Thus far, in the battle of humans versus machines—a.k.a., drivers versus traffic cameras doling out speeding tickets—it’s the machines that are kicking our fleshy tushes. Because it’s hard to beat the “Terminator”-like efficiency of a traffic camera in court, voters are choosing another strategy: removing the cameras entirely.
Back-to-back stories in the NY Times point out two interesting trends in the automobile market. First, brand loyalty is long gone. Second, for many consumers, the car itself is gone as well.
Also, the $23 stove, the $2,200 automobile, the $43 water-purification system, and the $20 cell phone with 2¢-per-minute rates—all courtesy of India, where engineers and innovators are coming up with ingenious products that are within reach of the country’s poorest citizens.
Cheapskate? There’s an app for that. Lots and lots of them, actually. There are iPhone apps that will plot a busy day of hitting yard sales, produce coupons for instant discounts at supermarkets, shops, and restaurants, do price comparisons and summon product reviews while you’re mulling the options inside a store, and even help you [...]
It has a sticker price under $11,000, runs on a 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine, and gets 36 mpg on the highway. And surprise, surprise: It’s not made by an American car manufacturer.
It’s easy to be green when you’re saving money at the same time. Eschewing bottled water for tap, recycling household items for cash, and turning off the water while brushing your teeth are no-brainer, no-hassle ways to help Mother Nature, not to mention your bank account. But what’s up with rechargeable batteries and other environmentally [...]
I’m not the only one saddened by the demise of Saturn, the once-innovative auto brand that was created—and also killed—by GM.
Something breaks and what do you do? Normally, toss it in the trash and buy another. That’s probably a cheaper route than calling a repairman, plumber, or electrician. Not long ago, people were accustomed to taking a different strategy: fixing it themselves.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Saturn. The first new car I could truly call my own was a bare bones Saturn SL. The sticker price was around $11,000, and with Saturn’s original no-hassle-no-haggling policy, I happily paid the sticker price. I delivered pizzas and drove cross-country in that super reliable, unsexy, [...]
Well, at least not if the cars are GMs, and if the prices are nothing special. The troubled car manufacturer is putting an end to a briefly-lived strategy of trying to sell cars on eBay.
