Today’s consumers love modern automobile technology, and according to a recent I.B.M. study, automobile buyers are increasingly buying vehicles according to the gadgets they contain. This has lead automakers on a race to see who can offer the latest automobile technology. Continue reading
Category Archives: Automotive News
California Automobile Consumer Recovery Fund
In 2008, as hundreds of California auto dealerships closed down, consumers trading in their old vehicles were often left with two car payments as a result of the dealer not absolving the trade in loan before they went out of business. Continue reading
New China Lemon Laws Affects Foreign Car Importers
On January 01, 2013, the Chinese government will be implementing new automotive recall laws to increase consumer protections against lemon automobiles. The laws are likely to created disputes within the market as new regulations increase the accountability of manufacturers when it comes to quality control and documentation. Continue reading
Auto Financing Scam
In 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a series of discussions to explore corrupt practices in the automobile lending market. One abuse that seemed to be particularly prevalent was the “yo-yo scam”. Reports showed that consumer’s dealing with auto finance problems experienced a yo-yo scam approximately 30 percent of the time. Continue reading
US Suzuki Files For Bankruptcy
California based U.S. Suzuki, announced yesterday that they will stop selling automobiles in the United States as a plan to restructure the business. According to Suzuki, slow sales, low foreign exchange rates and expensive state and federal regulatory requirements Continue reading
Advancements In Auto Headlight Technology
The first automobile headlamp was introduced in the 1880’s. It used burning acetylene or oil because the flame was resistant to wind and rain. By the early 1940’s, the first round sealed beam headlamp was introduced and soon became a requirement for all vehicles sold in the United States. Since then the shape has changed, there has been the invention of replaceable bulb construction, halogen infrared reflective (HIR) lighting, and high intensity discharge (HID) lighting. For most, automobile headlamps did not offer much excitement, Until Now!
In 2004, Lexus introduced the first light emitting diodes (LEDs) headlight. The LED not only offered a fascinating assortments of tiny bright light sources, but can be used for multiple functions, such as parking lamps, brake lamps, and turn signals. This allows automobile manufacturers develop headlights that fit in with the sleek futuristic design of today’s vehicles. They also offer lower power consumption and a longer lifespan.
The biggest innovation to come with LED headlamps is the ability to allow automatic headlamp systems. Automatic headlamps have been available since the mid 1960’s, but until now, have only been offered on luxury models. These systems can optimize the headlight beam to the vehicles steering and suspension, as well as weather, visibility, vehicle speed, and road curvature and contour. The driver no longer needs to activate the correct beam for driving conditions because everything is done automatically, allowing the driver to focus on the road.
LED’s have had a dramatic aesthetic impact on vehicle lighting. They can be arranged in countless configurations and combined with reflectors and filters to produce awe inspiring effects. Because they are now manufactured in large quantities they can be found on both inexpensive and luxury vehicles, and are expected to eventually surpass the use of HID headlamps.
New Generation Automobile Buyers
A trend in the automobile industry shows that the younger generation is not as interested in driving as the generation before. Not only are they buying fewer vehicles, but many don’t even have drivers license. Some reasons for this change include:
- The younger generation are more connected through internet and iPhones making them less reliant on owning transportation.
- Many live in urban areas where everything is at a walking distance, there is good public transportation or they have access to car sharing programs.
- Young people are facing soaring tuition costs, and the money they’re earning in their part-time, summer and first jobs is going toward paying for school and rent. Even if they could afford to buy a car, insurance is expensive and gas prices keep rising.
- They have grown up in an era where they have had much more exposure to environmental concerns.
Automakers have known for a while that they were going to have a problem selling vehicles to this generation but are unwilling to believe that they will not want actual cars. As a result, automakers spend more time talking about how well their cars interact with an iPhone than they do about engine performance, ride, and horsepower. Technology such as voice recognition are important to many of the younger drivers because it allows them to safely drive while still staying connected.
They are trying to attract the younger urban buyer by developing a fashionable small car that is easy to park and uses less fuel. Car makers have begun shrinking the size of engines, subtracting cylinders while adding turbochargers to maintain horsepower and acceleration. Smaller engines have become a selling point even in the United States, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The idea of electric vehicles has also become more widely accepted.
As these technologies become more common they will also become more affordable, hopefully attracting more buyers. While today’s young buyer seems more open toward the trend of smaller autos with more features, car makers have not abandoned the hope that as this generation gets older and becomes parents they will graduate towards roomier vehicles.
Gas Prices No Longer Affect Auto Sales
Gas prices no longer seem to be as big of a factor when it comes to consumers purchasing vehicles as automobile manufacturers build more fuel efficient cars. August was a perfect example of this as gas prices rose and automakers reported sales also grew by almost 20%. According to analysts, the wide rang of fuel efficient, hybrid, and electric vehicles have made it easier for consumers to spend their hard earned money as the average car and truck on the road reaches over 10 years old. The biggest gains came from Toyota and Honda who experienced low sales last year in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Detroit automakers also showed substantial gains with the introduction of their high mileage car lineup. General Motors (GM) United States sales grew over 10%, driven by strong sales of the Chevrolet passenger cars like the Sonic subcompact and the Spark minicar. Ford also reported an almost 13% increase with the sales of the Focus compact car and the Escape, one of the smallest sub compact sport utility vehicles (SUV) on the market. According to analysts the strengthening industry has surpassed expectations and has helped automobile manufacturers keep inventories stable and sales incentives relatively low.
