Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Past Thoughts About the Future of the Automobile Industry
Predicting the future is tricky business. It's hard to predict the future of an industry, especially the automobile industry. 10 years ago many industry exec's thought that mainstream vehicles achieving close to 100mpg would be commonplace. Jurgen Hubbert, once Chief of the passenger car division for Mercedes-Benz AG said in a 1996 interview with Automobile Magazine we will have "innovative new combustion engines. We will have fuel economy between 56 and 95mpg". He thought this would happen by 2006. Well, it's February 2006 and I'm still waiting.
One of the more famous predictions came from a legend in the North American auto industry. Lee Iacocca was speaking to Carroll Shelby (another legendary figure) in 1971 about the future of Toyota in North America. Shelby had just been offered a Toyota dealership in California and wanted to know why Iacocca thought it would be a bad idea. Iacocca went on to say "because we're going to kick their asses back into the Pacific Ocean". Iacocca was wrong and Toyota has grown to become the richest car company in the world.
But not all predictions are wrong. 10 years ago many automobile executives predicted that hybrids would become more popular by 2006. Clearly they were right. Others placed their bet on electric vehicles. Needless to say, they were wrong. Everyone has an opinion about the automobile industry, but few can predict with any certainty what'll happen next year, let alone in the next decade.
Over the last 10 years we've seen a new love affair with rear wheel drive cars, more fuel efficient engines, and safer vehicles. Hybrids are gaining popularity and the SUV is making way for the crossover utility vehicle. 10 years ago Chrysler was a purely American company and BMW just bought Rover. Since then, Daimler-Benz "merged" (read bought) Chrysler Corp. to form DaimlerChrysler and BMW admits buying Rover was a huge mistake (they have since sold it). Nissan is now largely owned by Renault, Porsche owns 20% of Volkswagen and General Motors and Ford are shedding tens of thousands of jobs in hopes of being around for the next 10 years.
10 years from now we'll almost certainly have far more fuel efficient drivetrains, widely used GPS systems, and more niche vehicles. It'll be a different decade than the one gone by, but as Yogi Berra once said, "The future ain't what it use to be".
California Catering Truck Insurance
Catering truck insurance
Not many agents/brokers write catering truck insurance as they don't have a contract with companies that will write that type of coverage. There's a certain type of knowledge needed to write the risk with catering truck insurance properly. There are basically (2) categories of operators:
They are, hot trucks and Mobile Food Preparation Vehicles (MFPV), which allow food to be prepared as customers order, and cold trucks, Industrial Catering Vehicles (ICV), which sell only prepackaged foods.
The hot trucks have at least a driver, (which is usually the taxpayer), and a cook, who may be a family member. The cold trucks in most instances, only need a driver since it is a self-service vehicle, however, they are not limited to just the driver.
The average cost of the trucks is approximately between $50,000 - $100,000. The trucks may be owned by one individual, serving as the owner/operator, or several individuals may own a fleet of trucks and lease them to various individuals to operate; or they can be individually owned and then leased to another individual to operate.
The drivers/owners of food trucks are linked to specific commissaries stocking and storing their trucks overnight. The commissary is a wholesale supermarket where the drivers are able to buy food and supplies in bulk. The trucks are assigned to a commissary and are required to park their vehicles there overnight for washing, unloading, and morning loading of food.
The drivers purchase their goods for sale at the commissary, although you may discover that outside purchases were also made. The Department of Health Services have very strict requirements with regards to the purchase of food for sale. Food must be obtained from an approved vendor, approved facility, or approved commissary.
The owners and operators of the vehicles have to meet certain requirements for various governmental agencies. The owners are required to register their vehicles with the Health Department. All vehicles must have a valid County Health Permit.
Vehicles are usually inspected annually in order to renew their license by the Health Department. The license, showing the name of the owner, must be on display in the vehicle or on the persons of the driver.
Selling any goods, wares, or merchandise on public streets and sidewalks on foot or using a pack, stand, or push cart is illegal without the approval of the Department of Building and Safety.
There are also stringent health codes that must be followed and enforced to operate safely and within the guidlines of the dept of health in order to be able to operate the food business. State laws also require catering truck insurance.
