Used Car Prices Spiking As COVID-19 Pandemic Shakes Up The Market For New Cars
If you were hoping to find some savings during the COVID-19 pandemic, you won't find them in the used-car market, but you might be able to make a few bucks if you're willing to part with a vehicle because used-car prices are spiking due to an unusual confluence of factors during the pandemic.
Buyers are flooding the used-car market, looking for deals amid high prices for new vehicles, low interest rates and a shortage of new-vehicle inventory. COVID-19 restrictions shut down plants for about two months, leading to a decline in new-vehicle inventory and a delay in 2021 models.
“It’s a seller’s market right now," Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ senior manager of insights said. "Although used vehicles continue to offer significant discounts compared to new, used-car shoppers will find themselves in the unusual position where they might not have as much negotiation power because demand is so high and dealers will be less inclined to be flexible."
Read the article at USA Today.
Geotab Launches COVID Guardian; Free Add-In for Geotab Drive Mobile App to Help Fleets Navigate COVID-19 Pandemic
As the nation’s truck drivers stay on the move during the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to encounter numerous issues given the disruption of normal business operations.
To help truckers navigate this ever-changing landscape, Geotab has launched COVID Guardian as a free add-in to its Geotab Drive mobile app, which helps organizations meet compliance regulations, improve fleet productivity, and keep drivers safe.
Geotab’s COVID Guardian enables drivers to find critical information in one central location, including:
Sanitation - finding which restrooms are open/closed and their revised hours of operation;
Food Options - finding grocery stores, places to eat, online ordering capabilities, and revised hours of operation;
Parking - finding operational parking lots;
COVID Regulation Modifications - staying updated on changing regulations regarding establishment hours of operations, CDL certifications, etc.
Visit Geotab for more information.
NTEA Webinar: Improve Your Spec’ing Process for Vehicle Efficiency
Wednesday, August 12, 2020: 11 AM-Noon EST
Operational productivity and vehicle effectiveness start with great specifications. New materials, technology and products offer significant benefits you can leverage. Explore how changing elements in your work truck specifications can be the foundation for future fleet improvements.
Learn how your organization can use NTEA’s new specification tool to help improve processes and optimize vehicle efficiency.
Presented by:Chris Lyon, fleet relations director, NTEA
Surprising Tech Features Land These Vehicles Atop Wards’ 10-Best UX List
Luxury cars don’t have a monopoly on the best new features, particularly those for driver assistance, entertainment and navigation according to WardsAuto’s 2020 list of the 10 best user experiences in vehicles.
You’re as likely to get the latest and greatest from mainstream brands and models like Chevrolet Trailblazer, Ford Escape, Hyundai Sonata or Kia Seltos, as the luxury brands BMW X7 and Audi Q7
"User experience" is an awkward name, but it refers to features that are high on customer lists and include anything from a sensor that warns before you back into something to systems that help steer, accelerate and brake. Controls and displays ranging from seat adjustment to navigation, audio and climate control make vehicles safer and easy to use.
Read the article at Detroit Free Press.
AAA Finds New Semi-Autonomous Driving Systems Suffer Repeated ‘Issues’
Semi-autonomous technologies are popping up across the automotive market, though capabilities vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. A new study by AAA finds that they don’t always work as well as planned.
Echoing an earlier study conducted in 2018, the latest report indicates that these semi-autonomous systems encounter one “issue” or another on an average of every eight miles. One of the biggest problems was keeping a vehicle in its lane but, in a significant number of cases, the partially automated vehicles wound up hitting a simulated broken-down vehicle.
“With the number of issues we experienced in testing, it is unclear how these systems enhance the driving experience in their current form,” AAA’s automotive engineering director Greg Bannon said. “In the long run, a bad experience with current technology may set back public acceptance of more fully automated vehicles in the future.”
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
