By Marty Padgett
January 8th, 2009
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In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the General Motors Foundation has announced significant cuts in its giving plans for 2009. That's bad news for a lot of nonprofits, but especially those based in Michigan, since much of the Foundation's money is awarded in-state.
In 2007, the Foundation awarded over $31 million to charitable organizations around the world, with $12 million going just to those in Michigan. (Total giving for 2008 was $21 million, but in-state stats aren't yet available.) However, the Foundation has contacted a number of the states' nonprofits in recent weeks and warned them not to expect any major gifts in 2009. With GM's annual contributions ranging from $10,000 to $350,000 per organization, many groups are going to see a substantial budget shortfall.
Of course, the cuts affect all sorts of nonprofits--everything from major arts orgs to social service nonprofits, impacting performances, after school programs, healthcare providers, and more. And since the Foundation's income is tied not only to GM's profits, but also the return on its investment portfolio...well, things aren't looking good anytime soon.
--Richard Read
[via Freep]
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Tags: General Motors
By Marty Padgett
January 8th, 2009
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Intrigued by the popularity of GM's OnStar, Toyota has announced that it will offer a built-in safety service in some Toyota and Lexus models as soon as summer 2009. The services will have different names--Safety Connect for Toyotas, Enform for the Lexus (presumably because "Safety Connect" sounds too lowbrow)--but the features will be similar.
Like OnStar, Safety Connect/Enform users will be able to press a button on the hardware interface to receive immediate assistance for flat tires, dead batteries, and the like. Operator contact will also be triggered in the event of airbag deployment. And both, of course, will require a subscription after the first year. The Enform system goes a bit further, providing a voice interface for making phone calls and getting directions. The potential downside? The company's "Lexus Insider" podcasts, which may be foisted upon you.
My question would be: which way is this technology going? Are all automakers moving toward in-dash setups, or are the Tom-Toms and Garmins of the world set to take over? In its press release, Toyota claims that built-in systems are safer and more reliable, but portable systems are, well, portable. What's your take?
--Richard Read
[via Autoweek]
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Tags: Technology
Posted in: Toyota, Lexus
By Marty Padgett
January 8th, 2009
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Bad news for fashion-forward greensters: outside-the-box startup Aptera (backed to the tune of $24 million from Google and others) has postponed the launch of its first vehicle: the all-electric, three-wheeled, spacepod known as the 2e. The company recently sent a letter to everyone who'd put down a $500 reserve deposit for the car, explaining that the January 16 launch was a bit premature and that October 2009 was a more realistic timeframe for a full drop. Cue the sad trombone.
Why the delay? Well, it looks like there were a variety of factors at work. The global economy isn't helping Aptera's jitters--though to be fair, the 2e is pretty reasonably priced at $20k - $40k, which doesn't seem high enough to scare off the car's potential buyers. No, it seems the biggest hurdle is in the marketing and customer satisfaction arena: not long ago, Aptera sent out a survey to that same list of depositors (something you'd normally do before you started designing), and they got back some surprising data. For example, buyers intend to use the 2e to do things like visit drive-throughs, which is not only weird (the same person who drives a 2e lunches on Big Macs?), but also inconvenient, since the 2e doesn't have roll-down windows. Ooops. Back to the drawing board....
--Richard Read
[via HybridCars]
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Tags: Electric Cars
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