Posts Tagged ‘Wall Street Journal’
Do People Want Self-Parking Vehicles?
Monday, March 29th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal takes a look a quirky new technology: self-parking vehicles. Would you want to use this technology in your fleet operations?
WALL STREET JOURNAL- When the Lexus LS 460 was unveiled at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in 2006, the vehicle and its ability to parallel park itself was a novel concept that became the buzz of the show. It was the first time consumers and media had seen a self-parking car offered in North America.
Now, a handful of other manufacturers have rolled out their own self-parking systems, which guide cars into parking spaces with little help from the driver. Five manufacturers—Ford, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury and Toyota—are currently offering self parking on nine different 2010 models, according to Edmunds.com.
From a market standpoint, the self-parking systems are poised to become more popular, said Karl Brauer of Edmunds.com. “Car companies are looking for ways to distinguish themselves from competitors and it’s getting harder and harder to do that on traditional points like safety and reliability,” he said.
But market research shows that it may take a while for self-parking systems to penetrate the mainstream consumer market. When consumers were surveyed about self-parking systems as part J.D. Power’s June 2009 emerging technology report, which tracks the newest technologies in vehicles, self-parking garnered the lowest interest. “People felt they didn’t need this feature, and many said they infrequently drove in areas where they would have to parallel park,” said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power. The feature with the highest interest? Blind-spot detection.
For the full article, click here.
Photo courtesy of cdsessums under the Creative Commons License
Tags: driver, Karl Brauer, Lexus LS 460, parallel park, self-parking, vehicles, Wall Street Journal
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Diversification is Key for Small Business
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
If you work for or own a small business, this Wall Street Journal article might be of interest to you.
The article profiles companies that have used the struggling economy as an opportunity to diversify the services they offer and found that doing so has not just helped them survive, but in many cases thrive.
Smaller companies are able to adjust faster than larger businesses and whether it’s finding new markets, or increasing profits with existing clients the general consensus is that there is still money in the marketplace if you know your business well enough to find it.
From a personal trainer who turned his one-on-one sessions into smaller group training, to the landscape service that shifted its focus to environmental awareness, the article provides great examples that could help you generate some idea for your own business.
Photo copyright of jurveston under the Creative Commons License
Tags: diversification, economy, recession, small business strategies, Wall Street Journal
Posted in Industry News, Small Business Help Tips | Comments Off
Unemployment Primary Cause for Less Traffic
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Congestion down in 99 of 100 major cities
An out-of-work workforce and less discretionary income (road trips) are to blame, or thank, for your smoother commute this morning.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that because of those economic factors, “millions fewer Americans are driving.” And they drove about 8 billion fewer miles in January and February alone compared to the same period last year.
Fewer drivers also means less fender benders, commute times and bottle-necks. The same article went on to list rather dramatic drop-off numbers — congestion was down in 99 of 100 major cities known for their crawling or stalling traffic, including:
- Atlanta (-36%)
- Tucson, Ariz. (-57%)
- Riverside, Calif. (-57%)
- Colorado Springs, Colo. (-68%)
- Dayton Beach, Fla. (-70%)
Maybe not so surprisingly after reading that, use of public transportation is now at a 52-year high, according to a WSJ stat from the American Public Transportation Association.
Has your fleet noticed a difference in travel times? Let us know.
Photo copyright of Burning Image under the Creative Commons license
Tags: American Public Transportation Association, commute time, fleet, traffic, travel, Wall Street Journal
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