Deducting your miles
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the 2015 national optional business mileage deduction rate of 57.5 cents for U.S. business drivers, effective January 1, 2015, reflecting a 1½ cent per mile increase. To establish the rate, the IRS worked closely with Runzheimer International, the company that has provided annual vehicle cost data to the IRS since 1980. U.S. taxpayers will be able to deduct the new rate for vehicle expenses on a 2015 tax return for recorded business miles.
Better safe…
Rear View Safety, a manufacturer of camera systems and accessories, has introduced new road safety features for commercial vehicles. The G-Series Replacement Mirror Monitor with Bluetooth capability, for instance, provides drivers with hands-free control for mobile devices. The integrated Bluetooth function is designed to allow drivers to easily connect their smart device, as well as answer or make calls through the mirror. Drivers can also play music through the connection, and it features voice recognition by pressing the monitor’s microphone button. The company also offers a Two Channel Dash Camera, a rear-view camera system featuring dual cameras, with a four-inch touch screen that allows drivers to see both cameras. Each of the featured cameras on this product offer full features for HD recording, and can be viewed simultaneously. This backup camera system also comes with integrated Wi-Fi, permitting mobile devices to be connected.
Eyes on the road
iBOLT has introduced the iPro2 Car Dock, an MFi-approved car dock with an integrated lightning connector designed to fit iPhone 5, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus. The iPro2 Car Dock provides users with a reportedly secure and versatile connectivity and charging solution when on the road. Upon inserting the iPhone in the iPro2 Car Dock, users can launch the iBOLT Dock’n Drive app to access favorite contacts as well as music and navigation apps. The iPro2 Car Dock features 360-degree viewing angles, as well as:
- Sliding adjustable latch
- Accessibility to AUX-out port and all buttons on the iPhone
- Open camera view
- Ball joint for easy turning and mounting options
- Two-meter lightning cable for flexible placement options, including the left side of the steering wheel.
Women have control of the wheel – literally
ReportLinker, a market research group, reports that women are set to form a larger and more influential consumer segment than men, driving OEMs to launch specific models targeting women. In 2012, women comprised the majority of drivers, according to ReportLinker. As such, U.S. OEMs, such as Fiat, Renault, Jaguar and Porsche, have been aiming key vehicle models at women. At one point, smaller city cars started the trend, but today luxury and SUV models are following. The dominance of female customers will drive changes in the retail space and many stores are predicted to become more lifestyle oriented, hire more female staff, and emphasize consultative selling. New business models are believed to attract women by offering longer warranty periods, pay-as-you-drive, and car-as-a-service. Dealers, car brokers, leasing companies, and insurers will win competitive advantage by marketing specifically to women, according to ReportLinker. According to the report, women will drive the following design trends in years to come:
- Interior spaciousness
- High visibility
- Environmental friendliness
- Intuitive controls
- Personalized options
Further, whereas past vehicles have been heavy and without assist functions, features such as park assist and sensorised doors are becoming standard.
New or used?
Consumers appear to be increasingly interested in purchasing used cars, according to the NADA Used Car Guide. At the same time, fewer cars are being sold at wholesale auctions. As a result, vehicles sitting in used car lots have managed to retain more of their value over the past couple of months. Still, the new vehicle market has remained strong, particularly toward the end of 2014.
Kites, lasers and sunshine – oh my!
Driving may become much more environmentally friendly, sooner than one might expect. Although there are no imminent changes for mainstream consumers, thousands of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will be deployed in the next few years for both civil and military missions, with a focus on smart structural components and intelligent motors with integral gearing. Cars are expected to follow suit in years to come, note experts. Currently, UAVs are powered by electric motors said to provide maximum torque from stationary, with virtually no noise or gaseous emissions. There is also work on unmanned aircraft harvesting power from winds at altitude using kites and beaming it to earth. Other UAVs are held aloft by lasers, while another project will result in upper atmosphere UAVs that stay aloft for five years on sunshine.
Honda going green
Looking to buy a new car? How important is green when it comes to choosing a dealer? To help auto dealers adopt more environmentally responsible business practices, while also reducing costs, Honda recently released the Honda Green Dealer Guide. The 93-page energy efficiency roadmap is geared specifically toward dealerships and similar commercial buildings with high-energy loads. The company is encouraging auto dealers across all brands to download the Guide and reduce their environmental footprint. To date, the program has reportedly helped 45 Honda and Acura dealers collectively reduce their annual CO2 emissions by approximately 5,000 tons – the equivalent annual footprint of the electricity needed to power more than 600 U.S. homes. In addition, dealers have cut their cumulative annual operating costs by more than $800,000. If all 17,000 automotive dealerships across the country were to reduce their electricity consumption by 10 percent, nearly 800,000 tons of CO2 emissions would be eliminated annually, says Honda.
Zero-emission fuel cell
Hyundai Motor introduced its zero-emission fuel cell, reportedly the first available mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicle. The fuel cell is designed to replace the battery pack used in an electric vehicle by generating electricity from hydrogen through an electrochemical process, which does not involve hydrogen combustion, with no moving parts within the fuel cell stack. The Tucson fuel cell maintains the day-to-day flexibility of the gasoline-powered Tucson so that its driver is able to immediately enjoy the next generation of electric vehicles, without regard to range or recharge-time.