Ad-wrapped rental cars launch in Atlanta

Ad-wrapped rental cars launch in Atlanta
by Carla Caldwell

Motorists who don’t mind driving a rolling advertisement can get a discount when renting from Atlanta Budget Rent a Car. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based rental car company has launched advertisement-wrapped cars in Atlanta, hoping to cash in on leisure travelers willing to promote a product in exchange for discounts, reports the Washington Post.

Budget is working with Sheets Brand Energy Strips on the project brokered by Wrap Media Group, the newspaper reported. Budget chose to launch the campaign in Atlanta, because the market is one of the company’s larger hubs.

The discount offered depends on where the car will travel. Rental car customers are asked their destination before the amount is tallied. One woman told the newspaper her family rented an ad-wrapped SUV for a four-day trip to Florida for close to $88, when it typically would have cost closer to $300.

What's the best way to finance a new vehicle in Florida?

What's the best way to finance a new vehicle in Florida?
By Steven Cole Smith

Give credit where credit is due: Financing for Florida auto customers is a lot easier than it was less than three years ago.

"We have ample credit available," says Marc Cannon, senior vice-president of the Fort Lauderdale-basedAutoNation, which owns the country's largest auto dealership network. "And it continues to improve."

That wasn't the case in 2008 and 2009. Financing institutions, stung by loans made to customers who defaulted, tightened restrictions that limited who qualified. This was a major reason why new vehicle sales tanked during this period, and used vehicle sales rose -- people couldn't finance a new car, and often had to buy a used vehicle either with cash or loans from a "buy here, pay here" used car dealership.How bad was it? Claes Bell, banking and auto reporter for the North Palm Beach-based Bankrate.com, an online clearinghouse for consumer financial information, cites a survey taken in December of 2008, the height of the financial crisis, that says the approval rate for new auto loans was just 46.3 percent.


"Now, it's way up," Bell says, to 74.5 percent, citing the same study from June of this year. And while new vehicle sales haven't been as strong in 2011 as predicted early this year -- due mostly to the still-struggling economy, and the shortage of vehicles caused by theearthquakes and tsunami in Japan -- neither manufacturers nor dealers are complaining.

Interest rates have also come down. Bell points to the most recent survey by the U.S. Federal Reserve that pegs the average interest rate from a commercial bank on a 48-month new car loan at 5.81 percent in May of 2011. The national average for 2007, for example, was 7.7 percent.

Bell says there are three central sources for new-vehicle credit: Banks, credit unions and the auto manufacturers themselves. Which is best? It can vary with every purchase. For that reason, Bell suggests buyers shop for credit before they shop for a car or truck.

"That allows you to walk into the dealership in a stronger position," he says.

Dealers may offer financing through the manufacturer -- typically at rates discounted by a contribution from the manufacturer, to help its dealers move cars -- or from banks and credit unions that the particular store has a relationship with.

There is no right answer as to where to get credit, except for one: The lender that costs you the least. Bankrate.com has some online tools that help you survey loan rates, and figure up payment schedules. For instance, the site surveys banks and credit unions in geographical areas, and provides specific data as well as averages. The average interest rate for a 60-month new-car loan in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, for instance, is 5.2 percent. In Tampa, it's 5.065 percent. In Tallahassee, 5.432 percent.

Dealers invariably have multiple outlets for credit, including area banks and their own manufacturer's financing arm. Chad Rogers, general manager of Classic Mazda and Holler Hyundai in Orlando, says that when the manufacturers are offering attractive low-interest deals, the majority of the dealership financing goes there, "especially the customers with the top-tier credit ratings."

Otherwise, his dealerships maintain close ties to several banks, and even credit unions are becoming more aggressive in seeking business outside their captive credit union membership. "We've had several credit unions reach out to us and ask to be considered as a finance source," Rogers says.

Indeed, credit unions should not be overlooked: Bankrate.com's Bell cites figures from a Datatrac survey from last March that said the average U.S. interest rate on a 60-month new car loan from credit unions was 4.12 percent, compared to 5.46 percent from conventional banks.

Not all attractive manufacturer-backed finance deals are on slow-selling, unpopular models, or models that are about to undergo a major design change in the next model year. This time of the season, low-rate financing might be offered to simply clear the 2011 inventory to make room for soon-to-arrive 2012s.

Example: The two best-selling cars in the U.S. in 2010, the Toyota Camry and -- finishing the year slightly behind the Camry -- the Honda Accord, both currently have low- or no-interest financing. The 2011 Accord, for example, has a 0.9 percent race for 24 to 36-month loans, and 1.9 percent for 37 to 60-month loans. The Camry has 0 percent financing for 36, 48 or 60-month loans, and may include $500 "bonus cash back."

There is, as with all these deals, fine print involved. Sometimes you must purchase a vehicle that is on the dealer's lot, and take delivery by a certain date to qualify. Often these deals "cannot be combined with other offers," as Toyota says, meaning that if there is, say, a separate rebate offered, you can't take that and the financing.

And part of the fine print from the Honda Accord offer is also typical: "Not all buyers may qualify. Higher rates apply for buyers with lower credit ratings." In other words, if your credit rating isn't very good, you may still qualify for financing, but not at the bargain advertised rate.

For vehicle that offer either a hefty rebate or low-interest financing, you'll have to do your homework to see which suits you best. The 2011 Chevrolet Malibu, for instance, offers 0 percent interest for a 60-month loan, or a $2,500 rebate. The 2011 Ford Fusion is available with 0 to 1.9 percent financing depending on the loan length, or a $2,500 rebate.

All these deals can vary geographically. Check out the manufacturer's website -- typically the manufacturer's name, like Ford.com, Toyota.com or Honda.com -- and they will ask for your zip code before the site will list special financing or rebates in your area. Sometimes, you can also find incentives that aren't publicized. Ford, for instance, has a $500 rebate for police officers who are members of one of two national police associations, and $500 for active or recently-serving military personnel.

The bottom line: Shop for credit just as you do a new car or truck.

Hackers Can Unlock Cars Via Text Messages

Hackers Can Unlock Cars Via Text Messages
Rue Liu

So we’ve all seen those commercials lately where the integration of new technology with automobiles lets a person unlock and start his or her spiffy new BMW remotely with a cellphone app. It’s convenient indeed and may also make it more convenient for hackers to hijack your car. According to two security researchers, hackers can do just that via what’s called “war texting.”

Don Bailey and Mathew Solnik, employed by iSEC Partners, have found a way to unlock vehicles using remote control and telemetry systems such as the BMW Assist, GM OnStar, Ford Sync, and Hyundai Blue Link. With off-the-shelf parts and a couple hours of tinkering, the duo was able to reverse engineer the communication protocol and pose as the GSM or CDMA mobile network servers via “war texting” or the act of finding open wireless networks.

The scariest part of this vulnerability is that it may apply to many other systems that also use telephony as a control network, including traffic control systems, 3G security cameras, home automation systems, and SCADA systems. SCADA is employed in many industrial applications such as manufacturing, power generation, water treatment, as well as oil and gas pipelines management.

Bailey and Solnik will be presenting their findings at the Black Hat conference next week, but will not reveal the exact details of their attack until the affected manufacturers fix the problem. They also do not plan on disclosing which on-board systems they were able to hack.

Other security presentations expected at Black Hat include the recent claims of a vulnerability in laptop batteries, specifically those of Apple’s MacBook Pro and Air laptops, that could allow hackers to take control of laptop and even cause physical harm.

California dreaming: LA imagines life without cars

California dreaming: LA imagines life without cars
By Michael Thurston

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is famous for its addiction to cars -- whether cruising in their convertibles, or (more often) sitting in monster traffic jams on the freeway, the car is definitely king for Angelenos.

But a surprise public response to a "car-mageddon" warning this month has fueled questions over whether -- shock, horror -- LA motorists could wean themselves off of four wheels.

A new law bolstering cyclists' rights has also added to debate, in a state which enjoys year-round sunshine and spectacular scenery, but where smog haze regularly clouds views of the sparkling Pacific.

"You can suddenly hear people talking," said LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky after the closure of a key stretch of highway failed to produce the feared apocalyptic gridlock -- quite the contrary, the roads were eerily empty.

"You hear kids playing. People discovered something about themselves and Los Angeles auto culture that shocked them. Why can't we take some chunk of LA and shut it down to traffic on certain days or weekends, as they do in Italy?"

Before the closure of a 10-mile (16-kilometer) stretch of the 405 freeway at the northern end of the LA basin earlier this month, officials had blitzed the airwaves with warnings of "car-mageddon".

But in fact motorists who did venture out during the 53-hour closure found roads eerily empty, as Angelenos heeded the warnings in massive numbers -- producing what some called "carmaheaven."

The closure "demonstrated that Angelenos really can change their driving behavior if they're motivated to do so," said an opinion piece in the LA Times, noting that a similar thing happened during the 1984 Olympics in the city.

"It's not hard to get people out of their cars during extraordinary events; the tough thing is doing it on a daily basis," added the newspaper.

Critics say one reason that can't be done is LA' parlous public transport system: buses run even slower than cars, and the subway system is OK where it goes, but useless for most people simply due to the city's sprawl.

-- 'As natural as Botox' --

And walking has never been a real option, except for the shortest of trips, partly because in the summer it's too hot, sometimes for safety reasons, especially after dark.

One group who did take heart are cyclists -- who have long campaigned for more cycle paths, and who this week welcomed a new law passed this week by the the LA City Council to protect bicyclists from harassment by motorists.

The new law, which supporters say is tougher than anywhere else in the US, makes it a crime for drivers to threaten cyclists verbally or physically, and lets victims sue without waiting for the city to press criminal charges.

"It's a groundbreaking move," said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, while City lawmaker Bill Rosendahl, who championed the plan, said: "It's about time cyclists have rights."

Paul Tullis, who writes a blog for the Huffington Post, said car-mageddon had provided a unique opportunity.

"How about seizing the opportunity, when the memory of a virtually car-free Los Angeles is still fresh, to enact weekend traffic restrictions to make the region infinitely more enjoyable on the weekends?" he said.

"The picture of a virtually car-free Los Angeles could inspire some big changes, and the benefits seem significant enough to be worth trying different fixes to overcome various obstacles," he added.

But while car-mageddon has triggered debate, skeptics note that it will take more than a marketing campaign to change decades of car culture in America's second biggest city.

"Visitors to LA often express astonishment that Angelenos can tolerate the traffic, but to us it's as natural as Botox," said the LA Times' editorial writer.

"There are other choices: carpooling, biking, scootering, walking. And it's no secret what cities and countries need to do to encourage people to choose them. In Europe and Asia, such incentives are commonplace, and they work.

"Will any of these ideas fly politically in car-crazy LA? Don't hold your breath," it added.

Ship to carry 2,000 cars, cut CO2 emissions by 40%

Ship to carry 2,000 cars, cut CO2 emissions by 40%
by Tim Hornyak


Japanese shipping giant Kawasaki Kisen is building a next-generation car carrier that will run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of fuel oil, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.

The carrier is set to be about 156 yards long, with a capacity of 5,000 tons, capable of carrying up to about 2,000 cars. Kawasaki Heavy Industries will supply the gas engines, and its nitrogen oxide emissions profile will be up to 90 percent lower than those of vessels using conventional diesel engines.

Kawasaki Kisen, whose K Line containers are a common sight in ports, made the plan in light of rising prices for fuel oil. It's apparently working on the design in conjunction with Norwegian experts who approve technology standards for ships.

As a cleaner transportation fuel, LNG is used in heavy trucks, buses, and ferries, but it's not common in cargo vessels. The carrier will start operating in 2015 or 2016 to service Europe, which is implementing tougher exhaust standards.

Borrower Nightmares: Soldiers battle car dealers over inflated prices, loan

Borrower Nightmares: Soldiers battle car dealers over inflated prices, loan
Lawsuits accuse some dealers near U.S. bases of aggressive tactics that drain young recruits' bank accounts, affect mission readiness
By Michael Hudson

Lori Mendoza saw an advertisement last year from South Colorado Springs Nissan, a dealership that promotes itself as "Proudly Serving our Military" and promises bargains for men and women in uniform.

That sounded good to Mendoza, an active-duty soldier stationed at nearby Fort Carson (Colo.) Army Base. With help from her mother, who co-signed on the deal, she traded in an older BMW and drove away with a 2010 Nissan Rogue.

Then things took a wrong turn, according to alawsuit Mendoza filed in federal court in Colorado.

The dealership, she claimed, boosted the cost of the transaction from the agreed-upon $27,000 to $35,000, admitting it had made a “mistake” only after she caught the discrepancy. Then, the suit said, it gave her a runaround about nailing down the financing she said it had guaranteed on the deal.

When Mendoza came back to the dealership to return the Rogue and cancel the transaction, another snafu emerged: The dealership claimed, the suit said, that it had already auctioned away the BMW trade-in. Later, when she demanded copies of her sales contractand the federal “truth-in-lending” disclosures, the suit alleged, a dealership staffer refused, saying he didn’t want Mendoza using the documents as “ammo” against the dealership.

Wyn Taylor, an attorney for South Colorado Springs Nissan, said the BMW was eventually returned to Mendoza and her mother. Steve Kern, the dealership’s general manager since February, told iWatch News that “we work very hard to help our men and women in the military.”

In a written statement about the case, Taylor asserts the dealership acted properly, and that documents signed by Mendoza showed the total cost of the deal was always in the $35,000 range. The statement also says the financing was never guaranteed and Mendoza knew, even though she was allowed to start driving Rogue, that the deal couldn’t be consummated until the loan was approved.

For Mendoza, the issue is now settled — she and dealership resolved the lawsuit on undisclosed terms. Many other men and women in uniform, though, are still vexed by car financing deals gone bad.

Consumer advocates and military officials claim that some car dealers target soldiers, sailors, Marines and other service members for predatory financing and other tricks that drain their bank accounts and, in some instances, interfere with their ability to do their duties.

“I think it happens every day of a week,” saidMichael Archer, a retired Marine officer who serves as director of legal assistance for Marine bases in the Carolinas and Georgia. “I think it’s at least as likely as not that when a troop buys a car, he’s overpaying either on the price of the car or the price of the loan.”

When it comes to dealers that fly American flags and post signs that say “Welcome Military,” consumer advocates often joke that “the bigger the flag, the worse their practices are,” said Rosemary Shahan, president ofConsumers for Auto Reliability and Safety , a California-based advocacy group.

The practices at some dealers are enough of a concern that the Federal Trade Commission has invited Archer, Shahan and other experts to speak at a public hearing Aug. 2 in San Antonio to focus on the problems servicemen and women face when they try to buy cars on credit. Industry officials deny that car dealers routinely take advantage of members of the armed forces.

“I don’t see military being targeted. I don’t see that,” said Larry Laskowski, executive director of the Independent Automobile Dealers Association of California , which represents some 450 used-car dealers in a state that is home to more than two dozen military bases.

In instances where there are bad apples that “don’t adhere to a code of ethics,” Laskowski said, there are laws on the books that are designed to protect service members and other consumers.

The National Automobile Dealers Association didn’t address questions from iWatch Newsabout military members who purchase cars on credit, but it told the FTC “any abuses which may have occurred” in auto financing “are isolated and most assuredly are not prevalent.”

Easy targets

Next month’s FTC hearing is another sign of the increasing attention on consumer problems faced by members of the U.S. military.

In recent months, three of the nation’s largest financial institutions — Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. — committed nearly $80 million among them to settle claims they improperly foreclosed on military personnel or overcharged them on their mortgages.

The new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which officially kicked off operations on Thursday, has signaled it will make protecting military consumers a priority.

On July 6, the CFPB and the military’s top uniformed lawyers released a “ joint statement of principles ” aimed at providing better protections for service members when they borrow money or buy things on credit. Officials said they’ve set up procedures to work together on addressing consumer complaints and improving financial literacy for servicemen and women.

“Service members and their families sacrifice a great deal for our country and they deserve advocates who will use every available resource to protect them from financial threats,” said Holly Petraeus, the consumer bureau’s assistant director for the Office of Servicemember Affairs and the wife of Army general and newly confirmed Central Intelligence Agency chief David Petraeus.

"Through this partnership and our other efforts,” she said, “we will work to make sure that the days of military families being easy targets for predatory practices and unscrupulous lenders are a thing of the past.”

When it comes to policing auto loans, the CFPB is handicapped because of a loophole written into last year’s Dodd-Frank financial reform law after intense lobbying by car dealers: The bureau has authority over auto lenders, but it generally won’t have authority over car dealers, which play a crucial role in the auto financing process. Dealers often prepare loan applications and work hand-in-hand with lenders in hammering out loan terms.

As part of a legislative compromise, the law increased the FTC’s rulemaking authority over car dealers. An FTC spokesman told iWatch Newsthat the agency has “has done extensive military outreach to provide service members with consumer education about finances and avoiding fraud.” The FTC is also working to coordinate its efforts with the CFPB, including talks about how about sharing access to complaints, the spokesman said.

Battlefield promotion

For their part, military brass have spent much time in recent years documenting the problems caused by lenders and car dealers that cater to men and women in uniform. When soldiers get ensnared in bad deals, military officials say, the fallout can affect their “mission readiness” and, if their credit is ruined, put their security clearances at risk.

“It absolutely affects their ability to perform their mission,” Archer, the Marine regional legal director, said. “When you have a lance corporal who literally has his finger on the trigger, he needs to be focused entirely on the front post site and where he’s shooting, rather on extraneous personal concerns about whether somebody is going to take away his car or his house.”

Some car dealers like to locate near military bases because many of the troops stationed there “are of an age when they’re probably going to get their first car, and they’re all concentrated in one place,” Archer said.

A November 2009 memorandum by Archer sketched out several examples of the sales tactics and credit practices that car dealers used to fleece young Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and at other installations in the Southeast.

One bold car salesman trespassed onto Camp Lejeune, “conducting an impromptu class to our most junior Marines on how car dealers will rip them off. Yet the salesman describes how he can ‘hook them up’ with a reputable dealer to avoid scams.” At least one “class,” Archer wrote, “is held when the salesman sneaks into the auditorium during a break between legitimate orientation classes.”

In another instance, the memo said, a dealership tricked a Marine lance corporal into buying an overpriced car by promising him free round-trip airfare to visit his parents in a distant time zone for Thanksgiving. It turned out the airfare wasn’t free — it had been financed into the loan contract at 13 percent interest.

Across the country in Southern California, three Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton are pressing lawsuits claiming that a nearby car dealer, Certified Auto Sales, falsified information on their credit applications.

In one of the three lawsuits in San Diego County Circuit Court, Areon Simon claims the dealership gave him an imaginary promotion on his credit application — listing him as a corporal when he was in fact a private.

Another Marine, Logan Turk, claims Certified Auto Sales reported on the credit application that he was buying a 2006 Mitsubishi even though he was really buying a 1997 Camaro.

A third Marine, Mark Splawn II, alleges that the dealer socked him with what amounted to a hidden finance charge, increasing the price of his 2006 Mazda because he had a poor credit history. It also promised him that the Mazda was in good condition, his suit says, but he soon discovered the vehicle had serious defects, including a leaking battery and “worn and unsafe” tires and front brakes.

Christopher Ramey , an attorney for Certified Auto, denied that the dealership engaged in fraud or did anything improper.

In Simon’s case, for example, Ramey said the dealership didn’t submit any information about Simon’s rank or employment to the lender — that was Simon’s responsibility, the lawyer said. “Mr. Simon signed and delivered the application to the lender,” Ramey told iWatch News.

He added that the dealership made it clear to Splawn, Turk and Simon that the vehicles were being sold “as is,” and that they were welcome to take them elsewhere if they wanted to have an independent mechanic check them out. He said a judge ruled in the dealership’s favor in November in a similar case of another Marine who claimed that he’d been sold a defective vehicle, finding that the “as is” label meant just that — “as is.”

Certified Auto’s owner, Joseph Romero, “is a small-town dealer,” Ramey said. “He’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. It’s unfortunate that Mr. Romero has been victimized” by consumer attorneys seeking to generate fees for themselves.

The three Marines’ lawyer, Hallen Rosner , says his clients’ stories are examples of how poorly service members often fare when they buy cars on credit.

Rosner, who frequently represents service members in credit disputes, says many are young and aren’t “future-oriented” — which is understandable, he said, since they’re often waiting to be transferred to overseas war zones. Car dealers like them as customers, he said, because they’re “bankable” — they have steady incomes and ready access to loans from military credit unions.

“They’re a vulnerable group, like any other group that gets exploited,” Rosner said. The Navy and Marine Corps maintain lists of off-limits car dealerships that sailors and Marines aren’t supposed to set foot on, he said, but “it takes an awful lot to be put on that banned list.”

Toyota System Can Sense Pedestrians, Avoid Accidents

Toyota System Can Sense Pedestrians, Avoid Accidents
By Martyn Williams

Toyota has developed a safety system that can automatically stop a car in the moments before a collision with a pedestrian.

The system, which will begin appearing in Toyota cars in the near future, is built on existing pre-collision detection technology that is already fitted in some Toyota cars and those of competitors. Those systems are designed to guard against collisions with large objects, such as stopped vehicles or walls, and don't do a good job when it comes to people.

Toyota's new system, which it says is a world's first, uses a millimeter wave radar and stereo camera to constantly monitor what's in front of the vehicle.

In a demonstration on Thursday at the company's Higashi Fuji Technical Center in Japan reporters were given the chance to drive a car fitted with the technology towards a mannequin in the roadway. (See video of the demonstration on YouTube.)

Toyota asked drivers to keep the car at a constant 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) and head straight for the mock pedestrian.

An audible warning first sounded when the system picked up the pedestrian and judged that a collision was possible. Moments later, when no change in the vehicle's speed or course was detected, the system prepared to stop the car.

Then, with the car approaching the mannequin fast, the brakes automatically applied and the seatbelts tightened slightly. With a slight screech the car came to an emergency stop a couple of meters from the mannequin.

The technology is one of several the center is working on that Toyota hopes will make driving safer.

In another building at the sprawling complex located at the foot of Mount Fuji, Toyota has one of the world's most advanced driving simulators.

Here a car is attached to a platform raised off the ground, the whole thing under a plastic dome and wired to computers that monitor every aspect of the way the car is being driven.

On the inside of the dome a 360-degree computer-generated image of a road and town make for a driving experience that's much more realistic than any video game. Fake road noise and computer-generated vibrations add to the feeling of being in a real car but that's not what makes it most special.

The entire platform the simulator sits on can move up to 20 meters from side to side and 35 meters from back to front. This means drivers even experience the forces they would when driving a real car.

Toyota uses the facility to simulate a variety of conditions and situations to a variety of drivers to gather data on how different people react when behind the wheel.

Around 1.2 million people are killed in road accidents every year, according to the World Health Organization. Road fatalities are expected to rise by two-thirds over the next two decades as the number of cars on the world's roads increases.

Technologies like the pedestrian detection system are meant to make driving safer and advance Toyota towards its goal of zero fatalities on the road -- an ambitious goal for sure.