Safety Rules!
One of the concerns among fleet safety managers, and sure to be a topic of discussion at the upcoming NETS conference, is how to deal with the rising problem of drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol. Read Driver Impairment: Protect Your Fleet with Proactive Monitoring to learn about SuperVision’s solution.
Speaking of NETS, early bird pricing ends June 30th for this superb event. October 10-12, Indianapolis.
Independence Day!
"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness."~ Erma Bombeck
Have a happy, safe July 4th!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Tesla’s Charging Technology Inches Closer to Becoming Industry Standard
Electric vehicle maker Rivian says it will follow General Motors and Ford and join Tesla’s charging network next year. The startup truck, SUV and delivery van maker says that like GM and Ford, it also will adopt Tesla’s charging connector, another step toward making it the industry standard.
It is another domino to fall as the auto industry considers switching to Tesla’s connector, which it calls the North American Charging Standard.
Tesla’s Superchargers are coveted by other automakers because it has more direct current fast-charging plugs in the U.S. than any other network, and its stations are in prime locations along freeway travel corridors.
Labor Unrest Rippling Through Auto Industry
Workers at an Ohio plant supplying batteries to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis are heading back to work this week, ending a 41-day strike. However, more labor unrest hovers over the industry.
UAW President Sean Fain, recently elected himself, proclaimed he intends to align the auto union’s fight for new contracts at GM, Ford and Stellantis this fall with the Teamsters at UPS to build what he describes “working-class” power as part of a wider effort to reverse the decline of unions and to improve the wages and working conditions of workers throughout the economy.
Fain also said all workers deserve more respect and better working conditions, including work schedules that value their time.
Certified Pre-owned Sales Outperform Overall Used-Vehicle Retail Market in May
Certified pre-owned (CPO) sales in May rose 5.4%, over 11,000 units, from last May to finish at 219,633. This total is up nearly 5,000 units, a 2.3% increase from April’s number.
CPO sales year to date remain up 6.0%, or 61,000 units, compared to the first five months of 2022, which was a rough year for the CPO market.
Among large manufacturers, Toyota had the largest CPO sales volume gain in May. Meanwhile, Hyundai has the largest year-over-year percentage gain in CPO sales, while Chevrolet had the largest percentage decline.
Mercedes to Introduce AI Tool ChatGPT to New Range of Vehicles
German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has announced that it is to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) into its voice control functionality in a new range of vehicles.
Mercedes will utilize GPT, which stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer", a family of large language models that have been trained to create or summarize texts, answer questions, and generate copy from a written or spoken prompt.
The optional beta program will be available to over 900.000 vehicles equipped with the MBUX infotainment system. It is currently only available in the USA.
