Jeff B.

Top 10 Autos for Customer Brand Loyalty

This is a very interesting result, because it almost directly contradicts what you can see in Consumer Reports. It would be very interesting to know exactly how Experian did this study> It totally amazes me to see the Chevy Impala on that list. My company uses IMpalas as fleet vehicles. I drov eone for about a year. What a piece of junk. Seats feel like K-Mart sofas. Handles like a 1970's Buick. Steering defects, etc.

GM: What Its Progress Report Doesn't Say

Rick: I agree with you right down the line. GM likes to over-promise & under deliver. Remember "We have 30 models that get 30 mpg". Oh sure, how many colors does the Cobalt come in? Each is a different "model" right?
My 'worldclass' 2009 Malibu fleet car is going in for it's first recall repair tomorrow. Nothing too serious, but I've owned 6 new Hondas, and 3 Acuras, and no recalls at all. I also had a 2008 Impala, sincle my employer uses these for fleet cars. They are quick & get good gas mileage (better than the Malibu on gas, ironically) but otherwise are truly a bad car. Many engineering glitches including defective steering system that GM only acknowledges when you press them REALLY hard. Maybe Fritz ought to adopt a new policy: Keep his mouth shut, cut back on advertsing smoke & mirrors, and put the cash into engineering?

Don't Let a Journalist Evaluate Cash for Clunkers

Here is the bottom line folks. Any reasonable program that gets older, less efficient & more polluting vehicles off the road is good for everyone in the long run. However, such programs will never shore up the domestic auto industry until they start producing superior vehicles -- which they don't.

Will Amazon Grow Up to Be Wal-Mart?

I hope that Amazon never "becomes Wal-Mart". First, the two retailers have totally different approaches to business. Wal-Mart is all about getting the cheapest possible consumer goods to people in the lower & middle socioeconomic spectrum -- with the expected BIG product quality problems. Just try to buy anything in Wal-Mart that isn't made in China. They want minimal customer touch. It's all about pushing lots of cheap stuff out the door as fast as possible, and maybe you'll stop on the way out for some lousy fast food. Amazon is ALL about the customer exsperience, and always has been. Find me a seminar on eTailing that doesn't use Aamzon as THE benchmark for user experience. Their recommendation engine is the best in the business (far better than Netflix, for example), and it's easy to return something, check customer reviews, etc. Also, it's prett easy to imagine that Aamzon's typical customer probably makes twice as much or more in a year than Wal-Mart's. I hope to God that AMZN never becomes Wal-Mart.

Cash for Clunkers Saps Demand

I think anyone who thought the Cash 4 Clunkers program would have long term benefits beyond extricating bad, inefficient vehicles from our roadways was foolishly optimistic. However, our elected officials in DC seem to live by the motto: "Let's do something, even if it's wrong". And because they don't do much of anything that isn't tied to some lobbyists $$$ somewhere, the outcome here shoudl have been 100% predictable, but Congress can now say, "We tried." Right :-(

Why I Like Netflix's $1 Million Challenge

Although I admire Netflix's approach of having a contest to determine the best way to improve it's recommendations, I think they went about it totally wrong.
As a mostly happy Netflix subscriber for about 7 or 8 yrs now, I think I can say a bit about how accurate their rec's are. In short, as much as I like Netflix overall, their recommendations stink. I rarely agree with their picks for me.
They went about solving this problem as if it was a "programming" problem. That misses the point. This is first and foremost a business problem -- with programming as one part of the solution. I listened to the guys who won, talk about their approach. They have a few good ideas, but again, I had the feeling they asked, "Okay, how can we program this?" before they asked "What is the real problem here, and how do we solve that conceptually?"
For example, has anyone really thought about asking say, 1000 Netflix customers to complete a detailed survey (give us a free month or two & we'll do it) which seeks to understand why people like/don't like certain movies? Once Netflix understands that, then they can worry about how to program it. The way they approached it, I am not confident it will solve the problem. I guess I will find out.

The Five Worst Bailouts

Rick: For the most part, I agree with you, but...it's important to understand the potential ripples across world finances if AIG had been allowed to go down (even the Financial Prod Div.). NO doubt there were awful mistakes made, but in my view the AIG bailout was probably the only one that truly averted a catastrophe. Of course, the one part of the mega-meltdown that was CAUSED by Congress involved Sen Chris Dodd making a last minute change to the TARP legisaltion to allow those $165M in bonuses. NO surprise that Dodd is the single biggest recent recipient of AIG campaign contrbutions. The fact that this sleazeball was not thrown out of office for bribery & acting against the public interest shows you just how corrupt our political system is.

August Auto Sales Up as Expected

American taxpayers got the biggest clunker (Chrysler) for our "cash" (tax dollars) -- with a zero chance of survival.

Why American Car Manufacturers Fail

I imagine the conversation between the Democrats in Congress and the auto execs went something like this: "Okay, we'll bail you guys out with taxpayer money because of all the cash the unions gave us, but as soon as we start to see light at the end of the tunnel in the economy, you guys have to re-hire all those over-paid, underworked UAW workers, okay?" GM:"What? That's crazy, That will put us right back where we were before, with too many overpaid workers, and too few customers!" That's YOUR problem. WE only worry about us."

Starbucks: Highly Overvalued in a Mightily Overbought Market

I think the value of a company and a brand like Starbucks can not be adequately measured objectively in charts alone. For the last couple of years everybody & their brother thought it was hip to beat up on Starbucks -- especially people who think DD serves coffee (it's really strained potting soil). My guess is that SBUX will double again in 12 months.

Chevy Volt: How It Stacks Up

I'll believe it when I see it, regarding the Volt's mileage. How long before it's first recall I wonder. I've already had one on my 09 Malibu "worldbeater". Maybe GM ought to focus on delivering great cars, and forget about the hype (their specialty). Great cars sell themselves. I'd say keep the Mazda3.

Is Toyota Losing Ground in the Electric Vehicles Race?

Toyota is only considered the Green Vehicle leader by folks who don't really know cars. Honda is way ahead on this front. The Clarity FCX is already the 3rd gen fuel cell vehicle Honda has on US roads. The Prius is a nice hybrid, but it has zero appeal to anyone who actually enjoys driving. The Volt is yet another case of GM over-promising and under-delivering. I woudln't put my money on that. The real question is how we will get electricity to these vehicles, and when will the entrenched US energy industry (oil & gas) be forced to deal with reality?

Healthcare 'Debate' Dominated by Shouting and Lobbies

At the very core of every big problem we face in this country is the fact that both major parties are actively working against the best interests of the citizenry, because they are completely run by lobbyists (many of them not even domestic).
Everything I have read & heard about healthcare reform as currently proposed by the Dem's does little to pull out costs, and everything to try and provide coverage for people (incl illegal immigrants) who can't (or won't) buy coverage on thier own. Do you have to be a genius to figure out that for the average American, this means that we end up subsidizing healthcare for others -- some of whom are here illegally. Our costs go up. They get healthcare for free. A Democrat gets re-elected.
I also find it ironic that much of the popular media seems to be up in arms about all the protests at Democratic town hall meetings, which seems to run counter to the Healthcare reform plan proposed by Dem's. How come when unions push members to protest at political events & meetings, no one thinks there's anything wrong with that?
For those of us who voted for CHANGE in the last election (which I did as well), all we are getting is a change from GOP corruption & incompetence to DNC corruption & incompetence. When will we learn?

Cash for the U.S., Potential Clunkers for Everyone Else

Using this incredible shaky logic, perhaps we could also conclude that driving up prices of imports in developing countries will mean people can't afford them, so they will seek alternate & cleaner modes of transportation, thereby reducing pollution, and everyone wins!
This comment was originally published in the Journal of Unsubstantiated Conclusions - Aug 09.

GM: Are eBay and a $4,000 Car Enough to Turn Things Around?

1.GM (and now taxpayers too) can not afford to repackage the same old mediocre product and figure out new ways to peddle it. This is not going to fool anyone into buying a GM vehicle who otherwise would not do so.
2. Newsflash! GM already makes a $4000 vehicle! It's called the Chevy Cobalt. The problem is that it sells for around $14,000. But the resale value is so bad that before you know it, your new car is worth less than half of what you paid for it.