How to Choose the Most Convenient Auto Club (honda performance parts)
No commentsBy Amy Nutt
Choosing an auto club is a very important choice. It isn’t enough to simply choose whatever auto club program comes your way. That is because each auto club is different in that they have their own set of benefits and price ranges. It is important to explore all of these options in order to find the program that is the right program. The wrong program is going to provide you with things you don’t need and those things you do need won’t be available to you. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, make sure you do your research.
The pros and cons
There are certain pros and cons that must be evaluated when choosing the most convenient auto club. This includes cost, whether or not roadside assistance is included, if travel discounts are offered, and if any other discounts are provided to members. When it comes to cost, the cost of an auto club membership can exceed that of your regular roadside assistance. However, the auto club is going to provide you with more benefits.
As mentioned before, there are possible discounts included for when you travel. There are also discounts possibly included when you’re not traveling. For example, you can eat at a restaurant that honors your auto club card and receive 10% off of your meal total. You can also find discounts at retail outlets and outlets on the internet.
In regards to how the discounts work, a travel discount is going to provide you with savings on vacation packages, rental cars, hotels, cruises, and so much more. The discount is only relevant to traveling and nothing else. Other discounts include the restaurants and the retail outlets. A discount program is very important because that means you’re going to save some money while traveling. That is money that can be used to do something extra or eat at that extra special restaurant. Those discounts can also be the difference between staying in a 3 star hotel and staying in a 4 star hotel.
Roadside assistance
Saving money through auto club discounts is great, but roadside assistance is actually the most important part of an auto club membership. This is because roadside assistance is what is going to assist you if you’re stranded without help. It is very important to learn everything possible about the roadside assistance contained within auto club memberships. Here are the specifics that a good roadside assistance program should possess:
- Towing service: This can pay for the cost of the auto club membership since one towing can cost around $75.
- Tire change service: This is important because a flat tire can occur at anytime. Roadside assistance will summon help to put on your spare tire for you.
- Lockout service: Everyone locks their keys in their car at one time or another. Having a locksmith get the keys out of your car can cost around $30 to $40. Having this assistance provided by your auto club’s roadside assistance is included in your membership.
- Gas and battery service: If you run out of gas, roadside assistance includes gas to be brought to you so that you can get to the next gas station and fill up. They should also give your battery a jump if your battery dies.
All of these services should be included in roadside assistance, so make sure that they are. These services will ensure that you do not become stranded in an unfamiliar or dangerous place.
Do your research
So make sure you do your research before choosing an auto club. Make sure that you can use all of the services provided and that you’re not paying for services you can’t use. Everyone needs to have an auto club membership. Everyone just doesn’t need the same package.
Auto club offering emergency roadside assistance,travel packages and insurance in Ontario. You can participate in our petro points rewards offer.
Drive-In Theaters Or Driving Theaters? Today’s On-Board Vehicle Entertainment
By Mike Trudel
There was a time when a static-filled sound box and a bag of greasy drive-in popcorn had to suffice for vehicle theater entertainment. Today’s vehicle manufacturers have taken the theater experience of yesteryear and brought it into the 21st century with a virtual in-car entertainment system. Portable device interfaces, media players and satellite television are just a few emerging technologies for an automotive engineer to consider integrating as an attractive magnet for potential car buyers.
Portable Entertainment
Functionality and integration of portable entertainment has become more than just a feature for luxury vehicles. Portable device interfaces allow drivers to access their home music library or a video game via their automotive system using a USB port. MP3 players connect directly to a vehicle radio and allow control of music selection while song title, artist, album and elapsed time are conveniently displayed on the radio. SD Card Playback, a navigation database interface, can also be used to bring music into the vehicle.
That’s Infotainment
With the advent of media players, today’s driver can integrate a variety of entertainment and information content to his or her preference. Music from multiple sources can be searched and played using a single interface. And those interfaces are controlled via voice, soft keys, a central control knob or steering wheel controls. Want to hear only reggae or pop while driving home from work? A “Similar Songs” button looks into the database and selects similar songs for play. Other media player features include Bluetooth (R) audio streaming, DVD-V/ROM, MP3 and full-featured navigation capabilities.
Best Seat Isn’t Even in the House
“Are we almost there?” is likely to turn into “We’re here already?” for those who discover the best seat in the house is at the rear of a vehicle. Rear-seat entertainment allows passengers to enjoy movies, music and video games via an LCD color monitor, which offers a crisp and clear picture, even at extreme viewing angles. Factory-installed systems include a DVD player, which forms the core of the system and can also read music, data files and photos. Illuminated keys let the viewer keep control of the DVD player, even in the dark.
After short journey breaks or after the engine has been switched off, a special module enables the system to know exactly which content was played last - so users do not have to go searching through the last film or music program.
Soon, consumers may also begin to see video/wireless systems that deliver separate options for the driver, front-seat passengers and the rear-seat positions. Drivers might listen to satellite radio, while passengers separately employ headphones to listen to MP3 players or watch DVDs.
TV on the Open Road
Satellite television allows passengers to leave DVDs at home and instead enjoy digital-quality entertainment channels on the open road. Various systems can provide access to more than 100 programming channels and more than 50 channels of satellite music. In addition, families can catch the big game, traffic reports or local news stories from the comfort of their vehicle via local networks. Satellite TV also integrates with various in-vehicle backseat video systems.
Popcorn Optional
Today’s on board car entertainment system provides seamless experiences in music, movies, television and more. Greater freedom from home to the open road means access to entertainment, navigation and safety features from behind the wheel. With all of these options, drivers may discover the best seat in the house is actually parked out in the garage.
Mike Trudel, Freelance Writer.
Delphi Corp. is poised to apply its expertise and know-how to provide vehicle manufacturers and consumers with in-vehicle entertainment and connectivity. To learn more about Delphi Corp., please visit www.Delphi.com/4Innovation or www.Delphi.com/4Connected.
Your Online Directory Of Honda Car Part Listings
Today’s Automotive Engineer: A Technology Guru with Connectivity Solutions
By Mike Trudel
Technology gurus are hiding in a variety of places these days. Say, for instance, the automotive industry.
The automotive industry has produced some of the most advanced and user-friendly technologies publicly marketed in recent years. We can now not only operate our cars without keys, but we can also map our next trip, download information from our desktops onto a “carputer,” assess the state of the vehicle, watch movies, arm a security system inside and out and be alerted when others are in our blind spots.
Take, for instance, an entry-level map-based integrated navigation radio, which uses a flash-based secure digital card color map database to provide high-performance navigation. A single, state-of-the-art navigation kernel and map data compiler used in the European market help shorten Original Equipment (OE) innovation cycles, and a range of options allows for entertainment and ease-of-use features. Integrated into a single unit, a map navigation system can be used in parallel to the audio system.
Such a system can include AM/FM radio, navigation tools, playback mechanisms like compact discs and MP3s, and connectivity options for portable electronic devices. Of course, customers can add nearly anything a techy heart could desire, like a digital tuner, USB, touch-screen interface, voice recognition, steering wheel control and audio codec options.
And that’s just the basic model. Touch-screen navigation radios are full-featured audio and navigation systems in one unit, using onboard computers that interact with the Global Positioning System (GPS), vehicle sensors and a DVD-map database. Such personal travel assistants minimize travel time, make travel more convenient and increase peace of mind. Benefits include multiple functions in one compact unit, the ease of a touch screen, voice prompts, entertainment options, state-of-the-art navigation, the ability to remap locations if the driver misses a turn and intersection views for detailed maneuvering guidance.
Active safety systems, like active night vision, lane departure warning systems and infrared side (blind spot) alerts, are other excellent examples of automotive engineers’ ability to connect advanced technologies in a manner that makes the driving experience both safer and more enjoyable.
Active night vision uses near-infrared headlamps to illuminate the road scene ahead and displays an enhanced image in the vehicle. This system provides high-beam visibility without blinding oncoming traffic. Components of the active night vision system can be shared with other safety features, such as a lane departure warning system.
When lane departure warning systems utilize a camera, the camera can also be used for multiple features, such as active night vision, pedestrian recognition, rain sensing and intelligent headlight control. The lane departure warning system uses a monocular camera mounted behind the windshield to track lanes in front of the vehicle. Accompanying software estimates lane width and road curvature, and determines the vehicle’s heading and lateral position within the lane. When the driver strays from his or her own “dotted lines,” an audible, tactile or visual alert is issued. According to an automotive magazine, ninety-five percent of all vehicular accidents involve some degree of driver behavior — such as swerving. Systems like lane departure warning provide hope of reducing the approximately one hundred deaths that occur every day on American roadways, as reported by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1995.
Side (blind spot) alerts provide the same hope. These systems help drivers be aware of vehicles in side blind spots when changing lanes and making turns. Sensors integrated into mirrors, taillights and side fascia measure the adjacent lane temperature over time to detect if vehicles are entering the side blind spot. If detected, the system provides visual indications within the mirrors. If this proves ineffective and a turn signal is activated anyway, an audible alert follows. These warnings give drivers more time to react and, hopefully, help avoid the more than 200,000 lane change accidents that occur every year according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
It’s amazing how easily they hide those geniuses of technology. We never hear their names, see their faces, or even, in most cases, acknowledge they exist. Yet it is the knowledge, safety and connectivity solutions of automotive engineers that are helping save lives and helping make sure the rest of us don’t get hopelessly lost on the way to that next great adventure — at least not too often.
Mike Trudel, Freelance Writer.
Delphi Corp. is poised to apply its expertise and know-how to provide vehicle manufacturers and consumers with in-vehicle connectivity. To learn more about Delphi Corp., please visit www.Delphi.com/4Connected.
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under automotive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
