Change Waits for No One
Here’s an intriguing headline from our friends at ARI: Would you Rather Embrace Fleet Change or a Prickly Cactus? They say: “When you define goals for fleet change, you gain more control over potential outcomes and success. That’s when change becomes easier.”
Mark Boada was highly enthusiastic about the recently concluded 2020 NETS conference and writes an excellent column about key findings from the conference. Here's one disturbing fact: Drivers are 11 times more likely to be involved in a crash if they get less than four hours of sleep the day before!
Which leads us to minimizing risk. SuperVision’s latest column centers on the importance of continuous license monitoring. The thought of negligent entrustment claims because of that one driver whose license was suspended would keep me up at night.
Speaking of sleepless nights, we have a new member of the FMW team! Associate editor Connie Shedron welcomed her first grandchild last Saturday, a beautiful baby girl. Welcome to the family, Charlie Gordon!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change ~ Wayne Dyer
Certified Fuel Connectors and More for Alternative Fleet Vehicles
Exotic Automation & Supply offers certified fuel connectors, filtration and more for the CNG and LPG vehicles in your fleet.
Manley Calls COVID-19 ‘Biggest Single Risk Ever’ For Auto Industry
The CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles says COVID-19 is the biggest risk the auto industry has ever faced and he and the association he leads are calling on governments to spend pandemic recovery dollars to boost electric vehicles and other types of alternatively powered cars in order to meet climate goals.
Mike Manley, who is also president of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, spoke during an online conference Tuesday. A news release from the association noted that car sales in Europe are forecast to drop by a historic 25% in 2020 and that production there is down by 4 million vehicles this year to date.
"The COVID pandemic is clearly the biggest single risk ever to face the auto industry. It is adding massive pressures on our sector at a time when it is navigating fundamental technological shifts, as well as the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. We urgently need to find ways to pull through this with minimum damage to jobs and investments, while at the same time keeping strong focus on the climate challenge," Manley said, according to the release.
Read the article at Detroit Free Press.
Climate Crisis Weekly: What ‘Green New Deal’ Really Means
To paraphrase the global journalism initiative Covering Climate Now, the Green New Deal is a broad resolution that aims to combat the climate crisis by creating a large number of green jobs and business opportunities through government investments.
Donald Trump: Trump doesn’t have a climate change policy.
Joe Biden: Biden’s $2 trillion, specific clean energy plan isn’t called the Green New Deal. It’s called the “Biden Plan” on his website, and it’s the most ambitious climate action plan to ever be floated by a major US party platform.
Read the article at Electrek.
Used Vehicle Prices Up As Supply Sinks, But Relief Is Coming
When the coronavirus pandemic shut the auto industry down, new vehicles weren't being produced and the supply of used vehicles dried up, driving the prices upwards.
The average asking price of a used vehicle that was 10 years old or less rose more than 9% from $19,800 in May to $21,600 in September. The average retail used-vehicle price has fallen by $100 so far in October when compared with September.
Alex Yurchenko, senior vice president of data science for Black Book predicts the downward trend will continue at least through the end of the year, barring any unforeseen developments with the virus. It’s wise to hold off buying a used vehicle if you can, because prices should drop further by the year’s end.
Read the article at The Detroit News.
