Editor's Page

Some things do not change! One is the historic quote “We have come to praise Caesar, not to bury him.” Two more that will be as timeless and identical are the fleet manager’s plea for solutions to his problems concerning operational expenses and the related salesman cost-per-mile compensation, and the search for a thorough knowledge of the used car market and its effect on depreciation costs. It has ever been thus.

In this same issue we have assembled two comprehensive in-depth feature stories in an obvious attempt to aid our readers with their most important daily challenges to solving fundamental problems. The length of these articles is not meant to “bury Caesar,” but to provide a complete up-to-date reference for our readers to support their recommendations for the coming year.

Our morning mail is unusual if we do not receive a request of some kind for assistance on either of these two subjects.

Trying to reason out the strong interest in these vital areas is not difficult. In the “High Society” (my own tab) administration that has permitted cost guidelines to waver toward inflation, the costs for fleet operation have increased steadily. Insurance, borrowing, and other factors directly affect total costs.

The fleet manager, then, is terribly human. He cannot stop wondering if his adjustments from 8¢ to 9 per mile for his salesmen is enough; or if he should have stood pat. He keeps wondering how he stands with other similar operations on total cost. “Is he a good manager for the responsibility of cost-conscious operation for his company,” his own boss can rightly ask. But can he answer with confidence?

With over 11,000 car fleets in our country representing some 2,300,000 cars (over 800,00 new ones each year), one would believe that an organization like the National Association of Fleet administrators would have a few thousand members just for the benefit of exchanging this type of cost data. Their membership is now up over 300 but hardly enough to aid most of the larger fleets alone.

Perhaps management should be alerted when cost questions come up. Are they properly allocating the responsibility and training to their fleet manager? Has management really selected the capable man necessary to perform this important task of saving monies for the corporation? If they have not, then perhaps we have one of the answers as to why leasing companies, with their professional personnel and EDP cost accounting equipment, have done so well. Perhaps that is why Dartnell has sold so many $25 manuals on operational costs; and companies like Runzheimer specialize in cost counseling.

Our editorial staff needs little additional evidence that our work in presenting analysis and answers in our reports is utilized to its full extent. It makes our work on assignments worthwhile to know they help. It certainly reaffirms the concept of our publication and our editorial presentation.

While we are not exactly a Caesar we welcome you to “bury us” with your need for reports on other vital subjects … and that is with or without “the praise for Caesar.”