“Families 'cross over' to smaller side of SUVs - Dubuque Telegraph Herald” plus 4 more |
- Families 'cross over' to smaller side of SUVs - Dubuque Telegraph Herald
- Handicapping the award contenders - Detroit Free Press
- Watch What You Say to Insurers - Wall Street Journal
- Carmakers face strict fuel standards, fickle consumers - Columbus Dispatch
- Tata Motors expect double digit growth - Express India
| Families 'cross over' to smaller side of SUVs - Dubuque Telegraph Herald Posted: 04 Oct 2009 07:28 AM PDT |
| Handicapping the award contenders - Detroit Free Press Posted: 04 Oct 2009 07:14 AM PDT (2 of 2) Kia SoulPro: Looks, value, fun. Con: A huge leap for Kia, not significant to the industry. Mazda3/MazdaSpeed3Pro: Looks, value, performance. Con: Doesn't break new ground. Mercedes-Benz E-ClassPro: Luxury, technology and performance. Con: An expensive niche vehicle that's not a big seller. Porsche PanameraPro: Looks, technology and performance. A radically new vehicle from a revered brand. Con: Very expensive niche vehicle. Subaru LegacyPro: Popular and dependable sedan. Con: Crowded sedan field. Does not break new ground. Suzuki KizashiPro: A good midsize sedan that's a big step for Suzuki. Con: Does not break new ground. Toyota PriusPro: High mileage, new features from an established leader. Con: Fuel economy improvement is relatively small from previous model. Volkswagen Golf/GTIPro: All-new version of one of the world's best-selling cars. Con: Not likely to break new ground for VW or the industry. 2010 North American Truck of the Year |
| Watch What You Say to Insurers - Wall Street Journal Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:11 AM PDT By BAO ONGWhen Melissa Cruz's car hit a pickup truck coming to a screeching halt at a busy intersection, she says she did everything right. She stayed at the accident scene and took out her documents. But Ms. Cruz did one thing wrong, according to insurance experts: She apologized to the other driver. For people who get into a car accident and file insurance claims, apologizing is a habit that should be avoided, insurance experts say. There are words that people should avoid, they say, because what you say can mean the difference between an insurance check arriving smoothly and a drawn out battle with an insurer. "I thought apologizing was the right thing to do no matter whose fault it was," says Ms. Cruz, 27 years old. "It turned against me, though." While the police report stated that the pickup truck was clearly speeding, Ms. Cruz says, her apology was seen by the other driver as taking blame for the accident. And that slowed down the entire claims process, she says. No Need to ApologizeAmy Danise, editor of Insure.com, a site that provides advice on shopping for insurance, recently compiled a list of what people like Ms. Cruz should and shouldn't say to avoid sparring with insurers over a claim. "A few words can make a big difference," she says. Saying "I'm sorry" or "It's my fault" after an auto accident can be seen as an admission of fault, Ms. Danise says. Instead, she says drivers should stick to the facts and speak as plainly as they can. A simple mix-up in terms can confuse insurance companies and possibly delay a claim, she says. If you're not sure about what occurred, let the authorities and insurance agents figure it out. "The last thing you want to do is backtrack to explain what happened," she says. Ms. Cruz says because she apologized, it turned into a blame game with the other driver, which was documented in the police report. "It was like I got penalized for being nice or honest." She says it took four months to get a check for nearly $1,100 from her insurer -- a time frame that is longer than average, insurance experts say. "I learned to be careful with what I say," Ms. Cruz says. When Is It a Flood?Homeowners often misuse the word "flood" when filing a homeowners insurance claim, Ms. Danise says. Insurance companies have a narrow definition of flood. Unless the water reaches a home because a lake, stream or river overflows, it's not a flood -- at least to insurance companies -- she says. Flooding from a hurricane does count, though. Damage from a pipe that burst in your basement and caused water to rise knee-high would likely be covered in most homeowners policies. But calling it a flood -- which it may very well seem like to you -- could delay a claim because the insurer must investigate whether it actually was a flood. Pain in the NeckAnother area where language can be murky is health insurance. Ms. Danise says patients should be careful when using words like "experimental," "investigational" or "clinical trial" when submitting a claim to their health insurer. Misuse of these words could lead to claims delays, or even refusals, she says. Drivers involved in a car accident shouldn't use the word "whiplash" to describe neck pain, unless it has been medically diagnosed as such, Ms. Danise says. Insurance companies often deem the term whiplash an exaggeration or part of fraudulent claims, she says. "People are being denied or compromised all the time simply because they use the wrong lingo," says J.D. Howard, founder of the Insurance Consumer Advocate Network in Springfield, Mo., which advises consumers shopping for insurance. Jeanne Salvatore, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, says filing claims in an organized manner helps expedite the process. "The realty is, someone is going to look at the loss and it's going to be based on facts." Write to Bao Ong at bao.ong@dowjones.com  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Carmakers face strict fuel standards, fickle consumers - Columbus Dispatch Posted: 04 Oct 2009 07:28 AM PDT
Trouble is brewing on the horizon for the U.S. automotive industry as it prepares for tougher fuel-economy standards calling for the industry's fleet of new vehicles to average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The Obama administration announced the new standards on Sept. 15 against the backdrop of plummeting sales for small, fuel-efficient cars that already are on the market. According to the latest sales figures, the "lower small car" or subcompact segment suffered a 15 percent drop in sales year to date through last month, while the "upper small car" or compact car segment is off 28.5 percent. The small specialty-car segment is off 15 percent. By make, for example, Toyota Yaris sales are off 41 percent year to date, Honda Fit sales are off 8.2 percent, and Chevy Aveo sales are off 30.6 percent. Used-car buyers also are showing less interest in smaller cars. Kelley Blue Book officials say residual values for small cars have plummeted while they have gone up considerably for large cars and sport-utility vehicles. Adesa, a large wholesale auto-auction company that conducts sales nationwide, reported that while pickup-truck prices plummeted 17 percent in value from August 2007 to August 2008, they have risen 23 percent since then. Meanwhile, the auction house said, compact-car prices rose 17 percent from August 2007 to August 2008, but have fallen 15 percent since then. In a study by AutoPacific, a California-based industry research firm, small-car buyers were unhappy with their vehicles. "This is buyer's remorse," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, "What they said in the study is they want a bigger car. They bought a fuel-efficient car, but now they're saying: 'It does what I want, but it doesn't have what I want. It doesn't have the features, the power, the room, and next time I'll opt for a bigger car.' " In the AutoPacific study, based on more than 32,000 new car and light-truck buyers in the United States, 30 percent said they wanted more power than they have in their current small car, 25 percent wanted more cargo room, 18 percent want more room in general, and 25 percent want more technology. In addition, 22 percent wanted a softer ride, and 18 percent wanted more safety. When they are asked what size car they will purchase next, 49 percent of the owners of the smallest cars said they would buy a compact sedan, 35 percent said they would buy a midsize sedan, and 18 percent said they would buy a compact crossover or sport-utility vehicle. "Our research indicates that American car buyers are definitely willing to buy a more fuel-efficient car but that they don't want it to be much smaller than what they are driving today," said Peterson. "Tomorrow's successful small car won't be tiny. It will be reasonably sized and have increased fuel economy, adequate performance and a full load of customer features." Still, to get consumers to buy the new generation of small cars -- which could cost about $2,000 or so more than what they are paying now -- could mean car companies could be forced to offer rebates and incentives. "Or they will have to offer more options and better styling to draw consumers. That's about it. Those are their options," said Tom Libby, an independent auto industry analyst. "As we move to smaller vehicles, size will be less of a differentiator," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. "Styling will be more of a differentiator across nameplates. "As availability of small cars increases, market share will increase. Things in the market will get more competitive, and competition generally leads to sexier design." Even with more innovative designs, Peterson of AutoPacific questions whether American car buyers "will avidly embrace smaller-size new products. In the Motorist Choice Awards polling, released last month, 106 of the top 107 were large cars, luxury cars, sport-utility vehicles, crossover SUVs or minivans. Only one small car, the BMW 1-Series, scored in the top 100, landing in the 35th slot." Peterson said Americans' dislike of small cars can be traced to the introduction of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations in 1975. "Cars in the early days of CAFE were emasculated and poor performing with poor economy. ... What that did was force consumers to buy trucks that had the safety, power and performance they wanted. That's why trucks went from 25 to 51 percent of the market." As buyers swarmed to trucks and SUVs, domestic auto companies ignored passenger cars, which in turn opened up the playing field for Japanese and Korean firms. Domestic automakers are only now beginning to regain footing in the passenger-car business.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Tata Motors expect double digit growth - Express India Posted: 04 Oct 2009 06:17 AM PDT AgenciesPosted: Oct 04, 2009 at 1720 hrs ISTNew Delhi The country's largest auto maker, Tata Motors said it expects to clock a double digit growth in sales in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment this fiscal on the back of reviving market demand. The company hopes to benefit from orders for delivery of 5,000 buses to various state and local transport bodies under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). It is also going ahead with the launch of its one-tonne 'Super Ace' truck in December, besides rolling out the Ace EX with stop-start engine nationally within the next few months. "We hope the pattern (of market revival) would continue and maybe we can expect a double digit growth this fiscal," Tata Motors President-Commercial Vehicle Business Unit Ravi Pisharody told reporters here. He said the second half of the fiscal is crucial to sustain the bounce-back. "After months of slowdown, the light and medium CV market has bounced back since past few months and now even the heavy vehicle sales have started reviving. The next six months would hopefully be good," Pisharody said. The auto major had registered a total sales of 2,65,012 units of CVs during 2008-09. Its cumulative CV sales during the first six months of the current fiscal was 1,61,700 units, a jump of 11 per cent over the corresponding period last year.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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