Lexani Motorcars New Adage: Tis the Season for Luxury

CORONA, CA (12.13.2013) – Samsung TVs, iPads, quality sound systems, and new cars are on countless Christmas lists this year. This custom Cadillac Escalade encompasses all the top gifts under one (quite beautiful) roof. Lexani Motorcars, the internationally recognized leader of customized luxury coaches, showcases one of the most acclaimed luxury SUVs ever made for its global clientele—a fully equipped Cadillac Escalade conversion called the Adage. This fully equipped Executive SUV is complete with the technology and amenities to make any trip feel like a getaway. Sit back, relax, and let yourself experience genuine luxury.

This stunning, one-of-a-kind Cadillac Escalade features an unassuming exterior and an interior design that integrates only the finest bespoke amenities rivaling those found in high-end yachts and private jets. Each vehicle is meticulously crafted using only the highest quality materials, furnishing, and carpentry, with incomparable attention to detail. And it doesn’t stop there—the craftsmen at Lexani Motorcars will make every effort to integrate a customer’s specific requests for additional amenities to create a unique vehicle for business or play.

In the next 4 to 8 years, cars will out-tech smartphones, which will ultimately be limited by a small power supply and little headroom for sensors.

Car makers will overcome the current problem of long development cycles by using modular electronic components  that can be easily swapped.  Plus, in the car you  can add arrays of sensors, and aim them more effectively than can a smartphone in your pocket.  And the car gives you a relatively unlimited power supply.   So says leading automotive analyst Thilo Koslowski of Gartner.

“The car will be cooler than smartphones and tablets going forward because you have so much more opportunity to create these immersive experiences… you have no power limitations, you can use all kinds of sensors.  We’re really about to see a huge explosion on innovation in this space,” he said.

Silicon Valley is already training its sites on the car and it’s possible that technology companies will like the profit margins and increase their involvement in the sector, he said.  Koslowski  told us in an interview, “It’s fair game to assess that a lot of technology companies realize the connected vehicle represents an area they have a lot of expertise in.  There’s Google, but there could be others.  It could be Samsung.  A lot of companies that really understand technology may find it attractive enough in profit margin to get involved.”

But hasn’t the car always lagged behind due to long production cycles?  Koslowski believes automakers will figure out how to create tech modules that can be swapped out for upgrades.  “You may be able to swap a module to give you more computing power, and to give you more sensors—audio, video sensors, heat sensors, multiple cameras.” An Audi A3 already allows you to upgrade a motherboard in the glove compartment to improve the car radio/navigation system.

So where does the aftermarket fit into the car of the future, especially with semi-self-driving cars in the works?    Koslowski says aftermarket companies will have to get away from the center console and get deeply involved in sensors and other new technologies.   And as cars become more “automated,” video will become a more important part of entertainment systems, he said.

“Ultimately that means you have more of a PC experience..that means you don’t really have to focus on the driving aspect.” But Koslowski doesn’t see driving reaching the point where you lay back on a sofa while the car drives itself due to legal issues.

The Gartner analyst foresees a time when the car can determine if the drivers around you are “safe” drivers or if they are driving poorly. In fact, all of us may have driving scores, and the future navigation system might route us on the safest route (where the drivers are safer) not just the fastest route.

“Ultimately the car will become self-aware.  The phone can’t do that because you don’t get all the sensors.  The car can not only read the state of the driver and passengers but the environment,” he said, noting, so it can tell if you are driving in the rain or in the left lane and then tell incoming callers you’ll call back at a later time.

Best Buy is asking its suppliers to provide it with Connected Car products and it is exploring an effort to present the Connected Car in a simple, understandable manner to the consumer, said industry members.

Three vendors said the chain has asked them specifically for “Connected Car” products that offer Internet connected or networked solutions.

One supplier said the chain hopes to develop a Connected Car program by the April 2014 product reset.  But to date, there is no formal Connected Car program from Best Buy.

“They are realistic about the category and open to new ideas, like what the Connected Car can be.  They are actively looking for new products in the Connected Car,” said a  supplier.

Best Buy did not respond to CEoutlook inquiries.

One vendor said that Best Buy is searching for a way to present the idea of the Connected Car to the public in an easily to grasp manner, something which may seem simple, but is actually a challenge.  “They are trying to find a way to deliver a clear message that shows the benefits to consumers,” he said.

Store-wide, in other areas of electronics, Best Buy is pushing Internet-connected devices like smart TVs, smartphones and tablets and it wants car audio to be relevant just like these other devices that have captured the fancy of consumers.  “They want to see these same attributes in mobile electronics solutions,” said one supplier.

The term Connected Car refers to technologies that link the car infotainment system to the Internet.  It includes radios that link to a smartphone or that include WiFor or 3/4G.  It may refer to technologies that let you  track a car over the Internet or let you remote start a car from a phone.  It can also include advanced safety features through radar and sensors.   Future connected car technologies include vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication and autonomous cars that drive themselves.

Many specialists don’t participate in Black Friday, but this year, those who did, saw sales anywhere from flat to up by 45 percent.

Some retailers in the Mobile Electronics Specialists of America (MESA) buying group reported the strongest gains:

Freeman’s Stereo Video, NC, (7-stores) was up 45 percent for Friday and Saturday compared to last year. It increased its marketing with Pandora and with other media including Google ad words during the holiday kick off. Sales for the entire week Monday through Saturday were up just shy of 30 percent.

Line at Sound of Tri-State on Black Friday

Custom Sounds, TX, (16-stores) said sales for the weekend jumped 21 percent.

Sound of Tri-State, DE, (3 stores) was flat for the weekend.  Black Friday itself was up 11 percent but Saturday was slower than last year for the chain.

Car Toys, WA, (50-stores) said, “Car Audio results were very positive – we were thrilled.  Sales were up in virtually all categories beyond expectations with powerful results in bass reinforcement, head units and security,” said Jim Warren, Senior VP Merchandising.  The company promoted on TV, radio and social media and said store traffic was up year over year.

For the holidays and through next year, many retailers said they are pushing backup cameras more heavily.  Some are looking to driver safety as a category of focus now that more new cars include iPhone/iPod connectivity and Bluetooth. Others are getting more aggressive in LED lighting.

Sound Advice, FL said its sales were flat for Black Friday weekend, but for the week from Monday to Sunday, sales were up 31 percent.  The company promoted a week early because of the late Thanksgiving holiday this year.

As for Black Friday specials, Freeman’s said in-dash navigation and AV were the top categories, but it saw increases in all categories.  A strong seller was the Pioneer AVICX850BT.

Custom Sounds’ Mike Cofield attributed some of its double digit gains to a new method of in-store training the chain has implemented in a step by step sales process from the time the customer walks in the door.   Cofield said, “At the Men’s Warehouse, by the time you are out of the dressing room with the suit on, the sales guy already has the shirt, tie and cuff links laid out.” He said the new sales program uses a similar step by step approach “that we can teach a new salesman in two weeks.”.

Custom Sounds also added Pandora advertising through a MESA group buying deal that starts at a $1,000 buy-in, instead of Pandora’s usual $10,000 minimum buy, he said.

Top products for the weekend at Custom Sounds were the Rockford R1L2X12 dual 12-inch subwoofer box, the Kenwood  PW1210  amp and sub package (62 were sold), Jensen in-dash navigation ($299), Alpine SWR12 subs and JL Audio 12W3 subs, as well as remote start.

Some retailers opted out of Black Friday this year, including Car Concepts, UT.  The store said since the recession, during Black Friday, customers  would buy a remote start at $89 and then get angry at the price of a data module to install it.

The iPhone 5 may finally force the car audio industry into the digital age by creating a new class of in-dash products that use HDMI connections.
If Apple provides its licensees information on the iPhone 5’s new digital video format soon, it may lead to a new high end for car audio of  iPhone 5-ready head units.  The earliest we might see these would be at the Consumer Electronics Show in January,  or several months later, said suppliers.
The radios would likely cost at least $100 more to end users, by one estimate, to pay for new circuitry and an HDMI connector.
Pioneer Director of Marketing for Car Electronics Ted Cardenas explained that with new iPhone 5 video-ready head units, “There will be a cost associated with adapting to the technology.  You will see in 2013 a variety of products that support this. ” He confirmed it’s possible the products could appear at CES, but this would be the very earliest.
If these new radios also include HD screens, the cost to the consumer could go up even higher.
Here’s the full story:
Because the iPhone 5 has a new digital video output, car radio makers are waiting on Apple to outline the specifications of drawing video out of the phone. Such specifications include format, resolution and Digital Rights Management.
Some industry members believe Apple will provide special HDMI and VGA connectors that will allow the iPhone 5 to send video to many existing TVs and other products.  But 95 percent of car radios use a composite video connection, and many say it’s unlikely that Apple will release a composite video adapter.  So car audio suppliers may need to  retool products to make them iPhone 5-video ready.
JVC Mobile, like other suppliers is waiting on Apple. GM of Marketing Chad Vogelsong said, “Everyone out there is in the same boat.  If Apple does supply some information…and it requires our engineers to go in with more circuitry or code, yes, I’m sure there will be price premium.  It’s all part of the engineering.”
But he noted, “If it’s a $30 adapter, then nothing changes.  But no one knows.”
But maybe the iPhone 5 shift to all digital video will serve as a wakeup call to the car audio industry that it’s time to offer the same class of connections used in smartphones and TVs if it wants to avoid compatibility issues down the road.
Audiovox by DICE closely follows Apple technology issues.  Executive VP Steve Witt says the smartphone is really dictating what kind of hardware you need. “In North America, we’re up to around 57 or 58 percent penetration for smartphones.  So we’ve reached a tipping point.   More than 50 percent of the market is now carrying a smartphone.  Once you reach a tipping point in any market, everything begins to shift.”
He adds, “Automotive is not living in a world by itself.”
Sony didn’t want to comment specifically on the matter but said, “We realize the importance of HDMI for car stereo,” according to Yusuke Sakuraba, Product Manager for Mobile Electronics.

Directed says it is now the first remote start company to let Siri remote start a car by voice command.
The company has just updated its Viper SmartStart app so users can actually tell an iPhone to “Start my car,” and it’s done.
The new Viper 3.0.1 app allows users to launch the SmartStart app by voice and then execute one other spoken command, either “Start my car,” “Lock my car,” or “Unlock my car.”
Previously, Directed’s  Viper SmartStart system allowed these functions only by tapping the phone screen.
The app update also permits it to work with Apple’s new Maps function for GPS tracking and finding your parked car.
And it includes new in-app controls over text and email notifications.
To support the new Siri function, users must have an iPhone 4/4S running iOS 6 or an iPhone 5.
An Android version of 3.0.1 is also now available that offers a number of tweaks including more flexibility in setting text message and email alerts.
SmartStart requires an installed remote start system and a special module in order to allow your phone to remote start the car (using the SmartStart app).

GPS tracking has been around for over a decade with only middling success, but the service may have finally found its market– as an add-on feature for remote start from your phone.
Over 50 percent of Compustar’s DroneMobile remote-start-from-a-phone buyers have purchased a GPS tracking plan, so they may view the location of the car or track a teen from a phone.
“So we’re shocked,” said CompuStar Director of Sales & Marketing Jason Kaminski.  “We’re pleasantly surprised by how many people are upgrading to the tracking plan.”
Directed offers a version of its SmartStart remote start-from-a-phone with GPS tracking.  It costs an extra $100 for the hardware ($399 versus $299) and about an extra $10 a year in service fees.  The company said the uptake by consumers for GPS tracking “has exceeded our expectations,” according to VP Product Planning James Turner.
For DroneMobile, GPS tracking adds about $100 a year in service fees but there’s no extra charge in hardware.
Buyers of the tracking plan include parents of teens, small businesses who want to keep track of vehicles and customers who simply want all the bells and whistles, said Kaminski.
Audiovox just began offering a GPS tracking option for its Car Link remote start-from-a-phone module last month.  Although it’s too soon to report on its success, Audiovox Electronics President  Tom Malone said, ” If the consumer  can get the added value of the location of the vehicle, they think it’s a cool feature and its not a big cost adder, so why not have it.”
With GPS tracking, users see a real time location of the car on their smartphone. On some products, they get a full status update on the car (are doors locked, what’s the battery voltage and temperature of the cabin?).  GPS tracking also provides teen tracking features that alert you if your teen travels out of a proscribed area or exceeds a preset speed.
Car Toys, Seattle, WA., a 50+ store chain,  said of GPS tracking, “We’re seeing good traction now – this is a growth area of the business,” according to Jim Warren, SVP Merchanding. He added, “I wouldn’t say it’s suddenly catching on.  We are, though, seeing steady growth and reliable sales