Advance Auto Zone

The automobile service industry is on the move once again. Recent statistics show that the industry is increasing at the same rate as the economy. Many factors have contributed to this increase including the fact that the service industry is directly correlated to the automotive aftermarket industry which is nearing $150 Billion in 2006. Also, even though the number or repair shops in recent years have been declining, the number and frequency of repairs is on the rise. This is mostly contributed to the fact that the average life span of a car in 2005 jumped to 9 years as opposed to 6.5 in 1990. In addition, automobiles’ increasing electronics ensure that more malfunctions need to be assessed.

The industry has always had a problem connecting with its customers. Recent surveys in years past have shown that Repair Shops on average overcharge their customers by 20%. In addition, the industry is highly fragmented with four basic types of repair facilities: Independent repair shops, gas service stations, Dealer-owned facilities, and Chain Stores. Also, there are over 80,000 repair shops nationwide giving consumers a wide variety of options. Internet search engines show that over 700,000 people search for auto repair every month and have limited results.

Most repair shops have little to no internet presence. If they do, they lack the notoriety that most search engines require to register them on consumers’ search results pages. Therefore, the industry that is growing successfully isn’t even connecting with the fastest growing sector of their market: Internet Consumers. Well, there is a solution.

This is the end of generic phonebook listings and the launch of a unique website; www.mechanicadvisor.com. This site bodes to be the future of online auto repair research. MechanicAdvisor.com was developed by auto repair enthusiasts. Their site was inspired by their constant frustration in automobile repair as they moved to Boston, MA which was also when they left their local mechanic at home.
The site offers a wide variety of services to consumers as well as auto repair professionals. Visitors are capable of finding, researching, and reviewing auto repair specialists in their area based on their location (Zip Code). They offer tips, links, and directions to shops. They also offer Auto Professionals the opportunity to use their site for free for 3 months to experience the benefits.

Their objective is to have customers’ review and post recommendations on their site. Also, they seek to provide auto repair specialists with an online presence that will generate their business as the World Wide Web becomes an increasing avenue of auto repair research. In July of 2006, there were over 700,000 internet searches for “Auto repair” research (Network Solutions). However, MechanicAdvisor.com will be the first site directly related to those searches and the only one displaying customer reviews.

MechanicAdvisor.com www.MechanicAdvisor.com is based in Boston, MA and serves auto professionals nationwide. They encourage you to visit their site and post recommendations of your local mechanic as well as any comments you may have. Check out their premium packages that are so cheap its too good to be true.

Robert Gendron

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Today an increase in gas prices clearly affects each one of us. This in turn has many families tightening their budgets at the increased cost at the gas pump. However one approach to decrease your cost at the pump is to increase your gas mileage. Though this may seem an obvious solution, nevertheless there are a number of ways to improve gas mileage that are easy to do.

One of the best ways of increasing gas mileage is to maintain your vehicle. At all times you must ensure that the tires are properly inflated. You can increase your gas mileage significantly by having the right amount of pressure in your tires. Ensure that when you have your oil changed, that your air filter is checked. Having a clean air filter also affects gas mileage. By checking that you properly maintain your car not only enhances gas mileage, but it also helps prolong the life of your car. With people constantly watching their budgets more strictly, they tend to drive their cars for longer periods of time.

Another way of increasing gas mileage is to keep a watch on your driving habits. There are a number of things that each driver does regularly that can impact gas mileage. Decrease your speed is perhaps the most published tip. By sticking to the speed limit you can to a great extent improve your gas mileage. This also increases your safety and the safety of others on the road. When driving in the city try to avoid rapid acceleration. As rapid acceleration greatly decreases gas mileage. Another tip is excessive breaking also uses more gas. In order to get the most out of each gallon of gas try to avoid doing this. Excessive breaking or riding the break is often a habit that young drivers get into, because of lack of confidence. Have talk with your teenage drive as it pays to discuss this matter.

For those who are in the market for a new car and are concerned about getting the best gas mileage possible, one can consider one of the hybrid cars. There are more models to opt from due to the rise in gas prices. A number of the hybrid models offer extremely good gas mileage. The hybrid car is improving in appearance, availability and performance. The reason behind this is that the high price of gas has pushed many manufactures to increase their production of the hybrid car to give consumers better gas mileage. Due to the increase in the number of hybrid cars produced, there is no longer the waiting list to contend with when purchasing one. In fact a number of car dealers have a number of hybrid models to select from on their showroom floor.

Additionally to changing your driving habits to increase gas mileage, you can also cut down on the number of trips you make with your vehicle. You may want to consider walking or riding a bike if going a short distance. Another good tip is to try to fit in as many errands into one trip as possible so that you will decrease the miles you drive. You will definitely save money at the pump by improving gas mileage by simple changes in your habits.

Ernest R. Peterson provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for

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As cars became more advanced, auto users likewise continuously increased their consciousness on how their cars should look and perform. There’s simply no particular vehicle that can suffice all of a users’ ever-changing needs and wants; thus, one does a lot of things to improve his car and make it more enjoyable to drive and ride. One of the things auto users frequently do to improve their vehicle’s looks and performance is to change the wheels of the car.

The wheel or the rim particularly refers to the metal ring on which the tire is attached but it also refers to both the rim and the tire as a whole. The wheels are among the most essential parts in the car since they are the ones that make your vehicle move. They “interact” with the road and thus greatly affect your car’s handling and ride quality.

Replacing the wheels is easier now and your choices are much greater as well. Stores like Auto Parts Corner provide great variety of OEM-quality auto parts including autopartscorner.com/wheels/ford.html” target=”_blank Ford wheels, GMC wheels, Mazda wheels, and BMW wheels. What’s more exciting is that you can purchase these products online. Aside from getting excellent choices, you get to save time, money and your efforts as well in purchasing replacement wheels for your car. You can expect amazing Auto Parts Wholesale deals from stores like this as well since more and more auto parts stores online are offering different kinds of replacement and aftermarket parts for almost all makes and models at great discount prices.

Purchasing replacement wheels and other auto parts may be a lot easier now however you still have to be wise and meticulous enough in selecting the sources of the parts you’re going to install on your vehicle. Thousands of stores online may be offering the same deals on numerous kinds of autopartscorner.com/ford.html”
target=”_new Ford parts, BMW parts, Chevrolet parts, Toyota parts and other most sought after replacement automotive parts but you can never be so sure of their products’ quality. It’s better to get auto parts from trusted sources like
autopartscorner.com” target=”_new Auto Parts Corner.

Likewise, you must be particular about the dimensions of the wheels you are purchasing. You must be very careful in choosing the right replacement wheels for your car so as not to compromise safety and your riding comfort. Although you want to enhance your car’s appearance, the way the wheel looks should not be your basis in choosing it over a more durable and high quality wheel.

Here are some auto terms related to auto wheels. Understanding these can be of great help in making the right choices on the kind of wheels you need to purchase in lieu of the original equipment.

Wheel Diameter. This refers to diameter of the metal ring, on which the bead of the tire rests. This is usually indicated on the wheels itself in inches. If you don’t find it on the wheel, know the size of the tires mounted on it. To achieve more athletic look, wheels with larger diameter matched with low profile tires are usually used as replacement for the stock wheels. Wheel width. This is the distance between the vertical edges of the rim where the tire bead seats. Ideally, the wheel width must be the same as the width of the tread of the tire (circumference of the outside surface of the tire).Wheel balancing. This procedure is done with the wheels off the car. This ensures that the weight of the wheels is distributed evenly around the axle.Wheel offset. This refers to the distance between the mounting surface of the wheel to the car (particularly the attachment surface of the disc at the wheel hub) and the center of the rim. This is crucial to the proper positioning of the tires.

Tracy is a 29 year old researcher and writer from Dallas, Texas with extensive experience in writing auto-related articles and covering automotive related events. She is currently a contributing writer for a leading automotive e-zine.

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