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The Impact Of The 1956 BMW 507

In order for a car to be considered a classic, it should first make an impact on its users and the car industry in general. If you’re looking for a car that fits this description, perhaps the BMW 507 is the one that easily fits the bill. Just a little back story, the BMW 507 was envisioned by US auto importer Max Hoffman. In 1954, Hoffman was able to convince the BMW management to come up with a roadster version of the BMW 501 and 502 saloons in order to bridge the gap between high-end and expensive Mercedez Benz 300SL and the cheap but average Triumph and MG sports cars. Initial designs for the 507 were unsatisfactory, until the decision makers at BMW greenlit the designer Albrecht von Goertz to make designs for the BMW 507 and the 503. In terms of the mechanical package or the inner workings of these BMW cars, BMWs household engineer Fritz Fiedler was assigned to design the mechanical package using as much of the existing designs as possible.

The world caught a first glimpse of the BMW 507 when it was in New York, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The long awaited production began in 1956, intending for it to sell for around $5000. But as the production costs went up, the US price also went up to initially $9000 and settled to $10500. It has its following, including some celebrities and notable figures, but the fact still remains: it was hard to sell something that your audience or even yourself that you don’t really appreciate. It had never reached even a portion of their rival’s car model, the MB 300SLs sales. Because of this, the BMW 507 took a nosedive to the edge of bankruptcy, with the company losing money on each of the 507 models built, resulting in the termination of its production. The result: only 252 BMW 507s were built, plus two earlier prototypes.

BMW 507s Impact

One of the BMW 507s legacies was to create a model that boasted an eye catching style, but the price tag was quite hefty for its time, however this was proabably a good thing since so few of them were ever produced. Which is why today this is conidered an extremely valuable classic car and one that many collectors lust after, myself included. If you are a classic Beamer fan, it is hard not to appreciate the classic 507 and its design.

William publish the MuscleCarMonster.com where you can read his new article on the 1969 chevelle.

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Save Money By Keeping Your Car Fuel Efficient

We all dread pulling up to the gas station and watching the price go up and up, until finally, our gas tank is full. Throughout the last couple of years things have gotten worse and for most of us, fueling up means cutting back on other expenses. Saving a few pennies at the gas station can truly add up, why else would we drive 10 miles out of our way to fuel up at the gas station that offers cheaper prices than the one down the road from our house? To order to visit the gas station less, try these simple tips that will keep your car more fuel efficient.

• Get out in the cold. Try filling up your car during the coolest part of the day. Many older gas pumps don’t have a temperature flow meter, therefore the fuel becomes denser when its cool, and you’ll end up getting more for your money. Also watch the type of fuel you use, it’s somewhat unnecessary to fill your car with premium fuel at the current prices, instead opt for regular. Be aware of E85 fuel, this ethanol-mixed based provides lower fuel economy than pure gasoline.

• Keep that car clean. Not only for looks, washing and waxing your car will also lower the wind resistance of your vehicle. On the inside, remove heavy boxes and junk that only weighs your car down. The removal of weight will also improve your car’s fuel economy.

• Change your air filter. No, the guy at car repair place hasn’t been telling you this for the last year just to rip you off. If you don’t change your air filter annually or bi-annually, your car’s engine has to work harder to bring in air, which burns more fuel. To save more money, you can usually change your car’s air filter yourself, as it’s often a straightforward process.

• Replace those spark plugs. Worn-out spark plugs can’t properly ignite the air/fuel mixture in your engine. This results in more fuel being used for the amount of power being produced. Consult your owner’s manual to see how often your spark plugs should be changed, as this varies greatly between cars. Additionally, you may want to leave this task to the professionals, as certain cars require hours of work to effectively change spark plugs.

• Check tire pressure. If your tires are underinflated it takes more energy for your car to push down on the road. Even if your pressure is only a little lower than normal, you’re burning much more fuel than you have too. It’s probably a wise idea to invest in a tire pressure gauge, that way you know when you’re wasting fuel.

Investing in the above steps doesn’t take a lot of time nor money, but in the long run it can save you both. As gas prices continue to climb, you should be keeping your car in the most fuel efficient shape possible. By implementing the above steps you can drive with confidence, knowing you’ve done everything to save money at the pump.

Have a fun and safe time on the road, and visit us to find the best deal on the insurance coverage you need. Get money-saving tips, compare free auto insurance quotes and read helpful advice about finding cheap auto insurance from Auto Insurance Rates Direct today.

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Jaguar XK 140: The Epitome Of Class and Luxury

Looking for a classic sports car that still exudes luxury and class even at present? Well, perhaps you’d love the Jaguar XK140. The XK140 is a sports car made by car maker Jaguar from 1954 to 1957. The XK140 is a successor of the highly successful Jaguar XK120, and because of this, it featured better brakes, rack and pinion steering, as well as increased the suspension travel and modern tube type shock absorbers, among others. The Jaguar XK140 is the perfect classic car for speed loving drivers who won’t settle with modern day sports cars. The appeal of a classic car is a lot stronger than its modern counterpart, so choosing the XK140 is really a no-brainer.

Moving back a bit in time, you’ll know that the XK140 was really introduced in 1954 but was sold as a 1955 model. One thing that you’d notice from its older brother the XK120 is that it has a more substantial front and rear bumpers featuring huge overriders. It was one of the first cars to feature a modern flashing turn signal, which is operated by an added switch on its dashboard. One thing that would’ve set the XK140 and the XK120 apart was the twin amber lights just above the front bumper; but the owners of XK120 also installed such an equipment to give their cars an updated look.

Another great improvement that you’ll see from this classic car is the addition of 3 inches for the legroom, allowing it to accommodate even the taller drivers of its time. This was achieved because the engine was relocated, along with the firewall and the XK140s dash forward. However, this new configuration left no room for a battery compartment like the one found on the XK120. Because of this, the single battery is now placed low down inside the wing on the inlet side. This is one drawback because it is really hard to remove, thus making it hard to replace.

As a classic car, the Jaguar XK140 also made an impact in the car world. 1956 models of the XK140 became one of the first sports cars to feature an automatic transmission. It also features the famous Jaguar XK engine, but this time, it features modifications that weren’t available with the XK120. It has increased the specified power of the engine by 10, which is now 190 bhp at 5500 rpm.

There are a lot of things that you could enjoy with the XK140. These features have revolutionized the way people see sports cars, and most of these features are available even with the modern models; a sign that the Jaguar XK140 is truly a classic car.

William has just posted about the 1965 Ford Mustang on his classic car blog, MuscleCarMonster.com.

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BMW 501: The Gem Of Classic Cars

The car that has propelled BMW into the classic car scene is the BMW 501. The 501 is a luxury saloon car that was manufactured from 1952 to 1058, and is actually the first car manufactured and sold by BMW after World War II. It has a design that’s well ahead of its time, and used materials that exude luxury and quality. Its sleek, sloping design has earned the 501 its “Baroque Angels” nickname. Even though the 501 and its close relative, 502 were discontinued in 1958, its impact on the automotive industry still remains, as it’s one of the most iconic classic cars that was produced by BMW.

The BMW 501 was designed using an all new platform using a perimeter frame, double A-arm suspension with torsion bar springs at the front and on the rear, a live axle with torsion bar springs. This is clearly a sign of manufacturing innovation for BMW, as they prepare the 501 for mass production, because it is a vehicle that’s intended for public use. Even though it is the first vehicle released by BMW after the Second World War, you won’t see a hint of inferiority in power and performance. The 501 packs a punch underneath its hood, as it is powered by BMWs pre-war 2-liter six cylinder engine. This engine had its cylinder head revised and the inlet manifold has been given a new design as well. Overall, the BMW 501s engine retained its capacity of 1,971cc and developed 65 horsepower.

A clear improvement in the BMW 501 is the improved legroom for passengers. The car feels roomy even if it’s filled to capacity of four or five people. This improved legroom could be attributed to the remote gearbox placement, since the four speed gearbox is not bolted to the engine. This remote placement may have resulted to a more complicated linkage to the shifter as a vague shifter action, but it’s all worth it because the improved legroom added a feel of comfort and luxury for the car.

So, what makes the BMW 501 a classic? This classic status could be attributed to the innovation borne out of this car. Aside from being the first car released by BMW after the war, it also has features that put it well ahead of its time. It has a robust chassis that provides passive safety to car goers, the remote gearbox that gave more legroom, and a fuel tank placed in a protected area in the car to minimize the risk of fire. BMW 501 started all of these things, and most car makers based their designs off these innovations.

If you want to learn more about muscle cars and the history behind these famous cars, visit Williams blog MuscleCarMonster.com today.

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Strange But True – Dirty Cars Are Involved In More Accidents

I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but car insurance seems to be in the news rather a lot recently: first we had the European Court of Justice’s ruling that women will, as of next year, pay more for their premiums in an effort to introduce parity to the system which has hitherto rewarded them for their statistically better behaviour behind the wheel and offset a ‘discriminatory’ disparity which has become de rigueur in recent decades.

Then we heard insurers complaining about the House of Commons Transport Select Committee’s steadfast refusal to pin the blame for their rising costs, which they transfer to their customers anyway, on to personal injury lawyers and other associated practitioners.

Subsequently we then had the welcome suggestion from the Co-operative that they would fit clients’ cars with a black box data recorder, thus removing the blanket premium, er, premium often levied at young male drivers. This is another anti ‘-ism’ drive, this time attacking both ageism and sexism together, that is designed to reward young men who don’t subscribe to the notion that they must add a gargantuan exhaust pipe to their one-litre car and drive as if they’re Sebastian Vettel with Tabasco down his trousers.

Today, the Daily Mirror brings us as a slightly less lofty story, albeit one with a genuine message. New research has indicated that a fifth of British motorists have at some point in their career been involved in an accident that was triggered by a less than scrupulously clean motor.

The findings, as revealed by Confused.com, the price comparison site whose adverts don’t invoke viewers’ desires to grab a machete and go on the rampage, demonstrate that a scarcely credible fifty per cent of all drivers only clean their vehicles once a year, with just shy of a tenth of them admitting that they never so much as wave the Dyson in the vague direction of their interiors.

Using some people from a piece of popular drivel called The Only Way is Essex, apparently a programme on television, to promote their campaign, Confused quite unnecessarily pointed out that airborne plastic bags and crisp packets (reminiscent of ‘Grab a Grand’ on yesteryear’s family fave Noel’s House Party) can cause a bit of a distraction to drivers, while free-roaming coke cans tend to like nestling in the crevices behind people’s brake pedals. It could be argued that if they became lodged behind the throttle then speeds would be curbed in one fell swoop, but that isn’t the way it seems to work.

The old adage says that ‘an unmade bed is the sign of an unmade mind’ or something to that effect. While we’re discussing cars and not mattresses, the message from Confused and their spokeswoman, the houseproud ‘Nanny Pat’ is that responsible car owners should take as much care of their wheels as they do of their house.

Personally I have never understood why someone would buy a car and not look after it. Granted, some people do not have the time nor the inclination to don white gloves and start chrome-polishing the inner threads of every screw in the engine bay. Nor might they wish to devote a Sunday to rubbing four layers of glorified show wax to their paintwork, but even the cheapest roadworthy car will still set you back three hundred quid, so why not look after your purchase?

But at least they might keep the windows clean.

A pet peeve of mine is the motorist who fails to summon the resolve to wait for his demister to do its stuff on cold mornings and impatiently smears a filthy palm across the inside of his windscreen. My mother, for one, is a dyed-in-the-wool and unrepentant practitioner of this approach.

I have found, through personal experience, that this approach makes the issue exponentially worse: condensation seems to flock to grease more readily than it does to clean glass. Each time the window subsequently steams up, the foot-tapping owner utilises the hand-wipe approach once again and adds an additional layer of dirt.

By the time the weather improves, the glass has the transparency of a cup of tea. Drive a car in late-afternoon sun with anything less than an immaculately clean field of vision and try to see where you’re going as soon as a single shaft of light hits the screen. Towards the nearest tree, in all likelihood.

Employing a duster and three squirts of Mr Muscle, I feel, is a much more responsible step to take than merely hoovering the footwells every so often.

However, it cannot be denied that if you are cultivating a soft-drink receptacle collection that could provide enough aluminium to knock up an Audi A8, perhaps it’s time for a trip to the recycling centre.

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