Tag Archive
Fuel-Cell partnership goes nowhere
Toyota Motor Corp. and GM Motor Corp. will be ending their signature alliance and joint research on fuel-cell
vehicle development.
This, should come as no surprise because the two companies could not resolve intellectual property issues and their research was at a standstill. However, the companies will continue to work together in other areas of importance.
Toyota officials said that close ties between the two companies will remain unchanged because they will continue to exchange information on the remaining issues such as safety and intelligent transportation systems.
Maybe in the future Toyota, GM, and other auto companies will lay aside money issues for a time to develop technology to improve the world? But it’s probably not likely, unless it’s financial advantageous to their company’s bottom line.
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New ad campaign from Chevrolet
Chevrolet is beginning its second phase of the "American Revolution" ad campaign and they’re starting it with the Olympics. This new campaign will consist of intensive television, print, and internet ads.
One of the new slogans, which you may have already seen, is "America’s brand salutes America’s best." Chevy will be pushing the American Revolution Ads on television strongly. For example, the new Tahoe and Suburban will be given a spotlight during the Olympics.
The 2007 Chevy Tahoe and Suburban are heavily featured in a whopping 254 thirty-second spot buys airing on network and cable TV over the course of the Olympics.
Nonetheless, Chevy will be advertising heavily through print media as well.
Chevrolet is also the exclusive automotive sponsor of a special section of USA Today that will run each day of the games.
Don’t forget the internet
The Chevrolet brand also purchased ads on NBColympics.com and Yahoo! Sports Olympic Games page.
Three different animated banners featuring Tahoe, Suburban and Avalanche, will run on these sites.
When Chevy is not sponsoring the Olympics, they’re running ads with NASCAR. During the Daytona 500, Chevy ran an ad called "toast" staring Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.
The four are seated at a restaurant, congratulating one another on their recent wins. After clinking champagne glasses, the four douse themselves with the champagne rather than drink it. "Office" shows the inside of the Team Chevy offices. They’ve won so many awards (25 of the last 33 NASCAR manufacturer’s championships) that there’s no room to store the trophies. Desk drawers are full to bursting, shelves are brimming; when the latest trophy is won, a man considers placing it in the men’s room (since there’s no room elsewhere) but thankfully does not.
It’s good to see an American auto Company being creative with their ads. In the end, I do hope that this new ad campaign brings them some new customers.
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A few common sense steps to saving money at the gas pump
Fluctuating gas prices are now a signature of the oil industry. With all of the fluctuation in gas prices, it would be wise to enhance your vehicle’s mpg in any way. There are a few things you can do to increase your vehicles gas mileage, thereby decreasing what you pay at the pump.
- Good vehicle maintenance is always a must.
Keeping your vehicle in tip-top shape will not only supplement your vehicle’s gas mileage, but it will also keep you safer.
Just simple measures like keeping your tires properly inflated can make a real difference.
If you’re not a vehicle wiz, just take your vehicle to your local auto mechanic and tell him or her to give you a tune-up.
- Get rid of any excess junk in your vehicle.
That’s right, clean out your trunk and back seat to make room for all that money you’ll save.
Some studies suggest the average driver carries around between 50 and 100 pounds of unnecessary weight – not counting the very important spare tire, jack, and emergency road kit – that costs you each time you fill your car, truck, SUV, or (mini)van.
- Consolidate your trips.
Carefully plan your errands so you’re not backtracking yourself too much.
For example, when you have a doctor’s appointment in another city or another part of your town, try to think ahead to any other business you might need to conduct in that area.
Also, try and stock up on the necessities. You don’t need to make 15 trips to the grocery store in one week. Think ahead of time; make a list of what you need for the entire week and get it done with one trip.
- Carpool
Finally, if you have kids, you know that it’s difficult to manage all of their schedules especially if you’re acting as chauffer. You, as a parent, may want to initiate a car pool with other parents so you can split the cost of gas. Likewise, you may want to inform your child about the fuel situation, from a global perspective.
Encourage your children to help you conserve fuel and let them know that in doing so, they help you afford other things they like even better than trips out.
These are just a few common sense ways that you can decrease the amount of fuel you use and increase the amount of money you save.
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Not a single American car manufacturer makes the list
2005 was a tough year for American auto industry.
The industry as a whole is having to take a step back and try to figure out what went wrong.
I can sense when something is amiss and this certainly seems like one of those times. It becomes abundantly clear that something is wrong when not even a single American-made car achieves top 10 status from Cars.com.
- Honda Civic
- Honda Accord
- Toyota Corolla
- Honda Odyssey
- Toyota Camry
- Toyota Prius
- Toyota Sienna
- Honda CR-V
- Toyota Highlander
- Toyota Tacoma
According to this list, American auto manufacturers are missing the mark. With GM’s recent problems, even the silly BMW faux pas during Super Bowl week won’t be enough to save their top American auto spot. Hopefully, this is a wake up call to the American auto industry to "get on the ball."
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Things to consider when buying a new car.
When buying a car, some of us spend a great deal of time researching.
We research because we don’t want to spend any more time than we are required to find the best price on the vehicle we want. We want all the luxuries without the luxary price tag. However, even as a smart shopper, we may overlook some details that could, potentially, save us money.
1) Review your credit report and score.
Your credit score determines — pretty much to the dollar — how much you’ll have to pay to finance a new car. The higher the score, the lower the interest rate.
2) Shop around with your financing options.
Most consumers get their financing through the dealer, which may be able to offer a lower wholesale rate. But that’s not always the case. So before you head to the dealership, find out what annual percentage rates you can get from your bank or credit union or on the Internet.
3) Check for manufacturer incentives.
Manufacturers sometimes offer special financing offerings on certain models — these are typically in the 2.9 to 6.9 percent range, so low that it’s tough for even credit unions to beat them.
Once you’ve found the vehicle you want to buy, apply these suggestions to finance your purchase.
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Online auto Advertising is on the rise
Anyone who watches TV knows that the auto industry has the lockdown on TV advertising. I think every other commercial is a car commercial. Well, get ready, the auto industry is pulling out all the stops and crossing the digital divide and heading to the internet.
The auto industry is the largest advertiser in the entire world. However, only 2.5% of their budget accounts for online advertising from January to December in 2005. But, that’s all about to change.
The auto industry is not only changing the "how" in advertising but also the "why." The industry is leaning toward behavioral targeting, which is targeting the customer with ads based upon previous internet activity.
"Behavioral targeting, a tool that tracks a visitor’s online behavior and serves up ads based on the pages they’ve viewed or features they’ve interacted with," says Ms. Phillips. "With the funnel effectively dead, behavioral targeting looks like a light on the horizon. Most of the major independent sites offer some form of this technique and several manufacturers are already testing it."
Major automotive corporations are jumping on the bandwagon of having specific ads targeting the web user’s behavior. So, get ready for some more pop-ups.
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A big investment amidst troubling times for the car giant
General Motors Corp. will be investing $545 million in five different production plants in the Michigan area. This seems odd for GM, considering that they lost $8.6 billion last year alone and have already ditched 27,000 employees since 2000. However, Joel Spielman, general manager of GM’s North American manufacturing operations, seems to think that this investment may boost moral.
Jennifer Granholm, the Governor of Michigan, had a few things to say about the investment and the restructuring of Detroit’s largest automaker.
"We want you to know that your success-and we know GM will have success in turning it around – is our success," Gov. Jenifer Granholm Said. "There is no vision of Michigan’s future that does not include a vibrant and growing auto industry."
GM also shared three improvement projects that stem from the large investment.
The company is investing $152 million in its Ypsilanti transmission plant to increase production capacity for rear-wheel drive, six-speed transmissions. It is investing $60 million in its Romulus engine plant for making the small-block V8 engines that will go into its new full-size trucks. It is also spending $32 million to update the hydroforming equipment in its pontiac metal stamping plant, which uses water to help make the unique curves on the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky roadsters.
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Driving laws encourage safe teen drivers.
Drew Eggleston is anxious to get his license. In a week, the 16-year-old will take his driving test. But like teens all over the state, he won’t be driving his friends anytime soon.Teenagers all across the country this year will turn 16 with the anticipation of "freedom" and "independance" from their parents. But, in California, teenagers will be waiting a little longer. As of Jan. 1, 2006, California requires teenage drivers to have their licence for an entire year before they can transport their peers. California legislators decided to adhere to this law because of teen driving behavior.
According to the Institute for Highway Safety, Begining teen drivers who transport other teens are three times more likely to have a fatal crash than other drivers.
Crash rates for young drivers are high because of immaturity and driving inexperience. Teens are more likely to speed, pass inappropriately and follow other vehicles too closely.
With California changing their driving laws, other states may follow the trend. This could lead to a decrease in teen accidents and lower insurance rates.
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A better ethanol
In the past ten years, biotechnology has become a very popular concept. The prominence of biotechnology stems from public concern about our unhealthy addiction on fossil fuels. Cars and SUVs today consume a great deal of gasoline and automakers have come to realize consumers are in the market for energy-efficient vehicles.
Alternatives have become available. Hybrid automobiles, ethanol, and other feul alternatives will continue to advance over the next few years.
Ethanol is the fastest growing fuel alternative, but, until recently, ethanol has been difficult and expensive to produce. Scientists at the Natural Resource Defense Council believe using microbes may solve the current production problems that plague ethanol production.
Thanks to biotechnology breakthroughs, supporters of alternative energy sources say that after decades of unfulfilled promise and billions in government corn subsides, energy companies may be able to produce ethanol easily and inexpensively.
Using microbes may even solve a growing dilemma over the current ethanol manufacturing process, which relies almost exclusively on corn kernals and yielded only 4 billion gallons of ethanol last year (compared to the 140 billion gallons of gasoline used in the U.S.). There’s growing concern throughout the Midwestern corn belt that the 95 U.S. ethanol plants are increasingly poaching corn meant for the dinner table or livestock feed.
Hopefully, as technology advances, Americans will abandon their addiction on oil and gasoline altogether.
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Protect Yourself With An Auto Warranty
Complaints from the Attorney General’s office of the state of New Mexico are topped by consumer Auto Sales complaints:
1. Auto Sales (491 complaints)
In 2005, as in previous years, consumers filed the most complaints about contract disputes in automobile purchases. Consumers filed complaints involving items being added onto the sales agreement, such as extended warranties and miscellaneous items that had not been disclosed to them before the purchase took place. Also common were reports that dealerships did not give consumers the interest rate they were originally promised. Other frequent complaints involved odometer rollbacks, which gives a false indication of the total miles that have been put on a vehicle. Also common were reports of previously wrecked or salvaged vehicles that were repaired and sold, but the vehicle’s repair history was not disclosed to the consumer, which could later lead to many costly repairs.
Anyone who’s ever purchased a car knows that buying a car comes with risk. You have no idea if the car will have problems or not. In fact, if it’s a used car you may end up with one that’s not been maintained or even raced. An auto warranty is your best protection when buying a car.
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