Cars are second in expense only to homes. Unfortunately, most don’t last as long as they could. Car owners can stretch their investments, lower their expenses and make those purchases pay off by maximizing the life of their cars. There are a number of ways consumers can get more performance and reliability out of their autos. Utilizing these ten technologies will help:

1. Interactive Calendars

The first thing people should do when bringing home a new (or new-to-them) car is read the owner’s manual. Figure out the recommended maintenance schedule and mark it in the phone or computer calendar. Setting up automatic reminders to prevent regular work from going ignored will go a long way in preserving a car’s more and less expensive parts.

2. LED Pressure-Sensitive Tire Caps

Customers who keep enough pressure in their tires will reduce wear and tear on their entire vehicles. These inexpensive tire caps twist on as normal, but begin to light up when pressure is low.

3. Portable Tire Pump

Drivers can’t always rely on gas stations or tire shops to have quality air pumps available. Smart consumers invest in small, portable pumps they can plug into their dash.

4. Groupon and Similar Services

It’s easy to put off those big jobs, like a transmission or radiator flush. Customers who keep an eye on sites like Groupon can make sure to get great deals on necessary maintenance that otherwise might be forgotten.

5. Automatic Car Washes

Keeping a car’s exterior clean between detailings is important to keep scratches and rust at bay. Using high-quality products during periodic in-depth treatments, like cenano car polish, will prevent major damage.

6. High-pressured Canned Air

Keeping a car’s interior clean is of utmost importance when keeping features like air conditioning and defrost working well. Drivers should spray out small, dusty places on a regular basis to prevent build-up.

6. High-powered Vacuum

Interior dirt can lead to exterior damage, as well as advanced wear and tear on upholstery and glass. Responsible car owners can extend the life of their interiors with regular use of a high-powered car vac.

7. Driver Tracking System

Starting with the fuel efficiency craze a few years ago, companies began making devices drivers could plug into their cars to monitor things like driving habits. The right monitor can help thoughtful consumers fine-tune their skills to maximize fuel usage and keep their cars safe.

8. Heated Windshield Scrapers

Scratches on glass can immediately dull even the newest car’s windshield. Drivers using heated scrapers can plug them into their cars and let electricity do the brunt of the work while preserving their cars’ good lucks.

9. Online Car Insurance Estimators

Having the right car insurance can mean the difference between affording repairs or going without. Customers can save big by estimating their costs with an online insurance search engine so they always have the coverage they deserve.

10. Yelp!

Having the right mechanic and body shop on speed dial makes an incredible difference in the life of a car. Owners can read announcements and reviews of local service providers on search engines like Yelp! and Angie’s List.

Technology has always been applied to the needs of improving transportation.

For centuries, transportation speeds were limited by the muscular capacity of humans or beasts, or harnessing the wind for travel across water.

Navigation out of sight of land was dangerous and frightening. The angle from the horizon to the sun could be give sailors their latitude, but determining longitude required the accurate measurement of time. In the early 1700s the British government offered a prize for an accurate method to keep time at sea. The result was a marine chronometer, improving sea travel.

Steam power was applied to transportation needs with the steamboat and railway engine in the 1800s. Suddenly, people could travel at unheard of speeds of more than 20 mph. Steam power dominated for over 100 years, when diesel and electric motors replaced it. Personal vehicles also became powered in the late 1800′s, as steam, electricity and gasoline vied to become the fuel of choice for automobiles.

Another technological advance was communication that outpaced the speed of transportation, or lines of sight and sound. Smoke signals, beacons, etc. had been the standard. The electric telegraph, patented in 1837, improved safety on railroads, and became important in military strategy and transportation.

Perhaps the Romans conquered the world because of their excellent stone roads. Surely the technology of paving has changed transportation. Cobblestone and brick were labor intensive. Around 1800 a Scotsman, MacAdam, developed a way to layer aggregate and crush it to firm the surface. This process bears his name: macadam. When tar was added to bind it, the result was called tarmac. Automobile drivers demanded better roads. The technology of road paving must keep pace with transportation.

The airplane, heavier-than-air flight, conquered in 1903 by the Wright Brothers, changed transportation forever. Within just a couple of decades people were traveling anywhere in the world in a few hours.

Computers revolutionized transportation. Without the computational power of electronics, the flight to the moon would not have been possible. Humans can not manually do the required math fast enough to control space flight.

GPS navigation systems have now transformed personal transportation. It is possible to know one’s global position in just seconds, and to determine how to find another location.

One might consider the rise of the recreational vehicle as an important change in transportation technology. In the 1920s people began to think of travel as fun, not just as a means of moving around. They demanded vehicles to serve those desires.

If you are one of the millions of people who struggle to hitch a travel trailer to your vehicle, or to position the trailer on a campsite or in your garage, the Trailer Valet is the solution to your transportation needs. Visit http://www.trailervalet.com to learn about transportation vehicles.