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Popular Used Minivans at a Glance
Few can argue with the overwhelming value of a minivan when it comes to affordably moving around families, their things and their pets. Sliding doors, plenty of space for the money, and plenty of versatility make a minivan a machine that's ready for anything -- including growing up with and adapting to the family that's made it their own.
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Brake System Maintenance before the Holiday Travel Season
Arguably, your vehicle's brakes are its most important safety feature, and one that should be maintained regularly, and not taken for granted. Ahead of the winter travel season, an inspection of your vehicle's brakes is a fantastic idea, especially if you'll be travelling in a vehicle full of passengers and gear. Loading a vehicle up adds even more weight, stress, and wear on your braking system.
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Feature: Popular Used Rides for Maximum Utility
Where top levels of fuel efficiency, versatility, and space are priorities, the mini-ute, mini-minivan and mini-SUV are tremendously appealing used-car buys. With the space busy families want, and the promise of infrequent stops to refuel, models like these are growing in popularity in the new-car market making the selection of used models even more tremendous than ever.
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Hybrid-Vehicle Winter Maintenance
Hybrid-vehicle powertrains are usually comprised of a combustion engine, and one or more electric motors. While electric motors require little or no maintenance, the same logic does not apply to the combustion engine. Hybrid or not, these engines require periodic replacement of both oil and filter.
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Introduction to Hybrid Vehicle Winter Maintenance
Hybrid vehicle sightings are no longer a rare occurrence. As fuel prices rise, so too do their sales numbers. Be they plug-in or not, hybrid vehicles that offer less-than-100km autonomy in cold-weather conditions seem to be, for now, the ideal solution in reducing both fuel consumption and greenhouse gases.
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Popular Used Compact Cars
Compact cars are big business in the Canadian marketplace. Virtually every mainstream automaker offers a used compact model for shoppers to consider. Used compacts are big business in the used car marketplace, too. The promise of fuel-efficient operation, easy-to-drive dynamics, and relatively low asking prices are all to thank.
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New tire concept changes colour at 7 degrees Celsius! (+video)
Canadian Tire has partnered with ARTIS, a leading rubber research and development organization, to design a temperature-sensitive all-season tire with a rubber sidewall strip that changes from white to a vivid blue at 7°C -- the point at which drivers should consider changing to winter tires.
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Top winter tires for commercial vehicles in 2013
The various winter tires in this review are all designed for trucks that require heavy-duty tires with a high payload capacity, as well as maximum off-road traction when driving on construction sites, recreational areas, and in deep snow.
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Top performance winter tires for trucks/SUVs in 2013
The various performance winter tires in this review are all designed to provide superior grip, especially on ice. They are more suited for highway driving, which also means that they could lack traction in deep snow, although you won't feel it as much when driving AWD-equipped vehicles.
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Top winter tires for trucks/SUVs in 2013
The various truck tires in this review are all designed to provide adequate grip on snow, ice, or a combination of both. As such, all of them meet winter driving requirements.
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Top performance winter tires for cars in 2013
The various performance tires in this review are all designed to provide superior grip, especially on ice. They are more suited for highway driving, which also means that they could lack traction in deep snow, although you won't feel it as much when driving AWD-equipped vehicles.
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Top winter tires for cars in 2013
The various passenger car tires in this review are all designed to provide adequate grip on snow, ice, or a combination of both. As such, all of them meet winter driving requirements. With the mountain/snowflake logo, they also meet Law 42 of the Quebec Highway Safety Code. They fit most passenger car models available on the market.
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Winter Tire Review: Best of 2013
While there are fewer winter tire models than summer/all-season tire models on the market, finding the right tire for your winter driving habits is very important.
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Mejores llantas de invierno para automóviles
Las llantas de invierno para automóviles evaluadas están concebidas para proporcionar una tracción óptima en la nieve, el hielo o en ambas según el modelo. Todos las llantas presentes en esta evaluación cumplen con las exigencias de la conducción en temporada de invierno.
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Mejores llantas de invierno para vehículos comerciales
Esta categoría de llantas de invierno está diseñada para los camiones que utilizan una gran capacidad de carga y que necesitan una máxima tracción fuera de la ruta normal en en zonas de trabajo pesado o en áreas recreativas, así como en la nieve. Tenga en cuenta que estas llantas son, en su mayoría, menos eficientes sobre el hielo comparadas con la mayoría de llantas de invierno para automóviles y camionetas.
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Mejores llantas de invierno para SUV y camionetas
Las llantas de invierno evaluadas para las camionetas familiares (también conocidas como SUV) están diseñadas para proporcionar una óptima tracción en la nieve, el hielo o en ambas según el modelo.
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Mejores llantas de invierno de alto desempeño para SUV
Las llantas de invierno de alto desempeño evaluadas para las camionetas familiares (también conocidas como SUV) están diseñadas para proporcionar una mejor tracción sobre el hielo. Son más adecuadas para conducir en autopistas, en algunas ocasiones con abundante nieve donde ofrecen un poco menos de tracción.
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Los compactos usados más populares: lo que usted necesita saber
Los carros compactos poseen una gran parte del mercado canadiense, tanto cuando se habla de autos nuevos como de usados. Además, una búsqueda de los vehículos usados de este tipo disponibles en el mercado nos arroja prácticamente una lista con todas las marcas existentes en el país.
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Encontrar un mécanico, pieza clave para su vehículo
Cuando se llega como nuevo inmigrante a Canadá, el carro es uno de los artículos que se ubica en la lista de las primeras compras necesarias. Pero con ello, cosas tan simples como encontrar un buen mecánico se puede convertir en una tarea más difícil que la misma compra.
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Introduction to Hybrid Vehicle Winter Maintenance
Hybrid vehicle sightings are no longer a rare occurrence. As fuel prices rise, so do their sales numbers. Be they plug-in or not, hybrid vehicles that offer less than 100 kilometers autonomy in cold-weather conditions seem to be, for now, the ideal solution in reducing both fuel consumption and greenhouse gases.
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Winter survival tips
Fall keeps stretching and filling our days with sunny skies and warm weather, while spring does the same to put a premature end to winter. Amidst all this, however, is a unique mix of climate conditions that significantly affects our daily habits. More than anywhere else in the world, the cold season in Canada poses serious challenges that drivers must deal with.
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2013 Winter Tire buying tips
Notice the leaves turning and starting to fall? This means the winter season is just around the bend. Like it or not, it is already time to seriously start thinking about getting some winter tires.
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2013 Winter Tires : Checking for wear
Age and mileage are what do tires in. If we were all well organized, we'd probably only have to sift through our "car bill" folder and find the exact date, but we're clearly not.
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Common Causes of Concerning Clunks
Your vehicle, whether fairly new or well-used, has a way of communicating with you when it needs some attention. A light screech from the brakes, for instance, means your ride would appreciate a brake job. A loud squeal from under the hood typically means an accessory belt is in need of replacement.
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Protect your ride with dealer accessories
After years of research, development, and testing your new car, truck, minivan or crossover rolls off the assembly line ready to provide long-lasting toughness, capability, and great looks.
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Used-Car Suspension Inspection for Peace of Mind
That new-to-you car, crossover or minivan has a shiny body suspended on top of four wheels by a sophisticated array of springs, bushings, rods, and struts. These components are specified, calibrated, and linked to one another to create the unique ride and handling principles intended by engineers for the ride in question.
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Ready your 4x4 or AWD system for cold weather
Like thousands of Canadians, you might drive a four-wheel drive (4x4) or all-wheel-drive (AWD) equipped car, wagon, crossover or truck for its added confidence, capability, and all-season, all-terrain traction.
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Top 2013 CUV/Minivan/small SUV Winter Tires
Compact crossovers remain one of the hottest segments in the car business. For this reason, I've selected the very common P225/65R17 size as the yardstick for this winter tire exercise.
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Top 2013 Winter Tires
I've got good news for tire shoppers in Canada: Tire prices have dropped considerably over the last few seasons. In order to discourage cross-boarder shopping, tire manufacturers have lowered their prices to match U.S. retail prices as much as possible.
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Hankook Tire invests in first U.S. plant
Hankook Tire will invest $829 million CAD to build its first American plant in Clarksville, Tennessee. Construction will begin next year, and tire production is expected to start in 2016.
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Recall on Michelin tires in Canada
Michelin is recalling 3,644 tires in Canada because of incorrect handling during the manufacturing process that may have caused a pinhole in the sidewall.
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How To: Find The Right Tires for Your Car
Jamie McNutt has been working with Bridgestone for
over 20 years, so it's safe to say she knows a thing or
two about tire selection! With a degree in chemistry,
McNutt spent a large portion of her career in the
compounding division, which she described as (in
layman's terms): working on nano technology for
improved heat resistance, improved traction and
more.
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Are your tires in good shape?
As part of its "Be Tire Smart - Play Your PART" national public education campaign (May 13-19, 2013), the Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) wants to encourage Canadian motorists to adopt good tire maintenance practices all year long.
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Car Maintenance: Rustproofing Treatments
Rust is a yearlong preoccupation for most Canadians. With major temperature changes, a wet climate (that includes acid rain), and an abundance of salt on the roads, conditions are ripe for our vehicles to corrode all the way to the tiniest recesses.
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Car Maintenance: Exterior Care
Washing a car is a bit more complex than you think. It's not just about removing dust and dirt; you have to be thorough. If you skip or overlook certain steps, you increase the risk of damaging the body of your car.
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Tire Test: Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS
Some people want performance out of their all-season tire, and some people want their tire to save them money. Blend these two requests together and you get the new Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS tire. Situated squarely between the Ecopia EP422 tire and the RE970AS Pole Position tire, the RE97AS gives you a good amount of grip without taking the fun out of driving
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Tire Review: Bridgestone RE-11A
I'm seated behind the wheel of a 570-horsepower, all-wheel drive vehicle. I haven't driven it before, and it's safe to say: I'm a little intimidated.
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Car Maintenance: Interior Care
Mother Nature sure makes things interesting for us Canadian drivers. In addition to significant temperature variations, our cars must endure a nasty mix of dirt, salt, and road grime. Whether it's the body or the interior, the longer you wait to clean the mess, the harder it will be for you to keep your car spotless.
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Car Maintenance: Wheel Alignment
As the only part of your vehicle that touches the ground, your wheels must be perfectly aligned to ensure optimum safety on the road, not to mention reduced tire wear and improved fuel economy. Hitting big potholes and bumps is a major cause of improper wheel alignment.
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Car maintenance: Oil change
So, when exactly is your engine due for an oil change? You can find the easiest -- and safest -- answer in your owner's manual which lists the manufacturer's recommended maintenance intervals. Overall, though, it all depends on your engine's design and the type of oil used.
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Did You Know?: Fuel Injection
Fuel injection is what makes vehicles go. How? By spraying fuel and mixing it up with air, said mixture gets compressed and ignites (courtesy of the spark plugs), pushing the piston back down and engaging the crankshaft which, in turn, engages the drive shaft that connects the driving axles.
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Car Maintenance: Fluids
Fluids are the lifeblood of any vehicle and allow the engine and other systems to operate properly and deliver optimum performance. Among their many different assignments they lubricate, cool down, pressurize, clean, and even help reduce emissions.
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Top 5 performance all-season tires for trucks, SUVs and CUVs in 2013
Designed for sport utility vehicles (SUV), crossover utility vehicles (CUV) and pickup trucks, these all-season tires feature an aggressive tread design and provide good year-round versatility. However, they are not suited to drive in deep snow and at temperatures below -7° Celsius.
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Top 5 all-season tires for trucks, SUVs and CUVs in 2013
These all-season tires ensure a pleasant ride and predictable handling any month of the year, whether you're driving a sport utility vehicle (SUV), crossover utility vehicle (CUV) or pickup truck, including luxury and/or performance models.
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2013 all-season truck tire evaluation
PMCtire.com returns with its annual all-season tire evaluation and rankings, which will help you make the best selection for your pickup truck, sport utility vehicle (SUV) or crossover utility vehicle (CUV). All the main tire models available in Canada in 2013 have been considered.
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2013 all-season car tire evaluation
Now a leading source of expertise for many Canadian drivers, PMCtire.com returns with its annual all-season tire evaluation and rankings, which will help you make the best selection based on your needs. All the main tire models available in Canada -- including many OEM tires -- have been considered.
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Everything about tires
Gaining knowledge and information on any subject is empowering. As with any consumable product, understanding your needs and knowing what you want will prevent anyone from taking advantage of you.
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Load Rating
The load rating or load index refers to the maximum weight each tire can support.
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Shopping for all-season and summer tires
To most of those who do not require winter tires, the circular-shaped rubber-made items on our cars are commonly referred to as 4-season and summer tires. When shopping for new tires, it is important to purchase the right ones for the job.
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Car Maintenance: Tire Change
Tires wear out at different rates depending on the season and their usage, so it's hard to put a mileage limit on them. For summer, performance tires, all-season tires, and eco-friendly tires all have specific attributes. Come winter, some tires will focus on wet performance, while others are more suited for ice.
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Did you know?: Electronic driving aids
Electronic driving aids get mixed reviews. In fact, I'd say they fuel one of the most polarizing automotive topics in the 21st Century. Some people hate them, claiming that they're just one step short of fully autonomous cars, while others are grateful that automakers put so much effort into building increasingly safe and sophisticated vehicles
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Top 2013 Summer Tires
It smells like spring, and I'm sure you've noticed. The time has come to swap the old winter tires for your summer/4-season rubbers.
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Tire Speed Ratings
Ever notice, or hear someone mention, a letter following the size description of a tire? That letter defines the speed rating of any given tire.
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Car maintenance: Brake wear
In order to determine whether your brakes need a check-up, some maintenance or a replacement, you must be able to recognize signs of wear or damage.
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Tire Shopping Made Easy
Shopping for tires is time consuming and frustrating. In short: A pain! At least that's what George Silagadze, Founder and CEO of GetMeTires.com discovered last year when he tried to buy tires for his wife's car
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Did You Know?: Electric Motors and Batteries
In today's world, automakers are trying harder than ever to clean up their act by developing alternative power sources for their vehicles that aren't internal combustion engines. Electric motors have been around for nearly 200 years. Present in our day-to-day lives, this technology has evolved and has now found its way into certain vehicles.
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Q & A about Green Tire Technology (Part 1)
Tire technology evolves at a rate that mimics the world around us. The constant fluctuations in fuel prices affect everything from material costs to transportation fees and, clearly, the end product.
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Did you know?: Diesel engines
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition and burn the air-diesel mixture injected into the combustion chamber. The compression ratio must be significantly higher (than a gasoline engine) in order to ignite diesel and generate power. The lack of spark plugs and associated hardware simplifies maintenance.
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Did you know?: Suspension
Suspension connects a vehicle's unsprung masses (wheels and brakes) to the chassis and cabin. It uses three key components: linkage (A-arms, struts), a support assembly (coil springs, torsion beam, etc.), and a damper (shock absorber).
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Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3
Can one tire do it all? No; unless tire companies figure out how to make one "transform" at the touch of a button. Until then, a good summer tire will never equal a good winter tire.
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Did You Know?: Emission Control
Fuel vapour, oil vapour and unburnt fuel at the end of the combustion cycle must be transformed before being released into the environment. That's a job mainly reserved for the catalytic converter in the exhaust system. A number of sensors along the way also monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust air and adjust fuel injection and emission control processes accordingly.
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Did You Know?: Compression Ratio
Every engine has a specific compression ratio. The air-fuel mixture is compressed in the cylinder to create an ignition, the force of which depends on the compression ratio: the volume of the cylinder when the piston is at the bottom of its stroke versus the volume of the cylinder when the piston is at the top of its stroke. Incidentally, you should know that engine displacement refers to the total capacity of all the pistons during a complete cycle.
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Integrated Communications Systems for GM Vehicles
If you own a General Motors vehicle, you're probably familiar with OnStar. While it's a great idea to have emergency help and the option to make calls, many can hardly justify the $200-$300 yearly fee once the trial period is over. Well now, thanks to the guys at Costar Technologies, you have another option.
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Different fuel types
Fuels that derive from petroleum, such as gasoline and diesel, are called hydrocarbons and are composed of hydrogen and carbon. Petroleum oil's composition depends largely on its place of origin. Its sulphur and other mineral content can vary from one oil field to the next. This crude oil has to undergo a series of transformations before becoming the final fuel products that we so greatly depend on today.
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Winter Guide: Emergency Kit
Surviving winter is often about preparing for the unexpected. That's why all drivers should carry an emergency kit in their car. You can assemble yours for less than $100, and without giving up too much -- if any -- space in your trunk.
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Did you know? Different types of blowers
Mechanically increasing engine air intake through either a turbocharger or supercharger is an easy and effective way to increase the combustion and, therefore, the power produced by an engine. Instead of the engine swallowing the surrounding air normally, it is forced through the intake manifold by mechanical means, thus allowing smaller engines to produce higher outputs.
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Hankook Tire plans new high-tech R&D centre in Korea
Hankook Tire announced plans for a high-tech Research and Development centre in Korea. The facility will be built by Foster+Partners, an architecture firm that's responsible for the famous Millau overpass in France and McLaren's production centre in the U.K., among others.
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