California’s Power Outage Demonstrates the Biggest Flaw With Tesla’s Plan to Sell Everyone an Electric Car
Tesla sent a warning to its Northern California customers: Charge up your vehicle now. If you don't, it's hard to say when you'll next have a chance.
That's because Pacific Gas and Electric, the electrical utility for most of Northern and Central California, planned to shut off electrical service to almost a million people as a public safety measure to prevent starting wildfires.
Let's start by giving credit to Tesla for alerting its customers, especially since most drivers only charge their battery to 80 percent to extend overall battery life. Depending on your daily driving and the length of the shutoff, that could make a real difference. But I think the entire episode points out a fatal flaw in Tesla's plan to have everyone buying electric cars.
Read the article at Inc.
Used-Car Price Tumble Spells Trouble For The US Auto Market
Falling used-car prices last month were a major contributor to subdued inflation for the U.S. economy.
Auto analysts warn this could be a lasting trend with major negative implications for new-vehicle demand.
The 1.6% monthly drop in used-car prices last month was the biggest decline in a year, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The overall core consumer price index increased just 0.1% from the prior month, a smaller gain than expected.
“It’s only going to get more competitive for the new side,” Charlie Chesbrough, Cox Automotive’s senior economist said Thursday during a tour a Michigan auto-auction facility run by Manheim, which Cox owns. “If we continue to see used prices decline, it will provide another value option, another buying option for folks who are in the market.”
Read the article at Bloomberg.
Phil Russo Takes the Helm at Two Veterinary Associations
By Janice Sutton
Over the years, many of us in the fleet industry have had the opportunity to work with or alongside Phil Russo, former CEO of NAFA Fleet Management Association.
Whether Phil was interacting with a committee, organizing an event, or sitting for an interview with me, I appreciated his graciousness, wit, and passion for our industry.
You may have heard that in August the NAFA Board of Directors made the decision to not renew Phil’s contract and kindly offered him the option of leaving the organization at once.
The Battery-Car Revolution Could Sharply Cut Into the Automotive Workforce
Today’s cars already need less service than those from the 1960s and 1970s, one reason we see fewer gas stations with repair bays.
More battery-electric vehicles on the road will require charging networks and could threaten even those service stations that survive.
Battery-electric cars are expected to be simpler to produce, and they should also prove far simpler to maintain and service, meaning the impact on jobs likely will be felt far beyond the confines of the factory.
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
How to Survive Disruption in a Mature Industry
By John Wysseier, CEO and President, The CEI Group, Inc.
If you operate in a mature industry like ours and you’re not feeling threatened by disruption, chances are high that your company could be left behind.
It may take years, but with more than 70 percent of all businesses worldwide facing a serious threat of disruption, your company’s viability, as it exists today, is in question.
If you think I’m telling you that the sky is falling, consider this: the average tenure on the S&P 500 stock index of the most successful U.S. companies shrank from 33 years in 1964 to 24 by 2016 and is forecast by Innosight, a global consulting firm, to shrink further to just 12 years by 2027.
