PARIS (Reuters) - Imagine your car warning you of an icy road ahead, reading aloud the text messages arriving on your phone and sending you an e-mail that your fuel pump needs replacing soon.
(Otto, a replica of a 1931 Model A Ford, which was used by the
Missouri Highway Patrol as a police car way back when. Otto can blink,
sneeze, honk, and talk - he’s been teaching kids about road safety
since 1969!)
This is the vision driving automotive telematics, a technology that has been largely a flop so far but that proponents say needs only a successful business model to be a runaway hit.
"I personally believe it is going to be in every car. It is just a matter of time," said Karl-Thomas Neumann, the head of German supplier and tyremaker Continental AG's automotive division.
Continental agreed in April to pay $1 billion for Motorola's automotive electronics business and thus vault itself into vehicle computing and communications technology.
It thus became a leader in a market whose potential, Neumann said, was "billions, definitely".
Thomas Weber, head of research at global number five carmaker DaimlerChrysler, said telematics technology was far advanced in Europe but still needed authorities to award, for example, frequencies that would let cars talk to one another.
"When these agreements take hold we will have a real boom," he said.
Carmakers have already been marketing the technology as a safety boon, for instance by automatically altering rescue crews if your car's airbags detonate, a so-called emergency call.
"What has not been solved is managing the e-call center and handling the costs for a call center in a Europe that is not so unified and that has lots of individual states and languages. There is still some work to do there," Weber said this month.
A debate is raging over whether the technology should be embedded in the car or if the vehicle should simply support portable gadgets like mobile phones and digital media players.
Philippe Aumont, head of product planning at French automotive supplier Faurecia, said the devices had to be embedded to protect them from thieves.
"Integration remains important to ensure you keep your stuff," he said.
Mark Spain, senior director of U.S. software group Microsoft's automotive business unit, said the answer was installing cheap and updateable software in the car that would support a broad range of hardware and services.
"The reality today is that digital experience breaks as you enter the car and we believe that should not happen," he said, especially at a time when people often spend more time in their cars then in front of their computers.
"The cockpit of a car is a very interesting environment and we believe that software is the key to unlocking it," he said.
Once cars are equipped with a global positioning system, a wireless communications connection and a link to a service provider, the sky is the limit on what services are available.
Paying for them is a different matter, however, with many potential customers baulking at paying monthly subscription fees for e-call or remote door unlocking services they may never need.
"The consumer is going to think: 20 euros a month, that's 240 euros a year," said Hans Eric Destree, a mobile electronics expert at auto supplier Visteon Corp.
"How often does it happen that I'm going to have an acute car problem? Maybe once every 5 years. That is 1,200 euros for that one telephone call. I think I'm not going to do that. That is the problem that we have with telematics."
Russell Shields, chief executive of U.S. group Ygomi, said early projections for the telematics market have been mainly disappointing.
"If there was a belief that people were running off and buying cars because of the telematics service then you would see a strong effort from people to get it right. It hasn't reached that point yet but it may in another two or three years," he said.
"If you look down the road 10 years from now you are almost sure to have the safety communications in the higher-end cars at least, but the actual way that evolves is completely unclear."
What could serve as a money spinner for carmakers is telematics' ability to feed back data on how cars are performing and what potential problems may soon arise.
This could save millions by allowing dealers to stock only the parts they know customers will need at their next service.
Students to Explore Auto Careers in New Car & Truck Dealerships
Nationwide
Students across the U.S. will learn about the wide variety of career
opportunities available in automobile and truck dealerships during Automotive
Career Month in October - an initiative sponsored by NADA. Young people
participating in Automotive Career Month will receive a "behind-the-scenes" tour
of a new car or truck dealership in their community to see first-hand how the
business works in all areas of its operation. During the event, they will have
an opportunity to interact directly with dealership employees and view a new
video on auto careers. "Students and parents are often surprised to learn that
dealerships offer so many rewarding career opportunities," said William
Bradshaw, NADA chairman and a new-car dealer in South Carolina. "Many
dealerships have good jobs for good pay available, and they're actively seeking
the next generation of workers." More than 104,000 positions are available at
new-car and truck dealerships nationwide, according to a 2006 survey by Harris
Interactive, sponsored by the industry group Automotive Retailing Today. For
more information, visit www.nada.org/careers.
(Source: NADA
Newswire)
Automotive Retailing Today: Coalition
of major automakers and dealer organizations working to promote a
better understanding of the retail side of the automotive industry,
build stronger customer relationships, and dispel outdated perceptions
of franchised auto dealerships and the automotive service technician
career. ART has established autocareerstoday.org,
an online resource for military personnel, students and others
interested in understanding the auto technician training requirements
and career path. Designed in collaboration with the military and
educational professionals, autojobstoday.org includes information about
careers, salaries and available training, and it serves as a
clearinghouse for the auto industry's service technician career program
information.
National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF):
NATEF evaluates training programs for certification (accreditation) by
ASE in all 50 states and evaluates technician training programs through
Continuing Automotive Service Education (CASE) training.
Northwood University:
Northwood offers two- and four-year undergraduate degrees and masters
degrees in automotive subjects at campuses in Michigan, Florida and
Texas; study abroad opportunities in a dozen European and Asian
countries plus Mexico; continuing education, distance learning and
custom training available online or at multiple centers in eight states.
by Ask Patty Staff One of our own expert panelists, Kim Walker of Peak Automotive, was honored by Motor Age. Peak Automotive received the prestigious Top Shop Award! Advanstar Communications, publisher of Motor Age magazine, will be featuring the shop in a special issue in September of 2006.
Peak Automotive was chosen by a panel of qualified judges based on originality, practical business sense, and creativity. Peak Automotive submitted photos and an essay describing the history of their business and information on merchandising, customer service and community service practices. Bill Cannon of Motor Age said, “The level of sophistication and expertise that they demonstrated is a testimony to the professionalism that is abundant in the entire U.S. motor vehicle repair industry.”
Besides getting a story in Motor Age, Peak Automotive and Kim Walker will receive a plaque, a $100 cash prize, 100 extra copies of the magazine, and a copy of the article suitable for framing!
Ask Patty is really proud of Peak Automotive. Want to know more about them? Peak Automotive is known for being “The Triangle’s Most Female Friendly Shop”; in addition, the shop is an ASE Blue Seal of Excellence Recognized Shop and a Bosch Certified Car Care Center. The Apex shop extends extraordinary customer service and professionalism to their clients. By offering professionalism paired with unique services from a very comfortable living room like waiting area equipped with wireless Internet access, a massage chair, a kids play area and café area to the shuttle, loaner cars, and highly personalized level of customer service Peak Automotive differentiates itself from all of the others.
Ask Patty gives a HUGE congratulations to Kim Walker and Peak Automotive!
By Breanne Boyle My dogs will eat pretty much anything. My corgi Roxy (who made her first appearance here), is particularly devilish at this. She prefers to give me her opinion on my decorating sense by chewing off offending parts of furniture, bed linens and floor coverings. I’ve learned during these informative reviews that she can not stand tassels of any kind. This is right in line with my husband’s thinking so he just snickers at her behavior, meanwhile I am fuming at her: “How could you eat this?! That was NOT cheap!” But darn it, then she looks so adorably and convincingly bad about what she did that I dissolve into hugs and belly rubs within seconds. I’m soft and I know it.
My other dog, Rigby (also here as the doxie mix), is pretty much an angel when it comes to my furnishings. He likes to limit his diet to all things outdoors: my grass, my trumpet vines, my orchid plants, etc. At least those grow back. Tassels do not. But what if—horror!—your dog eats your car keys?! It’s never happened to me personally but I bet if I asked some friends they would have stories to share. In Surrey, England, a woman knows what happens all too well. Her vehicle had an RFID chip that was attached to her key ring that had to be within a certain distance from the car’s RFID reader in order for the car to start. So, when she was trying to put her key in to start the engine, it did absolutely nothing.
Luckily a smart patrolman helped her out and they discovered the offending pooch had swallowed the needed RFID! Short of making her dog a permanent bobble-head figure on her dash (I can see it now: “I am sorry I ran that red light officer, but I can’t see past my life-size Great Dane bobble head.”), what could she do but, well wait for the chip to be well, passed? She was actually able to start her car when she moved the dog into the front seat, allowing the RFID to work properly. I think it was the dog’s plan the whole time. Now he gets a free ride up front for a few days!
Just because it’s almost October and I think they are adorable, here are my two dogs in their Halloween costumes!
Do you have stories about your dogs eating your keys, your tires, your car upholstery (remember Turner and Hooch?) or anything else in your car? Send them our way! We’d love to post them on Ask Patty! Email me at Breanne@askpatty.com.
Be sure to catch our next carnival on
October 3rd, we are featuring posts about car dealerships, automotive retailers and automotive
manufacturers who support Breast Cancer Research, Educations and
Charity programs to kick off the October Breast Cancer Awareness month!
Go ahead! Submit an article about a dealership or automotive company you know that is supporting the fight!
Check out this recent post about BMW's campaign here on BlogHer.org
Support your favorite Breast Cancer Charity in October!
Jody DeVere President AskPatty.com, Inc www.askpatty.com
Spradley Barr Ford was proud to participate in a free oil change event
for single mothers on Sept 16th, 2006 at the First Baptist Church in Fort Collins. In addition to
free oil changes for single mothers we also provided a free set of
gently used tires. We know that with a set of unsafe tires and the snow
here in Colorado this can spell problems. Spradley Barr cares about
single mothers and is glad to help anytime.
Mother Lisa McCall was referred to the clinic by a friend who attends the church. She has three children, all in diapers.
"The service on my car really needed to be done - a massage is just the icing on the cake," she said.
"Being a single mom without any child support, I need all the help I can get," attendee Marci Johnson said.
For most of the mothers, Saturday was the first time they took advantage of the church's car clinic.
They
agreed the expense of having their car worked on is generally what
keeps them from performing maintenance. Stephanie Gordon said her car
hasn't got a good look at it in nearly two years.
"Even $30 for an oil change could mean groceries or gas. The expense keeps me from going to a shop," she said.
I spoke with Clint Andrews eCommerce Director at Spradly Barr Ford about the event and he explained the event is held annually to help single mothers who are strapped financially.
Clint Andrews is the E-Commerce
director for the Spradley Barr Autogroup. He has been working with
Spradley Barr for 10+ years in all areas of the automotive business. He
enjoys the e-business side of the automotive industry and continues to
grow and develop new knowledge and new ways of serving customers. As
the E-Commerce Director for our Autogroup he specializes in, marketing,
e-commerce, web, sales, service, public speaking, consulting, and
online customer retention. Itis is rare for a dealership to have a blog
so please email him with any comments or questions at
andrews@spradleybarrford.com
Kudo's for your participation this wonderful program for single mothers! Now that's women friendly!
Kristin Varela is a 30-year old mom of two daughters (ages 4 and 6). She grew up with brothers, so having girls was sweet revenge. Kristin has a BS in Zoology with a Spanish minor. Before starting Mother Proof, LLC she was a stay-at-home mom. Before becoming a mom she was a researcher and Spanish translator for a human resources firm. Now, she is the Chief Executive Mother of MotherProof.com
Kristin: Mother Proof was born out of necessity. When my daughter started preschool, I began searching for a new family car to accommodate carpooling (I had an Outback which would only fit my two daughters, but no more). My first step in the process was to narrow down my options by researching them online. I was appalled by the lack of information in 'typical' car reviews that was pertinent to me in my everyday life as a women and mother. Car reviews were geared toward car buffs and gear heads, excluding the vast majority of the car buying public - average consumers and also women.
ASK PATTY: What are the challenges for you as a women working in the automotive industry?
Kristin: My biggest challenges aren't specific to the auto industry, but rather to business in general. I had all the cards stacked against me: No business experience, no marketing experience, no automotive knowledge, no journalism experience. There was a huge learning curve for me to ride. I've been lucky enough to hook up with incredible cooperative networkers willing to pitch in and help me learn the ropes. The automotive industry has been incredibly enthusiastic about what Mother Proof is working towards. I have to say, I thought we would have been met with more resistance, but quite the opposite is true.
ASK PATTY: Can you tell me a little bit about your job as Chief Executive Mother with MotherProof?
Kristin: It’s a little like being the Chief Executive Mother at home, overseeing a bit of everything. My main focus is on providing our readers with entertaining, useful and unbiased reviews from their perspective, in their own voice. This means that my team of mom-reviewers and I are always driving test cars in our everyday lives as moms (kids and all in the back), writing reviews, attending media launches, networking, seeking out new business development prospects, maintaining the website, syndicating our column, invoicing, billing and list never ends. All this while juggling family life with two young daughters (ages 4 and 6)- no day care or nanny around here.
ASK PATTY: What if any are the big changes you are seeing today in how vehicles are being marketed to women?
Kristin: The fact that women are the largest percentage of car buyers is becoming common knowledge. The manufacturers have picked up on this and are not only marketing cars more towards this segment, but also designing cars more towards this segment (I.e. Volvo's YCC, and Chrysler's new Yes Essentials stain and odor resistant fabric that's perfect for families with small children likely to spill milk from leaky sippy cups). Its not perfect yet, but they're definitely going in the right direction. The problem is that this mentality has yet to filter down to the majority of car dealers. It’s the 21st century and I was recently told to return to a dealership with my husband before we spoke about financing. Its ridiculous!
September 26th, 2006 -- Thank you to all of you who submitted posts this week and last week! We are getting more and more submissions every day. Keep it up! So here we go again, right into another Tuesday Ask Patty Automotive Blog Carnival. We've collected the latest and greatest for you to check out. Rev up for some fun!
Recently we posted about Ford Motor Company's award for being one of the Top 100 places to be if you are a working mother. This list of 100 companies came straight from Working Mother magazine. Turns out some other manufacturers made the cut, including DaimlerChrysler. Ask Patty gives a big thumbs up to those companies striving to make it easier for all the working moms.
Off-roading isn't just for men anymore! Ann Job writes about how the daredevil sport of rock crawling is enjoyed just as thoroughly by the softer sex: women! She and four other women tried their skills in Hummer H3s on the Rubicon Trail in the Sierra Nevadas. Ann spent a few days climbing rugged terrain and learning the H3s limits. She learned some history too: "The first person to drive a car on the trail in 1908 from the Tahoe area to Rubicon Springs—some dozen miles down the trail—was, in fact, a woman, according to trail history."
We like to support alternative fuel vehicles and anything that will save the environment and our pocketbooks. The recent opening of the movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" stirred up some questions about why they halted production of the EV1, the star of the movie. An entire electric car rally was held at the opening of the movie!
Speaking of emissions, California filed a global warming lawsuit on Wednesday against Ford Motor, General Motors, Toyota and three other automakers, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have cost the state millions of dollars. Wired News has the full story.
For more reading on the topic concerning lawsuits against the automakers, see what Jennifer Marohasy has to say. She details what it would mean and mentions the concerns of all different parties involved.
What if there was a car dealership that was running green? Could a dealership power their heating and cooling systems with waste oil from the service department? Could they build their buildings out of 80% recycled materials? The Pat Lobb Toyota Dealership in McKinney, Texas, is doing all that and more!
Teenagers and cars together is a scary thought for most parents. The test drives, the teaching, the crazy reckless driving, parties in the car, cell phones to ears, radios blaring...that's the picture most people think of. Well, you should be thinking of insurance too. Make sure you read up on Tips on Teenage Insurance on Families.com.
As if your teenager on their cell phone while driving wasn't enough to freak you out... people are talking about outlawing the use of cell phones in cars! That means you can't use yours either! The Car Blog did a post on this issue concerning phone usage on the car. The bill in question prohibits any cell phone use unless you are using a hands-free device. What do you think? Should we limit people to hands free or not?
Ever had Road Rage? Oh man, I think everyone has experienced it one time or another. Would you like to channel it and be free of it altogether? Would we ever! There is a study--headed up by Tracey Naughton who is working on her doctorate degree--that is trying to prove you can overcome those extreme emotions. No more vengeful fantasies about that Honda in front of you!
Pamela E. Rodgers, owner of Rodgers Chevrolet, Woodhaven, MI., will be honored by the Women’s Automotive Association with a Professional Achievement award at the Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, MI, on Thursday October 26th, 2006. There will be a 6 p.m. Cocktail Reception, the dinner and award presentation at 7 p.m. For tickets and table sponsorship information for this event, visit the Women's Automotive Association International.
Ready for some car humor? This video is reminiscent of the Mercury commercial, but it's to an extreme so we love it! How far would you go to not let your spouse take the "fun" car to work? Would you cook his head à la Home Alone?
Get this: Apparently there are issues with some of the letter combinations you may choose to use for a personalized license plate. Who would've thought you would need to know Police lingo to avoid being issued an accidental ticket because of your plates! Automotive.com Blog has the scoop.
Great, we need a price hike on cars like we need a large scuff on our best leather shoes! Be prepared for a possible price jump in domestic-made cars in 2007. Our very own expert panelist, Lauren Fix, said she believes the job losses in the business will have a greater impact on the overall economy than most people realize. What does that mean? Yup, higher stickers. You better open that savings account soon!
EZ Lube, a popular oil change and lube station, could be shutting down because they haven't stopped their illegal activity. EZ Lube has been slapped with fines and corrections because they were charging customers for work that was never done. Time will tell if they are sanctioned by the Department of Consumer Affairs and asked to close their doors.
Be sure to catch our next carnival on October 3rd, we are featuring posts about dealerships and automotive manufacturers who support Breast Cancer Research, Educations and Charity programs to kick off the October Breast Cancer Awareness month! Go ahead! Submit an article about a dealership or automotive company you know that is supporting the fight!
Ford Motor Company was named one of the 100 Best Companies for working mothers by Working Mother magazine. The "100 Best" initiative celebrates employers whose groundbreaking benefits – from flexible schedules and child care to innovative leave policies for new parents – are helping to redefine workplace standards across the nation. This is the tenth year Ford has achieved this honor.
“Ford Motor Company is exceptional for its continuing commitment to working mothers, and we salute it for making the 100 Best for 2006,” said Carol Evans, chief executive officer of Working Mother Media. “Every year we see companies upping the ante, establishing new paradigms for quality of life among their employees and redefining the status quo for workplaces across the country. Among the many worthy entrants, the winners really set the gold standard.” Profiled in the October issue of Working Mother magazine, Ford is cited for fostering a work environment that is especially hospitable to all women, including working mothers. By incorporating family-friendly policies such as flextime, leave time, childcare and telecommuting, the 100 Best are creating corporate cultures that encourage the retention and promotion of their female employees.
Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches nearly 3 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Its 21-year signature initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, is the most important benchmark for work/life practices in corporate America. The publication also releases the annual list of the Best Companies for Women of Color in the June issue. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media (WMM), which also owns the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), NAFE Magazine, the annual 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress, as well as the Best Companies for Women of Color Multicultural Conference and regional Town Halls. This year, WMM launched its Best Small Companies for Working Mothers initiative.
Ask Patty gives a big round of applause to Ford Motor Company for keeping working mothers in mind! Working Mother Magazine has great information about all of the other Top 100 companies, so pick up the current issue today!
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