|
|  |
|
USA Today While voice recognition remains the top complaint among car owners these days, overall complaints about high-tech audio systems, entertainment, navigation and communication declined for the third year in a row, according to J.D. Power. Ford, BMW, Kia and Porsche were reported to have the fewest media technology problems, with the Ford Mustang scoring the best of all the top cars in every category. “In-car multimedia has been a problematic category for automakers for several years, as ever-more elaborate navigation, voice recognition and entertainment systems have proliferated in vehicles of every type,” Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive quality practice at J.D. Power said. Read the article at USA Today. |
MSN Money Complaints about Tesla taking people’s money while they wait weeks for the cars, often with no firm delivery dates, are all over Twitter, Facebook and the Tesla Motors Club user forum. Tesla’s service issues go beyond delivery glitches. Many of those who have cars complain that repairs can take weeks or months, and email and phone inquiries often don’t get returned. A Tesla retail store rep said that big fixes in the delivery system are needed but that employees are reeling from constant change and inconsistent messages from management. “We’ve grown too fast.” Read the article at MSN Money. |
Bloomberg At the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, two electric car charging companies announced plans to build 3.5 million plug-in spots in the U.S. and Europe by 2025 in an effort to accelerate the adoption of clean vehicles. California-based ChargePoint Inc. will deliver 2.5 million places to charge and EVBox will install 1 million new fast and regular chargers. The new charging stations will support 37 million electric vehicles that are forecast to be on the road globally by 2025, driving a combined 384 billion electric miles. Read the article at Bloomberg. |
The Washington Post After factoring in the costs of financing, insurance, licensing, registration, taxes, maintenance, repairs and gas for dozens of different makes and models, AAA analysts found that the average cost for a 2018 vehicle is about 59 cents per mile for someone who drives 15,000 miles a year. This year’s annual report emphasizes the hidden cost of depreciation which can account for about 40 percent of the cost of owning a new vehicle, or about $3,000 a year. The AAA report calculates a range of vehicles and mileage for owners who go 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 miles a year. The Federal Highway Administration says the average driver goes about 13,500 miles a year. Read the article at The Washington Post. |
|
| |
 The Detroit News Car subscription services fit the needs of a small demographic of U.S. buyers with whom automakers are testing a new ownership model. Ford, BMW, General Motors Co., Mercedes-Benz, Porsche AG, and Volvo Cars all have subscription options that essentially allow consumers to pick a vehicle, and swap it after a month, or two, or six for another. Subscriptions are often more expensive than a lease, with monthly costs approaching $3,000 in some cases — though that includes insurance, maintenance and mileage fees. “It’s a different demographic in that they’re younger, a little bit more affluent, and they have higher FICO scores,” Leonard Ferguson, Ford Credit vice president of mobility and fintech said. “What we’re seeing is flexibility attracts people to the service. They need a vehicle for one month or six months. If we weren’t doing this, we wouldn’t be learning at the rate we’re learning today.” Read the article at The Detroit News. |
|
|
 By John Wysseier, President and Chief Executive Officer, The CEI Group, Inc. Over the next two to three years, American businesses are expected to make a mad rush toward tapping the multi-trillion-dollar potential of artificial intelligence (AI), but they’re likely to stumble and misfire unless they take a strategic approach to its integration. AI is the area of computer science that enables machines to work and react like humans, equipping them with the ability to communicate in common speech and even learn, plan, and analyze data to find creative solutions to problems. As such, AI initiatives are typically inspired and managed by companies’ Information Technology departments. But AI has many potential applications that extend way beyond information technology management to all aspects of business. READ MORE |
|
 The New York Times The European Commission’s antitrust regulators are investigating whether BMW, Daimler, VW-Audi colluded to keep methods to make diesel and gasoline engines cleaner from reaching the market. In announcing the investigation this week, the commission said it had information that the automakers held meetings to discuss limiting the development or rollout of the technology that reduces nitrous oxides and other harmful emissions. “These technologies aim at making passenger cars less damaging to the environment,” Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s competition commissioner, said in a statement. “If proven, this collusion may have denied consumers the opportunity to buy less-polluting cars, despite the technology being available to the manufacturers.” Read the article at The New York Times. |
|
|
|
