While many add-on purchases for automobiles are quite popular, the most significant addition for any vehicle is a security car alarm. With more than a million vehicles stolen each year, taking proactive steps to work against the possibility of theft is just common sense for all car owners. It stands to reason that a car owner will want to protect such a huge financial investment. Other than your home, your car is probably the most expensive thing you own. Doesn’t it make sense to take care of it? Taking care of your car goes beyond changing the oil and keeping it clean. Really taking care of your car involves doing everything you can to keep it from being stolen.

Security car alarms serve as an affordable and effective way to keep you and your car from becoming the next car theft victims.

As a car owner, it is in your best interest to investigate security car alarms to find the best protection system for both your vehicle and your budget. If you think you can’t afford a car alarm system, ask yourself if you can afford for your car to be stolen. That important question can put the minimal cost of a good alarm system in perspective.

What Are The Options?

There is a tremendous variety of choices when it comes to choosing a great car alarm. There are many different manufacturers, models and technological features for security car alarms. Virtually any budget can be accomodated with a security car alarm. The most economical model is not always the best choice for your vehicle’s protection, though. Often just investing a few more dollars to get a higher quality system can have a huge impact on the overall effectiveness of the security car alarm system you choose.

Directed Electronics is an Industry Leader

Directed Electronics is one of the most established and best known names in security car alarms. This highly regarded and respected company is responsible for the two top security alarm brands, Python and Viper. The company’s product mix also includes products from other major brands that have become a part of their organization, including Avital, Clifford, Autostart and AutoCommand. With more than twenty years in the security car alarm industry, the company’s experience is clearly depicted by its impressive portfolio of vehicle security products.

Choose a Top Brand

Whether you choose a Directed Electronics product, or one from a different firm, it is a good idea to choose your unit from among the industry’s top brands. Working with industry leaders helps to ensure the highest quality and most advanced electronics technologies for your security car alarm. You only want to buy a car alarm from a reputable company that specializes in vehicle security to ensure that your system has the latest technology. Developing the ability to discern the major brands of vehicle security products can help you make the best possible choices in automotive protection.

One of the most highly regarded security car alarm brands is Viper. Viper tends to be the system of choice for discerning expert drivers. Such discriminating consumers understand the value of a top notch alarm system because of the superior technologies employed to keep your vehicle constantly protected. Python is another great name in car security alarms, well-known for its unique technologies that include recognized names like Revenger, Failsafe, Stinger, Starter Kill and DoubleGuard. Both the Phython and Viper security alarm systems are focused on user convenience paired with extreme vehicle protection systems. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Clifford is another respected brand. It has been protecting vehicles for more than twenty years, and has kept up with with technological advances like the MATRIX and G5 Technologies. These systems have the ability to instantly intimidate potential car thieves, which is crucial for maximum protection of our car.

Avital has also been around more than two decades with security car alarm products that are trusted by many, many consumers. Avital has a reputation for providing both outstanding security and remote starter systems.

These are not the only top notch choices for alarm systems. There are number of other reputable products that can meet your needs. Other top brands for security car alarms include Hornet, Valet, Ready Remote and AutoCommand, Astroflex, Automate Securit, and Autostart. Also, Merlin systems is a strong choice for motorcycle protection options. The benefits of security car alarm systems are greatly enhanced when you select yous from among these leading industry brands. It only makes sense to stick with recognized experts in security when protecting your own vehicle. The experience and expertise of top brand car alarm systems is the best tool for keeping your vehicle best protected against the threat of robbery.

General Motors, the manufacturers of the immediately recognized world renowned Chevrolet cars of various shapes and colors also produces a trio of trucks: the Avalanche, the Colorado and the Silverado. The Avalanche comes in three variants, the LS, the LT and the LTZ mentioned in an ascending order of pricing.

The next-generation Vortex V8 engine installed under the hood of the Chevrolet Trucks have an Active Fuel Management System that intelligently makes a transition from 8 to 4 cylinders when power is not needed and vice versa when required and informs the driver of the switch to boot, via the Driver Information Centre(DIC). In addition to this the engine has fuel flexibility so that it can run on either gasoline or E85 - a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline - or a combination of both. Incidentally, E85 ethanol fuel is not only eco-friendly but is also home grown use of which can enhance the nation’s economy and energy independence.

The DIC mentioned earlier is packed with features that make it a real time watchdog constantly monitoring and reporting the functioning of the truck. The equipment also lets you personalize some of the operations of the vehicle such as locking/unlocking. The apparatus also has a stopwatch among its more assorted functions.

The Chevrolet Truck comes with a remarkable array of safety features that leaves nothing to be desired. In addition to the customary front airbags for the driver and the passenger the Chevrolet Truck sports the Head-Curtain Side Airbags designed to reduce the risk of head and neck injuries. Child safety is taken adequately care of by the provision of LATCH (Lower Anchors and Top tethers for CHildren) - a routine fixture for all Chevrolet Vehicles. Available in the LT and the LTZ models is the Rear View Camera, a contraption that allows the driver to see - on the navigation screen - stationery things when reversing. It is more useful when hooking up to a trailer.

Remote keyless entry, a standard device in all Chevy vehicles is offered in these trucks. Another utility that is available in the Chevrolet Truck is called OnStar. This is a one stop safety and security service that can be stated to be an amalgamation of advanced driving technologies that inspires confidence in the driver. The system comprises Voice Directed Turn-by-Turn directions, Vehicle Diagnostics that emails you monthly report on what is wrong with the vehicle. Locked Out - with the OnStar installed you don’t need to panic. A call OnStar will get the truck opened remotely. Night time safety is taken care of by the provision of standard halogen lamps that allows light to be more intense and centered. The automatic exterior lamp control design illuminates and extinguishes exterior lighting with driver intervention.

Carl and Shayne Patterson are in the market for a brand new truck. It’s a decision fewer and fewer Americans seem to be doing during these days of high gas prices.

“I have to haul a boat and I need a truck to haul but if it wasn’t for that I’d buy a hybrid,” says Carl Patterson.

The couple is considering buying a Toyota Tundra. But they’re not the only ones feeling the pinch of high gas prices. car dealerships are seeing a decline in truck sales as many consumers are trading in those gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles.

“We do get a lot of domestic pickups and SUV’s being traded in on sedans,” says Robert Derrick, internet sales manager with Dick Dyer Toyota.

He says the dealership has seen an increase in small car sales. “The family, they’re looking at their dollar, their pocket as you definitely have a spike as far as the sedans. And better gas mileage,” says Derrick.

And while Toyota and other import dealers are feeling the pain from the pump, domestic dealers aren’t fairing any better. Jeremy Carter, internet sales manager with Love Chevrolet says his car dealership may have more to lose.

“It’s definitely hurt our market especially Chevrolet and most American car companies. Our trucks and SUV’s are much bigger sellers than our cars. We’re trying to push and get all the cars we can and stay away from the trucks which is the complete opposite of what we would have done 2 years ago,” says Carter.

But he says the push toward smaller cars is not coming easy for some of their loyal truck customers. “We’ve heard a lot of, man I love my truck, but I just don’t know if I can drive it anymore,” says Carter.

Meanwhile the Pattersons say if they do decide to purchase a new pickup, they’ll be driving it as a last resort. “I’ll probably still drive my old truck that gets good gas mileage and just leave this one for hauling the boats and campers and stuff like that,” says Patterson.

The Opel Antara’s adaptability and functionality will be put to the test once again in January 2008. For the second year in a row, an Antara with Balázs Szalay and his ‘Szalay Dakar Team’ at the wheel will take on the Lisbon-Dakar rally – the longest and most difficult cross-country rally competition in the world.

With expert assistance from GM Racing and sponsorship from General Motors/Opel Hungary, the private team’s brand new car – an Opel Antara RR – has been specially adapted to the harsh conditions and includes the latest GM race engine. In its first desert test at the UAE Desert Challenge in November 2007, the new Antara RR performed sensationally, helping the team to 8th place overall.

Balazs Szalay has been rallying Opel cars since 2003, and 2008 will be his 10th Dakar race. And with the versatile, dynamic Opel Antara, Balazs has the best chances of a top-place finish. Boasting a robust design, distinctive lines and a powerful stance, the Opel crossover is sure to cut a fine figure as it battles through the sand dunes and challenging conditions toward Dakar. The team will be assisted throughout by Gregory Prior and Ross O’Blenes, two GM Motorsport engineers who participated in the engine development for the Dakar Antara and spent time in Hungary fine-tuning the car. “The GM Racing engineers will be a great help when it comes to the technical side of the rally, and give us the assistance we need to pose a greater challenge to the other professional drivers in the race,” says Balázs Szalay.

The 9723-kilometer Lisbon-Dakar rally begins in Lisbon/Portugal on January 5 and ends in Dakar/Senegal on January 20, 2008. To date, 580 vehicles have signed up for the 2008 rally, which promises to be the toughest in the event’s 30-year history.

The new Saskatchewan government has eliminated the provincial sales tax on used cars and trucks.

The change came into effect Monday. Rod Gantefoer, finance minister for the Saskatchewan Party, says those who have paid the PST since Nov. 8 can apply for a refund.

Used vehicles that are eligible include all cars, all sport-utility vehicles, all light passenger and cargo vans and all light trucks.

Every night, columns of hulking blue and red freight trucks invade China’s major cities with a reverberating roar of engines and dark clouds of diesel exhaust so thick it dims headlights.

By daybreak in this sprawling metropolis in southeastern China, residents near thoroughfares who leave their windows open overnight find their faces stiff with a dark layer of diesel soot.

After Mary Leung opens her tiny open-air shop along a major road soon after dawn, she must wipe the soot off her countertops and tables; the tiny yellow-and-olive bird that has kept her company is harder to clean.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has stopped importers from withdrawing at least 2,970 used passenger vehicles out of the Subic Bay Freeport.

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said he issued the order after the Supreme Court made a final ruling denying the motion of the Motor Vehicle Importers Association of Subic Bay Freeport Inc. (MVIASBFI) to sell the used cars outside the freeport.

The Office of the Solicitor General received a copy of the court’s Oct. 30 resolution on Nov. 9. Arreza said his office received a copy on Nov. 16.

The court maintained its previous positions. On Feb. 20, 2006, it exempted the Subic Bay Freeport from the ban on the importation of used motor vehicles on the condition that it cannot sell or market them outside the freeport.

The elimination of PST on used cars and trucks has had little impact on vehicle sales in Moose Jaw.
The idea was a Saskatchewan Party promise during the recent provincial election campaign and took effect when the new government came into power Nov. 21, retroactive to Nov. 8.
“After the initial announcement, people were a little hesitant because they wanted to hold off until the election was all said and done,” said Stan Topola, business manager at Village Ford Lincoln.
“After that, we saw a little bit of an increase in used vehicle sales.”
Tim Giokas, used car manager at Murray GM, hasn’t seen any increase in used vehicle sales, while Kim Hoffman, owner of Grand Auto Sales, said used vehicle purchases at his lot have gone from about one a week to three a week starting Nov. 20.
Although he’s pleased with the tax exemption, Hoffman wishes the government would go a step further and include all used vehicles, not just light cars and trucks.
“We sell motorhomes and motorbikes here and you still have to pay PST on them,” he said. “And on three-ton trucks.”

Urban planner Daniel Burnham anticipated the day when it would be possible for every Illinois resident to pile into all the state’s cars and trucks and drive out of the Land of Lincoln.

But Burnham, who worried about future traffic congestion overburdening the roadway system in outlying areas, also foresaw the day when gridlock, if left unchecked, would make that movement of humanity impossible. So he came up with a plan.

Dear FSB: Must I prove that a work vehicle is used for business 100 percent of the time? And if so, how do I prove it? My question is related to Land Rover’s statement about tax depreciation allowances. They claim that the first year you can claim $32,000, then $11,200, then $6,700, then $4,032 each year respectively for a total of 90 percent of the purchase price after four years. If this is true I will be purchasing ASAP! Thanks for your time!

- Michael, San Diego, Calif.

Dear Michael: Technically, you are correct. “But it truly must be a business vehicle and you must be able to prove it,” says David Gorsich, a licensed tax professional in San Diego. “Most people hear about tax laws from their barber or bartender and think something like this is a silver bullet and any bozo can get rich. But it doesn’t work that way.”