Thursday, July 3, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Can I Start My Own Business Doing Auto Windshield Repair?
Absolutely! We welcome entrepeneurs looking to get started in the Auto Windshield and Glass Repair business! Many Auto Glass Repair businesses start small, and that's why they are so viable as a business choice. All you really need are the Glass-Star Windshield Repair Kits and whatever materials you need to get the word out : you're using the best Windshield Repair system out there, and you can save your customers hundreds of dollars repairing their windshields so well they'll be glad they didn't opt to replace them.
Not only is Windshield Repair a viable business to pursue, but it's a service people can really get behind. Not only can you be well-paid for the service you're providing, but on top of that you're saving your customers money and sending them off happy - what could be better? Many people suffer the fate of a rock chip in their windshield glass. It can really ruin your day and leave most people feeling like they're out of hundreds of their hard-earned dollars because of a little pebble, or because that dump truck driver neglected to properly cover his load or sweep his vehicle. Now you can save people hundreds of dollars - and make yourself a good living doing it!
Contact Glass-Star America today and find out how you can make good money doing Windshield Repair in your community!
Not only is Windshield Repair a viable business to pursue, but it's a service people can really get behind. Not only can you be well-paid for the service you're providing, but on top of that you're saving your customers money and sending them off happy - what could be better? Many people suffer the fate of a rock chip in their windshield glass. It can really ruin your day and leave most people feeling like they're out of hundreds of their hard-earned dollars because of a little pebble, or because that dump truck driver neglected to properly cover his load or sweep his vehicle. Now you can save people hundreds of dollars - and make yourself a good living doing it!
Contact Glass-Star America today and find out how you can make good money doing Windshield Repair in your community!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Honda leaping into hybrid pool, with hybrid-only model
Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Wtier
TOKYO — Honda will sell a new, improved and affordable gas-electric hybrid in the USA, Japan and Europe starting in early 2009, underlining the Japanese automaker's commitment to "green" technology, the company president said Wednesday.
The new model — to be sold solely as a hybrid, and not as a traditional, gasoline-powered car — is a key part of Honda's (HMC) strategy for the next three years that President Takeo Fukui outlined at Tokyo headquarters.
Honda said the new hybrid's exterior design is based on its wedge-shaped FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Several dozen of the fuel cell-powered five-passenger sedans will be leased in the United States this July and in Japan in the fall.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Electric cars: iPhones of the auto industry?
Depending on who you talk to, electric cars pack the disruptive force of either Dell PCs or the Apple iPhone.
Regardless of your choice of analogy, the auto industry is facing the kind of technology-based competition it hasn't seen in years.
And in this game, start-ups claim to have the upper hand on the incumbents.
"This is probably something that has not been seen since we moved from the horse to the engine," said Henrik Fisker, the CEO of Fisker Automotive, which is designing a luxury hybrid electric car, the Karma.
"We suddenly have an open field where current carmakers don't know about batteries, or software, or designing these vehicles," he said, adding that incumbent companies are still four or five years away from mass-producing plug-in electric cars.
That may sound like bravado coming from a designer of flashy cars. But when you look at the race to deliver a breakthrough battery-driven car, the field is thick with newcomers.
The best known is perhaps Tesla Motors, which just began producing the Roadster sports car with a starting price of about $100,000. But there are several others, offering up different designs and business models to give the internal combustion engine a run for the money.
At a panel of three young car companies--Detroit Electric, Fisker Automotive, and Phoenix Motorcars--at a clean-tech investor conference last week, executives laid out some of the business opportunities and technical hurdles to cleaner cars.
On one point, they agreed: consumers will have more options to kick, or at least cut down on, their gas habit. But beyond that, their views differed on which technology--all-electric, plug-in hybrids, or hybrid electric--would succeed.
"It's a fallacy to say that everyone is going to jump off of oil onto batteries. Then we'll just have a shortage of lithium and the prices will go up," said Daniel Elliot, president and CEO of Phoenix Motorcars. "What's really going on is a fracturing of fuels."
Pick a horse
The diversity of approaches reflects the challenges that current battery technology pose.
Fisker's $80,000 Karma, expected for release at the end of next year, will have a custom-designed lithium ion battery that can go 50 miles. That's a range that covers what most people drive in a day. To ensure a longer range, the car will include a four-cylinder internal combustion gasoline engine that charges the battery.
But, having both a battery and gasoline engine in one car raises costs, say advocates of all-electric cars. Fisker and Tesla have gone after the luxury market first, catering to environmentally oriented customers willing to pay for the latest technology.
Phoenix Motorcars, by contrast, is making an all-electric truck and car, as is another supplier, Miles Electric. To get around the range limitation, Phoenix Motorcars is designing its vehicles, based on an Altairnano lithium titanate battery, for use in fleets where the use and range are known.
"It's difficult to move to plug-in hybrids and make economic sense...You have to have a conventional drive train and a battery," said Elliot. "When you're talking about going down-market, you really have to pick a horse."
In the next few years, a variety of battery technologies will be put through the paces to see which chemistry will be safe, have a long life, and can be recycled.
Parallel to technical development in batteries, new companies are trying to innovate with new business models.
Project Better Place, started by ex-SAP executive Shai Agassi, is planning to test a battery-swapping program in Israel, Denmark, and perhaps San Francisco. It now has a prototype of its car, which will be built by Renault.
Premium green
Apart from all the technical and business challenges remains the question of customer demand.
To fleet owners, replacing trucks with rechargeable electric vehicles could simply be a question of saving money in the face of rising fossil fuel prices. They can also potentially benefit from government incentives for cleaner transportation, such as California's zero-emissions vehicle plan.
But for many consumers at this point, it's more of a lifestyle statement, argued Fisker. Buying a luxury hybrid electric car is like buying Apple's iPhone when it first came out. Buyers of some of the first consumer-oriented electric cars will be technology early adopters, eager to be part of the future, he said.
Meanwhile, Think Global is making an all-electric town car, called the Think City, which can top out at 65 mph and go 110 miles on a single charge. Rather than try to compete with a typical sedan, it's aimed at urbanites who want a smaller, fuel-efficient car, perhaps used as a second car. It plans to bring the Think City to the U.S. and is exploring business models where consumers can swap out batteries.
The incumbent automakers are not sitting still, either. Nissan this week said that it will offer an all-electric car in 2010. GM's Chevy Volt is supposed to come out in 2010, while the other incumbents are pursuing different paths to better mileage.
"We're putting the pressure on the bigger boys," said Albert Lam, CEO of Detroit Electric, which plans to make electric cars and buses in 2009. "We are the 'Dells' of the industry--the smaller boys that have a tremendous opportunity to validate the industry and to be the next big thing."
Lam said consumers are also getting more savvy about green claims from automakers. He said a hybrid with a big 6-liter engine, like the one Lexus is making, is "a joke, an oxymoron."
Fisker likens battery-powered cars to iPhones, a product consumers are willing to shell out extra for, even if it means taking on some risk of being an early adopter.
"We're seeing a movement where people are demanding a product which is not there. People want a green car," he said. "I think what we are going to see are people are going to take that risk because there is no other alternative."
(From News.com)
Regardless of your choice of analogy, the auto industry is facing the kind of technology-based competition it hasn't seen in years.
And in this game, start-ups claim to have the upper hand on the incumbents.
"This is probably something that has not been seen since we moved from the horse to the engine," said Henrik Fisker, the CEO of Fisker Automotive, which is designing a luxury hybrid electric car, the Karma.
"We suddenly have an open field where current carmakers don't know about batteries, or software, or designing these vehicles," he said, adding that incumbent companies are still four or five years away from mass-producing plug-in electric cars.
That may sound like bravado coming from a designer of flashy cars. But when you look at the race to deliver a breakthrough battery-driven car, the field is thick with newcomers.
The best known is perhaps Tesla Motors, which just began producing the Roadster sports car with a starting price of about $100,000. But there are several others, offering up different designs and business models to give the internal combustion engine a run for the money.
At a panel of three young car companies--Detroit Electric, Fisker Automotive, and Phoenix Motorcars--at a clean-tech investor conference last week, executives laid out some of the business opportunities and technical hurdles to cleaner cars.
On one point, they agreed: consumers will have more options to kick, or at least cut down on, their gas habit. But beyond that, their views differed on which technology--all-electric, plug-in hybrids, or hybrid electric--would succeed.
"It's a fallacy to say that everyone is going to jump off of oil onto batteries. Then we'll just have a shortage of lithium and the prices will go up," said Daniel Elliot, president and CEO of Phoenix Motorcars. "What's really going on is a fracturing of fuels."
Pick a horse
The diversity of approaches reflects the challenges that current battery technology pose.
Fisker's $80,000 Karma, expected for release at the end of next year, will have a custom-designed lithium ion battery that can go 50 miles. That's a range that covers what most people drive in a day. To ensure a longer range, the car will include a four-cylinder internal combustion gasoline engine that charges the battery.
But, having both a battery and gasoline engine in one car raises costs, say advocates of all-electric cars. Fisker and Tesla have gone after the luxury market first, catering to environmentally oriented customers willing to pay for the latest technology.
Phoenix Motorcars, by contrast, is making an all-electric truck and car, as is another supplier, Miles Electric. To get around the range limitation, Phoenix Motorcars is designing its vehicles, based on an Altairnano lithium titanate battery, for use in fleets where the use and range are known.
"It's difficult to move to plug-in hybrids and make economic sense...You have to have a conventional drive train and a battery," said Elliot. "When you're talking about going down-market, you really have to pick a horse."
In the next few years, a variety of battery technologies will be put through the paces to see which chemistry will be safe, have a long life, and can be recycled.
Parallel to technical development in batteries, new companies are trying to innovate with new business models.
Project Better Place, started by ex-SAP executive Shai Agassi, is planning to test a battery-swapping program in Israel, Denmark, and perhaps San Francisco. It now has a prototype of its car, which will be built by Renault.
Premium green
Apart from all the technical and business challenges remains the question of customer demand.
To fleet owners, replacing trucks with rechargeable electric vehicles could simply be a question of saving money in the face of rising fossil fuel prices. They can also potentially benefit from government incentives for cleaner transportation, such as California's zero-emissions vehicle plan.
But for many consumers at this point, it's more of a lifestyle statement, argued Fisker. Buying a luxury hybrid electric car is like buying Apple's iPhone when it first came out. Buyers of some of the first consumer-oriented electric cars will be technology early adopters, eager to be part of the future, he said.
Meanwhile, Think Global is making an all-electric town car, called the Think City, which can top out at 65 mph and go 110 miles on a single charge. Rather than try to compete with a typical sedan, it's aimed at urbanites who want a smaller, fuel-efficient car, perhaps used as a second car. It plans to bring the Think City to the U.S. and is exploring business models where consumers can swap out batteries.
The incumbent automakers are not sitting still, either. Nissan this week said that it will offer an all-electric car in 2010. GM's Chevy Volt is supposed to come out in 2010, while the other incumbents are pursuing different paths to better mileage.
"We're putting the pressure on the bigger boys," said Albert Lam, CEO of Detroit Electric, which plans to make electric cars and buses in 2009. "We are the 'Dells' of the industry--the smaller boys that have a tremendous opportunity to validate the industry and to be the next big thing."
Lam said consumers are also getting more savvy about green claims from automakers. He said a hybrid with a big 6-liter engine, like the one Lexus is making, is "a joke, an oxymoron."
Fisker likens battery-powered cars to iPhones, a product consumers are willing to shell out extra for, even if it means taking on some risk of being an early adopter.
"We're seeing a movement where people are demanding a product which is not there. People want a green car," he said. "I think what we are going to see are people are going to take that risk because there is no other alternative."
(From News.com)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Eight Gas-Saving Tips
It is no secret that gas prices have been shooting higher and higher with no visible end in sight. Here are a few pointers on how to save the amount of gas you use daily without resorting to taking a bicycle onto the expressway.
1. Engine Warm-Up : 30-45 Seconds, Max
You don’t need incredibly extensive amounts of time to warm up your engine when 45 seconds will do. Any longer, and you are doing nothing more than wasting gas.
2. Buy Gasoline When It Is Coldest Outside
By purchasing gasoline at the coolest point of the day, you are getting the most gas for your buck. Cold air causes fuel to become denser than it is at warmer points of the day. Gas pumps only measure the volume of liquid gasoline you put into your car. They don’t measure the concentration.
3. Drive the Speed Limit
Not only does the speed limit help ensure your safety, but by exceeding it you waste more gas. And, if you are worried about getting somewhere on time, traffic lights are programmed based on the amount of time it would take to reach one if you were driving the speed limit. That means you are more likely to hit all greens if you keep your pace consistent and at the limit.
4. Avoid Rough Roads
Driving on gravel or dirt can slow down your vehicle and therefore require more gas to get over. Keep on paved roads whenever possible.
5. The Shortest Distance
If you have to travel far every day, find the best route to get you there using the least gas. Turns and corners all require more gas, so the straightest route you can find is probably the best one.
6. Drive Steadily
Slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel. Keep your speed consistent.
7. Use Your Environment to Your Advantage
Don’t use gas if you can get a little help from Mother Nature. When approaching a hill, accelerate before you reach it, that way you can let the slope glide you down without having to put your foot on the pedal.
8. Keep Your Car Light
Extra weight causes your car to do more work and use up more gasoline. Keep your car empty of any superfluous objects to ensure the best mileage. In the winter, clear out any icicles that form at the bottom of your car, since they can create up to 100 pounds of extra weight.
1. Engine Warm-Up : 30-45 Seconds, Max
You don’t need incredibly extensive amounts of time to warm up your engine when 45 seconds will do. Any longer, and you are doing nothing more than wasting gas.
2. Buy Gasoline When It Is Coldest Outside
By purchasing gasoline at the coolest point of the day, you are getting the most gas for your buck. Cold air causes fuel to become denser than it is at warmer points of the day. Gas pumps only measure the volume of liquid gasoline you put into your car. They don’t measure the concentration.
3. Drive the Speed Limit
Not only does the speed limit help ensure your safety, but by exceeding it you waste more gas. And, if you are worried about getting somewhere on time, traffic lights are programmed based on the amount of time it would take to reach one if you were driving the speed limit. That means you are more likely to hit all greens if you keep your pace consistent and at the limit.
4. Avoid Rough Roads
Driving on gravel or dirt can slow down your vehicle and therefore require more gas to get over. Keep on paved roads whenever possible.
5. The Shortest Distance
If you have to travel far every day, find the best route to get you there using the least gas. Turns and corners all require more gas, so the straightest route you can find is probably the best one.
6. Drive Steadily
Slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel. Keep your speed consistent.
7. Use Your Environment to Your Advantage
Don’t use gas if you can get a little help from Mother Nature. When approaching a hill, accelerate before you reach it, that way you can let the slope glide you down without having to put your foot on the pedal.
8. Keep Your Car Light
Extra weight causes your car to do more work and use up more gasoline. Keep your car empty of any superfluous objects to ensure the best mileage. In the winter, clear out any icicles that form at the bottom of your car, since they can create up to 100 pounds of extra weight.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Plug-and-Go Electric Car Generates Buzz
TEL AVIV - Plug 'er in and rev 'er up.
Israeli motorists got a sneak preview of a world without gasoline Sunday when an entrepreneur showed off test models of a new electric car.
Whiz kid Shai Agassi predicted that the new vehicle - with just a plug where the gas tank should be - would take the tiny nation by storm when it hits the market in 2010 or so.
"It's one of the most fun cars I've ever driven in my life," Agassi said of his own plug-and-go car.
"Every time I go by a gas station," he added, " I feel like I cheated."
The new car, produced by Renault, is powered by a 125-pound battery and can run for about 125 miles before recharging.
That's okay for pint-sized Israel, which is just 260 miles long. Agassi's company plans to install a network of charging stations nationwide and swap dud batteries for fresh ones.
Tax breaks could mean the cars will cost less than a regular gas-gulping vehicle. And drivers will take pleasure in knowing they are helping to rid the world of pollution and dependence on oil.
In fact, most of the extra electricity to power the cars in Israel could come from solar panels in the Negev Desert.
For long drives, motorists will be able to replace the battery at about 150 swap stations expected to be built around the country.
The battery swap is expected to take the same amount of time as filling a tank of gas.
For shorter journeys, drivers will be able to recharge the batteries at home or at the office.
Drivers will pay a monthly subscription for the batteries, with different plans like those of cell phone users.
Israeli motorists got a sneak preview of a world without gasoline Sunday when an entrepreneur showed off test models of a new electric car.
Whiz kid Shai Agassi predicted that the new vehicle - with just a plug where the gas tank should be - would take the tiny nation by storm when it hits the market in 2010 or so.
"It's one of the most fun cars I've ever driven in my life," Agassi said of his own plug-and-go car.
"Every time I go by a gas station," he added, " I feel like I cheated."
The new car, produced by Renault, is powered by a 125-pound battery and can run for about 125 miles before recharging.
That's okay for pint-sized Israel, which is just 260 miles long. Agassi's company plans to install a network of charging stations nationwide and swap dud batteries for fresh ones.
Tax breaks could mean the cars will cost less than a regular gas-gulping vehicle. And drivers will take pleasure in knowing they are helping to rid the world of pollution and dependence on oil.
In fact, most of the extra electricity to power the cars in Israel could come from solar panels in the Negev Desert.
For long drives, motorists will be able to replace the battery at about 150 swap stations expected to be built around the country.
The battery swap is expected to take the same amount of time as filling a tank of gas.
For shorter journeys, drivers will be able to recharge the batteries at home or at the office.
Drivers will pay a monthly subscription for the batteries, with different plans like those of cell phone users.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
New York Auto Show
Starting back in 1900, the New York auto show showed the would-be motoring public an array of "horseless carriages." Oldsmobile used the 1901 show to debut its little one-cylinder runabout that came to be nicknamed the "Curved Dash Olds," due to its design that made it look more like a small horse-drawn sleigh than a motorcar.
But the Olds would not be on static display, rather it was driven from Detroit to New York to appear in the auto show. Back then it was a way of showing that this new mode of transportation was reliable. Despite a number of mishaps, including a bent axle and some transmission trouble, the Olds made it to the car show and logged the longest automobile trip up to that time.
Through the decades, the New York auto show switched venues and saw a lot of changes to the automobile. For most of the first 50 years, the shows were held at Madison Square Garden and Grand Central Palace, but as the car show moved through the "new" century, the venue would change. For 1956, auto show management made the decision to focus on foreign cars, which were growing increasingly popular with the American motoring public. That year also saw a move to the then-new New York Coliseum and a change in the show's name to the New York International Auto Show. At the 1959 car show, Toyota and Datsun made their U.S. debuts.
Other highlights of the New York auto show include the U.S. debut of the stunning Jaguar XK-E at the 1961 show, the Mercedes-Benz C-111 rotary-engine sports car concept in 1970, Chrysler's minivans in 1984 and a number of SUVs in the '90s, including Mercedes-Benz's ML class and Honda's CR-V. Some of the more forgettable cars include the ill-fated Merkur division from Ford and the Chrysler-Maserati TC convertible. Within that time frame, 1987 to be exact, the New York auto show moved to its present location, the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Nicknamed the "Crystal Palace" for its extensive use of glass, the Javits has the capacity to display over 1,200 vehicles, making the New York auto show that much more enticing for exhibitors and patrons alike.
The Big Apple might not seem like the best place for a car show, but the New York International Auto Show remains one of the most well-attended car shows in the U.S. First held in 1900, it's also the longest-running car show in the States. With its April time slot, the New York auto show is the last major show of the season so it often gets debuts that weren't quite ready earlier in the year. The 2005 New York Auto Show was no different, as 17 all-new concept cars and production models made their world debuts. No one category stood out as we saw everything from classic muscle cars to futuristic import concepts. One of the most notable cars at the show was the 2007 Ford Shelby Cobra GT500. With more than 450 horsepower, this modern version of a Ford classic looked as though it had everything it needed to uphold the Shelby Cobra name.
But the Olds would not be on static display, rather it was driven from Detroit to New York to appear in the auto show. Back then it was a way of showing that this new mode of transportation was reliable. Despite a number of mishaps, including a bent axle and some transmission trouble, the Olds made it to the car show and logged the longest automobile trip up to that time.
Through the decades, the New York auto show switched venues and saw a lot of changes to the automobile. For most of the first 50 years, the shows were held at Madison Square Garden and Grand Central Palace, but as the car show moved through the "new" century, the venue would change. For 1956, auto show management made the decision to focus on foreign cars, which were growing increasingly popular with the American motoring public. That year also saw a move to the then-new New York Coliseum and a change in the show's name to the New York International Auto Show. At the 1959 car show, Toyota and Datsun made their U.S. debuts.
Other highlights of the New York auto show include the U.S. debut of the stunning Jaguar XK-E at the 1961 show, the Mercedes-Benz C-111 rotary-engine sports car concept in 1970, Chrysler's minivans in 1984 and a number of SUVs in the '90s, including Mercedes-Benz's ML class and Honda's CR-V. Some of the more forgettable cars include the ill-fated Merkur division from Ford and the Chrysler-Maserati TC convertible. Within that time frame, 1987 to be exact, the New York auto show moved to its present location, the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Nicknamed the "Crystal Palace" for its extensive use of glass, the Javits has the capacity to display over 1,200 vehicles, making the New York auto show that much more enticing for exhibitors and patrons alike.
The Big Apple might not seem like the best place for a car show, but the New York International Auto Show remains one of the most well-attended car shows in the U.S. First held in 1900, it's also the longest-running car show in the States. With its April time slot, the New York auto show is the last major show of the season so it often gets debuts that weren't quite ready earlier in the year. The 2005 New York Auto Show was no different, as 17 all-new concept cars and production models made their world debuts. No one category stood out as we saw everything from classic muscle cars to futuristic import concepts. One of the most notable cars at the show was the 2007 Ford Shelby Cobra GT500. With more than 450 horsepower, this modern version of a Ford classic looked as though it had everything it needed to uphold the Shelby Cobra name.
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