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Isuzu: Corporate Overview
by: Matthew C. Keegan
The Isuzu brand is one of the least known of the Japanese car brands sold in the North American market. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Subaru are all well recognized and respected Japanese makes while Isuzu lives perpetually in their shadow and underneath the wings of world auto giant, General Motors. Let’s take a look at Isuzu and what makes this car company tick.
In 1981, Isuzu followed competing Japanese automakers and entered the US, the world’s largest automobile market in terms of annual sales. Getting a late start, Isuzu had some catching up to do as each of its Japanese rivals had already established themselves in the lucrative American market. Indeed, it has always been perceived by automobile experts that if an automaker was going to be successful in the world, then they needed to establish a foothold in the highly competitive U.S. market.
Earlier models from Isuzu included the I-Mark, a compact four door sedan; the Stylus, which replaced the I-Mark; the Trooper, a compact SUV; the Impulse, a sporty two door coupe; and the P’up, a compact pick up truck.
Custom Chopper Kits
by: Kathryn Whittaker
Choosing the parts that your custom chopper will be made of can be very confusing, considering the large numbers of custom chopper bike kits available on the market today. Chopper innovators like Biker’s Choice, Phantom Cycle, Paul Yaffe and many more sell chopper-in-a-box kits available for chopper enthusiasts. Thanks to these kits, custom choppers have become quite affordable and are no longer necessarily toys for millionaires or master mechanics.
Custom chopper kits provide the future chopper owner with all the instructions and just about every component necessary to create a perfect chopper of ones dreams. Jesse James, famous for his Discovery series Monster Garage, offers a Big Book catalogue loaded with individual parts and accessories needed to create a fully custom bike with truly unusual frame configurations and groundbreaking metal sheet parts as seen on his TV show. However, the most exquisite details, such as an unusual tortoiseshell finish of the gas tank, can be obtained in your custom chopper only if you have your chopper built from scratch by Jesse himself.
2006 Buick Lucerne: Return of the V8
by: Matthew C Keegan
The venerable Buick Park Avenue is no more, having been replaced by the all new Buick Lucerne, a down market version of the Cadillac DTS. With a 275-hp Northstar V8 engine, the Lucerne becomes the first Buick car in nearly ten years to arrive equipped with a V8. The entire Buick line up is in the process of being overhauled, so let’s take a look at this make’s newest flagship and see how it plays a part in GM’s overall strategy.
If you are a fan of the Buick brand you have witnessed your fair share of changes over the past five years. Gone are the Park Avenue, LeSabre, Century, and Regal, and in its place are the Rendezvous, the Rainier, LaCrosse, Terrazza, and the Lucerne. All the changes are the result of General Motors’ broad realignment strategy in the wake of retiring the Oldsmobile brand, lifting Saturn into the fold, and setting strategy to compete against the nonstop onslaught of foreign brands including Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, and Infiniti.
Understanding Your Auto Warranty
by: Matthew Noel
The auto warranty is something everyone thinks about when they are purchasing a car, but few of these people realize that they need to think about it after that as well. You go into a dealership, which convinces you to purchase an auto that is perfect for you. What seals the deal, in many cases, is the fact that the auto has an auto warranty on it. You think that they could not or would not offer a warranty on a product that wasn’t up to standards. So, you purchase your car and get your auto warranty.
Regardless of the car, the make or model number, you simply shove that auto warranty into the glove box and call it done. But, what you need to do is to know what is covered on that warranty, what you need to do to get those services, and what you need to do to keep that warranty up to date.
Getting the information that you need to make a decision about your auto warranty is also important. For many people, they may not even realize that they should read the thing! You would be surprised at what is and isn’t covered in that warranty. If you have one and you haven’t read it, dig it out and get going.
Help Me, Honda!
by: Matthew C. Keegan
So, you need a new car, do you? Have you considered Honda? Not too long ago your choices were the Civic, Accord, or Prelude. Today, Honda has expanded their line up to cover just about every segment going. Let’s take a look at their current line up and see how Honda stacks up against the competition.
Accord - Soon after the Civic entered the North American market, the Accord was introduced. The car has been so well received that it routinely battles with the Toyota Camry for the top spot in the American market. Every few years the Accord receives a complete makeover; today’s Accord is available in three models: coupe, sedan, and hybrid
Civic - When Honda entered the US market in the early 1970s, it was the Civic that led the way. The reason? High fuel economy. At that time, Detroit was primarily building gas guzzling behemoths and the American market was ripe for an affordable and economical compact car. Despite being derided by some - pregnant roller skate was one of the terms given to the Civic - the car proved to be the toehold Honda needed to get established in the North American market. Today’s Civic bears no resemblance to the original and it is available in three models: coupe, sedan, and hybrid.
Financing Your Car What You Should Know
by: Dennis James
Buying a new car is the dream of many Americans; as a result many are sold each year, that is after financing is obtained in order to pay for them. While you might think going and picking out a car and then receiving on the spot financing is relatively easy it is not always so. Before you head to your local dealership to buy the car of your dreams, consider these tips on automobile financing.
Tip #1 Credit Score
Your credit score has everything to do with whether or not you receive automobile financing as well as the interest rates and down payment requirements you will receive. Because of this it is incredibly important for you to know your credit score before you ever head to the dealership. If your credit score is above 600 then you should be able to get financing without too much trouble, however if your score is below 600 you should spend a few months lowering your bills and focusing on increasing your credit score so you can not only qualify for financing, but also for a great interest rate in order to buy that new car.
Dodge: Awesome and Invigorated!
by: Matthew C. Keegan
If you are a car fan you know that part of the fun of following the market is examining new models as they enter the showroom. There is just something special about a new car: the smell, the look, the price tag! For some 17 million American drivers a new car is in their future, while many others opt for the used car market. Some of the cars on the market today are hot, hot, hot! Let’s take a look at several new and future offerings from Dodge.
Thanks in part to new ownership [Daimler Benz purchased the Chrysler Corporation in 1998] a fresh infusion of great looking Dodge models have hit a showroom near you. Additional models are soon to appear and the makeover that Dodge has been receiving is nothing less than astounding. Here are some of my favorites:
Magnum - Who said that a station wagon should resemble a family hauler? The Magnum sure doesn’t. With an intimidating grille and a rakish exterior, the Magnum is a true man pleaser while also giving women a bit extra room in the back to haul stuff. Throw in a Hemi and the Magnum truly rocks!
Motocross Gear - Worn out of Necessity, Shaped over Time, Finished with Style
by: Mark Sturge
When dirt bike racing was in it’s infancy riders wore whatever was available to protect themselves. Open faced helmets, Jofa pants, leather protection as the protective equipment was not specifically made for dirt bike racing, riders looked more like confused hockey playing bikies than dirt bike racers!
As the sport (best sport in the world mind you 
became more popular, the growth was then able to sustain parallel’ or complimentary manufacturing industries. Companies like JT USA, Sinisalo etc. could now focus primarily on making only motocross gear.
More money was now being pushed into research and development of motocross gear, sponsorship of riders and marketing programs
More emphasis was being placed on style so colour was added to gear to match dirt bike colourings or just to be outrageous and different. Pink was big mid eighties (I did not say it was always in good taste).
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