Editor's Page

Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.-Aaron Levenstein
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.-Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts - for support rather than for illumination.-Andrew Lang

This current edition of AF's FACT BOOK is the most complete compendium of reference material ever assembled in the fleet market. Our editorial staff has, through the cooperation of the industry, obtained data and statistics for your use over the next year. Our research department has carefully compiled the numbers and presented them in a manner to assist you in whatever analysis you might be making. Some of the new data deserves special editorial mention for your thought and consideration.

Perhaps the most significant milestone achieved is recording our first year of registrations over 1,500,000 for fleets. That is a 13-percent increase over 77 when total retail was up about 5-percent. It also means for the first time that one out of every six cars newly registered was placed into fleet use. That is 1 6.5-percent of all production.

The fleet share of new car registrations in the intermediate and compact segments was even higher; accounting for one of every five cars or better than 20-percent. The imports similarly are enjoying a strong surge, placing nearly 120,000 into fleets last year, compared to 88,000 the year before.

Other 'firsts' include the finance and management fleet leasing total passing the 1.5-million mark for the first time showing a strong continuing trend of growth. Even stronger and growing at a faster pace is individual leasing which surpassed the 1.6-million level and if one expects this growth pattern to continue (and we do), individual or retail leasing could surpass all fleet leasing within the next year or two.

Interestingly, truck leasing remains strong and the total of all daily rental plus leasing for trucks is now crowding the one million mark.

Various other comparisons are: AALA's research indicates that their members' average fleet car mileage now runs over 30,000 miles per year (it is about 12,000/year for the average motorist). While total fleet new car registrations represent 16.2-percent of the standard size models, 19.2- percent of the intermediates and 21-percent of the compacts, AALA members report their fleets are composed of 48-percent standards, 44-percent intermediates, and only 8-percent compacts.

In the record '78 model sales year, both GM and Ford increased their market shares; GM to a new current high of 46.4-percent. Individually, Chevrolet, Chrysler-Plymouth, Ford and Pontiac increased their market shares among the domestics. Both Datsun and Toyota established record fleet sales with imports.

Our Leasing/Rental Directory now lists a record 23 separate firms that have fleets of 20,000 or more vehicles.

With that analysis to, perhaps, pique your interest in studying the entire issue, I then ask for a favor. We have provided a special postage-paid reply card on page 139. It would be very helpful to our editors to receive your reaction to the FACT BOOK in our continuing efforts to provide the most valuable data possible in the easiest reference style for the future. Please take a few moments to fill it out and send it to us.

I look forward to having you stop by our Fleet Fair booth at NAFA's Portland meeting so that you can talk personally with Matt DeLorenzo and his staff as well as with me.