Betting on California!
As a long-time resident of California and a witness to the devastating fire season we are still having, I cheered when Governor Newsom announced plans to ban the sale of gas and diesel fueled vehicles by 2035. “We are experiencing a climate CRISIS,” Newsom says. Predictably, EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler immediately warned that California is unlikely to receive permission from the EPA to proceed with these plans. California tends to win these fights for the environment, and we are betting on them. Elections have consequences.
The fleet industry has an important role to play, but every action we can take to reduce global warming, no matter how small, is meaningful. We owe it to our children and their children and their children.
The FMW team is so proud of our own Ted Roberts for being named a recipient of the AFLA 2020 President’s Award! He is in great company with fellow honorees Diana Holland and Suresh Rajapakse. When Ted and I acquired Fleet Management Weekly, Ted had no experience in fleet, his expertise was in publishing. I told him that he would love this industry and how the people in fleet would become life-long friends. It's good to be right! Congratulations, Diana, Suresh and Ted!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Massive Network Outage Leaves Tesla Owners High And Dry
Tesla experienced a massive worldwide network outage on Wednesday that left countless Tesla owners unable to connect to their cars through the mobile app or use the Tesla website.
The issue is mostly a minor one, even though many Tesla owners use a cell phone as their key. In theory, the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y still ought to be accessible with the correct cell phone using Bluetooth - no network connection required - and the older Model S and Model X can use a mobile data connection to lock and unlock with only a phone present.
Features like Tesla's Smart Summon require communication with the Tesla network, rendering them out-of-commission in the event of an outage. More crucially, other Tesla products like its solar panels and Powerwall home battery systems were reportedly put out by the issue, as well, with owners not being able to monitor the devices.
Read the article at CarBuzz.
NAFA Offers Great Networking and Experiences All Year Round
NAFA offers great opportunities to get involved all year round, including networking, learning, job resources and more.
With Used-Car Demand Up, How to Get the Most When You Sell
Used cars continue to be in high demand these days and that can give sellers the upper hand. But if everyone knows that they can get a good deal for their old car right now, then how can you make your ride stand out?
"The condition that you present your car in represents its upkeep for the duration of your ownership," Joe Neiman, chief customer success officer at ACV Auctions said. "It is also worth it to spend a little extra money for a professional detail before you head to the dealership and then talk up your effort on-site."
Show off the work you've done to keep the car in good shape. If you've only ever had the car serviced at the dealership, include that paperwork. Leave about a half-tank of gas in the car when you bring it to a potential seller. An empty tank gives the impression that you have squeezed the life out of your car and are ready to walk away from it.
Read the article at MSN.
Tesla’s $25,000 Electric Car Means Game Over For Gas And Oil
Which would you choose for $25,000 – a Tesla Model 2 EV or a VW Golf with a conventional fossil fuel engine? No longer will the argument hold that “I can’t buy the EV because it’s too expensive”, because they will be the same price.
You could soon have the choice of a well-built German fossil fuel car, or a semi-premium EV that will be much, much cheaper to run because even in the USA, electric miles are considerably less expensive than fossil fuel ones. In the UK, where petrol and diesel prices are astronomical, the running cost differential will be huge.
When you can buy an EV with over 300 miles of range that is faster and equipped with better technology than an internal combustion engine VW Golf, as well as being much cheaper to run, only groundless anti-electric prejudice will stop you. There won’t be any real reason to buy a car that runs on fuel derived from oil and gas anymore.
Read the article at Forbes.
