How to change a brake light bulb of a 2005 Honda CRV

Buy replacement brake light bulbs.  I bought Sylvania branded part number 7443LL bulbs that come in packs of two (around $7 in any auto parts shop).  You can save the extra one for future needs.

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Open the tailgate of your CR-V and locate the two round plastic screw covers on the inner edge of the taillight assembly. One is on top and the other one at the bottom.  Pry them open with a screwdriver. 

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You will then see two Phillips screws.  Remove them using a Phillips screwdriver.  If they are too tight, you can use a 1/4" ratchet with a 9/16" socket, since the screws have a hexagonal head.

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Grab the tail light assembly with both hands and pull it back strongly.  This will expose the different bulb sockets. 

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Find the brake light bulb socket and remove it by turning it counter clockwise 45 degrees.

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Remove the burnt bulb and replace it with a new one.  Then, put the socket back in place by turning it clockwise 45 degrees.

Place the tail light assembly back into position by aligning the two white pins with their respective holes and pushing firmly.

Put the two Phillips screws back in place, tighten them, and cover them with the two round plastic screw covers.

Finally, ask a friend to press on the brakes to see if the brake light is working properly.

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Porsche and the case for line extensions

2010-porsche-panamera_3

Seven years after the introduction of the Cayenne, a line extension that brand purists predicted would hurt the Porsche brand, the German marque is not only alive and well but thriving.  The Cayenne, and another much criticized line extension, the 4-door Panamera now represent 76% of total unit sales for the brand.  Read my take on Porsche's successful line extention strategy on my branding blog. 

Tesla: the world's fastest electric car

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Last week Tesla opened a showroom in South Florida where visitors can test-ride the new Roadster Sport, the now available world's fastest electric car.  The Roadster Sport, which vaguely resembles the Ferrari Modena, is capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds, and can go for 240 miles on one full charge.  Tesla's website proudly claims that the vehicle is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, and that it is more efficient than the Toyota Prius (not that anybody capable of spending the $109K retail price on this beauty is at all concerned with saving money).

A four door Tesla Model S, which looks a lot like a Maserati Quattroporte, will go out on sale in 2012 and is slightly "slower" than the Roadster, going from 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds.  You can drive it for up to 300 miles with one full charge and it seats 7 people.  The retail price is set at $49.9K.

Photos: courtesy of Tesla Motors.

2009 South Florida International Auto Show

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Today I went to the South Florida International Auto Show.  The turnout was pretty low, and the exhibits smaller than in previous years.  The crisis has undoubtedly weighted down on the automobile industry.  Some highlights: 

American car makers are building some exciting vehicles, with improved looks and quality.  The Camaro is back, Buick seems to be finally living up to its brand promise of being an affordable alternative to Cadillac, and Ford scores big with the Taurus and the Flex.  I also saw a nice Mustang GT with a blue and white Cobra paint scheme. With big SUVs almost absent from the show, US makers are going back to their roots and focusing on mid-to-large comfortable cars. 

On the luxury front, I saw the new 4-door Porsche Panamera, Porsche's answer to the Maserati Quattroporte; there was also a huge Jaguar XJ on display. 

Mini Cooper showed a few pimped out Mini's including a convertible, a 50th Anniversary Mayfair edition, and a Clubman woody. 

On the Japanese front, nothing new, really.  The most exciting thing was a display with eight pimped out Scion, including a sibbling of my little xD in much sportier gear. 

Finally, in a good move on Ford's part, its heavily social-media-hyped Fiesta was available for test drive outside the show, where everybody coming in could see it (kudos to @scottmonty).

Pictures of today's Barrett Jackson classic car auction

There was a time, long before this bailout-happy era, when American cars captured the imagination of the world.  We can see these magnificent machines (Mustangs, Corvettes, GTOs, etc.) in events like Barrett Jackson.  You can also see quite a few European classics.  If you want to see more pictures, please go to my 09 Barrett Jackson Flickr set.

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Just saved $75 by changing the cabin air filters of my wife's Cr-V myself

Bought the filter for $25 and saved the $75 in labor usually charged by the dealer, plus a couple of hours of my time driving and sitting around waiting for it to be done.  It took me about twenty minutes and it wasn't that hard (see pictures in the order they are shown):

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  1. Remove the glove compartment's holding clips. This is the trickiest part. Move the glove compartment box to almost its closed position, press the small pins at the back of the clips and push toward the inside of the glove compartment; then rotating the clip gently until the rest of it passes through the clip hole so you can pull it out.
  2. This is how the holding clips look.
  3. Open the glove compartment door completely and out of the way.
  4. Remove the cabin filters' protective cover.
  5. Remove the first filter carefully. It's a little hard so move the filter around a little bit instead of pulling it out straight.
  6. Slide the second filter to the left so that it's completely visible and then pull it out like you did with the first filter.
  7. This is how the old and new filters look (big difference).
  8. Remove the old filters from their plastic frames and install the new ones, paying attention that the arrows indicating the air flow are in the same direction on the frames and on the filters.
  9. Push in the first filter
  10. Slide it to the right.
  11. Push in the second filter.
  12. Reinstall the protective cover
  13. Reinstall the glove compartment's holding clips (again, this is a little tricky).
  14. Close the glove compartment.

If you want to see this process in video, I found this on Youtube: .   Very helpful.