The March 13 issue of INFOWORLD magazine contains an article
about E-cars. It begins this way, "The automobile will no
longer be an isolation booth where business users are shut off
from access to information." New technology in the works
from General Motors and Ford Motor Company is designed to "turn
the car into a node on the network," stated Karenann Terrell,
director of E-vehicle Product Management at E-GM.
One feature with which we are all probably now familiar is GM's
OnStar system which communicates directly with the driver providing
directions and emergency information. The next level of OnStar
is slated to be MyOnStar Virtual Advisor. "The GM Virtual
Advisor will be introduced in July and integrated into one million
GM cars this year," the article reads.
One goal of the developers is to match the lifespan of the technology
to that of the vehicles. "A vehicle can be used for 10 years,
but technology changes every two years or less," said Raj
Desai, director of Worldwide Automotive Solutions at IBM.
Another example of on-board technology currently in use is the
computer navigation system, NeverLost, installed in some models
of Hertz Rent-a-Cars. While the low-tech Astoria franchise for
Hertz does not own any vehicles so equipped, Bob Lovell (See Hertz,
page 13 of this issue.) states that occasionally a corporate car
will come in that has one. For more information, log onto www.
hertz. com/serv/us/prod_lost.html.
bhv
The March 14 - 20 edition of Business in Vancouver (BC) includes
results of a study by Rapid Transit Project 2000 Ltd. about methods
of public transit in Vancouver, Canada. Representatives from businesses
along a major corridor selected SkyTrain, an elevated railway
system, over light rail or high-speed buses to serve their area.
Reasons stated for the selection include "SkyTrain's low
impact on traffic, neighborhoods and parking, its minimal impact
during construction and speed [...] of the system." 61% of
participants selected SkyTrain over rapid buses (31%) despite
the much cheaper cost of buses. The expected capital costs of
the three business-corridor transportation choices are stated
at $90 million for rapid bus, $800 million for light rail and
somewhere between $280 and $710 million for SkyTrain. WOW aren't
we glad we live at the beach?
bhv
The March 24 issue of the Vancouver Business Journal has the following
tidbit in its "In Brief" column: "Responding to
consumers' need for speed, five McDonald's restaurants in California
have signed a deal with a local transportation authority that
will allow motorists to whiz through the drive-through lines without
having to stop and pay for their food (a savings of 15 seconds
on average). Transponders affixed to the cars (the same kind that
permit motorists to skip stops on toll roads) will emit a special
signal, and the drivers will be billed via the mail." Please
don't tell our eight-year-old son about this one!
bhv
The Planner's Portfolio section of the March, 2000 issue of Meetings
& Conventions magazine has this tidy tip: "Those who
like to check the status of an arriving passenger's flight should
log onto the Flight Tracker at www.trip.com. Choose the airline,
type in the flight number, and select the graphical display. Up
comes a map showing the exact geographical location of the plane,
as well as its air speed, compass heading and altitude."
bhv
According to a February 25 press release from the Oregon Department
of Transportation, March 2 saw the first departure of a new Amtrak
Eastern Oregon Thruway Motorcoach Service along Highway 20. According
to ODOT spokesperson Robert Krebs, "The portion of the state
covered by this route has been without any bus service since 1990."
The route links the Pacific Northwest Passenger Rail Corridor
at Portland Union Station offering convenient connections to Amtrak
Cascades Talgo train service to Washington State, Willamette Valley
Thruway coaches to Salem and Albany, Greyhound and other intercity
bus lines. For more information, log onto http:// reservations.amtrak.com/.
or contact ODOT Rail Division at 503/986-4169.
bhv
In the April, 2000 issue of Environmental & Climate News is
an editorialized cover story titled "Roadless plan gathers
steam," by Tom Randall. The article starts this way: "The
drive to keep the American public out of public lands is picking
up speed as the Clinton-Gore administration seeks ways to close
off even more than the 60-million plus acres already classified
as roadless." According the the article, the definition of
"roadless" is broad and nebulous, the plan includes
destruction of existing roads, banning off-road travel and increasing
restrictions on timber harvest. For more information, check the
web version of the magazine at www.heartland.org, or call the
editorial offices of The Heartland Institute in Chicago, Illinois,
312/377-4000
JlÅ
Pacific Public Safety and Communica-tion has acquired the Vernonia
office of Old Timer Saw and Radio. As Pacific's new Vernonia office,
it will be open Monday and Friday from 9a to 4p. All PPS&C
services will be available through the Vernonia office during
those hours, or at the Seaside location, Monday through Friday.
The Vernonia telephone number is 503/429-6046.
bhv
The February 21 issue of the Vancouver Business Journal contained
an article about "Honda's 70-mile-per-gallon car." According
to Robert Schoenberg, American Honda Motor Company is already
selling a hybrid gasoline-electric car in California and it should
hit the Portland metro area any time. Schoenberg states, "Reportedly,
the car can get up to 70 miles as well as knock off a pretty good
percentage of exhaust emissions using an electric motor running
on rechargable nickel-metal hydride batteries and an ultra-lightweight
gasoline-powered motor." The description continues..."The
three-cylander, 67-horsepower gas engine is an ultralight 124
pounds, utlizing aluminum for the engine block and resin plastic
on some of the other parts to cut down weight." The car,
called Insight, weighs 1,850 pounds and is one of the lightest
cars on the market. For more information, log onto www.honda.2000.
com/models/insight/index.html.
bhv
On the Move with Tony: Tony's True Value Home Center in Seaside
became a U-Haul dealer on March 1, 2000. The U-Haul organization
provides both the pricing and the inventory for the dealers, who
must provide the vehicle parking spaces and rental logistics coordination.
Rentals have been so brisk last month that a larger inventory
is slated for his location at 34 North Holladay Drive. That's
not the only expansion at True Value and owner Tony Morris has
hired his first assistant manager since opening his store in November,
1998. Michelle Waytencik will come on board as assistant manager
and paint manager on April 3. Michelle formerly worked for True
Value's in-house paint manufacturing operation, TruServ, and met
Tony when she came out to help him set up his operation.
Congratulations to Tony and welcome to Michelle!
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