Autoblog

Why Hurricane Sandy fallout will hit luxury carmakers particularly hard

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Earnings/Financials

When we say the worst of Hurricane Sandy has passed, we're only talking about the weather phenomena; the depth of the storm's other impacts will take time to measure. Many of the estimated 4,751 car dealers in the states affected by Sandy spent the run-up to the storm moving their inventory to high ground if possible and bracing their dealerships for the storm. Many had already been through Hurricane Irene had some practice, but, as one dealer said, the water levels before Sandy hit were already at Irene levels, so all they could do was hope they got it right.

It's not that there's ever a good time for a civilization-battering natural disaster, but for dealers, Hurricane Sandy coming at the end of the month was the worst possible time. These last few days of the month are when they'd be discounting cars and courting shoppers to meet their monthly quotas. Luxury dealers might take the brunt of the hit, as a report in Bloomberg indicates that Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Acura sell from 23 to 25 percent of their wares in New York, Washington and Philadelphia.

According to the The New York Times, as of Tuesday night there were eight million people without power due to the storm, 2.3 million of them in New York state and another 2.6 million in New Jersey. Power outages there might last the rest of the week, if not longer. The Washington Post reported that the D.C. area is getting back to business, but it was shut down entirely for two days. Elsewhere, it's been reported that "the Northeast back to business," but that's the business of cleaning up, not the business of selling cars.

The 'good' news, relatively speaking, for dealers and the luxury makers is that Hurricane Sandy didn't change analysts' sales predictions for the month, nor the year. October is traditionally the slowest month of the year anyway, and the annualized rate of 14.8 to 14.9 million 2012 sales might be a little soggy, but appears to have emerged intact.

Why Hurricane Sandy fallout will hit luxury carmakers particularly hard originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rogue Jeep on Philadelphia Airport runways causes terrorism scare [w/video]

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

A runaway Jeep Grand Cherokee caused quite the disturbance in ~~The Force~~ Philadelphia on Thursday, March 1, when it broke through a chain-link fence and careened onto and across several active runways at Philadelphia International Airport.

Air traffic control contacted all incoming planes - including one U.S. Airways Express plane that was 10 seconds from landing on the now-occupied runway - that there would be a delay after their radar showed the vehicle on the runway. According to Philly police, the incident took place around 11:00 am, and foggy weather prevented pilots and crew from seeing the dark-colored Jeep, which had its headlights turned off.

Authorities chased the Jeep across three runways. Said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, "A man is in custody and being processed by Philly police. It appears he was high on something. There is no apparent nexus to terrorism."

High on something? Never would have guessed... In any case, the airport was shut down for 35 minutes out of "an abundance of caution," said Vicki Lupica, public information officer at Philadelphia's airport. The driver, Kenneth Richard Mazik, 24, of Chadsford, Pennsylvania, has been charged with driving under the influence, recklessly endangerment, resisting arrest, defiant trespass, criminal mischief, aggravated assault and simple assault.

Check out a video report from ABC News after the break.

Continue reading Rogue Jeep on Philadelphia Airport runways causes terrorism scare [w/video]

Rogue Jeep on Philadelphia Airport runways causes terrorism scare [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Philly suburb ponders fining people who don't lock their cars

Zach Bowman — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Videos

Upper Moreland Township moves to make unlocked cars illegal - Click above to watch video after the jump

A suburb of Philadelphia is looking into making it a criminal offense to leave your vehicle unlocked. According to NBC Philadelphia, Upper Moreland Township wants to curb a recent rash of personal property thefts from unlocked vehicles by setting up a system of warnings and citations for those that forget to secure their car or truck on the street. Vehicles parked on personal property wouldn't be subject to the ordinance, but the proposal would have police do spot checks in neighborhoods. Owners of unlocked vehicle would be given a warning by the police on first offense, and if the same vehicle was found to be unlocked within a year, the owner could expect a $25 fine and a citation.

So why are local lawmakers targeting vehicle owners instead of the criminals breaking laws that are already in place? NBC Philadelphia reports that Police Chief Thomas Nestel says that each year, more than 75 percent of thefts are from unlocked vehicles, which in turn means a lot more man hours and paperwork for the authorities than might otherwise be necessary. Meanwhile, local residents are having predictably mixed reactions to the idea of being fined for failing to lock their vehicles. Hit the jump to see the local news spot on the issue, and then weigh in with your own thoughts in Comments.

[Source: NBC Philadelphia]

Continue reading Video: Philly suburb ponders fining people who don't lock their cars

Video: Philly suburb ponders fining people who don't lock their cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reader Spy: Bumblebee on set at Drexel University

Alex Nunez — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Chevrolet, GM, Celebrities

Click above for a photo gallery courtesy of AB reader Aleks Witko

Thanks to reader Aleks Witko, who sent in the enclosed shots of the SS-ified (but certainly not sissified) 2008 edition of Bumblebee. The Transformers crew was shooting scenes at Drexel University in Philly, and Aleks scored some nice overhead shots of the car down on the street below. (One nice thing about movie sets: the lighting's going to be good.) Even better (for him), he reports, " Lucky for me, I also got to meet Megan Fox." Lucky, indeed.

Gallery: Bumblebee goes to Philly

[Source and Photos: Aleks Wytko]

Reader Spy: Bumblebee on set at Drexel University originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trucker slapped with $17,000 ticket

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal

You hear it and figure it must be some kind of urban legend. A truck driver makes a wrong turn and ends up with a $17,000 ticket. Well, it's actually not true. Truck driver William Carroll got lost in the suburbs around Philadelphia and when he got pulled over the ticket was actually for $17,751.50. Philadelphia's NBC 10 looked into the story and found it to be totally legit, if not tragically sad.

Carroll says he was just following the directions he had gotten from one of the companies he leases his trucks from. He missed a weight limit sign that was leaning and partially obscured, and before he knew it he was stuck trying to turn his big rig around in a residential neighborhood. That's where the police caught up to him and gave him the ticket. At first he thought it was a mistake, thinking maybe 17 hundred instead of 17 thousand dollars, but when the officer verified it, Carroll says he felt like he was hit by a Mack truck.

A PennDOT spokesman, Charlie Metzger, explained that the fines are so high because heavy trucks can do a lot of damage to certain bridges and roadways. So the fine breaks down thusly: "It's $150 for the fine, and then it's $150 for every 500 pounds over the 3,000-pound weight limit," Metzger said. He further rationalized the fine saying the money often needs to go right back into the road repairs. Remind us to never get lost driving a truck in Pennsylvania.

[Source: NBC 10 via Digg]

Trucker slapped with $17,000 ticket originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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