Archive for August, 2011
The Art Spirit Of The Exotic Sports Car
Anyone who has seen the Lamborghini Reventon or the Aston Martin DBS knows that unmistakable feeling. It’s the thrill the allure of the exotic sports car overhauled updated for the 21st century. Since their inception sports cars have continually pushed the boundaries of both engineering art. These are the cars that exemplify speed power and beauty.
Alfa Romeo: The Grandfather of Exotic Sports Cars
Alfa Romeo first began producing race cars in Milan Italy in 1910. Their first endeavor the HP 24 turned some heads with its superior speed and handling. Chief Designer Giuseppe Merosi worked on all Alfa Romeo models from 1910 to 1923. When Merosi retired race car driver Enzo Ferrari persuaded Vittorio Jano to leave Fiat and take over Merosi’s work.
In 1925 Alfa Romeo unveiled the P2 Grand Prix Car Jano’s first car with Romeo and widely considered the first “supercar.” The P2 was powered by a straight8 cylinder supercharged engine and placed first in 14 Grand Pix races between 1924 and 1930. Today the P2 Grand Prix is considered one of the most rarified of the collectible antique cars with less than a dozen still intact.
Ferrari: High Performance Luxury Cars
After racing Alfa Romeos in the 1920′s 30′s Enzo Ferrari decided that he wanted to build his own racecars. He prototyped a few models in the 1940′s but it wasn’t until after World War II that he found success. Notably Ferrari’s exotic sports cars took first place in the Formula 1 World Championships 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Sportscar Championships throughout the 1950′s.
Ferrari’s Gran Turismo series remains its most successful lines with the 2007 599 GTB Fiorano bringing even more luxury and innovation to the table. Patrons of the Ferrari Club of America cite performance as the primary reason for purchasing a Ferrari over other collectible cars.
Lamborghini : Exotic Sports Cars for a New Generation
Ferruccio Lamborghini had a successful business building tractors in Italy before his eyes turned to the exotic sports car. And it wasn’t a love for performance that stirred his fire but a disdain for Enzo Ferrari.
According to Lamborghini’s family Ferruccio purchased a Ferrari 250 GT in the early 1960′s and was unhappy with the handling response of the clutch. He brought it into Ferrari’s factory and met with Enzo Ferrari to voice his concerns. Ferrari was immediately upset with Lamborghini’s complaints so he mocked Lamborghini and sent him away. Lamborghini went home dismantled the car and discovered that the clutches installed in Ferraris were from the same manufacturers he used for his tractors. He installed a new clutch and vowed to create a higherquality luxury sports car than Ferrari.
Aston Martin: Unforgettable Collectible Cars
Britain’s Aston Martin was founded by Lionel Martin Robert Bamford in 1914. They designed exotic sports cars and drove in competitions but it wasn’t until David Brown became managing director of the company in 1947 that they were able to establish themselves as a maker of highquality highperformance sports cars. They introduced the DB line DB standing for David Brown in 1950 and many of their models have become synonymous with antique and collectible cars.
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The Advantages Of Motor Insurance Database
The motorbike insurance industry now has the use of a Motor Insurance Database; this holds information of all motor insurance policies including cars motorbikes vans and Lorries. In addition records of your vehicles MOT and Road Tax are also kept on databases. These are all accessible by the police to determine whether a vehicle is legally fit to be on the road.
These databases were created to catch uninsured vehicles on the road in addition to vehicles that are either untaxed or without a MOT certificate. Uninsured drivers alone cost the government on average around 380 million pounds according to the DirectGov website.
This money is added to our motorbike insurance policies and costs the honest motorist on average 30 pounds per policy according to the DirectGov website. This is called IPT Insurance Premium Tax costing you five percent of your insurance premium.
The database also holds information of whether you have an insurance policy on another vehicle which entitles you to drive any other vehicle in the event you are driving a friends vehicle.
The combination of the insurance and MOT databases enable us to buy our road tax online making the whole process much easier and does not cost us any more money. This is provided that your insurance and MOT information has been stored on the database correctly.
Motorbike insurance companies check their information against the database on a regular basis keeping it both up to date and correct. If a customer of bike insurance has for example provided an incorrect registration number this will be picked up by the checks in a matter of days. The client is then contacted to rectify this error some of the time it may be that the vehicle has been sold and the insurance policy has not been cancelled.
Many vehicles that are sold do not have their insurance policies cancelled. When the new rider or driver then tries to insure the vehicle this can cause complications as a vehicle cannot be insured twice. You must always cancel an insurance policy on a vehicle you no longer own as this can also cause complication for you if the vehicle is involved in an accident.
Motorbike insurance companies have the responsibility to keep the database as up to date as humanly possible meaning that if any information is delayed over a set time the insurance company can face fines for this. This is why the insurers require certain paperwork from customers to be returned within a certain time and if this is not received they can invoke cancellation procedures.
However there can be delays of a few days before your information appears on the database. The information is transmitted overnight from the insurance companies to the database. So do not expect to tax your vehicle the same day as insuring it whether you have insured it over the phone or online.
The police have the ability to scan vehicle registration number plates and check the database for insurance tax and MOT in a matter of seconds. If your vehicle is found uninsured the police have the power to seize your vehicle with the possibility of destroying it in the event no one with valid insurance claims it. This will enable them to crack down on vehicles that are not fit to be on the road.
Having the database in place is an advantage to us all; it speeds up both police checks and helps to crack down on uninsured drivers making it a very efficient way of accessing the data. Therefore whether you are uninsured untaxed or your vehicle has no MOT it is only a matter of time before you are caught.
About the writer: Anna Stenning is an expert on motorbike insurance having applied for many insurance policies in the past.
Technology Always Keeps You Ahead
The above fact has been proved by myfoldingbikes.com as they provide you Strida bikes. Strida is a type of bicycle that incorporates hinges or joints in the frame and handlebar stem that permit it to be broken down into a more compact size.
Most Strida have wheels of 20 inch 51 cm diameter or less. The folding bikes are also called as folders. Strida can be taken on public transport and into apartment buildings or workplaces where conventional bicycles are not allowed.
This facilitates mixedmode commuting because a Strida need not be chained in the street or train station. Strida also makes it easier to transport a bicycle in an automobile.
Strida often cost more than nonfolding bicycles with the same performancerelated features because they have more parts to allow folding and to lock the frame when unfolded. As a result it has more complicated design which is more complex to manufacture; as well there is a smaller market for this type of bike.
As an alternative to Strida some bicycle models achieve similar results by separating a bike into two or more parts for more compact storage or comfort in transporting. These types of bicycle is sometimes grouped in the same category as folding bicycles but are also referred to as breakaway disassembleable or separable bicycles. But they are of course very much different from Strida.
Strida are usually associated with urban commuters. Multimethod commuters who fold and unfold cycles several times per day and then carry them in cramped public transport typically want a bike that is easy and quick to fold.
Strida are of great use to Marine users such as sail boaters who use them to scoot around on land when they dock more often prefer a bike that folds into a compact package that fits easily into the hold of their boat.
Some Strida riders use their bikes for recreation and may only unfold the bike several times a month for a jaunt in the park so they are more often willing to compromise ease and speed of foldability to get better riding speed and comfort.
While Strida have a reputation as slowmoving vehicles in an urban street setting highend folding bikes can go at good speeds. Myfolding.com provides you with the bikes of high technology fine quality and efficient speed. According to the Bike Friday FAQ “…tests have shown that up to 16 mph the small wheel is more efficient than a big wheel. Between 16 and 33 mph there is little difference. Over 33 mph the gyroscopic effect of the big wheel makes it more effective.
About the writer: My Folding Bike is a best place where you can get online latest Folding Bikes and you can find more information about folding bike. Get your own Strida today.
