How To Do it:

With this easy to follow, printable how-to with pics you can install new wiper blades on your car and save money! Why is it that we never seem to remember to change our windshield wipers? You know you need 'em, you know they're cheap, you know how easy it is to install new wipers, but your windshield is still carrying those worn out, useless strips of rubber. There's one time we always remember to change our wipers - when it starts to rain. Unfortunately that's the worst time to tackle such an easy job. The next 10 minutes of your time, outside in the dry, sunny weather, should be spent replacing your windshield wipers, so check out these easy steps.

The first step to replacing your windshield wipers is getting the old worn out wipers off. Be careful when removing them, the wiper arm is metal and your windshield is glass. One clumsy move and you could scratch or crack the windshield - not good. To remove the old wiper, pull the entire assembly away from the windshield, it will prop itself in the raised position. With one hand holding the wiper arm, use your other hand to depress the small tab on the underside of the wiper where it meets the metal arm. With the tab depressed you can slide the wiper off the arm by pulling the center toward the bottom of the wiper arm.

The metal windshield wiper arms that hold the wipers are spring loaded so that they keep your wipers pressed to the windshield in a storm. Unfortunately this means that without the soft wiper on the end, that metal arm can do some serious damage to your windshield! Prevent the wiper arm from snapping back and hitting your windshield by carefully resting it against the windshield while you are getting your new wiper ready to install. Even if you just turn around to grab it, play it safe and "park" the arm in the down position.
*Park the wiper blade against the windshield to keep it from snapping back.

Looking at the empty wiper arm and the new wiper, especially the attachment point, can be a little daunting. It can be hard to picture how it all goes back together. The key to getting it done quickly and easily is to line everything up before you start trying to click it all into place.

Looking at the side of the wiper where it attaches to the metal arm, you'll see that one end of the plastic clip is flat and the other has a curve across the top. Rotate the plastic clip until this curve is pointing toward the wiper blade. Now hold the wiper upside down next to the metal wiper arm, where you'll see that the curve in the arm (hook shaped) matches the curved top of the plastic clip.

 Now that you've lined everything up you can put it all together. There's a trick to this part, too. With everything lined up, lower the wiper over the wiper arm, putting the arm between the sides of the wiper and with the open end of the "hook" facing the plastic clip. Move the hook over the plastic clip, then pull the wiper upward so that the clip's rounded edge slides into the hook. Pull it tight so the assembly clicks into place. Carefully lower the wiper back to the windshield. Repeat the whole process for the other side and you're done!

Increased use of ethanol is going to deplete the supply of corn.

Myth. When food and feed prices took an upswing at about the same time that the ethanol indusry took off, many pointed a finger at ethanol. But it's much more likely that other factors - including widespread flooding - had much more to do with the jump in prices. The amount of corn used every year to produce ethanol is actually only about 5% to 7% of the total current annual production of the crop. In addition, production of ethanol results in distillers grains, which has grown into a major animal feed. But due at least in part to continued concerns over the use of corn, current research and innovation is focusing on alternative biomass products like woodpulp, switchgrass, corn stover and even municipal waste.

It takes more energy to produce ethanol than the energy ethanol provides.

Myth. This is an argument that continues to be made by ethanol opponents, but the facts don't back up the statement, and that's true whether the ethanol in question is derived from corn or from some other feedstock, like switchgrass. The ethanol fuel cycle generates more energy than it consumes and has been growing in its efficiency over the past decade. There are several reasons for this, including higher yielding corn hybrids, precision farming, and greater adoption of conservation measures like no-till planting, not to mention rapid advances in fuel conversion technology. Although both corn- and biomass-based ethanol have been shown to use less energy and producer fewer greenhouse gases, ethanol from non-grain sources posts the best efficiencies, primarily because it requires much fewer inputs. According to a fuel cycle evaluation conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the fuel cycle of ethanol produced from biomass feedstocks generates 6.8 Btu for every Btu of fossil energy consumed. The production of reformulated gasoline, which is used in many urban areas of our country, generates only 0.79 Btu of fuel energy for every Btu of fossil energy consumed, according to the study.

Ethanol significantly reduces harmful engine emissions.

Fact. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about one-third of carbon dioxide emissions in the country come from the production and use of transportation fuels. But if 4 billion gallons of ethanol replaced petroleum use, about 26 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be eilminated. How does this happen? The answer is two-part. First, the plants the are grown to produce ethanol actually absorb carbon dioxide during growth, reducing the presence of this greenhouse gas. Secondly, and perhaps better known, ethanol reduces carbon monoxide produced by gasoline combustion. Ethanol is an oxygenate and so it causes more complete combustion, lower the amount of harmful greenhouse gases produced. The National Center for Vehicle Emissions Control and Safety at Colorado State University has documented a 25% to 30% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions when vehicles are fueld with a 10% blend of ethanol.

Ethanol performs in engines as well as gasoline.

Fact...and Myth. It depends on your measurement of performance. A primary advantage of ethanol for engine performance is its octane enhancement: a 10% blend of ethanol in gasoline raises the octane number by 2.5 points. When ethanol first came into use, underground storage tanks were not of the same quality and therefore, water would attach itself to fuel alcohol, later freezing up the fuel line and affecting performance. But this is no longer the case. On the contrary, ethanol can now stop small amounts of water from collecting in your vehicle's fuel system. On the other hand, ethanol does contain less energy per unit volume than dos unblended gasoline, which is why its critics have a true argument when it comes to miles per gallon, which are typically reduced with a 10% ethanol blend. It will be interesting to see how the industry, mindful of this issue, overcomes the the problem in the future, possibly falling to automakers to design engines better able to take advantage of the high-octane benefits of ethanol blends without the pain of reduced fuel efficiency.

Symptom: Steering wheel vibrates at speed. Excessive vibration while traveling a constant speed, especially highway speeds.
Wheels out of balance - have wheels re-balanced. Tires worn unevenly or excessively Loose wheel bolts - check wheel lugs for correct tightness. Warped brake rotor - inspect brake discs (rotors) and replace if needed.

Symptom: Loose or sloppy steering. Steering has excessive play and wanders from side to side.
Power steering fluid low - check power steering fluid and add if needed. Worn strut bearings - inspect strut bearings for play and replace in pairs. Worn or broken tie rods or steering rack - inspect steering components and replace as necessary. Worn ball joints - inspect ball joints and replace if needed. Broken steering rack mounts - inspect steering rack mounts and repair or replace (some cars can be fixed, others require replacement of the entire steering rack.)

Symptom: Clunking over bumps. Feeling clunks and knocks through the steering wheel when you go over bumps or even cracks in the road.
Worn shocks or struts - replace shocks and/or struts as indicated. Worn strut bearings - inspect strut bearings and replace both if needed. Worn ball joints - inspect ball joints for play and replace if needed.

Symptom: Screeching and screaming. Steering emits loud screeching when steering at low speeds, such as parking.
Low power steering fluid - add power steering fluid as needed. Loose power steering belt - adjust power steering belt. Worn power steering belt - replace and adjust power steering belt. Remember, this is a guide to help you diagnose steering or suspension problems. Sometimes more than one issue needs to be addressed to fix the symptoms.

It is amazing to see the incredible gadgetry that is available for you to carry in the palm of your hand, with everything from satellite navigation to electronic books and videos available from the “App Store” on your smart phone. In the automotive world there are now dozens of Apps that help you locate a gas station, let you track your gas mileage, give you real-time traffic updates and even let you know where you are likely to encounter speed traps.

Two important Apps (among many dozens) that I would note for you are “Car Care” for your iPhone and “aCar” for your Android. Both of these Apps are free and both keep track of your maintenance, sending you reminders as your maintenance intervals approach. Like those little oil change stickers pasted to the inside of your windshield providing a visual reminder, these maintenance Apps send out a reminder that appears on the screen of your phone.

These Apps also monitor gas mileage, support multiple vehicles, stores your VIN number, tag number, insurance policy number, year, make and model of your car, and are able to interpret international units (gallons versus liters and miles versus kilometers).

In a survey done five or six years ago, before most of us had a smart phone and before most of these automotive apps were available, a study was done to understand the automotive experience as seen from the perspective of consumers and it was amazing to note that among all drivers, those little stick-on oil change reminders were among the top three ways in which these consumers listed as most important in their knowing what to do on their cars and when.
Among women drivers it was number one. Do you think it reasonable to assume that an electronic reminder that appears at prescribed intervals on the screen of their smart phone would have a similar effect and benefit? I point this out and highlight a couple of free apps here because I am guessing that if we highlight these apps and encourage our customers and would-be customers to use apps such as these, we might find ourselves the beneficiary of good numbers of these reminders.

Getting customers to come into your shop is one of the most difficult and expensive things you will ever have to do as a shop owner or manager. Typically you will spend four cents out of every revenue dollar on marketing and hours upon hours in creating campaigns, follow-up, revisions, measuring the results and at the end of it all you are going to tell me you need more cars. Where I would not necessarily agree with universal clamor for more cars, I would acknowledge the importance of marketing, even though it tends to be a very iffy proposition and very necessary evil. Done well and consistently, marketing can without a doubt, transform a business but ‘well and consistently’ do not necessarily describe a lot of our efforts along these lines and electronic reminders and our finally getting serious about maintenance are ways that we can enhance our current efforts and they pay today.

First Glance: Same crust, improved fillingHonda first introduced a hybrid version of the Civic in 2003, the same year that Toyota introduced the definitive version of the Prius. Since then, it's been an uphill battle for Honda; the Prius has always offered more space and better fuel economy with a more flexible hybrid system.

The all-new Civic Hybrid marches into 2012 armed to the teeth. While the Civic doesn't appear much different on the outside -- the sheetmetal is actually all-new, but a smoother front end and Accord-like taillights are biggest differences -- Honda's engineers have made several significant changes to the hybrid system. Both the engine and electric motor are larger, and the battery is now a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) unit, which is lighter and more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride (NiMh) battery used in the previous Civic. Power is up, as is fuel economy; the new Civic Hybrid is rated at 44 MPG city/44 MPG highway, a significant improvement over the outgoing Civic Hybrid (40 city/43 highway), but still not as good as the Toyota Prius (41/48).

Pricing for the new Honda Civic Hybrid starts at $24,820 ($24,050 plus a mandatory $770 destination fee), a price that includes power windows and locks, air conditioning, Bluetooth phone connectivity, cruise control, automatic headlights, and a CD player with an input jack. (For comparison, a similarly-equipped conventional Civic will run you around $21,275.) Honda doesn't offer many options on their cars, but the Civic Hybrid can be had with heated leather seats for $1,250, navigation for $1,500, or both for $2,700. As a parent, I like the leather seats because they are easier to clean (and my wife likes the heating feature for her backaches), but I'd pass on the fussy navigation system in favor of an inexpensive Garmin or TomTom.

In the Driver's Seat: Screen-o-rama“”New for 2012 is a multi-function LCD display screen to the left of the speedometer.

My twelve-year-old son's face lit up when he first sat in the Honda Civic. "Look at all those screens! If only you could hook a PlayStation up to one of them!" Like the outgoing Civic, the new car features a split-level dash with a digital speedometer above the steering wheel rim and the tachometer beneath. New for 2012 is a multi-function LCD display screen to the left of the speedometer, and my navigation-equipped tester had yet another screen in place of the stereo. Andrew was right: All the screens make the Civic's interior look a bit like Bill Gates' living room. But I'm sure Gates has better taste in furnishings -- while most of the materials lining the Civic's cabin are of good quality, there is some appallingly cheap-looking plastic trim scattered about the dash.

The new Civic adopts the hypermile-coaching displays introduced on the 2010 Insight. Colored bars flanking the speedometer glow green when you drive efficiently and angry blue when you're wasting gas. The multi-function display offers a horizontal bar graph that rates your driving in real-time, as well as a traditional power-flow display that shows when power is being drawn from the gas engine and the battery.

Disco-dash aside, the Civic offers comfortable front seats with excellent all-around visibility. The back seat is very good; it has a flat floor, a boon for small kids who get stuck in the middle seat, but it doesn't offer as much space as the Toyota Prius. The trunk is a weak point: The battery pack squeezes the Civic's already small trunk down to just 10.7 cubic feet, a cubbyhole compared to the Prius' massive 21.6 cu. ft. hatchback, and the back seats can't be folded down to expand carrying capacity.

On the Road: IMA soldiers onThe Civic Hybrid once again uses Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, which sandwiches an electric motor-generator between the gasoline engine (now up to 1.5 liters and 110 horsepower) and the continuously-variable automatic transmission. The concept behind IMA is that the electric motor provides a boost during acceleration, allowing use of a smaller, more fuel-efficient gas engine. When the car is decelerating, the motor-generator charges the battery pack in the Civic's trunk. An auto-stop function shuts the engine off at stoplights. Like other hybrids, the Civic can run on battery power during low-demand situations (such as low-speed driving at steady speeds). But because the electric motor is mounted on the gas engine's crankshaft, the motor must turn the engine as well, which saps power and limits the Civic Hybrid's battery-only functionality.

One notable improvement in the new Civic is the air conditioning system. The previous Civic Hybrid used an engine-driven compressor, which meant that there was no A/C when the engine was in auto-stop mode. The new Civic's compressor can also run on battery power, so the air continues to blow cold.

I had trouble achieving the EPA fuel economy ratings in the old Civic Hybrid, and my luck didn't get any better with the new one. EPA ratings are 44 MPG city/44 MPG highway, but I averaged 42.1 MPG despite gentle driving and frequent use of the Civic Hybrid's ECON mode, which helps the driver get better fuel economy (but dulls acceleration). Although the EPA ratings are equal for city and highway, my test car seemed to get significantly better fuel economy on the open road than it did in town, which seems to be typical of Honda's IMA system.
Journey's End: Anything Civic does, Prius does better“”Cargo space of the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid may not measure up to that of competitors.

Aaron Gold: All in all, I rather enjoyed the new Honda Civic Hybrid. Simple controls and great sightlines make it easy to drive and park, and it offers the nimble, light-on-its-feet driving experience typical of Honda cars.
Even so, the Civic Hybrid is at a disadvantage compared to its main rival, the Toyota Prius. Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, which separates the gas engine and the electric motor, gets significantly better gas mileage in town with much less driver effort -- even a novice hybrid driver should have no problem nudging the Prius well past 45 MPG. And its electric-only mode is far more effective than the Civic's. The Prius offers a bit more passenger space and a lot more cargo room, and at $24,280 it's actually less expensive (though a well-optioned Prius can easily top $30k). That said, the Civic is much more enjoyable to drive than the Prius.

But the Prius isn't the only alternative. Honda's own Insight Hybrid can be had for well under $20,000, and it gets nearly the same fuel economy as the Civic Hybrid. It offers less passenger space and chintzier cabin trim, but it has more cargo room. If you need a bigger car, the Ford Fusion Hybrid is a roomy mid-size sedan that should deliver fuel economy in the high 30s. If luxury is your thing, the Lexus CT 200h offers proper luxury cachet and should get comparable fuel economy to the Civic Hybrid. And if you really want to help reduce our country's gluttonous oil usage, ask your Honda dealer about the Civic Natural Gas -- it doesn't offer the same flexibility as a gasoline-powered hybrid, but it's even better for the environment.

Bottom line: The new Civic Hybrid is good, but the Toyota Prius still does the job better. --

The first things to go are usually your tires. If your suspension is bad, your tires will wear prematurely and unevenly, and this costs you money.

It's important to keep your car or truck's suspension in good shape for safety reasons, too. A car with bad shocks will not be able to avoid a collision or stop nearly as well as it should.