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Cars, Economy, News

The LA love story

December 4, 2008

Just like a romance novel, so goes our story.

Boy sees car, boy falls in love with car, boy loves to drive car, boy runs out of gas, boy sees gas prices, boy falls out of love.

While the gas prices have dropped substantially, with the economy being the way it is now, consumers are being more careful with their decisions when it comes to cars. Still, being a native of LA, I can say that I can hardly tell. While it is true that the number of riders on the metro system has increased, cars still dominate the streets and freeways of LA.

Driving in LA is not just a normal task. It is so much more than that. From the “way” you drive, to the kind of car you drive, driving is an expression and way for you to let everyone in LA know who you are. For example, seeing a Ferrari pull up to a McDonald’s is not uncommon in LA. While everyone is aware of the economic situation and unstable gas prices, LA will continue to be crowded with cars. With the gas prices on the down at the moment, it is fair to say that LA will see an increase in the number of cars on the road. We should be starting to go green, but for some us, going green means changing our image. To some, the $60,000 luxury car that gets 12MPG in the driveway means that we’ve accomplished something and are well-off. Some of us don’t want to change that.

While some of us drive out of necessity, some drive because

1. They enjoy driving

2. They want to show off their car

3. They don’t want to use the public transportation

While LA has made great strides to improve there public transportation I will admit that aside from one time when I was very young, I have not ridden the public transportation since.

Yes, I am guilty. I am guilty for being one of the hundreds and thousands of drivers that drive because they don’t want to use the public transportation and enjoy driving. As a result my car and the way I drive have become an extension of who I am. Some may even classify me as the “college student driver.”

So now I ask you, what kind of driver are you?

Economy, News, Shopping

Goodbye Black Friday?

November 28, 2008

After a long day of cooking, feasting, and saying thanks, one would expect the next day to be one of rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, this is not true for most Americans. For many of us, the day after Thanksgiving is the day to go out and get that big screen TV we have been waiting for or to get those pairs of shoes that we have had our eye on. So ‘important’ has the day after Thanksgiving been, we as consumers have given it the name “Black Friday.”

“Black Friday” starts with tents, long lines, and consumers with there “Black Friday” ads in hand. Whether it be the special deal “doorbuster” or the extra 40% off that retail stores offer, consumers are willing to put up with the lack of sleep as well as the lack of respect they receive from there fellow consumers.

As I started my “Black Friday” run today, I had many places that I wanted to check out. Among them were Best Buy, Circuit City, and of course the local mall. As I went from store to store I noticed a trend. In each of the stores I went too, while there was still a large number of consumers, the number of them holding items was amazingly small. I didn’t see consumers with baskets full of DVD’s or with armfuls of clothes. If I could describe the average consumer on “Black Friday” I would use the word cautious. Consumers went for items they ‘needed’ or had been strongly considering for a while.

This change in consumer spending can be attributed to a number of things. One reasoning is that no longer is “Black Friday” only on Friday. Most stores now start there sales a couple of days before or even the week before running all the way into the weekend. Consumers no longer have to fight Friday morning but can now shop around for a couple days, finding the best deal. Another reason is that most stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon, & Walmart offer online sales that offer the same items that are considered “doorbuster’s” and also in some cases, deals that are better than in the stores.

While the forementioned changes to “Black Friday” all have an affect on the way consumers approach “Black Friday”, consumer spending and confidence in businesses have been one of the key factors. Consumers unwilling to spend money on un-neccesary products has led to a record slump in consumer spending which have led to chains such as Circuit City into bankruptcy.

With “Black Friday” turning into a week long affair in some cases, why do we continue to call it “Black Friday?”

While “Black Friday” has traditionally meant the start of the holiday shopping season, consumer trends in spending during this “Black Friday” may be the signal for retailers to start worrying that perhaps “Black Friday” may just be “Regular Friday”

Cars, Economy, News, Technology

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: LA Auto Show

November 23, 2008

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With unpredictable gas prices, economic hardships, and falling sales, the Los Angeles Auto Show is an important event not only for automakers, but for consumers as well. This years LA Auto Show, taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will answer consumers questions, unveil new cars, and also could be the last time we see all of the Big 3 automakers under one roof.I myself am in the market for a car so I decided that the LA Auto Show would be a great place to get an idea of what new models would be coming out.

The most notable thing that I noticed while in attendance was the trend in the consumers interests. For the most part, automakers like Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Nissan, and Mini-Cooper had by far the largest number of visitors to there exhibits. The main reason behind this can be attributed to there focus on both gas efficiency as well as there focus on reliability. Toyota for example, featured a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered version of the Camry Hybrid which caught the eye of many consumers. Honda and Mini-Cooper also went along the same path as Toyota by choosing to focus there exhibit areas around there ‘eco-friendly’ as well as ‘pocket-friendly’ vehicles.

Lexus and Nissan were definite winners of the auto show as crowds came away excited for there upcoming 2009/2019 vehicles. Most notable of which were the Lexus IS250C, the convertible version of the already popular Lexus IS250, and also the quirky Nissan Cube.

As a consumer, when I looked at the way that Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Nissan, and Mini-Cooper marketed there vehicles and exhibits, there was one key characteristic that all of them shared. It was a very plain and simple element which I believe most of the other carmakers failed to get. That was the concept of “How can we help you.” When I visited other carmakers exhibits I wasn’t asked what kind of car we we’re looking for or even when we we’re looking to buy, but rather we were told why we need this car and how we should take a test drive. Among those that used the latter approach was the big 3 automakers (Ford, GM, Chrysler). Not only were they insensitive to the consumers feelings or desires, but just by looking at the cars they had on display, I can see why they are struggling. The big 3 focused on making cars that they thought consumers wanted, when they really should have been asking us what we wanted.

The LA Auto Show is not only an event for the public to see the new cars, but it also a chance for automakers to show the direction they are going. We all know Mercedes makes luxury cars, but we want to know that they will continue to push the limits on luxury. We know that Ford is struggling to sell cars; we want to know that they are making the appropriate changes to bounce back. At the end of the day I walked out of the convention center with three thoughts in mind:

1. The LA Convention Center is huge

2. “Green” is the new direction of carmakers

3. I love free stuff

Economy, News, Technology

The iPhone Killer?

November 21, 2008

In what many consider to be there most ‘idolized’ consumer product and ‘must-have’, the Apple iPhone has established itself as the leader in the smartphone market. From its stylish design, to its practicality, many competitors have tried to compete, but to no avail. Still, just 24 hours away, we have the newest competitor to the iPhone. The Blackberry Storm.

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Some have already begun calling it the iPhone Killer. With its well established reputation of being a leader in personal organization and networking, RIM (Research in Motion) is about to challenge the Apple iPhone head on. The Storm is scheduled to hit stores November 21st and has consumers on the edge of there wallets ready to shell out for what some analyst’s say will be the holiday’s biggest hit. The question though is not whether or not the Storm will sell well, but if it can possibly match up to the already dominating Apple iPhone.

What’s to Come

Upon closer review of the Blackberry Storm, RIM has gone far and beyond the normal ‘standards’ of smartphone’s today. The most anticipated feature is the innovative “SurePress” feature. Not only is it the first Blackberry touchscreen in the world, but users can actually feel the keys being pressed when they are texting or dialing a number. RIM feels that this will revolutionize the smartphone market in that users have long complained that it is hard to use touchscreens because the keys are unresponsive or hard to use.

Aside from the SurePress technology, the Storm advertises its use as a social tool. Citing sites such as Facebook and Flickr as being part of the networking capabilities, Blackberry is clearly trying to establish the Storm as a multi-task tool. The storm also has turn by turn navigation, email capabilities, a full HTML browser as well as 3.2 megapixel camera that can take photos and record.

Can you afford it?

With the features to compete with the Apple iPhone, RIM has priced the Storm at almost the same price of the iPhone at $199.99 (with 2 year contract and $50.00 rebate). This competitive price will challenge the iPhone during this holiday season in making the consumer think twice on what to buy.

While the Blackberry has yet to hit stores here in the US, the Blackberry has already been released in Europe and is already a big hit. This is partly due to the fact that Vodafone has been giving them away for free with a phone contract. If only they could that here.

I myself have been anticipating the release of the Storm and am looking forward to trying it out. With the strategy that Blackberry has taken into marketing the new Storm, it is hard to see how this product can fail. Taking into account the innovative features, the reasonable pricing, and Blackberry’s reputation for its strong network and email capabilities, the Storm may not only ‘beat’ the iPhone in sales, it may just steal the market away from them.