Thursday, December 28, 2006

LOOKING AHEAD AND LOOKING BACK

Happy New Year Everyone!

As we wheel our way into 2007, let's also take a look at this past year...and what a great year 2006 turned out to be for WheelsTV! Our thanks to all of you who are visiting WheelsTV on a regular basis, enjoying the ever-growing lineup of automotive TV shows and using our Top 200 Video Test Drives when shopping for a new car, truck or SUV. Without YOU, WheelsTV would not be growing at the phenomenal rate that it is!

Here are a few highlights of what YOUR network has accomplished in 2006:

Launched Top 200 Video Test Drives on AOL Autos. Now, anyone shopping for a new vehicle can take a video test drive and have fun doing their homework before venturing into the showroom.

Launched a major television ad campaign in cooperation with Vehix.com. Our ads are now seen on ALL of the major cable networks. The ads are really fun and tout how you can now take WheelsTV video test drives on Comcast VOD! So, if you have Comcast, here is one more way to check out the newest iron.

Re-launched WheelsTV.net. Since you are here, on the network, you know what I am talking about. WheelsTV.net is the first multi-channel broadband network specializing in the automotive lifestyle. Since our re-launch in late June we’ve grown by over 400% and now have viewers visiting us from all over the world…Moscow, Seoul, Tokyo, Rome, Paris, London and of course, all over the USA. We started with 16 channels; each focused upon a specific automotive interest, and are now up to 25 with more coming…

And speaking of MORE: This being the year of YouTube and MySpace videos, WheelsTV has jumped on the bandwagon with the launch of our own User-Submitted Channel, MY WHEELS. At MY WHEELS you can show-off your cool custom, hot tuner or rare classic. You can demonstrate a stunt or share an event, incident or unusual automotive story. If it’s on video and legal, we’ll air it for you!

Released 60 automotive titles on Amazon.com: You can now buy DVD’s of some of our most popular titles at Amazon.com. These full-length programs cover everything from major outdoor car shows to the history of the Corvette, Mustang, Viper and VW. Whether you’re looking for the World’s Wildest Races or Corvettes at Carlisle you’re bound to find great automotive entertainment on one of WheelsTV’s shows.

These are some of the highlights of what your support for WheelsTV has accomplished.

In 2007 we have a lot more great stuff going on…

WheelsTV’s First Auto News: We launched at the LA Auto Show with four reports and will have regular daily automotive news as 2007 unfolds. We’ll also be at the Detroit show on January 7th and 8th and will have a series of reports on the newest iron to be unveiled. So, check back daily and make us your start page to see what’s going on each day.

Pre-Owned Vehicle Reviews: If you are looking for a nice 2005 model, we’ll have video and data on a line-up of cars, trucks and SUVs from that model year. You’ll enjoy the videos and also learn which vehicles have the best repair records, safety records and what the current values are for each vehicle.

WheelsTV on your TV!!!: 2007 is shaping up to the year that you can start watching programming that originates on the computer right on your 37” LCD TV! Apple, Microsoft and a bunch of smaller players are all introducing products that will take video from the computer and show it on your TV screen and WheelsTV is right in the thick of the action! Now, with the right equipment, anyone on the planet can enjoy the first automotive television network!

More Channels: We anticipate doubling our channel lineup in 2007, so keep an eye on the thumbnails of the various channels. You’ll see more on tuners, muscle cars, events, racing, classics, trucks and motorcycles. If it is out there and it is top quality, you’ll ultimately see it here!

We have a bunch of other fun stuff coming but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. So, I’ll close by thanking you once again for your support and wishing you and yours a terrific New Year filled with automotive fun, good health and happiness!

Jim Barisano
Chairman and CEO

Friday, December 08, 2006

LA Auto Show Kicks-off the Shopping Season!

Here, just in time for the holiday shopping season is the LA Auto Show. Now that the LA show moved from January to early December, we all have a chance to promise that special person in our lives something special in the driveway. Although LA has become somewhat of a US Auto design center (regardless of Lincoln/Mercury's retreat a few years ago), we expect that Detroit in January will still be the dominant auto show player with more debuts and more concepts. Afterall, LA may have Santa Monica Boulevard but only Detroit has Woodward Avenue!

I was just beginning to do my Christmas shopping and so the LA Show seemed like the ideal time to check off a few names on the list...For my wife, Karen, who is a big Acura enthusiast and loves her latest TL, I picked up an Acura Advanced Sedan Concept. Acura thinks that the Advanced Sedan Concept will be the ultimate luxury car in 2020. Since Karen's TL is only "near luxury" I think she'll like this addition to the garage.




Gee, its the same silver color as her current Acura but seems much happier with that big smile. That is something that the Japanese learned a few years ago and the Americans still have not figured out (Except Cadillac). Give the car a smile and it will make car buyer happy. I hope Karen likes the Advanced Sedan Concept.

For my brother, Jeff, who already has a small collection started (53 Buick Skylark, 56 T-bird, 63 Buick Riviera and 91 Buick Reatta) I picked out a nice BMW Hydrogen 7 sedan. This bi-fuel V-12 beast won't save the environment but once you get past the fear of exploding like a hydrogen bomb (there, I said what a lot of people are thinking) it could be a very nice addition to his barn.



Finally, for my daughter, Caryn, who is opening a pizza shop in Boston's Back Bay, I picked out a nice little Hyundai HCD-10 Hellion concept. This three door SUV is small enough to navigate Boston's crowded streets (and sidewalks if necessary) and get those pizzas to hungry college kids while they are still hot! (the pizzas, that is.)

That is all the shopping that I did and the good news is that I spent not a dime. The concept cars are just for show and BMW will only be shipping 100 Hydrogen 7's to the US and I'm down at the bottom of the waiting list!

Thanks for your interest and please drive safely!
Jim