Title Loans Are A Scam You Need To Avoid
Need cash fast but can’t find anyone who will lend it to you? Have a car with a clear title? Maybe you’ve heard that you can borrow money against that title and get a “Title Loan.” Don’t.
The theory is simple: You borrow money and put up the title to your car as collateral. The sites often promise that you can have cash in hand “in minutes” which sounds quite fast when compared to the days it might take a bank to lend you money. But you will notice a few things missing from the websites. Like what the interest rate of the loan is. Or whether the lender is licensed to operate in your state.
These loans have been around for a while in a variety of forms, but have recently gained popularity as the operators have discovered how lucrative title lending can be. Search the phrase “Title Loans” and watch how many slick sites pop up. Most are fronted with pictures of attractive women, trying to hand you cash through your monitor.
Many of the title lenders out there charge exorbitant interest rates—yes, it turns out that interest rates are set by law and a lender cannot charge 500 percent APR on a personal loan. At least, not ones that follow the law.
But stories abound of title lenders who charge crazy rates, have little to no documentation, and simply charge whatever they want. And sometimes they “repossess” the collateral whenever they feel like it. And the type of person who has relied on a title loan is usually in no position to do much about it.
(Jalopnik.com)
Monday, December 14, 2015
Some Pissing Contests From The Auto Industry
Engineering Explained: 6 Times Car Makers Had You Fooled
Car adverts and reviews are often a barrage of marketing terms (DOHC, VTEC, Quattro) and misconceptions. Here are six times when what you've been taught to believe, might not actually be true . . . . .
2. “Audi Quattro Is Better Than Subaru Symmetrical AWD”
The point here isn’t to claim that Audi, Subaru, or any other manufacturer for that matter make the best AWD system. Instead, it’s that the statement “Quattro is better than Symmetrical” holds almost no meaning. The terms Quattro, Symmetrical, S-AWC, SH-AWD, X-drive, etc. are all just marketing terms to state that the car can drive all four wheels. As you might assume, the Audi R8 doesn’t run the same AWD technology as the Audi A4. Even higher end Subaru offerings like the WRX and STI have drastically different AWD setups, though both are marketed as “Symmetrical AWD.” While the STI boasts front and rear limited-slip diffs, the WRX makes do with open front and rear axles. Ultimately, cars need to be analysed individually in order to determine which AWD solution will be best for a certain condition.
3. Steel vs Aluminum Body
Chevrolet has put out extensive advertising campaigns to discredit Ford’s work with the aluminium bodied F-150. Along with insinuating the idea that trucks need not care about efficiency and weight, they state boldly at the end of their Aluminum Man ad that “some things shouldn’t be made of aluminium.” Chevy engineers probably hung their heads in shame after watching the ads. After all, nearly all engines these days are made with aluminum blocks and heads, and it’s been reported that Chevrolet will be increasing the use of aluminium in future trucks. Of course they will. Aluminium is strong, light in weight, and has great corrosion properties. But do you think they’ll advertise the new truck as unsafe at launch? Unlikely. Repair costs may be slightly higher, however since insurance costs remain comparable it’s a non-issue for many of consumers (especially considering how common it is in the States to buy a truck for no utilitarian purposes). The weight reduction also helps save on fuel costs.
Complete list (CarThrottle.com)
Car adverts and reviews are often a barrage of marketing terms (DOHC, VTEC, Quattro) and misconceptions. Here are six times when what you've been taught to believe, might not actually be true . . . . .
2. “Audi Quattro Is Better Than Subaru Symmetrical AWD”
The point here isn’t to claim that Audi, Subaru, or any other manufacturer for that matter make the best AWD system. Instead, it’s that the statement “Quattro is better than Symmetrical” holds almost no meaning. The terms Quattro, Symmetrical, S-AWC, SH-AWD, X-drive, etc. are all just marketing terms to state that the car can drive all four wheels. As you might assume, the Audi R8 doesn’t run the same AWD technology as the Audi A4. Even higher end Subaru offerings like the WRX and STI have drastically different AWD setups, though both are marketed as “Symmetrical AWD.” While the STI boasts front and rear limited-slip diffs, the WRX makes do with open front and rear axles. Ultimately, cars need to be analysed individually in order to determine which AWD solution will be best for a certain condition.
3. Steel vs Aluminum Body
Chevrolet has put out extensive advertising campaigns to discredit Ford’s work with the aluminium bodied F-150. Along with insinuating the idea that trucks need not care about efficiency and weight, they state boldly at the end of their Aluminum Man ad that “some things shouldn’t be made of aluminium.” Chevy engineers probably hung their heads in shame after watching the ads. After all, nearly all engines these days are made with aluminum blocks and heads, and it’s been reported that Chevrolet will be increasing the use of aluminium in future trucks. Of course they will. Aluminium is strong, light in weight, and has great corrosion properties. But do you think they’ll advertise the new truck as unsafe at launch? Unlikely. Repair costs may be slightly higher, however since insurance costs remain comparable it’s a non-issue for many of consumers (especially considering how common it is in the States to buy a truck for no utilitarian purposes). The weight reduction also helps save on fuel costs.
Complete list (CarThrottle.com)
You Don't Ever Want To Use It, But It's Nice To Have It
10 reasons why you need to have a spare car key
2) Peace of mind – Even if you are the only driver and an additional key is not being used, it still makes sense to have a spare car key stored somewhere safe. This removes the worry of losing your key and gives you a backup option if you can’t find your key but know it is somewhere inside the house. If you are are running late you can take the spare key and find the missing key later when you have time.
5) Convenience – Having a backup car key will save you the hassle of towing your car into a dealers garage or waiting around for an auto locksmith to arrive.
8) Snapped key substitute – Car keys are prone to bending and snapping. If your key snaps into two you will be extremely grateful if you have a spare stored in a safe place.
Complete list (PGAAutomotive.com)
2) Peace of mind – Even if you are the only driver and an additional key is not being used, it still makes sense to have a spare car key stored somewhere safe. This removes the worry of losing your key and gives you a backup option if you can’t find your key but know it is somewhere inside the house. If you are are running late you can take the spare key and find the missing key later when you have time.
5) Convenience – Having a backup car key will save you the hassle of towing your car into a dealers garage or waiting around for an auto locksmith to arrive.
8) Snapped key substitute – Car keys are prone to bending and snapping. If your key snaps into two you will be extremely grateful if you have a spare stored in a safe place.
Complete list (PGAAutomotive.com)
#1 Is Enough Of A Reason For Me To Avoid This Car
4 Reasons why the Toyota GT86 is a bad buy
1. The engine is terrible
I can hear people calling out to the heavens even as I type this. “Ben, you don’t need a lot of horsepower to have fun!” – you’re correct, you don’t need a lot of power at all to have fun. Just look at the Suzuki Swift Sport with 130hp, the Fiesta with 197hp or any Japanese Kei car with a maximum of 64hp.
You don’t need a lot of power to have fun. What you do need, however, is Torque, and the GT86 rivals Honda in the low Torque battle. However, unlike Honda you don’t have a stupid high red-line to make up for the Torque deficit.
Sure, the Suzuki Swift only makes 118lb-ft, but the major difference is that there isn’t a drop in the Torque output equivalent to the Marianas Trench slap bang in the middle of the rev range like on the GT86, and its here that the Toyota’s engine falls completely flat (figuratively and literally).
When I drove it I recall my foot being flat to the floor without much “go” happening. Yes, its fun to rev a car to the redline but with the GT86 it wasn’t fun, it was necessary or else you weren’t going to have any fun at all. It was a chore to wind it up to the red-line and a buzzkill if you fell even a fraction outside of its comfort zone. The engine is in dire need of a retune or a factory fitted turbo.
People constantly state that you can make the car better by doing XYZ modification as soon as you buy it. If you have to modify a car to actually be good the second it exits the showroom, then its not a good car.
Complete list (CarThrottle.com)
1. The engine is terrible
I can hear people calling out to the heavens even as I type this. “Ben, you don’t need a lot of horsepower to have fun!” – you’re correct, you don’t need a lot of power at all to have fun. Just look at the Suzuki Swift Sport with 130hp, the Fiesta with 197hp or any Japanese Kei car with a maximum of 64hp.
You don’t need a lot of power to have fun. What you do need, however, is Torque, and the GT86 rivals Honda in the low Torque battle. However, unlike Honda you don’t have a stupid high red-line to make up for the Torque deficit.
Sure, the Suzuki Swift only makes 118lb-ft, but the major difference is that there isn’t a drop in the Torque output equivalent to the Marianas Trench slap bang in the middle of the rev range like on the GT86, and its here that the Toyota’s engine falls completely flat (figuratively and literally).
When I drove it I recall my foot being flat to the floor without much “go” happening. Yes, its fun to rev a car to the redline but with the GT86 it wasn’t fun, it was necessary or else you weren’t going to have any fun at all. It was a chore to wind it up to the red-line and a buzzkill if you fell even a fraction outside of its comfort zone. The engine is in dire need of a retune or a factory fitted turbo.
People constantly state that you can make the car better by doing XYZ modification as soon as you buy it. If you have to modify a car to actually be good the second it exits the showroom, then its not a good car.
Complete list (CarThrottle.com)
If You're Not Eating These Now, You're Really Missing Out
10 Mexican Dishes Americans Will Learn to Love Next Year
1. Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs
4. Breakfast Burritos
7. Tortas
Complete list (OCWeekly.com)
1. Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs
4. Breakfast Burritos
7. Tortas
Complete list (OCWeekly.com)
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