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Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

Mercedes recalls 2,600 S-Class models in two campaigns

If you're the owner of a 2015 S-Class, you may get a notice soon from your local Mercedes dealership to bring in your pride and joy. But only if you own one of the specific models being recalled in two separate campaigns. The larger of the two affects the Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic, Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic, and Mercedes-AMG S65 coupes – all from the 2015 model year and manufactured between January 27, 2014, and April 2, 2015. Those models could have had their front seat belts installed on the wrong side, so the driver's side belt may have been fitted to the front passenger seat, and vice versa. Since the seat belt mechanisms are designed for specific sides of the vehicle, they may not lock as required, and the child seat restraint on the passenger side might not work, either. As a result, Mercedes is recalling 2,580 such units in the United States to have those belts inspected and replaced as necessary. In parallel, the Silver Star automaker is also calling in four – that's right, just four – examples of the 2015 S550 Hybrid. In those few units, the fuel pump may not be able to restart the internal combustion engine when needed, and the vehicle could stall. You can read both of the recall notices from the NHTSA below. RECALL Subject : Incorrect Seat Belt Position/FMVSS 208, 209 Report Receipt Date: OCT 14, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V657000 Component(s): SEAT BELTS Potential Number of Units Affected: 2,580 Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. SUMMARY: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2015 S550 4Matic Coupe, AMG S63 4Matic Coupe, and AMG S65 vehicles manufactured January 27, 2014, to April 2, 2015. In the affected vehicles, left-side front seat belts may have been installed on the right-side and vice versa. As a result, the installation angle may be incorrect, affecting the seat belt locking behavior. Additionally, the child seat restraint function for the passenger seat would not be available. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," and FMVSS number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies." CONSEQUENCE: If the seat belt is installed improperly, it may not properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. REMEDY: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the installation of the seat belts, correcting them as necessary, free of charge.

VW gets help from Daimler to deal with VW scandal

Volkswagen has hired Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, a compliance officer, away from Daimler. Normally, this wouldn't be particularly big news. The reason you might care is summed up rather succinctly by Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, who said that Hohmann-Dennhardt is being tasked with helping the entire German automobile industry "clean up the collateral damage from the diesel deceit." Hohmann-Dennhardt had to be released early from her contract with Daimler in order to take on this difficult role with an inter-country rival. VW Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch thanked "Daimler AG for agreeing to our request to the early termination of Dr. Hohmann-Dennhardt's contract." What makes this move even more interesting is that Daimler and Volkswagen have had a terse relationship in recent years due to the poaching of important employees from one side to the other. According to Bloomberg, Hohmann-Dennhardt's contract with Daimler had been secured through February of 2017, but with her early release, she will start her new role on VW's board of management in January of 2016. Daimler, for its part, released a statement suggesting the decision was made "in the interests of the good corporate governance of the German automotive industry." Prior to her employment at Daimler, Hohmann-Dennhardt served for 11 years as a judge. Reading between the lines, it seems VW's massive corporate scandal has rocked the German auto industry to its core. Enough so, in fact, that Daimler would be willing to let go of a highly talented and well-respected executive – the first woman ever appointed to the German automaker's board – who had served since there since 2011. Feel free to read through VW's entire statement, below. Related Video: Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt to move to Volkswagen AG in 2016 as Board Member for Integrity and Legal Affairs Daimler AG agrees to move of Board Member for Integrity and Legal Affairs to Volkswagen AG The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, Hans Dieter Potsch, has requested the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG, Dr. Manfred Bischoff, to agree to the early termination of the contract with Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG for Integrity and Legal Affairs, which runs until February 28, 2017. She is to join the Volkswagen Group as of January 1, 2016 as the Board Member for Integrity and Legal Affairs.