20 Most Interesting Facts About Cars

“All of you guys have read certain interesting facts about animals, technology, or people at least once in [your] life. Right? And since [a] car is something you use every day, this time it’ll be facts about cars. These infotaining car facts might surprise everybody, from car enthusiast[s] to simply car owner[s]. So in the name of entertainment and because car[s] [are] the most popular type of transport, I’ve decided to make up a list of great facts about automobiles and things regarding autos. Accompanied with pictures that will help you get a visual description, these great facts can change your attitude towards routine work or usual stuff. Get to know [these] top 20 interesting facts about cars!”

The rest of the info-graphics are located here:
http://blog.carid.com/20-most-interesting-facts-about-cars

How to Jump Start Your Car

Imagine this, you walk out the door towards your vehicle, get in, and it won’t start. Oh no, maybe the battery’s dead! This can be because the headlights were left on, a door was not completely closed, or maybe just the battery is old. In any case you’ve got somewhere to go, and you’re not going to let this stand in your way. Well as long as you’ve got a friend with a charged car battery and some jumper cables, you can still get where you’re heading after a quick jump.

Put on the safety glasses and open the hoods of both cars. Make sure the battery position on each car is compatible to the length of the cables.

Attach the red clamp of the jumper cables to the working battery in the assisting car first, then attach the black clamp to the negative terminal of the working battery in the assisting car. Be sure once both of those clamps are attached to the working battery that the idle clamps on the other end of the jumper cables do not come into contact with one another, or sparks will fly.

Hold the remaining clamps of the jumper cables apart and attach the red clamp to the positive battery terminal on the dead battery. Attach the black clamp of the jumper cable to a non-moving metallic ground away from the dead battery. Use a large bolt head or metal engine bracket within reach. Make sure that there is no slack in the cable or clamp connections that can come into contact with moving engine parts when the dead car battery starts the engine.

Start the car with the dead battery. If it doesn't start, you may need to start the engine of the assisting car and allow it to run for a while, or have the engine revved to accommodate the cold cranking amps of the dead battery. It will depend on how many cold cranking amps the dead battery calls for and how dead the battery is. A rule of thumb is to find a compatible vehicle to jump start from. A small compact car with a low cold cranking amp battery may have a difficult time jump starting a 3/4-ton truck with a high cold cranking amp battery.

Remove the black clamp from the ground position on the vehicle that needed to be jump started first, then remove the red clamp from the same vehicle (once the battery starts the engine). Again, be sure not to allow the clamps of the jumper cables to contact one another. Finally, remove the black clamp from the assisting car's negative battery terminal and then the last clamp from the positive battery terminal. Close the hoods and remove the safety glasses.

This tutorial will show you how to properly jump start your car. Follow the instructions closely, doing this incorrectly could have consequences. http://www.ehow.com/how_4899364_jump-start-car-safely.html

The Future of Travel: Driverless Cars

The future’s days are numbered. Hoverboards and humans on Mars are still many years off, but estimates put the mass production of driverless cars at 2018, only five years from now. Want to text while driving? Go for it. How about playing poker while sitting in the drivers seat? Come on aces! Need a nap? We’ll wake you up when we get there. Driverless cars are everyday becoming more science and less fiction. Check out this infographic for more info, in graphic form (WOAH).



Credit for the infographic to Daniel R Rossen: http://www.danielrrosen.com/2012/02/driverless-cars/

What Makes Brakes Work?

One pedal makes it go, and the other one makes it stop - but how much do you really know about your brakes? They’re critical to keeping your car on the road and your family safe. In fact, brakes use a lot of interesting technology to ensure that you always stop when you press the brakes. Here’s a quick explanation from How Stuff Works:

We all know that pushing down on the brake pedal slows a car to a stop. But how does this happen? How does your car transmit the force from your leg to its wheels? How does it multiply the force so that it is enough to stop something as big as a car?
When you depress your brake pedal, your car transmits the force from your foot to its brakes through a fluid. Since the actual brakes require a much greater force than you could apply with your leg, your car must also multiply the force of your foot. It does this in two ways:

• Mechanical advantage(leverage)
• Hydraulic force multiplication

The brakes transmit the force to the tires using friction, and the tires transmit that force to the road using friction also.

Learn more about your brakes and read the original article here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/brake.htm