Affordable Cars That I Like

Often times we are car snobs, no wait, I am a car snob! If it is under $50K then it is common, mass produced, and likely garbage. That's pretty arrogant, I know, but it reflects a lifetime of appreciating some of the finer things, especially when you have a background in engineering.

Cars should not rattle and squeak when driven, lurch and roll in turns and accelerate like sloths. So for me, to consider a car that is under $50K to be likeable is a very difficult thing.

No.1 - The Volvo C30.

OK, first, the design does very little for me, but for such a conservative company as Volvo to release such a modern car is commendable.

Volvo has not fallen into the retro fashion world of Ford, Chrysler and GM where the models will only last a few years and then become very dated very quickly. Imagine if Volvo resurrected the 444, a Swedish HHR or PT Cruiser!

No, the C30 moves into the next generation of cars, admitting that function can have form. It shows that Volvo can be creative.

No. 2 - The Dodge Caliber

Again, like the C30, it is a car that allows form to follow function. It is a small utility car that has a certain toughness in its style yet the proportions are just right. This is no abomination like the Durango (btw, have you ever driven up on a Durango from behind and when you are at about 4 o'clock on it, you actually think that it is missing a front end, what the heck were they thinking?).

The caliber, in some ways could almost replace the minivan. Too bad Dodge and Chrysler can't figure out the rest of their line up.

More to follow in my next post ...

Gold in That Garbage - Landfill Mining

In the next few years you will see a new industry sprout up around North America - Landfill Mining. Yes, people in HazMat suits along with heavy equipment will begin to dismantle the thousands of landfill sites in search of recyclable, reclaimable, and reusable trash.

Let's face it, how many of us have thrown away batteries, or obsolete electronics, or glassware, or paper, or aluminum cans or plastic or ... ? Yes, all of us, and we have been doing it for decades, and that stuff for the most part does NOT decompose.

This new industry will reach a billion dollars in a very short time. Cities will pay to have these landfills mined to reduce their sizes, corporations will pay to buy the outputs from these mining operations, and in theory the environment will be the ultimate winner.

General Motors to Improve Gas Mileage by Switching to Imperial Gallons

In its ongoing efforts to produce higher gas mileage ratings, General Motors (GM) has announced that it will now report fuel economy ratings in Imperial Gallons in the US. In a press release GM spokesperson, Brent Dewar wrote, "as General Motors continues to focus on the greening of its corporate programs, and in better reflecting the needs of the planet with our ongoing work in alternative fuel vehicles, such as the all electric Volt, or our E85 Flex Fuel products, we are very happy to announce the conversion of our miles per gallon (MPG) ratings based on the imperial gallon."

This means that GM will have an instance increase in mileage ratings of 17%. For example, the popular Chevy Malibu will go from a MPG rating of 31.6 (US Gallons) to 38 (Imperial Gallons).

For more info, please go to: http://www.gm.com/corporate/

The iPhone Secret

Apple Has a Secret

Remember when there was a discrepancy between the number of iPhones sold as reported by Apple and AT&T? What was never disclosed was that the higher number was the correct number.

You may recall that AT&T reported sales of approximately 750,000 units whereas Apple reported that AT&T sold approximately 1,250,000 units. So what happened?

The iPhone is manufactured and assembled in China by Li Wen Electronics in Shanghai. And as you know Shanghai is a huge distribution hub for China, this is an important point.

At the time of the discrepancy, it was suggested that the reason the numbers differed was due to AT&T counting activations and not actually counting sales, which can vary since consumers do NOT have to activate their phone upon purchase.

Now, back to China. During the manufacturing, approximately 1 in 5 iPhones were pulled out of the final production line and sent to a warehouse approximately 5 kilometers from the factory. From there they were then re-opened, hacked, repackaged and distributed to bootleg resellers in China, Hong Kong, Japan and India.

Apple did an extensive internal investigation and discovered that Li Wen Electronics Plant Manager and VP of Operations Xu Hung was behind the embezzlement. Apple then reported this to the PRC Police in Shanghai, and Xu Hung was arrested in December 2007.

So, how could Hung do this? Considering the profile of Apple and the buzz around the iPhone, he was able to force most parts suppliers in China to drop their prices by 15-20%, but he had his buyers report the cost at the original higher price but to reduce the number of components used by 20%. Ultimately, this means that each iPhone, which last year had an initial margin of 18.5% (which is Apples target margin) was actually understated versus the actual cost which was 15-20% less thus meaning the true margin was in the mid 20% range.

Now you know, and now you know why Apple dropped the price of the iPhone last year. Xu Hung is still in prison awaiting his trial ...