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Pay As You Drive Auto Insurance – Part 1
For the past three months, I have begun to walk, bike, bus, and train my way to the office. So far so good, considering I spent three hours a day in the car commuting to and from my former job. The transition wasn’t easy considering I was completely dependent on my car for the past three years. But, I can now say I am officially reliant on other means of transportation.
Because of this, my Jeep has stood still for 5 weeks and counting. So I ask myself…why should I be paying for parking and auto insurance if I don’t even use my car?
The Jeep is paid off, but between a monthly parking fee of $150 and a monthly auto insurance cost of $100, I am pushing $3,000 a year on car expenses. With minimal options for parking in Chicago, parking companies have the ability to charge outrageous prices for monthly parking. So that brings me to auto insurance…Is there a way I can cut my cost without cutting my insurance coverage?
Before my research began, I contacted my current auto insurance provider to see if they could help answer some of my questions. My current auto policy has a short mileage rating factor calculated into my premium, but every policy holder that drives under 30 miles a day is given this rate reduction. What about somebody like myself who drives once a month? A person with my driving frequency and habits has a much lower risk of a claim, so why isn’t this reflected in my auto premium?
I’ve seen advertisements promoting “name your price” auto insurance, but as I said, I don’t want to be underinsured. Are there any other discounts or options in the marketplace that reward lower risk consumers by minimizing their insurance cost?
I begin my quest, and will follow up with my findings…
And the winner is…
The Chevy Volt! Motor Trend Magazine has named the Chevrolet Volt as the 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year. I’m not even a car enthusiast and I found this interesting.
This car of the future is the industry’s first “electric vehicle with extended-range capability” and is scheduled to be available in the United States as early as next month. A true hybrid, the Chevy Volt uses electric and gas power but gets plugged in to charge the battery.
Experts are saying it can go as far as 40 miles on just battery power alone. There is of course a lot more science behind this unique vehicle, such as a lithium-ion cell battery and a liquid thermal cooling and heating system. And it’s no surprise it was a Motor Trend winner with an overall fuel economy of 72.9 miles per gallon. According to Chevrolet’s website, the average person’s commute in the Volt will cost around $1.50 per day – that doesn’t even buy me a Pumpkin Spice Latte!
Chevrolet, a brand owned by the General Motors Company, is in recovery mode now after receiving a $9 billion government bailout at the end of 2008, only to be forced into bankruptcy by spring 2009.
The old General Motors brand was recreated into the new General Motors Company and seems to be doing well enough. As word has it, the new GM will soon be looking to sell some of the government’s majority stake in the company (61%).
Perhaps this industry-changing new vehicle will be the boost the company needs to put itself back on the map. The starting price of the Chevy Volt is expected to be around $32,780, but the savings in gas make it more than a great deal. This is certainly the kind of car that could get me more interested in cars.
Ford moves forward with Lincoln as sole luxury brand
As a follow up to my blog post from June 21, 2010 about Ford’s decision to discontinue the Mercury brand and focus on making Lincoln the luxury brand for Ford Motor Company, I thought I would provide more details about the company’s future plans.
Ford announced that it has set a meeting with its Lincoln dealers for October 4, 2010, with the purpose of providing dealers more information on how the company plans to phase out Mercury and direct focus to the Lincoln brand. The company’s spokesman stated that the meeting “will be a Lincoln update. It’s more about giving dealers a look how Ford will now work with Lincoln as an exclusive, luxury brand.”
Hopefully, this meeting will help address the current concern dealers have about how they are going to survive when the Mercury brand is completely phased out, especially for the 264 Lincoln-Mercury dealerships currently in business (based on a most recent data). Those dealerships depend on the sales of Mercury vehicles to remain profitable. Because of this, many dealers are leery about the ability to survive solely with the Lincoln brand.
Also, ongoing discussions are taking place about compensation to be made to Mercury dealers. Ford Motor Company hopes compensation payouts will avoid any legal battles down the road. However, since those discussions are still in the works, many Lincoln and Lincoln-Mercury dealers are in the dark about Ford’s short-term and long-term plans.
Do you think Ford is doing enough to provide comfort and security to its dealers? What other concerns do you think might be out there for the dealers? Do you think the business plan to eliminate Mercury and focus on Lincoln is still a good idea (or bad idea for those who didn’t buy into the business decision in the first place)?
Toyota just can’t get a break
I’m sure Toyota executives were relieved when the focus and scrutiny of the American public shifted away from the Japanese automaker to other “newsworthy” issues in recent months (the Gulf of Mexico oil spill jumps to mind).
After the fallout of safety concerns, Toyota implemented an aggressive marketing plan to regain the loyalty of past customers and to prove to the American public that it is focused on safety. Toyota began to reassure consumers of the safety of its vehicles, with recent marketing that revolves around steps it has taken to improve the safety experience. The marketing campaigns also note the safety accolades Toyota’s vehicle line-up has accumulated. The company seemed to be on the path of recovery, and out of the spotlight.
But unfortunately, it seems like the company’s troubles may not be over. Toyota recently announced a voluntary recall of over 1.1 million Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks because of a “defective engine module.” There have been three accidents and one minor injury reported, but Toyota has not confirmed that these problems were caused by the faulty engine module.
Toyota has been plagued by quality issues for almost a year, with more than 10 million vehicles being recalled since October 2009. Do you think this recent move will continue to tarnish the company’s image? Or do you think this approach will help rebuild loyalty since Toyota has been quick to respond before a widespread problem? How does this announcement affect the company’s past efforts in improving its quality image?
Please visit Toyota.com to learn more about this recall.