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Small Business Funding

EVERYONES WRONG About the SONY a1 II [Video]

This FIX is brought to you by B&H’s PayBoo Card. To apply, head on over to http://bhpho.to/payboofro I use it to save on Tax or get 12 months financing. FROPACK4 is HERE with 14 all-new custom Lightroom presets!!! Check it out https://froknowsphoto.com/fropack4/ (40% OFF) This week we have stories about the Canon R1 being available

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Small Business Funding

Jeep prices have gone through the roof. Buyers are bailing and dealers are furious [Video]

The Jeep Gladiator was unveiled to great fanfare by then-owner Fiat Chrysler in 2018, the hot brand’s first pickup model in over a quarter of a century. And at first, it seemed like it might live up to the hype.Video above: The true cost of owning a carAfter rolling out in 2019, sales doubled in 2020, reaching nearly 90,000 in the U.S. despite pandemic-induced production issues and making it one of the few winners that troubled year.But the success was short-lived.After Fiat Chryslers merger with PSA Group in early 2021 created Stellantis, the company began focusing on higher-priced, higher-margin vehicles, using limited supplies of parts such as computer chips to build the pricier versions of its vehicles. That left many traditional Jeep and other Fiat Chrysler buyers looking elsewhere.A search of Jeeps site shows only a few Gladiators with a sticker price below $40,000 nationwide, none for less than $39,790. Sticker prices for some Gladiators on dealer lots now go as high as $72,000.Gladiator sales have fallen steadily from the 2020 peak as a result and are down another 21% so far this year. Jeep overall has become a shell of its former self, with sales down 36% from before the pandemic. Stellantis managed to turn off customers to what was one of the hottest and most desirable brands by jacking up prices and mismanaging its lineup.The problems at Stellantis are not limited to Gladiator or even to Jeep. The Ram truck brand has also struggled to keep up with truck offerings from General Motors and Ford. Dodge has cut some of its popular models in anticipation of electric versions. Chrysler, once the companys core brand, is essentially down to one model, the Pacifica minivan, arguably the weakest segment of the U.S. market.The day after the U.S. presidential election, Stellantis announced it would cut one of two shifts at its Toledo Assembly Complex South plant, which builds the Gladiator, indefinitely laying off about 1,100 workers.These are difficult actions to take, but they are necessary to enable the company to regain its competitive edge and eventually return production to prior levels, said the companys statement.Stellantis customers hit the wallVirtually every model sold by Stellantis is showing double-digit year-over-year sales declines, as high prices left dealer lots jammed with inventory.By the fourth quarter of 2023, the average Stellantis vehicle sold for $58,000 in the US, according to data from Edmunds, by far the highest in the industry. While Stellantis average price has declined since then, it was still the second-highest average price in the industry, at just under $55,000 in the third quarter. That was just behind Ford Motor, including its luxury brand Lincoln.And the problem is felt even more acutely among typical Jeep buyers.Traditionally Stellantis buyers had lower credit scores, which increased their auto loan interest rates and limited their spending power, said Jessica Caldwell, head of industry insights for Edmunds. Those buyers have struggled to keep up with Stellantiss higher prices.They just cant afford this, she said. Thats the wall theyre hitting. Fundamentally they have a product mismatch for the market.They moved to a price point thats too high for their typical customers, added Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist for Cox Automotive.Stellantis also said it would lay off about 1,200 workers at its Warren, Michigan truck plant, coinciding with the discontinuation of the entry-level Ram 1500 Classic pickup. The elimination of a shift at that plant took effect last month.Dealers and workers both furiousThree months ago, the head of Stellantis dealer association, Kevin Farris, wrote an open letter to CEO Carlos Tavares.We are writing this letter on behalf of the entire U.S. dealer network and its employees, the letter began. The intent of this letter is to sound an alarm an alarm not only to you, but to the Stellantis board of directors, your employees, your investors, and suppliers.The Stellantis National Dealer Council had been pleading with the company behind the scenes for two years already, the letter said. The company was headed for disaster not just for the dealers themselves, but for everyone involved.Now, that disaster has arrived, the letter said.The companys relentless focus on short-term profits for 2023 had devastating consequences for Stellantis, Farris wrote. Market share had been slashed nearly in half. The share price was falling. Plants were closing. Thousands were being laid off. Key executives were fleeing the company.Everyone will suffer the consequences of these disastrous choices, the letter said.In response Stellantis issued a statement saying said it took absolute exception to Farris letter, saying it has taken steps to reduce excess inventory, and that sales were improving in the latter part of the third quarter as a result.We dont believe that public personal attacks, such as the one in the open letter from the NDC president against our CEO, are the most effective way to solve problems, said its statement.The companys workers are livid, too.The United Auto Workers union is considering a new strike at Stellantis. The company isnt living up to the contract, the union alleges. Stellantis, for its part, denies the accusation, and says it will fight any new strike.Farris told CNN that some changes since his open letter, including executive shuffling, are helpful, but that dealers are still concerned. He said cutting jobs and production is a bad idea.You dont get output by shutting plants, he told CNN in an interview. Youre not going to cut your way back into a better situation.While Farris said hes concerned about Stellantis overall, the Gladiator also has specific problems with its price and SUV-like design that limit its appealThat was never intended to be high volume product, he said. Personally, Id love to see them produce a smaller size pickup for the Ram brand so we can compete for bulk of the market.And thats a problem with Stellantis overall. It no longer has the vehicles that it once could offer to the more entry-level buyer, such as the Challenger muscle car, the Cherokee SUV, the Renegade subcompact SUV and the Chrysler 300 sedan.Itll be hard to get back the market share they had, Farris said. A lot of the products we used to sell a lot of are not being produced today.

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Small Business Funding

Coffee shop goes viral for offering free coffee to dancing customers [Video]

CHALLENGE. IT WAS JUST ON THE CUFF, AND I KIND OF JUST DID THAT. THAT WALK IN MOVES. YEAH, IT WAS JUST FUN. DARCY ROBERTS IN THE RED IS THE SECOND IMPROMPTU DANCER THROUGH THE DOOR. LAST FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A REGULAR SHES JUST NOW REDEEMING HER FREE CARAMEL MACCHIATO. I THOUGHT IT WAS AMAZING. AND THE FACT THAT IT TOOK OFF SO WELL. THANK YOU FOR CALLING COFFEE MILANO. HOW CAN I HELP YOU? THE COFFEE BUZZ. GREAT FOR BUSINESS. THE SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR. SISTER. THE FIRST OF ALL DANCERS. IM TOLD SHE IS NOW MORTIFIED BY THE EXPOSURE. THE FIRST GIRL DANCE. AND SHE KICKED OFF HER SHOES. THAT WAS HILARIOUS. LIKE HOW YOU JUST LIKE, HOW DO YOU THINK OF THAT RIGHT NOW ON TIKTOK? ITS AT, I BELIEVE, 6.7 MILLION. AND MY HEAD, I THOUGHT 80,000 VIEWS WAS GOING TO BE VIRAL. TO ME, ITS JOY WITH JAVA KINDNESS WITHOUT A HITCH. SO I CAN ACTUALLY DANCE AND GET A FREE COFFEE. LIKE, THATS NOT JUST A GIMMICK. IM LIKE, NO, YOU BUST A MOVE, IM BUYING YOUR COFFEE. ALEGRIA. COSA BUENA. CUSTOMERS ARE MOVED. I CANT BELIEVE THE RESPONSE YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST EVERYBODY HAVING FUN. THATS WHAT I SAW. EVERYONE THAT COMES IN IS ASKING US, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN? JOSH RASHID, CO-OWNER FOR TWO YEARS, IS FEEDING COMMUNITY GOODWILL. HE GIVES SHELF SPACE TO LOCAL ARTISTS LIKE PATRICK MURPHY. HIS ART IS FOR SALE. ITS THE DANCING EGGING ON. EVEN ANOTHER SMALL BUSINESS DRUM ROLL, PLEASE. AT SOME POINT ON BLACK FRIDAY, THE SIGN GOES UP AND THEY DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. THIS TIME NORWELL LOAN DEPOT HAS OFFERED TO PAY FOR EVERY FREE COFFEE. ABOUT 35 WERE GIVEN OUT LAST TIME. YOU GOT TO FEEL IT WHEN YOU GET IN HERE. ITS MORE THAN JUST A DANCE AND A FREE COFFEE. THIS IS CHANGING PEOPLES DA

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Small Business Funding

Storm Linked to Outages – Live 95.5 [Video]

PORTLAND, Ore.Wind and rain picked up speed in Southeast Portland. As the powerful bomb cyclone moved through P.G.E. reported 21 power outages affecting 1900 customers. Pacific Power counted 78 outages in Oregon affecting 1,320 customers, mainly in the Grants Pass area. Authorities issued warnings for possible flooding high winds and blizzard conditions, especially in mountainous regions.

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Home Based Business

South Carolina doorbell video shows twist on porch pirates

A Greenville County, South Carolina, homeowner is warning people who order online about a new twist that porch pirates are using, and he has the video to prove it.The man, who asked not to be identified, shared video from his doorbell camera featuring what appears to be an Amazon delivery man wearing a mask and an official-looking company shirt.In the video, the man walks up to the front door of the house with a package, appearing to deliver it, but when he sets it down on the porch he then takes a previously delivered box sitting nearby.Turns out, the box he dropped off was empty, and the one he took had almost $1000 worth of electronic equipment inside, according to the homeowner.He said the theft happened about two minutes after the package with the electronics was delivered.The homeowner intends to file a police report about the theft, but in the meantime wanted to alert people to the crime tactic.Law enforcement officers recommend turning on package delivery notifications after purchasing anything online.They also advise requiring a signature for delivery, if possible.Another safeguard is asking people who live nearby to help keep an eye out in the neighborhood.Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said it’s as simple as being aware of your surroundings and watching out for anything unusual.”Be a good witness,” Wright said. “You don’t have to intervene. You really don’t. We are not asking you to do that. We are asking you to be a really good witness. Take your phone and take pictures of the vehicle, of what they are wearing. Be a really good witness (by noticing) tag numbers, which way they go.”Another safety step while shopping online is to use a credit card that offers a refund or replacement when theft is reported.