September 1, 2010 – 6:07 am
by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Softballs aren’t the only thing the Jonas Brothers are pitching on their 2010 Road Dogs tour, where they open each show with a softball game. They’ve also got a message for teen drivers: “X the TXT.” Sponsored by Allstate, the free tour stops at minor-league stadiums nationwide. Fans can join [...]
August 25, 2010 – 7:49 am
by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Buying your first car used to be a rite of passage. Not these days. In the wake of the recession, just 4.2 million teens are expected to purchase used cars in 2010, down from 7.5 million in 2005, CNW Research reports (USA Today 7.28.10). With teen unemployment at 27%, fewer [...]
by Abelardo de la Peña Jr. WHAT’S HAPPENING U.S. vehicle sales are slowly recovering; during May 2010, 1.1 million cars and light trucks were sold, 19.1% higher than May 2009 (DetNews.com 6.28.10). To help get more cars into the hands of Hispanic-dominant Latinos, Ford is teaming up with SABEResPODER (Knowledge Is Power), an online educational [...]
by Stefania Revelli WHAT’S HAPPENING Think of it as community car sharing. RelayRides is a person-to-person car-sharing-service enabling users to rent their underused vehicles to others who need a ride (Springwise.com 1.28.10). Car owners simply need to register online and arrange for a keyless system to be installed in the automobile. Owners determine rental fees, [...]
December 30, 2009 – 11:34 am
by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Think small. That’s the Millennial mantra when it come to cars. Half of today’s young adults are buying compacts or subcompacts, while only one in five are choosing a midsize model (New York Times 11.19.09). With Millennials poised to become the largest car-buying cohort, Ford is betting its future on [...]
November 13, 2009 – 5:05 am
by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING It’s a trend we’ve been watching: Some businesses are no longer accepting bills and coins, only plastic. First the airlines discontinued cash for onboard service, then a restaurant in Manhattan. By 2011, a section of the Florida Turnpike will have its tollbooths torn down and replaced with EZ-Pass-style readers and [...]
October 22, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING For those who fear deplaning with bugs they originally didn’t board with, global defense and aerospace company BAE Systems and Quest International have joined to develop a filtration system that removes viruses, bacteria and pollutants from cabin air (TimesOnline.co.uk 9.15.09). AirManager, which can be retrofit to existing airline air conditioning [...]
September 28, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Rocio Zamora Arzola WHAT’S HAPPENING Popular in Mexico and in Latino barrios of L.A., makeshift tin men called monos, made of old car parts, are being used by muffler shops, junkyards and auto repair garages as a way of promoting their business and appealing to their Latino clientele. The funky aesthetic behind these marketing [...]
September 18, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Stefania Revelli WHAT’S HAPPENING At 48 miles per gallon, the Toyota Prius is currently the gold standard in fuel efficiency (FuelEconomy.gov 9.09). But it may not be for long. General Motors announced that its Chevy Colt EV, scheduled to be released in 2011, will get 230 city miles per gallon. Using the same (blurry [...]
September 10, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Cash for Clunkers may grab all the headlines, but Free Charity Cars has the gratis whips. After donating more than 4,000 cars to consumers since 1996, the service is now expanding its operations into the social media sphere with FreeChartiyCars.org. In order to get in on the free auto [...]
September 3, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Far-fetched flying fantasies will soon become boutique thrill realities thanks to JetLev, a personal jet pack company whose motto says it all: “Stop dreaming! Start flying!” Superman needn’t look over his shoulder just yet; JetLev can get consumers airborne, but flying heights max out at 30 feet and any [...]
August 28, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING OnStar has revved up their driver services with Remote Ignition Block, which prevents a subscriber’s stolen car from starting (Autoblog.com 7.21.09). Together with OnStar’s existing Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, the GPS-guided crime-stopping features prevent dangerous high-speed chases and increase the likelihood the car will be abandoned and recovered. OnStar estimates their [...]
August 24, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Hans Eisenbeis The Cash for Clunkers program is a classic government joint: well intentioned, a great merit badge come mid-term elections, with parameters so well defined that it can’t help but benefit the narrowest possible cohort: new automobile dealerships. Billed as free money to a nation in pain, the fact that it’s been a [...]
by Rob van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING 18-year-old Zion Badash has created a tiny device with huge carbon-footprint impact: a wheel-shaped auto add-on dubbed the Z5 that improves air flow to engines and increases combustion efficiency (The Jerusalem Post 3.15.09). Made of a special alloy and with a suggested retail price of $208, the Z5 has [...]
Consumer strategist Rob Tregenza analyzes General Motors’ painful bankruptcy process and future governmental restructuring. Download the podcast here: The painful birth of a new GM 4 min., 33 sec.
