This is one Crappy Old law which only creates monopoly and generates inefficiency

I was listening on somewhat similar issue in NPR as well. Most of the states have these type of laws on car dealership. Once upon a time long long ago these laws were needed to protect dealerships when Cars were hot commodity and Car manufacturers dictated really harsh terms and conditions on dealers. Now a days, these type of laws and rules are just archaic laws which just gives dealer association huge amount of leeway in close association with local politicians.

I think it is time to revisit such laws and change them to reflect new level playing field for both Manufacturers and Dealers..

Virginia says no to Tesla dealership

McLEAN, Va. (AP) — Virginia officials have rejected a request from Palo Alto-based electric carmaker Tesla Motors to operate its own dealership at a Tysons Corner mall.

State law requires manufacturers to sell cars through a dealer, unless the manufacturer can show that no dealer is available.

Tesla sought an exception, saying its unique model for selling cars would not be attractive to a traditional dealer. The showroom would be more of a “design studio” where customers would use touchscreens to customize options. No inventory would be on hand, and customers would wait up to six months to receive the vehicle. There would not be a service department.

The Virginia Automobile Dealers Association objected to Tesla’s request.

In a ruling Monday, Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Richard Holcomb said he was unable to say definitively that no dealer could meet Tesla’s needs.

Holcomb ruled against Tesla even though a DMV hearing officer had twice recommended that Virginia grant the company’s request .

Tesla has the opportunity to appeal Holcomb’s ruling in state court or resubmit its request with evidence that no dealer is available to operate the franchise in a manner that would benefit the public interest.

Tesla is waging similar campaigns in other states.

Interesting development..

Let us see when it can become mainstream... it will be really interesting to see how it goes and to what extent it goes.. there is potential for this technology to become robotics or self driven cars ultimately..


Wi-Fi network will let cars talk to each other

By Tom Krisher

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In a few weeks, about 2,800 cars, trucks and buses will start talking to each other on the streets of Ann Arbor, Mich., in a giant experiment that government officials are hoping will lead to safer roads.

Wireless devices will allow the vehicles to send signals back and forth, warning their drivers of potential dangers such as stopped traffic or cars that might be blowing through a red light. They can even get traffic lights to turn green if no cars are coming the other way.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the University of Michigan are hoping the yearlong, $25 million project generates data that show the devices can cut down on traffic crashes. Officials say eventually this could lead to the devices going in every car. About 500 vehicles with the devices are now on the roads. That will rise to 2,800 in about six weeks, officials said Tuesday.

“This is a big day for safety,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at an event at the university formally kicking off the experiment. “We’ll use this information to decide if vehicle technology can be applied to daily lives.”

More than 32,000 people died last year in U.S. traffic crashes, down 1.7 percent from 2010. The number of crashes has fallen in recent years as automakers added safety devices such as air bags, anti-lock brakes and stability control, which helps drivers keep cars under control in emergency situations.

But LaHood said Tuesday that 80 percent of crashes in which the drivers aren’t impaired by drugs or alcohol could be prevented — or the severity reduced — if cars could talk to each other.

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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder helps launch the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot with the Transportation Department in Ann Arbor, Mich.

MELANIE MAXWELL/ ASSOCIATED PRESS 

TATA Nano's Dismal Sales

Heart broke when I heard that Nano sales is pretty bad. I think quality and specs are to blame to some extent. However, main reason I feel is Image and branding issue. It was more or less dubbed as Poor Man's car. Nobody wants to project poor man especially poor people. Coupled with Indian road conditions, motor bike is much more versatile and useful vehicle. Probably, customers feel more pride in high end bike Vs. low end car. Need to understand that India is still male dominated society and key decision makers are still men (mostly.. or at least we think so ;-) ).
So what could be possible solution for this problem? First of all get rid of messaging that it is cheapest car on planet.. then fix Quality issues and may be make it more secure by adding air bag etc..  then position it as middle class car with some basic good price with built-in features like CD/MP3 players, airbags etc..  as default. Also, I am assuming that they need to break myth that it is technologically very poor car.. Focus in some high tech features and make them comparable with other Korean/Japanese cars.  Keep packaging simple so people can understand what they are getting and always offer some additional features.

Make cars little flashy.. something which gives features or thrill like bike.. may be add some sporty switch which probably will sacrifice some of fuel efficiency but give some good thrill..