New York City’s Citi Bike bike share program is finally ready to launch, with 6,000 bikes and 330 docking stations spreading in Brooklyn and Manhattan, but plenty of New Yorkers have already found something to complain about. 

The just-placed docking stations are causing parking and delivery problems for residents and business owners. According to CBS Local, drivers are being forced to stall their vehicles in no standing zones while others have noted that the docking stations block loading docks and drop-off points. “I don’t know how we’re going to be able to operate really now effectively. It’s sad, dramatic negative impact,” Carlo Giurdanella, owner of Bella Tile told CBS. 

'Installation frustration' is just the beginning of the gripes that city-dwellers have with the bike share program. It's been noted that the Citi Bike rules include a statement about overweight riders, effectively banning persons over 260 pounds from using the bicycles. Appalled by the statement, many are calling the program discriminatory and the rules unfounded.Continue reading...

The Sonesta travel brand includes an eclectic collection of international luxury hotels, resorts and cruise ships. With a tiny hotel portfolio relative to major hotel brands (it currently has only ten U.S. hotels, for example), Sonesta is making a push to gain brand awareness by entering a new segment -- the extended stay market.

By acquiring fifteen Staybridge Suites and two Residence Inns, Sonesta is able to jump start its new "ES Suites" brand in the primary markets of Atlanta, Houston and Orlando, in addition to locations in Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio. Mike Wohl, operations vice president at Sonesta ES Suites, told HotelNewsNow.com, "We really like the extended stay business. It has matured to the point where it is a solid fundamental market segment on a national scale. It's a proven segment, and we really like the business model."Continue reading...

With over half a billion users and a billionaire founder who was TIME magazine's Person of the Year, Facebook has been flying high. This month, the social network is flying high, quite literally.

In a promotion through Gogo Inflight Internet, which offers inflight connectivity in the continental U.S., Facebook will be available free in February on the Wi-Fi networks AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, United, US Airways, and Virgin America. Other services provided can range in price from $4.95 to as much as $12.95.

Gogo has been pushing its service via partnered promotions lately to encourage more air travelers to take advantage of Wi-Fi. But don't forget in-flight netiquette!Continue reading...

Adidas Originals has been busy in Brazil with Destroy and Create, a cultural brand promotion in Sao Paolo that fuses art and design with skateboard culture (spreading the word on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter). Also whetting the interest of that hipster subculture: the brand's latest Star Wars kicks.

Dodge's new commercial today touts the 2010 Dodge Challenger in a 60-second spot created in honor of the World Cup match between USA and England tomorrow — a fact it played up in its teaser for the ad, after the jump.

The v/o: "Here's a couple of things America got right: Cars ... and freedom." Too patriotic for the brand, but par for the course at the World Cup? Tell us what you think, or flag a World Cup brand campaign that caught your eye with a comment below. Continue reading...

Auto sales in April were in a holding pattern, as car shoppers seemed to prefer tire-kicking to buyers. Still, there was a gradual rebound in sales last month, and the automotive category is on track to increase overall U.S. sales by 10-15% for the year as a whole.

Industry sales were much better than a year ago – when the auto market was at death’s door – but not as robust as just a month earlier, in March 2010. But automakers can be encouraged by at least one indicator amid the reams of inconclusive sales statistics that they released on Monday: Hot cars and brands are making a strong comeback.

It’s one hopeful sign that American consumers have removed themselves from the economic backdrop, and have looked past their own financial uncertainties, enough that their gradually rising collective enthusiasm may yet propel the U.S. economy into a strong recovery.Continue reading...

General Motors and Chrysler are on the road to recovery, gauging by their latest quarterly reports yesterday. But car buyers are going to be the real winners from the slow return to health by these automotive brands – and as other brands continue to feel their oats.

Chrysler reported a first-quarter operating profit and the boosting of its cash reserves, while General Motors revealed that it has repaid $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans ahead of schedule. GM also announced it's ready to hire and rev up production, and launched a new TV campaign (above) featuring chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre.

Both companies, of course, still face huge challenges.Continue reading...

Scott Monty, the ubiquitous head of social media for Ford Motor Co., stopped by Brandchannel.com to comment on Sheila Shayon's item earlier this week on Ford's latest foray into crowdsourcing, the "Your Ideas" forum on thefordstory.com. Monty, who oversees the company's social outreach on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and beyond, explained why Ford is bullish on crowdsourcing:

"The reason we've elected to open this up - and this isn't anything new, as we've had fordnewideas.com for quite some time - is because we wanted to offer a forum where people could openly comment on ideas, rate them up or down, and give our team a chance to listen to what customers are saying in one place. After all, social media is supposed to be about listening first. We're not committing to these ideas. We're merely seeing what's hot and what's not. If we choose to pursue any of them, it will be with the same level of research and stringency that has gone into making things like the industry-leading and award winning SYNC system. We're not planning on debuting the Homermobile."

Are you a fan of soliciting public feedback and ideas, and how? Read Sheila's story and tell us what you think.