Magnetic signs for your car

Having your business signs on the side of your or the company vehicle can be a cheap and effective way of advertising your business.

You have either the option of painting the signs, pasting it up or using Car Magnets. I personally favour the last option, because it is easier to change the signs. The customizable magnetic signs offered by BuildASign.com are easy to design using their online design tool - you can even upload your own images. They also promise to have your sign ready and shipped to you in 1 - 2 days (using their "Expedite" option). I really like the fact that they reduce the price per item as your order quantity increases and best of all, there are no artwork or setup charges.

The signs are not limited to businesses. It can be about real estate, political and other banners. Check out the site for more details.

Car seat cover site

One of the most important but neglected car accessories are the seats. I have seen cars heavily modified with neon lights under them and mufflers that looked like cannons but with the old boring factory installed seats.

Even if you don't want to change the seats you can change the overall look and feel by just changing the covers. Talking about seat covers, Seat Covers Unlimited specializes in high quality seat covers. The site has a list of seat covers for almost every make or model of car from Fords to BMW's. They also have seat covers for SUVs, vans and even trucks. Even if your vehicle make is not listed, don't worry. Accordign to the site you just have to call them at 1-888-410-5050 and they

"will let you know if we have a pattern for your year, make, and model or we'll search for a vehicle to obtain a pattern for you."

Seat Covers Unlimited has designs to suit the personality and style preferences of almost everybody. For example, if you fancy yourself as a hunter living in the jungle and want a tiger or leopard print car seat cover, they have it.

I was surprised when I checked out the prices - they are so reasonable. This is amazing because the products used are not any cheap cloth but durable upholstery style fabrics. For added comfort, a 3/8 inch foam backing is added to the seats.

For your information, their manufacturing plant is located in Mesa, Arizona.

Review of Nengun Performance

The following is a paid review of the Nengun Performance website. Nengun Performance is an online reseller of after market auto performance parts. According to the information provided on the site, the company was originally from Australia but currently operating directly from Japan since April 2000.

I assume that their tagline is "the wholesale performance parts supplier on the Internet." They claim that they are able to offer really low prices on the parts because they buy in bulk from the Japanese performance parts companies with which they have direct contact.

First impression. Looking at the design of the site, I have to admit that there is an overall amateurish feel to it. Maybe it has to do with the Color Scheme. The color scheme of the site doesn't really appeal to me. Probably due to the fact that I am not a fan of sites with black backgrounds. From my experience I have found out that clean designs with white backgrounds are best for e-commerce sites. Not very exciting but it's safer.


I noticed that they have different logos on different pages and it changes everytime you reload the page. If they are interested in building a brand identity, having a unique and uniform logo should be the first step. I liked this particular logo, which I have shown here.

Moving to more serious matters, E-commerce is all about trust and I have to say that going through the site doesn't really give me that feeling of security. The first thing I look for on every e-commerce site, are their security and privacy notices. Unfortunately, the Nengun Performance site doesn't have one.

The "About page" is also not detailed enough. There are no names or contact addresses. Customers like to know who they are dealing with. The fact that there are spelling mistakes on the page doesn't help either.

In their FAQ, it is mentioned that they accept the following payment methods:
· International Direct Deposit
· Australian Direct Deposit (Westpac) and
· Paypal

However, I noticed that they do accept credit cards too. It would really boost the customer's confidence if the company provides some short of assurance that all important information (such as credit card details) sent to this site, is encrypted and is protected against disclosure to third parties.

So what did I like about the site?

I was drooling just looking at some of the products. They have an impressive collection of parts of well known brands (includes HKS, Apexi, Greddy, Mugen, Spoon, TRD and Nismo)for customers to choose from. Some of my more knowledgeable friends confirm, the prices are indeed wholesale. They also have a photo album that visitors to the site can view even without registering.

However, the question remains whether customers would be impressed enough or trust them to buy their products online.

Protecting window tints from scratches

Most cars now come with windows tints factory installed. They can help to keep down the temperature inside the car in hot, sunny places. Other people tint their car windows just to look cool.

Several car owners are encountering a particular problem with their tint being scratched. It seems certain manufacturers including Mercedes, Ford and Honda among others have felt on only one side of the window canal of the door, while failing to put this felt on the the weather strip that seals the window. This weather strip is made of hard plastic and over time collects dirt and other materials which rub against the tint causing scratches.

TintProtector.com has come out with a high quality felt strip installed to the existing plastic weatherstrip to prevent future scratches to film. The Tint Protectors Moleskin developed and manufactured by the company is made to withstand more heat, moisture, cold and abuse. The secret is their special synthetic resin adhesive. This product simulates the fur of a mole (hence the name) and removes dirt and grit as the glass moves down, thus preventing scratches.

Mustang and TL owners are the companies best customers. They also sell the MoleSkin for other purposes as well - to stop rattles and squeaks and as cleaning towels.

Sponsored

Searching for insurance on the net

Searching for the right car insurance can be really tough. You want to see whether other drivers would be insured, whether it has coverage for windscreen breakage, if the company would provide a courtesy car while your car is being repaired and so on. However, the most important factor that we have consider is the price.

Cheapest is not always the best choice but we have to see that we are getting thte value for our money.

The internet has made the process of searching for the right car insurance much easier. Find out how you can compare car insurance packages in the UK at insure121.com.

The great thing is that many of the insurance providers promoted by the company will offer you a discount of anything between 10% and 30% just for buying your insurance online, with no loss in cover too.

For your information, the company also lists several home insurance providers. So if you are looking for the best insurance quotes for your home on the site, you know where to go.

Sponsored

Auto refinance

if you are looking for Car Refinance, I suggest you look at what Rate Genius has to offer. They make it easier to complete your refinance by utilizing a proprietary electronic document process. the entire process is quite fast. The application takes only a few minutes and within 24-48 hours, rateGenius can have your car refinanced.

You can choose a suitable lender that will provide you with the rate, term, and amount to fit your lifestyle from their collection of prominent national lenders network.

For your information, rateGenius is an online loan brokerage company. Their main office is based in Austin, Texas. The company is licensed as a registered lender with the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and is a member of the Better Business Bureau.

Sponsored

Different petrol prices

Unlike Malaysia where petrol prices are fixed by the Government, Petrol prices in the UK depends on the market. For example, the prices went down for a while around November but it went back right up soon afterwards. It also varies from place to place and between companies.

Given below are the prices of unleaded petrol at various petrol stations near our locality:

1. Tesco: 84.9p
2. BP: 85.9p
3. Jet: 86.9p
4. Texaco: 87.9p

Mind you, these are prices for 95 Octane unleaded Petrol. 97 octane petrol is costlier (as much as 4p more at some stations)

The nearest to our house is a Texaco station but have never filled up there because it is the costliest. I usually fill up at either the BP station along Lockhurst lane (2nd cheapest in my area and I also get Nectar points there). My favourite is of course the Tesco station - the cheapest + Tesco points. The full address is Tesco Filling Station, Pheonix Way, Coventry Arena, Coventry. CV6 6EN.

What is your favourite station?

UPDATED: (19 Jan 2007) Just found out that the petrol prices fell overnight.

Tags: Petrol octane Tesco BP

Ryton factory to close

The Ryton factory in Coventry will close completely later this month. Peugeot had stopped production of the 206 before Christmas.

The factory has a long and varied history. It was built in 1939 to manufacture engines for war planes during the 2nd World War. They only started building cars there in 1946 with the Sunbeam-Talbot by the Rootes Group.

The Rootes group lost control of the factory in the 1960s due to financial difficulties. Chrysler Europe bought over the group and continued to build cars at Ryton. However, they too faced problems and sold the plant to Peugeot in 1978 for the sum of $1. AT that time it was known as the Talbot Motor Company. Peugeot built the first car there in 1985.

Some facts
- The Talbot names was dropped in 1995 and the company became Peugeot Motor Company Plc.
- Robots were first used in 1985.

- The plant stopped production of the 306 in 1999 and the plant was left producing only the 206.

- The closure of the factory by Peugeot leads to the loss of 2,300 jobs in Coventry.

The British should be thankful that Proton is not leaving Norwich.

Tags: Coventry Peugeot Ryton