GM's Hansen and Wheels' Frank are Speakers at AFLA Spring Meeting

General Motors Fleet & Commercial Operations General Manager David Hansen addressed the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) spring conference on the importance of design for future product. Hansen also said that in this calendar year, commercial fleet new regis-trations will come in at about 790,000 units or about 14 percent below '01. For '03, he predicts corporate America will still be in a tight budget mode and extending replacement cycles with an expected 801,250 new units sold. Hansen made his comments at the AFLA conference, which was held on Sept. 12-14, 2002 at The Buttes in Phoenix. Also speaking at AFLA was Wheels President Jim Frank, who focused on technology in his pres-entation, which he stated has failed the industry to date since we are not using the available benefits that are open to us to the fullest. In addition, he said that with people costs running 65-70 percent of total costs and with administrative costs actually declining to the customer, computers and electronic data should be viewed as an investment rather than a cost. Frank feels that in the future, computers can help fleet managers with a better understanding of depreciation, help driver productivity and morale, and aid in creating more intelligent buying/replacement cycles. In other news, AFLA announced that it will no longer hold two meetings a year and will, in the future, have only one annual 3-day meeting in the fall. This meeting is scheduled for September 10-13, 2003 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, AZ in '03.