The Classic Cars of the Future is the Automobile You Are Driving Today

A true classic car is one that is completely original, and no modifications have been made decades later, including holes drilled, or add-on aftermarket parts replacing the genuine original parts. But have you ever considered that the classic cars of the future are nothing more than the automobiles we are driving today. In other words you are only 30-years too early. Now then, with that said maybe you should consider what you are doing before you drill holes in your center console, or start making major modifications.

Okay so, you probably don't plan on keeping your car for 30 years, but what if you did? Some of the cars driving around today will be totaled, rebuilt, refurbished, and be in car show someday in the future. Some of the cars driving around today may look like just regular cars, but they may win best of show at a car show in 30 years. Thus, it makes sense to take care of your automobile, keep it in good condition, and keep it as original as possible without too many major modifications if you wish to hold its value over the long term.

Why is it that so many people have a problem thinking here? Is it because everyone is busy living in the present period, rather than thinking about the future? Is it because humans live for the day, without regard to strategically planning their future? Perhaps, it is some of all of those things, but 30 years from now will be here, perhaps before you know it. After all, time does have a way of flying by when you stop thinking about it.

Over the years before retirement, I had been involved in sponsoring a number of classic car shows, as it was part of our marketing and branding strategy for my automobile service company. I can't tell you how many times that the judges who were quite well-versed in the factory specs of various cars would find sometimes ridiculous parts added to cars, often they would be Chinese trinkets, little plastic fittings and things stuck where they didn't belong.

Because of this they couldn't win best of show, because their car was not fully original, but it also showed a lack of regard for continuity of the era in which the car was entered in the contest. Well, rather than continue to lecture you, I would just like you to please consider all this and think on it. Because you might be driving a classic car, but your mindset is merely out of time.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 23,850 articles by July 4, 2011 is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

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Custom Car Trends For The Future

Have you ever been to a car show? It is quite interesting to visit that kind of event. From the new releases to the concept cars, everything you want to see regarding street rods are here for your eyes to feast upon. What are interesting to watch out for are the car trends that the manufacturers take pride in presenting to their fans and loyal customers.

With the advent of people becoming eco-friendly and conscious on the environment and wants to take part of it, believe it or not, car manufacturers are doing the same thing - jumping into the bandwagon of being ecologically sound and conscious. It also has become a marketing strategy for them - adding points to their Corporate Social Responsibility theme. Not only that, they get plus points from environmental advocates for being supportive of Mother Nature's restoration and for the good of the children. Thus they created concept street rods or commonly known as hybrid cars.

These hybrid cars are designed in such a way that will help Mother Nature recover from the ravages of man's abusive use of the planet. Other than that, gasoline companies also developed bio-ethanol gasoline in order to make it "earth-friendly" and less air pollution. Aside from gasoline, companies also developed concept street rods that uses solar power as fuel and can be lightweight at the same time. Other trends would also help address the needs of a growing family with safety features. Seatbelts, provisions for car seats and boosters and even airbags fit for the children are also being designed and made in order to address the needs. Safety from thieves are also integral in the protecting your street rods. Car alarms, anti-car napping devices are also installed for your safety and protection.

Got lost on a road trip? You don't have to consult a map anymore. GPS or Global Positioning System is also installed for your convenience as well. Just encode the address of the place where you want to go and it will give you directions. Most of the drivers find it hard to do reverse parking or parallel parking. It is also resolved. By installing parking sensors, your car can guide you how to park and tells you if you're too near the pavement or the other car as well. Forgot to lock your doors? Your street rod can do that to you too as soon as you go a certain distance, it automatically locks itself. Another trend is driving automatically instead of stick shift or what they call cruise control. After maintaining a certain speed for a time, your car automatically takes over your speed. Even the air conditioning unit comes with a climate control feature.

There are more trends coming with all those creative ideas pouring in. We have to remember though that we are still in control of our street rods. If you remember that movie where all the people were evacuated in order for the planet to clean up and the computer won't allow them to go back, we might be in the brink of that. While these are good and novel ideas and create comfort in our everyday lives, let us not forget also that we sometimes need to exert our effort in controlling the devices that helps us in our everyday lives. Remember, we are their creators, and we are the highest level of creatures in this planet we call earth. While it is true that they gave us comfort and convenience, let not those convenience and comfort be the cause of our co-dependency attitude and misery if something bad happen to us.

We love bending, shaping and designing old metal into beautiful cars in our Street Rod Shop. At Jeff Lilly Restorations we have the people and facility to knock out a home run machine every time.

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An Overview of Future Hybrid Car Models

There are many future hybrid car models on the horizon that hold the promise of improving the environmental and economic benefits offered. Here is a brief overview of some of these promising technologies:

• Plug-in hybrid cars use larger electric battery backs that allow the car to be driven at high and low speeds using only electric power, improving fuel efficiency by 40% over conventional hybrids while emitting even fewer greenhouse gas and toxic emissions. The battery packs can be charged from any common household outlet and some charging is even done when the car brakes, improving fuel efficiency even more. At present, high prices are the main bar to wider adoption of the technology although Federal and state governments are encouraging the purchase of plug-in hybrids by offering tax credits to early adapters.

• Flex-fuel are future hybrid car models with internal combustion engines that can run on either gasoline or E85, a fuel substitute which is composed of 85% ethanol (made from plants such as corn) and 15% gasoline. However, supplies of ethanol and other bio-fuels are currently not enough to ensure that flex-fuel cars can become economically feasible.

• Diesel hybrids use internal combustion engines that run on clean diesel fuel rather than gasoline, providing better fuel efficiency than conventional gas-run hybrids while still reducing toxic emissions. And diesel hybrids are more powerful than conventional hybrids. The current hurdle that needs to be overcome is the higher cost of clean diesel technology, which translates to more expensive hybrid cars.

• Hydrogen hybrids are considered one of the most promising technologies for creating genuine zero-emission vehicles. The key to the success of this technology is the development of a storage medium that allows the hydrogen to be stored in the vehicle for use as a fuel. However, aside from the expense of the technology, the wider adoption of hydrogen hybrids is also hampered by the lack of a widespread refueling infrastructure. And many manufacturers see the development of a successful hydrogen hybrid car not as a goal in itself but as the bridge towards hydrogen-powered fuel-cell hybrid cars.

• Fuel-cell hybrids use fuel cell batteries fueled by hydrogen to produce electricity that powers the car. However, the prospects for future hybrid car models that use fuel cells are still uncertain as car manufacturers have to overcome many obstacles such as reducing the size and weight of the fuel cell as well as the high cost of the technology.

Are you looking for more information regarding future hybrid car models? Visit http://www.hybridcarsinfo.org/ today!

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