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More hot wheels

Call it reverse sticker shock. A report by JP Morgan auto analysts says the average price of a new vehicle fell more than 2 percent in the second quarter this year compared to a year earlier to $25,632. It’s the steepest decline JP Morgan has seen since it started analyzing car prices 41 years ago.

Apparently, Americans are bypassing the trucks and SUVs, and going for the smaller, more fuel efficient and less expensive models.

Of course, all of this is little comfort to automakers, because in this economy, fewer people are buying. With slumping sales, those lower prices are squeezing profit margins. But analysts say the prospect of a spending less for a new car could help boost sales when the economy recovers.

Hot wheels

Could gas prices be driving up fraudulent car theft claims?

Researchers at the National Insurance Crime Bureau think so. When the price of gas began soaring, the bureau began seeing an increase in the number of suspicious claims for stolen cars. Their theory is that more vehicle owners are dumping their gas-guzzlers, then reporting them stolen.

The Bradenton Herald in Florida reports reports that while the researchers didn’t have concrete proof for their theory, they noticed that six of the top 10 most stolen vehicles are large trucks and SUVs.

Google unveils new browser

Google’s debut of its open-source Chrome browser today is a hot topic on the Web.

In its announcement Google says the browser, released as a beta version, “is streamlined and simple… . Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.”

But ZDNet’s “Between the Lines” blog points out Google is motivated beyond just making a better browser. The headline on its item pretty well sums it up “Google’s Chrome browser: It’s all about the ads and cookie files stupid!”

The blog quotes Merrill Lynch analyst Justin Post who says Google’s new browser could “limit Microsoft’s ability to use its IE browser position to promote Microsoft search, or harm Google’s search effectiveness through new user controls.

Chrome is now available to download.

California lawmakers push for carbon-reduction planning

When you live in Los Angeles like we do, you quickly learn that the reason public transportation isn’t a viable option for much of the population is because the region was developed with a sprawling, suburban mentality.

California’s state lawmakers have passed a bill that would attempt to reward local governments that develop urban planning methods that prevent urban sprawl, improve public transportation and — as a result — reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.

“The bill’s proponents and transportation experts say it is the first measure in the nation to link government transportation funding with urban planning and CO2-reduction goals,” The Wall Street Journal reported today… . Transportation experts say they expect the bill to become a model for state and national policy makers.”

Under the new bill, regional planning authorities will have to develop realistic plans to meet emission-reduction targets in order to receive transportation funding and lighter regulations for builders. Compact projects built close to public-transportation options are rewarded with fewer regulatory hurdles.

It’s not yet clear whether Gov. Schwarzenegger will sign the bill.

GM to salaried workers: Why not retire now?

General Motors has been looking for ways to cut its workforce down for a long time. Now it’s offering 9,000 salaried workers early retirement packages. CEO Rick Wagoner needs the retirements to get $1.5 billion in salaried-worker cost cuts to meet his goals and compensate for $15.5 billion in losses last quarter. The salaried employees have 45 days to consider the proposal, but the plan seems to be working — Wagoner has already persuaded 53,000 union workers to accept early retirement or buyouts.

GM wants to reduce the payroll by 15 percent. Canadian workers are ineligible.

Scientists develop cells that could be disease fighters

Scientists say they have caused one type of cell to become another — with no intermediate step using controversial stem cells — which could have long-term impact in treating diabetes and other diseases.

A story we spotted on the Wired.com website says the development raises “the much-anticipated possibility of replacing disease-damaged and age-ravaged organs and tissues.”

“This represents a parallel approach for how to make cells in regenerative medicine,” said Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. “And now that it’s shown that you can turn one of your cells into another, it makes you think of what other cells you’d like to convert… . Neurodegenerative diseases come to mind, as does cardiovascular disease,” said Melton.

Details of the research were published in the journal Nature today.

Want to invest in rock 'n' roll?

With all the problems the music industry is having, artists and entrepreneurs are looking for new business models.

The Guardian has a report today about a new venture that allows music fans to invest in new bands and share in the future profits — if there are any. The business, called Bandstocks, “is being billed as the latest innovative funding model that could provide artists with an alternative to major labels,” the Guardian article said.

So far, the enterprise has launched with just two artists — singer-songwriters FrYars and Jersey Budd.

Some similar projects have gotten off the ground in the last few years, including the ArtistShare project that allows fans to fund their favorite artists’ recording efforts.

The Guardian story also includes an audio interview with Bandstocks’ founder Andrew Lewis about how the business is envisioned to work.

Dell to offer low-cost computers to emerging markets

With sales of PC laptops and desktops slowing in the United States, Dell is making a push for markets in growing economies around the world with a cheaper additions to its “Vostro” line.

“The new Vostro laptops and desktops will be available through authorized channel partners, as well as direct from Dell in more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America,” the company said in a press release. Sales in those countries are projected to start from September through November.

There are four new models in all under the Vostro line—two laptops and two desktops. The notebooks will start at $475, and the desktops at $440, and will be available in more than 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

The notebook computers are available in 14.1-inch and 15.6-inch sizes, and come with Intel Celeron or Core2Duo processors, and Ubuntu Linux or Windows Vista. The desktops come with Intel Atom, Celeron, or Pentium processors, and Ubuntu or Vista.

C-Net is reporting the notebooks will start at $475, and the desktops at $440.

Steve Felice, president of Dell Asia-Pacific/Japan, said in the press release: “Together with our partners, Dell will play an important role in bringing more technology to more people than ever before - whether in business or in the public sector. Vostro is a key building block to unleashing the potential of the Connected Era.”

Profits in the airline industry!

The airlines are suffering across the board, but Virgin Atlantic is actually coming out ahead. The airline credits the “T5 Effect” for helping it through the first quarter, i.e. redirecting passengers troubled by British Airways’ Terminal 5. Virgin Atlantic made more than $43 million in its first quarter, compared with a $4 million loss last year.

Sir Richard Branson also used the carrier’s good fortune to once again voice his dissent on a Transatlantic venture between British Airways and American Airlines:

“It’s ironic that just as regulators are breaking up one monopoly — BAA — British Airways and American Airlines are trying to create another. Our results prove that consumers want choice on transatlantic routes,” Virgin Atlantic President Richard Branson said in a statement Tuesday. Branson was referring to the request from a U.K. regulator for BAA to sell two of the three London-area airports.

Fewer textbooks to carry with Kindle?

The ARS Technica website has a report that Amazon may enter the college textbook market with a new version of its Kindle electronic reading device.

Provided enough college texts could be produced in a Kindle-friendly format, it would appear that the time may be near for such a device. The cost of college textbooks has been soaring, prompting some students to go the file-sharing route, the article says.

The college textbook market has been challenged lately by a number of digital initiatives, some of which are less legal than others. Savvy students who are getting sick of paying thousands of dollars for textbooks every year are beginning to scan them and put them on BitTorrent in droves. So far, publishers seem content with sending takedown notices to the sites that catalogue them instead of filing costly lawsuits. Still, even professors are outraged by the state of the textbook market, and some are pursuing legal alternatives to torrents by offering open-source textbooks and posting materials on wikis, blogs, and other social sites.

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