Celebrating Moms Who Carry the Load
When we launched On the Road Lending in 2013 as a human empowerment initiative to help people find cars that worked for them and to teach them how to make good financial decisions, it became immediately obvious that single mothers would become the majority of our clients. Ten years later, this is still true. In 2022, 75.4% of our clients were female and 87.9% of our clients were single.
Michelle Corson · May 10, 2023
The Care and Feeding of Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles don’t require a lot of regular maintenance because there are fewer moving parts, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely maintenance free, and sometimes repairs can be complicated. My husband drives a hybrid BMW. After an accident, he had to replace two doors and didn’t understand why it took a while and was more costly than he thought it would be.
Michelle Corson · March 31, 2023
Strengthening the Human Empowerment Movement
Recently Stand Together Foundation selected On the Road Lending to be one of the first 25 Catalysts in its new Catalyst Impact Grant Program. As a part of the program, we’ll receive training Principle Based ManagementTM, access to a new customer-first impact measurement approach, and up to $300,000 in grants over the next three years.
Read More→Michelle Corson · December 06, 2022
Used Cars—They aren’t what they used to be!
With new cars still in short supply, primarily due to the global microchip shortage, prices and demand for used cars continue skyrocket. New cars have over 200 computers on board. They are far more electronic than mechanical, so, a shortage in microchips means new cars don’t get made without them.
Michelle Corson · April 01, 2022
Building a Prosperity Movement
When I launched Champion Impact Capital in 2012, I was focused on developing creative, impactful public-private partnerships to sustainably invest in the long-term social and environmental health of communities. In my mind’s eye, I saw Champion Impact Capital addressing poverty through our expertise in municipal finance, real estate and ESG investing.
Read More→Michelle Corson · February 01, 2022
Joy Behind the Wheel
As I write this blog post, California is hitting a new all-time-record high for the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline. At one gas station in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles, a gallon of regular unleaded was $5.99, and a gallon of premium gas was $6.59. On average, California’s gas prices are higher than any other state. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $3.41. A year ago, it was $2.12.
Michelle Corson · November 16, 2021
Blockchain and Vehicle DNA: Tracking the life events of a car
Investors and consumers have become increasingly interested in the circular economy, understanding the entire lifecycle of a product from the origins of its source raw materials to what happens to it at the end of its useful life—especially where there is potential to recycle.
Read More→Michelle Corson · June 13, 2021
Joy of Mobility: Helping Disabled Persons Move More Freely
The idea of transit equity recognizes that all people have a need for access in our daily lives. At a minimum, we must be able to reach employment, but our mobility needs go far beyond just getting to and from work. This reality is not considered by many mass transportation solutions and is why they fall short of meeting people’s needs.
Read More→Michelle Corson · May 24, 2021
The Computer Who Wore Headlights
Most cars made in 1980 or before didn’t use computers at all. There were a few exceptions—the 1976 Cadillac El Dorado had an engine control computer, and the 1957 fuel-injected Corvette and some 1950s fuel-injected Pontiacs had simple computers that regulated the fuel systems. But today, the average car has as many as 50 computers, and some high-end cars up to 100 with electronic sensors to match and millions of lines of code—more than a Boeing 787!
Michelle Corson · March 12, 2021
Getting Older Vehicles Off the Road
Since we started On the Road Lending, making a positive impact on the environment has been one of our primary goals. Most of our clients who have cars are driving older polluting vehicles. In terms of emissions other than carbon dioxide, those older cars are far more polluting than a modern vehicle.
Michelle Corson · February 22, 2021
Ready to Fly
Shares of General Motors hit a record high on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 after the automaker unveiled an electric delivery van and revealed potential plans to further explore futuristic flying cars. GM’s potential investment into “personal air mobility” was announced as part of Cadillac’s portfolio of luxury and EV vehicles.
Michelle Corson · January 19, 2021
Suburb Envy
One of the hard things about transportation is addressing needs at different scales. What we want at the neighborhood level can be hard to reconcile with regional needs. If we desire an intimate, walkable neighborhood, certain policies make sense—road diets or lane reductions, two-way streets, large sidewalks and bike paths.
Read More→Michelle Corson · December 16, 2020
The First Driver
Our office is full of large photographs of our clients with their cars, smiling with pride by their shining, affordable purchases. By my desk, I have another photo of a woman with her car. It’s Bertha Benz, the wife of Karl Benz, seated on the car he created, which was essentially a motorized tricycle.
Michelle Corson · November 12, 2020
A Safe Ride
There’s a social justice movement built around the concept of transportation equity, which views access as an important human need and seeks to find ways to ensure that lower income people have equal ability to get around their communities, just as higher income people do.
Michelle Corson · October 15, 2020
They Call Me The Car Lady
When I was 15, my dad taught me the basics of the four-stroke engine, how to clean spark plugs and change an air filter. The next year in high school, while my friends were learning how to cook and sew in Home Economics, I was in Auto Tune-up with a camshaft dangling over my desk.
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