The first site is Learn4Good and they have a car driving simulation program called Drivers Education. Once you are there and start up the game you will be given a warning that this should not be your only tool to learn to drive nor should it substitute actual driving lessons. With that said you will continue on to choose your instructor from Jessica, Johnny, Mr. Bumper and the boss lady. Can you guess who I picked?

Yes I choose Jessica. She will politely introduce herself. Don’t stare – you might fail!

After that you can either choose to start with lessons or go right for the driving test. The test is fun! You also have the option to quit, change your instructor or view the help.

Here are the available lessons: parallel parking, left turn at an all way stop, left turn on a green light, proceed through an all way stop and pulling out of a parking spot.

You use the up and down arrows as well as the backwards and forwards arrows to maneuver your car. You can hit up and right at the same time to move on a angle. Use your knowledge of parallel parking to do so successfully.

When you start your exam you will have to take a test for each of the lessons. When you complete them without running people over, hitting a car or disobeying the traffic law you will move on to the next exam like so:

Continue playing and learning until you can beat all of them with your eyes closed.

They will stop you from breaking the law and make you start over – better than failing in real life – right?

The next site with a car driving simulation program is brought to us by Chrysler and can be found on their website.

They tell you on the site that you will experience:

• Customizable vehicles.
• Playable tutorials.
• Real-world driving conditions.

Click play it now to begin. You will be prompted to install something called 3dVIA player – just follow the prompts. Once that is installed you will be ready to play.

Click on New Game to start your new game or you can continue a saved game, read the instructions, credits or the leaderboard.

We jumped right in and chose New Game and saw this:

I ran with the first lesson and went through the basics after reading some facts and waiting for the environment to load.

They will make you put on your seatbelt before starting by pressing the B key. Then you will learn how to drive and maneuver, consider this the starting board. Continue on, learn and go get your license. Enjoy.

Do you know of any other car driving simulation programs?  Let us know about them below in the comments.

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The first site we will be looking at has an awesome domain name and probably millions of dollars behind it - Cars.com. Their homepage looks like this:

You can use the drop-down menu at the top to build or find your perfect new or used car. And the section below it allows you to research specific makes and models. You can browse by type such as passenger cars, sports cars, SUVs, luxury, “green” vehicles and more. You can also search by year or model or make. This is a great first stop.

Below, you can see I searched for a new car from Land Rover:

They then allow you to either build your own from scratch where you can pick your options, colors and more. But I chose to see new inventory in local dealers. This is what I got:

You can sort by price to narrow your search and other options. They have an option to email the dealer or their 800 number.

The next site we will look at is called AutoWeb. They have the same features as Cars.com and they have Kelley blue book values for you if you are looking to sell or trade in your current vehicle. Their site’s homepage looks like this:

Here I chose to get a new car quote on a Mercedes Benz:

They even have Rolls Royces listed here. I continued on and saw this:

I could see the lowest advertiseable MSRP but could not get specifics unless I want to speak to a representative. I passed because there is much more information to be had on the interwebs. So I moved on to a web site called AutoTraders and I chose a Bentley:

And that took me to a screen like this where you can either get very specific about what you want or be very broad and search through everything like this:

Filling that out, I then moved on to this screen when I was able to view the actual models, years and condition in the listings below.  I can have a 2006 Bentley for under $100k – wonder what’s wrong with it (or maybe its just the economy?)

All in all there are countless resources on the Internet for researching and buying cars in any situation. You can use websites like carfacts or this site that was shown in the Make Use Of directory called Real Car Tips.

Just make sure you use a reputable website and that you can find a real live person to talk to if you call their phone number. Also if a deal is too good to be true, chances are it is. If you are not so great with the web ask someone who is!

Leave your tips and experiences in the comments for everyone please.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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To be honest, I’ve never been very interested in cars. When I’m in “car boasting” company, I’m happy if I manage to nod and look amazed at the right times. But however uninterested I may be in automobiles, I do enjoy a good ‘virtual drive’ now and then.

We’ve already written about The Best Free Racing Games in the past, but X games aren’t enough to last a lifetime.

Project Torque

Project Torque is a self-proclaimed MMORG. No, not a role-playing game, but a Massively Multiplayer Racing Car Game Online. To dispel the common misunderstanding from the start: online is not the same as in-browser. It actually means you can race against other people from all over the world – with up to twenty different participants. Take a look at the trailer below.

A fun and simple racing car game online. Aeria Games, the online publisher, has delivered splendid work with Project Torque. Not entirely surprising, though, you might already know Aeria Games from previous titles like Wolf Team and Last Chaos.

Online Racing Madness

As said before, Project Torque supports online races with anything between two and twenty different racers. To make this manageable, there are a number of supporting online elements.

You can connect with friends or other racers by using the integrated chat and email clients. Although you don’t have to even touch it to enjoy yourself, the community is an integral part of the game if you’re looking to dive in completely.

Project Torque also regularly organizes tournaments. This, as well as your overall prestige in the normal races will determine your place in the online rankings.

In-Game Shop and Item Mall

There are hardly any games left without a source of revenue. After all, keeping those servers up is a costy job, nevermind developing the game itself. Although some games have been trying in-game advertisement, most still apply a system of micro-transactions. This involves the selling of premium upgrades and car customization parts.

Participating in these micro-transactions is by no means obligatory. Players willing to spend a few bucks here and there have the advantage of quality and often exclusive items. But it lacks the hard work that makes these kind of games great. By working hard, and ascending the skill ladder. You don’t need any of the fancy premium stuff to have fun in the game.

Project Torque is just one of many racing car games online. We’d love to hear the games you play. You can give your suggestions or feedback in the comments section below.

Minimum System Requirement
OS: Windows XP or Vista 32
CPU: 2000 MHz, (AMD: 2000)
Memory: 512MB
Video: DX8 compatible, 512MB Graphics card
Sound: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Network: DSL, CABLE
input: Analog Controller, USB wheel, or keyboard

Recommended System Requirement
CPU: 2500 MHz, (AMD: 2500)
Memory: 1GB
Video: DX9 compatible, 1GB Graphics card

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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While they may be few and far between, there are actually some websites out there that offer truly free information that can help you with troubleshooting car problems that you may be having.

Reading a manual or tutorial on the Internet may not bring you up to speed on how to break out the ratchet set and start changing your own spark plugs if you’ve never even laid your hands on the oil dipstick. However, free informational portals and tutorials can train you on how to understand how your car operates and how to troubleshoot the more common problems that many people have, with the sort of repair solutions anyone can accomplish themselves. Many times, if you take your vehicle in for repair at a local auto repair shop, they’ll find a way to stick you with a ridiculous repair bill that you didn’t really need.

If you’d like to have a few truly free resources for troubleshooting your own minor car problems, then please review the following list and consider adding them all to your bookmarks under “auto repair.” The next time your engine doesn’t start, don’t immediately call the repair shop. Work through the step-by-step guides on these sites and you may surprise yourself when you’re able to figure out how to get the car started on your own.

Site #1 For Troubleshooting Car Problems – HowStuffWorks

HowStuffWorks, the site that Aibek reviewed in 2006, has evolved significantly and is leaps and bounds ahead of any other site when it comes to learning about your car’s various systems starting from the ground up. It obviously isn’t the equivalent of going to mechanics school, but the sheer volume of information available at HowStuffWorks is enough to teach you the basics of how your car engine works as well as all of the parts and systems of your car.

HowStuffWorks is a well known and well established website for information on a multitude of topics, but their specialized Auto section has so much more additional information than any other site, so clearly organized and presented, and so much more free from the overwhelming commercialism of most of the other sites that it definitely deserves the top spot on this list.

Each section provides very detailed information on how that particular car system works, including complete slideshows and even videos detailing those parts and systems. You’d be hard pressed to get this quality of information even in an introductory automotive textbook that you’d purchase.

Site #2 For Car Maintenance – Yahoo Autos

The “Maintain” tab of Yahoo Autos is a valuable resource filled with information about car warranties and car manufacturers, but most importantly a large section on car repair tips and advice.

The tips and advice section of Yahoo Autos contains a comprehensive library of frequently asked questions and answers that span every single system of your car that you could imagine you might have a problem with.

Two things really impressed me about this section of Yahoo Autos. The first was the fact that other than typical ad banners, the site was not overrun with attempts to sell auto parts. The FAQ section really covers a great deal of information, and the answers to the questions are thorough and well written. The only drawback is that this site doesn’t have the sort of graphical content that HowStuffWorks has, like slideshows and videos.

Site #3 For Car Manuals and Repair Schematics – AutoZone

In deciding positions 2 and 3 for this writeup, it was a tossup between AutoZone and Yahoo. AutoZone is actually a better site and contains a great deal more valuable vehicle information for anyone who’s serious about DIY auto repairs. Unfortunately AutoZone is a U.S. based company, so worldwide readers may not find as much value in the site when it refers to specific parts from AutoZone stores. Given that one drawback, the repair section of AutoZone is not a sales site and doesn’t try to sell AutoZone parts.

When you register for free at the website, you have access to the entire vehicle repair section. This section includes an excellent area where you can step through troubleshooting your vehicle based on sounds, smells and more, and then drill down into the specific behavior characteristics, and the system attempts to offer you some possible causes.

In addition to this very useful resource, the free membership also grants you access to the valuable “Vehicle Repair Guides.” These are actual information guides of the quality you’d find if you ordered vehicle manuals online. These manuals are completely free of charge and include useful information like wiring schematics and specific information about the systems for your exact make and model.

When you’re trying to troubleshoot something like a car’s electrical system, there’s nothing quite as valuable to have as the actual electrical schematics for that exact vehicle.

Site #4 For Car Troubleshooting – 2CarPros

The final website I would recommend to anyone who is trying to learn how to maintain a vehicle, or how to troubleshoot car problems, is 2CarPros.  Starting from the main page, the site itself doesn’t look like anything special. It’s a fairly regular looking web page with a menu and a series of articles.

The truly “special” content comes when you start clicking on the left menu items and drilling down into the articles and help guides. Each section is filled with a whole multitude of how-to guides and articles that feature high quality images, edited to point out the components and areas that you need to understand and focus on for the particular task at hand.

This is obviously quality content produced by a couple of folks who really know what they’re talking about. And as though the articles and pictures weren’t enough, they also produced and published their own how-to videos included in most of the articles.

These aren’t videos that were quickly pulled off YouTube like many other amateur auto repair sites do. These two car pros actually produced this video, branded at the bottom with their website, specifically for these articles – showing you step-by-step exactly how you can accomplish the task yourself.

Do you try troubleshooting your own vehicle? What are your favorite websites to research car problems? Share your insights in the comments section below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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How do we use technology to make our driving safer or improve our driving instead of putting us at greater risk for accidents? First of all, MakeUseOf has a Cars Directory which covers gas price sites, trip cost sites, vehicle pricing sites, car wallpaper sites and GPS apps sites. Most of these sites do not directly help with safer driving tips, except one.  This is Risky Roads, which was reviewed here.

Risky Roads

This site is a Google Maps mashup that shows the fatal accident concentration in your selected area. The site is free and doesn’t require registration. How does it improve your driving? Once you review the hotspots for accidents in your area, you can commit to driving especially carefully in these areas. Most hotspots in my area are intersections, and I know the ones that I drive through regularly, so I make absolutely sure I’m not distracted when I’m in these areas. I pay closer attention to driving defensively.

Most fatal accidents happen within 25 miles of the victim’s home. That means we get in a comfort zone when driving in familiar territory. This site demonstrates that our comfort zone can be a dangerous place.

Safe Driving Test

A few years ago, you may have seen the Drive for Life program on television. This program included a National Safe Driving Test which played a scenario, asked a question and then gave you a few seconds to answer. The program has not been shown for several years, and their website has not been updated recently, but it is still up and running and provides some very good free safer driving tips, including clips from the show.

You can still purchase copies of the DVD of the television program as well. I really like the Test Your Wheel Personality survey. This is a free, no registration required, multiple choice quiz which helps rate your stress, aggression and driving style. Once submitted, you are provided safer driving tips to improve your personal driving habits to help avoid accidents.

Many locales provide Traveler Information Systems. In the United States, these are collectively known as the “511” system. You can simply dial 511 from your phone to access information. Many states and cities also provide an array of online resources as part of their 511 system. These may include listings of traffic backups due to accidents or general congestion, construction zones and times, weather issues, travel times, estimated speeds on major roads, and some even have viewable traffic cameras.

511

Many 511 websites utilize mapping to provide an overview of your location, with a customizable map to allow you to toggle the parameters on and off. The 511 system is a good tool for trip planning, but it also can help improve your driving by helping you avoid areas where congestion and agitated drivers are likely to be. If you are not in the environment, it is less likely the aggression will rub off on you and you may have a stress free ride home. A few seconds to check 511 before leaving the office may save you a stressful hour in traffic. A list of current and active 511 locations can be found here.

Drive Safe with Uncle Bob

Defensive and safe driving requires instruction. The DMV book teaches the rules, but who teaches defensive driving skills without selling you or your company a program? Check out Road Trip America’s Drive Safe with Uncle Bob. “Uncle Bob” lists seventy rules for defensive driving. Each tip is listed with a link to a full length article. Check out Rule Number 5 which suggests four things that every driver should do that could eliminate all traffic fatalities.

Safercar

Finally, make it a regular part of your routine to check your vehicle at Safercar to see if it is the subject of a recall or defect investigation. Keeping your car in tip top shape and ensuring there are no inherent problems can keep you safe on the road.

Check out these other MUO articles for information regarding other sites to help keep your car running well:

- CarComplaints: Common Car Mechanical Problems Shared By Car Owners
- 10 Of The Best Sites To Keep Your Car Running At Top Speed
- CarBibles: Comprehensive Auto Maintenance Guide

Do you know of any other websites?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Without wasting any time, let’s start it off! Here are 10 really cool free Blackberry applications.

1. Pandora Mobile

Pandora, reviewed in the past by MakeUseOf, has a great free Blackberry application which allows you to do almost everything you can do on the desktop version except right on your phone. You can create new stations, listen to already created ones, rate songs and more. Download it from your Blackberry’s browser here: http://www.pandora.com.

2. Neosistec CarFinder

Can’t remember where you parked your car in that large parking lot? When you leave your car, open CarFinder’s simple menu and mark your location through your Blackberry’s GPS. When you need to find your car (or another specific point) again, pull up CarFinder and it will guide you back via a compass or the Blackberry Maps application. You can also send your marked location to a friend. Download it from your Blackberry’s browser here: http://www.neosistec.com/carfinder.

3. Qik Mobile

As I’ve reviewed before on MakeUseOf, Qik, which allows you to stream live video from your phone to the internet for free, has a great mobile application for Blackberry. With it, you can stream video online from your device for anyone to see, or limit access with a password. But as the service implies, your Blackberry must be a model with a camera for Qik to work. You can download Qik by going to their website on your Blackberry’s browser here: http://qik.com/m/dl/brands.

4. Google Maps

Just like the popular online maps site, Google Maps offers a great Blackberry application which allows for most of the same features on their site, except again, its running on your phone. You can get directions, get maps in satellite view and watch traffic and see your location (which can work even if your Blackberry doesn’t have GPS, but works better if it does). View a real-time online demo of Google Maps Mobile here or download it from your Blackberry’s browser here: http://m.google.com/maps.

5. Palringo

If you like instant messaging, you’ll love Palringo. It is a mobile instant messaging client which supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk and more, all in one piece of software. You can also chat with other users of Palringo (on a desktop, Android, iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows Mobile or Symbian phone) via text chat, voice or pictures. Palringo’s voice capabilities make it a great almost push-to-talk (PTT) software and a great piece of software to talk to your friends online or on their mobile phones due to its wide compability. Download Palringo from your Blackberry’s browser here: http://www.palringo.mobi.

6. Boopsie

Through way of different “channels”, Boopsie lets you intelligently search for content or articles on sites like IMDB, Wikipedia, Amazon and more. When you use the application, you can pull up your favorite channel and then search for content on it and live results will appear on your screen for the content you selected. You can view an online demo at their website, or you can download Boopsie from your Blackberry’s browser by going here: http://www.boopsie.com.

7. Viigo

Viigo is a feature-rich application which lets you view news & RSS feeds, audio clips & podcasts, stocks & money data, weather and more. From the one application, you can do a lot of things and browse many blog RSS feeds, see sports scores, view local weather, and even read books. Viigo also bills their software as “the one app you’ll never want to be without” because of its wide range of features it makes available to you. You can download Viigo from your Blackberry browser here: http://www.getviigo.com.

8. Blackberry Appworld

Made directly by Blackberry, Appworld allows you to browse through a wide variety of many other Blackberry apps and download and install them on the spot from the application. Many different developers contribute their applications to the library that’s available for download. The limitation to this application is that you must have a free PayPal account in order to get through checkout of some apps. You can download Appworld from your Blackberry’s browser here: http://www.blackberry.com/appworld

9. Facebook For Blackberry

We all know what Facebook is- the online utility which lets you share pictures, messages and online applications with friends.  Well, now they have a handy Blackberry application which lets you do almost anything you can do on their desktop site, on your Blackberry. A really neat feature of this app is their recent update which allows you to automatically link Facebook profile pictures of your friends with their contact entry in your Blackberry’s address book. You can download Facebook for Blackberry on your Blackberry’s browser here: http://www.facebook.com/blackberry.

10. Twitterberry

If you use Twitter and have a Blackberry, then Twitterberry is for you. With it, you can send out Twitter updates quickly and easily as well as see your friends timeline, view replies to your Tweets and direct message your friends. Download Twitterberry here: http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/.

Almost all of these applications require an unlimited data plan from your Blackberry data/phone provider due to the amount of bandwidth they consume while in use. You may also read other MakeUseOf posts on Blackberry here.

Do you have a favorite Blackberry App? Let us know in the comments, or share your experience with any of the ones posted here! MakeUseOf also has a mobile site where you can view this article and more at http://m.makeuseof.com.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Whether you’re looking for a cheap mobile plan, the best bank account for your spending habits, the cheapest digicam store or a nearby gas station with lowest petrol prices — these sites have you covered.

(1) CarRentals.com – Compare Car Rental Rates

CarRentals.com is the biggest car rentals aggregator site that makes comparing car rental rates really easy. It searches for offers from different vendors and gives you a list of available cars sorted by the daily rental rates starting from the cheapest.



By default, results are sorted by price. However, you can also sort them by vendor, distance from your house, car type and vendor location.


(2) BillShrink.com – Compare Cell Phone Plans and Credit Cards

Are you sure you’re getting the best deal with your current cell phone plan? BillShrink.com is the place to find it out. Here, you can instantly compare over 100 mobile plans and find the best one for your usage habits. Fill in your preferences and it will return with the cheapest plan meeting those criterias. It only takes about 3-4 minutes.



The site also lets you compare credit cards.

(3) FindABetterBank – Compare Bank Accounts

Find A Better Bank helps you find an ideal bank account. Enter your zip code, indicate the features that are important to you and additional details to help them estimate yearly banking fees. Then, it will give you a detailed comparison of local banks, sorted from best to worst.



Moreover, when you find the ideal bank for your needs, you may check out what others have to say about it and its rating on MyBankTracer.

(4) GasBuddy – Compare Gas Prices

GasBuddy is a great money saver site for those who drive a lot. On this site, you can quickly check gas prices in your area and find the cheapest gas prices and stations. Just type in your zip code and you’ll get a list of gas pumps along with the gas price at each of them.



When it comes to gas prices, I highly recommend you check out PetroFix. This site allows you to hedge against future gas price increases and make sure you never overpay for gas.

(5) Compare Dimensions: Sizeasy / DisplayWars / TV Calculator

Sizeasy, DisplayWars and TV Calculator are 3 excellent sites that can help you a great deal when you are trying to visualize the dimensions for things like small electronic gadgets, mobile phone and TV screens.

I have used these tools countless times and highly recommend them to everyone. Sizeasy works great for smaller items like mobile phones. The other two focuses on TV screens and monitors.



(6) CompareMyFiles – Compare Text Files

CompareMyFiles is a simple online tool that lets you easily compare two text files online side by side. Very useful when you have slightly different versions of the same file and need to find the exact lines where they differ.



(7) PriceGrabber – Compare Product Prices

PriceGrabber is one of the most popular price comparison sites in USA. Search for the product you want to buy and PriceGrabber will find all retailers selling the product and list them starting from the cheapest. The results can be also sorted by user ratings and reviews.



(8) Rentometer – Compare Rent Rates

On Rentometer, you can find out whether the amount you’re currently paying for your rent is a rip-off or a bargain. Rentomoeter compares the amount you pay to an average rate for similar apartments in the neighborhood. There is also a map view of nearby apartments including their rates.



(9) TicketsFTW / TicketPredator – Comparing Ticket Prices For Events

TicketsFTW and TicketPredator brings the best deals on sports, concert, and theater tickets and even sold-out shows. Simply search for the event you want to attend and see the where you can buy it at the lowest fare.



(10) GlassDoor – Compare Your Salary Against Others

GlassDoor lets you anonymously share your salary figure with others and in return, get full access to salaries of others. Simply post an anonymous salary of your own and in few minutes you will have access to salary figures in over 23,000 companies shared by real employees. This is one of the sites that you should definitely check before going for your next job interview.

There are a few other good comparison sites like ShipGooder, PrintingChoice or FrugalMechanic that were covered on MakeUseOf before but didn’t make the list. Check them out as well.

Did we miss any useful comparison sites? Lets us know in comments!

Top image credit: yan =]

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Price Hub has actual recent sales information on a ton of vehicles. They include data from Auctions and private sales. You can get a ball park figure based on year, model and mileage but being able to see people’s actual sales and comments is priceless. It’s an excellent site to check car prices online.

On the home page you see a search box to search for new or used cars, links to browse card prices and the most important buttons – discuss and share. This let’s you be part of the community and add your data to their index. The latest entries box above shows how much the most recent cars were purchased for, you can also click on them to get more information.

Let’s try searching for a specific car…

I started typing Mercedes and it starts to drop down selections that match your letters  – Google style. You can click on any of the items or continue typing. Hitting search when you are done will take you to a similar page as the one you see below:

The above page is for a Mercedes Benz S500. You get a bar graph showing years and prices actually paid by real human beings. This will give you a great idea where the car is on the market and how much you will really pay for something comparable.

You see under the graph people’s real entries showing the price they paid, their location and comments galore! This stuff is gold. You will also notice links to specific years on the right. It says What is it worth and has links to each year. I clicked on 2006 and came up with all of this information you see below. That’s right the chart below is Price Vs. Mileage for your specific year. Damn I love geeky graphs and data

You can also click on the Actual Prices for Other cars/trucks from the same brand. That will give you a screen similar to the one above with all the available models from this manufacturer. You can click on them and go to that vehicle’s data.

This paragraph comes from the founders own mouth:

Founded by two car enthusiasts who have collectively bought and sold over 30 vehicles, PriceHub was created to fulfill the need for a comprehensive, open source of actual selling prices for vehicles. While conducting research to prepare for their vehicle purchase or sale, the PriceHub founders realized that there was no true source to see what people really paid for a car. Instead, the only available data were the so-called published or estimated prices such as the MSRP price, invoice price, Kelly Blue Book price, Edmunds.com price, or trade-in value.

Our goal with PriceHub is to provide price transparency for all vehicle transactions (new and used), as well as provide a community for people to share & discuss prices. There’s price transparency in almost every other marketplace, so why not have one for cars & trucks too!

This is a great find to me! Do you know any other site to check prices online that you use before buying or selling a vehicle? If you do let us know in the comments! C’mon don’t be greedy – sharing is caring

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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• (13)6 Smart Websites To Save Money on Gas

The gasoline powered combustion engine is really an engineering marvel. The thousands of parts that go into one single automobile still stands to this day as one of the greatest inventions on the planet.

Having said that however, we can’t deny that it doesn’t go without its flaws. Fuel costs, replacement parts and flat tires can put a severe dent in your paycheck. And that incredible joy of owning your first sports car can come quickly crashing to reality. Fortunately for us though, there are thousands of car enthusiasts out there willing to offer up their knowledge through blogs, forums, and creative web applications. I thought I would share several of the best that the web has to offer.

NOTE: A majority of these sites apply to those only located in the United States.

Fuel Savings

CostToDrive

Cost2Drive is a simple fuel calculation application that displays how much it is going to cost you to get you from one location to another. It’s all based upon the make and model of your vehicle, along with the average gas price in your starting county. It will also display the quickest route, the total number of miles, the number of gas gallons and even your carbon footprint. It’s a very handy tool for your next road trip.

Drive Pricing

Drive Pricing calculates gas costs from one location to another, with a few additional search options. After specifying your two locations of travel, you can select your grade of gasoline, your miles/gallon and whether you’re going to be making a round trip or not. Drive Pricing then displays your quickest route, total number of miles and of course total cost as well.

GasBuddy

GasBuddy has been the go to place for finding the latest up to date gas prices in your geographical area. While gas prices were rising in the United States, GasBuddy was one of the most popular places to find the lowest gas prices within your area.

The majority of data is user generated so even you can add your own prices and earn “points”. There are also fuel saving tips and tricks.

MyMileMarker

MyMileMarker is a simple fuel consumption calculator, to see how gasoline efficient your car is running. After each fill-up, you simply enter your mileage, number of gallons, and cost per gallon and MyMileMarker calculates your MPG.

Since most users won’t remember this when they get home and do it on the web, they also have a mobile version to enter from your phone of choice. Or even via text message. After a few entries the online application will begin to make projections for fuel cost and project number of miles.

FuelFrog

FuelFrog is a simple online application that tracks gas mileage based upon your fill-up entries that can be entered through their website or through your Twitter account. After you’ve begun adding your fill-ups, they will provide with charts and graphs on the amount you are spending over time, and where you are headed.

Service and Repair

ServiceBeacon

ServiceBeacon is a handy one-stop-shop to track everything related to your car on the web. It not only can track your fuel mileage, repairs and service, but can also notify you when additional services are needed for your specific make of car.

It also helps you locate the nearest dealer and notify you with important vehicle recalls. It can even communicate with up to 15,000 of its dealers and service shops to schedule your next appointment. And if you’ve decide to sell your car, you can transfer the car’s account to the next owner.

DriverSide

DriverSide is your all-in-one location for tracking recalls, services, value and more on your car. One of the nicest features about DriverSide is the ability to provide you with estimated repair costs on something that has broken down in your vehicle. So it can actually give a price on “What you SHOULD pay”, as opposed to what your mechanic is saying.

It’s a great place to keep track of your vehicles over time and see how their value is affected with each and every repair you place on them.

RepairPal

RepairPal is your local mechanics worst nightmare. They provide independent prices on repairs and services for your vehicle. The site also offers common problems you’ll run into with your make of car, maintenance scheduling and tracking, and a huge 260,000+ service shop database. They even provide you a paid service to ask a live mechanic any question you like on the spot.

VehicleFixer

VehicleFixer is a DIY vehicle repair video site for beginners. It gives you step-by-step videos on simple things like checking and changing fluids, tire pressure and changing your battery. These easy video tutorials can save you lots of money in expensive labor costs that mechanics will charge you for in the shop.

VehicleFixer also includes the ability to enter your maintenance schedule and gas mileage as well.

FrugalMechanic

FrugalMechanic is similar to price comparison sites you’ve seen before, but only searches through various online parts vendors. If you’re looking to replace something small in your car and you don’t want to pay the higher amounts you’ll pay at your local NAPA, FrugalMechanic is a great place to look.

As you can see, many different kinds of sites have been developed for those looking to take better care of their car, and make it run more efficiently. Whether you are just looking to track your gas spending, maintenance and repairs, or simply want to save some money and do some repair work on your own, you have several different options to choose from.

Having said that, I know there several additional options out there. Whether it be a blog, or just a general auto website, we’d like to hear about them.

What blogs, sites or web applications do you use to keep up on your car?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Sports games have been around for a long time as well (think Pong, for instance), but there aren’t a lot of up to date, free sports games around, never mind car sims. For this article, I went looking for the best (and free) online racing games on the block.

You might recognize some of these car racing games, but I’m sure there’ll also be some new finds.

The Art of Racing

Cars! They’re the first decent toys most children get (toy cars, in particular). We grow up with them. Play with them. Then, when we’re older, we go get ourselves a real one, only to be disappointed we can’t drive 200 km/hr all the time. The closest we’ll get to our childish fantasies is the autobahns in Germany….or racing games of course!

We have two nominees; Driving Speed 2 for the fans of the more realistic driving sims, and TrackMania Nations, a game for the more surreal and acrobatic orientated people among us.

Driving Speed 2

Driving Speed 2, a Wheelspin Studios game, is a highly realistical driving simulator. If you want to drive laps in high detail, this is your man.

The game features two different circuits and eight different cars. You can either play alone, against the computer, or with friends (up to eight players!) using LAN or the internet.

Type: Racing
Platform: Windows
Download: 124.73MB

+ Stunning Graphics
+ Good car physics
+ Great multiplayer
- Only 2 circuits available

TrackMania Nations Forever

If you’re like me, an adrenaline addict, someone who likes the wind not online up front, but all the way around. If you don’t just want to drive but you want to fly. I present you: TrackMania Nations Forever.

TrackMania Nations Forever is a sequel to the immensely successful title Trackmania Nations. In this expansion, we get new tracks, new cars and even more excitement.

TMNForever is a futuristic race game, with loopings, jumps, accelerator zones and so on. You can race for medals on your own, trying to put down the best possible time and thus increasing in the national or global rankings, or online. Here you can test your skills against a multitude of other onliners, on one of the 65 official or 32.000 user-submitted death defying tracks.

Thats right, user submitted. You can make your own tracks and put them online, hereby delivering back to the insanely huge community.

Type: Futuristic Racing
Platform: Windows
Download: 503.87 MB

+ Great graphics
+ Intuitive steering
+ Great multiplayer
+ Over 32.000 tracks available
- Only 1 type of car
- More addicting than nicotine

Also see screenshot

Other Great Online Racing Games

Of course these aren’t the only decent speeding freebies. Read on for a short list of other great free racing games that didn’t make this article.

ManiaDrive (an also acrobatic clone of TrackMania)



Racer – The Real Deal (a cross-platform racing simulator with great looks)



Armagetron Advanced (a 3D Tron clone – very entertaining)



VDrift (a cross-platform racing simulator, focus on drifting)

What free online racing games are YOU a fan of? Drop the links in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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First, you’re going to need some gas (even if you’ve got one of those classy hybrids). Well say no more:

Gas Bag (iTunes Link)

Gas Bag is a nifty little gas pricess app that will show you local gas stations on a map, prices included. It’s a social network, so coverage may be really good or really bad in your area. It all depends on how many locals use the network and actively record their purchases.

Even so, it has a great interface, is easy to use, and many commenters on iTunes seem to think it works very well for them.

The thing I like most is that it has Google Maps integration. While this isn’t a novel feature, it’s been implemented well. Gas Bag can either determine your position with GPS (or pseudo-GPS) or you can manually search for your location. After it has your location, it displays the six or so closest gas stations. You can zoom in or out for more or less options.

Once you decide to purchase some gas somewhere, there is the option to enter your purchase into the network. I won’t go into the specifics of exactly how that interface works, but I’ll say it’s much better than the webapp I used to use to track my gas consumption. I stopped using that webapp because the interface was a bit too tiny and when you’re in a hurry, entering gas data isn’t something you always have time for. Let’s see if this one lasts any longer on my iPhone.

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Now that you’re all gassed up, you’re going to need some traveling music. Well obviously you’re carrying around an iPhone/iPod, but just as the last App helped you pick a gas station, the following one will choose some music for you.

FlyCast (iTunes Link)

FlyCast is a pretty decent iPhone radio application. Usually I use Pandora’s iPhone App whenever I need some impromptu tunes, but sometimes I crave the discretion of a DJ and a mix of music that doesn’t necessarily match my exact taste.

Over the course of my life, I have been generally disappointed with internet radio because either the selection is way too limited or the player is really difficult to use. On both counts, FlyCast makes up for all that lost time.

The lists of stations for each genre isn’t terribly long, but everything is still pretty well represented. Also, FlyCast pulls from several different radio sources so if one doesn’t work out, you can try another. They are still expanding their line-up, but it looks like they already have over 1000 stations.

The interface is the part I like best about FlyCast. After you select a station (which admitedly can be a bit confusing), it takes you to the main player. From here you can play/pause the music as well as adjust the volume.

I’m a bit confused as to why there is a separate slide for the volume (alongside the iPhone’s volume controls), but I assume it has something to do with the incoming stream needing to be controlled differently.

When the stream is building up a buffer, the WiFi logo blinks blue. The number next to that indicates how much music is buffered ahead of where you’re listening. This is a great feature because it tells you how long you can get out of sync with your signal and still have an uninterrupted experience.

Most stations pull in cover art and song information along with the signal. Because it’s just a regular iPhone page, you can double-tap any cover art to blow it up to full size. If you want to surf the web (especially to find out about the songs you’re listening to there is an integrated browser that should keep the music running as you surf.

The rest of the features are a little confusing. I had trouble labeling anything as a favorite and most of the other options didn’t seem to have any function. Detractors aside, the core function of this App is solid and in a world of terrible internet radio players, this one does remarkably well.

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With music in your soul and fuel in your vehicle, it’s time to fill your body with food!

Urbanspoon (iTunes Link)

Urbanspoon is probably the best App on this list. First of all, Urbanspoon is already a really great food review site that lets people rate their local eating establishments socially.

On their network you can have friends too, so you can see who likes what. The iPhone App is partially an extension of that network because you can sign in and benefit from having an account. On top of this, though, there are a few terrific features that can help jazz up your night on the town.

Above is the “shake” interface, which lets you lock in location, style, and/or price and then give your iPhone a hearty shake. This starts the unlocked sections spinning (complete with some fun sounds). Where it stops nobody knows! After the selection is made, you can either shake it again for a new one, or click the item for information. The App can give you the address for directions or simply show you ratings and pictures to help you make the best choice. If this interface isn’t for you, a more low-key “browse” window lets you search all the places near you by rating, style, or closest proximity.

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Hopefully at least one of these Apps will make your next trip a little more fun! … Oh and, in case you’re travelling abroas make sure to check previously posted 10 Travel Websites that should be Bookmarked.

Let us know if you have any other favorites for traveling.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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They sit there hiding and pointing their radar gun. When someone speeds by they are going to get hit with a ticket. Aren’t there SO MANY other ways you would rather spend your money?

Enter SpeedTrap. These guys have a database covering all the United States, Mexico, The Caribbean and Canada. The site is kind of fugly but they are developing a new beta version that looks much more Web 2.0 instead of something circa 1999. You can see their progress on the beta here. But from what I can see the beta version is the United States only for the time being.

According to the website:

The police may be out in the open, hiding behind bridge abutments, or passing overhead in an airplane. Driver after driver is issued a speeding ticket that results in exorbitant fines, points on their driver’s licenses and insurance surcharges. If only there was a way you could share your knowledge of speed traps, in exchange for the speed trap knowledge of others. Well, now there is!

The site is super simple to use. First select ‘View SpeedTraps’ on the home page or click this link to go to it directly.

Click on where you want to find speed traps. Sometimes you can find very specific listings like a specific highway or overpass and other times you can find more broad ranges.

I take the belt parkway over by Bay Ridge daily so I clicked on it to see if my speed trap was listed.

The best part are the comments. For some of my local speed traps a angry motorist who got stopped by the same cop 3 times had this to say in her comment:

“This cop doesn’t care who is speeding – he would give his own mother a ticket. My cleavage didn’t help me at all! He must be gay!”

I know the cop she is talking about and started laughing uncontrollably.

So go check it out. Add some of the speed traps you know and find some you don’t know about today! The more people who use it the more beneficial it will be for everyone!

Do you have another site that helps you out? Do you have the ultimate radar detector? How do you get around – and no, not speeding is NOT the answer .

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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GasBuddy

GasBuddy has been around a long time now, and it one of the best ways to find out what stations in your area are charging. Stations are updated by volunteers on a daily basis – I am constantly surprised with how often the station prices are updated.

Enter your zip code and they will display the closest stations and their latest prices. You can view these stations on a map or filter by grade of gas (on a side note, usually you can use Regular grade unless your owner’s manual specifically notes to use another grade!).

Another neat feature is their national gas price temperature map, by county.

GasBuddy depends on volunteers entering gas prices, so if you notice that the stations that are located on your commute, make sure to enter them! It is actually kind of fun to do this and to track which stations are higher than the rest on a constant basis. I make sort of a ‘game’ out of it and it actually helps with my memory skills.

FuelMeUp

FuelMeUp is an alternative to GasBuddy. They provide a similar service, so if you don’t find any stations in GasBuddy, you can try here. They also provide a list of gas stations and prices when you give them your location city and state, or zip code.

I prefer GasBuddy over FuelMeUp because the site seems to have a more active community and also FuelMeUp seems to be pushing other services on you, more than normal. In fact, they have a “Live People” girl talking on the bottom of the page trying to sell you things. Argh.

FuelFrog

When I first got married, my wife used to make me write down, at every fuel stop, the location, price, number of gallons, and mileage of the car. She made me do this because her dad always did it, and he did it because from this information you can track what your car’s fuel economy is. Poor fuel economy can be an early indication of a problem in your car’s propulsion system – from a dirty air filter to more serious problems.

FuelFrog simplifies this process. After you get gas, you can keep your receipt and enter this information into the website once you get home. After you enter your information, it lets you know how your gas mileage is.

After you’ve entered at least twice, you’ll get a graph which shows your fuel economy over time:

US Environmental Protection Agency

If you have yet to buy a car and are looking for a newer model year (2000 and up) then the EPA publishes their fuel economy guide for many cars.

Although their website isn’t trendy or easy to use, it does contain a volume of information that is hard to find in one place elsewhere. In addition to fuel economy, it also lists Air Pollution Score and Greenhouse Gas Score.

For more information on a car, including the EPA estimate, Edmunds.com is a great resource.

Car Pooling

Carpooling will roughly halve your commute fuel and maintenance costs. What you lose in the convenience of driving your own car, you’ll gain in savings, helping the environment, and who knows, maybe you’ll gain a friend.

There are several ways to go about this. On a national level, these two sites list people looking to carpool.

In addition to these sites, there are a number of local sites depending on where you live. Some states and metropolitan areas have their own websites dedicated to finding a carpool or rideshare. Contact your local authorities to ask about a location to do this.

Improving Your Fuel Economy

Finally there are a number of things you can do with your own car to try to improve your fuel economy. WikiHow has a lot of tips on this. Some of the best ones are:

• Drive conservatively. This means, accelerate and brake slower than you normally would.
• Try to stay in the ’slow’ lane on the highway.
• Keep your tires inflated to recommended pressure. Allowing them to get too deflated will decrease your mileage.
• Instead of using air conditioning, roll down your windows. Air conditioning can put a lot of stress on the engine.

Using the above websites and tips can really save you a lot of gas (and therefore, a lot of money!) over time. It is pretty hard to follow some of these steps, so I have an article about a Hypermiler to inspire you. This guy can get 59MPG out of a Honda Accord by using some pretty dangerous tactics. It’s all within reach!

Dave is an IT Manager by day and technology consultant by night. He is interested in all things internet but is specifically interested in system administration, network security, history, and backpacking. He lives near Philadelphia with his family. See his blog @ systembash.com.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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