Automakers eye next huge market: Iraq

While many have been extolling the huge market potential forautos in China, a few automakers have set their sights in what is quicklybecoming the fastest growing market for autos in the world – Iraq. This is certainly good news for all of the OEM manufacturers for AC compressors and air conditioning parts. They havethe fifth-largest oil reserves in the world, and a population bigger than SaudiArabia’s. Western vehicles were banned while Saddam Hussein was in power, butwith that issue taken care of, VW GM and Ford have flooded in to providevehicles for an expanding market.

 Rising incomes and declining violence are the main factorsaffecting this huge change in lifestyle for Iraqis. Although things are betterthan they were six years go, 1500 people were killed last year because ofbombs, sniper ambushes, and other related violence. That is shocking, butcompared to the 34,500 death toll in 2006, the improvement is felt in thequality of daily life for Iraqi citizens.

Iraq’s economy is set to grow by over 10% this year as oilrevenues and foreign investment boost the economy. Minimum wage has risen from$2.60 a month during Saddam Hussein to $400 a month now. Rising incomescombined with a population of more than 30 million people create a veryattractive potential market for automakers.

Underpass in Baghdad

 There are still many hurdles to overcome before Iraq’smarket potential can be realized however. Poverty and violence still persist.Iraq’s economy will probably grow to the equivalent of $3528 per person thisyear; compare this with Saudia Arabia’s $20214 per year and you understand howfar Iraq still has to go. Unemployment is an alarming 40%, four timeshigher than the official report of 11% according to the World Bank.

Even so, things are definitely looking up and automakers aretrying to get in on the ground floor. As Iraq’s economy continues to rise VW,GM, and Ford will be poised to take advantage of a growing middle class inIraq.

Source: Bloomberg

How Close Are We To Flying Cars?

We’ve made some major technological advances in the lastcentury – the internet, the AC Compressor and the A/C  Compressorwould have been unimaginable in 1912. Still, there are things that we have beendreaming about in science fiction for decades that still haven’t come to be.One of the most prolific is the idea of the flying car.

Cops and Cabs in The 5th Element

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has dreamed of flying awaywhile stuck in traffic. It would be just like the movies! Highways in the sky,floating traffic lights, silent flying cars whooshing by, and all self-drivenand pre-programmed to whisk us to our desired locations. It’s a beautiful dreamthat many believe is the future for personal transportation. Question is, isit?

Terrafugia Transition

Fortunately, there are some people working on making thisdream a reality. Terrafugia is a U.S. company that will debut a roadableaircraft at this year’s New York Auto Show. The craft, called Transition, is a fixed wing personal aircraft that canfold its wings in and become a street legal automobile. This wouldn’t replaceyour car, although it can fit in a standard parking space, but it could replaceyour own personal aircraft if you had one. This craft also requires a runway,and since it flies, you have to have a pilot’s license and use an airport totake advantage of its flying capabilities. Given all of these limitations, itdoesn’t quite seem like the type of flying car we’d envisioned, though it is avery convenient option for those who love to fly.

Urban Aeronautics AirMule

 Also developing what they dub “fancraft” is Urban Aeronaticsin Israel. They develop Vertical-Takeoff-and-Landing (VTOL) utility aircraft inseveral different models. This looks more like we imagine – smaller craft, cantake off and land anywhere, no body roll when moving from side to side, and theblades are not exposed so there are no risk of losing your (or your neighbors)head. Problem is, this vehicle is intended to be primarily a search and rescueplane to go where helicopters cannot. Helicopters have great difficulty flying closeto buildings or mountains and the exposed blades make them dangerous to operatein tight spaces. The fancrafts produced by Urban Aeronautics can fly right nextto, between, or on top of structures. Also, since it has no body roll and muchmore stability, it can actually partially touch a surface on any side of thecraft without losing control. The cost of these is currently prohibitivelyexpensive for personal use, but they welcome future developments to make theirdesign more accessible to the masses.

What we’re really after is a PAV, or Personal Air Vehicle,but as it stands there are no tested vehicles that truly fit the bill.Thankfully, there are several companies out there with investors that have thesame dream we all do: to fly away from traffic jams and into the future. I’llhold on to my dream and hopefully we’ll see it become a reality within ourlifetime.

You Can Brick Your 109k Tesla Roadster

It's always a bummer when your Air Conditioning Parts or AC Compressor quits out on you - you're stuck in the heat for a few days while you order another one and have it installed. It is a decently easy fix though, and (depending on where you shop) a not-so-costly repair. Other repairs are more expensive - as a few Tesla Roadster owners found out when their lithium-ion car batteries died and discovered a replacement runs $40,000.

 Yes, you read that right. After placing a $5000 deposit and then coughing up an additional $104,000 a few hundred people have driven home in a fully electric Tesla Roadster. The batteries that are used to power the Roadster are not unlike the ones used to power your cell phone - rechargeable, and apparently, once flat dead they cannot be revived.

Some technology enthusiasts will recognize the term "bricking" - it means when a piece of technology is rendered completely unusable, making it about as useful as a giant brick. Five Tesla Roadster owners so far have discovered that not only can they brick their Roaster, but the only solution is to purchase an entirely new and un-discounted battery from Tesla for 40k.

Surely, with such dire consequences it must be really difficult to brick a Tesla, right? Unfortunately, the parasitic load from the cars subsystems will render any unplugged Tesla a brick in time. With a full charge, that might take up to six weeks or so, but if the battery was already run down it could take as little as one week. Even plugged in, if the voltage going to the car isn't sufficient it can brick anyway as one unfortunate Tesla owner found out.

Insurance won't cover it, either. Tesla is no better - they specifically state in their terms upon buying the car that they are not responsible for "neglect" of the battery. You would think Tesla would recognize the danger here and go to great lengths to warn customers about this issue, but it is markedly absent from any of the paperwork and manuals given to new Tesla owners.

Given this information, buying a Tesla leaves you open for a huge un-insurable liability. There are those who want to go green while maintaining serious style, but with $40,000 in the balance, is it worth it?

Own a Remarkable Piece of History for a Cool Million

On March 10th on Amelia Island, Florida RM Auctions will be auctioning a very unique piece of automotive history.

While we complain in modern times when our AC Compressor and AC Evaporator aren't keeping us cool enough, this beauty had no such amenities and yet it is a sight to behold.

 It is an extremely rare 1913 Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII, chassis #718 - one of only four ever built. It was named after the King of Spain at the time, a young auto enthusiast who bought many of Hispano-Suiza's models - eventually building a fleet of 30. In honor of their best and most respected customer, they named this model the Alfonso XIII, and with a 3.62cc inline four-cylinder engine and a top speed of 80mph (which was excellent for the time) it certainly lived up to it's namesake.

 The attention to detail in the making of this vehicle is striking: original Belriot two bulb headlamps (an early example of a hi-beam low-beam set-up), intricately woven and fabulously preserved interior upholstery, wood-framed windows, and special markings on the trunk hardware, leaf springs, and the original dash chassis plate to name just a few highlights.

It also features both an open, summer body and a closed winter body (winter body shown): both are immaculately preserved. The story goes in the mid-80's two avid car collectors were in Seville, Spain. They met an antique dealer and asked him if he knew of any Hispano-Suiza cars that might be in the area, and he pointed them in the direction of his client, the Marquis de Sanlucar de Barrameda.

After going to his estate and sampling some of the local wine, he agreed to sell them his grandfather's car - kept in a storage area for wine barrels and untouched for 40 years. They were blown away with how preserved the vehicle was and happily received their purchase.

 Lucky find, which will now move to the hands of the next lucky auction winner with a million dollars to spare.

What Documents Are Important to Keep for my Vehicle?

There are several documents you are required to keep withyou when you drive in the United States. It is easy to forget about necessarypaperwork when driving – most of us are only concerned whether our CD Playerand navigation units are functioning to make sure we are entertained and comfortable. Howevernot having a piece of the necessary paperwork required for driving on publicroads can leave you with a huge headache.

 One of these is a driver’s license, which alsoserves as a valid form of identification. As it is your license to drive, and aform of identification, it is best to carry your driver’s license with you atall times. These are issued by your home state, and the requirements forobtaining one vary from state to state. To check the requirements where youlive, visit the Department of Motor Vehicles website for your home state.

You are also required to carry a liability insurance policyfor driving. The minimum requirements of these policies also vary from eachstate, but regardless, a card will be issued to you either physically orelectronically. There are many insurance companies switching to paperlesspolicies, and while this is more efficient and “eco-friendly,” it is importantto make sure you print a copy of your insurance card and keep it with you ifyou received it electronically.

You are also required to register your vehicle in the statein which you live. After filling out a registration form, and a check for thefees for registering your vehicle, you will receive a document and a sticker toapply on the top right corner of your license plate. Make sure to keep thedocument that comes with the sticker – this is your vehicle registrationpaperwork and should be kept, along with your insurance information, in theglove compartment of your vehicle.

Why are these documents important to keep with you? If youare ever pulled over by any law enforcement officer, you will be required tofurnish these documents as proof you are legally able to drive in the U.S. Ifyou are caught without these documents you will most likely be issued aseparate ticket for not having them on you, along with whatever violation youwere cited for in the first place. Additionally, if you are ever involved in anauto accident, you will be required to exchange the information on thesedocuments to the other party involved (if any), and depending on the severityof the accident, report it to the Department of Motor Vehicles. It is best toavoid any problems by making sure you have your paperwork in order at alltimes.
 

 Lastly, it is very important to keep the original documents thatprove your ownership of the vehicle – typically called a title. The title toyour vehicle is critical in proving that the vehicle belongs to you, and isrequired for registering the vehicle in your name for the first time. Neverkeep the title inside the vehicle – if the title is lost, getting another copycan be difficult. It is best to keep the title to your vehicle in a safe placeat home where you can find it if you need it.

Car Sharing... the Future?

I like everything in my car to be set just right. The climate needs to be at my perfect temp, at all times. I don’t want anyone else messing with my air conditioning. So, quit turning my AC Compressor on and off, and stop putting my AC Parts through so much wear and tear. You may think that I am super anal and you are super correct. Due to this, I am not a good candidate for a car sharing programs, but it might be the right fit for you.

The first evidence of car sharing goes back to 1948. The idea of sharing vehicles has come and gone several times, lacking the ability to stick. No one has seemed to be able to get it right. That has not stopped the fad from, once again, coming back. However, this time there is a new approach.

There is the old car sharing business model; a company owns a whole fleet of cars and members can rent those cars for a few hours or an entire day. Zipcar is the largest of these corporations with 650,000 members, who proudly refer to themselves as “Zipsters.”I wonder if Zipsters wear their seatbelts extremely tight around their tight hipster jeans. Zipcar has almost 10,000 vehicles in 19 major cities. They account for 80% of the car sharing market.

The new car share method is a peer-to-peer model. The company doesn’t actually own the vehicles. Instead, members share each other’s cars. Everything else is basically the same. This seems like a great business idea because it eliminates fleet maintenance, which is a massive expenditure. The tough part is getting members to trust their car with strangers. To ease members’ worries companies run background checks, and provide insurance.

The big companies that operate a peer-to-peer style are Getaround and RelayRides. General Motors just invested in RelayRides and will use OnStar to help members find and track vehicles. GM acknowledges that a car share program causes less people to buy automobiles, but reports state that there will be 4.4 million people participating in car share programs by 2016. GM wants to be the company that supplies those cars.

Saturn Compressor AC Line Update

Over the years there are updates to parts just like thereare to car models. For every model year that a vehicle is in production thereare small changes that are more than skin deep. The AC compressor just like other automotive AC parts may change as the years go by. Sometimes a car company goes under andthe aftermarket has to take over the production of the replacement parts. Inthe case of Saturn that is exactly what happened, when the company closed itsdoors it left many of its vehicles owners out in the cold when it came toparts. Maybe out in the cold is the wrong term to use, out in the heat isbetter since the OEM AC compressor was no longer available the aftermarket didwhat it could.

The solution to the lack of supply was to find a compressorthat bolted into the same location as the original Saturn compressor. This isnice in theory but the problem arose when a compressor was found, the compressorcould bolt on but the AC lines would not hook up. The solution was found injust changing them out and sending the update out whenever a Saturn L series orVue compressor was sold.

Each one of the replacement compressors was sold with a setof the high and low side ac lines what could be easily swapped into the system.This simplistic fix is a great example of how the aftermarket is not just abunch of cheap parts but more a community of vendors who are working to createa market for anything that has a need.

What is a Throttle Position Sensor?

In order for your car to work properly everything must beworking in prime condition.  Fromsomething as big as a diesel turbo charger to something as small as a throttleposition sensor, if one thing is malfunctioning your car will feel theeffects.  We all know what car parts suchas an AC Compressor does, but a lot of us can get confused when we start totalk about all these sensors.  I thoughtI would help you out a little bit and explain what a one of these sensors does.

Present day vehicles have an assortment of diverse sensors. Whenit comes to these sensors the key is “knowledge is power.”  The sensors supply the knowledge to the computer so that the computer knows how much power needs to be out. One such sensoris the Throttle Position Sensor.  Thislittle guy is located on the intake butterfly on internal combustion engines.  The throttle position sensor is apotentiometer that reports to the computer in regards to how open the throttleis.  This valuable info combined withdata from different sensors is used by the ECU to determine the correct fuel amount,ignition timing, and other important tasks. In turbocharged vehicles, the throttle position sensor’s cherishedinformation assists the wastegate for better car performance.

A malfunctioning Throttle Position Sensor means that thecomputer is not getting the correct information it needs to work properly.  This means the computer, the brain of yourcar, has lost a lot of its brain cells. Your car may start to jerk, suddenly stall, and hesitate whileaccelerating, and the fuel economy will plummet.  So, make sure your brain is getting the rightinformation so you’re not blowing a bunch of cash at the gas station.  If your Throttle Position Sensor is brokenfix it immediately.

Race of the Roses

Imagine having to deal with heat reaching up to 120 degrees,and there is no AC Compressor to help you. Even worse, your visibility is at zero and the window motor regulator isnot to blame.  Under these conditions youhave to manage around three intense turns, one which is a tight 107 degrees.  You must finish this intense five and a halfmile course at a blistering speed of 2.5 miles per hour.

You are probably asking yourself, “What daredevils wouldrisk their lives doing this?” The answer is, the brave souls who drive the floats in The PasadenaTournament of Roses Parade. The drivers get by withoutseeing because they have a spotter on top of the float that communicates withthem via radio. The observer tells the spotter when to turn and how fast to go. If the drivers have toslowdown or god forbid stop, it is frowned upon. When it comes to the heat, they just have to deal with it. If it gets up to 120 degrees an alarm will go off and the driver knowsit’s time to get out of the float and grab a root-beer float to cool down.

In case you were thinking about purchasing one of theseflowered monsters here are some specs. Most floats are powered by the likes of a V-10 truck engine.  There is no diesel option, as parade rulesprohibit that. They need to boast a lot of power because the floats are usuallyaround 120 feet long and over 100,000 pounds. The gas tank in these is approximately 50 gallons and a float willusually go through 30 gallons during the parade.  That’s just a little over 5 miles per gallon.There is no suspension, so expect a rough ride. If none of that deterred you from still wanting one, maybe the fact thatthey cost around $300,000 will.

Happy New Year    

How Do Auto AC Systems Work

In the days of ole, the wind was the best way to keep a hot day from being too much to bear but the modern age calls for a modern solution. AC systems are designed to cool off air and keep the environment cool, well the indoor environment that is. Ever stood near the outside of an AC system, that heat has got to go somewhere. AC parts such as an A/C compressor and evaporator work together not to eliminate heat but to move heat to a different location.  The Idea of the ac system is simple, capture heat on a medium and use fluid to move said heat to another location. In the case of an auto ac system the heat is captured from the evaporator inside the car, usually under the dash. The captured heat is transferred to the condenser at the front of the vehicle and released. 

 A car, unlike a home relies more on moving air than fans to pull the heat off the condenser at the front of the vehicle. Auto AC is also a much more compact version of what a home ac system is…unless you feel like strapping a window unit into your car. When a car is in movement, air is blowing across the condenser which is basically a radiator that uses coolant and a cooling fan.  Just like the engine cooling system that keeps the car from over-heating the ac system keeps the passenger from overheating.

Components in the AC system play vital roles, each doing something that will specifically change the way the system works. The compressor being most important part, as it pushes the fluid through the system so that each of the other components can do their job. There is also a filter in the system that is often called a Accumulator/Drier which is designed to remove dirt and debris from the system. Then the fluid is passed through the condenser to be cool and yep you guessed it condensed. Once the Oil/Freon mix is cooled than it is passed through the expansion device where the fluid is allowed to expand into larger tubing. This process will further cool the fluid and then it is pushed into the evaporator which is a device where the fluid will be spread out even more onto what is like a radiator but works in reverse. Once the fluid travels across the evaporator a fan pushes air across it and the heat in the air is removed by the super-cooled liquid. Finally the heat soaked liquid is pulled back through the system and it all starts again. Ac systems are designed to make life more comfortable and cooler for all of us even if a failing system may make us a bit hot headed.