A Young Racer Jumps to the Bigs

By Lynn Bromash

Bobby LaPonte is avowedly just a youth. He is 6 seasons young, the only child of his parents, and lives with his family in Johns Creek, Ga. .

But Bobby possesses big goals. Despite being youthful in age, he's completely set on his dream to sometime drive in NASCAR's giant leagues, the Sprint Cup Series.

Bobby's aspirations are so large, in fact, that he often thinks about racing with the big fellows. According to his folks, Larry and Nancy, he even emulates the clamor of NASCAR cars in bed.

Larry feels that his son got his interest in NASCAR while still inside his mother.

"I raced the amateur road course tour for 10 years," he claimed. "When my wife was pregnant with Bobby, she would always be there to see me compete and we believe that is when Bobby began his passion for nascar."

A lot akin to Jeff Gordon and his daughter Ella, the LaPontes have pictures of jovial Bobby climbing in and out of his father's auto when he was only a baby.

Bobby might drive each day if he was able to, and he becomes that opportunity with the extensive race season, from March until November, in the south. He and his father compete each Saturday and Sunday, frequently going to other areas, which include Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee, to take part in their local races.

This previous July, Bobby participated in his first countrywide title event. He earned a win in his semifinal heat race.

Bobby is swift to notify you that he drives in quarter midgets, a lesser variety of the USAC Midget Sprint cars that Cup racers such as NASCAR's title point head Tony Stewart begun his profession driving.

Bobby lets you understand that because he intends to trail in Stewart's footprints and follow that same road in his own driving career.

This small man indeed is looking forward to satisfying his big NASCAR dreams, that of racing with his heroes in the years in store. - 21396

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Automobile Insurance -- Steps To Remarkable Discounts

By Chimezirim Odimba

There are many ways to more affordable but adequate auto insurance coverage. However, a number of them might leave you slightly compromised. I do NOT generally support such options since they defeat the main purpose of insurance in the first place. Therefore, I will only give you tips that will also have you well covered despite saving you much...

1. A number of insurers will give you a discount if a child on your auto insurance policy is away at school and doesn't use the vehicle at that period. If this this is the case with your kid in college then don't fail to tell your agent about it. While you should try, you must understand that this isn't one of several traditional discounts that all insurers offer.

2. The difference in what it will cost you to insure comparably priced cars could be very huge. It will be a wise move if you discuss with your agent before buying your next vehicle. Avoid any car that has a high theft rate and/or a bad crash rating.

Furthermore, cars that typically cost more to repair also cost more to insure. This is my personal opinion; but it does make sense to opt for a comparable car that is more insurance-friendly.

3. Paying your premium once a year will get you lower rates than choosing monthly payments. Although this option is always less stressful, it costs more for some reasons..

There are transaction fees that are attached to processing a check. All through a year, your monthly checks would be processed separately because they are all different transactions. This implies that you'll pay transaction fees twelve times..

That's just part of it: Insurance companies also incur higher administrative costs for your monthly payments. For example, it costs some money to send payment notices monthly.

The additional administrative cost to your insurance provider is ultimately paid for by you (that's apart from their own profit margin for providing such a "stressless" alternative).

4. Electronic Funds Transfer (abbreviated as EFT) is an easy way to bring down your car insurance rate. it authorizes your bank to credit your insurer with your premium payments automatically until you stipulate to the contrary. This saves the insurance company in many ways including removing the cost of sending payment notices and the expense associated with processing checks. Your premium is therefore brought down in line with the cheaper cost of providing insurance to you.

5. While you do these other things to bring down your auto rates, here's something you can do to receive lower rates today: Visit reputable insurance quotes sites and obtain quotes.

Visit not less than five of such sites for the best results. It's free, quick and easy. However, ensure you give your correct details as you fill the questionnaires on each site. Thereafter, simply pick the insurer that represents the best price/value from the quotes you've obtained. - 21396

About the Author:

Learn more at Cheep Car Insurance and California Car Insurance Quote. Chimezirim Odimba helps people save on insurance.

The Sporty Hatchback: The Honda CR-X

By Andy Zain

Honda released the first Honda CR-X into the Japanese market in 1984 and called it the Honda Ballade Sports CR-X. In other countries, this first generation CR-X was called the Civic CR-X, and most people saw it as a sporty Civic rather than a new car altogether.

From the beginning, there were different versions for different markets. In the US, the Honda CR-X was touted as an economical sports hatchback with room for only two passengers. In Europe, however, it had a more powerful engine and 2 + 2 seating. The CR-X was basically redesigned in 1987 and continued to be produced until 1991.

The CR-X was a popular choice for younger drivers with great performance and handling capabilities and good economy. In the United States, the company of R. Straman created a convertible out of the CR-X, completing 310 of these "coach convertibles" between 1984 and 1987. The 1. 5 L model marketed in America as the CR-X HF (which stood for High Fuel economy) reliably achieved very good fuel economy and it cost no more than the basic model.

1987 saw the production of a 2nd generation of the Honda CR-X with a chassis modification to double independent wishbones. Fuel injection was introduced to the 1495 cc and the updated 1590 cc DOHC engines. From 1989, the CR-X shared the same 1595 cc VTEC engine as the Honda Integra, and these models were treated to some exterior modifications of bumpers, lights and dash, as well.

The US market had a choice of three CR-X models at this time; the 1495 cc engine, the eight valve 1495 cc engine and the 'sports injected' or Si model with the sixteen valve 1590 cc engine and a power-operated sliding roof.

For the Japanese market, a glass roof, which was a fixed panel stretching from the windscreen to the hatch, was an optional extra. While it was a common car in Japan, it was not marketed elsewhere and now these models have become keenly sought by enthusiasts in other parts of the world.

Honda chose to replace the Honda CR-X in 1992 with a new Civic model, called the Honda Civic del Sol, which came to be known as the third generation CR-X by those who loved this car. There has been much talk about bringing back the CR-X by Honda and it seems as though it may form part of the Honda hybrid range in the future. - 21396

About the Author:

Andy Zain is the admin of Honda CR-X Forum , a place where fans and owners can get the right information for tuning, customization and general discussions on anything about Honda CR-X. Get the information you need when you visit Honda Forum

The Long Life Of The Ford Escort

By Andy Zain

The long life of the Ford Escort -- the model sold in the United States and Canada, for the most part -- took on several different shapes, though every one aimed to capture a large segment of the compact car market. Up until 1981, Ford had mostly failed at doing so though its new attempt with what it dubbed a "world car" would seek to attract buyers in North America.

As a model that ran up through the 2003 model year, the compact Escort had a very nice life. The new Focus picked up the load after the little compact was put out to pasture though thousands of them still run on the roads to this day. Originally based of model off the same name sold in Europe, it was redesigned extensively before being put forward for sale to Americans.

The Ford Escort was also the company's first front-wheel-drive car, and it replaced Ford's subcompact Pinto, which had been in production since 1971 and had been through several controversies which impacted sales of that model. In the 1980s, the Escort was one of Ford's most successful models. In fact, it was so well-liked that it was the single best selling car in the United States by its second year and for most of the 1980s.

There were three different generations of Ford Escort sold in the North American market, with each one being an improvement over the other. Different body styles and options packages combined with a wide variety of four-cylinder engines and various transmissions over the years. There was even a small 52 horsepower diesel at one end and a turbocharged dynamo that could spool up to produce 120 horsepower at the other.

Over the course of the third and last generation, which lasted from 1997 through the end of 2002, engineers at Ford had managed to demonstrate a real facility with the design and manufacture of compact vehicles, managing to squeeze increasingly good performance and reliability from a variety of four-cylinder engines while also giving customers nice styling, especially for the relative low prices the Escort sold at.

Over the two-plus decades of the car's life, the Escort appeared in a variety of body styles. There was a hatchback sporting what Ford called "three doors, " and a station wagon model along with a couple of different performance sport coupes that first appeared on the scene back in 1998. The designers also kept up the car's appearance, freshening and redesigning it over the years.

Over its life, the Ford Escort played a vital part in keeping the car's Dearborn-based automaker alive and well. Keeping it in showrooms allowed the company to learn how to manufacture compact vehicles while simultaneously selling a great many of them to many a customer. This had the happy effect of keeping the Blue Oval on the minds of many consumers and for that reason alone, the Escort must be considered a success. - 21396

About the Author:

Andy Zain is the admin of Ford Escort Forums , a place where fans and owners can get the right information for tuning, customization and general discussions on anything about Ford Escort. Get the information you need when you visit Ford Forums

Understanding Liability Law For Your Vehicle

By April Kerr

In many states it is a requirement in order to drive that you carry an insurance policy that covers your vehicle. It can be very expensive to have an insurance policy that is full coverage. A full coverage policy covers any damages that are done to the policy holder's vehicle and property as well as any damage to the other party's property and vehicle. A liability insurance policy only covers damage done to the other party's vehicle and property.

A liability insurance policy is less expensive to purchase than a full coverage policy. Most states do require you to have an insurance policy in order to own and operate a vehicle. It is acceptable to have only a liability policy as long as you have full ownership of your vehicle.

The financial institution that holds the title for your vehicle will require that you carry full coverage so that if you get in an accident, their property will be covered. If you cause severe damage to the vehicle and cannot get them fixed they know that you will probably stop making the payments or at least will have a harder time doing it. With the full coverage policy, the insurance company should help to pay for your repairs.

The insurance policy companies know that if you only held liability insurance and the policy would not cover to get your vehicle fixed, you may not make the future payments if you cannot drive it. While it may be inconvenient to pay for the full coverage policy, it will make a difference if you get into an accident.

Another thing to consider if you own an older model vehicle that you hold the title to is what the value of your vehicle is. Insurance policies, both full coverage and liability, come with a deductible on the covered damages.

If your deductible is five hundred dollars and the vehicle is only worth five hundred dollars, you will not get anything from the insurance policy because your deductible and the cost to total out the vehicle negate each other.

Even if the value of your vehicle is low you will still be required, in most states, to have an insurance policy on your vehicle. If your vehicle value is low and the deductible is higher than the value than it may be a wise decision to purchase the liability insurance policy. - 21396

About the Author:

April Kerr owns website JeriMoberly which has info on low cost home umbrella insurance and cheep excess umbrella liability insuranse.