Miles Electric XS-500 delayed?

Posted on July 1, 2009
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California based Miles Electric had plans to launch a full electric 4-door sedan, XS-500, by end of 2009 which now is rumored to be delayed. The car based on an existing gasoline powered Chinese sedan is to be priced between $35,000 to $40,000.

Miles Electric is known in the U.S. for their “neighborhood cars” which are more akin to golf carts. This will be the first highway ready electric vehicle from Miles Electric. The XS-500 has a top speed of around 80 mph and a range of around 120 on a single charge. The car uses a lithium ion battery pack which can be charged by plugging the vehicle into an electrical outlet.

The reasons for the delay seem to be the increasing costs of launching a vehicle in the U.S. market. New safety standards are requiring an upgrade to the air bags which is costing the company a lot more money than anticipated. The company is hoping to sell between 50 to 70 units in the first year of launch.

Satellite radio losing it’s charm?

Posted on July 1, 2009
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Sirius XM - the combined company of Sirius and XM Satellite lost over a million subscribers recently to cancellations. Due to the tough economy, many are not spending on discretionary items such as satellite radio. Another reason why the company was impacted is due to the drastic reduction in new car sales in the US.

Sirius and XM have existing relationships with car manufacturers. They give away 3 to 12 months of satellite radio service to car buyers with the hopes that the new car owner gets addicted to the radio service and renew it at the end of the trial period.

Get every single channel on Direct TV

Posted on June 30, 2009
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Direct TV has a new “Ultimate” subscription service that is for the “select few”. Priced at a $7,500 per year it includes every premium channel, movie channel, pay per view channel, sports channel, HD channel and adult channel available on Direct TV. It also includes up to 10 PVR and a 24 hour concierge service.

The question really becomes who would need this? How many people have time to watch so much to justify the costs? How many people can really afford to pay an average of $650 per month?

Billy Mays, the king of infomercials

Posted on June 29, 2009
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Billy Mays is the latest celebrity to die in a series that started with Ed McMahon. Everyone has seen those late night infomercials with the bearded Billy Mays pitching one product or another. He was probably the most successful pitchman on television and reportedly charged $20,000 per product plus a percentage of the sales. And he sold millions and millions of dollars worth of products on television. He is said to have been picky on what products he would pitch; if he did not believe in a product he refused to pitch. He was also on the reality show “Pitchmen”.

Though he was so successful at pitching products, many thought he was too loud on TV. Many others said that Billy Mays gets on their nerves. Regardless of how loud or irritating he was, he truly knew how to pitch those products on TV and people watched his infomercials.

Billy Mays was on the US Airways flight that had a tire blowout upon landing at Tampa international. Due to the rough landing, things fell out of the overhead cabins and reportedly Billy Mays was hit on the head. He brushed it off with a statement that he has a hard head. Many were thinking that the head injury probably contributed to his death. But the latest report from the coroners offices blames his death on heart disease.

He was just 50 years young,like another celebrity Michael Jackson who died recently. Michael Jackson was the “King of Pop”, Billy Mays was the king of “Infomercials”.


Michael Jackson overshadows Farrah Fawcett

Posted on June 27, 2009
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Farrah Fawcett died this week after her long battle with anal cancer. Many are upset that the death of another icon, Michael Jackson overshadowed that of Michael Jackson. The king of Pop died from a sudden cardiac arrest.

Farrah Fawcett will always be remembered as a Charlies Angel. Michael Jackson will be for being one of the greatest entertainers of all time. The people who are upset that the media is giving his death more coverage say that Michael Jackson’s behavior was weird and he had been accused of child molestation. They ask why should he get so much attention.

In my opinion, Michael Jackson is an entertainer who is a phenomenon the world over. He died young at the age of 50. He was an icon for many generations and single handedly gave so much to the world if music. His erratic behavior later in his life should not take away from his accomplshments.

Farrah Fawcett will also be remembered by fans of Charlies Angels. Just because Jackson got so much coverage, she is not going to be forgotten.

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