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Old 01-18-2016, 12:03 PM   #16
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Who could forget that guy from Home Depot!
That would be Robert Nardelli.

In hindsight, Cerberus' hiring of Nardelli should have been a clue that they had no real desire to be "patriots" and save Chrysler. It was a "strip and flip" deal from day one.
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Old 01-18-2016, 12:15 PM   #17
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I took Uber to and from an Indiana Pacers game tonight in the event I had a few too many adult beverages. Which obviously I didn't since I am now posting on DealershipForum...

One thing I noticed was that both drivers I had today were in their first week driving for Uber. It's not unlike other pyramid type sales organizations where there are always new people being recruited who haven't yet realized that it isn't worth it to put their wear and tear on their car for relatively meager returns.

Just to give you an idea, my 30 mile ride to the city cost only $31.67 before Uber takes their share, and my return trip back to the sticks cost $29.32 for the same distance.

Even in the best case, I don't see how the math adds up for the drivers.

I guess that why new blood is always being recruited.
That's really interesting - especially the part that both drivers were new to the Uber program. Maybe Uber's business plan is no different than the type of New Car Sales Manager who intentionally hires too many salespeople?

Concerning the fare, that actually seems pretty reasonable when you figure you save money on gas and parking. You also don't have the hassle of driving in stop and go traffic.

Concerning the pick-up after a big event, how can you tell which Uber driver is waiting to pick you up if it's dark and cars tend to look the same? (The assumption is there are many Uber customers and drivers all showing up to the same location at the same time.)
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Old 01-18-2016, 01:59 PM   #18
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I certainly think that Uber brings everyone on board any 'only the strong' or 'only the naïve' survive, depending on white side of the Uber argument you are on. Not unlike flooding the floor at a dealership.

The fare is very reasonable -- and on Saturday when I arrived in Detroit I was shocked that they had just dropped fares in Detroit.

In Detroit -- during the auto show -- a 13.73 mile ride was only $11.74. Granted it was Sunday morning, so that trip was only 16 minutes -- even with the last mile or two having heavy traffic.

Considering Uber takes $2.30 of that amount for a "Safe Rides Fee" leaving $9.44, of which Uber takes 20%. The driver grosses $7.55 for the trip -- which is right about the standard mileage deduction for the miles put on a car.

This definitely isn't sustainable long term, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

FYI -- fares were up to 3-4x higher when Uber first launched in Detroit and about 2x more than present in Indianapolis.
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Old 01-19-2016, 10:11 AM   #19
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Considering Uber takes $2.30 of that amount for a "Safe Rides Fee" leaving $9.44, of which Uber takes 20%. The driver grosses $7.55 for the trip -- which is right about the standard mileage deduction for the miles put on a car.

This definitely isn't sustainable long term, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

FYI -- fares were up to 3-4x higher when Uber first launched in Detroit and about 2x more than present in Indianapolis.
To the extent that Uber gets a 20% cut it will be to their benefit to increase rates at some point in time.

I really think Uber is following the PayPal launch where the fees were super-low at the start just to get people to use the service and once the service is established and popular they jack the fees up. Uber's cheap rates could also be a form of predatory pricing designed to force some of the cab companies/drivers out of the business so there will be less competition in the future.

Concerning PayPal, I remember I signed up early on and my first transaction with them was transferring $100 from my credit card to my checking account just to test the system and I didn't pay a single penny in fees. PayPal clearly lost money on that transaction but their objective was just to establish themselves as the major player in a new segment of the market. (Trivia note - PayPal is where Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, made is fortune.)
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Old 01-20-2016, 09:46 AM   #20
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Default Will GM's Ride Sharing program be called "Maven"?

GM was in the news yesterday for their purchase of the ride sharing company Side Car. For the full news report - click here

The purchase of Side Car is a transaction that seems like peanuts compared to GM's $500 Million investment in Lyft - it's estimated that GM paid less than $39 Million for Side Car.

Ironically, Side Car was one of the innovators in the ride sharing industry - they were offering peer-to-peer ride sharing between ordinary drivers back in the day when Uber was only working with licensed taxi drivers.

Perhaps most interesting, to me, was the following excerpt to the news report I linked above:
GM is preparing to introduce its own set of transportation services, which it has dubbed Maven, the source familiar with the matter said. The initiative may allow owners of GM vehicles to give rides to other passengers who are commuting in the same direction. GM President Ammann will take charge charge of Maven, this person said.

GM filed to trademark the Maven name on Nov. 25, 2015. The application, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, described “Application software for connecting vehicle drivers and passengers and for coordinating transportation services; software for use in planning, monitoring and controlling urban transportation.”
I also thought it was interesting to read that Ford is interested in the ride-sharing business too. Here's an excerpt:
Ford Motor Co. CEO Mark Fields has said his company is working on its own ride-sharing service. In 2014, Daimler AG acquired German ridesharing apps RideScout and mytaxi.
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Old 01-21-2016, 10:54 AM   #21
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GM's Maven program is in the news today.

Here's a link to a report from The Verge that details the program - click here

The program appears to be a direct competitor to Zipcar and Car2Go - the concept is car-sharing, not ride sharing. The program will launch in Flint, MI with plans to expand to major metro markets.
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Old 01-27-2016, 09:03 AM   #22
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Default Uber's ad placement in Google Map

I thought of this thread the other day when I was out getting some exercise and decided to use Google Maps to determine the shortest way back to the house.

I pulled out my Nexus 6P and opened Google Maps and verified that the route I had taken was also the shortest route back. As I was about to put the Nexus back in my pocket I noticed there was an indication on the screen showing that I could arrive at my destination in only 9 minutes - it was an ad for Uber.

I thought it was a great example of ad placement - if I had been too tied to walk back it would have been easy to take Uber knowing that it would only take about 9 minutes and the fare would be between $6 and $9.

Here's a screenshot:

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Old 01-29-2016, 06:05 PM   #23
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Interesting. I have not noticed this yet. Of course, with all of the tracking the Google does they probably know that I hop in my car and drive to work, so there is no need to recommend an Uber trip back home.

I've never seen it at home because I live in the last mile or two of my metro that is covered by Uber, so it isn't unusual for me to have to wait just as long for a driver to arrive as it would take for the driving trip to my destination.
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:20 AM   #24
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Interesting. I have not noticed this yet. Of course, with all of the tracking the Google does they probably know that I hop in my car and drive to work, so there is no need to recommend an Uber trip back home.

I've never seen it at home because I live in the last mile or two of my metro that is covered by Uber, so it isn't unusual for me to have to wait just as long for a driver to arrive as it would take for the driving trip to my destination.
I had never seen the Uber ad before either.

I think the only reason it appeared is because I switched the transportation method at the top of the Maps screen from "vehicle" to "walking." Once Google knew that I was walking the ad for Uber appeared.
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Old 02-24-2016, 02:01 PM   #25
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As I'm sure most of you have heard so far, Uber is in the news again for all the wrong reasons!

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...home/80848040/

It's a little unfair to Uber to point all the blame on Uber for any of this stuff, but Uber appears to be an easy target at this point.
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Old 02-25-2016, 10:31 AM   #26
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It's a little unfair to Uber to point all the blame on Uber for any of this stuff, but Uber appears to be an easy target at this point.
I thought the same thing - Uber has a process in place to screen their drivers and in this case there was nothing about the suspect that would have raised a red flag. Uber is an easy target and I think the media crafts their stories in a way that will draw the most viewers/readers - accuracy of reporting actual events is secondary.

Concerning the shooting, it's impossible to make sense out of something so senseless - what a waste of innocent lives. Like so many other shootings in our country, it appears that mental illness is the root cause.
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