Archive for the ‘Transportation’ Category

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Air Travelers Pump Up The Crankiness

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

See? Someone is listening.

  • The Department of Transportation received 8,797 complaints about airlines from consumers this year. That’s 32% more than last year.
  • This sharp increase in complaints is strange, since airline performance doesn’t seem to have decreased since last year. Planes are taking off more or less on time and keeping customers in their seats. This year’s complaint levels are at about the same level as in 2008. Airline service improved in 2009, resulting in fewer complaints.
  • The DOT explains that this year’s spike may be a side effect of an easier online complaint tool. Airlines blame bad weather. Customers blame the airlines. They say that when problems do arise, customer service is bad at best and hostile at worst.

Facts & Figures

  • Delta was the target of the most DOT complaints this year.
  • Complaints about airlines’ failure to provide alternate transportation have increased 82% this year.
  • “Misinformation” complaints have jumped 70%.

Best Quote

“This was so egregiously outrageous.” – Patti Sachs, burned United Airlines customer

Audi Is Catching Up To BMW And Mercedes

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Audi sales continue to exceed expectations as it plans to emerge as a luxury car leader.

  • Thanks to very strong car sales, Audi’s second-quarter earnings were “very significant” when compared to those of 2009.
  • Sales of new Audi’s reached a record high in 2008 when more than 1 million cars were sold.
  • Demand for luxury cars declined when the economy fell, but has since recovered faster than expected.
  • Audi plans to reach 1.5 million cars sold in 2015, but now thinks it will do so much earlier.
  • New models, the small A1 and luxury coupe A7, have just been released.

Facts & Figures

  • In the first half of 2010, Audi’s car sales jumped 19% to 554,950.
  • Audi is owned by Volkswagen.
  • Audi plans to sell about 200,000 A7 cars over the course of 7 years.

Best Quote

“We will exceed the 1 million [car sales] significantly this year.” -Rupert Stadler, Audi, Chief Executive

Toyota Plans More Extensive Vehicle Testing

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

In order to fight doubts about the quality or safety of its new vehicles, Toyota looks to increase the time it takes to test new models.

  • In the last generation of vehicles, there were definite safety and quality issues resulting in massive recalls.
  • As a result, Toyota plans to increase the length of time new car models are tested by 2-6 months.
  • Toyota is trying to prevent increasing the overall time it takes to develop a vehicle, but instead shorten other parts of the process to allow for more testing time.
  • The Toyota brand fell from 7th to 21st overall in its Initial Quality Survey of new vehicles last month.

Facts and Figures

  • Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles due to problems related to unintended acceleration, steering, braking, and gas-tank flaws.
  • Toyota’s market share is 15.1%, down from 17% 6 months ago.

Best Quote

“As we looked at this past generation of vehicles it did seem to be all about the growth of the company, and there were lapses. We are definitely reforming the processes to be ultracareful.” – Randy Stevens, Employee at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, MI

Strange Bike And Monorail Fusion May Revolutionize City Travel

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Safe, weatherproof, environmentally friendly, and a good workout, too!

  • Geoffrey Barnett’s ingenious new invention combines a recumbent (lying down) bicycle with monorail technology, creating the “Schweeb.”
  • The invention may provide an alternative means of city travel, and it’s cheap and ecologically-friendly, to boot.
  • Apparently, recumbent cycling is faster than upright cycling, and a monorail would be the safest way to get around crowded cities quickly.

Facts & Figures

  • “Schweeb” is derived from the German word “schweben,” which means “to float” or “suspend.”
  • Barnett worked on the design for six years while he lived in Tokyo, and opened a 200 meter (650 foot) track in Rotorua, New Zealand in 2007.
  • The Schweeb can reach speeds of up to 35 mph.

Best Quote

“To me, as a cyclist, it’s just obvious, you should be able to ride over the top of traffic, so I came up with the idea of a weather-proof capsule that is completely safe.” – Geoffrey Barnett, Inventor

Tom Tom Navigation Not Going Anywhere But Up (Apparently)

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Or so says the CEO of the company… but do you agree?

  • Despite the fact that both Google and Nokia have recently announced free turn-by-turn navigation on mobile phones, TomTom’s CEO, Harold Goddijn, is firm in his belief that these threats will not affect his company’s well-being or profitability.
  • Goddijn extolled his company’s proficiency in map-making, while downplaying the threat of competing companies offering free services that would replicate the functionality of his company’s GPS device on mobile phones, a service he says has existed for quite some time.
  • Tom Tom avoided experiencing a huge setback in the recession by cutting costs and focusing sales efforts on car manufacturers, fleet management services, map and traffic subscriptions and an iPhone app.

Facts and Figures

  • TomTom’s 2009 fourth quarter net profit came out to be 73 million euros ($99 million)
  • In the fourth quarter, sales rose 1% to 533 million euros, up from 528 million euros a year ago.
  • The company expects sales to be flat in 2010.

Best Quote

“We need to get away from the impression that the various navigation platforms are competing with each other.” – Harold Goddijn, Chief Executive Officer of TomTom NV

Ford for Facebookers

Friday, February 12th, 2010

American automakers shift their focus to smaller vehicles and younger consumers. Who’s buying?

  • Ford, Chrysler and GM are attempting to expand their consumer base by utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook.
  • Dealerships are remodeling their stores and lots, so they no longer resemble truck lots and instead have a clean, modern aesthetic intended to appeal to people who buy small cars.
  • Salespeople are being taught how to effectively discuss potential buyer concerns, such as fuel efficiency, as well as how their cars compare to Toyota’s and Honda’s.

Facts & Figures

  • In 2009, small cars made up 19% of the 8.65 million light vehicles sold in the U.S, which pickups and SUVs composed 46%.
  • Only 7% of “millennials” (people born between 1979 and 1985) consider a Ford when shopping for a small car.
  • Ford will send a social media consultant to its largest 800 dealerships – about 25% of its stores, to build an online infrastructure within the company.

Best Quote

“Gas prices and lifestyle changes are going to push more people into small cars.” – Tony Pack, General Manager of “Five Star Ford” in Dallas, TX

Should you buy or lease your car?

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Everyone who is looking to buy a car asks themselves this question, however there is no one right answer. Examining your particular financial situation will allow you to make the right choice between leasing and buying.

When you lease a car, you’re basically borrowing it for an extended period of time and paying for the change in that car’s value from when you first lease to when you return it to the dealership. Let’s say you lease a brand new Honda Accord which sells for $20,000. You lease it for 36 months and when you return it, it is only worth $13,000. Your monthly payments therefore will reflect the depreciation (or the loss of value) of the car and that $7,000 in depreciation will be paid over the course of those 36 months you lease the car. Lease agreements usually come with warranties that allow you to get your car fixed for free, should there be a problem within the warranty period.

On the other hand, if you were to buy the $20,000 Accord outright, you would pay for the entire cost of the vehicle instead of just the depreciated value. The benefits of buying a car are complete ownership of the vehicle, ability to drive as many miles as you would like, ability to customize your vehicle, and lastly, the ability to easily sell or trade your car.

Ultimately, if you are able to afford higher monthly payments, buying a car is probably the best choice for you. But if you want lower monthly payments and new cars every two or three years, leasing a car may be a better option.

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