March 2008
Monthly Archive
Hyundai claims that the new Hyundai Accent that has been released for 2006 will be one of the best vehicles that they would be sending on the roads and streets. In fact, the company claims that this vehicle would be able to deliver many of its features as a segment leader. In its segment, the Hyundai Accent is the leader when it comes to standard safety equipment, interior space and room, as well as power.
It has been made available in various colors, depending on your choice. For the interior, there are only two colors available and these are Gray, and Beige. However, for the exterior, you can choose from a much wider range of colors. The list includes Platinum Silver, Ebony Black, Nordic White, Charcoal Gray, Wine Red, Dark Sapphire Blue, Sand Beige, and Ice Blue.
The Hyundai Accent boasts of an EPA fuel economy rating of some 29 miles per gallon for city driving and 33 miles per gallon if you choose to drive this vehicle on the highway. The power of this vehicle comes from a 1.6 L I4 DOHC, MPFI engine and is assisted by a five speed manual transmission system. This power source provides the Hyundai Accent the capacity to produce 103 units of horsepower at 5800 rpm and 106 of torque at 3000 rpm.
A whole package of various functional features are packed in the Hyundai Accent. The list includes four wheel disc brakes, an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), a power assisted rack and pinion steering, advanced dual front air bags, front seat mounted side impact airbags, roof mounted side curtain airbags, automatic front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters, side impact door beams, fourteen inch steel wheels with full wheel covers, heated dual power outside mirrors, a chrome accented front grille, tinted glass with windshield shade band, variable intermittent windshield wipers, a roof mounted micro antenna for greater radio reception, an eight way adjustable driver’s seat with dual height adjustment, a driver’s seat folding armrest, front seatback pockets, bottle holders, map pockets, front and rear storage trays, a 60/40 split fold down rear seatback, a rear center folding armrest with cupholder, a 172 watt AM/FM/CD audio system with six speakers and an equalizer, air conditioning, a tachometer, and front illuminated vanity mirrors.
Made available twenty four hours a day, Auto Parts Corner makes sure that their online collection of Hyundai parts and accessories are updated regularly. This auto parts dealer is one of the largest online suppliers of Hyundai Accent parts.
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Tracy is a 29 year old researcher and writer from Dallas, Texas with extensive experience in writing auto-related articles and covering automotive related events. She is currently a contributing writer for a leading automotive e-zine.
Travel insurance is often an after thought when booking a trip but can be a life saver if things go wrong, especially if you’re half way around the world when it does.
At the very least a good travel insurance policy buys you a little extra peace of mind. But is it a false sense of security? With travel insurance companies estimating that up to 10% of claims are fraudulent, how can you ensure that any legitimate claim you make is taken seriously and paid out in full?
TIP 1. Take a closer look before you buy
Many people assume that there’s little difference between most travel insurance policies. In reality, the quality of cover, options included and excesses you’ll have to pay will vary. This might seem trivial now but will be crucial should you need to claim.
A lot of disputes arise because people think they’re covered and discover too late that they’re not.
So before you simply opt for the cheapest premium, take a closer look and make sure you’re comparing like with like. In particular, be sure to check:
•Policy excess: don’t just compare premiums check how much of a claim you would have to pay. If the excess is £50 per item that means you have to pay the first £50 of any claim for each item you are claiming for.
•The maximum you claim for individual items.
•The level of medical protection you have, particularly in countries like the USA where medical costs can be higher.
•What you’re not covered for such as pre-existing medical conditions.
•If you’re covered for lost or stolen cash and how much.
•If loss is covered as well as theft.
•If 24-hour emergency assistance is included or optional.
A comprehensive list of insurers can be found in the Travel Insurance Index.
TIP 2. Disclose any existing medical conditions
Your travel insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurance company based upon “utmost good faith”. As such you have a duty to disclose anything that may affect the acceptance or terms of a policy, any exclusions or its price.
Be completely open and honest about your medical history and any activities you’re likely to take part in, whether you think they’re risky or not. As with any insurance policy; if in doubt declare it anyway. One of the most common defenses made by insurers when declining a claim is that information was not discolsed or not correctly disclosed. Declare everything and document it.
TIP 3. Take a copy document with you
Most good policy travel insurance documents will confirm the claim procedures to follow in the event of theft or loss, what you are covered for and most importantly who to call in an emergency. Having this information to hand can save a lot of unecessary stress if you need help whilst away.
TIP 4. Document any valuable items
Take photo’s and keep receipts for expensive items such as jewellery or cameras you plan to take with you on holiday. Having proof helps enormously if you claim for these high value items.
TIP 5. Report any thefts or losses quickly
Any losses or thefts should be reported immediately to the local police. Get an accident report number or similar documentary proof that you’ve officially reported the loss and if you’re on a package holiday, again quickly report the situation to the hotel or travel company rep.
If your bag is lost, stolen or damaged at the airport, report it immediately and get a receipt from the airline or baggage handler.
TIP 6. Be prepared for medical claims
The old E111 forms have now been replaced by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which entitles the holder to free medical treatment within Europe equivalent to that available on the NHS. Application forms are available from Post Offices and should be submitted at least ten days before you travel. This is based upon agreements between EU countries and qualifies visitors for the same medical treatment as local citizens.
Before you leave check your policy document or contact the insurer to confirm what precise steps your insurance company requires you to take in a medical emergency. If you have to buy any treatments or medicines, again keep receipts and original prescriptions if possible.
TIP 7. When you get home
If you need to make a claim, examine the small print, contact your insurer and work out what you can claim for. Gather and submit all supporting documentation via recorded delivery (keeping copies for yourself) as evidence of your claim. Submit receipts, photographs and copies of any police or medical reports you have received.
Keep copies all correspondence and make detailed records of every phone call, including the name of the person you spoke with and the time of your call.
TIP 8. What if your claim is declined?
Your claim could be declined by the insurer for many reasons. For example most policies won’t cover alcohol-related incidents and like all insurance you must take ‘reasonable’ care of your belongings.
Your first step is to appeal against the decision providing detailed and specific points for your arguement backed up by any additional evidence. If you feel you have been poorly treated you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
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Suppose you feel a burning desire one day to start building your own commercial product and become an employer yourself. Sooner or later you will experience this, and I want to help you finding the “means” you need to implement your dreams into reality.
In terms of hardware I suggest exploring dsPIC microcontrollers running at 120 MHz. They are the top products built by Microchip to date, and you cannot fail with those ones–trust me. Particular to Microchip products, they are the easiest to work with, and this is encouraging news to beginners. Do not be afraid of working with electronics. Today, almost all parts we use are modules, and all you have to do is put them together in the right way, almost like in a Lego game. Of course, in time, and with a lot of dedication, you could become an expert!
For firmware you do not need to shop around too much, because you are going to find the right tool you need again at Microchip: the C30 ANSI C compiler. This is an excellent tool and it has a range of 22 dsPIC microcontrollers to date, but few tens new ones, more powerful, are going to be added in 2006 and 2007. The good news is you can try C30 before you buy it, and you have exactly 60 free working C30 days. This is a lot of good working time, and you need to use it at maximum. It is possible you are afraid of this firmware “thing”. Don’t be. It can be as simple as sketching a story on paper, only a bit funnier, when you use C to write firmware.
Well, it is the dsPIC processors we are talking about, particularly dsPIC30F4011, and you think, probably, it is very difficult to work with this one. Not so, my friend. In fact, this is the easiest option available in the entire World today. Learning hardware, firmware, and software design can be incredibly easy, beyond your wildest expectations, with the right tutorial book. You are going to discover that exceptional book I refer to in my home site. Have no fears my friend: the book is very easy to read, just like this article I present here.
The true beauty is, the book comes with a Hardware Companion Kit (HCK). Fact is, this is a Practical Design Project and all firmware and software programs developed are thoroughly explained, and working. Of course, the companion kit is recommended for beginners in hardware, firmware, and software design. For advanced levels designers it is not mandatory to purchase the companion kit. Here is another interesting aspect: the level of the book is beginners, medium, and even advanced designers. The amount of useful, practical, working examples it presents it is tremendous!
You do not need to be an expert to learn working with dsPIC microcontrollers. On the contrary, you could become a GURU in 60 days! All it takes is determination and little desire to learn. This is all! If you have what it takes than do it, my friend. Once you know the “how-to” you take charge: discover you commercial product and build it. We live in a free market World and everybody is welcome!
My advice is, look at the simplest things around you: a door, a window, a lamp, a bicycle, and so on. Think about adding useful intelligence to any of them. Our life is driven by hardware, firmware, and software today, but there are still thousands and thousands of unexplored avenues. If you keep on looking for them, you will discover your commercial product one day–I have no doubts about this.
Take for instance something very blunt, even vulgar: a hammer. You can easily design a tiny hardware module to count how many times it struck per day during the past year, and how hard was each blow. Next, you can design your intelligent hammer to “talk” to your PC and download the data it contains. This is not all, because once the hammer data is on PC it will be processed graphically, for statistical analysis, or for even more advanced analysis. Your “intelligent” hammer may even access a site on the Internet by itself and exchange data there. Mind this please: I describe here the blunt “Hammer Application”! For smarter ideas things may look way more interesting, and the book I mentioned teaches you everything you need to know to design intelligent control applications. Even more, you will discover in my home site few pages dedicated to basic electronics, and to many other exciting topics.
Anyway, it will take some time until you discover your beneficial commercial product. Meanwhile, you can enhance your resume and your technical aptitudes. The more you learn, the better prepared you will be when the right time comes.
O G POPA is Professional Engineer in BC, Canada. His home site is Corollary Theorems at http://www.corollarytheorems.com
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