The “Shop & Dine on the Line” program that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation launched Wednesday to help businesses hurt by rail construction is long overdue. Kudos to HART for taking steps to ease the economic impact on area businesses — but did it have to wait until some of them permanently shut their doors?

Participants in the program, about 65 so far, offer discounts to help attract more customers.

Let’s hope it helps, although in some ways it seems counterintuitive to offer discounts when you’re losing money.

Meanwhile, HART and city officials should continue efforts to establish a mitigation fund for businesses. And there should be serious discussions about reopening some closed left turns that keep customers away.

Back to the basics for automakers?

Car makers apparently thought they were getting ahead of the curve — and meeting consumer demand — when they started loading up their latest models with technological features — like voice links to human concierge service for travel directions, or wireless links to create an Internet hot spot.

Sadly for them, it turns out most new car buyers just want something that will get them from points A to B, according to a J.D. Powers survey of 4,200 car-owners 90 days after their purchases.

Many of the high-tech features were deemed not useful, if the consumers were even aware they existed. And worse, they are features that added to the price.