Ford Mondeo LX TDCi 130 PS Hatchback 2003 Pre-Facelift Model - Used Car Review

Background

Replacing the Sierra in 1993 with a $6bn new car programme (one of the most expensive ever), the Ford Mondeo has become one of the most popular mid-size vehicles in the UK market. It?s no coincidence that its reliability has made the Ford Mondeo the favoured car for fleet owners of any size.

The current MkIII (mark 3) model Ford Mondeo was introduced in 2000 after the MkII (mark 2) mondeo was discontinued 3 years after its inception in 1997. The third generation Ford Monde was launched in 2000, and addressed the 2 main criticisms of its predecessor: the modest legroom and sluggish diesel engine. The legroom is noticeably bigger and the pull of the straight-four-cylinder, turbo-intercooled, 16-valve direct-injection TDCi engine is a marked improvement. The chain-driven camshafts also rectified a common problem in the earlier models.

The security of the Ford Mondo MkIII is also an improvement on its predecessors, including the Intelligent Protection System (IPS), anti-lock brakes and electronic brake distribution. No wonder it frequently featured as the most popular car in its class at the turn of the new decade and ranked as high as 8th top selling car in the UK.

Common faults
Injectors.
The review

We purchased the Mondeo LX 130 TDCi as a 3? year old diesel vehicle with 85,000 miles on the clock and full Ford service history.
To look at the MkIII (mark 3) Ford Mondeo is still a modern looking car, and with 85,000 miles on the clock, this Mondeo neither looks nor feels tired. The light metallic blue paint gives it a bright, happy look, and although the wheel trims don?t have the same effect of the alloy wheels (alloys) of the zetec or ghia models, this LX is still a great looking car. With the dash and centre console following the lead set by the 1996 Volkswagen (VW) Passat, and a nice dark charcoal upholstery, I was looking forward to getting behind the wheel for the roadtest.

On the road I wasn?t disappointed, and the extra 15 PS made the 130 PS TDCi faster than a lot of its petrol rivals I came across that tried to add an extra minute or two onto my journey time. The handling was fine, brakes sharp, and the increased torque was just enough to keep the ride ?pokey? without the slip-and-slide of a lighter competitor. And it even has lower emissions than its 115 zetec counterpart...

In summary, a good pedigree, good handling, solid build quality, generous equipment, roomy interiors and low cost servicing. And when you can get 200 to 300,000 miles from a well serviced TDCi Ford Mondeo LX 130 for only ?5495 on the road, you won?t be disappointed with your investment.

Please feel free to submit your comments and experience of your Ford Mondeo LX 130 PS 2003(03) 2.0 TDCi hatchback to the webmaster at the used car world website.

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Giving a Digital Facelift to Your Old Paper Prints?

Although it seems that digital cameras have been around forever ? they are relatively a new product. For years we used film cameras and as a result most of us accumulated many paper prints made from such film. We can keep those paper prints albums as is or find ways to upgrade them into the new digital era.

Such inventories of paper prints include photos, negatives and slides. Most people keep those legacy prints in photo albums and keep using them in the old fashion way while using computers to view photos, share and send photos to family and friends only for the newly photos taken with digital cameras.

There are simple ways to upgrade your paper based inventory to the new digital age. Usually photos are kept in the house in one of the following formats:

Paper prints: the most common format, usually at sizes like 4X6 and 5X7. Over time paper prints tend to lose their quality. Depending on how well they are kept the paper might turn yellow and bend and the colors might fade.

Negatives: also known simply as film. This is the processed film usually 35mm from which the prints where made. Although negatives can get damaged over time they are more likely to maintain their high quality. Negatives are hardly used unless new paper prints are needed.

Slides: very similar to negatives used for projecting photos on a large screen.

There are many ways to convert old photo papers to digital formats. The different methods vary in cost and quality. Professional photographers spend a lot of time and money on this process while most amateurs and consumers use very simple methods that are both cheap and easy. Most home users and amateurs only need to scan their photo prints into digital format ignoring the negatives and slides. Professionals use high end equipment to scan the high resolution negatives into digital formats.

Photo paper prints are easy to scan. You can choose to purchase a simple scanner usually for a cost of less than $100 and scan them yourself at home. You can also choose to mail them (or hand them) to a professional scanning service that will scan them for you and mail you back the originals and a DVD with the digital scans (such services include www.digmypics.com, www.digitalpickle.com, www.britepix.com and many more).

If you have a small number of photos scanning at home is easier. If you have a large number of photos using a service is easier but you can end up spending more money. In addition mailing your one and only hardcopy of your photos is a risk since they might get lost.

If you prefer scanning your paper photos yourself at home you should be aware of the following:

Resolution: the resolution of a scan is measured by the number of dots per inch that the scanner can produce. Most scanners can scan at 1200 DPI or more. Usually the scanner can be set to scan at different resolutions. The higher the resolution the slower the scan and the bigger the photo file size will be. For most paper prints scanning at 300 to 600 DPI is enough but you can experiment scanning at higher resolutions if you feel it provides better results.

Speed: If you have a small number of photos speed is not an issue. If you have hundreds or more of photos scanning speed becomes important. To get fast scans you would have to scan at the lowest resolution possible that results in good enough scans ? for most paper prints 300 to 600 DPI is enough.. Also if you?re going to buy a scanner check the scanning speed (usually measured in the number of scans per minute make sure that you check the speed at the DPI you?re going to use).

Photo feeding: if you only have a small number of photos this is not an issue. If you have many photos make sure that the scanner you buy allows fast and easy loading of photos. Some higher-end scanners will let you load a stack of photos and will automatically feed and scan them for you. These scanners are the right choice if you are planning on scanning hundreds or more photos.

Once converted to digital format there are many things that you can do with the photos. In addition to viewing them on your computer screen and sharing them with family and friends you can also use sophisticated photo processing software to enhance them. For example you can use photo processing software to eliminate red-eye in the photos. You can improve contrast, brightness, or create some artistic effects ? turn color photos to black and white and more.

Ziv Haparnas is a technology veteran and writes about practical technology and science issues. This article can be reprinted and used as long as the resource box including the backlink is included. You can find more information about photo album printing and photography in general on http://www.printrates.com - a site dedicated to photo printing.

Surgical And Non Surgical Facelift

The mentality has changed and people now think that a facelift is not just for the rich and famous. Today facelifts are one of the most well-accepted and most frequently performed cosmetic procedures in the world and with this surgical operation one lifts up the facial tissues and skin and/or the underlying muscle, in order to have a tighter and smoother face. A facelift can really reduce saggy skin and wrinkles and produce a more alert and youthful appearance. Several factors contribute to the final result of the facelift and they are the reason every facelift is different.

If your skin is still elastic and tight, but you are concerned with sagging or excess fat in you face or under the chin, facial liposuction can be very good option. The skin is then lifted outward and the underlying tissues and muscles are tightened and fixed. Sagging skin is simply the effect of gravity over time and seems to affect the face more noticeably as it cannot be concealed by makeup. With an incision behind the hairline running over the top of the head, the skin is gently pulled upwards, the eyebrows along with it, and set into a new position. And at the same time, excess fat and skin can be removed.

When it comes to cosmetic surgery we realize that it is a big decision and it can have a big impact on a person?s life. There are a number of preparations to be made and don?t forget to have a picture taken before the operation so that the results of surgery can be compared with your new appearance. The facial rejuvenation surgery has a goal and that is to restore both men and women with a more youthful contour to your face and neck.

A facelift operation starts with a local anesthesia, or a general anesthesia. Incision often starts from the ear to behind the ear and ends near the hairline behind the ear. After the incision, undermining is done and that is separating the facial skin from the underlying tissue below the neck, chin and cheeks using scalpel and scissors. Then the facial suspension system are tightened with stitches and the skin is pulled backwards and upwards to the required extent. The skin is then tightened with stitches and the underlying excess tissue may or may not be removed. Excess skin is removed and the incisions are closed with sutures.

As opposed to conventional facelifts, which can result into undesirable scars and a plastic look, the weekend facelift leads to a natural, rejuvenated appearance without any visible scars or the look of major surgery. This means the procedure can be kept totally private if desired and the weekend facelift is usually performed on an outpatient basis, with the surgery lasting one hour or less.

Also, one of the best features of this procedure is that it will allow you to return to work the same day you receive treatment. The main goal of a facelift procedure is to give you a fresher and younger look, preserving her/his natural characteristics, unless the patient has some reasons to change the natural look too.

Louise H Wasa always writes about valuable news. A related resource is Weekend Facelift. Further information can be found at About Health.

Types of Cosmetic Surgery The Facelift

Cosmetic surgery is an amazing way of improving one?s appearance with methods of modern medicine. It functions as an art as well as a science, since the aim is not only to help someone be healthy, but also look better. Cosmetic surgery includes face lifts and other improvements in facial appearance, and corrections of the contours of the breast and stomach for men as well as women.

Probably the most popular cosmetic surgery operation is the Facelift. The purpose of a facelift is to tighten the skin and remove excess fight, reforming the skin normally on older people, at least over 40 years old. It can be an in hospital procedure with general anesthesia, even though some surgeon due it as an outpatient procedure with local anesthesia. The results usually last for 5 to 10 years.

Facelifts can be over the entire face, or only over the neck, the brow, or the lower face. Other alternative procedures to improve facial appearance include a chemical peel, and facial resurfacing techniques, also laser facial resurfacing. In a chemical peel, a chemical agent is used to remove the upper layer of skin. A better, new layer of skin grows back over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

If your facelift surgery involves using a general anesthetic, you will have to fast and not drink from the night before. The surgeon makes a cut around the hairline on the forehead and carefully separates the skin from underlying fat and muscle. He removes excess fat, tightens loose muscles and then pulls up the skin to a tighter tension. This usually takes three to four hours.

In a new variant of the procedure, called endoscopic surgery, the surgeon makes a few tiny holes to pull the skin up and insert tiny surgical tools. Through a camera and controls, the surgeon is able to see inside the operating area on a TV monitor, and use the surgical tools to do the work. After the operation, the face is wrapped for one or two days, and stitches are removed after one week to ten days. In another procedure, called MACS- Minimal Access Cranial Suspension, also shorter cuts are made, and an effort is made to due the facelift with a minimal amount of scarring.

After the surgery there is some pain, and you usually have to stay in the hospital for a day or two. There is some pain after a facelift, but this can be controlled by normal over the counter pain relievers.

Joseph Hanoah has been writing on the internet for many years now. Joseph currently works day and night on his website encinitas cosmetic surgery. For more information on this topic please visit his website today.