Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[How a hostage negotiator buys a car]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/30/how-a-hostage-negotiator-buys-a-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/30/how-a-hostage-negotiator-buys-a-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/30/how-a-hostage-negotiator-buys-a-car/#commentsFiled under: ,



Planet Money on National Public Radio takes an aerial view of the government's "fiscal cliff" brouhaha via three different negotiating techniques - the issue isn't what each side is trying to get, but how each side might try to get it. The two hosts outline three different ways to persuade, and then use ordinary examples to demonstrate how we use the same techniques for quotidian affairs that Congress will use to decide the next phase of the nation's financial future.

There's "The Nibble," "Expanding the Pie" and "Disarming Empathy." The everyday example for the last is a former FBI hostage negotiator buying a new SUV, his explanation being "Get the other side to bargain against themselves... but you have to be nice about it." It's not for everyone, though - he called it "Master's level kidnap bargaining."

Have a listen to the show below to polish your persuasive technique, Mr. FBI begins at 8:25.

Continue reading How a hostage negotiator buys a car

How a hostage negotiator buys a car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Dec 2012 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>car buyingdisarming empathyexpanding the pienational public radionegotiatingnegotiating techniquesnegotiationsnprplanet moneythe nibbleSun, 30 Dec 2012 08:57:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20410262/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/12/30/how-a-hostage-negotiator-buys-a-car/20410262/article-detail.xml 20410262 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/12/planet-money_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/12/planet-money.jpg <![CDATA[Report: Cuba's cadre of classic American cars in danger?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/15/report-cubas-cadre-of-classic-american-cars-in-danger/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/15/report-cubas-cadre-of-classic-american-cars-in-danger/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/15/report-cubas-cadre-of-classic-american-cars-in-danger/#commentsFiled under: ,

classic cuban car

Cuba has an interesting law when it comes to the purchasing and sale of automobiles. While European and Asian cars can be imported, only vehicles built before 1959 (the year of the Cuban Revolution) are allowed to trade hands on the open market.

This means that Cuba's automotive landscape is filled with an excess of classic American iron. It's a post-war plethora of beautiful automobiles in varying states of repair. This could all be changing, however, because the island nation is talking about reforming some of the laws that have been on the books for decades.

If Cubans are allowed to purchase modern vehicles, does that mean an end to the classics, which have come to serve as iconic fixtures of this communist Caribbean country? Not right away, according to a report by NPR. The classic cars are a treasured part of Cuba's history, and folks feel that they will be sticking around even after modern vehicles begin to arrive. Only time will tell.

[Source: NPR via The Truth About Cars | Image: FDITG/Flickr CC 2.0]

Report: Cuba's cadre of classic American cars in danger? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>classic carscubacuba classic carscuban carsnational public radionprpost-war classicsFri, 15 Apr 2011 14:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19914596/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/04/15/report-cubas-cadre-of-classic-american-cars-in-danger/19914596/article-detail.xml 19914596 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/04/lead-cuba-image_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/04/lead-cuba-image.jpg <![CDATA[<i>This American Life</i> tells the NUMMI story]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/31/this-american-life-tells-the-nummi-story/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/31/this-american-life-tells-the-nummi-story/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/31/this-american-life-tells-the-nummi-story/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



One of the highest-rated shows on National Public Radio is This American Life, which does deep-dives into weekly themes, exploring subject matter from different angles while always leaving the listener enriched. This past Sunday, the show spent an hour going over the Toyota/General Motors joint venture in California, the NUMMI facility that will be shutting down this week.

On the eve of its closure, TAL takes a look back at what brought about the joint venture in the first place. Things were bad at the former Fremont GM plant, so bad that the company closed the factory. Shortly after the closure, GM and Toyota decided to learn from each other and implemented the Toyota production system in a U.S. plant for the first time.

Ira Glass and Frank Langfitt turn the lens of radio upon the outcome of that move, and what it meant for the workers and industry at large. Head on over to This American Life to download the show. That is, if TAL's not already on your required listening list. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Source: This American Life | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

This American Life tells the NUMMI story originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>general motorsgeneral motors nummiGeneralMotorsGeneralMotorsNummigm nummiGmNummiira glassIraGlassnational public radioNationalPublicRadioNPRnummi closingnummi closurenummi plantNummiClosingNummiClosureNummiPlantthis american lifethis american life nummiThisAmericanLifeThisAmericanLifeNummitoyotatoyota nummiToyotaNummiWed, 31 Mar 2010 11:40:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19417857/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/03/31/this-american-life-tells-the-nummi-story/19417857/article-detail.xml 19417857 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/nummi-plant-sign-gm-toyota-630-getty-1270039034_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/nummi-plant-sign-gm-toyota-630-getty-1270039034.jpg <![CDATA[NPR's Jason Beaubien drives across Cuba]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/05/nprs-jason-beaubien-drives-across-cuba/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/05/nprs-jason-beaubien-drives-across-cuba/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/05/nprs-jason-beaubien-drives-across-cuba/#commentsFiled under: ,



As you're probably aware, we've imposed some pretty heavy trade embargoes against Cuba since just after Fidel Castro deposed Fulgencio Batista, and we've encouraged our friends to do likewise. As a result, there's a dearth of post-1960 cars running around the island nation. Pistonheads have long viewed Cuba with some interest, figuring that once Fidel and his brother Raul go bye-bye, the now closed, Communist nation will open its doors and sell some of all of the 1950s "Yank Tanks" that have been so meticulously maintained in a rust free environment for so long. Remember that before the revolucion, Cuba was the biggest importer of automobiles in all of Latin America.

However, like much about Cuba, the notion of pristine 1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs not only lining the streets of Havana but being ripe for the picking is more fantasy than reality. National Public Radio's Jason Beaubien recently traveled to Cuba (reporters are generally not as not bound by travel restrictions) to catch Raul Castro's July 26 speech commemorating the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. Beaubien's plan was to fly into Havana, then simply catch a flight or a train east to the Holguin province, home of the Castro brothers. Only trouble was, no hay flights, no hay trains. Eventually, Beaubien arranged to rent a Samsung sedan with the trunk taped shut for $100/day and just drive across the Autopista Nacional, Cuba's main highway.

Along the way, Beaubien discovers roads so empty that farmers use them to dry crops. He's also shocked at the $4 a gallon gasoline. Not horrible by our standards, but absolutely insane in a nation where the official salary is $20 per month. They also meet a man who, "dreams of emigrating to the Dominican Republic where he's heard he could earn 70 U.S. cents an hour." All the while, the road is blanketed by signs reading, "Continuaa Su Obra." Literally, "Continue Your Work." Definitely worth a read or listen.

[Source: National Public Radio | Image: Jason Beaubien/NPR]

NPR's Jason Beaubien drives across Cuba originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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