The skills required to become an ECO driver is quit simple and can easily be learn in a few hours behind the wheel lessons.

One of the most important lesson I’ve learned when I took my ECO driving course was the amount of gas I wasted staying in Drive mode while waiting for the stop lights to change. I did not even notice that I could have made a significant saving if I shifted to Neutral.

There are lot of other lessons you can learn from taking up lessons in ECO driving. Regardless of what type of car you drive this course will really help you save a lot of gas and even teach you how to use GPS navigation to save fuel.

As schools stop teaching driver ed, parents soon took over the responsibility as driving instructors. But later on as studies show most parents were not equipped to properly teach their kid. Aggravating things even more was the little time parents spent in teaching their kids even the basic driving skills. Insurance companies know all about this and even make up for it by charging high insurance premiums to teen drivers.

Since the government has mostly given up teaching kids to be good drivers, the private sector mostly car manufacturers have taken some action to help parents teach their kids. Car manufacturers like Ford have developed their own drivers education program and have  taken teaching a whole new level by even offering advance driving courses.

They call their program Driving Skills for Life and it promotes the importance of drivers education to anyone who wants to participate. They provide basic driving instructions for new drivers and special programs for novice drivers who want to develop advance driving skills. The Fords teaching program has been very effective and you can find it all over the world. To get more information on Driving Skills for life just visit the website and register.

Driving Skills for Life : Registration

Registration of free driving classes: Free Driving School Program

They are currently offering a 3 day racing course for anyone who wants to drive a modified Mustang GT and a FR-500S. Driving Instructors are currently at the top of their field, giving you the best possible chance to learn from people who have the experience in professional racing.

The Ford Racing School is also offering a two hour driving experience for anyone who want to try out driving inside the Miller Complex.

Schedule and Information are list in the official website: Miller Complex

Do a simple inspection each day, and have leaks fixed before they become problems. Gasoline leaks, because they are most harmful to the air, should be repaired at once.

CHECK YOUR TAIL PIPE
Want a clue to your engine’s health?Rub a finger around the inside of you exhausted pipe. Ideally, the finger should come out coated with a light gray-brown powder. Ifit’s any other color, something maybe wrong with the engine or the emissions controls or the catalytic converter.

KEEP YOUR TIRES FIRM
Adding the air to your tires is one of the kindest things you can do for the air outside them. Correctly inflated tires mean better gas mileage and the less pollution. Tire pressure should be checked at least once every two weeks when the tires are cold.

CHECK AIR DUCTS.
Among the most ignored under the hood items are the carburetor and fuel-injection air ducts.

There are two types: fresh-air ducts supply outside air to the engine when it is warm , and preheater ducts supply preheated air to the engine during cold starts. both types look like overgrown hoses with crinkly, corrugated skins.

Take a few minutes and check the air ducts on your engine. If loose, they should be tightened; if damaged, they should be replaces. They are relatively inexpensive.

IF YOU HAVE AN AIR CONDITIONER, LOOK AFTER IT.
Leaky air conditioners in cars are a major source of chlorfluorocarbons (CFCs), a gas commonly known as FREON
The air -conditioning system should be tight and leak free. The best way to guard against leaks is to have the unit thoroughly serviced each year. Occasionally run the air conditioner in winter because this helps to keep seals lubricated and eliminates the chance of freon escaping.

CHECK YOUR CHOKE.
A major hazard is a too-rich automatic choke, with unburned hydrocarbons coming out of the tailpipe .
If the choke is set too lean, it won’t permit enough gasoline into the cold engine, and car labors to start; if set too rich, the choke stays closed longer, flooding the engine with gasoline and causing the engine to run rich, even when warm. Choke adjustment is an easy job for mechanic.

USE CLEAN FILTERS.
A dirty air filters forces the engines to use more gasoline, causing unnecessary pollution. Clogged or dirty fuels filters are a major cause of poor performance, especially with fuel -injected cars. Change filters at least as often as the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule prescribes.

CHANGE THE OIL REGULARLY
Frequent oil changes, preferably with a fuel-efficient oil, are a must. Follow the “severe service” oil-change interval recommended in your owner’s manual or change the oil filters at least every 300 miles or three months , whichever comes first.
Be certain that all dipstick are pushed down tight.

DON’T BURN OIL
If blue or blue-white smoke is coming out of the tailpipe, your car is burning oil, and you are causing pollution. You should have the engine checked.

BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR EXHAUST EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEMS.
A visual inspection is easy. Are all the wires connected? Are there any loose hose or worn vacuum? Its important that all emission controls work all the time . A car may be able to run even if one or two sensors are not working, but it will pollute heavily. A proper tuned car ensures emissions are held to a minimum.

STAY TUNED
Keeping you car in an optimal condition is important to keep the engine keep it within the environmental standards set by the manufacturers.

TRUST YOUR SENSES.

Sight smell sound and feel can tell you a lot. Anytime you smell something unusual or see a leak or hear a noise or feel a vibration, something is amiss Have your car checked quickly to limit possible damage.

When it comes tot he car’s impact on the environment, most people think there ‘s nothing they can do. The problem is something for the government or the auto and oil industries to tackle.. This attitude couldn’t be more wrong , Each of us can do something the very next time we drive a car. We can maintain our cars properly, and drive them efficiently.

A new car operates under optimum emission-control standards. maintaining it that way starts with the owner.

Don’t let the salesman warm it. That way you’ll see how the car handles cold. Carburetor or fuel injector problems are more likely to show up when the engine is cold.

Check the dashboard instruments or possible glare problems.
Be sure you can read all the instruments easily.

Test-drive the car for at least 20 minutes.
During your test, try to simulate your daily driving conditions, for example, in heavy downtown traffic or on a fast expressway. If you normally parallel park, do that with your test drive, too.

Try the car under different conditions – on a winding road or a bumpy road –
and note how it steers, or if there are any suspension problems.

In a large empty parking lot, try the brakes several times.
the car should stop straight when you hit the brakes. Make sure the brake pedal doesn’t feel mushy. You should be able to brake the car without using all your strength.

1. Make up your mind what type of body you are after …. a four -door sedan, four-door hardtop, station wagon, or whatever and the general price bracket, then you can tell the salesman about it immediately so that you are shown where the cars may be diagnosed.

2. Choose which shops you would buy a used car by considering the dealer’s years of service in the business, the size and continuity of the establishment . It is more advisable to buy from franchised used – car delaer.

WHEN SHOPPING:

1. Visit several exchange or used car sales center until you have located three or four cars that is worth buying. During initial visits, tell the salesmen you intend to buy in a few says but you are still visiting others lots. This will alert them to a sharply competitive situation.

2. Describe what you want and including the price range. Emphasize that car condition is more important than price.

3. Keep your mind on the cash difference between your trade in and car you might buy.

4. Your own or your mechanic’s inspection should not overlook the tires– one of the most obvious indicators of wear and tear. Insist on replacement if the tires are too sick, or have cracked or cut sidewalls.

5. Let the general mechanical condition of the car be your guide. Never rely on the speed master reading to tell you how far the car has traveled. Some dealers roll them back; some don’t.

FINANCING THE CAR

1. Before signing the order, make certain you know the monthly payments and the total cost. Charges for borrowing money are part of the car price.

2. A good car price, which includes sales tax and, motor vehicles department fees, should be low enough to permit you to pay at least 30 percent as down payment. Used cars on five or ten percent down can set up for very high finances charges.

The car should stop straight

While providing the car buyer with enough knowledge on buying secondhand cars so as to avoid being misled , These TIPS do not necessarily mean one should desist from buying a certain car if it doesn’t live up to the above standards. Likewise, these
tips also enable the buyers to haggle for a more reasonable price.

Aside from looking at the car itself , try to look at other factors such as serviceability and the availability of spare parts.

Some may immediately jump into buying a certain car brand it may be priced lower than its contemporaries, only to find out that this particular brand hardly has any spare parts available anymore.

If maintenance cost is among the primary considerations, try to avoid cars that are older than five years to six years. In the long run, cars in this age bracket may save you from unanticipated major parts replacements.

TRICKS abound in the trade specially this time when a lot of unscrupulous “businessmen” are taking advantage of the current boom in car sales and are willing to go to great lengths in sweet talking an unwary buyer into purchasing a car that is ill-suited for his or her needs.

Despite this, growing interest toward the car helped lot in determining the proper car suited for his or her needs, specially for those who acquire cars out of necessity.

Individual preferences and requirements are the main factors in buying cars with such bases as body styling, durability, ergonomics, handling, performances, fuel efficiency , maintenance, parts availability and overall quality leading list.

Depending on requirements set by the car’s purpose, the criterion mentioned may vary on the order of importance.

With the onset of the Christmas season, a lot of families and individual will be dead set on buying a new car.

Thus, the average holidays car buyers should be well equiped with ample knowledge to provide a good measures of odds for bagging the right car.

In the process of prospecting a car buy, bring along a knowledgeable mechanic, if possible somebody you know personally, so that you can consult him when inspecting the car.

Ask the owner for a ride on the car with him/her or the one frequently using the car as the driver. Observr his or her manner of driving carefully. His or her driving habits would tell a lot on how the car wastreated.

A clutch driver would frequently wreck havoc on the car’s clutch and transmission system, while a gas pedal heavy driver could batter a car engines suggesting possible defects in the future for the motor.

Request the owner for a test drive to experience for yourself the car’s qualities.

If possible, test drive the car along a strip of road that is not paved all the way preferably with obstacles such as humps and potholes. This obstacle would bring out whatever metal to metal or unwanted sounds that may be tell-tale signs of faults on the car’s suspension.

On manual -transmission cars, the stick shift should lock on the recesses positively and should work through the gears smoothly without catching or getting crunchy.

Also check the brakes; pedal pressure should be consistent and should not bottom out.Any inconsistencies in pedal pressure may mean leaks in the seals or fluid lines. Also, there should be no metallic sound while braking .A scratching sound may be spell an overly faded brake pad that could destroy brake disk or brake drum’s surface.

Next is the car inspection.

This should be conducted if possible in broad daylight and if not, at least under heavy lighting if conducted during the evening.

One of the first thing to check is the car’s engine. Turn the engines on and listen to the engine idle. The sound should be smooth with no crackling noise .

Rev up the engine gradually then abruptly and listen carefully to any backfiring sound on the exhaust pipe or any exhaust gas leaks in the exhaust manifold.

While reviving the engine, check the gauges such as the tachometer and the oil pressure gauges. The oil pressure gauge’s needle should progress robustly as the rev’s increasing . Also observe the smoke from the exhaust pipe. This should be light bluish and not heavy.

Open the radiator cap and try to find traces of oil in the coolant. ANy oil spots on the coolant indicated a blow by which would definitely lead to a costly overhaul.

Try to look for traces of water in the engine block . Water seeping outside the engine block identifies a cracked engine block.

Ask the owner if the car’s alternator had been replaced. If it had been replaced, ascertain that the replacement has an amperage rating that is matched with the batteries and all the electrically driven gizmos, like the airconditioning unit , that are in the car.

An underrated alternator would frequently result in battery drain.

Late model cars particularly those with electronic engine monitoring and control system usually display whatever abnormalities on the engine’s performance on its LCD display, thus inspecting this type of cars is a bit easier than the earlier models.

One of the most tricky portions of the car inspection is the body work part.

Beware! A gleamy paint job may just be a cosmetic job concealing a rusty hulk of a car lurking underneath.

Try to look carefully for paint bubbles which may appear near the fenders or the gutters or practically any part of the car’s body .

Work all the car’s hinges, the hood, the baggage compartment and the doors to make sure the fits is appropriate, the doors shut without extreme effort and the locks work properly.

Inspect the upholstery for any hidden makeovers.

Ask the owner if the car is still watertight.

While providing the car buyer with enough knowledge on buying secondhand cars so as to avoid being misled, these TIPS do not necessarily mean one should desist from buying a certain car if it doesn’t live up to the above standards. Likewise, these tips also enable the buyers to haggle for a more reasonable price.

Aside from looking at the car itself, try to look at the other factors such as serviceability and the availability of spare parts.

Some may immediately jump into buying a certain car brand because it may be priced lower than its contemporaries , only to find out that this particular brand hardly has any spare parts available anymore.

If maintenance cost is among the primary considerations, try to avoid cars that are older than five years to six years. In the long run, cars in this age bracket may save you from unanticipated major parts replacements.

In short, try to pick a car from a number of choices so that you can bag the right car with the right price. This is possible at car fairs, where the buyers are offered a host of choices.