Auto Club Offers Married Gay Couples Free Memberships
By Robert FaragoJune 24, 2008 -
The Better World Club differentiates itself from other roadside/travel services by dint of its "dedication to preserve the environment." We're talking discounts on hybrid rentals and green hotels/eco-travel; the nation's only bicycle roadside assistance ("service for you and your bicycle up to 30 miles annually with a maximum of two service calls per covered member, per year"), free Carbon Credits with auto insurance, one percent of revenues (gross? net?) donated to environmental cleanup/advocacy and "a unique policy agenda includes supporting state attempts to regulate autos to reduce greenhouse gases." And just in case that isn't politically correct enough– and I'm thinking it is– Better World is now proud to offer married gay couples free membership. "We want to congratulate all the same-sex partners who are taking the big step," says Mitchell Rofsky, BWC President. "We didn't think you'd ever get married!" Don't worry if you're a gay couple in a state without gay marriage, or a breeder. BWC will "even" offer opposite-sex couples the same wedding present. "Gay marriage is good for everyone, so we're including all the June brides… grooms… spouses… whatever!" says Rofsky. In other words, BWC's using gay marriage to generate a fundamentally generic press release to lure media coverage. Mission accomplished.
Posted in Insurance | News Blog | Sales | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 16 comments 
Analyst Predicts $12 a Gallon Gas
By John HornerMay 22, 2008 -
The Wall Street Journal [sub] reports: "The world's premier energy monitor is preparing a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply forecast, a shift that reflects deepening pessimism over whether oil companies can keep abreast of booming demand." Previously, the International Energy Agency had forecast an ever-increasing supply to match ever-increasing demand. Oops. The U.S. Energy Department's own forecasting shop, the Energy Information Administration, has long adhered to the same demand-driven scenario. Now, both agencies have been caught with their analytical pants down. While some blame oil speculators for rapidly rising fuel costs, most economists and oil analysts point to increasing world-wide demand combined with the difficulties of finding new oil and oil suppliers unwillingness to spend the money to find more of the stuff. Speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box, Dr. Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, fueled speculators' speculation. "The prices that we're paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be 'the good old days,' because others who watch this very closely forecast that we're going to be hitting $12 and $15 a gallon, and then, after that, when world oil production goes into decline, we're going to talk about rationing."
Posted in Fuel Economy | Insurance | News Blog | 73 comments
Smart Deemed Safe. Kinda.
By Glenn SwansonMay 14, 2008 -
According to the AP [via Yahoo! News], the diminutive 2008 smart fortwo received an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rating of "good" in both front- and side-impact testing. It's the IIHS' highest rating. However, the IIHS pointed out that "the front-end test scores can't be compared across weight classes, meaning a small car that earns a good rating isn't considered safer than a large car that did not earn the highest rating." Still, "all things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better," says IIHS president, Adrian Lund. Meanwhile, U.S. government crash tests gave the fortwo five stars in side-crash testing, BUT the driver door unlatched and opened. Government regulators say the incident requires them to note a "safety concern," which will appear on the cars' window stickers. More than 6.1k smart cars have been sold in the U.S. through April 2008. "America has never seen a car this size before and their first question usually isn't about (fuel) economy, it's about safety," says the president of smart USA, Dave Schembri. "And that's why we think these results are so very important." So now you know: the clown car is a safe ride. As long as you stay out of the way of Tahoes and Expeditions.
Posted in Insurance | News Blog | Safety | 18 comments
Obama: Ford Granada “Worst Car Detroit Ever Built”
By Edward NiedermeyerMay 7, 2008 -
Barack Obama is something of a car guy. According to The Detroit News, one of Obama's (likely numerous) regrets about running for President: the Secret Service won't let him drive. "It's a drag because I actually enjoy driving." But it wasn't always so. "The car I learned to drive on was my grandfather's Ford Granada," Barack told Indianapolis radio station WFBQ. "It may be the worst car that Detroit ever built… This thing was a tin can. [Detroit was] trying to compete with the Japanese. They wanted to keep the cars big, so they made them out of tin foil… You basically couldn't go over 80 (miles per hour) without the thing getting out of control." Their perfidy didn't end there, though. "Detroit ended up making investments in SUVs and large trucks because that's where they perceived a competitive advantage," Obama told Meet the Press. "And that's where they felt they could make the most profit… I think it was a mistake for them not to plan earlier, and now we're seeing a huge growth in fuel-efficient cars that is benefiting the Japanese automakers and Detroit is getting pounded." For all of Obama's Motown-mauling, the Senator from Illinois' one with the the industry's belief that the gas tax is probably a good thing. Still, Hillary's desperate offer of an industry bailout probably makes her the top Dem choice for industry types. We're waiting to hear her take on malaise-era metal.
Posted in Insurance | News Blog | 40 comments
BP Surprised by $7.2b Q1 Profit
By Edward NiedermeyerApril 29, 2008 -
With gas heading for $10/gal (maybe), automakers aren't raking in the bucks. But oil companies are. Marketwatch reports that British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell both released 1Q profit numbers yesterday, and the results would make any automaker drool a little. BP made $7.2b in the last three months, beating analysts expectations by over a billion bucks. Shell boasts a whopping $9.08b in profit this quarter, also beating market expectations by over a billion. Neither BP nor Shell increased production by more than one percent; they received between 52 and 66 percent more per barrel sold than last year. Even the oil companies are scratching their heads– all the way to the bank on these numbers. "We don't understand the oil price at this stage," Shell CFO Peter Voser tells The International Herald Tribune . "The fundamentals will not justify an oil price as we see it at the moment." Voser added that Shell "was not investing money in projects that would require oil prices to remain high to be profitable." (That's the job of SUV makers.) ExxonMobil and Chevron are expected to announce their own knee-weakening profits later this week.
Posted in High Finance | Insurance | News Blog | 26 comments
Beijing Auto Show Reflects New World Order
By Glenn SwansonApril 22, 2008 -
"Automakers wage war for market share," reads the headline over at China Daily. The current battlefront of that war can be viewed at the 2008 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, which runs through April 28th. With 890 vehicles on display in the 1.9m square foot arena, the nine-day event is expected to attract more than 600k visitors. The spoils of war can be lucrative, too, with Chinese vehicle sales up 21.4 percent year-over-year, which translates to 2.58m cars sold in the first quarter. Total sales are predicted to surpass the 8.79m units sold in '07 and reach 10m vehicles in 2008. While the suspected recession in the U.S. has tempered car sales here, the prospects in China offer a respite: Ford's Chinese sales have "rocketed" by 47 percent in the first quarter. GM's Rick Wagoner figures China will account for more than 40 percent of global auto sales growth in the coming decade. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz launched its C-Class sedans in China last month and Ulrich Walker, the chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia Ltd., is amazed at China's transformation. In a single generation, a population simply striving to own a "Flying Pigeon" bicycle now strives to own a "big Benz." "In the history of the world, no country has changed as much as China in the past 30 years," says MB's Walker.
Posted in China | Insurance | Marketing | News Blog | no comments
Tesla Motors Sues Fisker for Stealing EV Secrets
By Frank WilliamsApril 15, 2008 -
It's hard to keep track of what's going on between Tesla and Fisker. But if you've got the time… First, Tesla mouthpiece Daryl Siry trash talks Fisker's range-extended vehicle, the Karma. After Fisker unveils their EV prototype at the Detroit Auto Show, Siry wonders if his rival's got what it takes to make it so. Next, Tesla's hires Henrik Fisker to design Tesla's Whitestar sedan. And now CNet News reports that Tesla is taking Fisker to court for stealing trade secrets and copying design ideas. Tesla's suit alleges that Fisker accepted the design contract "to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle." Fisker's brief had no comment on the case, other than "the firm's policy [is] not to comment on litigation." Meanwhile, Tesla says they've scrapped Fisker's design for the Whitestar in a fit of pique favor of… something else. On the positive side, this intra-vaporware legal contretemps will provide Tesla for a convenient excuse when the Whitestar doesn't appear as promised. And for us, the case could expose the reality behind Tesla's endless hype. [Props to JT for the link]
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Insurance | Legal | News Blog | Tesla Birth Watch | 8 comments
IIHS Rates Malibu, Avenger, G35, Optima, Galant, Aura and Altima Safety
By Frank WilliamsApril 10, 2008 -
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safey (IIHS) released the results of their tests on seven midsize sedans today: Malibu, Avenger, G35, Optima, Galant, Aura and Altima. All but the Optima received good ratings in front and side crash tests. The Optima was rated acceptable in front and side tests while it received a good rating in rear crash testing. Four of the cars– Malibu, Aura, G35 and Altima– were considered "marginal" in rear crash tests; the Galant was rated poor and Avenger was rated adequate. The Detroit News points out IIHS test standards are more stringent than those NHTSA uses for their "star" ratings, but NHTSA says they'll have stricter standards in effect for the 2010 model year. Mitsubishi and GM were quick to say they design their vehicles to meet federal standards, displaying their usual "if 65's a pass, 66 is overkill" mentality.
Posted in Insurance | News Blog | Safety | 8 comments
Britain Orders Industry Report
By Edward NiedermeyerApril 7, 2008 -
The Financial Times reports that the UK is following former colony Australia's lead in ordering a government investigation into its flagging auto manufacturing industry. Minister for Business and Enterprise Affairs Baroness Shriti Vadera has put former Ford man Richard Parry-Jones in charge of the 10-member committee charged with tackling the twin challenges of competition from low-cost manufacturing centers and emerging low-carbon technologies. The committee will make recommendations to the government, which has vowed to use "all levers of government, both regulatory and fiscal" to address Britain's moribund auto industry. Once home of a thriving auto industry, with dozens of brands and world-class products, Britain has seen nearly every one of its domestic brands swallowed up by companies from countries like Germany, the United States, India, China and Indonesia. Although nobody expects Britain's car industry to return to its 1960's zenith, here's hoping the Parry-Jones committee comes up with solutions which are a little more inventive than simply writing checks to Toyota.
Posted in Insurance | News Blog | UK | 11 comments
Smart Car Crash Tested
By Edward NiedermeyerApril 4, 2008 -
YouTube has carried some hilarious footage of smart fourtwo crash tests (including hitting a concrete wall at 70mph) for a while now. Well, the NHTSA has finally crashed a few smarts in the name of insurance ratings safety and the verdict is in: the smart is safer than you might think. The diminutive German car gets four stars for driver safety and three stars for the passenger in the frontal crash test. Side impact testing revealed five-star performance, although a door did open during the test, "increasing the likelihood of passenger ejection." Granted, "starflation" has been an issue for the NHTSA, but like an underachieving politician, the smart is simply playing the expectations game. The fact that the tiny ride didn't explode into a million pieces of wound-irritating fiberglass is probably enough to surprise the average American consumer, who likely sees the smart as a small step up from a Segway scooter in terms of safety. Bring on the Hummer side impact test!
Posted in Insurance | News Blog | Safety | 27 comments
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