When you first drove your car off the lot, she was a picture of perfection.Everything was just right. The power felt strong, spotless paintjob, shinningchrome, totally clean under the hood, nice tight brakes. But after a few months of breaking her in, you start to realize every little flaw. Where did that dent comefrom? The engine never used to make that sound, did it? Slamming the gas doesn'tgive you the same thrill that it used to. Well here is your solution. Three words -Cold Air Intake.Cold air intakes provide amazing benefits for you and yourvehicle. A cold air intake may be just what thedoctor ordered to rekindle you and your car'spassion.What is a cold air intake?A cold air intake is asystem used to lower the temperature of theair going into a car for the purpose of increasing the power of the internal-combustion engine. A secondary goal is toincrease the appeal of a car by altering theappearance of a car's engine bay andconsequently creating an attractive engine noise. The cold air intake replaces your car's stock air filter with a cylindrical tube that hascone-shaped filter on the end of it. The long, cylindrical extension tube strategicallypositions the filter in a cooler part of the engine bay, allowing for the engine to drawin cooler air than a normal filter. The purpose of the intake is to collect a colder air charge than inside the enginecompartment, allowing the fuel management system to give the engine a denserair/fuel charge into the combustion chamber. To clarify: Cold Air = More Horsepower. The warm air from your engine compartment is good for fuel economy, but becauseit has less oxygen molecules than a cold air charge, the fuel will be leaned out. Thisincreases your fuel efficiency, but decreases your horsepower.Next time a ricer Civic pulls up next to you at the stop light, you can look over andlaugh with confidence. Simply tap your gas and listen to that beautiful intakebreathe. His fart-can muffler will pale in comparison to your car's throaty growl.Cold air intakes are also extremely easy to install. If you have two hands and ascrewdriver you can install it yourself. Most kits come with directions, which you willonly need as a rough guideline. You basically need to pop out your old air box andpop on your new cold air intake.But how on Earth will I know which CAI (cold air intake) to get for my car? Well myfriend, you are in luck. They recently came out with this crazy invention called theinternet. You can research, shop and buy one, all from the comfort of your home. Alot of automotive sites, or at least the good ones, have a vehicle selector features.