According to a recent report by Allstate Insurance, drivers in Washington D.C. have the worst collision record, with each person averaging one collision ever 4.8 years. It tops the list of the top 200 cities in the United States, followed closely by Newark, Baltimore, Providence and Philadelphia – oddly enough, all of them located in or near New England. This could be why auto transporters hate driving into the area, but that’s more speculation than anything – either way, drivers in those cities report more crashes than in any other city. As a side note, Los Angeles came in at number 11.
The OnStar feature that comes with most all GM vehicles is coming under fire for their new changes to their terms of service, which has privacy advocates saying they’re violating privacy protections. The service, which tracks vehicles for safety reasons, as well as providing emergency contact in case of accidents (as well as a host of other features), used to stop their tracking efforts if the service was canceled. This is no longer the case, and while the company says it is just looking out for former customers, the fact that they are tracking speed and location information even after cancellation can be a bad thing if the data is improperly used. This is the main concern, but many auto transporters (and auto transport customers) think it’s a good idea, especially in the sense that if there is an accident, OnStar can still help. Benevolent? Maybe. We’ll have to see.
In a recent turn of events, General Motors and the South Korean technological giant LG will be partnering up to build new electric and hybrid vehicles. The plan is to split the cost 50-50 for all productions, and LG will be required to work only with General Motors in that regard and will help to further General Motors’ stake in the wide-open electric and hybrid vehicle market. GM is looking for any way they can get their foot in the door, and even auto transport companies are seeing that hybrid and electric vehicles are the way of the future. If GM and LG work this out, we could be seeing a lot of new, cheaper hybrid and full-electric vehicles – and who knows what else may come from this new partnership.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, Americans are driving less miles per year than last year – a trend, they say, that has been going on for some time. With the rising cost of gasoline and diesel, people are finding other ways to avoid having to pay the exorbitant costs – even auto transporters are driving less and saving money. But it’s more than just Americans driving less – the cost of gasoline has risen also because less gasoline was manufactured this year than last year – 2.3% less. Drivers logged over 1.2 trillion miles in the first six months of 2011, which dropped by 44 billion miles over the same span last year.
Ford recently released their 2nd Quarter earnings statement for 2011, and while the company’s overall income is down from $2.6 Billion at this time last year, the company was ready for it. With costs of materials and overhead – including auto shipping for their new cars – going up, Ford knew that they wouldn’t post numbers as big as this time last year, but they did better than they were originally hoping for. Auto shipping companies have noticed a lot of smaller Ford cars are being shipped as opposed to their trucks, which are usually big shippers, but those auto shipping companies have also said that pickup and SUV shipments have gone down.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the prices of small compact cars are expected to drop in the United States and other major North American markets by September. The biggest reason for the drop in prices is the fact that sales during the summer have lagged behind other months, giving automotive manufacturers a surplus in smaller cars. Not only that, but manufacturers are offering higher rebates and more incentives to buy their vehicles, which also help to lower prices. The auto shipping industry has also seen a small decrease in who is actually asking for auto shipping for smaller vehicles. It seems that less people are buying smaller cars despite the fact that prices are going to continue to drop.
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