Reporters Notebook

July 23, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Car stereo people, you are not alone.

Garry Day partner in Sabatino Day which owns Summit organizer, the Acumen Group opened the ...Read More

July 8, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

If you can’t make the 12-Volt Summit to be held in Dallas July 16 and 17, you can still let your voice be heard.

The Summit will be deliberating on a campaign to raise awareness that car stereo systems can sound better if you buy an aftermarket system.

Take the survey at www.12voltsurvey.com today and give the industry your point of view on what’s wrong with the industry and how to fix it. The survey also appears below if you want to take a look. Since the Summit is only a week away, you need to fill out the survey right away.

Some retailers are complaining that the responses are limited to 25 words. Just write out what you want to say and then cut it back through editing. I do it every day. I promise, it will read better.

Also, 12-volt specialists, go to the Summit!

July 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (5)

It’s got the A-list car stereo guys, but will the 12-Volt Summit, to be held in Dallas in two weeks, be a success? 

Acumen, the event organizer, has done a great job attracting the top car stereo movers and shakers, including names such as Larry Rougas of Pioneer, which launched the event; Chad Vogelsong of JVC; Tom Malone of Audiovox; Steve Witt of Alpine; Keith Lehmann of Kenwood; Mike Simmons, who was just promoted to president of Directed Electronics; and Adam Thomas of Clarion. 

But will it be a success? Acumen also handpicked an impressive mix of speaker/educators, including Rebel Industries, the marketer that steered Toyota away from traditional advertising to launch the Scion with a campaign that included niche tactics aimed at the youth market. 

June 24, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (3)

For the commissioners at the FCC, the big question may now be, “Is it in the public interest if Sirius and XM, so hobbled by market conditions, cut services to survive?”

A recent report on the companies by Goldman Sachs was so dire, it sent satellite radio shares tumbling and left Wall Street wondering if a combined Sirius/XM would be worth more than $1.75 a share! Kids are buying MP3 players and iPhones instead of satellite radio subscriptions, said Goldman analysts. Also of note, XM and Sirius have spent a combined $85 million on merger-related expenses to date, said Goldman Sachs. 

BusinessWeek picked up on the idea that Goldman’s doom-and-gloom report may just push the deliberating minds at the FCC toward a ...Read More

February 12, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

There’s too much technology in the car — dangerous technology that can kill drivers, pointed out a front-page article in the New York Times today.

Teens have been killed while text messaging. A cab driver was sighted watching a boxing match on a TV mounted on his dashboard. 

Experts say technology is turning the car into a “mobile living room” and that could be dangerous.

But instead of less technology, we are going to get more technology in the car, and ironically much of that new technology will help improve safety. This was one of the themes at the recent International CES and will be the subject of an upcoming story in TWICE. 

First, to address the Times story, in at least 39 states it is illegal to view a TV while driving. We should also...Read More