Although intended to support U.S. highways and mass transit, revenue on a per-gallon tax on motor fuels, imposed at refineries and passed on to consumers, is insufficient to sustain the U.S. transportation network. One view is that Congress should not only renew the tax levy that is set to retire September 30 but should also overhaul the method for collecting it to ensure adequate revenue is raised for the future. Americans have been buying fewer gallons of gas since 2008 and paying less in taxes. Increasing the tax in stages will cushion the effect on consumers. Rather than being tied to the number of gallons purchased, it should be levied as a percentage of the value of the gasoline purchased.
Kelley Blue Book has turned to SAS and its analytics software to help support KBB?s business and reporting, including such tasks as delivering leads to dealers and determining vehicle values. KBB is pushing growth through the partnership for back-end analytics to augment the company?s reporting capabilities.
As retail new vehicle sales are expected to slow down in the next few months, automakers and dealers can turn to fleet sales to meet their goals. Fleet managers could find themselves in a stronger negotiating position for next year?s purchases, says Edmunds.com chief economist Lacey Plache.
Ford's focus for the future is on improved fuel economy which it will achieve by making its vehicles smaller and engines lighter without sacrificing performance, safety or luxury. It also wants to attract upscale customers and new buyers with more product offerings. Most of its North American nameplates will be available with direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost engines as standard equipment or as an option by 2013. EcoBoost will be offered as an option on five of Ford's 15 North American nameplates by the end of this year.
Bans on texting and hand-held cellphone use are raising awareness of distracted driving, but inconsistent enforcement is a significant barrier to solving the problem. Thirty-four states now ban texting while driving while ten states and the District of Columbia ban all motorists from using hand-held cellphones while driving. Automakers, wireless providers and those creating smartphone applications are trying to set limits so their features are more likely to be used safely. The U.S. Department of Transportation is conducting research on emerging vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology that could play a key role in preventing accidents from driver distraction in the future.