EXTERNAL EFFECTS
The Fuel Price Rollercoaster Fuel Prices Fall
By Jamie Sorcher
What’s Going On: The average price of gas fell for the first time dur- ing April, according to a Lundberg Survey. The Camarillo,
Calif.-based
company surveys the price of gas at 2,500 gas stations across the country every two weeks for its reports. The av- erage price was $3.91
in the two-week period ending April 20. Prices, though, are still higher than normal, averaging about $3.69 per gallon at press time.
How It Could Affect You: Many see gas prices dropping as an optimistic sign, but they are still way beyond what most families are used to shelling out for fuel. Many folks continue to cut out non-essential purchases including dinners, vacations and extras such as electronics. This cut in consumer spending, in turn, continues to foster uncertainty about the economy and its turnaround. Bottom line for retailers: you may continue to face challenges at your registers as gas prices remain high, and ultimately as consumers wait for the economy to recover.
Black Box on Board
What’s Going On: The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill (SB1813) requiring all cars to have black boxes. The bill was headed to the House of Repre- sentatives for approval at press time and could soon be a law.
Taking a page from the airlines, which require flight data re- corders (a black box) aboard all planes, all new cars will come with event data recording devices starting in 2015. If there is a vehicle crash, for instance, this box will have the info as to what happened and potentially answer the questions of why it happened.
How It Could Affect You: While this bill looks likely to pass, at issue are various pri- vacy concerns, primarily those involving who owns the data in addition to what rights first responders have to the data and whether these black boxes can be turned over to insurance agencies. Event data recorders have been voluntarily installed in cars for years. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a total of 64 percent of cars in 2005 had one of these black boxes installed, including 100 percent of cars made by General Motors, Ford and Isuzu, among other automakers. This will impact everyone, from automakers and mobile electronics manufacturers to insurance agencies and drivers, if the bill is made into law.
30 Mobile Electronics June | July 2012
Electric Vehicles Plug Along
What’s Going On: Electric vehicles, technically a niche category, have had slow sales out of the gate and have not ex- actly made any major new design state- ments. Now the first
all-electric car from a U.S. automaker, Ford, jumps into the mix with its 2012 Ford Focus Electric. The car, which looks similar to the gas version, went on sale earlier this spring in New York, New Jersey and California. It will roll out to additional markets this fall. At press time, Tesla was also rolling out its first mass-production electric car, the luxe- looking Model S. According to projected forecasts, about 3,000 will be sold this year, 16,000 in 2013 and 19,000 the year after.
How It Could Affect You: If the market does start to finally take off, it could spell po- tential for aftermarket companies to build business here. Above all, there needs to be reasons compelling enough for consumers to go this route versus traditional vehicles — it remains to be seen. Gartner forecasts approximately 100,000 electric car sales this year.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68