Uber Black Car Price Change - Business Insider

Uber Black Car Price Change - Business Insider
Used Car Prices Tend to Show Consumers Accept NHTSA Recalls ...
How a $1 hike in car prices could have helped General Motors save ...

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 10:02 AM PDT

Getty Images/Paul J. Richards

On-demand car app Uber is changing its price for its black car service in New York.

Starting on Monday, Uber will put new rates into effect for its high-end car service, according to an email the company sent to its customers today.

The base fare of $7 and a minimum fair of $15 will remain the same. But Uber will slightly increase its per-minute price from $0.95 to $1, as well as increase its per-mile price from $3.90 to $4.55.

"Since launching UberBLACK in NYC nearly three years ago, rates have not changed," Uber NYC General Manager told Business Insider via email. "During that time the UberBLACK experience has become even more premium, with newer and more luxurious vehicle types on the system, like Mercedes S Class, Cadillac XTS and Lincoln MKT. As always we connect riders with a range of options available at a variety of price points including uberX, uberTAXI and UberSUV."

Take a look at Uber's current pricing:

Screenshot

Here's the new pricing starting Monday.

Screenshot

Used Car Prices Tend to Show Consumers Accept NHTSA Recalls ...

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:43 PM PDT

Used Car Prices Tend to Show Consumers Accept NHTSA Recalls | Automoti

Mary Barra congressional hearing 3

In the wake of the NHTSA recall of General Motors vehicles with potential ignition switch problems, GM may have to worry more about – the public image of its new CEO Mary Barra, sales of new vehicles being affected, and legislators accusing the automaker of a dark and ugly cover up – than on its resale values.

Here's the latest on what observers are seeing in the used car market:

MY 2003-07 small cars in the GM recall are valued at $2,000 to $5,000 each in the wholesale market; there's already little room for them to fall, says NADA Used Car Guide's Larry Dixon.
Dixon thinks the recall is unlikely to affect wholesale prices as the recalled vehicles are "light years" away from what's being made by GM today in quality and technology.
Black Book's Ricky Beggs hasn't seen a negative effect on the marketplace.
Beggs thinks theses recalled cars are ideal for the buy here pay here market, as these consumers tend to use their tax refunds as down payments at this time of year.
Kelley Blue Book hasn't seen any resale value changes either. Affected cars are doing alright; for example, a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt sells now for about the same amount it did during the last week of January when the recall began, according to KBB's Tim Fleming. The same is true for the 2003 and 2004 Saturn Ions and 2006 and 2007 Pontiac Solstices.
GM's experience is similar to what Toyota has gone through in recent years with its Toyota and Lexus brands staying strong (and winning Kelley Blue Book Resale Value of the Year awards). Consumers may very well feel confident in the NHTSA recall process and that it fixes the problem that was initially discovered in the car.

How a $1 hike in car prices could have helped General Motors save ...

Posted: 01 Apr 2014 08:22 PM PDT

Detroit/Washington: General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional investigators.

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce released the documents on Tuesday as lawmakers asked CEO Mary Barra why GM failed to recall 2.6 million cars until more than a decade after it first noticed a switch problem that could cut off engines and disable airbags, power steering and power brakes.

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette cited a 2005 GM document that she said showed a cost of 57 cents per fix.

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra testifies before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on GM's recall of defective ignition switches. Reuters

DeGette did not release the document, and Reuters was unable to get a copy. However, Reuters obtained what appeared to be a separate document, a series of 2005 emails between GM engineers debating whether to make a change to the ignition switch. The change would have cost an extra 90 cents per unit and additional tooling costs of $400,000, one email showed. Those tooling costs typically are amortized over several years.

Barra said she found the concept of turning down the change because of tooling costs "very disturbing. That is not the way we do business in the New GM."

In the email exchange, one of the engineers, John Hendler, said his team was prepared to continue using a switch that was made by Delphi Automotive and approved by GM, even though Delphi told the automaker in early 2002 that the switch did not meet GM's performance specifications.

Hendler said the cars, including the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, which were recalled this year, would continue using the old switch "until the piece cost can be eliminated or significantly reduced," and targeted a new switch for 2009 models. Reuters was unable to contact Hendler.

Another GM executive, Lori Queen, who had responsibility for the development of GM's small cars, responded, "I'm not sure it's ok to wait." She did not explain herself in the email. Queen did not return a call seeking comment. A General Motors spokesman said the company was still investigating the recall and would review all relevant documents.

Representatives repeatedly questioned Barra about GM's weighing of costs even in safety situations. Barra said that was no longer the case, and that the company since its 2009 bankruptcy was changing from a "cost culture" to one focused on customers.

EMPTY BLANKS

In the early 2000s, GM, like the other Detroit automakers was under intense cost pressure, in the face of competition from overseas rivals and a legacy of high labor costs. Those and other financial issues eventually led to GM's 2009 bankruptcy.

GM did change the ignition switch, in 2006, but the process did not comply with the company's own rules, documents and testimony show.

Parts maker Delphi told congressional investigators last week that the redesigned switch on the 2007 models was harder to move out of position, but the force required to turn the switch was "still below GM's original specifications," according to a timeline released by the investigators.

A separate, April 26, 2006, document called a "validation sign-off", authorized changes to the switch, including a new spring, designed to increase the force required to move the switch.

The document showed that the part number did not change, when redesigned, an issue which GM said hampered its own internal investigation.

"It is inconceivable," Barra said, when asked about the design change without a corresponding change in part number. "It is not our process."

Moreover, several fields on the document marked as "required" are left blank or with "N/A", including purchase order number and "validation engineer".

The document has the signature of GM "lead engineer" Ray DeGiorgio, who could not be reached for comment. In a 2013 deposition in a suit against GM, DeGiorgio had said he was unaware of a change in the part.

A retired GM manager familiar with the automaker's engineering and manufacturing procedures said that another manager would have had to sign off on the part, by company policy, given DeGiorgio's relatively low seniority. "So who approved a design change without a part number change?"

Barra confirmed that DeGiorgio is still employed by the company and said she has not yet heard his explanation for signing the 2006 document.

The redesigned ignition switch was installed on 2007 Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions in late 2006, GM has said.

Reuters

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Sunday, 6 April 2014

Uber Black Car Price Change - Business Insider

Uber Black <b>Car Price</b> Change - Business Insider

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