Home Equity Frenzy Was a Bank Ad Come True

First, we’ll start by saying that the current infrastructure we have in the United States will not be enough to support future growth of the automotive sector.

Automobiles that require a plug-in jack will require electricity from power plants, and the added drain on the current power grid would most likely not leave enough electricity for everyone. Even today, many parts of the country have difficulty keeping up with demand for electricity, and the added strain on the system would most likely cause brown outs in many parts of the United States.

Ultimately, this means we need more power plants, and that electricity will become more expensive as demand increases. Coal and nuclear power are the two most likely utilities to be affected by this change, and it wouldn’t surprise to see a change in the pricing of these utilities even within the next few years.

The positive side of moving from gas power automobiles to coal and nuclear power plants is the resulting drop in carbon emissions. Air quality across much of the US will increase. Pollution caused by the power plants themselves will rise, but will only affect localized areas.

As paraphrased in an article by one author:

One criticism of plug-ins is that, by shifting fuel consumption from cars to electric utilities, they potentially concentrate particulates and other nasty emissions in certain geographical areas. The study mostly allays these concerns. A small number of areas do see an increase in pollutants, but the large majority of the U.S. will experience a meaningful improvement in air quality.

One final result of moving from a traditional gas engine to electric hybrid is the ability to build these vehicles with the idea of using non-traditional fuels such as ethanol blend or biodiesel, both of which are renewable resources and burn cleaner than traditional fuels.

As stated in the study above, adopting plug-in technology could result in about 10% of the carbon exhaust reductions we need to stabilize the climate.

Check it out:

Mario Creator Gagged by Nintendo Brass

I’ve always liked Subway, I subsisted mostly on meatball subs all through college, but with current trends in fast food quickly filling up the market with restaurant chains such as Jimmy Johns, Quiznos, Milios and with the decreasing popularity of the health food trend, it seems like the niche that Subway once held as the number one growing fast food chain in America has diminished, leaving them a mature company at a crossroads.

Looking back, when fast food restaurants reach mature status, only one of two things happens; either the company figures out a way to re-market and re-brand like McDonalds did several years ago, or it stumbles like Burger King, Hardies, or Little Ceasars; companies that either lacked a real brand identity or that have near completely disappeared due to disparities in their business model.

Looking at the Subway website, www.subwayfreshbuzz.com, and watching the commercials on television, Subway is closer to the McDonalds model than any of the others. Subway definitely knows it’s market with Jared and the Subway Card (a subway debit card for the college crowd) but the Scrabble Game is an obvious attempt to bring itself into the realm of McDonalds, and to do that they will need a larger marketing presence than they’ve had in the last few years.

They’ve lost that pop and pizzazz that you used to feel when Adam danced around the counter as he changed outfits, or when Jared first told us he’d lost several sizes eating their product. If Subway wants to continue to succeed, it needs that next big thing to keep them in the limelight.

Of specific note in this article is the reviewers comparison of the vehicles interior to an IPod, as well as the description of the new lithium-ion battery powering the car the size of which is nearly half of it’s first generation predecessor. It’s also good to see the renewed excitement coming out of GM these days, since the domestic car industry has taken a pounding in recent years for it’s low ratings in both mpg and hybrid technologies.

My first thought is wondering if GM will make a more economical version of the Volt in the Intel Celeron or IPod models, with a stripped down battery that would, for instance, only run 20 miles on a single charge as opposed to 40 as the Volt is currently spec’d. It would be an interesting idea, as no doubt concepts from the Volt will eventually be integrated across the GM line.

I also like the idea that the cars gas engine could run on biodiesal, which is a good move for the future of the brand, since renewable alternative fuel sources are a strong selling point for an economy overly dependent on oil; which is essentially the entire concept of the Volt in a nutshell.

It should be interesting to see how this progresses.

The Electric Car That Could Save GM

Its interesting to see the cause and effect relationships develop between a companies values and the people in its community. American Express is essentially a small company in relationship to some of the larger credit card companies such as VISA and Mastercard, and a program such as the Members Project brings a lot of attention to their company brand, while creating a sense of community among it’s cardholders, who have always had a lot of exclusivity wrapped up in their members only mentality. It is yet another example of modern corporations trying to build the community around their brand while championing social affection in the modern workplace. Both customers and employees want exposure to these programs, and activities such as these allow them to interact with the company and drive social change, influencing both the ideals of the company and the community at large.

I would expect to see more of this in the future as everyday people are allowed more and more say in how companies conduct themselves.

For more information on the American Express Members project visit the site:

www.membersproject.com

It makes sense that people would switch to cash as a way to keep down their expenditures. Credit cards are easy and convenient, which makes them good for people on the go, but more difficult for people who like to micro-manage their budgets. Personal finance experts have been touting cash only accounting as a strategy for years. Corporations tend to appreciate it as well, since they don’t have to pay the transaction costs for purchases…just ask any McDonalds employee why they look a little glum when you pull out your VISA to pay for a .95 cent cheeseburger. Personally I always feel a little guilty.

It is interesting to note however that credit card use has been on the rise in recent years over checks and cash, so I’m a little skeptical as to how important this statistic is to the overall economy.

Check out the article at:

Credit Card Use Down

I’ve mentioned before in the article The Bad Side of Ethanol that a few third party companies have begun retrofitting cars to use a battery that can plug into a standard wall socket to recharge. Charging takes something along the lines of 9 hours with a traditional socket or less with an upgraded supercharger. Officially, these after market cars have never been officially sanctioned by the automotive industry, but now companies such as Chevrolet, Saturn, and Toyota are jumping into the mix with cars of their own.

Cars such as the Chevy Volt, Saturn Vue, Ford Escape, Ford Edge, Toyota Prius and 1/X Concept, Dodge Sprinter, and Jeep Renegade are leading the pack to bring this relatively recent technology into the mainstream. Of special note is the Chevy Volt, which in a departure from its predecessors, runs completely on electricity, a significant change that could inspire a whole generation of clones.

Another interesting side note is that most of these cars are actually SUV’s, which makes an interesting point: how do you continue to sell automobiles that have consistently had the worst gas mileage in the market? The other day I saw a documentary that stated that mpg for SUV’s has barely changed since the 80’s in comparison to the dramatic changes we’ve seen in cars over the last few years. With high interest in these continued markets, and the high rate of return for these big ticket items for the sellers, these items should continue to set a precedent over time.

Otherwise, the more or less traditional Toyota 1/X Concept and the Prius Hybrid come as no surprise but continue to support rising demand. Still, as technology changes, the future of the hybrid industry seems more and more to be in all electric cars such as the Volt, as opposed to the more traditional gas guzzling models of yesteryear.

So I guess my only questions are: how does this affect the power companies as they try to keep up with new demands for electricity? Also, how does this affect the fuel cell industry?

Just some things to think about.

Carmakers’ Plug-In Plans

As shown in one study as posted on Livescience.com:

Study participants were presented products ranging from cordless phones to lawn mowers. The goods were presented in three ways:

The study is detailed in the August issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.