Automotive Reviews

ITS VERY NICE BEING HERE IN UPSTATE NY HIT THE BUTTON WHILE MAKING MORNING COFFEE TO GO OUT TO A WARM CAR

I would recommend it. Not bad for 100 dollars, plus it plugs into a regular socket and it's easy to carry. Remember it's a 100 dollar welder, so you're not going to fabricate a building but, you can do some little jobs quite well. Good service from them also.

I have had this Radio for 2 1/2 years and has worked fine, although I would suggest getting a better mic, the stock one leaves a lot to be desired. But all in all a great radio for the money!!!!

We have two of these, we keep one in my wife's car and the other in mine. Our main use is to monitor traffic back-ups (delays) on the Interstate. For this purpose, it works great.

For more regular use, I would recommend getting the external (magnet-base) antennae. This significantly boosts both the reception and transmission. I carry one of these antennaes in my trunk for longer trips. There are not many choices out there for hand-held CBs -- Based on what's out there, this seems like a good choice.

What a neat little tool.
I've used a Colortune on my 1970 Datsun 240Z for several years with great results. More suited for carbs than injection, it lets you fine tune the gas mixture by viewing the color of firing through a glass-core spark plug. It's best to wait until dark to make adjustments so you can see the mixture properly...

NOTE: this used to come in a nice black box along with a small bottle of cleaner for the glass. The cleaner is not included anymore and the box is now rickety plastic, but the tool is still the same quality. Buy one before they vanish off the market.

If you are in the hobbit of throwing away your vote on election day--and it has been sixteen years since a candidate got over half of the votes cast in a presidential election, with George H. W. Bush getting 53.4% in 1988, so most Americans having been voting for candidates who have lost since then-you could certainly do worse than voting for Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee (the Homer Simpson-Ned Flanders ticket would probably be the worst).

After all, after the War of the Ring fighting the War on Terrorism should be relatively easy, and look at the Cabinet they guys could put together. Aragorn as Secretary of Defense, Elrond as Secretary of State, Galadriel as Secretary of the Treasury, Eowyn as Secretary of Homeland Security, Legolas as Chief of Staff, Gimli as Head of the Secret Service, and Gandalf as the National Security Advisor. I was thinking Meridoc Brandybuck for Press Secretary and Perigren Took for Director of the NEA. Okay, so it might take a while to make the pieces fit here, but Aragorn has to be SecDef and Gandalf can take any position he wants. After that but the names in a sorting hat and get everybody to work.

This green version of the "Frodo & Sam '04 Campaign" bumper and rear window sticker, which is better looking that the red/white/blue one, is more a sign of someone's affection for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy than a statement of disinterest in this year's election. Even if you find the two major party candidates to be lesser men then you would prefer for the job, the Republicans and Democrats represent such polarized positions that even if you want to bring down a plague on both their houses it would be difficult not to value one side over the other. Besides, we learned this fall on the new television series "Jack & Bobby" that an independent candidate for President is not going to be elected in the United States until 2040.

True, Frodo and Sam are fictional characters from a series of English fantasy novels, but at least the actors who play them are Americans. So do not think that you will be wasting your vote because the characters were not born in the United States because they could be disqualified for being too young. Still, it would be interesting if you had a bumper sticker that said "Wood & Austin '04." That would certainly confuse people as to why a pitcher from the Chicago Cubs and a professional wrestler would be running together for the White House.

If you are in the hobbit of throwing away your vote on election day--and it has been sixteen years since a candidate got over half of the votes cast in a presidential election, with George H. W. Bush getting 53.4% in 1988, so most Americans having been voting for candidates who have lost since then-you could certainly do worse than voting for Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee (the Homer Simpson-Ned Flanders ticket would probably be the worst).

After all, after the War of the Ring fighting the War on Terrorism should be relatively easy, and look at the Cabinet they guys could put together. Aragorn as Secretary of Defense, Elrond as Secretary of State, Galadriel as Secretary of the Treasury, Eowyn as Secretary of Homeland Security, Legolas as Chief of Staff, Gimli as Head of the Secret Service, and Gandalf as the National Security Advisor. I was thinking Meridoc Brandybuck for Press Secretary and Perigren Took for Director of the NEA. Okay, so it might take a while to make the pieces fit here, but Aragorn has to be SecDef and Gandalf can take any position he wants. After that but the names in a sorting hat and get everybody to work.

The "Frodo & Sam '04 Campaign" bumper and rear window sticker is more a sign of someone's affection for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy than a statement of disinterest in this year's election. Even if you find the two major party candidates to be lesser men then you would prefer for the job, the Republicans and Democrats represent such polarized positions that even if you want to bring down a plague on both their houses it would be difficult not to value one side over the other. Besides, we learned this fall on the new television series "Jack & Bobby" that an independent candidate for President is not going to be elected in the United States until 2040.

True, Frodo and Sam are fictional characters from a series of English fantasy novels, but at least the actors who play them are Americans. So do not think that you will be wasting your vote because the characters were not born in the United States because they could be disqualified for being too young. Still, it would be interesting if you had a bumper sticker that said "Wood & Austin '04." That would certainly confuse people as to why a pitcher from the Chicago Cubs and a professional wrestler would be running together for the White House.

Having the right tool for the job makes all the difference. Inner tie rods are easy to install and straight forward. You simply identify the wrench flat you need, place it on the inner tie rod, slide the tool on and close the band to lock it in and your ready to loosen or tighten. I didn't like the quality of the band though, mine was a little too loose and may not hold up long term. Lisle make allot of specialty tools and is a name you can count on. This is a solid investment if your beginning in the mechanical field or will replace several tie rods to justify the expense.

I bought this Mini Dozer because it is compact, I didn't want it cluttering up my already cluttered up pickup. I've had a few chances to use it these past couple of weeks. The ice I've used it on was no match for it, but I haven't had a chance for the type of ice that you get with freezing rain; some of the toughest to remove. Can't wait....(What am I saying!?!?)
Maybe the brush is a little small for snow removal, but it is compact. Which is why I wanted it.
I found it easy to use overall, and worth the $10. If it busts up the really tough ice, it'll be the only scraper I ever have.

I agree with the other reviewer, but I'm angrier about having wasted my money on this product! In the 2 years that this product actually worked, just like the other person said, it was constantly losing its charge in the extreme heat and cold conditions that you find in the trunk of a normal car (particularly if you do not have your own garage...). I was able to use it successfully just ONCE. Of the other two times I needed to use it, one time it couldn't do the jump because it wasn't fully charged, and the other time it couldn't do the jump because it wasn't fully charged *and* I accidentally left the radio on when I tried to do the jump.

(Warning: if you do use this product, make *absoutely* sure that *everything* electrical in the car is turned off before trying to jumpstart your car, otherwise the wipers, heater/AC, radio, lights or whatever will drain too much juice and you will not be able to jumpstart your car.)

Now, 2 years later, the product won't hold a charge at all and I have just had to dump it in the trash. It is a good-sized chunk of plastic, metal etc. and it seems a terrible waste not to be able to recycle or reuse it somehow.

I just complained to Coleman and they said it was a licensed product and they took no responsibility for it and referred me to the actual mfr, Team Products International. When I complained to them, they sent back a form email saying it was under 2 year warranty and that was it. I am totally disgusted with this.

Bottom line, in my opinion towing insurance from your auto insurance co. or roadside assistance from your cellphone co. would be money better spent. And of course it's a good idea to carry regular (LONG) jumper cables, a blanket, etc. in case of wintertime emergency.

This is a great idea - a portable jump starter. Unfortunately, current-day battery technology doesn't make it very practical. If, like me, you live in an area where you get cold weather your car is either sitting in cold temperatures or in the blazing sun. Neither condition is conducive to long battery life, so the Powermate is not likely to be fully charged for long if left where it makes the most sense - in your car. Mine spends most of its time in the house where it's only useful for those rare times when the car's battery has died in my driveway. Ideally, it needs some kind of system to keep itself fully charged while sitting in the car - you can hook it up to your car's cigarette lighter to charge it but I do not get the impression from the instructions that this is a recommended procedure - it's just not designed to be kept connected to a charging system 24/7. Power and battery management is expensive and Coleman left it out of this product.

If you're thinking this will make you a self-contained AAA service, probably not. After long exposure to temperature extremes in your car you'll likely find yourself stranded with both a dead car battery and a discharged jump starter and you'll need a tow truck anyway. All told, this is a good idea that's poorly executed. It needs to be kept at home and in the house to be fully charged and to keep the charge well enough to be of any use. There are other jump starters of a similar idea that run on D-cell batteries. Possibly a better idea - at least you'd be more likely to breakdown near a convenience store where you could buy a few packs of fresh batteries - when this thing is dead, so are you - right in your tracks. If your battery is dead you can't charge this thing up from a dead car battery. It seemed like a good idea when I bought it - now I realize it was a waste of money - it's just not functional in the "real" world.

1) Okay, it's an older model, dosen't have the light
2) Keep in the box in my pick-up
3) Have jump started at least a dozen cars.
4) Inflated several tires
5) Just used the DC outlets for the past three days because my power is out to run:
a) a small TV
b) a portable DVD player
c) recharge my cell phone
d) And yes, still has a full charge

6) granted, it won't start a car that with a "fully" dead battery, but either will my 50 amp jump starter