Car Audio

Posts Tagged ‘toys’

Auto gadgets and gismos are big business these days. There are a whole variety of toys and accessories that are intended to make you car more functional or just add a bit of character to your wheels. Below are some details of four fantastically new guys and girls car toys.

Variable heated seats. These days car comfort is top priority and in the winter months nobody wants a cold bum. Heated seats have been around for a little while now, but the latest generation allows you to vary the heat for different body parts. For those people who enjoy having one leg hotter than the other, or a warm lower back, but cool neck…then this is the gadget for you my friend. These make super Christmas presents also as they are perfect for winter months.

360 TV. Men like watching the box, quite a lot. Watching the latest episode of Friends though, whilst heading down the highway is not really a good idea as it makes it very difficult to keep and eye on what is going on. Well now men can have the best of both worlds as cameras mounted on every angle of the car relay images to a screen in front of the driver.Checking out other cars and reversing round corners is now simple as pie.

Makeup mirror. Probably more gifts for girls these things, rear-view mirrors that flip over to reveal a magnifying mirror, perfect for checking the makeup and applying lipstick. We don’t advise you use these whilst driving however, regardless of how important your date is.

Multi-sound horn. Pretty much every man alive wishes he had a super car or better yet an attack helicopter to travel to work in. Sadly this is very rarely possible, so they will have to settle for the next best thing, a sounds effects horn. These amazing gifts for men can replicate over 100 cool sounds, including explosions, super car sounds and animal noises.In some areas these may not be entirely road legal, but that doesn’t mean you can drive up and down your drive, scaring the skin off your cat and neighbours with it.

Motorcycles have a higher rate of accidents. The rate of fatality with motorcycle is also higher. A majority of these accidents involve a motorcycle with a passenger vehicle. In many of these types of accidents, the motorcycle right of way has been found to be violated by the other vehicle. The remaining are single vehicle accidents where it does not involve another vehicles. These single vehicle accidents are usually due to rider error. This include fall due to over-breaking, slide-out, under-cornering or running wide on a curve due to over speeding. There is also small number of instances where vehicle failure such as a puncture flat also causes accidents. Involvement of alcohol is seen in about half of the fatal accidents.

Speed, involvement of alcohol and size of the motorcycle determines the severity of the injury. Quite often the cause of the injuries after the accident is found to be caused by the protective barriers that are on the road including fences, signs and lamps. Additional injuries are likely to happen with the motorcyclists crashing on to the protective barriers. The low visibility of the motorcycle is a major cause of motorcycle accidents.

Motorcycles are categorized into the dual purpose, street and off-road motorcycles. The dual-purpose motorcycles are designed to be used both for transportation as well as motor racing. Street bikes include cruisers, mopeds and scooters. Street bikes are what are usually driven on the streets. The off road motorcycles are not designed for street riding and are not permitted for transport. They are for motor racing. There are different kinds of scooters such as electric scooters, gas scooters, motorized scooters, mobility scooters and kick scooters.

Gas scooter is the most common on the roads. Some of the scooters include Honda, Peugeot, Piaggio, Puch, Suzuki, Vespa, Yamaha, Bajaj, TVS, and ZNEN. There are companies such as X-Treme who manufacture electric scooters such as X-Treme XB-420M, X-Treme X-500, X-Treme X-250, and X-Treme X-140; Gas motorcycle Moped as X-Treme XM-155; Gas Moped as X-Treme XM-160; gas motorcycle moped as X-Treme XM-50, gas scooters moped as X-Treme XM-150, electric moped motorcycle as X-Treme XM-4000Li and gas scooters as X-Treme XG 470 scooter . The most common scooter found on the roads is the gas scooter. They come in different models and brands such as Peugeot, Honda, Puch, Piaggio, Vespa, Yamaha, Suzuki, TVS, Bajaj and ZNEN. Companies such as X-Treme manufacture electric scooters as X-Treme X-500, X-Treme XB-420M, X-Treme X-140 and X-Treme X-250; Gas Moped as X-Treme XM-160; Gas motorcycle Moped as X-Treme XM-155; gas scooters moped as X-Treme XM-150; gas motorcycle moped as X-Treme™ XM-50; gas scooters as X-Treme XG 470 gas scooter and electric moped motorcycle as X-Treme XM-4000Li.

With the economic slow down and increased cost of gasoline, there is an increased demand for motorcycles. The traffic congestion and the ability of motorcycles to get through he traffic easily, more people are opting for thee motorcycles. The manufacturers are responding to this demand with newer designs and models with a variety of features.

Scooters are classified as a category under motorcycles. They usually have smaller wheels, a footboard, protective shield and step-through frame. Electric scooters are two or three wheeled scooters that use electric motors as a replacement for petrol or gasoline based motors. Their engines are energized by battery motors. Compared to gas scooters, electric scooters are low pollution motorcycles. The cost of recharging is lower when compared refueling with gas. The drawback of electric scooters is that these are slower and run shorter distance after which it has to be recharged. Recharging is done when it is plugged in. There are a number of models in the market. Some of these models are indeed cheaper than gas scooters.

As early as the later half of the 19^th century, electric motorcycles were being conceived as a possibility.  However, it was not until 1911 that an electric motorcycle was designed. But the commercial production of electric motorcycle and scooters were actually made only in recent years. Batteries are the source of energy to the electric motor. Research is going on in the application of fuel cell technology.

The higher gasoline price and the prospects of further increase in its price make electric scooters attractive. In fact, it costs just a quarter of what it cost to buy a gas scooter. Battery charge lasts for a shorter duration and requires more frequent recharging. The recharging time is also longer. However, there has been a gradual improvement in battery technology. The battery can be recharged at home or at charging station. There are a number of electric scooters available in the market such as Vectrix VX-1, Eped Sport/City, E-Solex,Yo Speed, ZAP Zapino, EVT-4000e, Razor E125, Io-scooter,Ezip Electric Scooters and Peugeot Scoot’Elec.

Electric scooter is almost silent. This means lesser noise pollution. But it also poses a higher risk of accidents as the usual noise of the scooter announcing its presence is not there. They do not exhaust gases. They are eco-friendly. There are usually neither road taxes nor parking charges for electric scooters. There is no oil to change too. However the speed of electric scooters is lesser. The capacity of the battery reduces in winter.  However, it is expected that electric scooters will rise in popularity.

Motorcycles are of three types: street, off-road and dual purpose. Street bikes include scooters, mopeds and cruisers besides others. Off road motorcycles are meant for racing and not for riding on streets. The dual purpose motorcycles have features which make them permissible to be used on the streets at the same time are fit for motor racing.

Pollution in cities from automobiles has reached unbearable limits. Traffic congestion has become endemic. For both these reasons, motorcycles are becoming the favored mode of transport. Its fuel efficiency is more than any other vehicle. Its contribution to green house gas emission is lesser with its low carbon emission. Its smaller mass makes it have a better fuel economy. However, motorcycles are more polluting. It is as much as ten times to twenty times as compared to the pollution from car. Nitrogen oxide is the major pollutant from motorcycle. This is caused by the poorer efficiency of catalytic converter of motorcycle. Nitrogen oxide is a major constituent of smog.

In recent times, the motorcycle market has shown an upward swing. The global market grew by 6.5 percent despite the global economic downturn. Or perhaps the growth has been fuelled by the economic downturn and the increase in fuel cost. The market for electric scooter is also on the rise. Electric scooters run on battery instead of gasoline. These silent scooters, though with lower speed, have better fuel economy. With gasoline price steadily increasing, electric scooter becomes an option. It is very less polluting in terms of air and noise pollution. Better battery technologies are expected to make it more popular. There are many electric scooters on the road such as Eped Sport/City, Vectrix VX-1, ZAP Zapino, E-Solex, Yo Speed, Razor E200S electric scooter, EVT-4000e, Peugeot Scoot’Elec and Io-scooter, Ezip Electric Scooters.

Motorcycle sales are highest in the Asian countries of China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Motorcycle owners are more than the other vehicle owners. Motorcycle owners are double the number of automobile owners in Taiwan. Registration of motorcycle increased by 50 percent in the United States. It is a common means of transport in the frontier towns of Latin America.

A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame, a footboard and protective leg shield. Scooter has smaller wheels amongst the various categories of motorcycles. Scooters are sub categorized as gas scooters, electric scooters, mobility scooters, motorized scooters, and kick scooters.

The most common scooters in the market and on the road are the gas scooters. Their engines are powerful and range from 50cc to as much as 250cc. There is the classic step-through frame as well as the sportier looking scooters. Some are meant for city driving while others are designed for highway driving. Scooters have a better mileage than other vehicles with up to even 75 miles per gallon. They are easily maneuverable and need little space for parking. Mobility scooters are designed to enable the handicapped and the elderly to move around in the neighborhood safely and slowly. They have a speed ranging from 5 to 10 miles per hour. Scooters specially designed for the teenagers are the motorized scooters. Their engines are smaller of 50cc or lesser. These are called mopeds, segways, standup or gas scooters and seated scooters. These scooters have a lower traveling range of 5 to 20 miles and speed ranging from 8 to 20 miles per hour. But these are trendy. These are less expensive and have a better gas mileage.  Kick scooters or Push Scooters are meant for kids. These have no engines and are the most eco-friendly. They have a push and glide motion where the legs are used for pushing. These can be taken to school and easily transported. They are also very cheap.

Electric scooters are yet another category of scooters. They operate on battery motors substituting gasoline. The gas price hikes, a constant worry for all motorists, is no longer an issue. There are many models of electric scooters in the market that include Eped Sport/City, Vectrix VX-1, ZAP Zapino, E-Solex,Yo Speed, Razor E300S Scooter , EVT-4000e, Peugeot Scoot’Elec and Io-scooter and Ezip Electric Scooters.

Electric scooters are non-polluting as its emissions are low. It runs more or less noiseless. But it runs slower as its speed is low. It needs to be recharged which is a plug-in very frequently as it runs only a short distance. In terms of cost, some models are cheaper as compared to gas scooters.