European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 17, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday March 17 2007 stars and stripes Page 17 your Money Auto web Sites Rev up for buyer demand changes should make it easier for customers to compare customize by Mike Spector the Wall Street journal if youve been shopping for a car recently you know there Are a lot of choices out there hundreds of models to begin with and each with often overwhelm ing numbers of options now automotive web Sites Are refining and retooling their services to help you sort through it All changes at some of the most trafficked Auto Sites including Edmund com Kelley Blue Book Abb com and Are set to debut in coming months this Means Auto buyers can expect to More quickly find specifics about particular vehicles and have better ways to use the internet to narrow Down choices Consumers for example often have had to search for vehicles by segment car truck sport Utility vehicle but new search technology at some Sites will allow shoppers to list Fea Tures they want and then see at a glance what available vehicles match their desires when a Teixeira started shopping for a car recently he wanted a Roomy family vehicle to zip around the Washington do suburbs but the 38yearold tech Nica support specialist found the choices puzzling Subaru owned by Fuji heavy industries Ltd offered the car based tribe a then there was Mazda motor corps Mazda 5 Sun and Toyota motor corps Sienna Van in All there were three different vehicles in three segments All with a multitude of options such clutter makes it very difficult to find exactly what you want said Teixeira who spent a lot of time looking for new wheels online where he found helpful comments from current car own ers often revealing a vehicles hidden flaws i wish you could pick and choose features you want in a vehicle he said Edmund com May Grant Tex Eiras wish this summer when it unveils a new search function that sorts results by features such As horsepower cargo space and fuel Economy the new system will allow users to add and re move features and then see a list of All available vehicles that fit the criteria the function is Simi Lar to those on airline ticket Sites that sort search results based on Pul Down menus for times Desti nations and number of Passen Gers Edmunds also just launched a a blog written by Auto journalist Michelle Krebs which is intended to keep customers and Auto enthusiasts updated on news and trends this Spring aut Bytel will wednesdays Market summary indexes Ltd 52wk High Low 1279593 1068332 Dow Jones industrials 1213340 265 521142 413472 now Jones transportation 471603 1053 50199 38097 Dow Jones utilities 47660 946362 770811 nose composite 895861 217989 180065 amex Index 206337 197 08 201278 Nash a composite 237174 146157 121929 138717 130 219 87089 71053 822 81 83001 66858 Russell 2000 77568 isl 1482876 1224990 do Wilshire 5000 1404611 148 1 nose amex 1 most Active Active m More name last Dohoo last chg last chg forum 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into 116 18 6047 advisor Seq corp 26 11554 106 funds a go hefty 01 15 Texas instruments 16 u 3167 07 44 u text Ron 155 19 8930 advisor t 07 15 United technologies 106 17 6475 Scudder cd s 02 funds a gig a some of the internets most trafficked Auto Sites Are being retooled to make it easier for car buyers to compare and shop online launch a new web site my rid com featuring so called ver tical search technology a Verti Cal search which is aimed at a Niche audience tends to provide More focused results than Broa based navigation searches on Sites such As those run by goo Gle inc or Yahoo inc a Honda Accord search on Google returns millions of re sults not All relevant for car shop Ping aut Bytel will be joining a Exchange rates military rates japanese yen March South korean won March euro costs March Dollar buys March British Pound March commercial rates Bahrain British pound415339 Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Switzerland franc Thailand Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for Japan South Korea Germany the Netherlands and the United kingdom for no local currency Exchange rates in purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing facility commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying currency All figures Are foreign currencies to one Dollar except for the British Pound which is represented in dollars Pound and the euro which is dollars euro precious metals new York merc close Gold silver312740 interest rates Host of established Verti Cal search Sites including those for travellers such As trip adv those seeking detailed medical information and Many other Auto web Sites such As Edmunds if you look at the fact that goo Gle crawls millions of Sites and Bil Lions of pages its almost counter productive to the consumer look ing for very specific Content said Jim Riesenbach Auto bytes chief executive were Only going to show you the things that Are specifically relevant to the category a Google spokeswoman says the company Aims to help users find relevant information regard less of where they begin searches including by providing Google search technology to Verti Cal search Sites my rides search results will list vehicles with photos that most match the users search terms and similar to with Edmunds Consumers can change features while perusing search re sults Price Range and mileage for instance and see the listed results adjust my ride also Aims to provide an online Auto Community similar to Facebook and mys Pace users will be Able to upload and share videos and photos write reviews and create their own blogs meanwhile Kelley Blue Book Long known As an authority on re Sale value and Price comparison plans a radically different Home Page by april according to Tim Nelson Kelleys vice presi Dent of consumer product strategy and management Nelson wants Kelley to quickly adopt a More dynamic site the Sites cur rent design is Static he said it appears weve sat still for a Long time Kelleys new look will include features such As car review Vid eos tools that compare cars based on several different aspects and easier Access to user comments becoming More shop per Friendly is where were look ing to change a Kelley spokes woman said prime rate825 discount rate625 Federal funds Market rate 525 3month bill505 30year bond470 sources the associated press Bank of America cents and sensibility Money tip of the Day consumer complaints by Eileen Alt Powell the associated press new York shoddy goods or Sloppy services should prompt complaints from Consumers and there Are strategies they can adopt so that they complain effectively and improve their chances of getting problems resolved companies have responsibilities to Consumers said Sheila Adkins of the Council of better business bureaus inc in Arling ton a but Consumers also have to educate themselves about companies policies this Means shopping at reputable merchants and finding out in Advance if returns Are accepted what documents Are needed and whether the store will give Cash or Only a store credit she said Adkins said the first thing a con Sumer dealing with a defective product should do is to go Back to the retailer be very Clear about what your Issue is and exactly what you would like to have done about it Adkins said if its not resolved begin work ing your Way up the ladder if that fails put your complaint in writing to the Headquarters office and again Tell them what you would like to have done she said if theres no response or if the consumer considers it inadequate there Are other places to complain if its a defective product write to the manufacturer and in clude details of your earlier efforts to get the Issue resolved with the retailer Call your local bbb and file a complaint Contact your state consumer affairs office or the attorney generals office especially if you suspect illegal activity or fraud the 2007 consumer action handbook put together by the general services administration lists the consumer Contact num Bers for hundreds of corporations As Well As Federal agencies and National consumer organizations the handbook also contains Sam ple complaint letters and guid Ance on How to avoid frauds the contents can be found at
