Selling Geek: Tech Reviews for Sales Pros

Archive for the 'Cars' Category

Sep 16 2008

GM unveils Chevy Volt; traveling salespeople calculate savings

Published by Timothy Sullivan under Cars, News

Chevy Volt GM introduced the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, its first commercially available electric car, with a home outlet rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Drivers can run on the Volt’s electric motor on an initial overnight charge for short trips up to 40 miles, after which the on-board gasoline generator provides sustained current to the battery, allowing a drive range of “several hundred additional miles,” according to GM.

GM said that the Volt will be no performance slouch, with 250 horsepower and a top speed of 100 miles (160 km) per hour.

The interior of the Volt features a customizable LCD instrument display, 7-inch touchscreen for controlling climate and entertainment systems, built-in Bluetooth, USB connections and optional GPS navigation.

Volt interior The Volt will be available for purchase in November 2010, according to GM vice chairman Robert Lutz.

GM officials also said that a typical recharge, using a conventional 110 or 120 volt plug, will take about eight hours, and that consumers could save as much as US$1,500 dollars a year in fuel costs, assuming they drive about 15,000 miles annually. At current electricity prices, recharging the Volt will cost approximately 80 cents per day.

Tags: Chevy Volt, GM

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Aug 17 2008

Chrysler to offer in-car wireless access on August 25th; road-bound sales pros tempted to surf and drive simultaneously

Published by Timothy Sullivan under Cars, News

This Week in Consumer Electronics (a.k.a, TWICE) reports that Chrysler will offer integrated cellular/Wi-Fi Internet connection capability in its cars starting August 25th, under the name “Uconnect Web”. The new Autonet device will be compatible with all 2009 Chrysler vehicles and some earlier model year automobiles, and will be available either as a new car option, or as an installed add-on to older vehicles. It delivers download speeds from 400kbps to 800kbps with upload speeds averaging 400kbps, which are much faster than dial-up connections (but certainly not at the 1.5+ gigabyte connected broadband connection speeds from cable or DSL modems). The Wi-Fi service operates within 100 feet of the car and the Wi-Fi connection is secured with WEP and other encryption technologies.

The price for Uconnect Web is expected to be US$499, with a one-time $35 activation fee plus a $29 monthly service charge. The device needs to be installed by a certified Chrysler service technician, and so, there will be an installation fee between $35 to $50, depending on your vehicle model.

Uconnect Web will use both EVDO and WiMax signals to connect to the Internet. According to Autonet Mobile, the company supplying the new device to Chrysler, the device can be configured for use on all cellular networks. The tech blog CrunchGear speculates that the native EVDO functionality makes this more compatible with networks from either Sprint or Verizon, and it is likely that it will be promoted for use on one of these networks.

Sales pros who cover their territories in their cars will find turning their automobile into an Internet wireless “hot spot” a great convenience for getting directions, doing last-minute account research before sales calls, for updating CRM and contact management systems immediately after customer contact, and many other useful purposes. However, we predict that the fatality rate of salespeople on the road will increase, unfortunately, as they try to master the ability to drive and surf the web at the same time - definitely a recipe for disaster.

UPDATE: Caution: Driver may be surfing the web…

Tags: automobile wi-fi, Autonet, car, Chrysler, hotspot, Uconnect Web, vehicle

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Aug 09 2008

Tech-laden cars fare best in J.D. Power vehicle dependability survey; sales geeks already knew this, but it’s fun to have objective proof

Published by Timothy Sullivan under Cars, News

Automobile As reported by Technoride, for the 14th year in a row, Lexus placed atop the list of J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), which measures problems after three years of ownership. The comprehensive survey found that cars with a high amount of integrated technology were also the most dependable, in general. This is somewhat counter-intuitive, as more technology - such as GPS navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, advanced cruise control, parking sensors, blind spot and traffic cameras, computerized engines, traction control and collision avoidance systems - usually means more opportunity for things to break, but the survey proves instead that tech makes cars better, overall.

The top five ranking brands for dependability were, in order: Lexus, Mercury, Cadillac, Toyta and Acura. The bottom five brands were: Saab, Isuzu, Kia, Suzuki and Land Rover.

Tags: automobile technology, J.D. Power, vehicle dependability

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Jul 23 2008

For “ego driven” sales pros: the perfect hands-free phone interface

Published by Timothy Sullivan under Cars, Mobile phones, News

With more and more governments requiring hands-free use of mobile phones in cars, those traveling sales professionals that don’t have a built-in Bluetooth speakerphone might want to consider the Ego Cup — which fits in a cup holder. CNET reviewed the Ego Cup, and gave it middling scores — but cited its ease of set-up, decent performance, and simple operation. At a price of $100, this is a quick fix for in-car phone calls — if you have a spare cupholder near your driver’s seat.