Buildout Times for OEMs Can Change Unexpectedly
As demand for cars, trucks, and vans keeps growing, buildout times can change unexpectedly – even to the point of no longer accepting orders for the current model year
Hal 2015: Car Snitches on its Driver After Hit-and-Run
Reminding us of the lesson of Dave in "2001: A Space Odyssey", never trust the onboard computer.
A Florida driver got tipped off to the police by her own car after she left the scene of an accident in Port Saint Lucie.
Distracted Walkers Pose Threat to Self and Others
While distracted driving has commanded lots of attention (albeit not a commensurate amount of correction), another digital hazard — distracted walking — is on the rise, with sometimes disastrous consequences.
A study by Eric M. Lamberg and Lisa M. Muratori at Stony Brook University found that distracted walkers veer off course by as much as 61 percent while texting and walking.
Despite Push for Cleaner Cars, Numbers Could Work Against Climate Benefits
As United Nations climate conferees meet near here, Eric Feunteun wishes everyone could agree: If the world is going to curb climate change, there is no choice but to stop driving cars that burn fossil fuels.
“If we want affordable, practical and fully green technology,” Mr. Feunteun said in an interview in an office building on the edge of Paris, “the electric vehicle is the answer at this stage.”
For all Mr. Feunteun’s optimism, the delegates to the United Nations climate conference in nearby Le Bourget, France, confront a sobering fact: The number of automobiles on the world’s roads is on pace to double — to more than two billion – by the year 2030. And more likely than not, most of those cars will be burning carbon-emitting gasoline or diesel fuels.
Read the complete article in The New York Times
Surprise! Repair Costs Spike Every December
By John Wolford, CEI associate director of network services and loss recovery
If you notice that your collision repair bills seem to spike in December, you’re not alone.
Mitchell International, a company that monitors the collision repair industry, reports that the average cost of repairs that include parts reaches a peak every December.
Mitchell published the report in the latest edition of its quarterly Industry Trends Report (Vol. 15, No. 4). Looking at recent history for all accident repairs (not just fleet jobs), it found that at the beginning of every winter “the number of parts on the average increases, usually by 1.5 parts per estimate, and total parts spend typically increases by more than $100.”
