WATCH OUT! A TURKEY!
A total of 1,740,425 animal-related insurance claims were processed, with 1,739,687 of them – 99.9 percent – involving vehicles, reports the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an agency that monitors insurance fraud. The actual number of incidents is likely much higher since many drivers do not choose to carry coverage for that type of event. About 640,000 of the claims specified one of the top five animals involved – deer (584,165), raccoons (22,644), dogs (20,610), turkeys (7,289) and coyotes (6,023). The top five states where the incidents occurred were: Pennsylvania (145,728), New York (115,670), Texas (105,036), Wisconsin 81,282) and North Carolina (79,252). The top five cities where these encounters were: San Antonio (3,945), Austin, Texas (2,452), New York (2,442), Pittsburgh (2,115) and Rochester, New York (1,929).
Under pressure
Nissan is trying to take out the guesswork when inflating your tires, with its Easy Fill Tire Alert system, reports motor1.com. The system works by alerting the driver when a tire is inflated properly. To engage the system, the driver must put the vehicle in park, apply the parking brake, and leave the ignition on in the accessory mode position. Once the driver starts filling up a tire, the exterior lights flash, indicating the system is monitoring the change in tire pressure. Once the correct tire pressure is reached, the vehicle’s horn sounds. If the tire is over-inflated, the horn sounds again and the hazard lights flash three times. There’s no seeking out what the necessary tire pressure is and no wondering if the air pump gauge is correct. The vehicle does all the work.
Oh the calls you can make
NASA has signed a second space act agreement with Uber Technologies, Inc., to further explore concepts and technologies related to urban air mobility (UAM) to ensure a safe and efficient system for future air transportation in populated areas. Under this agreement, Uber will share its plans for implementing an urban aviation rideshare network. NASA will use the latest in airspace management computer modeling and simulation to assess the impacts of small aircraft – from delivery drones to passenger aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capability – in crowded environments. This is NASA’s first such agreement specifically focused on modeling and simulation for UAM operations.
Going for the green
Two years ago, the Ford Motor Company boasted about having been named Interbrand’s “Best Global Green Brand” and said it was committed to working to meet stricter fuel economy standards. But in April, after lobbying with the rest of the industry to strike down those standards, Ford announced that it would largely abandon the American passenger car market in favor of building more trucks, crossovers and SUVs. Automobile Magazine notes that Ford’s announcement marks a significant turning point for the American auto industry. “The only heritage United States carmaker that didn’t go bankrupt in the Great Recession of 2008, Ford had become one of its greenest. But its decade’s worth of investment in developing more fuel-efficient cars is now taking a back seat to profit.” To be sure, today’s crossovers and SUVs are safer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient than their predecessors, the magazine points out. “But they’re still no real match for passenger cars – sedans, hatchbacks and wagons – when it comes to fuel economy and reduced emissions.”
For the traveling mom
For its employees who are breast-feeding, Nissan will cover all expenses of shipping nursing mothers’ breast milk home when they are traveling for business. Milk Stork – said to be the only breast milk shipping company in the U.S. – sends packing materials and a pharmaceutical-grade cooler ahead of time so supplies are available to the nursing mother when she arrives at her destination. The cooler contains an internal mechanism that, once activated, keeps its contents chilled for up to 72 hours. Once ready to ship, the employee drops the cooler off at the hotel front desk or any FedEx shipping location to be overnighted to their baby. The Nissan Group employs about 22,500 people throughout the U.S. and Canada, including major operations in Arizona, California, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Ontario, Canada
Dirty work
Professional salespeople may not be averse to negotiating, but millions of consumers are, particularly when it comes to buying a car. That’s why some are turning to professional automotive negotiators, says an article in The New York Times. Negotiators claim their services protect consumers from unscrupulous dealers, save time and most of all, save money on new and used cars, whether bought or leased. Owen Weintraub, owner of Tarzana, California-based Authority Auto, has periodically accepted a public challenge to prove his worth. In August 2017, the syndicated TV program “Money Talks News” pitted him against USAA (a financial services company and partner of the buying service TrueCar) and the show’s host to buy a Mercedes that listed for more than $46,000. Weintraub’s total discount of more than $7,200 beat the next best deal by more than $2,000. But finding a negotiator can be tricky, according to the article. There is no standard name for these services – some call themselves a buying service, others a negotiating service, some a broker, still others a concierge. And each seems to operate in its own way.