Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors To Trade Autos At Bic Camera

That's the plan from Japan's Mitsubishi Motors and retailer Bic Camera, which will sell the zero-emission electric cars alongside household appliances like TVs and dishwashers.

The leading discount retailer will display Mitsubishi's i-MiEV at four of its biggest stores around Tokyo, offering test drives and car information to shoppers.



Mitsubishi became the first major carmaker to sell battery-powered electric cars last year, and is in talks to sell the autos through U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy.

The carmaker's president said one of Japan's smallest automakers would be able to attract a wider range of consumers through its retailer tie-ups.

Mitsubishi aims to produce nine thousand i-MiEV cars this year, ramping up to 40-thousand units in next year.

MMC plans to unveil the North American version of the i-MiEV at the Los Angeles auto show next week, with sales beginning in autumn 2011.

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Everyone Needs To Know These Auto Transport FAQ’s And Answers

Auto transport is being used all over the world these days to get vehicles moved from one location to another safely. Before you can decide if this is the method you want to use to move your automobile, you first need to know some important FAQ’s and the answers for vehicle transport.



The following are the questions that everyone wants to know, along with the answers that will help you make a smart decision for you.

1. How do auto shipping really work?

First, it is important to get quotes from different companies, compare them to help you find the best price and then choose the best company for you to hire. Be sure you call the companies and ask any questions you have before making your choice.

Once you have booked the transport, then the company will let you know when they have your preferred method of transport available. All of this is something you have to be sure you go over carefully with the company that you choose.

Once you have booked transport with them, they will give you all of the important details on getting your car moved.

2. Is my presence required when my automobile is picked up?

You or someone you trust to take care of it for you needs to be present when the pickup happens for your automobile. You will be needed to sign the “bill of lading.”

This is the inspection that the driver will do before taking your automobile and will review with you. This is also done when the vehicle is transported to the new destination.

3. What types of payments are accepted and how do you pay?
When you book the transport, most of the transport companies will charge a small deposit. Once the driver has your vehicle, the remaining balance will be paid. Most companies will take cash, credit card, check or even a cashier’s check.

4. How many days before you need to move your vehicle do you need to hire a transport company?

It is a smart idea for you to book your transport within 7 to 10 days, at least, but the more notice you can give the company, the better for everyone.

5. Is your vehicle insured during transport?
Your vehicle will be insured during the transport process with most companies. To ensure this, be sure it is one of the questions you ask when choosing a company to hire.

These are definitely not all of the FAQ’s and answers you need to know, but they are the most important ones. These will help you get a head start on making the smart choice for moving your vehicle, but it is wise to find out the answers to other questions you have before making your final decision on the auto transport company to hire.

Nationwide Auto Transport Reports Seeing a Higher Number of America's Hottest and Greenest Cars Going to 2010 S.E.M.A.

Car shipping indicates auto industry’s specialty manufacturers are taking more “pimped rides” to S.E.M.A this year, according to leading car transport company

Car transport company Nationwide Auto Transport reported today that “the largest specialty manufacturers have always shown off their prize special parts and systems by using them to trick out entire vehicles; but, this year, we’re seeing more companies pull out all the stops. We can’t disclose the specifics of what we’ve seen in vehicle moving, but, when you ship a car, you automatically get the first peek and we’re repeatedly vehicle moving to Las Vegas some of the most exotic vehicles we’ve ever seen. This includes motorcycle transport and specialty vehicles.”

Nationwide’s Adam Talburt said, “If our experience is any example for other auto shippers and car transporters, it’s going to be quite a show. Car transport to Las Vegas this year has been exciting for us and, I imagine, for other auto transport companies and any organization involved in cars transportation. During the past few months, if we get a car shipping quote request for a one-of-a-kind vehicle, it’s almost always going to S.E.M.A.”

Nissan Unveils New Zero Emission Concept Car

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan‘s 100% electric vehicle, the LEAF, may not even be in showrooms yet, but, Nissan is already looking to the future with its “New Mobility Concept for Sustainable Zero-emission Society”, a two seater electric vehicle for urban use with the size and mobility of a motorcycle.

Nissan envisages a future with an increasingly elderly and single population of urban citizens who need simple, clean transport for short journeys within the city environment. The New Mobility Concept is an user-friendly, ultra-compact 100% electric vehicle for such urban situations.

Nissan’s concept will be used to study not only the physical aspects of the car’s design, but, also, the potential uses for such a car. For example, they are investigating the use of the EV‘s to enhance public transportation by interconnecting with public transport IT systems and the possibility of using the vehicles for 2-mode car sharing where the car is used for commuting in the mornings and evenings and as corporate transport during business hours. There is also potential to use these vehicles to improve mobility in large indoor and outdoor tourist locations where the zero emissions will be advantageous.

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Cardiff car use down by 7 per cent

THE number of people in Cardiff using a car to get to work has dropped by more than 7% in a year.

And the proportion of drivers fell by more than 12.5% in five years as the amount of people using public transport or getting around by walking or cycling soared.

But as the city council talked up its sustainable travel programme, disgruntled drivers joined experts and politicians in blaming traffic congestion and ongoing roadworks for the figures.

Castle Street was closed yesterday as work continued on the capital’s roads.


The four-month long scheme to create a Castle Quarter and introduce new bus lanes was due to be completed by this week, but was still ongoing over the weekend.

And contractors were forced to dramatically shelve work during the Ryder Cup to try to cut
Councillor Delme Bowen, executive member for traffic and transportation, said the trend of falling car use was encouraging, even though national patterns show car use increasing.

2 Top reasons for Auto Transport business has become immense Business

The auto transport business is a best example of an industry just like that has been swiftly transformed. Listed here are the 2 reasons why auto transport has boomed.

Ebay. Are you aware that Ebay Motors is currently the biggest used car dealership in the planet? Yes, Ebay sells more cars than anyone else on the planet. And Ebay wasn’t shaped that long ago Clearly, chances are that if you want to buy an automobile, it perhaps is not likely to be found anywhere near your present location. And your car has to get to the new owner by some means. That’s where auto transport companies arrive. Ebay has been a shot in the arm to the auto transport industry. Right now, when you buy a car, these companies arrange the vehicle to be delivered to you. Ebay is the one company that has had a huge effect on the auto transport industry.

2) Raised mobility and price comparison ability. Other than Ebay, you will find a lot of other small car dealers and auto lots all over the country who have web sites. They list their inventory and individuals from all over the country (even all over the world) can peruse the merchandise. If you like an automobile in Dallas and you happen to reside in Philadelphia, you can have it shipped to you via an auto transport company.

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What Are The Vehicles Used To Transport Cars?

If you are in need of a car transport service and you are wondering on how the company will be able to transport your car, here is something that you might want to know about.

Car transport companies do not actually hire drivers to drive your car all the way to the destination. Instead, they use car transport trailers in transporting cars.

In this way, they will be able to transport more than one car at the same time. There are actually two types of trailers; an open trailer and an enclosed trailer.

But what are the differences between the two types of trailers? Actually, as obviously, open trailers are the ones you commonly see on the road wherein the cars have no protection against dust, dirt, and foreign debris. With enclosed trailers, your car will have protection since it is loaded inside a container. You do not have to worry about the safety of your car since with enclosed auto transport; it will have the protection against harmful elements.

But you have to take note that transporting your car by an enclosed trailer is far more expensive that open car transport. This is due to the fact that enclosed car transport provides extra protection to your car.

Open car transport is commonly chosen by many customers because this service readily available; meaning you do not have to wait for available enclosed trailers since they are only limited.

Actually, if you are just transporting an ordinary car, an open car transport will do. But if you are transporting expensive cars such as luxury cars, classic cars, or even customized cars, you might want to use enclosed car transport so that they may have the protection that they need to preserve their quality.

Nissan will craft small sedan for Smart -- but not for itself in U.S.

Nissan says its deal to build a five-seat sedan for U.S. sale by Daimler's Smart mini-car brand, announced this week, means that Nissan has no plans to bring a mini-car to the U.S. under its own nameplate.

"We're satisfied with Versa" as the company's entry-level car in the U.S., Larry Dominique, vice president in charge of product-planning for Nissan North America, tells Drive On.

The base Versa sedan, $9,990 (or $10,740 with $750 shipping charge), is the lowest-price new car in the U.S. Not the smallest, though. Smart ForTwo is the teensiest machine sold in the U.S. And within the Nissan lineup, the new Juke is slightly smaller.

Versa took a hit in the government's latest crash-test scores. It got just two stars in the new overall scoring, out of five. Of the 33 others rated at the same time, almost all got at least four stars overall.

The subcompact Nissan-made Smart is to be on sale within 15 months, the company says.

The pact with Smart is meant to give the brand a vehicle more attractive to American buyers. Never-very-strong U.S. sales of the ForTwo, its only current product, have been shrinking fast -- just 4,779 through September this year -- and U.S. distributor Penske Automotive Group had been arguing hard for an additional, larger Smart vehicle.

"We are faced with continuing customer demand for a Smart car with more seating capacity," explained Chairman Roger Penske. "Sales and service of the five-seater will be carried out exclusively by our approximately 75 Smart dealerships in the United States.

"Together with Nissan, we will bring to market a fully equipped small car for our customers and dealers in the USA. It will fit in well with the smart brand," Penske said.

In additional to Smart, German automaker Daimler's other brands include Mercedes-Benz luxury cars and Maybach (MY-bach) ultra luxury cars.

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Consumer Reports’ Most Consistent Cars

While Honda and Toyota still dominate in reliability, General Motors has improved considerably in our latest predicted-reliability Ratings. Those are the findings of our 2010 Annual Auto Survey, based on subscribers' experiences with 1.3 million vehicles.

While some GM nameplates had been among the least reliable brands in past years, they now rank above some major European competitors. But as a company, GM is still far from tops in reliability.

Across GM brands (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC), 69 percent of models had average or better reliability. Cadillac improved the most, rising seven places from last year's ranking. Chevrolet had its best showing in years; 83 percent of models had average or better scores in predicted reliability, up from 50 percent. Also noteworthy.

The major Asian brands are still doing well overall.
All models from Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Scion, and Toyota have at least average predicted reliability.

Ford continues to be the most reliable American automaker. Ninety percent of Fords, including Lincoln models, have at least average reliability.

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Brisk demand leads to rosy earnings for Asia car manufactures

Asia's top automakers including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) will likely post big jumps in quarterly earnings thanks to better-than-expected global car demand and further cost cuts.

Japanese car makers are hurting from a stronger yen JPY= but will likely manage big cost reductions and have enough of a profit cushion from the first half to warrant an upward revision to their conservative annual guidance, analysts said.

"Global auto demand was surprisingly good," said Kurt Sanger, auto analyst at Deutsche Securities in Tokyo. "There were concerns that we would be flat to negative, but July-September saw 4-5 percent global growth in a quarter that people expected no growth."

Vehicle sales exceeded expectations in Japan and the rest of Asia, while they were in line in the United States and Europe, Goldman Sachs analyst Kota Yuzawa said.

With higher raw materials costs not expected to fully hit Japanese automakers until October, Toyota, Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and Honda Motor Co (7267.T) are seen reporting operating profit growth of between 50 percent to 150 percent in their second quarter.

Better-than-expected global demand helps in July-Sept

* Sales growth, cost cuts to outweigh Japan fx losses

* Hyundai on fast track with new products, won advantage

* Own-brand Chinese carmakers to suffer, JVs to surge

* Indian car makers to face margin pressure

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent

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Additional information released by Patrol on Friday Accident

(Chadron)-The Nebraska State Patrol has released its preliminary report on an accident west of Chadron Friday morning involving a Chadron couple. According to the Patrol, 27-year-old Christopher Powell of Victoria, Australia, was southbound on Highway 385, driving a 2010 Dodge Charger when he ran a stop sign at the junction.

The vehicle then struck a 1961 Chevrolet pickup, driven by Chad Graves of Chadron. The passenger in the car, 28-year-old Shantelle Earnshaw, also of Australia, as well as Graves and his wife, Gloria, who was also in the pickup, were transported to Chadron Community Hospital. Powell also received transport, but received no injuries.

Restraints were in use in the car, but not the pickup. Family of the Chadron couple reported to KCSR on Saturday morning that Chad had undergone surgery on his knee, and is currently at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, while Gloria was to undergo surgery on Saturday morning, and is in Denver.

The accident occurred just after 11:30 Friday morning. Westbound traffic on Highway 20 was diverted for a short time, while Eastbound traffic was temporarily halted. The Chadron Volunteer Fire Department called in assistance from the Crawford Rescue Unit on the scene of the accident for transport of victims to the hospital, and the Chadron Police Department and Dawes County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Patrol with traffic control.

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Auto and Industrial Shipping Push Union Pacific’s Q3 Profit up 51% (UNP)

Railroad operator Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) on Thursday said its third quarter profit rose 51% from last year, aided by higher automotive and industrial shipping volumes.

The Omaha-based company reported third quarter net income of $778 million, or $1.56 per share, compared with $514 million, or $1.01 per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue surged 20% from last year to $4.4 billion.



On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of $1.46 per share on lower revenue of $4.35 billion.

CEO Jim Young said that “Strong volume growth, pricing gains and operating efficiency combined to produce another record quarter for our company.”

Union Pacific shares fell $1.54, or -1.8%, in premarket trading Thursday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Union Pacific (UNP) have a 1.54% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $85.79. The stock has technical support in the $78-$80 price area. The stock is trading near all-time highs and has little overhead resistance.

Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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1.5% increase in Car sales price

The Transport group index registered an increase of 1.6 percent, from 129.6 to 131.6 between the two periods. Accroding to Acting Government statistician, M. P Kerekang this was largely due to an increase in the constituent section indices of Transport Services and Purchase of Vehicles which rose by 5.9 and 2.5 percent respectively.

The rise in Transport Services section index was mainly due to an increase in Minibus and Taxis Fares by 9.4 percent while long distance Bus (bitumen road) increased from 16.86 thebe to 18.55 thebe per kilometre, which effected on 1st September 2010. The increase in Purchase of Vehicles section index was attributed to the general increase in the prices of vehicles.

On other indicators, Kerekang said the September 2010 national Consumer Price Index was 139.4, registering an increase of 0.6 percent on the August index of 138.7. The urban villages’ index was 138.7 in September, recording an increase of 0.8 percent from 137.6 in August. The cities and towns’ index went up by 0.6 percent, moving from 137.8 to 138.6 between August and September, while the rural villages’ index increased from 142.7 in August to 143.0 in September, an increase of 0.2 percent.

Only two group indices recorded a change of at least 1.0 percent between August and September – Transport (1.6 percent) and Clothing & Footwear (1.2 percent).

The Clothing and Footwear group index recorded an increase of 1.2 percent from 123.6 in August to 125.0 in September. All constituent section indices recorded increases, notably, Cleaning, Repair & Hire (4.9 percent), Clothing (1.5 percent) and Other Articles of Clothing (1.5 percent).

The Alcohol & Tobacco group index recorded an increase of 0.9 percent from 177.6 in August to 179.1 in September 2010. The increase was mainly due to the rise in the section index of Tobacco (4.8 percent), and Alcoholic Beverages (0.3 percent).

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Better Place Battery Exchange Station Rollout Slowed for Denmark

Better Place’s battery exchange network will be launched soon in Denmark; but at a much slower pace than originally planned, according to an article in the Danish Ingenoren transport website, and Martin Thomson, host of the electric car news web blog Easyecar.com. According to the Ingenoren site, the cost of the cars in Denmark will run around Kronen 205,000 ($38,500) and a monthly battery rental fee of DK 589 ($ 110). These prices are really overly extravagant as compared to other types of electric cars, especially high performance sport models like the ones made by Tesla Motors.

The logistical factors surrounding the Better Place battery exchange infrastructure, which so far has only been tested seriously in Japan, has resulted in only about 10 or 11 battery exchange stations slated to be opened in Denmark, most likely in the capital, Copenhagen. The situation is a bit more optimistic there, however as Thomson adds that he was informed by the Better Place Sales Manager for Denmark that the actual number of exchange stations may be more, and new ones will be opened as needed. Thomson has himself tested one of the Better Place Renault Fluence ZE models, as well as other types of electric and hybrid models. He has also tested cars running on various types of hydrogen fuel mixes.

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Carmoza Auto Transport Partners with AAA to Save Car-Movers Money

Auto-transport is now as easy as 1-2-3 with AAA. Beginning in September, 51 million AAA members have been able to Show Your Card & Save at Carmoza, a premier auto transport company dedicated to providing timely, safe and cost-efficient vehicle delivery with unparalleled customer service every step of the way.

“AAA is committed to providing our members with valuable resources when it comes to their automotive needs and our relationship with Carmoza now offers our members a reliable resource in the auto transport arena,” said Brian St. Leger, Show Your Card & Save Director for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “When looking to transport a vehicle, either one way or round trip, AAA members can now take advantage of another Show Your Card & Save discount from another reliable AAA partner.”

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Careless driving is serious issue for everyone

As we all know, careless driving has become a very serious problem. In New York, at least one out of five motor vehicle crashes has distracted driving listed as a contributing factor. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver and more than 440,000 were injured.

As commissioner of the New York state Department of Motor Vehicles and Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, I was honored to be invited recently to attend U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's second Summit on Distracted Driving in Washington, D.C. Also participating at that meeting were leading national transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement agencies, industry representatives, researchers and victims affected by distraction- related crashes. Together, we addressed challenges and identified opportunities for national anti-distracted driving efforts.

Secretary LaHood refers to distracted driving as a "deadly epidemic." I could not agree more. As part of his distracted driving initiative, New York was one of only two states selected to receive a $300,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a pilot program that targets distracted driving.

The pilot project, launched in Syracuse last April, is called "Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other." It uses a combination of high-visibility enforcement and increased public education to convince motorists to put down their cell phones while driving. For the public education component, a public service announcement focusing on the dangers of distracted driving was developed that features several different motorists talking on their cell phones or texting while driving and the crashes that result from their inattention. For the enforcement component, the first 10 day wave in April resulted in 2,300 tickets being issued for either talking on a cell phone or texting while driving. The second wave in July resulted in nearly 2,150 tickets being issued. A third wave of education and enforcement is scheduled for October, with the final wave being conducted next April.
In conjunction with the Distracted Driving Summit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Committee released a distracted driving report on results of the Syracuse program thus far. According to that report, since the inception of the program, hand-held phone use while driving dropped 38 percent and texting while driving decreased 42 percent in Syracuse.

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