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Gregg Hall asked:


It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? It’s just a simple stereo system in an automobile, you say. Although a few people like to install home stereo systems in their automobiles, sometimes it just doesn’t work. Maybe prior to today’s high powered systems it could’ve worked just fine. All you required was a radio and a cassette player (or 8 track, for those other dinosaurs out there) lug those big box speakers into the backseat and you would be rocking down the highway. But today there are things like compact disc players and mp3 players and your popup liquid crystal display panels and all that other high tech gadgetry you would believe they would like to establish a home theater system right on the console of their van. If you don’t know anything about stereo systems but want to have some good sounds in your vehicle anyway, here are a few things to know about a car stereo.

As I mentioned above, back in the day head units and speakers from home audio systems and professional markets were just merely installed into vehicles. Nonetheless, they weren’t well appropriate for the extremes of temperature and vibration which are a natural component of the surroundings of an automobile. Since car stereo enthusiasts were not content with the audio quality of regular car sound systems, and with the coming of the CD player, they really had to begin altering some of these home stereo systems in order to function properly in an automotive environment and now we have the modern car stereo system.

If you own a new vehicle, that you bought from about 1990 to present day, odds are you already have a factory car stereo system in your vehicle unless you replaced it with an aftermarket system yourself. Some auto makers produce their own car stereos, like BMW which includes a respectable car stereo package head unit and speakers. It is standard equipment which comes with all their cars (which isn’t astonishing when you consider that BMW is included in the league of “luxury car makers”). Or comparable to Mercedes Benz or Volkswagen, they employ car stereo systems from a German audio system manufacturer by the name of Blaupunkt.

A normal car stereo receiver (also called a head unit) commonly includes an auto-reverse cassette deck, a CD player and occasionally the optional CD changer, which automatically changes the compact disk in play. On newer automobile models, the stereo may also play mp3s and additional digital audo file types like WMA and AAC, whether on a CD or a storage device which can be connected to the head unit.

These days the car stereo receiver is connected to numerous speakers. Older automobiles usually had just one speaker mounted underneath the dashboard, directing the sound through perforations towards the front windshield. The standard for automobile stereo today is a pair of “tweeters″ (employed to bring out high treble) on the driver side/front passenger side dash, along with a pair of normal mid-range speakers in both doors, and sometimes even the backseat passenger doors if it’s a larger car or SUV and larger speakers able to bring out low ends at the back portion of the backseats.



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Sivakorn Siricharoensataporn asked:


enjoy the best music of your choice, it is essential to have a good car audio system that come with state of the art features and yet comes in your budget.

Well, it is worth to spend a bit more money on quality product rather than to buy cheap equipment that leads to numerous glitches. Good car audio equipment will definitely help you in getting quality product for suitable price.

What to choose between cassette player and CD/DVD?

While buying a new car audio system, one should always keep four factors in mind such as sound, source, power and bass. These are the basic check list items that should be kept in mind before investing in the car audio system. Depending upon the choice and budget, one can select between cassette player and CD/DVD car audio system. Presently, CD/DVD car audio systems are more famous than cassette players as the latter provides digital features that a large number of songs in a single CD or DVD in comparison to cassette.

For all those who are looking for high end car audio entertainment, one can go for high quality car audio system that comes with speakers, subwoofers and powerful amplifiers. All these equipment comes with a prior power output and power specifications in order to provide thumping and crystal clear sound. Basically, while choosing the car audio system, one should look for numerous desirable features that add to the utility of your prized car audio system.

What to look for in a car audio?

While going for the perfect car audio system, make sure it comes with large and well-spaced controls that provide hassle free use in a seamless way. The main purpose of having a neat display panel with large buttons and controls is to ensure that the driver is not distracted while searching the appropriate button for audio controls while driving. This makes sure that the driver keeps his/her attention on road. A good system display that offers clock, radio station and other database adds to the utility of the audio system. In case of a CD changer, many car audio systems offer in dash CD changers that can be found with affordable car audio players. Along with this, you can check out separate tweeters as it helps in offering great sounds. The same applies for separate subwoofers as it creates rich base and thumping sound while offering rich music.

Always remember:

So, choose the best car audio for your vehicle and enjoy the music of your choice. Just make sure you stay away from car audio from gray market along with those that come with small controls, faux equipments that make the handling all the more complicated. Always go for the originally manufactured equipments that come with a prior guarantee. So, the next time you plan to invest in a car audio system, go for the best system that offers best quality at affordable price.



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Anil Tandon asked:


Little did Mr. Ford know that the little black buggy he was making back in the early 90’s would a 100 years later be as sophisticated as the cars of today. Modern day cars are extremely complicated and high tech with some having the computing power greater than the first space shuttle which carried Neil Armstrong to the Moon! Cars today incorporate the latest in silicon technology and it’s the advent of Information Technology which has really given the automobile industry a giant technological leap. As computer chips become cheaper car manufacturers find news ways of integrating them into various functions of the car. Some of the primary technological advancements which have been made in car technology over the past few years are: on board chips in MPFI cars for controlling fuel supply and combustion, safety technologies like airbags, anti lock brakes and seat belt pre tensioners, high tech CVT transmissions, navigation through GPS systems, radar gun scanners, key less entry & theft protection systems & many more.

Some of the most recent technologies which have been introduced include Mercedes active safety technologies which sense when the car is about to have a crash and automatically rolls up the windows tightens the seat belts and inflates the seat cushions to protect the occupants. Then there are automatic headlights which turn on themselves when it gets dark and wipers which turn on automatically when it starts to rain. The list just goes on with seat back massagers, tv and dvd entertainment systems, in car refrigerators, telephone, laptop, sunroofs, heated seats & much much more. There are more gadgets in a car today than there were in an house in the 70’s. Even drivability and handling of a car is controlled by computers, many cars have active air suspensions, traction control systems and active four wheel drive systems.

So when we buy a car today is it just a mode of transport which we are buying? Not really, it’s a mobile relaxation spa for some, a mobile office for other or simply a lifestyle accessory for the rich. One thing is clear, technology is never constant and will continue to amaze us with faster, more sexy and more advanced cars in the future lets keep our eyes on the road.



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Hernard B Garcia asked:


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Cars Stereo News Bonanza is one of the favorite spots inside Fresh, Up-To-Date Automotive News blog, because a well-equipped car requires an audio system featuring the last advances of technology, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity to download your music while being on the road.

However, if your car does not have this option enabled, pay a visit to our Car Accessories News to stay informed on the latest hi-tech equipment that will make your car a 21st century automobile, regardless whether you drive an old car model.

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Not such a beauty and a little dirty, the Auto Mechanic News Zone rounds out our content for keeping your car running for miles and miles. There is more news and more categories for you to discover by visiting Fresh, Up-To-Date Automotive News.



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RyanThomas asked:


The Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. said last Tuesday that it will invest some $750 million in a new research and development centre to catch up with rivals in environmental and safety technology.

New technology center

Japan’s third largest automaker inaugurated the Nissan Advanced Technology Centre (NATC) on Tuesday in Atsugi, west of Tokyo, with some 2000 employees and laboratories for advanced vehicles, electric powertrains and other equipment.

The opening of the new facility underlines the determination of the automaker to develop environmental and safety technologies that are increasingly critical for riding out the tough competition in the auto industry. “Whether products with technology that appeals to consumers can be offered in a timely manner will determine the winners and the losers,” Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said in Japanese at the opening in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture.

“NATC has been established to accelerate the research and advanced engineering of breakthrough technologies for Nissan′s next generation products,” Nissan executive vice president Mitsuhiko Yamashita said. “Future technologies being developed are aimed at environmental sustainability and towards creating a safer mobile society,” he added.

The investment will cover renovations to a powertrain development center and a global design studio, both in Atsugi, said the company in a statement. At the NATC, Nissan’s pool of engineers will pursue a range of eco-friendly technologies to limit the dangerous carbon dioxide emissions, including electric vehicles and hybrids, the statement went further. The Japanese automaker will also develop an “intelligent transportation system” in which data received from traffic beacons is used to alert drivers and aid slash reduce potential road accidents.

NATC is located in Kanagawa prefecture and that is adjacent to Tokyo. Nissan has two other major facilities in the prefecture for product planning, research and development and advanced development: the Nissan Technical Centre in Atsugi and the Nissan Research Center in Yokosuka.

The injury

The Japanese automaker was hit by a business slump in the late 1990s. Since then, it has lagged behind the Toyota Motor Corp. and the Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in the development of new-generation vehicles. Honda has intimated its plan to build a new laboratory in Japan in 2009. Last month, Nissan reported the first drop in annual profits since 1999 under its legendary chief, a Brazilian-born Frenchman who is also the Renault CEO.

Nissan officials acknowledged the company’s near collapse before its dramatic revival under a 1999 alliance with Renault SA of France meant they could not invest in technology to the degree they would have liked. But for the past several years, Nissan has been investing more in technology, they said.

The aim

Nissan Senior Vice President Minoru Shinohara said the carmaker is not preoccupied with what rivals may be doing and is focused on its own goals, such as perfecting its original hybrid system that he said will outperform the competition.

Hybrids now available from Toyota and Honda use nickel-metal hydride batteries, although all major automakers, including the General Motors Corp. of the U.S., are working on lithium-ion batteries for vehicles. Breakthroughs may be exactly what Nissan needs if it hopes to narrow the gap in hybrids with industry leaders like Toyota and Honda, analysts added.

Analysts’ say

Some analysts said Nissan has fallen behind rivals Toyota and Honda in developing gas-and-electric hybrid cars and other technologies that reduce gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Yasuaki Iwamoto, an auto analyst with Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo, said investing in the Nissan Advanced Technology Center is a step in the right direction. “Otherwise, Nissan has no chance of surviving the competition,” he said. “Catching up won’t be that easy for Nissan. It’s not as though Toyota and Honda are going to sit still and do nothing.”

Maintaining the standing under such unfavorable conditions is a key impediment researchers must overcome to make ecologically friendly vehicles. Nissan’s lithium-ion batteries, expected to have the major benefit of smaller size compared to the current systems, were being tested to to lift the standing of the automaker in the automotive battle arena.

Improving product lines

Nissan introduced a hybrid last year, but now licenses the technology from Toyota. The automaker is working on an original hybrid, set to be launched by 2010, using what it says is a superior kind of battery technology, the lithium-ion battery to be mated to Nissan engines. The batteries are commonly used in gadgets such as laptops and cell phones but have yet to be completely adapted to the more meticulous demands of a car engine.

At the automaker’s new complex for technology, experimental car batteries are stored in freezing temperatures, cooked in giant metal boxes and rattled to improve driving. The batteries are anticipated to play a critical part in Nissan’s effort to catch up in the race to develop green vehicles. The lithium-ion batteries were being tested at the center that opened Tuesday in Atsugi, just west of Tokyo.

“Whether products with technology that appeals to consumers can be offered in a timely manner will determine the winners and the losers,” Ghosn noted.

Nissan is also developing a “three-liter car” capable of traveling 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, on just three liters, or about three quarts, of gasoline. The company hopes to unveil a new model in Japan in 2010.

On alliance

The Japanese automaker is also confident in competing without additional alliance. Ghosn said last Tuesday that Nissan is under no pressure to find a new alliance partner and is not in talks with anybody despite news that a private equity firm will buy U.S.-based automaker Chrysler. “We’re not talking with anybody. I don’t think it’s the right timing today,” Ghosn said while commemorating the opening of its new technology center.

In 2006, Nissan and its French partner Renault entered months of tie-up negotiations with Detroit’s General Motors Corp. in an attempt to create an auto juggernaut across Asia, Europe and North America. The talks ended with no agreement.

Ghosn has since held open the possibility of a further merger, adding that a North American link would be a natural extension. But he has said he is currently satisfied with the scale of the Nissan-Renault partnership. “There’s no change,” he said.



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Mark Lindsay asked:


In today’s world the car has become a necessity since long ago. It’s not just used for sports or as a hobby, people use it for every day life and for all kind of things and activities. Think about it a little.

You probably can’t even imagine your life without the car. When people go to work or to the supermarket they use their cars. Cars are being used for everything that people do. Unfortunately for some of us, a car doesn’t come for free. But there are also some good news.

If you ever wanted to buy a car but didn’t have enough funds to do so, you should know that there are places where you can have a car for a relative small amount of money. One of these places is the car tech auto auction. From a car tech auto auction you can have a car that isn’t new, but with whom you will be able to do your work.

What is the Car Tech Auto Auction about?

The car tech auto auction usually deals with used vehicles that are being salvaged and afterwards resold. The car tech auto auction is usually a great deal for both the buyer and the dealer. From such an auction people can have their cars for a very reasonable price, cars that they may never afford to buy them new or from another place.

From the car tech auto auction people can leave with their dream car and still have some money left in their pockets. This is actually the main idea of this type of car auction: a place where people can come and buy a car without having to spend big. And we aren’t talking here about some rag, we’re talking about a car that can really be driven. It may not be new, but with a little luck you can even find cars with only a few thousand miles, and this means that they are almost new.

The car tech auto auction is the perfect place where you can buy a car for your child or even for you, if you don’t have enough money to buy a new one.

Although they have enough money to buy a new car, some people still buy them from these kind of auctions because they trust in the quality of the services that they offer and in the cars that are being sold here. After all, regardless of how much money you have, you don’t just want to waste them on things that you can have for a much less sum, don’t you agree?



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Mike Bartley asked:


Porsche AG said last Monday it will pull out of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the largest in the United States industry, in favor of marketing efforts that more directly reach potential buyers. The luxury sports car manufacturer intends to concentrate on shows where it has more customers. The automaker plans to focus on shows in regions where it has more customers, spokesman Tony Fouladpour said.

Fouladpour said that Porsche gets better results when it spends its marketing dollars getting prospective customers into vehicles – such as at performance-driving lessons held at local dealerships than at events such as auto shows. “People are much more apt to buy if they drive the cars,” he added.

Instead of having displays at many auto shows, Porsche decided to put a greater emphasis on personal marketing activities, such as local events where customers can test drive vehicles, said Fouladpour. “What we find typically is that the more people drive our cars, the more likely they are to buy them,” he noted.

In 2006, Porsche sold 290 cars in Michigan, compared with 8,827 in California, 4,177 in Florida and 2,172 in New York. The decision is not intended as a snub to Detroit and the region, said Fouladpour, noting that Porsche is supporting the revived Grand Prix race later this year.

The North American office of Porsche said that it is re-evaluating its presence at traditional auto shows and wants to focus resources on interacting directly with potential Porsche customers to offer efficient performance like the Flowtech. “As a media showcase for new products, the Detroit auto show is clearly the premier international auto show in North America,” said David Pryor, the company’s vice president of marketing, in a statement. “Still, as Porsche strives to seek new, more personal ways to directly reach out and communicate to its potential customer base we need to look beyond the traditional consumer auto show – even ones that are highly renowned in the industry. For us, this is a strategic business decision that allows us to allocate our limited marketing resources more effectively.”

The German automaker said that over the past two years or so, it has cut back from exhibiting at 23 North American auto shows to participating in nine such events. The news did not produce any buzz at Monday’s golf outing for members of the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association who are also sponsors of the North American International Auto Show.

“There were no comments at all,” said Carl Galeana, a Chrysler dealer and senior co-chairman of the 2008 auto show. “Porsche has been very, very good to us over the years. It’s strictly a strategic marketing decision and I certainly respect it.” Galeana said taht, if anything, Porsche’s withdrawal is a chance for other auto show exhibitors to spread out. “It’s a great opportunity for us.”

Galeana said that he regrets Porsche’s decision to leave and would welcome it back for future shows. The show is run by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. “It’s a shame because they’re an iconic brand, but we respect their decision,” Galeana said. “Certainly, they leave as friends. We hope to get them back someday.” Accordingly, next year Porsche in North America will only appear at trade shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Toronto.

The Detroit Auto Dealers Association has been pushing for a new or the expanded Cobo Center to host the show, but Porsche’s departure is unrelated, he said. “I would love to say if we had more space Porsche wouldn’t have left,” Galeana said. “That really isn’t the case. This is a marketing decision based on their sales.”



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Benjamin Hudson asked:


The World Expo Group Shanghai International Exhibition (WEGSIE) Co. Ltd. announced that Auto Shanghai 2007, revolving on the theme “Technology and Nature in Harmony”, ended with great success last April 28. Auto Shanghai 2007 attracted over 1300 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions with a total exhibition scale of 140000 square meters. The organizers said they have dedicated themselves to positioning Auto Shanghai as an A-Class auto show by showcasing professionalism, internationalization and branding.

Well known Brands′ automobile groups treat Auto Shanghai as one of the important international A-Class auto shows, no matter what the investments, quantity, or quality of exhibited vehicles, the first appearance cars and concept cars are.

Present during the press day were General Motors Corporation Chairman G. Richard Wagoner Jr.; BMW Chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer; Volkswagen Group Executive Vice President Dr. h.c. Winfried Vahland; Toyota Motor Group Vice Chairman Yoshi Inaba; and well-known vehicles designers.

Based on the theme of the Auto Shanghai 2007, which was ‘Technology and Nature in Harmony’, exhibitors showcased and unveiled their energy saving, solar energy, non-air polluting cars. This made the Auto Shanghai 2007 a high-tech event, which has the ability to profoundly transform the concept of car.

Eight hundred sixty eight was the total number of exhibited cars, overseas cars numbered to 265, among which 130 were imported directly from overseas and 603 were domestically manufactured cars. There were a total of 5 global first appearance cars, over 20 concept cars, 10 new energy cars, which rank the top among all editions, on display that offered the visitors a broad range of choices.

During the whole exhibition period that was from April 20 to 28, over 500,000 visitors from 108 countries and regions came to visit Auto Shanghai 2007. The 22nd of April was the first day the show was opened to trade visitors. One hundred three thousand five hundred sixty seven (103,567) visitors from 92 countries and regions showed up, topping in visitors per day the previous record in the history of Auto Shanghai.

In line with the international service standard, organizers have launched a series of high-tech and human-oriented services solutions. The organizers were well prepared with comprehensive plans in advance and launched onsite emergency resolutions, which ensured the onsite feedback in a timely manner.

Each news media outlet has shown great interest in the said auto exhibition. The international mainstream media, like AP, Reuters, AFP, BBC, NHK, CNN, The Auto Channel, Forbes, Bloomberg LP, Dow Jones, Japanese Economic News, JNA Jijiga News Agency, and others covered Auto Shanghai 2007. CCTV, SMG Beijing Jiaotong Channel, and such portals and noted websites such as Sina, Sohu, and Netease also reported on Auto Shanghai 2007 in a comprehensive way. During the exhibition, media centers greeted 6286 journalists from China and abroad in 43 different countries and regions.

Meanwhile, domestically-owned auto brands with their quality auto parts (like VW wiper relays) were hardly neglected, showing themselves to be an important power in Auto Shanghai 2007, creating great involvement. Their exhibition space was relatively close to overseas brands as well as all released new cars and concept cars.



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