Love CARS? We may have a JOB 4 U!

Submit your interest via the Employment Opportunities link at www.ancira.com. Whether you're seeking a job as Entry Level Service Porter, Certified Master Technician, Automotive Billing or Title Clerk, Automotive or RV Sales Professional, Certified Automotive Refinisher -- or something in between -- we may be looking for YOU!
Fair Pay. Good Benefits. GREAT Workplace!

A Look Into the Future - Cars to Dream About!

Essence of Bicycle?

Do you have days when you just want to look into the future? Well, here’s your chance, of sorts!

Imagine yourself driving to work in one of these babies!

This one seater, pictured above, is bound to attract attention. I call it “Essence of Bicycle.” Don’t you agree it has that feel? It’s such a standout, you’d better stick to the speed limit. Actually, if you drive this you’re going to get pulled over no matter what speed you are driving. What law enforcement agent could resist?

The Janus Effect?

This concept car I call the two-faced Janus effect. Seriously, it looks like it could be facing in either direction. The car seat of course is a dead giveaway as to what’s the front – so long as the car is parked. But just imagine going 80 miles per hour – forward or backward, and I’d defy you to tell me what’s the front and what’s the back.

Comfort Optional? Or not.

This one I’m calling “Comfort Optional” - It looks like two hard plastic seats under a bump-your-head roof. I’ll take my “Model T” any day.

A Fly Went By?

This one I call – with a nod to children’s book author Mike McClintock – “A Fly Went By.” If you haven’t read the book, you shouldn’t drive this car.

The name: “Luna Module Vehicle” just seems to fit this car. In fact, it’s an open and shut case.

So, when you are having one of those days, and you want to look into the future, think about these cars and don’t go there!

Seriously, if you really want to learn more about these concept cars, visit:

http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=6434

Discounts and Freebies Mean More Money to Spend on Your Summer Driving Vacation

It’s summer time and you’ve got vacation on your mind. It’s time to be budget minded!

The more you save on each individual vacation expense, the more you have to spend on yet another vacation item or experience.

Here are a few ways you can save while you spend for fun.

Before you leave on your vacation, check out the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) list of discounts for its members for theme parks and other venues.

Just Google AAA and you’ll be brought to the web site of the regional AAA office nearest you. Click on the button: Visit AAA.com and you’ll be brought to a page that lists discounts by category: dining, hotels, travel, entertainment, theme parks, etc.

http://www.aaa.com/aaa/sem/sem.htm?redirectto=http://www.aaa.com/?area=JoinSEM&skin=JoinSEM&gcid=S15141x073&keyword=exact_aaa

Click sequentially on all categories of interest to you and see how much you can save!

For example, the link for southern N.E. theme parks is:

http://www.web.aaasne.com/sne/membership/tickets.php#parks

U.S. National Parks Discounts

If anyone in your travelling party is 62 or older, he or she qualifies for a Senior Citizens Pass to all 58 National Parks. With this pass, 4 adults and any children under 16 years of age in the car can get into the park for free. There is a onetime charge of $10 for the pass and it’s good for life. The pass can only be obtained in person -- at any of the parks -- and proof of age/ID needs to be presented. A U.S. driver’s license will do nicely.

http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm

The Senior Pass also provides a 50 percent discount on some Expanded Amenity Fees charged for park facilities and services such as camping, swimming, boat launch, and specialized interpretive services. In some cases where Expanded Amenity Fees are charged, only the pass holder will be given the 50 percent price reduction.

State Tourism Office Discounts

Many state tourism web sites offer special discounts to all sorts of experiences and destinations.
For example, Massachusetts offers $99 packages which represent a savings of at least 20% off normal prices for adventure packages, boat rentals, family theme park tickets, etc.

http://www.massvacation.com/mass99/d.php

Or Go West and find your discounts in Arizona:

http://www.arizonaguide.com/

Whatever your destination, it’s easy to save money so you can have more fun, by planning and shopping ahead online. Know about any discounts? Share them here in the comments!

Ancira Auto Group Witnesses Rio Grande Flood

Ancira Auto Group is one of many businesses shocked by the down poor of rain in the Ancira Eagle Pass location. According to weather officials, the rain never let up for numerous days straight, causing the Rio Grande River to rapidly rise.

This type of rainfall hasn’t been this devastating since 1950. The Rio Grande River began rising so high that alligators were starting to become visibly apparent.

Luckily, businesses didn’t close, however they felt the impact of the flood. Locals were staying indoors, hoping to avoid an evacuation. According to David Cruz at
Ancira Auto Group, an area of Elm Creek was evacuated. For the majority,

residents stayed put and hoped for the rainfall to subside. According to Cruz,

it has. Fortunately, no major damage was done but the scare of such a serious

flood was enough to worry the state of Texas.

“A lot of people were so ahead of the game. Once the river starts to rise, people start taking notice,” Cruz said.

Although most homes survived the flood, vendors near the bridge were greatly affected by the rising river. Vendor stands, selling all types of products from sunglasses to hair products to jewelry, were ruined.

It's a Happening! CarFit Helps Senior Drivers Improve Comfort and Safety

Are you 60 something and not entirely happy with the way your car “fits” you?

Help is at hand, in the form of a CarFit event, where you can spend a very productive 20 to 30 minutes and come away with a list of improvements you can make to your car that will increase your driving comfort and safety.

CarFit is a nationally recognized educational program designed to help senior drivers assess their current vehicles to see how well they “fit” their driving needs, and determine what actions need to be taken to improve this fit.

A proper fit greatly improves not only the comfort and safety of the senior driver on the road, but also the safety of any other drivers they may interact with.

CarFit was developed by the American Society on Aging (ASA) in collaboration with The American Automobile Association (AAA), the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

CarFit aims to reduce senior crashes and the death and injuries that may result, by reviewing each of the following criteria:

1. Safety belt use 2. Steering wheel tilt 3. Head restraint setting 4. Positioning to air bag 5. Line of sight over steering wheel 6. Positioning to gas pedal 7. Positioning of brake pedals 8. Mirror adjustment 9. Neck Mobility 10. Operation of parking brake 11. Operation of ignition key 12. Operation of other vehicle controls

CarFit can also provide valuable information to seniors that have difficulty:

- Reaching the shoulder harness and buckling/unbuckling the seat belt - Getting into and out of their vehicle easily - Turning their head to look over their shoulder while changing lanes - Sitting comfortably, without knee, back, hip, neck or shoulder stiffness or pain.

At a CarFit event, a team of trained technicians and/or health professionals work with each participant to ensure they "fit" their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety.

In a recent evaluation of 300 seniors...

...over one-third (37%) had at least one critical safety issue/need addressed ...one in ten (10%) were seated too close to the steering wheel ...approximately 20% did not have a line of sight at least 3" over the steering wheel
To learn more about CarFit, visit:
http://www.car-fit.org/
For a US Map of Car-Fit Events, visit:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/EventMap
To register for a CarFit Event, visit:
http://www.car-fit.org/index.php?/carfit/RegisterCarFit

Auto Art - Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder!

Carhenge

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, artists have created beauty -- or what, in some eyes, passes for it -- out of many unusual palettes of materials…automobiles included.

I’ve seen the real Stonehenge, and this automotive replica isn’t bad! What do you think?

Carhenge, located near Alliance, Nebraska, consists of dozens of old make and model cars half-buried, upright, in the ground, or welded to the tops of other cars.

Built by Artist Jim Reinders, it was dedicated at the June 1987 summer solstice. In 2006, a visitor center was constructed to service the site.

Carhenge - Does anyone think they can use this configuration to tell the time of day?

The field around Carhenge is a car art reserve.

Notable art objects include: a car-part dinosaur; a pioneer's covered station wagon; “The Four Seasons” – this one is really a stretch; and a half-buried Yugo “gravestone,” proclaiming the death of the foreign car in America.

They got that wrong!

Dinosaur Power? A takeoff on cars and horsepower?

The Pioneers wouldn't have gone too far in this Covered Wagon! Way too easy to break an axle!

The Four Seasons - But which car for which season? OK, White for Winter. Yellow for Fall - think Aspen leaves? Maybe Pink for Spring, and Green for summer or vice versa? You guess!

Yugo Gravestone