Imagine that your business is receiving phone calls from Yelp, unsolicited, trying to sell advertising space. How many times do you have to say “no thank you” until you finally reach the end of your patience? One business wants “no” to mean “no” in every aspect.
It has been revealed that Yelp had received over 2,000 complaints filed with the FTC. Of these complaints, some allege that Yelp goes so far as to push positive reviews into its filter until businesses pay up. This has smaller companies wondering if Yelp is even worth the hassle anymore. Yelp doesn’t ask permission to list a business, and seems to lobby businesses aggressively to pay for things like pushing competitors down in rank.
To one small business owner, the message was clear: contract reviewers or face irrelevance. Many small businesses find themselves in this precarious position, where reviews are a necessary evil to doing business.
A 3D-printed car, described as the ‘greenest car ever made’, could be set to embark on a coast-to-coast journey across the US in 2015. Urbee 2 weighs just 1,200 pounds thanks to the 3D printed plastic which makes up its shell and interior. The car’s developers believe the journey from San Francisco to New York would only require 10 gallons of ethanol fuel. Despite not having a maximum speed, its creators say it will mainly drive at speeds of 40mph or less with the help of its electric motor. The hybrid engine, however, will enable the driver to utilise fuel in order to travel at higher speeds
Shoppers looking for clothes or gadgets at the Westfield London Shopping Centre in Shepherd’s Bush will now be able to browse cars on the same trip as London’s first car showroom in a shopping centre opens its doors. Motorists and car insurance policy holders will be able to view models like the
Despite the Government dropping the idea of moving the motorway speed limit from 70mph to 80mh, amid fears that the change may alienate women voters, the idea may still re-surface. Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin had stated that the idea, initially proposed by Phillip Hammond, had been dropped and was no longer a priority. However Stephen Hammond, a transport minister, has suggested that there is still disagreement over the issue within senior coalition members. Stephen Hammond told the Telegraph : “Mr [Philip] Hammond is a great supporter of 80 miles per hour. He thinks it’s the right thing to do. “That’s not a universal view among my colleagues and at the moment, because there are a huge number of other things on, we have not stopped work on it but it’s not a priority. “Given that a lot of people travel at 80 miles per hour and we could enforce 80 miles per hour, at some stage we will want to come back and look at it.” Phillip Hammond, speaking at the 2011 Conservative Party conference, stated that higher speed limits would benefit the economy due to faster journey times. However measures to enforce a higher speed limit would require cameras measuring average speeds on all motorways, the cost of which could offset any economic benefit.
The British Government has announced improvements to a discount scheme that benefits people who regularly cross the Thames on the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing. Motorists and car insurance policy holders , including those with privately-owned vans, will save money by registering for the new local resident discount scheme. Under the new scheme, which launches in March 2014, vehicle owners who register as a local resident will be able to make unlimited trips for £20 per year. The scheme will also apply to local residents who own a two-axle vehicle, such as a van. The present discount scheme lets motorists pay £10 for 50 trips within one year and 20p for each crossing thereafter. This payment option, currently used by 24,000 drivers, will continue, while existing members will also have the opportunity to register for the new discount option. In a move to simplify the application process motorists will also now only have to send their vehicle documentation to the discount scheme every two years, rather than annually
Motorists and car insurance policy holders interested in finding out how Toyota is transferring racing car technology to its production line can now study the Hybrid-R concept released at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The Hybrid-R is based on the Toyota Yaris, the company’s bestselling model in the European market. The concept incorporates technology found in the Toyota TS030 Le Mans Racer with a 300bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The Hybrid-R comes with two 60-hp electric motors that distribute power between the car’s rear wheels. This acts in a similar way to a traction control system. The electric motors also act as a power source for the super-capacitor, another piece of technology brought over from the TS030 Le Mans racing car.
Motorists and car insurance policy holders heading to the Frankfurt Motor Show will now have the chance to test drive the latest vehicles from German car giant BMW on their purpose-built 300-metre indoor track. The track, part of BMW’s 10,000 square meter exhibition space at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, allows visitors to test drive some 24 vehicles – including BMW’s first all-electric offering, the i3 hatchback, priced at 34,950 euros (