Kolby Merryman's Blog: November 2011

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Auto Industry Post

I am one of the biggest automotive fans in the world. If I could own my own company, it would be a company that creates super cars. The auto industry has suffered in recent years. It hurts to see companies such as Ford, Chevy, and GM suffer in such proportions in Detroit. The auto industry seems to be doing better now though!! Yes, Ford has had many stock market problems, but they are recovering slowly but surely. I actually like the job that wikipedia does in describing the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization. This reorganization is actually helping the company in the short run. These policies and plans that are being used to recreate these automotive companies are a positive and will help the hurting industry in many ways!

Interesting Statistics on the Automotive Industry

http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iagauto.htm

Very good blogging site for people interesting in the super cars industry!!

http://www.autoblog.com/

Friday, November 18, 2011

Annotated Bibliography

Bibliography

“Daytona 500 not Immune from Recession’s Squeeze”

Empty seats for NASCAR's biggest race? Braig, the Daytona track operator, states that Daytona has sold roughly 110,000 of the track's 168,000 seats, and that he's expecting a full house on the day of the Daytona 500. This lack of interest of tickets was shown on the date of January 11th, only one month before the country’s biggest NASCAR race. Braig and his staff watched as Walt Disney World in Orlando awarded free nights at its hotels, as the NFL lowered ticket prices by 10 percent, as the recent Dolphins-Ravens playoff game in Miami featured a multitude of empty seats. In a crowded and competitive Florida entertainment market, Daytona couldn't stand still. The article also mentions how other track facilities are considering lowering the prices and the market leaders in Daytona are starting to take the same approach.

David Caraviello.“Daytona 500 not Immune from Recession’s Squeeze.” NASCAR.com. January 11, 2009. NASCAR. <http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/01/11/daytona.500.tickets/>

“NASCAR and the Recession - Is This the Beginning of the End for Racing”

We all know that the Recession is taking its toll on sports worldwide. Perhaps no sport is being hit as hard as motor sports around the globe. However, no sport is being hit as hard as Nascar because there is no sport that is, at its core, as tied to the American auto industry. Sponsors are starting to pull out of the sport because they do not have enough sponsorship money to put their decals on the car. With the lack of sponsorship in the sport due to recessionary times, there is a risk of the sport failing in the future. Nascar has just as much riding on the White House bailout discussions as does GM and if I were Brian France, the Nascar CEO, I would be very, very worried right now.

“NASCAR and the Recession - Is This the Beginning of the End for Racing” blogger.com. December 17, 2008. Blogger. <http://thesportsbizblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/nascar-and-recession-is-this-beginning.html>

“For NASCAR , Clouds of Recession are Starting to Part”

There is a brutally competitive atmosphere for sponsorship. Some teams will steal sponsorship right from under the feet of another. Let's face it, whether the deal you're doing is big or small, there's a lot of value in that. They tend to cost a pretty decent sum of money, whether it's half a million dollars or $5 million, whatever it may be. There are corporations right now that are sitting on billions of dollars. They are gun shy right now because they don't know what the tax rules are going to be. NASCAR is still a phenomenal place to market. But there are just still way too many questions out there that need to be answered relative to what the administration will do.

David Caraviello. “For NASCAR, Clouds of Recession are Starting to Part.” NASCAR.com. November 3, 2010. Inside NASCAR. <http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/features/11/03/inside-nascar-optimism-sponsorships/index.html>

“5 Ways to Fix NASCAR”

NASCAR's tightest title battle in 18 years took place three months ago, yet it was hard to find the electricity at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR has spent the past three seasons trying to inject excitement on the track, and it resulted last year in records for green-flag passes, average lead changes and leaders per event. There are five ways to fix the current NASCAR problem. NASCAR needs to try and get the younger crowd back. They need to bring back the “It” factor and bring back the “basics” of NASCAR. They also need to make the season shorter. Finally, NASCAR needs to discover a new working-class hero.

Nate Ryan. “5 ways to Fix NASCAR.” USA Weekend. February 20, 2011. USA Today. < http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20110218/ENTERTAINMENT07/102200315/5-Ways-fix-NASCAR>

“Daytona Drag: NASCAR Tries to Outrace the Recession”

This article focuses on how NASCAR should rev up its popularity during the Recession. Many of the drivers on the current circuit are considered very boring and stale. NASCAR needs to get back to its roots of crazy and interesting drivers who express their opinions at every chance they are given. With manufacturer problems present in Detroit, the introduction of more commercial time is presently at a stand still. Sponsorships are being dropped and revenue is being lost during this Recessionary period. What can NASCAR do to stop it?

Sean Gregory. “Daytona Drag: NASCAR Tries to Outrace the Recession.” Time.com. February 12, 2009. <http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1879136,00.html>

“Top 5 Issues Facing NASCAR”

There are currently five major issues in NASCAR. There is currently a lack of sponsorship seen in NASCAR from team to team. The current rule regulations in NASCAR are very imbalanced by current technology. There are current problems with the feeder series in NASCAR and it is not sufficient in audience attention. The current championship system is under very tough debate in the sport. The major decline in TV viewership is also killing the sport in revenue loss.

David Caraviello. “Top 5: Issues Facing NASCAR.” NASCAR.com. January 1, 2011. Top 5. <http://www.nascar.com/news/110101/top-5-issues-facing-nascar/index.html>

“Fixing NASCAR: Attracting, retaining sponsors requires teamwork between NASCAR, tracks and teams.”

In the last few years, NASCAR has said good-bye to Texaco, Verizon, Old Spice, Jim Beam, Jack Daniel’s, Irwin Tools, AT&T and Wrigley’s. The economy certainly has impacted sponsorships renewals. There are many ways to fix this current problem of lack of sponsorship. Teams and Track Owners need to work together to try and make this happen as a whole. Sponsorship is needed for this sport to survive.

Bob Pockrass. “Fixing NASCAR: Attracting, retaining sponsors requires teamwork between NASCAR, tracks and teams.” SceneDaily.com February 7, 2011. NASCAR News Now. <http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Fixing_NASCAR_Attracting_retaining_sponsors_requires_teamwork_between_NASCAR_tracks_and_teams.html>

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Final Paper Proposal

Paragraph of Topic Proposal: I would like to focus my topic around the economics of NASCAR auto racing. NASCAR is a very, very big passion of mine. I have been watching it since I popped out of my mother’s womb. Although I believe NASCAR is an amazing sport, it has recently incurred many losses. NASCAR was a sport throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s that was growing at an incredible rate. But, due to the recent recession suffered through by many Americans, NASCAR’s revenue has decreased to a negative rate for the past few years. Not only are they operating at a negative rate, they have lost many sponsorships and are close to an almost complete shutdown. NASCAR is a sport, but it is also a complicated business. It is a business that may need to be helped or subsidized in the future to even survive. There have been several policy proposals by NASCAR and many outsiders on how to fix the current problems found in NASCAR. These policy proposals include: the lowering in ticket prices, the decrease in the amount of races, the use of only one network for the broadcast of NASCAR, and etc. I believe that NASCAR Inc. needs to take a combination of these to increase revenue and their fan-base overtime. They have lost many of their core fans (blue-collar workers) because of the inability of these fans to afford merchandise and tickets to races. This is my topic and my policy proposal to fix the current problems found in NASCAR.

Monday, November 14, 2011

HMMMMM... TECHNOLOGY

The development of a society relies heavily on the technology around it and how fast that technology is evolving. The markets for new and improved technology are every changing. Just a few years ago, no one would have thought we would be sitting here talking about different tablet computers and the evolution of such. As seen in the NYTimes article, the iPad itself has created a whole new market that is trying to be kept up with by other companies such as Samsung and others. This shows just how there are new and diverse economies that are developed and that will create an even more diverse economy. Technology is something that keeps the mind open of not only scientists and engineers but also economists. This is a perfect topic to bring up in a seminar such as ours because it brings up different economic questions. These questions include: Availability of resources? Who will produce this technology? What will this technology be used for? And whom will consume/use this technology?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Italy's Problems compared to Greece

http://www.zimbabwemetro.com/?p=30168

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Response to the Euromess!!

Europe is in a financial mess right now, and it is one that is presently being worked on bit by bit. The euro problem can then be defined as finding a way (1) to finance these imbalances in the short run (2) end the imbalances over the medium run. Proposals are starting to rise slowly but surely to the top of the heap to try and help the current situation in Europe. The present imbalances in finance are trying to be tackled by many economists including people such as Davies. There are short run and medium run problems. The long run will not be a problem for the Europeans because it is believed that there will be a balance achieved for the long run, and the best way to solve problems is in the short and medium runs. The United States does not have these sort of internal affair problems present because we have a current currency that is powered by a single and whole nation. This is something that a lot of the European nations should try to model themselves after and create the same currency under different unified nations.

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