Economy Vs. Luxury - What is a comfortable commute worth to you?

I was making my way on interstate 680 this morning when I noticed a man in the car next to me calmly eating a rather large bowl of cereal as if it were Sunday morning at his table.  There was no hesitation in his merging, and his ability to do so without spilling the entire contents of said bowl down his front side had me in total awe. I can’t image the skill it must take hosting a full breakfast in your car, I can’t even handle a bagel and lox without at least part of it landing somewhere on me. 

It was that man and his cereal bowl that got me thinking though, how many of us commuters live out of our vehicles?  With the commutes on the upwards of two and three hours a day, the bay area is finding life is happening inside of our cars more often than not.   Just think for a moment, how many meals have you had inside your car? How many movies have your children watched while sitting in traffic?  How many naps have you taken in your car? You get the idea. 

When I was younger, I remember having a debate with my father about new and pre-owned cars.  He preferred buying older cars and accepted the fact that he would repair his car more often than most, but the savings on the overall cost would be worth it.  I, on the other hand have always had a preference for new or certified pre-owned.  I think it was growing up and watching my father always working on the car instead of driving it that swayed me so heavily.  I didn’t see the point in owning a car that you would always have to be fixing.  To me, that felt like a moving money pit. 

Flash forward to my first car buying experience.  The first car I ever bought was a 2001 Nissan Sentra.  Prior to my first buy, my father had gifted me several older vehicles that of course, broke down and required replacing within just a year or two of purchase.   It was with the history of these prior jalopies that I went into the dealership with a checklist of attributes I wanted to have in my dream car. 

I wanted something reliable.  After having three cars die on me in the five years prior, I was ready for something that would be around for a while.   I needed a car with excellent gas mileage.  While, at the time of this purchase, gas was still close to the $1.99 range, I was also a very broke college student and gas for my car was the least fun thing I could use my money on.  I wanted a low car payment.  Again, college student, I think you get the idea.  So with my minimal budget and practical mindset I purchased my reliable yet fairly basic Nissan Sentra.  It was everything I had hoped for.  Great gas mileage, never broke down on me, and being as I purchased it pre-owned, I was able to achieve the lower monthly payment I was hoping for. 

Now flash forward to the car I purchased after my very reliable and inexpensive college car.  I purchased a Certified Pre-owned 2003 Mercedes C240.  My wants list had upgraded, and I now had the budget to pay for it.  Having graduated from college and gotten a job running call centers for Fortune 500 banks, my ability to move past my needs and start addressing my wants became a reality.  The car buying process stopped being about the basics or being thrifty, but rather about showing myself appreciation for a job well done.  This was my proverbial pat on the back for finally getting a grown up job and making it out there in the real world.

When I was younger, the purpose of my vehicle was to get me from one exciting adventure to the next without breaking my very tiny bank account.  Having luxuries such as movie screens, heated seats and even smart phone integration were just wastes of money, however as I got older, I realized that the majority of my adventures were found in the journey itself.   For me, adventures have become conversations with my daughter driving to and from work, driving my daughters Brownie troop to and from their next patching activity and our monthly excursions out of town for weekend getaways. I found that I was willing to pay a little extra for added conveniences if I was going to be spending so much time in my car. 

While there are a multitude of makes and models to choose from, you will find that many of life’s mini hacks have already been made a standard feature in most new vehicles.

I can recommend a few that I’ve found to be life savers for my adult/parenting lifestyle.

-          Heated/cooling seats are a must.  Living in the bay, the weather changes at the drop of a hat and between sweltering heat and biting winds, this little feature will ensure that your body temperature stays just right. 

-          The AUX/USB port in my car is a daily go to.  Being that I hate everything about commercials, being able to stream my music from Spotify or Pandora allows for me to stay happily Zen while maneuvering through the travel crunch. 

-          And although I know they are a bit controversial, I am a big fan of the DVD and TV screens for the back seat passengers.  The best part is that each back seat passenger has a headphones jack allowing for them to enjoy their selected movie while you continue to drive without the added distraction!

Want to check out more available features on your next luxury vehicle? Click on the link below now! 

http://www.acuraofpleasanton.com/new-inventory/index.htm  

The Price of Retention - What does it cost to keep a good employee?

Residents of the bay area are one group of many facing spikes in the costs of living while trying to get by on pay rates that remain the same.  While financial compensation is a major factor when deciding on a career, as the millennial generation navigates the work force, they are beginning to understand that there are many benefits that can’t be applied in monetary denominations. 

While the benefits of cold hard cash are undeniable, things such as flexible hours, growth opportunities and feeling appreciated by other employees have become major selling points for selecting and staying with a chosen company.  It’s the people that you work with that will make or break job retention.

Take a moment and think about how you came to be at your current company.  What were some of the attributes that you looked for while searching for a job?  And even deeper than that, while searching for that job, what was the motivation behind the search?  Were you trying to put out an immediate fire (i.e.: you needed money to pay bills, rent is looming and you need money to pay it) or were you already employed and looking to better your current situation (i.e.: maybe you aren’t getting along with your co-workers or although it’s a great job you just can’t afford to stay at it due to rising cost of living). 

As an employer, it is important to constantly be evolving.  Changing times mean constantly being aware of your employees needs and attempting to meet them when possible.  Working for Hendrick Automotive Group has given me direct access to a working reverse pyramid management structure that has been successful time and time again. 

The idea behind this working structure is to have leadership at the bottom of the pyramid allowing them to be of service to the people working on the front lines and beyond, while the front line associates and on floor staff being placed at the top making them the most important to our teams’ success. 

Lead by Rick Hendrick and his management teams across the states, Hendrick Automotive Group has provided a covenant that they have stuck to from the beginning.  

1. We Think Big

2. We Embrace Openness

3. We Develop Solutions

4. We Demand Excellence

5. We Expect Great Things

6. We Execute Brilliantly

7. We Serve With Passion

8. We Communicate Effectively

9. We Cherish and Understand

10. We Always Win

11. We Celebrate Achievements

12. We Learn and Grow

Through monthly team appreciation luncheons, staff outings to baseball games for the Oakland Athletics and The San Francisco Giants, and even an annual trip to the Sonoma Races to celebrate Hendrick Motor Sport with Mr. Rick Hendrick himself, employees are reminded just how valuable they really are to this team. 

In addition to the incredible outings and events hosted by the management, team members are offered full benefits packages that include medical, dental, vision and 401K options.  They are affronted vacation and sick time allowing for them to come to work refreshed and rejuvenated while enjoying a healthy work and home life balance.   

But if you remember, it’s the people that will make or break your decision to stay or leave a company.   So in addition to the incredible benefits packages offered, it’s the people that we bring in that make this company so great.  By using MBS and Wonderlic testing we are able to determine the best communication styles for each team mate, and are able to help determine strengths within people that we are able to apply during the hiring process. 

Being able to approach and work with our team mates in a way that is best matched to their personality types allows for trust and comfort to be built between our staff and management.  This trust enables the company to communicate more effectively and allows everyone to understand how they fit into the big picture for the company’s growth. 

Employees and job hunting hopefuls alike will always have a list of values that they want in a current or future company.  Not all of them are motivated by dollar signs.  As employers, it’s our job to be aware of the rising costs of living, adjust pay scales as needed and provide benefits not found at any other company. Giving your employees and future employees a comfortable and enriching work environment that values their time as much as the companies time, will always result in longevity and harder working employees, happy to further your company’s future results.  

Going Off the Grid

In the decade following 9/11, The United States as a whole,  has become a little more reserved and hushed as the reality that “anything can happen, at any time.” sinks in one more time.   Everyone had a different experience and a different reaction based on where they were located and how it directly affected their lives.   Similar to the day John F. Kennedy was shot, our generation will remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the attack on the Twin Towers.  For me, I was a sophomore in college.  I had just finished parking my car in the university lot.  The radio was on and every channel I turned to was talking, but as always I wasn’t listening. 

It wasn’t until I walked into my creative writing course and saw my five foot nothing blond haired professor crying at her podium, that I started to listen to what was being said.  At the time, cell phones were still fairly new, and every call was $0.10 per minute, but that day everyone person in that room was on a call.  They were calling friends, family and anyone they loved ensuring they were okay.  Even if they weren’t actually in New York at the time of disaster, the emotional devastation was felt nationwide.  It was the first time, we as Americans, stopped feeling safe and untouchable and became very aware of our own mortality. 

With our moral compasses leading us to live lives out loud and with gusto, there comes the awareness to be present.  While the idea is to be able to slow your mind down enough to appreciate every aspect of every situation, the reality is that if you were only able to accomplish this task even half of the time, your quality of life would exponentially increase.   Being able to separate the sounds and actions occurring around you, allows you to remove the emotional attachment from the situation, letting you experience that moment from different angles you might have missed otherwise. 

The practice of being present begins and ends with a breath, but the action itself is very mental.  It is a conscience effort of doing things differently and shaking things up a bit.  It can be as simple as drying off from a shower in the opposite order, paying attention to the happenings as you walk home, or even driving home a different route than normal.  The idea is to break your day to day habits and really learn to enjoy the adventure of discovering a new way.  The moment something becomes a habit, you stop being aware of it or being mindful of it. By losing the awareness you also lose the beauty and magic offered in each moment that approaches us.  I have a post it on my desk that reads, “Be where you are.  Experience that piece.  Think about something else and you miss it.”

While I am happy to practice awareness while getting dressed in the mornings and even on my afternoon walks, I have found my dependency to SIRI GPS and in-car navigation isn’t one to be toyed with.  Thankfully I’ve found that most new automobiles are now fully equipped with navigation features allowing me to play with my drive home, without getting completely lost in the process.   The less stressful my drive home can be the better for everyone inside of my car.

In car navigation features are available pre-installed, or if you like to change cars often, a portable form such as the Garmin Tracker is handy to have!  With annual updates available for your in-dash GPS at your local dealership, being able to veer off course now and again just became easier!

Take a look at some of the features available in the Acura Navigation packages!

http://www.acuraofpleasanton.com/new-inventory/index.htm?gvOption=Navigation+System&&&&