Honda Lead Awards for "Best Value In America 2010"

Vincentric provides awards for the best values in the auto industry on an annual basis. This means that each year they look at each category of vehicles and pick the one with the best value in that class. For a complete list as to what data they use to give these awards click here.

For 2010 the leaders overall look to be Ford and Honda. While Honda is a mainstay on their list at the top with 5 time winners like the Civic and Accord, Ford is rather new to showing up with multiple awards. Both Ford and Honda walked away with 6 awards this year. Ford’s 6 awards include the high-end Lincoln MKS and MKT vehicles complementing the strong showing from Ford’s heavy duty pickups. Honda’s six awards were led by two five-time winners, the Accord and the Civic, and the CR-V which won its fourth Vincentric award. BMW, General Motors, and Toyota also did well, with each organization having four award winning vehicles.

For the 2010 complete list check here for the appetite suppressants version. You can expand it into detail on the site.

Here is a short video about their 2010 winners:

2010 Cadillac SRX Turbo AWD Review

If you have half a Midwest mortgage worth of cash to throw at an SUV, the 2010 Cadillac SRX Turbo might be for you. With a $53,000 price tag, it probably values about as much as you can get for a house these days in places like Michigan.

After you roll off your elliptical looking nice and trim, you have to look like a bigshot out on the road too. Your goal is to get women, and high end ones.

Caddy, which has enjoyed a renaissance, is branching out into a smaller SUV market with the SRX, which is more of a mid-size. It’s still fairly unique to the Cadillac brand, although the Chevrolet Traverse seems to be built on a similar platform. Styling is very much in the modern Cadillac idiom, with angles and trapezoids all over the place. Styling again makes the SRX unique even to the point of reinventing tail fins into a stylized tail light design. full review