Mercedes Benz M-Class

I think the new M-Class SUV is one of the most gorgeous luxury SUVs on the market right now*.  If you haven't seen it, you should. M-Class.

*For comparison sake, The BMW X5 is starting to look very dated.  Hope BMW will take the M-Class serious and invigorate the X5 with some sleek new styling.

FOLLOW UP to: Hyundai, Not the "affordable option" anymore?

I ended my post on Hyundai's increasing price with a question.  That question read, "Now that Hyundai is shrinking the price gap between competitors, would you still consider a Hyundai?"  Well, according to a newly released analysis by Edmunds.com for USA Today, Hyundai buyers, on average, are paying more for their Elantra than Toyota and Honda buyers are paying for the Corolla and Civic.  This shows that Hyundai vehicles aren't just now costing more than competitors but that they already DO cost more.  This also answers the question on whether or not consumers are willing to pay the same(or more) than competing brands.  The answer? A resounding yes.   

Hyundai, not the "affordable option" anymore?

It is no secret that Hyundai is a changed brand.  Go drive a Hyundai Sonata from 2004 and you will most likely not want to drive another Hyundai ever again.  Fast forward to 2012 and you have an array of gorgeous, high quality vehicles.  Hyundai has, in the past, been referred to as the "affordable" option when compared to competitors like Honda and Toyota.  Things are changing.  Hyundai just announced the prices of the new Azera as well as the Genesis Coupe.  The Azera's base price increased from $25,495 to $32,000.  That is a substantial increase.  The Genesis Coupe 2.0 base price went from $22,250 to $24,250 and the 3.8 went from $26,750 to $28,750.  Now that Hyundai is shrinking the price gap between competitors, would you still consider a Hyundai?

The New Face of Lexus

Car companies have generally followed a similar design theme throughout the automaker lineup.  This brings a necessary cohesion to the design team and also makes it easier for the brand to be recognized by consumers.  When an automaker introduces a redesign, typically focusing on the front of the vehicle, it often is polarizing and can split brand faithful.  Let's take a look at a few companies and the effect a "corporate face" can have on the brand's success.

Subaru

Sometime during 2003, Subaru decided it was going to introduce a new grille design that would become the face of all Subaru vehicles.  Our first glimpse of this new face was the Subaru B9 Concept shown at the 2003 Tokyo Auto Show.  Despite very opinionated responses from critics, Subaru designers went ahead with the new front end design.  The first vehicle to showcase the design was the 2006 B9 Tribeca. The new SUV from Subaru was mocked and rejected for its ugly grille design and sales were evidence of that sentiment.  This however did not stop the face from making its way onto the 2006 Subaru Impreza .  Although not nearly as prominent or ugly as the Tribeca, the new Impreza was never deemed beautiful by the masses.  Before the face could make its way to the Legacy, Subaru's flagship sedan, Subaru ditched the face with hopes that it would quietly slip into history with no serious fallout.  With how strong Subaru sales have been the past few years, it appears that this is exactly what the public has done with the failed Subaru face: forgotten.

Audi

If you see a new Audi driving down the road, there is no mistaking that it is an Audi.  What may be mistaken however is which model Audi you have just spotted.  Audi vehicles have always had a very close resemblance to one another, but never as the current generations.  What makes each Audi model so similar to the next is the single frame grille.  Audi developed the "single frame grille" design almost 10 years ago and implemented it on the 2004 Audi A3.  Subsequently it was integrated into the A6, A8, and A4.  Now every Audi vehicle proudly displays this grille design.  Audi is producing gorgeous vehicles right now but must be cautious as some in the industry have complained that there is "too much commonality" between models, specifically between an Audi A8 and the Audi A4, which can have a price difference of between 40-70k between the two models.   Audi may need to differentiate more than they currently are but overall their current design theme is striking and is successfully helping customers identify and associate with the brand, regardless of which model in the lineup they see.

Lexus

Since the title of the article is "The New Face of Lexus", it seems appropriate to finally discuss the topic.  Lexus, one of the most successful selling luxury brands in the United States, has been criticized for years for being "too soft and too boring."  Despite the fact that many shoppers buy Lexus for just this reason, Lexus has decided to take Lexus in a direction that they hope will evoke more passion from owners.  The first vehicle to display the new Lexus design is the 2013 Lexus GS.  The first thing anyone familiar with Lexus will notice is the all new grille design.  This new "spindle" design is anything but bland and screams for attention, quite a contrast from the quiet whispering done by the previous generation GS.  Today, and the motivation for this post, a brochure for the 2013 RX leaked onto the internet.  It looks like Lexus is going all in on the grille design and will be implementing it on other models in the lineup.  This is a potentially risky move when you understand what the RX means to Lexus.  The RX has not only been the best selling Lexus model but also the best selling mid-size luxury SUV in the United States.  With Mercedes and Audi sales surging, Lexus can't afford to have a design failure with the RX, or any other future Lexus for that matter.  The public is finicky.  Luxury car buyers are even more so.  Just look at the "Bangle Backlash" for proof of what uproar you can hear from brand faithful when you muck up the design of an entire lineup.  Lexus is anxious to move ahead of the competition and that success depends on the company's brand new design.  So the question is, will the public smile upon the new face?  Only time will tell.

*Note: I avoided discussing Acura and the corporate front end design since I recently discussed my distaste for Acura's current lineup.

Hyundai, hard at work.

Now this is a company who is hard at work.  Look at the new models/updates all due before Fall 2012.
Click HERE.

Honda: Asleep at the Wheel

The Chicago Auto Show Media Preview began today.  As a result, we get a look at two new production Acura vehicles, the refreshed RDX and the all-new ILX.  Really?  Seriously Acura?  This is the BEST you can do?  I think Acura has strayed a long way from the beautifully designed Acura Legend, Integra, and NSX of the early 90's.  During a time when most car companies were still producing hideous vehicles, a result of a terrible design style of the late 80's, Acura was the exception.  Sure Acura produced the terrible SLX (a re-branded Isuzu) but they made up for it with beauties like the Legend coupe.  Fast-forward to 2012 and you have a brand new ILX that does nothing to engender love in a car buyer.  It has the now company standard "shiny beak", drab dark interior, and unconvincing lines.  From a sales perspective, this car makes little sense because it will most likely cannibalize Accord and TSX sales.  Does Acura really need a luxurious Honda Civic?  These new Acura vehicles aren't as boring as the new VW Jetta or Passat, but they are pretty terrible.  A discussion on the root of the problem is in due measure.

Honda, the parent company of Acura, is really to blame here.  I would say the only semi decent looking model that Honda has produced lately would be the brand new 2012 Honda CR-V.  This is primarily due to the fact that they basically copied the design of the Volvo XC60.  The CR-V is the exception; the rest of the lineup is the rule.  The 2012 Honda Civic is a design failure and a great example of how unimaginative the designers at Honda can be. The 2012 Honda Civic, to an untrained eye, looks almost the same as a 2006 Honda Civic.  The fact that the 2006 Honda Civic was probably designed sometime around 2004 means that Honda is continuing use of eight year old design styles.  The 2012 Honda Civic is so bad that the CEO of Honda has practically made a public apology.  I'm not the only one who feels this way either.  Consumer Reports failed to recommend the Honda Civic for the first time in history and The Wall Street Journal referred to the Civic as heavy on the "ick."

The problems don't stop with the Civic.  Cars.com just recently named the Crosstour to their "10 Ugliest Cars from the past 30 years List".  The CR-Z easily could have made the list as well.  Then you have the Honda Pilot, which very nearly resembles the Acura SLX that I mentioned earlier.  I actually don't think that the Honda Pilot is ugly, I just find it induces uncontrollable yawning.  For some reason many car companies still like to sell ugly hybrids.  The Insight is proof of this and tragically, the Insight is almost as ugly as the Prius.  The Honda Accord is decent but, in my opinion, far behind the new Toyota Camry or Hyundai Sonata.  We won't spend too much time on the Accord, since it continues to be one of the top selling vehicles in the country.  This, however, is most likely a result of it being a good car and not a beautiful car.  This brings me to my last vehicle in the lineup that I want to talk about: the Honda Ridgeline.  Released in 2005 as a 2006 model, this truck has gone through nothing more than minor tweeks in the last 7 model years.  That is a sad sentence since it was ugly the moment it hit Honda dealerships in early 2005.  Being born ugly and staying ugly until you die is a tragic life and most likely the path that the Ridgeline will follow.  The Ridgeline is also a sad excuse for a truck and is the laughing stock for every other truck on the market.  It is kind of like a woman wearing a sweat suit and never actually doing any physical exercise or a guy in a full ski suit who just hangs out in the lodge all day because he can't ski down the hill.

Honda needs to wake up.  The competition is increasing.  Hyundai is selling more Elantras than they can keep on their lots.  Kia is spending serious marketing money on the new Optima.  Nissan is about to release the redesigned Altima and  Toyota just debuted the newly designed Toyota Camry.  Honda, your move. Acura too needs a hot coffee to alert the company's senses.  If they haven't noticed, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus are all making extremely attractive, quality vehicles.  Acura has the quality but the looks, when compared to the competition, are embarrassing.  Since the ILX and RDX were just shown today it doesn't look like the design team will be making serious changes any time soon. And that is sad.  

iMac or MacBook Pro?

I had a request come from my friend Kelly over at Sportscavelive.com  to write a post on an iMac vs a MacBook Pro.  I've been so busy with wedding plans that I am just now getting around to it.  I won't be long winded on this one.  I just want to share a few thoughts.

iMac 21.5" and 27"

• Quad Core Processor available in every model.  In other words, great performance, even in the $1199 21.5" iMac.  
• Fantastic screen.  Some people don't love the glossy screen but I love the iMac screen, ESPECIALLY the 27". This can double for great netflix, hulu, or iTunes movie parties when 1)Someone else is using the TV 2)You forgot to DVR a show and it is only available online 3)You want to watch it in your bedroom where the iMac is rather than the family room. 
• Reliable.  I don't have any stats or evidence in the slightest to prove which Mac is the most reliable but I'd vote the iMac.  My parents has been running almost every single day for 4 years and hasn't flinched.  Oh, actually, it froze once.  That my friends is awesome reliability.  Proof of the "It just works" philosophy.
• Can get a 2 TB hard drive in this bad boy.  Load up all the movies and music you want, gonna take a while to fill it up.  Well, unless you are torrenting Blu-Ray quality movies on a regular basis, then you may need a few extra external hard drives.
• Moving this thing for One to One lessons or pretty much any other reason is a pain. Not as big of a pain as a Mac Pro, but don't think you are going to be portable with an iMac. 

MacBook Pro 13"

• It is the most "bang for your buck" laptop in the store.  Now rocks a speedy dual core i5 and has a 500GB hard drive come standard.  This is the choice of the vast majority of students.  It will do pretty much everything you want your Mac to do except gaming.  It will not do well in this area.  Nor will the MacBook Air.  For gaming, look to the 15" MacBook Pro or the iMac.  Or get an Xbox. 

MacBook Pro 15"

• This thing screams.  It is very so fast that the performance gap between the iMac and the MacBook Pro(the real pro models that is. I personally don't think the 13" should be labeled pro but for some reason Apple tried pro-less name idea for 6 months before slapping that "pro" label on there.)
• Great for gaming due to a much improved graphics card. 
• Heavy and tends to run pricey for people on a tighter budget.
• This thing runs hot!  If you don't want to have any more kids, this may be a great option.  Could also double as a space heater.  It also can run loud.
• The battery life is going to drain faster than the 13" MBP or the MacBook Airs. 

MacBook Air 11" and 13"

• If you've been around me enough, you know I love the MacBook Air line.  
• I love SSD.  Solid state is a fantastic technology that will replace hard drives.  Unfortunately, this is taking a long time and is still very expensive.  It feels so much snappier than a hard drive.
• The screen resolution on the 13" is equal to the resolution on the 15" MBP.  In other words, it makes the 13" MBP screen look terrible.  
• Thing is light as feather and the battery is going to last a long time(as long as you aren't running flash). 
• If you are a media junky(you love music, movies, photos, etc) then you are going to run out of space on this thing.  Living off an internal that is too small and an external is possible, but it is not very comfortable.  This is the main reason I switched from my MacBook Air to my iMac.  If I was ever in school again, I would go MacBook Air.   
• If all you do is email, facebook, listen to music, etc, the MacBook Air is the way to go.  Or an iPad....but that will have to wait for another post.

Hope you enjoy my brief take on the current line up.  If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. 

Applecare+: Reason enough to buy an iPhone

Let me recount a sad tale.

Nikki dropped her Samsung Droid Charge in the toilet about 2 weeks ago.  This phone cost her $200 when she purchased it new.  This $200 was a subsidized price.  Verizon gave her a discount, according to their site HERE, of $300.  This is how the cell phone market works here in the U.S.  Cell phone carriers love to give you a subsidy in order to get you locked into that nice 2 year contract.  However, they don't love to give it to you any sooner than they have to, which for most carriers, is between 18-24 months.  Ok, so back to the story.  Nikki's $499(retail price) phone is now dead.  What are her options?  Well, when she goes in to Verizon, they will kindly tell her that she is eligible for an upgrade in roughly 15 months and can get a discounted phone then. In the meantime, she can pay full retail price to buy a new Droid Charge.  They will happily sell her this phone for $499.  She will leave the store with a new phone and will now have invested $700 into her phone when we factor in the price of the phone she purchased 5 months ago.  This is the Samsung, LG, HTC, Blackberry, Motorola way.  If I am mistaken, please correct me in the comments.  Now let me explain the Apple way.

If you buy a 16GB iPhone 4S on a 2 year contract, the price of the phone is $199.  The full retail price of this phone is $649.  You receive a discount of $450.  You also have the option to add Applecare+, a $99 coverage plan of a two year duration.  Let's now investigate two scenarios had Nikki's situation occurred with an iPhone with and without Applecare+.

Without Applecare+

Nikki drops her 5 month old iPhone 4S in the toilet.  The phone is completely dead.  She schedules a genius bar appointment at the Apple store.  The store will give her two options.  She can pay $199 and receive a new iPhone 4S.  Now APPLE is giving her the $450 discount.  This will replace her phone and her warranty will continue until the end of the 1 year mark from the original purchase of her iPhone 4S. She has now invested $400 total.  Or she can purchase Applecare+ for $99 and she must pay iPhone replacement cost of $199.  However, as a kind gesture, Apple will discount the replacement phone cost by $50.  So she would pay $149 + $99 and now you have a new phone and coverage for 2 years from the original purchase date. She has now invested $450.

With Applecare+

Nikki would have paid $299 for her phone at time of purchase, this being the $199 cost of the phone and the $99 Applecare+.  Nikki drops her 5 month old iPhone 4S in the toilet.  The phone is completely dead and so she schedules an appoint at the Apple store.  She walks in, pays $49, and leaves with a new iPhone 4S.  She has now paid $350 total and is still covered for the 2 years from her original purchase date.

Luckily Nikki's sweet mother let her use her upgrade and we purchased Nikki a new iPhone 4S at the subsidized price and added Applecare+.  So, were the same fate to strike twice, we would fall into the third scenario listed here.

Lesson to be learned?  Buy an iPhone. 

Note:  I really hate the Verizon employees.  I don't hate them on a personal level but I hate them for talking Nikki out of the iPhone when she went to purchase one back in June.  She isn't the only one either.  I have heard from other people that AT&T employees have done the same thing.  Why would this happen?  Why would Apple's partner carriers talk people out of the iPhone, which, as we learned today, has a 96% satisfaction rate?  I have no idea.

Is your Android Outdated....Forever?

I've discussed problems with Android before.  This post is used, not to advocate the iPhone or any other device, but to simply point out a problem that currently exists with the existing Android model. There is a good chance that the Android phone you are buying is not running the current operating system the day you buy it and it may either take months or years to get updated or it may never get updated at all.  This may not matter to the average consumer, but it sure makes a difference to the more technically disposed group.  So, without any further ado, click The Understatement, Marco Arment, and Ben Brooks Review.

Why T-Mobile Doesn't Sell the iPhone

T-Mobile customers have been clamoring for the iPhone for over 4 years now.  We understand why T-Mobile didn't have the iPhone for the first 3 1/2 years.  That was due to an exclusive contract made between AT&T and Apple prior to the launch of the first generation iPhone in 2007.  However, that exclusivity ran out sometime around the end of last year/first of this year.  Almost immediately following the end of the exclusivity, Verizon held an event announcing a February launch of the iPhone 4 for Verizon.  6 days ago the iPhone 4S launched and became available on Sprint.  Now that 3 of the 4 big US Mobile carriers offer the iPhone, T-Mobile users are left asking the question, "Why not us?"

A few weeks ago, T-Mobile's Cole Broadman, sent a letter out to customers.  He said, "We’ve heard from many customers who love their T-Mobile service, but are disappointed that we don’t carry the iPhone. To these customers, first, thank you for your business.  Please know that we think the iPhone is a great device and Apple knows that we’d like to add it to our line-up. Today, there are over a million T-Mobile customers using unlocked iPhones on our network. We are interested in offering all of our customers a no-compromise iPhone experience on our network." So if T-Mobile wants to sell the iPhone, why would Apple not want to have a partnership with T-Mobile?  I truly don't think that Apple doesn't want T-Mobile to have the iPhone, it must have simply come down to contract negotiations.  Prior to the iPhone 4S launch, rumors asserted that Sprint paid a lot of money to get the iPhone 4S.  This may or may not be true but it's possible that T-Mobile may not have been willing to meet Apple's pricing terms or it may be holding out with hopes that the merger with AT&T will still occur.  With the Justice Department doing all they can to stop the merger, the likelihood is looking more bleak, but time will tell.  

Whether the issue is technical or contractual, we don't know with certainty.  However, if you are on T-Mobile, out of contract, and still not getting an iPhone, it shows that you really don't care to have an iPhone (or at least one that isn't jailbroken and unlocked, running on Edge speeds).  T-Mobile's network, pricing, and customer service may all be positives but none of those outweigh the benefit of owning an iPhone on a supported network.  I switched from T-Mobile to AT&T in 2008 in order to get the iPhone 3G and haven't regretted the decision once.  In my opinion, the device is more important than the carrier.  What's better, with the 3 largest US carriers offering the iPhone, you can now have the best of both worlds: a terrific phone and a terrific carrier.