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August 2008 - Cover Story

Fleet Interest in Environmental Issues Grows; Challenges Remain

By Staff

PHH Arval conducts an annual environmental survey of public and private sector managers. Eighty percent of the surveyed fleet managers reported a growing interest in fleets’ environmental impact at their companies.

Tags: emissions, Environmental, green fleet, PHH Arval, Survey

August 2008 - Feature

AFLA 2008 Conference Maps Road to the Future

By Staff

A slate of high-powered speakers and panel presentations will offer strategic perspectives on what lies ahead for fleet management in fuel, corporate green fleet initiatives, automotive technology, leadership development, and OEM initiatives.

Tags: AFLA, AFLA 2008, conference, Leasing

June 2008 - Feature

Time to Break the Fleet Management Mold?

By Staff

Wheels Inc. President and CEO Jim Frank discusses the sea change occurring in fleet management, a profound shift caused by challenges facing the financial market and Detroit’s Big Three, green initiatives, and fuel costs.

Tags: fleet management, Jim Frank, Wheels Inc

May 2008 - Cover Story

In Their Own Words: Fleet Managers Speak (Truthfully)

By Ed Bobit & Cindy Brauer

With anonymity guaranteed, fleet managers voiced their honest thoughts and concerns on senior management’s regard and respect for the fleet management function and the fleet manager position itself.

Tags: Anonymous, fleet managers, True Thoughts

April 2008 - Feature

Donlen's Strategic Consulting Introduces New Scorecarding

Donlen’s strategic consulting team includes (l-r) Dan Hannan, senior VP, strategic consulting & quality; Bob Zimmer, director, reporting architecture; Brad Jacobs, consulting business analyst; Chelsea Mathis, consulting business analyst; and Evan McKerns, strategic consulting leader.

By Staff

Today’s fleet environment calls for strategic analysis to identify solutions to operational and fiscal issues. Donlen is delivering results with a commitment to customized analyses, fleet-specific benchmarking, and ongoing consultation.

Tags: Donlen, Fleet Optimization Scorecard, Strategic Consulting

February 2008 - Feature

PHH Terminates Merger Agreement with GE: What's Ahead?

By Mike Antich

On Jan. 1, PHH Corp. terminated the $1.8 billion merger agreement because it was not consummated by the stipulated Dec. 31, 2007 deadline. The key problem was Blackstone’s inability to fund its acquisition of PHH Mortgage.

Tags: GE Capital Solutions, Merger, PHH

January 2008 - Feature

How to Determine the Correct Depreciation Reserve

By Staff

Depreciation turns fleet vehicles into “melting” assets. The open-end TRAC lease is an excellent tool to manage depreciation expense; however, maximizing its effectiveness requires establishing the proper depreciation reserve.

Tags: amortization, book value, cap cost, depreciation, depreciation reserve

January 2008 - Feature

Analyzing RFPs: Methodology for Best Practices

By Staff

The RFP process can get bogged down with unneeded detail when procuring fleet programs and services. Reviewing and analyzing responses become cumbersome. Here are some ideas to simplify the process.

Tags: RFPs, vendors

January 2008 - Cover Story

Why Reimbursement Doesn't Work

By Mike Antich

Reimbursement doesn’t work from an HR or safety & liability perspective, is counter-productive to corporate ‘green’ initiatives, can negatively impact the company image, and FAVR reimbursement programs may not be SOX-compliant.

Tags: Company Image, FAVR, Green Initiatives, HR, liability, Reimbursement, safety, SOX, tax consequences

November 2007 - Feature

Open- Vs. Closed-End Leasing: Which Is Right for You?

By Chris Brown

Choosing between the two types of commercial leases involves understanding your fleet driving patterns, your internal fleet management capabilities and your appetite for risk.

Tags: closed leasing, lease, Leasing, open leasing , vehicle leasing

September 2007 - Feature

Negotiating Your Way to a Fleet Management Agreement

By Editor

The cornerstone of a successful fleet operation lies in a carefully structured agreement. Negotiating a fleet management agreement is as much art as science, but if done right, problems can be avoided.

Tags: merchants leasing article

August 2007 - Feature

Recalculation Adds Flexibility to Closed-End

By Christine Erice

For many fleet managers, the closed-end lease means everything is “fixed.” However, this isn’t always the case. By offering customers more options and mid-term lease recalculation, LeasePlan USA, a vehicle leasing and fleet management company, has made the closed-end lease a more flexible option.

Tags: LeasePlan, Leasing

May 2007 - Feature

DCX Launches Full-Service Truck Leasing

By Cindy Brauer

The new package, aimed at small business owners in the vocational segment, offers a one-stop source for acquisition, financing, fleet management, maintenance support, and vehicle disposal.

Tags: DCX, Leasing

May 2007 - Feature

The Start of Something Big

By Staff

He worked as the country’s first fleet dealer, developed an innovative replacement program, influenced the start of PHH, and helped found NAFA. Small wonder that when we think fleet and leasing, Sam Lee comes to mind.

February 2007 - Feature

Forecasting the Future of the Closed-End Lease

By Bryan Calloway

Not only will the market share for the closed-end lease grow, but so will its impact on fleet. A desire for predictable budgeted payments and fewer surprises at resale has prompted a renewed interest in the closed-end lease.

Tags: closed-end, Leasing

January 2007 - Feature

Navigating the Lease vs. Buy Maze

By Editor

Deciding whether to lease or own company-provided vehicles can seem a daunting task. Knowing the basic concepts helps.

Tags: Leasing, ownership

November 2006 - Feature

How Will Accounting Rules Impact Off-Balance

By Bill Bosco

The FASB and IASB have put a new leasing project on their agendas. The outcome will be the creation of one leasing standard applied worldwide. Is this the beginning of the end of off-balance sheet accounting for fleet leases?

July 2004 - Feature

Strategic Procurement Threatens to Fundamenta

By Mike Antich

Corporate procurement departments are becoming the engines of change in fleet management at Fortune 500 companies. The emergence of strategic sourcing in the 1990s is rapidly altering corporate purchasing and increasingly forcing change in fleet purchasing and the supplier selection process.

June 2004 - Feature

Identifying Policy Changes that Reduce Costs

By David Fern

Implementing proactive fleet policies can often produce significant cost savings in the long run. Examine every aspect of fleet operations to uncover expense-cutting opportunities.

June 2004 - Feature

The Business Case for Short Cycling Compact S

By Mike Antich

The aggressive fleet incentives that manufacturers are currently offering commercial fleets present the opportunity to give serious consideration to substituting a compact SUV on a selector in lieu of a traditional intermediate-size fleet sedan, so long as it is capable of fulfilling the fleet application. When you compare lifecycle costs during a 36-month service life, a compact SUV actually has a lower monthly total cost. Interestingly, they are also less expensive at a shorter 24-month cycle.

March 2004 - How-To

How To Negotiate A Fleet Management Agreement

By Editor

With the extensive menu of leasing and fleet management services available, fleet management agreements can be confusing. It is important to understand what to look for and what negotiable issues are.

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ASK THE EXPERT

Have a question?

Ask our experts about your questions to receive advice on your most perplexing Leasing issues.

Robert Singer
Principal and a Senior Vice President
Merchants Automotive Group

Q: We own 100% of our vehicles. Our drivers put about 150K miles on every 36 months. Are there even leases out there that would make sense for us with our high mileage?

Q: It seems that an open-end lease benefits only the Lessor and not the Lessee, especially for government run fleets. So, is there any point where a government entity would select an open-end lease?

Q: What has more flexibility, open-end or closed-end leases?

Q: What is your assessment of the automotive market and industry right now?

Q: What sets Merchants Leasing apart from the competition?

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