Sales of vehicles to General Motors' fleet customers may be the first casualty of the UAW strike at American Axle. Due to high day supply, dealers have not felt much pain yet. GM hopes these sales can be made up when the strike is settled. The UAW is striking at or threatening to strike several GM plants manufacturing models that are selling well. Analysts see this as an effort to make GM put pressure on American Axle.
New truck safety technology including vehicle stability systems, collision and lane departure warning systems, and brake stroke monitoring systems has been proven to help avoid crashes and save lives. This equipment is not mandated and it costs several thousand dollars. A coalition of trucking interests is encouraging key legislative committees and administration groups to support incentives to speed adoption of this technology.
There was a 110% increase in tractor-trailer repossessions in 2007, says Nassau Asset Management's NasTrac Quarterly Index (NQI). Also, R.L. Polk says registrations of new Class 8 trucks fell 37.8% from 2006 to 2007. Key factors driving the downturn are decreased homebuilding and increased government regulations.
Ford is displaying its New York Transit Connect taxi concept vehicle at New York Auto Show. Its 4-cyl, 2L engine offers 30% better fuel economy and almost 90% lower emissions in an updated package w/ a variety of electronic entertainment features for passengers.