Yesterday, the news broke that both Ford and GM are phasing out the internal combustion engine and are aiming toward on an all-electric future. In addition to Norway, France, the U.K. and others, China, with a severe air pollution problem, is pressuring the auto industry to make the switch, and now California is considering banning fossil-fuel powered vehicles.
At the recent AFLA Conference, we talked with a number of fleet service providers about the effect of the electric-powered fleet on their business models and on fleets themselves. In many cases, it is a revolution.
If you’re new to fleet or want to sharpen your skills, NAFA’s Essentials of Fleet Management Seminar – October 16-18, 2017 in Philadelphia – is still open for enrollment. This is a timely and perfect venue to talk with experts in the business about how you can position your fleet in the face of this revolution.
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
You know a topic is trending when the likes of Tesla’s Elon Musk and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg publicly bicker about its potential risks and rewards.
In this case, Musk says he fears artificial intelligence will lead to World War III because nations will compete for A.I. superiority. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has called such doomsday scenarios “irresponsible” and says he is optimistic about A.I.
But another tech visionary sees the future as more nuanced. Ray Kurzweil, an author and director of engineering at Google, thinks, in the long run, that A.I. will do far more good than harm.
NAFA’s Sustainable Fleet Accreditation Program - created in conjunction with CALSTART - provides an official standard for sustainability that all fleets can be judged by.
Volkswagen is trying to push past the dieselgate scandal and polish its brand in America around a fresh set of high-tech autos.
Just before heading to a major auto show in Frankfurt, VW brand chief Herbert Diess told an in-house Volkswagen publication the automaker’s future compass will point directly to the new technology –- electric cars powered entirely by batteries.
“In the old world, it is Toyota, Hyundai, and the French carmakers. In the new world it is Tesla,” Diess said, referring to a nimble California manufacturing startup influencing Detroit, Shanghai, Stuttgart and Tokyo with its electric-car ambitions.
Study shows unbelted occupants account for half of deaths.
While seat belt usage rates in the United States are – and have been – above 90% for more than a decade, there is still a “problem” area: rural America.
According to a new study from Centers for Disease Control, America’s most rural counties had motor-vehicle death rates 3 to 10 times higher than those in the most urban counties, largely due to a lack of seatbelt use.