1. Request multiple home insurance quotes.  These days, with free home insurance quotes and online forms, it takes a lot less time to shop around.  Comparing rates can help you save.
2. Tell you insurer about any safety features in your home.  Installing smoke detectors, getting a security system, and having kitchen fire extinguishers can all help reduce your home insurance premiums.
3. Consider the replacement value of our home.  This isn’t the same as you home’s real estate value.  Your real estate value includes the home and the land it’s on.  Your home’s replacement value does not include the land or lot.
4. Know the facts about your home’s construction, since this can affect your insurance premiums.  Is your home made of brick or wood?  Does it have a good drainage system?
5. Protect your home from natural disasters.  If you live in an area with windstorms or hurricanes, install storm shutters, reinforced roofs, and other weather-resistant features.
6. Increase your policy’s deductible.  You can save as much as 25% per year by increasing the deductible on your homeowner’s insurance.
7. Don’t pay on an installment plan.  Many insurers offer monthly payments, but you can save a lot by paying for your insurance in a lump sum.
8. Check your credit report.  If you have poor credit, you may not be getting a good deal on your insurance.  Check your credit report for errors, and work to clean up your credit history.
9. Ask your homeowner’s insurance company about discounts that might apply to you.  Discount home insurance can save you a lot of money, and you may be eligible for a lower rate.
10. Use a single insurance carrier for multiple policies.  As you shop for a new home insurance policy, consider getting a free auto insurance quote.  You can also save on boat insurance, life insurance, health insurance, motorcycle insurance, and other policies.

As you shop for a better deal on insurance, it helps to have all of your information handy.  Gather up the facts about your home and its value, and make sure you note any claims you may have had in the last few years.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing.  She also writes articles about Dallas exotic car dream tours.

But General Motors has other ideas.  The 2011 Chevrolet Corvette comes with an optional Engine Build Experience, which allows owners to assist in constructing the engine for their new car.

As an iconic example of the American sports car, the Corvette has a long history with U.S. consumers.  But gas prices, economic uncertainty, and a tight credit market have slowed sports car sales generally.

While Corvette sales are gradually increasing, production volume was slashed in 2009.  As General Motors struggles to recover market share, the car company has had to get creative.

“Corvette lovers are fanatical about their cars, and I think GM has found a great way to make the buying experience unique and personal,” says Ron Sturgeon, owner of a Dallas exotic car tour company.

The strategy capitalizes on consumers’ love of customization and desire to be connected more closely with the car and brand.

The Corvette Z06 and ZR1 will both offer the Engine Build Experience.  Both cars come with a V-8 engine, but the LS7 Z06 produces 505 horsepower compared to the 638 horsepower produced by the LS9 engine in the ZR1.

These engines will be hand-built, and when a customer selects the Engine Build Experience, the automaker will affix a special nameplate to the engine.

“For some sports car buyers, it’s probably worth the money,” says Sturgeon, a sought after keynote speaker on entrepreneurship and business strategy.

The Engine Build Experience is expected to add $5,800 to the purchase price of the car.  For that price, which Automoblog.net points out is about the same as six weeks’ salary for an auto plant worker, buyers can physically help to build their cars.

Don’t have that kind of money lying around?  Why not get involved in a different kind of hands-on exotic car experience?

Dream tours, like those offered by DFW Drive Your Dream, give participants a chance to get behind the wheel of several exotic cars.  You can actually drive a Ferrari or a Porsche, and it costs a lot less than building your own Corvette engine.

“It’s hard to get more hands-on than that,” says Sturgeon.  “Many of our customers tell us this is one of the most thrilling experiences of their lives.”

And at less than $700 per person, it’s a lot cheaper than a new custom Corvette and available in DFW, Houston, Austin, and the surrounding area.

Groups of 8 or more can even do a private exotic car driving event to build team spirit or bond with a VIP client. Visit http://www.DFWDriveYourDream.com for full details.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing.  She has written SEO friendly web content for a series of free Texas motorcycle insurance quote websites.

Pontaic GTO image by BK1 Bennett on Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution No Derivative Works.

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in this summer blockbuster about a secret agent and his unwitting accomplice.  The movie features action, adventure, romance, and laughs, but one of the real highlights of the film is its selection of exotic cars.

In the movie, Diaz’s character specializes in restoring classic cars, and there are several spectacular car chase scenes throughout the film.

Here are a few of the major automotive players:

• 1966 Pontiac GTO – This car, which is owned by a collector and was loaned out for the movie, has been preserved in brand-new condition.  The Martinique Bronze exterior and Parchment interior are in perfect shape and were not harmed in the movie.

• 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix – While we don’t get to see this car being driven in film, the blue 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix provides some important details for the plot of the film.  The movie provides a rare glimpse at this collector muscle car.

• BMW Z4 – During the car chase scene set in Spain, Cruise is behind the wheel of a silver BMW Z4.  The rear-wheel drive sports car outmaneuvers several Smart Roadsters, which are in hot pursuit.

• Smart Roadster – If you think the Smart Car is adorable, you should see the Smart Roadster.  This little convertible amps up the style without removing any of the cuteness.

• Mercury Grand Marquis – Along with several SUVs and a couple of motorcycles, the Mercury Grand Marquis was wrecked as part of a chase scene.  In one exciting sequence, Cruise’s character jumps from an overpass onto the Grand Marquis, destroying the vehicle.

Whether you go for the movie’s car chase scenes and special effects or for a glimpse of Cruise behind the wheel, you may have mixed feelings about the film.  According to Moviefone.com, both users and critics are giving “Knight and Day” three out of five stars.

Regardless of the cinematic quality of the film, exotic car enthusiasts are sure to love the automotive eye candy.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing.  She writes about cars, crafts, genealogy, and insurance.

Image of Terrafugia at Googleplex licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. Image work of Mark Warren.

The Terrafugia Transition is aiming to take flight as the first production light aircraft that is road legal.

The FAA recently approved the Terrafugia Transition as a light aircraft.  The vehicle features retractable wings, which allow it to function as an airplane or a road vehicle.

The company classifies it as a roadable aircraft, not a flying car.

On the ground, the front-wheel-drive Terrafugia Transition can travel at normal highway speeds and gets about 30 MPG burning regular unleaded.  The car seats two with plenty of space for cargo.

At 1,430 pounds, the vehicle is technically too heavy to be classified as a “light aircraft,” but its fight test earned it that classification.  The manufacturer says that the Terrafugian Transition’s additional weight is due to the necessary road safety features like crumple zones and air bags.

The goal of the Terrafugia Transition is to provide a versatile option for pilots who are grounded due to inclement weather or who want to make legs of their journey without taking to the sky.

With an anticipated price of $194,000, this specialty vehicle won’t be replacing your Honda, but it’s not intended to. As a niche product, it’s expected that the Terrafugia Transition will do well attracting civilian aviators.

“I wish them well with a product that is exciting for their target client,” said Ron Sturgeon, owner of a variety of automobile insurance quote websites and a Fort Worth-based luxury car storage company.

Wondering if you are qualified to drive a Terrafugia Transition?  According to the product literature, prospective owners of the vehicles can earn a SportPilot license in less than 20 hours by taking a course designed for Terrafugia Transition owners.

Getting the classification as a light sport aircraft reduces the amount of time owners of the vehicles must invest to get licenses to operate the vehicle. However, most buyers are likely to be already licensed pilots.

When these vehicles arrive in DFW, they certainly will get a look see by many pilots and by people intrigued by the possibilities of a roadable plane like the Terrafugia Transition.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance web content writer, who specializes in search engine friendly web content, editing, and technical writing. Her recent projects have included content for a Tampa FL SAT tutor and a Fort Worth mobile dog grooming business

The Countryman could represent a practical solution for exotic car fans who plan to drive a fuel-efficient commuter car during the week and drive an exotic car on the weekend.

(Mini model image courtesy of Daniel Dionne and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Only. See more of Mr. Dionne’s photos on Flickr.)

Reports indicate that the Countryman will get 34 miles per gallon on the highway, and fuel efficiency is important to today’s car consumers.  So is fun, and the Mini Cooper Countryman has that, too.

“We see a lot of our customers driving fun everyday cars like the Mini Cooper,” says Ron Sturgeon, owner of a Dallas exotic car tour company.  “These little cars are a blast to drive.”

For Sturgeon’s customers, that power comes from exotic sports cars like the Porsche 911 Cabriolet, the Maserati Quattroporte, the Ferrari F430, or the Audi R8.  These are some of the vehicles included in the DFW Drive Your Dream’s popular 2,000 HP Tour.

“It’s a fun event, kind of like a dream come true for auto enthusiasts who have always wanted to spend a day on the open road with some six figure autos,” says Sturgeon, who also owns a Dallas car storage company.

Events like this could be a welcome surge of adrenaline for owners of the new Mini Cooper Countryman.  This new Mini has some great features, and it will get you where you need to go.

It just won’t get you there as quickly as a Ferrari.  The standard model has a 122-horsepower engine, but some models may be able to get as much as 184 horsepower.  Reportedly, the souped-up version of the Countryman has a top speed of 133 miles per hour.

But the real appeal of this new model is the all-wheel drive.  For people who drive on wet or snowy roads, all-wheel drive can offer peace of mind.

“Even here in Texas, all-wheel drive can be important,” says Sturgeon.  “We don’t get much snow, but we get some serious rain and thunderstorms.”

In the Countryman, the front wheels receive all of the power during most driving situations.  However, when the car sense slippery driving conditions, it sends some of the power to the back wheels to increase traction.

Mini has reportedly seen a great public response to the new car.  According to Road and Track, the company has already sold 1.7 million units.

The Mini Cooper Countryman will be arriving in U.S. dealerships sometime in 2011.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing. Kate’s recent writing projects include content for a Tampa FL SAT Tutoring website and a Azle TX student insurance quote website.

(Tesla in garage image courtesy of Venture Capitalist Steve Jurvetson. Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution Only.)

But Elon Musk, owner of the groundbreaking auto company, is strapped for cash.

Musk made his fortune as one of the pioneers of PayPal, the online money-transfer giant.  He’s also an aerospace engineer who designs components for NASA.  At one time in recent years, his personal holdings were worth upwards of $200 million.

However, Musk says times have gotten hard.  A messy divorce is casting unwanted light on the state of his personal finances. Musk is married to novelist Justine Musk, but the marriage is being dissolved due to Elon Musk’s relationship with actress Talulah Riley. A New York Times Article on Yahoo Finance quotes Musk as saying, “About four months ago, I ran out of cash.”

Justine Musk is asking for the couple’s house, six million dollars in cash, child support, alimony, and a portion of Tesla Motors.

Elon Musk says he has heavily invested his personal money into Tesla Motors, most recently putting $35 million into the company coffers. Analysts expect that Tesla Motors will go public within the next two weeks, and that event is likely to solve Musk’s cash issues.

However, Tesla Motors was the recipient of a United States Energy Department loan, and the fine print requires Musk to hold at least 65% of the company.  If he sells too much of his share, the company will technically default on the loan.

In its I.P.O. filing, Tesla Motors maintains that it is separate from Musk’s divorce and cash liquidity issues.

“We do not believe that Mr. Musk’s personal financial situation has any impact on us,” the company said. “We also do not believe that Mr. Musk would have to liquidate a significant percentage of his holdings in order to satisfy any settlement reached in connection with such proceedings.”

The New York Times Article explains that even if Musk were to hold on to his required 65 percent stake in Tesla Motors, he would be solvent enough to cover his divorce.  The I.P.O. should give him about $21 million.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing. Her recent projects have included content for a Fort Worth State Farm agent’s website and a Dallas TX Car Storage company.

Image Courtesy of RM Auctions

It’s no surprise that the DB5 will fetch so much at auction, but the high estimated price tag can put despair in the hearts of most regular Bond fans.  After all, if you’re not a super spy, chances are good you don’t have that kind of money just lying around.

So what’s a regular guy or girl to do?

If you living in the Dallas area, you can still drive your dream car.  It might not have a rear smoke screen and revolving license plates, but it’s sure to knock your socks off and make you feel like James Bond.

Image courtesy of DFW Drive Your Dream.

DFW Drive Your Dream is a company that provides automotive dream tours.  For under $700 per person, you can drive four amazing exotic cars over a specially-chosen tour route.

Add a tuxedo and a post-tour martini lunch, and you have everything you need to feel like 007.

The sale of the Aston Martin DB5 is being handled by RM Auctions as part of their “Automobiles of London” series.  RM Auctions is the largest collector car auction business in the world.

Proceeds from the auction will go to The Jerry Lee Foundation, which works to solve social problems associated with poverty.  Jerry Lee has owned the car since 1969.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, technical writing, and editing. She recently created web content for a website to help drivers find low cost auto insurance in Saginaw TX

According to a recent article on CTV Autos, Gotham Dream Car Tours, a New Jersey exotic car tour company, is reporting increased interest in its tour packages.  In fact, the company says that tour sales are up 30% since last year.

That may be because the economy is causing some enthusiasts to balk at the idea of dropping over a hundred thousand dollars on an exotic car.

“We’re seeing a lot of people who just don’t want to buy exotic right now,” says Ron Sturgeon, who owns a similar exotic car tour company in Dallas.

Exotic car tours provide a veritable buffet of exotic car driving experiences.  At DFW Drive Your Dream for instance, participants get to drive four exotic cars over a specially-chosen Dallas-area tour course.

“It’s all about the thrill of the road,” says Sturgeon.  “It’s a great way to experience these cars without the hassle of owning them.”

While many people do dream of owning an Audi R8 or another exotic car, it’s often not all it’s cracked up to be.  These cars are expensive to own and insure.  Owners often have to compare rates to get a good deal on insurance.

Other expenses can include maintenance, fuel, repairs, exotic car storage, and alarms or security features.

That’s all on top of the monthly car payment or lump sum price of the car, often in excess of $100,000.

In that context, dream tours seem like a great deal.  Gotham Dream Cars offers tours for about $900, and DFW Drive Your Dream provides a 2000-horsepower tour for less than $700.

“A lot of people see it as an easy way to enjoy themselves without the hassles of onwership,” says Sturgeon.

Dream tours are also a fun way to mark special events like major birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and other big occasions.

“It’s a great way to celebrate,” says Sturgeon.

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing.

SkinzWraps, Inc. is a business that specializes in custom wraps for cars and trucks.  About 80% of their business is devoted to commercial vehicles, but they also do wraps for boats, trailers, RVs, pick-up trucks, and other private vehicles.

One of SkinzWraps’ specialties is custom wraps for exotic cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches.  At about $3,000 to $4,500, these wraps are more affordable than a full custom paint job.

“Five years ago, we weren’t even thinking about this kind of work,” said SkinzWraps CEO, Peter C. Salaverry. “But I think the auto industry is primed for it.”

One of the big advantages of SkinzWraps is that they allow owners to give their cars a custom appearance without the commitment that comes with an eye-catching paint job.  This flexibility can be important when it’s time to resell the car.

SkinzWraps are similar to wallpaper for your vehicle.  An adhesive-backed, thin vinyl sheet is applied to the vehicle and then smoothed out by hand using sqeegees.  Blowtorches are used to stretch the materials over the car, and SkinzWraps guarantees that the car’s paint remains undamaged.

In addition to changing the appearance of an exotic car, SkinzWraps can actually help enhance performance by improving the car’s aerodynamics.  This can lead to a higher top speed and better gas mileage.

SkinzWraps now counts many exotic car owners among its clients, including customers of Dallas exotic car dealers like Boardwalk Ferrari and Boardwalk Lamborghini.  The wraps can help protect the paint job on these exotic vehicles.

“What we’re trying to do is find certain pockets of cars that would embrace this sort of individualized work,” Salaverry said. “We want to earn our credentials on the most expensive, most demanding cars.”

SkinzWraps is located in a 21,000-square foot facility in Dallas.  The company employs 20 people at its central office, but it also has additional facilities in California, Florida, New York, and North Carolina.

“Now that we can show it can be done, we are pushing it,” said Salaverry. who hopes to wrap a Ferrari Enzo later this year.  Enzos typically sell for around $700,000.

“It’s never been done before,” he said. “I’m talking to a few collectors to see if anyone might be interested in letting us do their Enzo. It sounds crazy, but if we don’t push to new frontiers, we are confined by what we did in the past.”

If driving one of these exotic beasts butters your biscuit. Why not enter to win a free exotic car driving tour from http://www.get-insurance-quote.net. No insurance quote request is necessary to enter.l

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing. Kate’s recent projects include content for a Tampa SAT tutoring website and for a Fort Worth commercial real estate company website.

In fact, the Energy Information Administration’s 2010 Short-Term Energy and Summer Fuels Outlook predicts that the national average price for regular unleaded will be $2.79 per gallon throughout the summer.

Even exotic cars are now being designed with an eye toward reducing fuel consumption, and there are a lot of things drivers can do to improve their fuel economy right now.

According to a recent Forbes.com article, you can see major fuel savings by paying attention to the following factors:

• Smooth driving can add up to 33% to your fuel economy on the highway and 5% in the city.  To smooth things out a bit, try to avoid sudden braking and accelerating.
• Keep an eye on the speed.  Going the speed limit can improve your fuel economy by as much as 23%.  If you have a love of speed, try to keep it under 60 miles per hour.  For many cars, anything over that reduces the efficiency of your engine.
• Use the right oil. Even though the fuel consumption savings is only about 2%, using the right engine oil can also make a difference in you fuel economy.  Pay attention to what the manufacturer recommends, and use motor oil with a label that says, “Energy Conserving.”
• Check your tire pressure.  In addition to making your tires last longer and your car handle better, properly inflated tires can provide a significant improvement in fuel economy.  Expect to get about 0.3% fuel consumption improvement for a single PSI reduction for all four tires.
• Keep the engine small.  This is hard advice to take if you love to drive fast, but smaller engines typically get much better gas mileage than a V6 or V8.  You can see a fuel economy improvement of up to 20% by changing to a 4-cylnder.

Also, it’s important to keep in mind that fuel economy is only one part of the cost of owning a car.  In addition to improving your gas mileage, it’s a good idea to save on car insurance by getting a Watauga Insurance Quote. (You can enter to win a free drive your dream exotic car experience and no insurance quote is required.)

Regardless of which changes you make to improve your gas mileage, you can rest assured that you’re doing something to keep a little extra green in your environment and your pocketbook too!

Kate Miller-Wilson is a professional freelance writer, who specializes in web content, editing, and technical writing. Kate’s recent writing projects include content for a website for a Fort Worth business consultant and for a Dallas car storage company.