If you’re thinking of planning a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, you had better get out a pen and paper because there are a lot of things to see and do. One of the main attractions in the Atlanta area is the Atlanta History Center. The history center first started in 1926 when the fourteen original founders formed what was then known as the Atlanta Historical Society. This group, which was led by a man named Walter McElreath, met in each other’s homes, collecting early manuscripts and photos as well as publishing research bulletins in an effort to get other people interested in history.

In 1990, the Historical Society became known as the Atlanta History Center. Today, the center is located on 33 acres of land in Atlanta’s “Buckhead” district and includes one of the Southeastern United States’ largest history museums, two historic houses, a two-acre midtown campus that houses the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, and a series of unique gardens.

Events and Hours of Operation

If you’re planning on visiting the Atlanta History Center during the months of May and June, here are a couple of things that are going on. Also feel free to visit the calendar page for additional event information.

May 2008 Events: Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft and Traditional Art

June 2008 Events: Courage: The Vision to End Segregation, the Guts to Fight for It.

There are many things to see and do, so make sure you plan your visit accordingly! The Atlanta History Center is open as follows:

• Monday-Saturday: 10am-5:30pm
• Sunday: 12pm-5:30pm

The Swan House & Tullie Smith Farm House Tours are offered as follows:

• Monday-Saturday: 11am-4pm
• Sunday: 1pm-4pm

The Atlanta History Center is located at 130 West Places Ferry Road NW in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about the Atlanta History Center, feel free to contact them at 404.814.4000.

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Usually when you’ve heard something once, that’s enough; anything more than that just becomes repetitive and annoying. However, as much as we have now heard about the rising gas prices and other plethora of problems surrounding the fuel pump and oil prices, it just never seems to get old. I would love to stop talking about gas prices, but it really is becoming absurd. Just last week, I paid almost $70 to fill up my car, which wasn’t even on empty! Well, if you’re upset about the price of gas as well as the direction it is heading in, you are certainly not alone.

According to an article in Time Magazine, some consumers have noticed that they are paying for gas that they never get. For example, have you ever used a gas pump where the pump seems to hesitate for a split second even though you have the handle squeezed? Supposedly, anywhere from 2 to 6 cents are being lost before the gasoline actually starts pumping into your vehicle. According to the article, tests done by local regulator are actually allowing pumps to charge as much as 6 cents more than the gas delivered in a five-gallon test. So, who do we point the finger at now? As it is, we’re already paying a ton of money for gasoline!

Who is to Blame?

Apparently, the gas is not the problem. The problem lies in the fact that the “check valve” at the pump wears out and goes unnoticed. Additionally, many counties require or suggest that the pumps be inspected every six months. However, short staffing at many gas stations have prevented this from happening. If you think about it, even if you are charged a few pennies extra than what you actually ended up pumping, if you picture several other hundreds of people using that gas station throughout the day, that penny would add up quickly. This problem is compounded by the aggravation that consumers are already feeling with the rising gas prices. After all, gas prices in the United States, on average, are approximately 66 cents higher than last year and show now signs of going down any time soon.

Perhaps the store owners with the faulty pumps should start reimbursing customers.

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Do you remember watching The Jetsons when you were younger. Perhaps I’m dating myself a bit here, but in any case, there was a time when we thought for sure that we would, one day, be flying around in our cars…literally. Well, for those of you who are still interested in what the future has to offer in the way of cool vehicles, check out this article in PC Magazine, which lists some of the coolest futuristic vehicles you will ever see.

5 Futuristic Cars to Check Out

While we may not have the flying cars yet, it seems that we are well on our way to one day getting there. In the meantime, here is a partial list of some of the cool cars to keep an eye out for. For the entire list, check out PC Magazine.

1. James Milner’s AirCar: Ok, so maybe we don’t have flying cars, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make cars that look like they fly! This particular…er…vehicle, which was the invention of James Milner, is a self-contained four-door, four-to-five seat flying car with a foldable main wing in the rear and a canard in the front. It cost around $450,000 to build and while it can currently be driven, it can not yet fly.
2. Rinspeed sQuba: This particular vehicle has been classified as the first real submersible car and was inspired by the underwater car driven by Roger Moore. There are three motors in the rear of the vehicle, supported by two Seabob jet drives which allows for propulsion on land as well as propulsion as deep as 32 feet under water.
3. Rudi Moosmeier’s “Tong City Bike”: This bicycle is like no other. Designed by Rudi Moosmeier, who was concerned with cyclist safety at night, the bike features a unique braking system as well as integrated light tubes. The bike also has a mini safe for storing stuff like gadgets, keys, etc.
4. Aptera: This is a three-seat, three-wheeled electric vehicle. It sort of looks like an alien air craft on wheels and is actually classified as a motorcycle, fitting into standard parking spaces. The vehicle features airbags, a rear-view camera, GPS navigation and a host of other neat features.
5. Ford SYNus: Even Ford couldn’t resist the temptation when it came to futuristic vehicles. This particular creation features a mini home theater and multimedia work station all controlled by a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. There are some other cool features, including bullet-proof glass. Even batman would be jealous!

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For years, the city of Atlanta, GA has been attracting tourists from all over the country. The last thing you want to have to worry about if you’re planning a trip is how you’re going to get around. That’s where Triangle Rent A Car comes in. With over 29 locations throughout the southeast United States, let Triangle Rent A Car show you why they’re driven to be number one with customers. Renting a vehicle allows you the freedom to go where you want, and trust me, in Atlanta; there are a lot of places to go. One of those places is the infamous APEX Museum.

The History Behind the History of The APEX Museum

Back in 1978, a noted filmmaker and visionary named Dan Moore was attending a banquet to honor a man by the name of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. Dr. Mays was an African American minister, educator, scholar and was the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. History books cite him as being among the most articulate critics of segregation before the modern civil rights movement in the USA. While Moor was attending the commemoration for Mays, he was inspired to build an American museum that would celebrate the achievements and untold history of African Americans. This museum was the African American Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum.

The museum is one of the many tourist attractions in Atlanta and is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm, with limited hours on Sundays (depending on the month). You can contact the visitor’s center for more information on ticketing and pricing. The museum occasionally features guest speakers and offers interesting exhibits and tours.

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People tend to rent cars for all sorts of different reasons. For some, renting a car is something they do for business reasons, for others it’s a personal thing (such as relocating or moving), but for some it’s purely for fun. Atlanta, GA has, for a long time, been a city that attracts millions of tourists each year. One of the attractions that many tourists visit while in Atlanta is the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

All About the Botanical Garden

One of the great joys of renting a car from Triangle Rent A Car is that you’ll have the freedom to drive out to the Atlanta Botanical Garden to enjoy some of the beautiful flowers that are in bloom. For instance, some of the flowers that are in bloom right now include:

• Blue False Indigo
• Georgia Plume
• Bromeliad
• Hoya
• Maiko
• San Carlos Festival

The Garden is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am-7pm from April to October, and there is plenty to do once you get there. You can learn all about the different kinds of flowers and plants by taking a tour or one of the classes that the Garden offers. You can also find out what events are taking place at the garden. Planning a wedding? Contact the visitor’s center to find out information on renting the facility. You can also get involved by donating, becoming a member or simply volunteering. The Atlanta Botanical Garden also does a lot of work with environmental conservation, so make sure you check it out!

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When I first purchased my brand new Jeep Liberty back in the summer of 2007, I had no idea that not even a year later, the United States would be in the middle of a gas crisis. I even tried to sell it back, but despite the fact that it was still brand-spanking new (well-gently used let’s say), no one would touch it with a ten foot pole! My vehicle had officially been branded a “gas guzzler” and no one was looking for a vehicle that sucked up as much gas as mine did while gas prices were continuing to rise.

Despite the fact that I made a poor decision when it came time to purchase my first vehicle, I am not alone. There are hundreds upon thousands of people out there who make poor vehicle choices either because they’re misinformed or because they didn’t do enough research prior to their purchase. Had I had the foresight to thoroughly research the vehicles out there to find out which ones got the best gas mileage as well as which vehicles had the best resale value, I would be in a better financial position now.

Cars With Poor Resale Value

Like so many new car buyers, researching which vehicles had the best resale value was NOT on my mind; however, it is something that any person who is a buying a new vehicle should know. According to car.com, the following vehicles were listed as having the worse resale value for 2008:

1. Mazda B2300
2. Ford Ranger
3. Suzuki Forenza
4. Chevrolet Colorado
5. Mitsubishi Endeavor
6. Suzuki Reno
7. Dodge Ram
8. Dodge Durango
9. GMC Canyon
10. Kia Rio

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“What’s in a name?” you might ask. Well, apparently there’s a lot in a name-especially when it comes to cars. The name of a car can have a significant impact as to whether or not someone will want to be seen driving it. Names of vehicles might also lend themselves to some criticism. After all, when Chrysler came out with the Dodge Diplomat, did potential customers actually think that driving it would make them appear more important somehow? How about cars with names that look like they were thought up by a five year-old? For example, would you want to tell someone that you drove a Checker Superba? What does that even mean? A recent article in Forbes compared different vehicle names to find out which ones were the most popular, which ones were the weirdest and which ones downright stunk.

Cars With Weird Names

Among the vehicles that Forbes listed as having some really strange names, the following were among the mix:

• Buick Reatta
• Oldsmobile Achieva
• Oldsmobile Bravada
• Oldsmobile Firenza
• Oldsmobile Futuramic
• Pontiac Astre
• Pontiac Fiero
• Saturn Vue

Cars with the Worst Names

The cars with the worst names were cars whose names seemed to be some attempt at playing upon the consumer class-consciousness and social insecurities, according to Forbes. For example, Dan Lienert from Forbes goes on to say,

The names on this list are primarily examples of carmakers trying to tack $100 names onto $10 cars. We doubt any celebrities ever owned a Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon.

Forbes deemed the following to be among the worst named vehicles:

• Buick LeSabre
• Chevrolet Greenbrier
• Chrysler LeBaron
• Dodge Coronet
• Dodge Crestwood
• Dodge Diplomat
• Dodge Dynasty
• Dodge St. Regis
• Ford Aspire
• Lincoln Versailles
• Pontiac Executive
• Rambler Country Club

Foreign With An American Twist

Some foreign vehicles were just too funny to leave off the list and include the following:

• Daihatsu Naked
• Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear
• Suzuki Cappucino
• Volkswagen Thing
• Volugrafo Bimbo

Save the Best For Last

Finally, the car names that Forbes seemed to like the best were as follows:

• AC Shelby Cobra
• Chevrolet Corvette
• DeSoto Firedome
• Dodge Viper
• Lamborghini Diablo
• Plymouth Barracuda
• Rolls-Royce Phantom

To see the full article that Dan Lienert wrote, simply read it here. It truly is fascinating to see all of the different car names that are out there; and perhaps the next time you go shopping for a new car, you’ll think twice about the name!For more information on renting a car in Atlanta, GA, visit Triangle Rent A Car today!

Also make sure you check out BlogCatalog.

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Tags: General Auto // 1 Comment »

Ah, car rental insurance; some say it’s a waste of money- a gimmick, if you will; while others think it’s a great and safe way to protect yourself. Regardless of whatever the case may be, most people tend to shy away from buying car rental insurance because it can be confusing, time consuming, not to mention expensive. After all, what are the chances that you’re going wreck the rental car? You’re only renting it for a day or two! Then again, you could be wrong…

What You Should Know

Most, if not all, car rental agencies offer various sales pitches for collision damage waivers (CDW), which they will usually wait to throw at you once you get to the car rental counter to pay for your vehicle. Many renters know that they don’t need to pay for CDW; however, there are some for whom it makes sense for and others who simply fall into it because of that pitch out of left field that threw them off to begin with.

If you’re not sure whether or not you should get CDW, feel free to contact your own auto insurance agency. It is always a good idea to do this WELL IN ADVANCE before you even make your rental reservations (if possible). If you are the type that travels a lot and rents a car more often than you drive your own personal vehicle, or if you don’t own a vehicle at all, you should consider asking an auto insurance agent about purchasing non-owner liability insurance (which can sometimes save you money over a CDW).

If you do decide to get car rental insurance, there are a variety of options that can be thrown at you in the following four ways:

1. Collision Damage Waiver (CDW): This type of coverage usually costs anywhere between $9-20/day and relieves you of financial responsibility if your rental car is damaged in an accident, vandalism or theft.
2. Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI): This type of coverage usually costs anywhere between $7-9/day and provides excess liability coverage.
3. Personal Accident Insurance (PAI): This type of coverage usually costs anywhere between $3-5/day and covers you and all of your passengers in your vehicle for any medical expenses. However, it should be noted that most renters already have personal health insurance, therefore, it’s not necessary to have PAI coverage.
4. Personal Effects Coverage (PEC): This type of coverage usually costs between $2-5/day and provides coverage for theft or damage to personal items inside the rental car. However, most renters already have this type of coverage through their own rental agencies.

The key to car rental insurance is understanding what your options are, what the polices of the car rental agency are and how those policies affect you. If you can do this in advance, it will save you a lot of grief at the car rental counter. If you have a horror story to tell about your car rental experience, leave a comment telling us all about it!

For more information on car, truck and van rental in the Southeast United States, visit Triangle Rent A Car today!

Also make sure that you visit the following new pages:

Van Rental

Truck Rental

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Remember the days of physically going down to the car dealership to look at cars that you were maybe thinking about buying? Well, people still do that, but have you ever thought of buying your car from a car rental company? That’s right. Now Triangle Rent A Car offers its customers the option of purchasing gently used vehicles for affordable prices with the added incentive of receiving a complimentary one year AAA membership with each vehicle you purchase!

Why Would I Buy A Car From A Rental Car Office?

If you’ve just started a new job and are trying to save money, chances are that you’re going to be looking at getting a used car for your first vehicle. If you are looking for a used car, you usually have a couple of options: you can look through the classified ads for individual sellers who are selling cars, you can go to most dealerships who sometimes sell used cars OR you can go to a car rental agency like Triangle Rent A Car, where you can buy used cars that are sure to be in good condition. People are opting to purchase vehicles from Triangle Rent A Car because of the security that goes along with the sale.

If you are planning on buying a vehicle from Triangle Rent A Car, make sure you visit their web site. They have made it incredibly easy for you to look through all of the vehicles that they currently have for sale. Each vehicle is listed with a picture, price, mileage and year. If you click on the thumbnail of the vehicle, you can pull up the vehicle information on the car.

For more information on rental car truck and van sales, visit Triangle Rent A Car today!

Also make sure that you check out the following new pages:

The Truth About Rental Taxes

SUV Rentals 

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Everyone has that one horror story from renting a car. Once, when I rented a car, I was informed by the gentleman of the car rental agency (whose name I will not reveal) who was completing my paperwork, that I “didn’t have to worry about filling the gas tank back up upon returning the vehicle.” Supposedly, it was part of some special deal/incentive thing that they were having at the time (which I didn’t even know about). Now, when a car rental agency rents you a vehicle, a representative is supposed to verbally go over your contract with you to highlight certain key points because, let’s face it, who wants to sit there and spend an hour reading through the 10 page contract while there are other customers standing in line behind you? In any case, I returned the car with a half tank of gas. Of course, when I returned the vehicle, there was a different sales representative there who had no idea that this other representative had given me a “deal” and he tried to charge me for the gas tank not being filled up. When we examined the contract, it turned out that the rental car agency did have a policy about returning the vehicle with a full tank. However, due to the mix up, the sales representative (who by this time, got his manager involved) let it go.

Hard Lessons Learned

For most of us, it only takes one bad experience to leave a sour taste in our mouth. When you’re dealing with rental car agencies, make sure that you fully understand all of their policies, procedures and rental car guidelines. At Triangle Rent A Car, their rental car policies are extremely straightforward and easy to follow. Simply go to their web site to find a clear listing of each of their policies. Some of the policies that they list include:

• No Show: Triangle Rent A Car gives you two hours within which you can pick up your vehicle on the scheduled date before they consider it a “no show”.
• Credit/Debit Cards: At the time you rent the vehicle, you are required to present the customer representative with a credit card or debit card that has your name on it. For this reason, you will also need to have handy your driver’s license. The reason that credit cards are required is to place the financial responsibility of the rented car on the actual person who is renting it. For this reason, you cannot use a credit or debit card that has someone else’s name on it.
• Fuel: All vehicles that are rented have a minimum of1/4 tank of fuel in them. The policy requires you to return the vehicles with at least 1/4 tank of fuel; otherwise, you will be charged $4-5 per gallon for refueling.

Wherever you choose to rent from, make sure that the rental company has its policies and procedures clearly stated somewhere where you can understand them. Too many mistakes occur from simple misunderstanding, so make sure you ask the appropriate questions if you have to.

For more information on car rental guidelines, policies and procedures for car, truck and van rental, visit Triangle Rent A Car today!

Also make sure that you visit the following new pages:

Luxury Car Rental

Car Rental Travel Tips 

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