Automotive V.i.n. Numbers What Do They Mean

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V.I.N. V.I.N.s. You will hear this term tossed around frequently by car sales people, auto insurance people among others in the automotive trade. What does the term “VIN” mean and how it is important to you?

The term V.I.N. is short form of “Vehicle Identification Number”. It’s a unique number that is assigned to your vehicle – be it car, truck, S.U.V., van truck, motorcycle or any other vehicle. Think of the VIN as the Social Insurance Number for your automotive vehicle.

In order to register a vehicle, especially a new vehicle, you will need its V.I.N. In order to insure your vehicle ditto. If your car is stolen it may well be tracked down and identified by this unique listing – it’s V.I.N. If you are in the market for a vehicle and do a vehicle history search – say at Carfax or a similar online service and the lookup will all be done by V.I.N. How else could the system work if each vehicle did not have its own unique identifying number? Through such automated systems you can quickly and accurately determine vehicle history since new – a list of owners , any accident reports , has the car been involved in a major accident , been written off , been in a flood , have liens or charges against it , as well as many additional concerns for auto buyers ,financers , and dealers.

How can you determine the V.I.N. of your vehicle? That is easy if have ready access to your registration and insurance documentation. If not, or if you want to confirm the VIN number assignment you can simply find out your vehicles stamp. Simply look through the windshield on the driver’s side of the auto at the corner of the dash. It should be clearly stamped on a plate attached to the dash. As well that same designation should be clearly listed on your bill of sale. If the 2 numbers do not match – this could be a sign of future trouble if you are ever involved in a collision and have to deal with auto insurance claims and payment to yourself or your auto body shop.

A short course in how to read a VIN to be of use to you – should you be in the car buying mode, need registration information or want to import a car into Canada. Where an auto is manufactured often determines import duties and taxes.

Reading a V.I.N. First things first look at the first number on the left hand side. This first character designates where the vehicle was built – 1 is the US, 2 is Canada, 3 is Mexico, J for Japan, K for Korea for example.

Next the second character in line designates the manufacturer or who built the car. The letter “G: stands for General Motor or G.M. products. Next is the third character – in this example if the number 2 is the third character – this would indicate the Pontiac division of GM. Characters 4 and 5 indicate the car line series, eight represents the body style for example 2 door coupe, 4 door sedan, hatchback. The seventh character indicates the type of safety restraint system that was installed at the factory. Eight character stands for the engine code – each type of engine has its own stamp. Between the eighth and the last sequence of letters is a check digit – a spacer to prevent confusion. The last sequence of digits is the grouping that singly identifies the vehicle and makes it wholly unique.

Why all this effort in creating this system and nomenclature of listing and describing each car individually. How else could the automotive trades work if they could not id each and every vehicle separately , track it , keep detailed records and lastly allow you as a car , truck , SUV , Van or motorcycle driver to research the past history of your new found vehicle.

Many Problems Are Faced By The Auto Industry Due To Online Counterfeiting And The Gray Market.

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Counterfeiting is such a menace that even the Federal Bureau of Investigation has termed it the crime of the 21st century. If you dont believe this, perhaps some number crunching can shed some light on the kind of hazards that this activity creates for automotive businesses worldwide. For example, the global automotive parts industry suffers losses pegged as high as $12 billion a year, $3 billion of which is in the U.S. The total global counterfeit market is pegged at a whopping $350 billion. The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), realizing the grave situation of counterfeits affecting its businesses, formed the Brand Protection council to take matters of fake counterfeit products in the automobile sector seriously.

What are fake automotive parts? How does one distinguish them from the originals?

Some counterfeits are simply imitations of real automotive parts and look exactly like the original so as to fool the buyer into believing that they are buying the original. Other times, fake or counterfeit automotive parts are simply packaged to look like the original. Counterfeiters often utilize the same brand image, colors and font sizes to ensure that the packaging looks similar to that of the real product. Some of the most common counterfeit automotive parts are things like fan belts, spark plugs, engine mountings, wheel covers, alloy wheels, air filters, fuel filters and oil filters. Sometimes the products carry the logo of the original. Other times counterfeiters simply use outdated parts that have been thrown out by the original company or dealer, renew them with some work and sell them again in the grey market.

There are many problems associated with fake automotive parts.

Such grey market products affect the brand and the reputation of the original manufacturer. Despite being made to look like the original, these products are not the original product. Even though they may be sold at perhaps 1/4th of the original price, the worth is much less than the real product. The safety of your vehicle could be compromised, and it could have many different kinds of problems, from part failure to higher fuel consumption to higher levels of pollution. The most pressing problem with using fakes is that, while you might feel you have gotten a great deal in terms of price, you will never get the intended effect that the original product can offer. In terms of quality and durability, you will always be at a loss if you opt for counterfeit products.

Centennial Colleges Automotive Service Technician Apprenticeship Focuses On Canadian Tire Employm

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If there is one brand that is recognizable across Canada, it is Canadian Tire. Founded in 1922, this store is not only known for its loyalty reward program and great prices but also its automotive services. As an automotive technician who wants a clear advantage over the competition, the only program you should consider is the Automotive Service Technician apprenticeship at Centennial College. Thats because this offering, officially known as Automotive Service Technician Canadian Tire MAP 32, is actually partnered with the store. As such, you will be employed or sponsored by Canadian Tire stores and receive all the in-school training necessary for your apprenticeship as an automotive service technician.

Applicants to this automotive service technician training are required to have completed an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or GED (General Educational Development). Additionally, applicants must be employed by a Canadian Tire dealership or be selected through an advising/interview session; and they must also be able to legally work in Canada. It is worth noting that when space permits, additional applicants are selected through an interview process. If the college determines there are additional seats available, applicants will receive a letter and questionnaire with instructions on how to request a program interview. Admission is on a first come first served basis. Lastly, students enrolled in a Centennial College Modified Apprenticeship Program (MAP) are Registered Apprentices, in accordance with the Apprenticeship Branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

The structure of the automotive service technician apprenticeship sees students experience more in-depth automotive service technician training that includes 32 weeks of in-class training. During this time, students complete five courses, which are part of a provincial automotive curriculum and satisfy the knowledge necessary to become a licensed technician. These courses are: Drive train Systems, Electrical/Electronic & Emission Systems, Engine Systems, Work Practices and Procedures, Suspension/Steering and Brake System. All of these automotive service technician apprenticeship courses are facilitated from Ashtonbee Campus. As Centennial Colleges transportation training hub and the largest facility of its sort in the province, it is fully equipped with product-generic tools and includes a broad range of makes and models from the automotive industry. It is worth noting that automotive service technician training students may be eligible for EI (employment insurance) during the in-class training.

Students of this automotive service technician apprenticeship also obtain four weeks of On-the-job experience at one of Ontarios over 190 Canadian Tire stores, which leads to a high placement rate for candidates. At Canadian Tire locations, automotive service technician apprenticeship students work alongside automotive service professionals, applying what they have learned during their in-school sessions, gaining new knowledge and getting to know the company. It is a chance to show off their newly acquired or developed skills. During the employer sessions, Automotive Service Technician Apprenticeship are compensated.

Top Automotive Innovations Of 2012

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Every new model year brings new bells and whistles from the auto industry. Here are the biggest changesand the unofficial rating for how it will affect you personally, either lame, game, or undecided.

Lame. Okay, so air bags were a good idea when they came out. They added safety with virtually no effort on the part of the driver. Even passenger side air bagsstill a good idea. But knee air bags? Seriously? Carmakers are even talking about making air bags to prevent back seat passengers from hitting the front seats. What will they think of next, giant padded walls inside the car to keep you from hurting yourself?

Game. Greater smartphone integration into all aspects of the car, from streaming your mp3s stored inside the phone straight into the car stereo, to projecting the navigation system in your phone onto the car’s DVD player. Now that’s smart: taking an already existing technology and adapting the car to use it without any additional effort on the part of the owner.

Lame. Apparently, the executive boardroom tables at Ford suck all the common-sense right out of the room. That’s because in spite of well-earned criticism for the MyFordTouch touch screen layout, they’ve decided to add it to more models for 2012. Touch screens work great for some things: smart phones, iPadsbut for turning up the heat in your car, it’s easiest just to have a knob. Or a switch.

Undecided. The auto-stop feature, which turns off your engine automatically at things like stop lights, is being added to more models than ever. In theory, it is designed to be imperceptibleto turn back on as soon as you go again. In practice, if it means having to wait for your car to turn on again, it could turn lame real fastor it could mean saving a few bucks on fuel with no perceived difference if it works as advertised.

Game. Secretariat would be proud. The fastest horse ever was always underestimated because of his smaller sizeand today’s engines are smaller and more powerful than ever. GM’s Buick Regal has a 4 banger that puts out 270 horsesjust about the same horsepower as a new 289 V8 produced in a 1965 Ford Mustang when they came out.

BMW X6-Either You Love It Or Hate It

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BMW X6-Either You Love It Or Hate It

The BMW X6 is the third in BMWs X line up. The concept car was shown in 2007 in Frankfurt Motor Show and the production followed the March next year. The X6 is a coupe-SUV -based on the X5- with a sleek style and fun drive but it has limited off road ability. There are options of two diesel and three petrol engines. Diesel engines are better with X6 40d giving the best balance of performance and fuel consumption. The X6 boosts a “love it or hate it” design which is not everyones bread and butter. This might be the only car having so many different buyer opinions. From the bottom it looks just like the X5, while above the waistline, is a coupe with a shallow glass area and sleek roof making it a Sports Activity Coupe as BMW calls it. 19 inch alloys and xenon headlamps come as standard across all models.

There is no doubt that the petrol engines return an excellent performance but they prove very costly to run, the diesel engines are better in the sense that they give similar figures of performance at comparatively low running costs. The basic 30d does the 0-62mph in 7.5secs which results in easy overtaking on the road. The 40d does the same in 6.5secs and the range topping M50D gives 0-62mph in jus5.3secs. X6 has very agile drive for its size, weight and height. It handles very well on sharp turns and corners. The X6 has a incredible road grip thanks to the Dynamic Performance control technology that adjusts the torque across each axle.

The BMW X6 has not be tested for Euro NCAP rating yet but it sure can get five stars when put through the test. It comes with a decent amount of safety feature that include ten airbags, electronic stability control, Isofix child seat anchors and tyre pressure monitor. The engines that and technology that power X6 have already been tried and tested in other BMW models and no major issues reported. All of these increase the drivers confidence in driving X6. Though the BMW X6 is a bulky car, still there are only two individual seats at the back making it a strict four seater.

It boasts a decent 570 litres of boot space and underneath there is a storage space for items you dont want others to see. The rear visibility is poor but parking sensors make up for it and come as standard across the range. Going for a diesel engine surprisingly lowers the running costs, the 35i is the most efficient petrol returning 28.0mpg with 236g/km of carbon emissions. On the other hand even the biggest culprit in diesels the M50d does 36.7mpg with CO2 emissions at 204g/km. Insuring the X6 will always be expensive but BMW offers a Service Inclusive deal for just 400 that covers the vehicle for five years or 60,000 miles whichever comes first.