While there are already many well established, but not necessarily unbiased, review sites, AM Express recently became a sponsor for Car Transport Blog.com just for that reason.  CTB promises to remain unbiased solely using previous customer’s experiences.  Other review sites allow companies to pay to have bad reviews removed, or at least have their rating systems swayed to the advantage of businesses if they pay for sponsorship.

AM Express Auto Transport stands by our ratings by different reviewers (“A” rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 5 Star Rating on TransportReviews), and welcome an unbiased review site into the market.  Our commitment to excellence will speak for itself.

Go over to the site, www.cartransportblog.com, and check it out.  If you’ve used our service before, we welcome any review you post on the site.

Hybrid Dreams at the Geneva Auto Show

As if recession was but a distant memory, the Geneva Motor Show began yesterday with a flurry of glitzy launches overwhelmingly dominated by green technology. Everyone who is anyone in the world of cars is showing off their hybrids – be they electric motors boosting a petrol engine, petrol engines extending the range of electric batteries, or any manner of gradations in between.

It might seem as if mainstream electric motoring is just around the next bend, given the crop being showcased in Geneva – ranging from jaw-dropping super cars from Ferrari (FIATY) and Porsche (PSEPF) to the workhorse Toyota (TM) Auris, with offers too from BMW (BAMXY) and Audi (VLKAY). But, so far, hybrids occupy only the tiniest niche in the global car market, and for all the hype there is a long way to go.

At present there are very few electric hybrids for sale in the UK; the Toyota Prius and the Honda (HMC) Insight are the obvious examples. But the next year or two will see a whole range of new entrants, with the Toyota Auris hybrid this year, the Nissan (NSANY) Leaf and the plug-in Prius next, and the Vauxhall Ampera from early 2012.

The Government firmly supports electric cars. Last week, the Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, confirmed that the Government will stump up 25 per cent of the sale price, or up to £5,000, for buyers of plug-in cars from the start of next year. And in an effort to confront the chicken-and-egg issue of re-charging infrastructure, the government is putting up £30m to fund the installation of 11,000 charging points in London, Milton Keynes and the North-east, with another round of “plugged-in places” to follow.

Read more here…

All of us in the Auto Transport industry are cheering on the development of Hybrid and Green vehicles.  Firstly, they are fantastic for the environment, and that’s something that everyone should be cheering for.  Secondly, Hybrid vehicles get terrible mile range!

The vehicles that require Auto Transport the most are large, low mpg vehicles like SUVs and Pickup Trucks.  The second largest group are Hybrid vehicles like Toyota Priuses.

While SUVs and Pickups are prime candidates for the service that AM Express Auto Transport provides because of their low mileage, Hybrid vehicles have a different reason.  As reported by various websites, the “electric-only” range of a Prius, for example, is only 13 miles.  While that’s great if you’re driving in the city, it becomes amazingly inconvenient for cross-country, or even state to state driving.

Additionally, Hybrids have two engines, an electric and a gas engine, which requires a whole lot of room.  Priuses are notorious for not having a lot of space.  Imagine driving from California to Florida with barely enough space to fit a couple of pieces of luggage.  Not a pretty sight.

So, here at AM Express Auto Transport, we have decided to offer a new discount program to all Hybrid and Fuel Efficient vehicles.  Please call our Toll-Free number, 1-866-662-5337, or fill out our contact form on the left side of the page.

Additionally, there are reports that 2010 Toyota Camrys are having problems with their brake fluid pumps.  And if that’s not bad enough, Honda is going to have a recall due to air bag problems.

Phew!

Thankfully, you won’t have to drive your vehicles back to the dealerships worrying about the accelerator pedal, the brakes, or air bags.  With auto transport we can conveniently pick up your vehicle at your door and drop it off at the dealership.  You may even be able to get your dealer to cover the transport.

Most in-state deliveries are the most affordable and time effective service that an auto transport service can give.  If you are having your vehicle recalled, please fill out the email contact form to the left, and in the special instructions put “Recall Vehicle” and we’ll be able to offer a discounted rate.

Remember, AM Express Auto Transport is an Accredited A-Rated member of the Better Business Bureau.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach us at 1-866-662-5337.

This Oct 2008 Train Collision is attributed to texting.

With every little advancement of technology come unforeseen problems associated with them.  Cell phone technology, and the new super-cell phone mini computers, have led to a plague of text or phone related accidents.

Whether it was the October 2008 head-on collision of a Metrolink Commuter Train with a Union Pacific freight train, whose operator was texting and ran a stop light, to the many hundreds and thousands of yearly vehicle accidents associated to distracted driving, it was time for the Department of Transportation to put it’s foot down.

Many states already have passed legislation banning cell phone usage while driving, unless it’s with a hands-free set, but now there is a national ban of texting for commercial truck drivers.

This safety measure will carry a possible criminal or civil charge, and fines up to $2,750.

Visit the DOT’s new website Distraction.gov for more information.  There you can find State Law, Statistics, and any other number of information resources to inform you to the dangers and hazards of distracted driving.

Shipping traffic came to a standstill Sunday and Monday as Coast Guard officials worked to battle an ice jam in the St. Clair River.

Four Coast Guard cutters traveled to the area to free vessels stuck in the ice.

“Freighter” Frank Frisk, a maritime consultant at the Great Lakes Maritime Center in Port Huron, said 16 to 18 ships were delayed Sunday night because of the ice.

He said brash ice — which occurs when ice layers on top of itself — was to blame for jamming the river.

“It’s a mess down there,” Frisk said late Monday afternoon.

Vessels were stopped from Lake St. Clair to Lake Huron, he said. Cutters Penobscot Bay, Neah Bay, Bristol Bay — all 140 feet in length — and the 225-foot Hollyhock worked throughout the day to get the river flowing.

After 6 p.m., the Coast Guard cutters called it a night. The Bristol Bay headed back to Detroit for the night, while the Neah Bay and Penobscot Bay tied up in Algonac, Frisk said.

To read more…

Recently, many transporters were in a panic over the possible closings of many dealerships around the country.  Even more odd, Teamster drivers for General Motors have basically moved from Allied Systems to Jack Cooper Transport.  Same drivers, different company, higher pay.

Read the article from MLive.com:

Teamsters Local 332: Allied Systems Ltd. workers at David Street facility will transfer in February to Jack Cooper Transport Co. Inc.

By Melissa Burden | Flint Journal

January 08, 2010, 6:30PM
FLINT, Michigan — Eighty one Allied Systems Ltd. workers will lose their jobs in February and be rehired with a sizable raise by another company, according to a union official.

Allied Systems, a vehicle hauling company, is expected to close its facility David Street near the General Motors Flint Metal Center complex, according to a letter Allied Systems filed with the state last month.

Fred Ortiz, secretary/treasurer of Teamsters Local 332, said Allied Systems lost a bid to haul new trucks built at the GM Flint Truck Assembly Plant to dealerships.

But starting Feb. 1, the 81 Allied Systems workers will become employees of Jack Cooper Transport Co. Inc., which won the GM bid, Ortiz said. He said the union employees have transfer rights.

An Allied Automotive Group company representative in Georgia declined to comment Friday and The Journal could not reach Jack Cooper representatives in Kansas City, Mo., for comment.

“It’s just going to be a name change for them basically,” Ortiz said. “Everybody’s going to keep working basically and just drive a different color truck.”

In its letter to the state, Allied Systems Ltd. said on or around Feb. 1 it would lay off 45 drivers, 16 yard and dock workers, 16 mechanics, one van driver, one union clerk, one union casual worker and one union dispatcher.

“We’re not losing anybody,” Ortiz said.

Allied Systems Ltd. is a subsidiary of Allied Automotive Group. Jack Cooper is a large auto transport carrier that in part services GM plants.

Ortiz said that Allied Systems workers a few years agreed to 15 percent wage cuts. But now that the 80 or so workers are transferring companies, they’ll see an about 17 percent raise, Ortiz said.

“We’ve lost enough jobs in this area,” he said. “That’s kind of welcome that we’re going to keep these.”

Read the rest of the article here…

In a telephone press conference, union Auto Transport Division Director Fred Zuckerman explained the two formerly bankrupt car companies are cutting costs by outsourcing the carhauling to non-union, unqualified and ill-equipped private operators. Up to 9,000 union workers could lose their jobs; At least 400 already have.

And adding,

The two auto firms, however, are laying off Teamster drivers and hiring “independent contractors” who have little training and take fewer safety precautions…

While the Auto Transporter service is a booming industry, thanks to gas prices and the expenses of moving a vehicle cross-country; nonetheless, it is quite tenuous and certain steps of protection need to be taken as a smart consumer.

AM Express Auto Transport is fully licensed, bonded, and insured, plus we have an A-Rating with the Better Business Bureau.  We take our due diligence to make sure that the drivers of your vehicles are the top in their industry.

Your satisfaction is our satisfaction.

For dealerships, though, making sure that your product is delivered properly is of utmost importance to us.  Dealers, please contact us for our dealer incentive program, and instead of being held hostage by overpaid Union Drivers, contract an Auto Transporter you can trust.