Lotus Car Rental Launch Lotus Green Essay Example for Free

Lotus Car Rental Launch Lotus Green Essay In the current climate of environmental and financial concerns across the United States many businesses have taken the initiative to go â€Å"green. † Green products and practices often cost more at the start and then generate savings over the lifetime of the product through energy conservation and maintenance savings. Car rental agencies, including Lotus competitors, have begun to incorporate hybrid options into their fleet as a way of tapping into an emerging class of eco-conscious consumers. Hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular among consumers and are expected to be common place in the near future. Lotus can begin developing a green branch now as part of an initiative to update services that reflect future growth. There are currently more than 1,800,000 thousand cars for rent in the United States generating approximately $21 billion in revenue (Ohngren Brown, 2007). The car rental business as a whole has steadily increased since 2002 and a rise is expected over the next five years. However, due to the dramatic fluxation in gasoline prices as well as growing environmental concerns there is currently a demand for fuel efficient and hybrid vehicles. Rental statistics for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), minivans, large trucks and other vehicles that have low fuel economy have been on the decline since consumers began to feel the impact of rising gasoline costs. Current customers looking to save money at the pump as well as a new generation of environmentally conscious spenders are looking for hybrid options. Lotus can accommodate this potential clientele base by launching a line of â€Å"green† vehicles. Major competitors such as Avis – Budget, Rent-A-Car, Hertz and Enterprise already offer hybrid vehicles for rent. Although the price of these vehicles is higher per day customers are typically promised to save in gas mileage and they are paying the difference. The majority of potential clients interested in Hybrid vehicles are willing to pay more in exchange for the satisfaction of driving a vehicle that produces less carbon emissions and conserves gasoline. Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) use two or more sources of energy. The most common energy sources include a combination of renewable energy storage system (RESS) and gasoline or diesel. However, solar energy, hydrogen and other alternative sources of fuel are available for use in HEVs as well. HEVs can be configured to increase power, improve gas mileage or provide auxiliary power for electrical devices and power tools. Emerging technology dictates that alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles are leading the way into the future. According to a Priceline survey 72 percent of travelers want rental car companies to offer hybrid vehicles (Environmental Leader, 2007, p. 01). Approximately 39 percent said they would even be willing to pay $1 to $3 more per day for a hybrid option. Current investment projects in renewable energy may wan as the price of gasoline drops to $70 a barrel, the lowest in nearly two years, but long term projections indicate that the use of alternative fuels will prosper over the next ten years and gasoline usage (Environmental Leader, 2007, p. 01). Going green is going to become a necessity for rental companies that want to stay ahead of the curve. Specifically companies promoting the benefits of green business practices as well as â€Å"eco-marketing† can build strong brand integrity (Ohngren Brown, 2007). Advertising campaigns geared toward the emerging class of eco-conscience money makers are already proving to be successful. According to www. business. gov, a government based business resource, companies that are already competitive in price and services benefit from adding green initiatives, products and eco-labeling as a method of securing a share of the market (Business. gov The Official Business Link to the US Government, 2008) As a small business looking to expand in a growingly competitive market Lotus can benefit from launching a green fleet of rental options. Current competitors are only using Hybrid vehicles as a small percentage of their fleet. By replacing three currently outdated vehicles with Hybrid options Lotus can begin a green campaign as well as update current selection of vehicles. The Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius are two of the most cost effective hybrid vehicles currently on the market. The 2009 Civic gets approximately 45 miles per gallon and can be purchased around $24,000. Although this is significantly higher than a conventional Civic, which costs approximately $16,000 and gets 34 miles per gallon, consumers looking to test drive a hybrid as well as a growing number of consumers who will make a decision based on environmental choices will choice this option over the conventional model despite the price. The 2009 Toyota Prius is emerging as an even more cost effective hybrid starting at $22,000 it gets 48 miles per gallon. The standard price of a conventional car rental is approximately $55 per day. Competitors are charging $5 to $15 more per day for hybrid vehicles (Rent a Hybrid Car, n. d. ). Hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly more common. So much so that hybrid rentals are also becoming more common. Eventually the cost of hybrid rental cars may be equivalent to that of standard vehicles. However, rental companies must take the lead and offer hybrid vehicles as well as promote them in order to pursue this avenue of business expansion. â€Å"By making more hybrid vehicles available and promoting their benefits, rental companies could easily increase their popularity among otherwise uninterested consumers. As popularity increases, the price of renting these green cars, which cost less to maintain to begin with, could eventually equal that of standard rentals (Rent a Hybrid Car, n. d. ,  ¶ 4). In conclusion, hybrid vehicles currently cost more than conventional vehicles. But consumers are illustrating that they are willing to pay more for hybrid options. Furthermore, the popularity of hybrid vehicles has already increased dramatically and is expected to continue to do so. The natural process of supply and demand has already produced an increased number of hybrid vehicles within the automobile market. This trend is expected to continue until hybrid vehicles become a staple within the auto industry. Lotus competitors have already begun to incorporate hybrid vehicles into their fleet as well as launch green campaigns and solidify branding. Lotus can gain an edge by incorporating hybrid vehicles as well as launching a branch of green car rentals. Incorporating hybrids will keep Lotus competitive with other rental agencies as well as meet consumer demand for this product. Currently there are two cost effective hybrid options, the Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius. Although both have higher fuel economy than conventional vehicles the Prius is emerging as a better investment. The Prius gets better gas mileage and costs less. Adding a small percentage of hybrid options allows Lotus to launch a new eco-conscious branding campaign as well as pursue a new class of customers, the environmentally concerned. References Business. gov The Official Business Link to the US Government (Producer). (2008). Green Marketing [Video file]. Retrieved from www. business. gov Environmental Leader (2007, April 24). Rental Car Customers Want Hybrid Option. Retrieved from Environmental briefing web site: www. environmentalleader. com Ohngren, K. , Brown, C. (2007, September/October). The Greening of the Auto Rental Industry. Auto Rental News, 6. Rent a Hybrid Car (n. d. ). Green or not? How much eco-cred do rental car agencies get for offering hybrids?. Retrieved December 01, 2008, from www. hybrid-rental-car. com

Metal Storm :: Technology Weapons Essays

Metal Storm What is Metal Storm? Metal Storm is a revolutionary type of ballistics technology, utilizing electrical impulses to fire projectiles, rather than conventional mechanical impulses. These weapons have no moving parts aside from the projectiles themselves. The bullets are stacked on end in the barrel, separated only by a thin layer of propellant. A small electric current passing through the barrel ignites the propellant, firing the bullet from the barrel. To prevent one layer of propellant from igniting the rest of the propellant in the barrel, causing a disastrous chain reaction, the bullets are modified so that the head of the bullet will expand, sealing the barrel, when the bullet ahead of it is fired. Because of this and the nature of its electrical firing system, Metal Storm offers a variable rate of fire, from semi-automatic to a devastating 45 thousand rounds per minute per barrel, with each bullet leaving the barrel at only 4† behind the last. Also, because all that is necessary to prope l a bullet from the barrel is an electrical impulse, many barrels can be placed in an array and fired all at once. Metal Storm Ltd., the company that produces Metal Storm ballistics technology, has produced a prototype gun, nicknamed â€Å"Bertha,† which can fire at a rate of up to 1.62 million rounds per minute. Comparing this to the fastest rate previously achieved by a machine gun of 6,000 rounds per minute, one can begin to see the deadly power of this technology. And while one might think that energy would be an inherent problem with an electrical firing system, in this case, it’s not. Because the electric current is only used to ignite the gun propellant, only a very small amount of energy is required, and Metal Storm weapon can operate easily on the power from a simply flashlight battery. In addition to the machine gun, this technology is also being put to use in other applications, including a handgun variant (intended for use by military and police), a sniper-rifle (recently contracted by the United State’s Department of Defense), and even an Area-Denial Weapons System (to replace land mines), which can be operated by a single man to fire up to 1800 grenades and 360 solid mortar rounds intelligently aimed at enemy units in only a quarter of a second. Beyond this, they have also begun work on a fully automated aircraft.

Fighting for Ameican Manhood

Omar Perez-Velazco Hist. 460 Dr. McDonough February 18, 2013 Since the beginning of time the topic of human gender its differences has been a controversial subject that always attracts attention. After the Spanish-American War, many men were seen as heroes, some even put into important positions in our nations’ government. Men like McKinley and Roosevelt, for example, used such praise and recognition to reinforce their positions of President and, later on, Vice President, respectively. One of the men who benefited from this line of thought was President McKinley, who no doubt was delighted to find that being a commander in chief during a war restored his image as a capable leader† (110). Roosevelt was a man with power, being the assistant secretary of the navy, but he gave it up to join 1st United Stated Volunteer Cavalry, more commonly known as the Rough Riders. He received nationwide praise and everyone knew him as a hero. â€Å"Two years later, Roosevelt’s mil itary record helped him win the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket† (112).Women held many important roles during this war, such as nurses. While women were vital to the war effort, many people did little to spread the news. â€Å"In magazines and newspapers of the time, stories glorifying soldiers and sailors are hard to miss. In contrast, stories covering women’s wartime contributions are difficult to find† (128). How does considering gender change our views of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars? This is the argument that Kristin Hoganson makes in Fighting for American Manhood.I believe that without the aid of women in the camps, the wars would have gone much differently. â€Å"This book shows how international relations affected ideas about gender, how gendered ideas about political authority affected American democracy in an imperial era, and how high politics served as a vibrant locus of cultural struggle† (14). I can agree with the author on all these points and I believe that women and also minorities during the wars had a great impact from their local factories and towns. Fighting for American Manhood collects its information from a wide variety f sources, some being magazines and journal articles, and others being more in depth, like family letters. There is also a large quantity of political cartoons from the time, depicting such people as President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and the iconic Uncle Sam. Some of the primary sources, the letters, come from places like the Alabama Department of Archives and History, or the Cincinnati Historical Society, which provided information in the form of the Wheeler Family Papers, and the Joseph Benson Foraker Papers, respectively.While a lot of these family accounts were safely in the hands of the state, many other accounts from the day were residing in university libraries, such as the Harvard University Houghton Library, and the University of North Carolin a Wilson Library: Southern Historical Collection, from which Hoganson uses the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, from the Charles Eliot Norton Papers, and the Edward Ward Carmack Papers, respectively. The secondary sources that the author compiled were mostly magazine entries and newspaper articles, like those from the New York Times, or the Washington Post.The chapter that I found most interesting was Chapter 6 – The Problem of Male Degeneracy and the Allure of the Philippines. I was just amazed with the United States when our government, using the power of the Treaty of Paris, decided for the Philippines that they wanted to be ceded into the United States. †The peace treaty with Spain, signed on December 10, ceded the Philippines along with Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. The treaty, known as the Treaty of Paris, then went to the U. S Senate for ratification.But the Filipinos who had been fighting for independence from Spain did not want to be ceded† (13 3). This angered the Filipino nationalists and almost brought an all out war. The reasons that the U. S government officials gave to try and justify their takeover of these territories also surprised me and showed me just how far some countries will go to expand, both physically and mentally. â€Å"Imperialists based their assertions that the Filipinos were unfit for independence on three stereotypes that gave meaning to racial prejudices by drawing on ideas about gender.All three presented the Filipinos as lacking the manly character seen as necessary for self-government† (134). These men were considered less than human, along with Native and African Americans. I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter because of all the different aspects it covers related to gender and the ceding of the Filipino territories. The chapter that I found least interesting was Chapter 2 – Cuba and the Restoration of American Chivalry. While the information in the chapter was important to get the m ain argument across, it just didn’t appeal to me, and it didn’t get any better in my opinion as I kept reading.American citizens fantasized about the Cuban rebels, about how chivalrous the men were and how responsible and loyal wives the Cuban women are. â€Å"In contrast to American men, who seemed to be losing sight of knightly values in their single-minded pursuit of riches, Cuban men appeared to exemplify chivalric character† (47). American men drew inspiration from these fantasies, often showing how Cuban men drew their inspiration from women in illustrations and cartoons. â€Å"Their images as acquiescent, traditional women made Cuban women seem to be perfect feminine foils for assertive American women.In addition to appearing well worth defending, Cuban women appeared eager for rescue† (46). This chapter was important to getting the point across but I felt like it was sort of out of place. Fighting for American Manhood is a very interesting read an d it really makes me think. When did anyone every really stop and think so deeply about how gender can affect wars? The book is unique and I recommend it to anyone who wants to study the topic of gender affecting war.

Animal Research Unethical But Beneficial - 1191 Words

Animal Research: Unethical but Beneficial Animals have provided us with different advantages such as food, shelter, clothing and many more domestic uses. Honestly, humans shouldn’t be able to survive without animals. One of the most important advantages of animals is that they are being used in research in order to test new medicines and effects of medicines on different diseases. Testing new medicines on animals to save human life is unavoidable because testing on animals warns us in advance about the dangers of unknown diseases coming up. Scientists have argued for decades about whether the use of animals in research is ethical or not. I will say it is unethical, but useful. Animal research benefits the all of humanity. We can call it unethical, but we should not make illegal. Also we do other unethical and illegal things that are dangerous to animals and other humans, which involves hunting animals for fun, we can say that using animals for research is a beneficial unethical thing to do. Using animals for research benefits humanity and prevents humans from dangerous diseases caused by many microscopic organisms. The European Molecular Biology Organization published the article of Simon Festing and Robin Wilkinson, their article explains the benefits world is getting because of the animal research. They also explained the ethical issues about which the U.K has been debating. Animal research had a vital role in many scientific and medical advances of the past century andShow MoreRelatedThe Ongoing Issue of Animal Cruelty, Abuse, and Animal Testing1078 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal cruelty is an ongoing issue in today’s society. 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