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Taking care of your auto and spending a little money on it now will save you money in the long run.

How true the expression pay me now or pay me more later is. For instance;

Spend a little extra money to do the wheel alignment if your tires wore out from uneven wear. If you dont the new tires will wear out prematurely and you will spend more money on tires again.

Replace those spark plugs and wires as suggested by your auto manufacturer. Its cheaper to do it as maintenance than develop a misfire or break down on a long trip causing more expensive damage plus inconvenience.

Change that oil every 3 to 4 thousand miles to keep the engine clean. Dirty oil creates sludge and lessens gas mileage not to mention major engine repairs for lack of maintenance.

Check those brakes. Brakes usually last 30 thousand miles in the front and somewhat longer in the rear. It is much cheaper to replace the brake pads and shoes when they are getting thin rather than wait until they are metal on metal and ruin the drums and rotor.

If the car drifts one way or another and/or the steering wheel shakes while driving it should be check very soon. This condition can cause other components to wear plus it is a safety issue.

A check engine light on, misfire, stalling condition, or hesitation should be checked immediately. These symptoms can rapidly cause other damage and can lead to very expensive repairs if ignored.

Many of todays autos have timing belts. These are of the same basic materials that the other drive (fan) belts are made of. The timing belt is probably one of the more expensive and more important maintenance items you will have to do. Follow your manufacturers time and mileage recommendations for this service. Many of todays engines are called interference engines. This means if your timing belt skips or breaks the valve and pistons are no longer in sync and will hit each other causing very extensive damage internally to the point of having to replace the complete engine itself. A timing belt is a VERY IMPORTANT SERVICE.

With all of the expenses we occur in todays age it is very easy to put off auto maintenance because there is always tomorrow. Unfortunately tomorrow may be the time you are on a long trip for vacation and the car breaks down. This may very well be MUCH more expensive to repair than what it would have cost for routine maintenance not to mention a vacation cut short and ruined.

Keep the old buggy maintained and it should run trouble free for a long time. Todays vehicles tend to last much longer than those of the past.

For more auto tips and ideas please visit my blog at http://gunnys-auto-chat.blogspot.com

I have been an auto technician for 40 years and would like to share some of my knowledge.

After months of nonstop hype, the 2007 Saturn SKY is now entering dealer showrooms. This two seat roadster marks an important turning point for the Saturn brand long identified with building nondescript, but dependable vehicles. With an MSRP of $23,690, the SKY is certain to sell for several thousand dollars over the dealer's sticker price as demand is expected to far exceed capacity. Lets examine the Saturn brand and the car behind the hype to see if the SKY was worth the wait.

Since Saturns first cars became available in 1990, the brand has attracted a loyal following of owners who liked the companys simplicity and consumer friendly dealer network. Indeed, Saturns no haggle pricing revolutionized the relationship between dealer and customer changing the typical adversarial business transaction into a partnership benefiting buyer and seller alike.

Originally, Saturn was established as a separate company, but wholly owned by General Motors. The idea behind Saturn was that the company would build import fighting small cars to compete against the likes of Toyota and Honda. The S-Series, made with ding proof polymer side panels was an immediate hit and Saturn relied exclusively on this line of compact coupes, sedans, and wagons for nearly a decade before a second, larger model was introduced.

The dream of keeping Saturn separate from GM eventually died and the brand was brought into the GM fold to be managed much like Chevrolet, Buick, etc. are today. Indeed, the Spring Hill, Tennessee factory, which was exclusively designed to build Saturn vehicles remains in business, but many of the divisions cars are now being built elsewhere including the SKY.

So, the SKY has caught your attention, has it? Who could blame you? Pictures of the SKY have been circulating heavily online for months and it is certainly an attractive vehicle. Based on GMs new Kappa platform, the SKY shares some components with the earlier released Pontiac Solstice, another two seat roadster. The SKY, however, has its own look with a very pronounced fender peak and sleek body style. Here are some of the attributes of the SKY:

-Front engine, rear drive, two seat roadster

-50/50 front/rear weight distribution

-Manually operated cloth covered top folds down into the trunk

-Front pivoting hood

-2.4L I4 engine producing 177 h.p. paired with a 5 speed manual or 5 speed automatic transmission

-18 inch wheels; 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS

-Power galore: air conditioning, locks, windows, doors, AM/FM/CD, etc.

The SKY was priced and designed to compete against two other roadsters, the Honda S2000 and Mazdas Miata. Although the SKY is technically a sister car to the Solstice, it appears that it is better suited to compete against the Japanese brands as the Saturn roadster comes fully equipped and incorporates a sleeker body design. Taking nothing away from the Pontiac, the SKY is definitely the more competitive of the two.

For Saturn, the SKY improves the brands image immeasurably. Much in the way that the Corvette is a halo car for Chevrolet the SKY will be the same for Saturn. Production will be limited to just 10-12,000 vehicles annually and purchasing a SKY will likely mean buyers paying well over sticker price for their car. Indeed, some reports are indicating dealer mark ups as high as $5000 in the face of stiff demand.

Beyond the SKY, Saturn will also be introducing a second new vehicle this year, the Aura. Replacing the L-Series, the Aura midsize sedan borrows heavily from GMs European division, Opel, and incorporates the bold design of SKY in its front end.

Yes, the days of being known as a builder of compact plastic cars in Tennessee is over; a new Saturn is rising and if all the hoopla related to the SKY is any indication, Saturns future is certainly very promising.

Copyright 2006 Matt Keegan is The Auto Writer covering new cars, the classics, auto parts and accessories, insurance, and more. Did someone say green air filters? Matt invites you to find great K&N Filters for less by shopping online today.