Were Mom’s Flowers Up to Sniff?

Did you get a good deal on a Mother’s Day bouquet for Mom?

Consumers are expected to spend a collective $2.2 billion on flowers this weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. But no matter how one spends, they may not get their money’s worth.

Free Mercedes With That Bank Account

Consumers in the market for a new bank account have gotten used to three-figure bonuses. Now, one bank is dangling a $60,000 car — if you have a spare $1 million to stash away.

A new offer from C1 Bank, a Florida community bank with assets of $827 million, promises new customers their choice of one of four new Mercedes in exchange for depositing $1 million in a five-year certificate of deposit. “We’ve had lots of questions about it,” says chief executive Trevor Burgess. “Nobody has taken us up on it yet, but we’re only on day two.”

Complaining on Twitter May Cost You

Venting to a company’s Facebook or Twitter account may be costly. Customers satisfied with customer service via social media tend to spend more than those who complain by other means, a new study finds.

Complaints addressed on social media result in 21% more sales with that company than those by traditional methods, reports American Express. In comparison, consumers satisfied with phone or email customer service spend just 11% more. Experts say it’s normal for consumers to feel loyal after getting good customer service. “It’s not about being perfect, it’s about the response,” says Deborah Mitchell, a clinical associate professor of marketing at Ohio State University. “People like to feel like the company was proactive in responding, and bent over backward to fix it.”

Is Barbie Headed for Early Retirement?

Barbara Millicent Roberts stood her ground in the face of less-than-classy  rivals before, but some analysts say the 53-year-old doll may need to up her game to stay in fashion.

Mattel’s first quarter earnings plunged 53%, the toymaker reported Monday, and gross sales of Barbie fell 6% during that period in contrast to a 4% rise in sales for American Girl Brands. The iconic doll’s fortunes see-sawed in recent years, leading some analysts to question whether she needs another makeover. (She already received a facelift in 2009 for her 50th birthday.) “One of the great paradoxes of branding is that you must keep changing to remain consistent,” says Derrick Daye, managing partner at LA-based consultancy The Blake Project, “and Mattel appears to be losing the struggle to keep Barbie contemporary.”

Do iPhones Make Us Narcissists?

There’s no app for arrogance. Smartphone users don’t need one, says the author of a new book.

Addiction to gadgets is a national malady, says Larry Rosen, whose book “iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us,” relates the social and psychological consequences of dependence on iPhones, Androids and Blackberrys. The average teenager sends and receives 3,417 text messages per month, according to Nielsen, or between 7 and 8 per waking hour. In another 2011 study carried out by Rosen, he found younger people’s anxiety escalates when they check their messages.

Stalking Facebook and Twitter causes people to become more depressed and more narcissistic, Rosen says. “Social networking is a predictor of many disorders,” he says. All the talk of “me, me, me” on Facebook suggests social networking has gone too far, he says. Studies also show that one-in-three Generation Xers and one-in-six baby boomers constantly check their devices. Rosen offers some solutions: write a status update or tweet, then take a break. If the words “me” or “I” appear more frequently than “we” or “us,” he says it might be worth re-writing or even deleting it.

We spoke to Rosen about the increasingly tight grip technology has over Americans:

A Smart Car That Learns?

With more technology in cars, the next advancement may be vehicles capable of remembering that Driver A likes hip hop and the a/c on full blast, while Driver B requires her seat pushed further forward and a classical station on the radio.

Toyota’s new NS4 concept plug-in hybrid may be able to do exactly that. If it ever makes it to market. A spokesman says the vehicle may be available for a global debut by 2015. The details, he says, are “probably deliberately vague.”

An Electric Vehicle Ride-Along

Electric is one of the buzzwords at this year’s show, but the vehicles are still a pretty rare sight on the street.

So we jumped at the chance to ride along at the auto show’s Electric Car pavilion. At a leisurely 5 miles per hour on the indoor, concrete track, there’s little difference in the handling or feel from a standard car. “It looks like a Prius and drives like a Prius,” says a Toyota spokesman of the new 2012 Prius plug-in. The $32,000 vehicle will be available in 15 states “any day now,” he says, and nationwide next year. All three were fairly comfortable, for the short trip, anyway.

Cars That Stay Alert, Even When Drivers Don’t

A widening array of airbags may help limit injuries in an accident, but automakers’ latest tech aims to help drivers avoid a collision altogether.

Subaru’s new Legacy and Outback models will include the option for a new feature called Eyesight Technology. It uses a number of sensors and cameras to sense objects around the vehicle, braking to lessen the impact of an impending collision and altering cruise control to adapt to say, a sudden traffic jam. Drivers will also receive warnings if the vehicle starts to drift out of your intended lane. “It’s another pair of eyes on the road,” says a spokesman. Pricing has yet to be determined, he says.

Plugging Into BMW’s Electric Concept

Auto show “concept cars” are usually code for “you’ll never drive anything remotely like this,” but BMW says its two new electric concepts will be on the road as early as next fall.

BMW is one of a number of manufacturers advancing electric models at the show, says Alec Gutierrez, a senior market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. But electric vehicles “are still priced out of reach for a lot of consumers at this point,” he says, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. Steinberg says pricing on the i3 and i8 has yet to be set, and will likely be competitive with other electrics on the market.

Cup Holders Out, iPad Holders In

Consumers may upgrade their iPad every year and their smartphone every two, but car manufacturers have been slow to keep up. Now in-car technology is accelerating.

The latest models from Mercedes-Benz incorporate a range of features that can update with your tech, including an iPad mount for rear-seat entertainment and cloud-based apps for web searches, directions and even stock market quotes. “It’s a really smart way to go,” says Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of pricing site Edmunds.com. “This way, [the car] doesn’t become obsolete when you switch out your technology.”