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Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

Volvo working to allow groceries delivered to your car, even when you aren't there

Volvo cites research showing that 60 percent of online shoppers had problems with their deliveries in 2013, and that missed first deliveries cost the industry roughly one billion euros ($1.37B US) in re-delivery costs, as impetus for its "Roam Delivery Service" that delivers packages to your car. The service uses Volvo On Call and Sensus Connect car-connectivity and telematics apps already installed in vehicles, and a digital key with a timed window of operation.
The car owner is notified if delivery to or pickup from the car would be the best option, which they then have the option to approve or decline. If approved, the position of the vehicle is sent to the delivery driver, as well as a digital key that can open the car. Once the delivery has been made, the owner is notified and the digital key is erased, leaving only a time stamp to record when the car was opened and then locked.
The technology will be shown to the public at the Mobile World Congress later this month. There's a video and a press release below with more on the details.

Recharge Wrap-up: Formula E car swap video, Lyft adds carpooling, new Tesla book

Curious to see how the Formula E car swap goes down? During each hour-long race (or ePrix, as the series calls them), drivers have to make a pit stop to switch cars as the battery runs down. Of course, they want to do it as quickly as possible. It's kind of a tricky dance extricating oneself from the cockpit of one car and slipping into the seat of another facing the opposite direction. See the maneuver in the video below and read more at Jalopnik. A new report forecasts that the CNG and LPG vehicle market will be worth nearly $5.2 billion by 2019. The report cites fluctuating gasoline and diesel prices, and the relatively low prices of these alternative fuels, for their growing popularity. The report also breaks down the popularity of natural gas and propane vehicles in different parts up the world. In the Asia-Pacific region, China is the largest consumer. In Europe, CNG thrives in Italy, while LPG is most popular in Turkey and Poland. Meanwhile, CNG remains a tough sell in America, while South America has a healthy market. Learn more in the press release below or at Markets and Markets. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are testing trucks connected to overhead electric wires to reduce emissions and improve air quality. The eHighway, as the project is called, will cost $13.5 million and will use battery electric and hybrid trucks to move cargo around the ports along a one-mile stretch of wires. The trucks, made by Siemens and Volvo, also have the ability to disconnect from the wires and drive under their own power. See more in the video below or read more at ABC7. Lyft is introducing its own carpooling feature to its car-hailing app. Yesterday, we reported that its competitor Uber is testing UberPool, and Lyft is now doing something similar to encourage people to share rides. Lyft Line offers discounted rides, and matches passengers who are going to nearby destinations around the same time. Lyft Line offers passengers a guaranteed price before they accept the ride. Lyft is launching the carpooling service in San Francisco, and hopes to expand it from there. Read the in-depth article at The New York Times. A new book is available called Tesla Motors: How Elon Musk and Company Made Electric Cars Cool, and Sparked the Next Tech Revolution. Written by Charles Morris, senior editor of Charged, it chronicles the history of the famed electric automaker, its achievements in business and technology and the people responsible for Tesla's success.