Ed Bobit's Publisher's Page

Shortly after Lincoln had become president, Mormon leader Brigham Young sent an emissary to find out how the chief executive intended to treat the then-unpopular, unorthodox religious group.

"When I was a boy on the farm in Illinois there was a great deal of timber on the land which we had to clear away," Lincoln told the messenger. "Occasionally, we would come to a log which had fallen down. It was too hard to split, too wet to burn and too heavy to move, so we plowed around it."

"That's what I intend to do with the Mormons," Lincoln continued. "You go back and tell Brigham Young that if he will let me alone, I will let him alone."

In the 'one for our side' column, it is now common knowledge that GM was seriously considering the elimination of the $50 Distant Delivery as well as the possibility of assigning all of the service card monies to the delivering dealer. My February editorial spelled it out and a lot of things happened. There was private dialogue, the phones buzzed across the nation, factory fleet directors were 'exploring' the reaction, lessors were penciling out the tens of thousands that it would cost them, fleet dealers were visibly shaken trying to figure out just how they would have to renegotiate and perhaps find a whole new group of delivering dealers for drop shipment. In Detroit, on the 14^th floor of the GM building, it was viruallly a fait accompli.

Then the dealer owners got involved by phoning and writing to GM management, and the division GMs; the private sessions in the suites at AALA, ACRA and elsewhere informed the division fleet directors that the considered move was inadvisable; dealer fleet managers voiced strong concern; Ford then (late March) went on record stating that their FALS program on Distant Delivery would stay intact.

All this was apparently enough for GM to formally announce that all present systems would remain as is. There were many sighs of relief and the heated emotions of the previous few months will soon be forgotten until it comes up again.

Strangely enough, the question did not appear on any association agenda; no association took a stand or formally sent a letter of position or recommendation. It was all done privately even though the effects would have been monumental if the change had been approved. It is a tribute to the movers and shakers in our industry that they were heard. Experience shows that it does not work that way with Washington. Detroit, obviously, has more empathy - otherwise known as volume buying.

For nearly twenty years AUTOMOTIVE FLEET's editorial efforts have been directed toward the many facets of successful fleet management. We have surely learned that we cannot hope to be on target with our editorial content unless we maintain regular dialogue with our readers. It is a consistent concern of our editors to make personal calls on our readers to catch the pulse of what is really happening in the market on the 'firing line.'

We are aware that our editors have a remote chance of visiting Shelbyville, Indiana or Broken Bow, Oklahoma where there may well be a fine well-managed fleet or leasing company with a real story to share with our 16,000 readers. We surely are interested in unique operations where there has been developed some cost-saving system or a better way to manage a fleet.

What we can do is extend to you a sincere invitation to talk directly to Matt DeLorenzo or me at either the AFLA or NAFA meeting in Portland early in May. We will have our whole staff at the NAFA Fleet Fair. We encourage you to stop by our booth, introduce yourself, and give us your thoughts on what your problems are or what you would like to see in the publication. We will be responsive, and that is a promise. If you cannot attend the Portland meeting, then just drop Matt or me a line. We'd like to know you better.