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If you’re a parent you worry about every aspect of your child’s time behind the wheel of a car, from whether or not they’re really learning anything in driver’s ed, to the cost of getting car insurance for your teenager As a parent in the digital age, however, you have a concern that your own parents did not: digital distractions. Cell phone calls and constant texting are behaviors most teens engage in on and off the road, but it’s the latter location that’s worrisome.

To be honest, it’s worrisome when adults are texting or talking while driving, as well, but teens are less experienced when it comes to second-guessing other drivers, and therefore have a higher risk of actually getting into an accident while using a handheld device.

How much more likely?

According to a story published last October in the Insurance Journal a report was released by Transportation Department officials which said that in 2008, almost 6,000 people were killed and over half a million were injured in car crashes where at least one kind of driver distraction was reported. In addition, driver distraction was a factor in sixteen percent of all fatal crashes that year.

In addition to the general statistics, the greatest proportion of distracted drivers were younger motorists, those aged twenty or younger, with sixteen percent of those drivers reported to be involved in fatal crashes.

Despite inconclusive data about text-while-driving bans actually working, it seems that distracted driving is a major epidemic in the United States.

The question is: what do we do about it?

Filed under: In the News, Quick Notes by Mel
Tags: « distracted driving - teen driving »
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Attention sports fans: while you’re kicking back watching the Super Bowl, don’t be surprised if you see an animated squirrel packing away cargo to the tune of Kool & the Gang’s “Funky Stuff.” And don’t worry, nothing’s wrong with you’re tv. The squirrel spot is simply part of the new multi-platform advertising campaign developed by ad-agency RPA for the launch of the Honda Accord Crosstour, coming at you for 30 seconds during the fourth quarter of the game.

According to Tom Peyton, senior manager, national advertising for American Honda Motor Co., Inc., “Our newest Accord Crosstour spot, ‘Squirrel,’ is intended to leverage media’s largest stage to announce Honda’s newest entry into the world of next-generation, sporty, crossover vehicles.”

It’s also about to become a media star, because in addition to the Super Bowl, the Crosstour’s squirrel spot will be featured in these places on the web during the launch period from Saturday, February 6th – Monday, February 8th:

• MSN home-page (takeover on Sat., Feb.6–Sun., Feb. 7)
• Fox Sports (home-page roadblock on Sun., Feb. 7)
• YouTube (masthead on Mon., Feb. 8)

In addition, Crosstour spots will also air in prominent positions during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, airing on NBC beginning on February 12th.

Despite the new push, branded entertainment spots, in the form of custom produced vignettes, actually began on January 1st of this year, during the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on NBC. Those vignettes ran all through the month of January, and co-promoted the return of the popular NBC television show Chuck as well as the Honda Accord Crosstour. The vignettes also followed a continuous storyline, beginning with the Winter Classic and ending with the Winter Olympics.

Other attempts to bring awareness of the Accord Crosstour to the target consumer group includes print ads in magazines ranging from Time and Forbes, to Men’s Health and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Beginning in February there will also be in-theater and outdoor ads, as well as sponsored content on various technology related websites.

Filed under: Buying Trends, Honda by Mel
Tags: « Honda - Media - New Car Launches »
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The 2010 Detroit Auto Show may have ended a week ago, but the announcements made there will continue to have impact throughout the coming months.

One such story, involves Nissan Motor Co.’s plan to build small cars, with matching small pricetags, in Mexico. The company is currently developing two cars for sale in the United States, each with a pricetag of roughly $10,000. Both cars will be based on Nissan’s global V platform, which is also intended to replace the subcompact Micra, currently being sold in foreign markets. A total of three models will be produced on that platform, and sales are planned for Central and South America, as well. These models have not yet been named, but are likely to smaller than the Versa, which is the smallest Nissan vehicle currently sold in the United States.

In Detroit, Carlos Tavares, Nissan’s chairman for the Americas said, “I think $10,000 is a good price point for Nissan’s coming small cars. As you know, there are very few new cars sold at that price point in the United States.” Tavares went on to state that “The V platform will be sourced in Mexico for the Americas.”

Tavares didn’t provide a timetable for the production of these new cars, but the program calls for production of at least 200,000 vehicles per year, as well as their engines and transmissions, at one of the two plants Nissan operates in Mexico. The company expects to produce at least a million V cars a year, globally, with Mexico the only factory site in the Western hemisphere.

The base Nissan Versa has a sticker price of a bit under $10,000, but be warned: the radio is optional, and the windows are powered by elbow grease. Even so, in December 2009 U.S. sales of the little car totaled 6,809 vehicles, a 33% increase over the same month in 2008, even with overall American sales down 19% over the last year.

When asked how the new Versas will be fitted out, Tavares kept it vague: “It is too early to tell you the (standard) equipment in those cars,” he said. “The only thing that we can tell you is that we will hold that price point.”

Filed under: Buying Trends, Economy, Nissan by Mel
Tags: « Detroit Auto Show - Nissan - Nissan Versa »
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Automotive News is reporting on the latest snafu with the retail auto industry: an arbitration process for dealers to be reinstated. On the surface it sounds like a great idea – after all, there were hundreds of car dealerships forced to close as the automakers that supplied them declared bankruptcy.

The problem is that – so far – more than 1,500 car dealerships have said they intend to seek reinstatement through arbitration – and that number is three times the number expected by the American Arbitration Association, the organization tasked with overseeing the program.

While the association says everything is under control, and is planning ways to streamline the process, it’s likely that there will be clogs in states with high numbers of filings, like Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

Attorneys representing dealers, many of whom have worked with the arbitration association on other cases, have much greater concern.

Mike Charapp, an attorney in McLean, VA, who represents more than twenty arbitration clients told reporters, “You’re going to be putting lots of cases through very small pipelines in a compressed time period. I’m concerned there could be delays and roadblocks.”

Charapp, who acts as a consultant to state dealer groups, also said that he’s worried there may not be enough case managers to process the number of intended filings, or enough arbitrators in each state to actually decide each case. In an interview, he said that he’d recently file two arbitration notices, and had still not received case numbers for them eight days later.

“Quite clearly, they’re struggling with processing at headquarters,” he said. “I am concerned that AAA does not have a real appreciation for the seriousness of these cases.”

But other lawyers are not having the same issues. Attorney Leonard Bellavia of Mineola, NY, who has also served as an arbitrator, said the association sent him a spreadsheet with all the necessary information for the 38 notices he’d filed. On the other hand, lawyer Leonard Bellavia said the association sent him a spreadsheet with all relevant filing information in response to the 38 arbitration notices he filed for clients.

“I was impressed,” Bellavia said. “I think AAA will administer these cases without a hitch. They run their operation like a business.”

The arbitration association was charged with the task of overseeing reinstatement cases in a law signed by President Obama last December. By the January 25 deadline, over half of the 2,789 eligible dealerships had given notice of their intent to seek reinstatement. Included among them are 409 of the 789 Chrysler showrooms that were forced to close.

Industry analysts are comparing the overwhelming response to this program to last year’s cash for clunkers plan, which gave rebates to customers who traded in used cars for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100201/RETAIL07/302019921/1400#ixzz0eGHgQz4v

Filed under: Buying Trends, Economy, In the News by Mel
Tags: « Buying Trends - car dealers - retail news »
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HybridCars.com, one of the leading authorities on trends in hybrid technology, is reporting that on Tuesday General Motors announced plans to open a $246 million facility dedicated to the construction of electric motors destined to power future hybrids. The first of these will likely appear in 2013 in two-mode, rear-wheel drive vehicles.

Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman, global product operations, told reporters, “By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight—two significant challenges facing batteries today.” He also said that the American-made electric motors would offer increased affordability and reliability, in addition to being easier to build.

General Motors’ investment in electric motor technology has been funded, in part, by a $105 million grant received from the U.S. Department of Energy in August, 2009.

GM’s announcement cements the company’s commitment to it’s two-mode system, which, so far, has only been used in hybrid vehicles like the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and Chevy Silverado Hybrid. According to a company representative, new motors will allow GM to apply its existing system to smaller vehicles, as the new motors would be smaller, but offer more power density.

Under current plans, the first electric motors produced in the new facility will go into two-mode hybrids, but GM has not completely eliminated the possibility of making motors for the Chevy Volt and other purely electric vehicles that might be planned for the future. Currently, the company is using a refurbished Michigan factory to assemble lithium ion cells supplied by South Korea’s LG Chem into battery packs for the Volt.

Filed under: Chevy, GM, Going Green by Mel
Tags: « GM. Chevy - hybrid cars »
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