NETS Releases UPDATED Cost of Crashes Report
Vienna, VA - The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) has released an updated Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes to Employers report and accompanying Cost of Crashes Calculator, developed by NETS through a cooperative agreement with NHTSA.
The report is provided for employers to understand the cost of crashes incurred by their occupational fleets, in addition to the on- and off-the-job costs of crashes for all their employees and their employees’ dependents.
Regardless of company size, the information in the report and calculator cost calculations can serve as helpful tools in complementing an employer’s overall road safety effort.
All Roads (Should) Lead to Safety
In our fleet-centric world, road safety is of paramount concern. If you are unfamiliar with them, let us introduce you to the global NGO Together for Safer Roads (TSR). David Braunstein, TSR president, pledges: "Together, we can create safer roads. We want to create more partnerships, show the true value found in a meaningful reduction of injuries and fatalities. Finally, we want to share these success stories to propel the involvement of more businesses and communities."
Last week, Ed Pierce gave us an extensive overview of the NTEA Work Truck Week virtual event, and this week, Ed writes the first in a two-part series highlighting the recently concluded International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) virtual conference. If you are looking for a reason to be optimistic about the used vehicle market and the U.S. economy, look no further!
Optimism is in the air, or maybe that’s just springtime, but it feels like we can breathe a little easier now. That we still must be on guard with the virus is reflected in the way NAFA is organizing I&E this year as a hybrid version. In a Zoom interview with Ted Roberts, NAFA CEO Bill Schankel, CAE, describes how those of us who can meet in person will gather in Pittsburgh, August 30th through September 1st, and a virtual event will follow in mid-September. What a thoughtful strategy!
Drive Safety!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
Lordstown Motors Has Been Faking Orders, is Actually 3-4 Years From Production: Research Firm
Lordstown Motors was sort of the homegrown hero of recent EV startups: an impressive electric truck designed and built in America. However, everything is not as it seems with Lordstown, if a recent report is accurate.
Many if not most of these orders aren’t actually orders. Hindenburg Research calls them “mirages.”
The research indicates that the pre-orders weren’t actually pre-orders. They are nonbinding letters of intent to purchase, essentially a piece of paper saying customers intend to purchase but aren’t contractually obligated to do so.
Read the article at Jalopnik.
The 600-HP Canoo Electric Truck is a One-Size-Fits-All Rig for Adventurers
Canoo is adding a ton of practical work features to the new model to its line-up of already slightly unusual electric vehicles.
Canoo's truck is close in stature to the new Ford F-150, coming in about as high and two inches narrower, though on a wheelbase 10 inches shorter. Because it has no combustion drivetrain to accommodate, though, its extended cab is pushed far forward, giving its bed more space than the Ford.
A more complete sheet of specs is promised closer to launch, and that it'll open pre-orders for its subscription-only pickup in the second quarter of 2022. Deliveries are slated to follow in 2023, by which time we'll have a better idea of how the Canoo stacks up against offerings from Rivian, GMC, and Ford, arriving in that order over a year or so starting this summer.
Read the article at The Drive.
Highlights from Work Truck Week, WTW21
By Ed Pierce,Contributing Editor
NTEA Provides Work Truck Industry Overview and Market Forecast
NTEA’s staff economist Steve Latin-Kasper shared the latest forecasts for North American economic activity, work truck and truck equipment sales and shipments, and metals and fuel prices.
Compared to 2020, Latin-Kasper projected 10% growth for the industry as a whole (and much better than that in some segments). The big winners currently expected are Classes 2–6. We expect Classes 7 and 8 to turn it around in the second half with some growth at the end of the year.
His list of positives and negatives for the year ahead comprised...
