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It’s that time of year, when love is in the air and you get that warm and cozy feeling inside, no, not Spring, but something much more sinister then that. We are talking about Valentine’s Day. That dreaded time of year when men must do things like pick out cards and buy flowers and singles, well, they just get the raw end of the deal all together. That being said, the first thing you need to do is get your car in order. Let’s take a look at some good romantic cars.

Are first choice for car romance would be the great, anamorphic, Volkswagon Beetle Herbie, aptly called The Love Bug. The original Love Bug movie was filmed by Disney in 1968 and has produced a total of four movies (one in 2005 with Lindsay Lohan) a made for TV movie and even its own TV show. In theory, Herbie was called the Love Bug because he actively conspired to bring the movies lead actor into a romance with the lead actress. Funny, right? However, we think it is also because America as a whole fell in love with this car as the Love Bug movie was a smash hit in the box office. Is a VW Beetle romantic? More like cute, but it could work under the right circumstances.

How about a truck for romance? Before you laugh think about it. First of all, it is pretty common for a girl to sit in the middle seat, right next to her special somebody, and leave the passenger seat open. Sweet isn’t it? But there is more. If you clear the beer cans out of the back you can use it for some creative dating. Pack a picnic, some camping gear and using the trucks off road capabilities, head off into the mountains for a getaway. Best of all, lay in the back of the bed at night and watch the shooting stars cross the sky. Laugh now, but she will love it.

Maybe you want something less country. How about a motorcycle? It has attitude and an element of danger, and let’s face it, girls love that stuff. Best of all, if you ride it together, she has to put her arms around you and hold you tight. Not a bad deal at all.

For you old school romantic types how about a classic car? Sure they are probably pricey or it will take a lot of fixing up, but a classic Ford or Chevy from the 50’s practically screams “date me, I’m chivalrous.” A vintage Chevy Bel Air or Ford Thunderbird has class and nostalgic romance all rolled into one. Drive to the beach, get a burger and shake and watch the sun set. There you go, the car can only get you started, now it’s up to you.

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If you were a kid and didn’t have Hot Wheels (what’s wrong with you?) then you most certainly had a Matchbox car. The Matchbox name started as a brand name for the British owned die-cast toy manufacturer Lesney Products. Before Matchbox car there biggest sales success was a replica of Queen Elizabeth’s II coronation coach which sold a million models.

The modern Matchbox car was created in the 1950’s by Jack Odell. His daughter could only take toys to school that could fit into a matchbox. So it was he set out to design a car that could do just that and it wasn’t before long that the Matchbox cars came into existence. Their clever packaging and affordability made them an instant hit with kids everywhere. They were so popular that the term “Matchbox” became a catch phrase for all small cars of a similar type even to this day.

Lesney was founded by Jack Odell, Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith, who combined names to make Lesney. In the 1950’s British die cast toys were very popular, namely Dinky, Corgi and Matchbox. They each had their own niche markets and most of their products were successful. Among toy collectors this period is known as the “Golden Era” of British die cast toys.

The very first series of cars was called the 1-75. As time went by, Lesney attempted to expand their markets new series of cars. One of these was the Models of Yesteryear, a remake of classics from the early age of automobiles. Other additions were the Major Packs, large scale construction vehicles, and the King Sized series, which was a larger scale truck and tractor set. In 1968 Matchbox was at the top of its game and nobody else came close. That is until Mattel invented the Hot Wheels, with their revolutionary low friction, high speed “race” wheels. The Hot Wheels were painted bright, metallic colors and had fancy mag wheels on slick designs. It was a nightmare for Matchbox as their U.S. market collapsed.

Scrambling to come up with their own answer to Hot Wheels, Matchbox came out with the “Superfast” series and sold play sets as well. While these cars were in production, Matchbox redesigned their cars and retooled their machines to match the scale and width of Hot Wheels. By the early 1970’s they were back in business challenging the Hot Wheels supremacy

England was suffering from financial difficulties during the 1980’s and so Matchbox was sold to Universal Toys. In 1992 Universal was bought out by Tyco Toys, who continued to produce the cars. In 1997 disaster struck and Mattel bought out Tyco. There had always been a fierce competition between collectors of each brand and Matchbox fans feared Mattel would change the way they were made. However, Mattel had no intention of changing things and continues to produce Matchbox cars the way they have always been done. Much to collectors delight.

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(We now continue with part 2 of our award winning series…”to fix a flat”…)

Be sure to leave room for the new tire when you jack up the car. Then you are ready for e hardest part: Taking of the lug nuts. There are a couple types of lug wrenches, grab whichever you have. One has one socket, another one has four. The four way wrench is the best, because you may not know what sized socket you need plus the 4 way provides great leverage when taking of the nuts.

You usually have five lug nuts. Place the socket onto a lug nut and turn it counter clock wise. This is by far the most difficult part. The nuts can be on really tight and it can take a good bit of strength to loosen them. If they were put on by an electric wrench they can be very difficult to turn. Other factors, such as cold weather, can make them tighter as well.

You don’t want to put too much pressure on the screws so loosen a nut but do not take it all the way off. Just loosen it just enough to release some pressure so that it turns easily. Now move to the opposite screw across from the one you just did. Loosen it like the other. Then move across to another one and loosen it. Keep going back and forth loosening them all until they are all done. Now you can finish unscrewing them all the way.

Take all the nuts off. It is VERY important to keep track of where all the nuts are. They can be easy to lose and you need them all for the spare. Pull the flat tire off and set it somewhere to the side for now. Take the spare tire and line it up with the screws. The holes should be facing inwards, not outwards. Slide the spare onto the screws.

Now you will put the nuts back on the same way you took them off. Screw one on till there is a slight bit of pressure on the tire. Then place the nut across from it on and turn until there is pressure as well, then the next across from it. Keep going until all the nuts are on but not tight. Now you can tighten them.

Tighten them as much as you can with the wrench and go back over them again to make sure they are on good. You definitely don’t want them coming loose while driving. Once you are sure they are tight enough. Make sure nothing is under the car and release the handle on the jack or crank it in the opposite direction to lower it. Check out used cars in Baltimore for a great deal today.

Put all of your stuff back in the truck. When you get in your car don’t forget to turn off your hazards and remember to RELEASE the emergency break as well. Once you start the car you will probably want to drive to some place you can wash your hands. Otherwise, go brag to your friends that you changed a tire all by yourself.

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