Autoblog

Washington poised to nearly double its hybrid fleet

Zach Bowman — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:16:00 EST

The Detroit News reports The General Services Administration is set to increase the number of hybrid vehicles in the government's fleet by 10,000. Doing so is estimated to save one million gallons of fuel per year through the lives of the machines. Currently, the GSA fleet boasts around 10,672 hybrids, and last fiscal year saw the agency purchase 919 of the vehicles. The GSA helps support other agencies, and in this case, it will cover the extra cost of opting for hybrid models over a standard internal combustion vehicle for any other agency that wishes to take part in the program.

The Interior Department will be the first to swap nearly a third of its fleet for the new hybrids, with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell saying the move is a good business decision "that will benefit not only our bottom line, but reduce our carbon emissions as well." The move will swap some 300 gasoline and alternative fuel vehicles for hybrids. In 2011, President Barack Obama issued an order for federal agencies to stop using full-size sedans and SUVs unless absolutely necessary. Under that order, E85-capable machines were exempt even if they weren't using the ethanol-heavy fuel.

Washington poised to nearly double its hybrid fleet originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Indianapolis plans for all-EV, hybrid fleet

Zach Bowman — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:31:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Technology, Electric

Indianapolis is moving to replace its entire vehicle fleet with electric and plug-in hybrid options. The Detroit News reports mayor Greg Ballard signed an executive order this week that will see Indianapolis replace its sedans with EVs.

Over time, the municipality will work in natural gas-powered snow plows, fire trucks and other heavy equipment in a bid to wean Indianapolis off foreign energy sources. Ballard's plan includes police vehicles, which could save tax payers around $10 million per year in fuel, though the city also maintains a fleet of 500 non-law-enforcement cars. So far, there's no estimation on how much the initial changeover will cost.

Right now, Indianapolis is working with automakers and fleet firms to come up with the best deal for the EV fleet purchase. The area already boasts 200 EV charging stations and plans to install more locations soon. Expect to see the entirety of the Indianapolis fleet switch over to hybrid and electric propulsion by 2025.

Indianapolis plans for all-EV, hybrid fleet originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford defends ballooning fleet sales

Chris Shunk — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:03:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Truck, Government/Legal, Crossover, Ford

"Fleet" is sort of a dirty word when describing vehicle sales, and the Detroit Three have traditionally been quite smitten with bulk buyers. Unfortunately fleet sales have been demonized for a reason. They can adversely affect resale values, and since fleet buyers tend to expect warehouse store pricing, they're obviously not great for the bottom line, either. But one automaker seems more than happy to sell to fleets: Ford.

Bloomberg reports that a larger percentage of Ford's overall sales are going to fleets, rising from 22 percent of in 2006 to 27 percent in 2011. Of those vehicles, 41 percent reportedly went to the likes of Hertz and Enterprise. That leaves the rest of the sales at the local, state and federal level, plus a smattering of commercial buyers. In other words, needy customers with cash in hand. And those buyers tend to want high-margin rides like trucks, crossovers and SUVs; vehicles Ford make money on.

Ford fleet director Kevin Koswick tells Bloomberg that the automaker knows what it's doing, adding "I don't see it as an issue as long as you manage your fleet and you're balanced in what you do."

Ford defends ballooning fleet sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota kicks off year with sharply increased fleet sales

Zach Bowman — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota can attribute much of its uptick in sales last month to fleets. While the automaker saw its sales leap by 7.5 percent compared to a year earlier, Newsday.com reports Toyota sold 47 percent more cars and trucks to fleet customers in the U.S. than in January 2011. Without the fleet sales, the improvement would have been less than one percent. All told, rental companies accounted for 93 percent of the automaker's fleet sales in January, with the remainder going to other organizations.

Toyota and other Japanese automakers have always been reticent to embrace fleet sales. Doing so is not only generally less profitable than individual consumer sales, but can also lead to degraded brand image and resale value. Last month, Ford was cited for having 45 percent of the company's Focus going toward fleets.

Toyota, meanwhile, says the news isn't the start of a trend. When Toyota factories were hobbled by earthquake and tsunami activity in Japan last year, the automaker put a stop to fleet sales altogether to keep its dealerships fed. According to Bob Carter, Toyota U.S. sales chief, the company promised to make up deliveries to its fleet customers, and January represents the automaker fulfilling that promise. Carter also said that while fleet sales will be high once again in February, things should return to normal once again in March.

Toyota kicks off year with sharply increased fleet sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturn Vue Chevrolet Captiva Sport announced for U.S. fleet customers

Steven J. Ewing — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:57:00 EST

Filed under: Crossover, Chevrolet

2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport - Click above for high-res image

Do you miss the Saturn Vue? If so, General Motors is ready to wipe your tears away. Meet the new Chevrolet Captiva Sport, a shockingly familiar crossover being offered for fleet sales here in the United States. GM is quick to point out that the Sport is a variant of the popular Captiva CUV sold in other markets, though its Saturn-badged kin can still be found all over the nation.

The 2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport will be available in three trim levels - LS, LT and LTZ - with two different powertrain choices. The base engine is GM's Ecotec 2.4-liter direct-injected four-cylinder, while the uplevel powerplant is The General's 3.0-liter direct-injected V6. Having experienced both of these units in the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers, we found the four to be far smoother and more refined than the anemic V6. In any case, both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive is optional on LTZ models.

LT and LTZ models use the 3.0-liter V6 and come standard with OnStar and Bluetooth connectivity. LTZ standard equipment also includes leather-trimmed seats (heated for front passengers), a rear-view camera and premium audio system.

Fleet companies can take delivery of the ~~Vue~~ Captiva Sport as early as the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full details, follow the jump for GM's press release.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading ~~Saturn Vue~~ Chevrolet Captiva Sport announced for U.S. fleet customers

~~Saturn Vue~~ Chevrolet Captiva Sport announced for U.S. fleet customers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Chrysler ends 25-month sales skid by sending 58% of new vehicles to fleets

Chris Shunk — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Chrysler, Dodge, GM, Jeep

Just about every automaker posted February sales gains compared to the same month in 2009, and industry-wide sales were up 13 percent for the month. Even Chrysler posted its first year over year gain for the first time in 25 months, albeit by a mere 399 units. So is everybody at the company's Auburn Hills, MI headquarters celebrating? We're guessing the answer is no... due to the fact that a knee-wobbling 58 percent of those sales came to fleet customers.

Automotive News is reporting that only 35,832 of those 84,449 sales were made to retail customers. That's not good, folks. In better times, Toyota would be disappointed if it only sold 35,000 Carmry sedans to retail customers. When AN asked Chrysler about its low sales for the month, a spokeswoman reportedly said, "Fleet sales were very strong this month, and our company sales reflect that." Big fleet sales will reportedly be temporary, though, as the company still eventually plans to allocate only 25 percent of its sales to fleets.

But while that's bad news for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, the company is likely at least happy that fleet customers are buying again. When the economy hit the skids in the fall of 2008, the fleet market went from a sales oasis for domestic automakers to a discount desert. Chrysler isn't the only automaker to rely on fleet sales in February, either. General Motors allocated 45,000 of its 144,000 vehicles to fleets, about 31 percent of its total sales.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

Report: Chrysler ends 25-month sales skid by sending 58% of new vehicles to fleets originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM Olympic fleet vehicles will all find their way to Canadian dealers

Michael Harley — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Canada

They won't make you ski, skate or snowboard with any additional talent or zest, but the "official" Olympic-branded vehicles used during the 2010 Winter Games are going up for sale in Canada later this month. Each of the General Motors supplied cars and trucks spent time in Vancouver and Whistler shuttling athletes, officials, VIPs and dignitaries to and from the competitions and related events. Now, with the Winter Olympics written in the history books and the Paralympic Winter Games closing at the end of the month, more than 4,600 lightly-used vehicles will find their way to dealerships across the vast country. The fleet includes:

Chevrolet Equinox, Malibu (Hybrid), Impala, Traverse, Suburban & Tahoe
Buick Lucerne & Enclave
Cadillac DTS, CTS Sport Sedan & Sport Wagon, Escalade (Hybrid) & SRX
GMC Acadia, Terrain, Yukon (Hybrid models available) & Yukon XL

Differentiating the "Olympic" vehicles from the standard GM offerings are the commemorative (and "permanent") Vancouver 2010 medallions adorned with the iconic Inukshuk symbol and Olympic rings on each model. That, and fact that the vehicles are all "specially-priced," says GM. If you are interested, contact your local GM retailer ASAP as the first cars and trucks will be available for purchase in just a couple weeks. The official press release is available after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM Olympic fleet vehicles will all find their way to Canadian dealers

GM Olympic fleet vehicles will all find their way to Canadian dealers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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J.D. Power data suggests January U.S. new-vehicle retail sales decline from last month

Michael Harley — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:16:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Earnings/Financials

After gathering real-time transaction data from 8,900 automotive franchisees across the U.S., J.D. Power and Associates predicts new-vehicle retail sales will have declined for January 2010 compared to one year ago. January's new-vehicle sales are expected to come in at 500,900 units, which represents a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 7.9 million units. In January of 2009, the SAAR was 8.8 million units. December 2009 was a particularly strong sales month - thanks to heavy marketing and aggressive incentive programs - making it a tough act to follow. To wit:

"January is typically a weak selling month, but this month is particularly impacted by December's strong close and extra selling weekend," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, the sales pace has been improving as January continues, which is an encouraging sign for the recovering industry."

Not to be confused with new-vehicle retail sales, fleet sales are expected to increase significantly when compared to the same slow period last year. When fleet- and new-vehicle units are combined, the month's outlook is more promising. According to J.D. Power, total sales for January 2010 are projected at 659,000 units, up nine percent from the same month last year. Carried forward, the global marketing firm is predicting 2010 total vehicles sales at 11.5 million - and these numbers may be even higher as the industry recovers, thereby loosening credit and improving leasing availability. Check out the press release after the jump.

[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

Continue reading J.D. Power data suggests January U.S. new-vehicle retail sales decline from last month

J.D. Power data suggests January U.S. new-vehicle retail sales decline from last month originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Dollar Thrifty to cut percentage of Chrysler products from as much as 76% to 30%

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, known in the retail world as Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental, will be buying about 40,000 fewer Chryslers than it did last year. Previously, the company was contractually bound to ensure that 75% of its fleet was composed of Chrysler vehicles. After the bankruptcy kerfuffle, the contract has been revised to compel Dollar Thrifty to purchase a new minimum number of vehicles, and the company is using the freedom to increase its model mix.

Instead of being so Pentastar-heavy, from now on, Reuters says that Dollar Thrifty's fleet figures to be 30% Chrysler, 34% Ford, 20% General Motors, 6% Nissan, and 10% left over for Hyundai and Kia. The model mix transition should also help Dollar Thrifty stabilize the income from fleet sales; the company took a beating when the residuals market took a dump, especially due to the fact that it was trying to flog so many products from a company thought to have a dubious future.

All three domestics have talked about getting away from low-margin fleet buyers for some time now. Still, the 40,000 hit to Chrysler's sales still probably isn't the best of news - Chrysler didn't want to get this far away from fleets.

[Source: Reuters]

REPORT: Dollar Thrifty to cut percentage of Chrysler products from as much as 76% to 30% originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: GM will no longer allow fleet buyers to skip out on side curtain airbags

Chris Shunk — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, GM

Little known fact: fleet customers could receive a $145 discount by opting not to have side airbags in certain vehicles from General Motors. That doesn't sound like a lot of money, but when, for example, Enterprise Rent-A-Car purchased 66,000 Chevy Impalas sans curtains, the company saved nearly $10 million. It's not like omitting side curtain airbags is illegal, either, as the safety equipment isn't mandatory. Further, similar vehicles from other OEMS don't have side airbags as standard equipment.

Safety advocates and many customers had a problem with the practice, though, as the vehicles would enter the used car market without the safety tech and some less scrupulous dealers were advertising the ex-rental vehicles as having the air bags intact.

GM had offered the discounts on 2006-2009 model vehicles, but The General has decided to stop the practice beginning with the 2010 model year. General Motors has also taken steps to ensure that customers know they're not getting side curtain airbags on older vehicles coming off fleet duty. The Detroit, MI based-automaker has modified its GM Certified website so that when dealers print out the window sticker on affected models, the correct information is displayed. GM has also notified companies like AutoTrader and Cars.com that the airbags weren't standard on some fleet vehicles. Dealers with certified used vehicles were also notified via phone to place the correct sticker windows on affected vehicles. GM estimates that over 200,000 vehicles were sold to fleets without side curtain airbags.

[Source: Detroit News]

REPORT: GM will no longer allow fleet buyers to skip out on side curtain airbags originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai and Kia seen using fleets to boost sales numbers

Michael Harley — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai, Kia, Earnings/Financials

While most automakers are reporting double-digit drops in sales each month, Hyundai and Kia continue to swim against the current and maintain (or even increase) units sold. According to Automotive News, a significant part of their success is attributable to fleet sales - large numbers of cars going directly into rental and corporate fleets. During the first quarter of 2009 alone, more than 33 percent of Hyundai's first quarter sales of 95,854 units were fleet related. Rental car sales represented nearly 35 percent of Kia's sales during the same period.

There is nothing inherently wrong with fleet sales, but many in the industry see them as a historically-abused method to inflate numbers, an inaccurate reflection of actual showroom traffic, and a potential liability for residual values. "We accept the criticism that our fleet is up," Hyundai Motor America's sales boss Dave Zuchowski said when he addressed the issue. "But our retail share also is up and outperformed the industry."

Utilized heavily by the Detroit Three in the past, fleet sales are a double-edged sword. Automakers get a strong boost in sales when the vehicles are delivered, but then pay heavy consequences with an oversaturated segment when the cars are dumped back into the used car market. It will be interesting to see how the Korean sister brands will address this repercussion in the near future.

[Source: Automotive News - subs. req'd]

Hyundai and Kia seen using fleets to boost sales numbers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rental fleet sales down last year, 2009 will be worse

Jonathon Ramsey — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials

Last summer, it was the Detroit Three that were restraining themselves from dumping cars into the gaping maw of fleet sales just to boost the bottom line. Turns out they had some help with that discipline: Due to last year's events, rental car fleets shrunk by 400,000 units from 2007 to 2008. As we begin 2009, rental car companies have declared they will be trimming their fleet orders and curbing the number of vehicles they keep on hand even further.

Rental car companies have been thrown under a number of buses as of late. They can't borrow money to finance purchases; the recession has hammered the travel industry; wholesale used vehicle prices are falling (making rental car fleets less valuable); and besides that, car dealers can't get the money to buy the retired rental cars anyway, which subtracts yet another revenue stream.

Rental companies have been good for something like 15% of sales from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. But not this year: Enterprise, which also buys for National and Alamo, will buy half the number of cars it did last year, and they'll keep those cars a couple of months longer. Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty also said they will buy fewer cars and work them longer. The automakers have doubled incentives to encourage sales, but there are simply no teeth left in the rental business with which to bite.

Thus, don't be surprised to find a few more stains on the seats and a few more miles on the clock the next time you find yourself at the wheel of a rental car.

[Source: Automotive News, Sub Req.]

Rental fleet sales down last year, 2009 will be worse originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Imports taking up the slack in fleet sales

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:56:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

OK, this seems like a no-brainer. As GM and Ford have gradually pulled back from the low-margin fleet sales market, import fleet sales have surged. After all, somebody has to keep the rental car lots filled. It's mostly been the mainline Asian automakers that have stepped in to fill the void. Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Kia have all increased their corporate sales of cars and trucks, but they still remain bit players overall. About 11 percent of U.S. import brand sales are to fleets so far this year. That is up from just 8% last year. In comparison, the domestics sell 31 percent of their overall production to corporate customers. Although some fleet sales can be quite lucrative, the vast majority of rental car sales are end-of-year surplus that is heavily discounted to move.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Imports taking up the slack in fleet sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What actually sells: Fleet sales for first half of 2007

John Neff — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

Automakers often report their sales figures in whatever way makes them look most positive, and for a long time including fleet sales has been an effective way to make a slow selling vehicle look more popular with consumers on paper. Automakers don't distinguish between fleet and retail when reporting their sales, so we've been forced to believe them recently when we've been told that fleet sales are being reduced. General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group have all claimed that reducing fleet sales is a component of each company's respective turnaround plan, but we've found a document that suggests they're still way behind Toyota and Honda when it comes to resisting the easy route to higher sales.

These PDF documents from fleet-central.com, which we've converted to images and included below in a handy gallery, report in detail the percentage of sales sold to fleet operators in the first half of 2007. It's broken down by both vehicle segment and specific models, which allows us to pinpoint exactly which depend more on fleet sales than others.

Let's dive right in and pick out some of the more interesting numbers that you may be curious to know.

Subcompacts: (fleet) 149,766 | (retail) 825,697 | (total) 975,463 | (% fleet) 15.4%
Chevrolet Cobalt: 29,090 | 44,141 | 73,231 | 39.7%
Ford Focus: 19,660 | 54,621 | 74,281 | 26.5%
Toyota Corolla 22,999 | 121,348 | 144,347 | 15.9%
Honda Civic: 2,817 | 128,113 | 130,930 | 2.2%

VERDICT: Not surprising: While the Focus is older than the Cobalt, it enjoys a smaller percentage of fleet sales. The Corolla has a lot of fleet sales, but its retail sales are so large that its percentage of fleet sales is relatively small. The Civic's retail sales are higher than the Corolla's, however, which means that it is actually the real best-selling subcompact.

More segments after the jump! All the numbers can be viewed in the gallery below.

UPDATE: Fleet sales for trucks, minivans and SUVs added to the gallery.

[Source: fleet-central.com via AutoSpies]

Gallery: Fleet Sales - first half 2007

Continue reading What actually sells: Fleet sales for first half of 2007

What actually sells: Fleet sales for first half of 2007 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nearly half of Chrysler's products go to fleets, Pontiac isn't doing much better

Damon Lavrinc — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:06:00 EST

Filed under: Chrysler, Daimler, Pontiac

What did Chrysler do with its highly publicized production glut? Unloaded them onto fleets. Between September and February, 48.5-percent of Chrysler's sales were sold in quantities of ten or more. Even more troubling to dealers and consumers, close to 80-percent were bought up by rental car companies, versus GM and Ford whose rental sales are closer to half of their total fleet sales.

Mainly comprised of Chrysler minivans and the ubiquitous Sebring, DCX's fleet sales accounted for 34.3-percent of total sales, closer in line with FoMoCo at 32.8-percent and the General at 26.6-percent.

But the trouble isn't just at Chrysler. During that same period, Pontiac fleet sales just skimmed the halfway mark at 44.9-percent. A tough blow, as General Motors has been doing it damnedest to limit fleet sales throughout its line up. Thankfully, it's dropping - down to 31-percent for February - but Pontiac's retail registrations aren't what they used to be this time last year.

With the introduction of the new Sebring convertible and the new Malibu, both DaimlerChrysler and General Motors are looking to limit future bulk sales. Whether either automaker's bottom line can handle it remains to be seen, but in order to keep resale values from skimming the bottom of the retail ocean, neither has a choice.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. - Chrysler article, Pontiac article]

Nearly half of Chrysler's products go to fleets, Pontiac isn't doing much better originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lutz claims GM will cut fleet sales by 100k in 2007

Dan Roth — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:52:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, GM, Earnings/Financials

Dang, it looks like everyone will have to dream up a new way to insult the four-door Cobalt. GM's Bob Lutz has announced that sales to fleet companies will be curtailed to the tune of 100,000 vehicles this year. The reduction is part of an ongoing effort to boost the resale value of General Motors cars. Reducing sales to fleet customers opens the door for some other automaker to deal with the stigma and doesn't ding the bottom line as much as it would seem.

Low-margin sales to fleet customers are less helpful to automakers than retail sales, and the perception that comes along with being a fleet powerhouse dings the perception further.

Lutz doesn't sound overly concerned with short-term hits in the bottom line, preferring to take the uncommon long view and even admitting that there will be bloodletting before GM is fully realizing its potential. He's been refreshingly candid about making the product good enough that it requires no excuses or incentives to sell, and changing the sales mentality at GM from one of panic to true competition for the foreign makers that have cleaned the domestic industry's clock. Product is no longer the hurdle for GM to clear, there's lots of great stuff for 2007, and we look forward to the day when people strike up excited conversations about domestic product with us.

[Source: Automotive News sub. req'd]

Lutz claims GM will cut fleet sales by 100k in 2007 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIP: Ford Focus Wagon

John Neff — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 10:25:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Wagon, Ford

While you may be able to successfully argue that station wagons have made a comeback thanks to such hipster sleds as the Dodge Magnum and SUV-inspired Outbacks from Subaru, the love hasn't spread to the Ford Focus Wagon, which has always been the black sheep of the Focus lineup holding down around 8% of the small car's sales. Thus, Ford announced on its fleet website that it will be discontinuing the Focus Wagon in December. While Ford is actually increasing Focus production as a whole to meet the U.S. market's newfound demand for small cars, it's decided to spend its resources on the high volume Focus sedan, 3-door and 5-door hatchback models. Though the Focus lineup will now be down to three models by the end of the year, soon enough the heavily revised 2008 Focus will appear and a two-door coupe will join the ranks in place of the discontinued wagon.

[Source: Ford Fleet via LLN]

Related Posts:

RIP: Ford Focus Wagon originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Top 10 rental car secrets

Chris Paukert — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:03:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

The folks over at SmartMoney.com have compiled a common-sense list of the "Top 10 Things Your Retntal Company Won't Tell You." In point of fact, we'd reckon that most of the pointers are forehead-smackingly obvious, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth a quick refresher, or a good opportunity to relay your own tips to fellow Autoblog readers in comments.

1. "We're a tax magnet."
2. "We track your every move."
3. "Our prices are etched in sand."
4. "You probably don't need our insurance."
5. "Your reservation doesn't mean bupkis."
6. "Special orders are our bread and butter."
7. "The little guys charge less."
8. "We're cutting corners anywhere we can."
9. "Think gas prices are high at the pump? Look what we charge."
10. "We offer some terrific deals - on Thursdays when the moon is full."

[Source: SmartMoney.com; New York State Insurance Department]

PSA: Top 10 rental car secrets originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volkswagen snags three Fleet World Honours

Joel Arellano — Sat, 20 May 2006 06:03:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Technology, Volkswagen

Fleet World magazine recently awarded automaker Volkswagen three of its Fleet World Honours for 2006: Fleet Manufacturer of the Year, Technology, and Best Diesel Range. The judges had selected VW for Fleet Manufacturer because of its model range and high level of service even with increasing industry costs. The automaker's work in diesel engines and the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) secured its Honour in Technology while its breath and depth of diesel technology earned the third award.

Fleet World bestows the Honours on automotive and service companies who have reached the highest level of excellence according to the judges. A listing of this year's panel can be found at the link.

[Source: Easier.com]

Volkswagen snags three Fleet World Honours originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 May 2006 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sonata incentives pile up as Hyundai tries to meet sales goals

Eric Bryant — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai

Moving 150,000 units of any vehicle is no easy task, and it looks as if Hyundai is learning this the hard way with its recently introduced Sonata. The incentives continue to climb - currently they're averaging just over $2,000 per vehicle - and fleets currently represent 30% of the Sonata's sales. The car is sitting on lots longer, with the "turn" time climbing from 41 days to 74 days. Transaction prices have also slid, dropping by over $900 in the last six months. We're not sure that this is what Jerry Flint had in mind with his warning last week about the Korean automakers, but certainly it's not a great situation for a brand-new model.

Hyundai has stated that the increased fleet sales are a good way to get "butts in the seats", and the increased turn time is being attributed to a production increase that ensures sufficient dealer inventory before the manufacturer's Alabama plant starts Santa Fe production this summer.

More than anything else, this goes to show the difficulty of cracking into the highly-competitive midsize sedan market. Nearly every competitor is throwing its best effort into this class, and indeed the segment as a whole is seeing increased incentives and longer turn times. The upside is that consumers have plenty of great midsize sedans from which to choose.

[Source: Automotive News]

Sonata incentives pile up as Hyundai tries to meet sales goals originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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