The Fall Meeting of AFLA, the young association that seeks to establish better cooperation and communication between fleet administrators, fleet sales managers, and leasing company officials took place amid enthusiasm and camaraderie at the American Hotel in New York City in early September.
Representatives from various sections of the country, representing the different interests of the association werepresent: to listen to feature speakers present: a particular viewpoint and were then able to join in one of the panel discussions that elaborated on each speaker's topic.
Board Meeting
Prior to the official opening of the meeting, the association's Board of Directors discussed the progress of the membership drive which seeks to increase the paid membership to one-hundred before the Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia next April. Plans for that Annual were discussed and it was proposed that there be a $25 admission charge to non-members or that the admission charge be allowed to apply against membership dues. Although no decision was reached on the agenda of that meeting it was suggested that it include a panel of factory representatives from the auto manufacturers and used car and auction, managers.
Feature Speakers
Although the audience of nearly 100 attending the opening session were saddened by the news that AFLA's president, Bud Morrison was unable to attend due to serious illness in his family, the meeting got under way with the opening remarks and speech on "The Function and Responsibility of a DealedFleet Manager" by Jack Rosen-baum of Park Circle Chevrolet. Stressing the service the dealer must provide the fleet: buyer, he discussed such subjects as the necessity of a top-flight "make-ready" and service department, the need to service fleet vehicles sold by other dealers, used-car disposal and proper trade-in time, establishing realistic standards for repairs on vehicles traded in, and the need for providing title and registration experts within the dealership.
Second in the line-up of speakers was Bob Miller of Chevway, the former hurler for the Detroit Tigers. After regaling the audience with baseball yarns, Miller got down to ninth-inning seriousness in his talk, "The Role of the Leasing Operations Manager." Emphasis in the presentation was placed on the great changes that have taken place in the leasing industry in the past five years and the requirements and needs of the leasing companies which are so critical now that EDP and other sophisticated business methods have made competition so keen. While granting that leasing companies should be mindful of prompt payment of invoices and aware of the time dealers need for "make-up", he reminded the audience that the leasing manager has his problems with reconditioning reports, incomplete and inaccurate invoices, and replacements for cars kept out of service due to needed repairs.
After a pleasant lunch provided by General Motors Corp., LeeWestberg of Gerber Products Co. and a regular contributor to AF's "Fleet Talk" column returned to the podium to discuss his dealer buying philosophy. After treating such subjects as his replacement policy, the obtaining of direct bids from a dealer, and disposal problems, he outlined what he considered to be the most important assets of a fleet dealer.
The last of the feature speakers, Dick Ruby of Merit Chevrolet in Chicago provided one of the most provocative and revealing speeches of the meeting. In his "The Total Cost of a Fleet Sale" Ruby used as a basis for his cost projection a fleet volume of 700 cars. Based on this figure and his own experience as a fleet sales manager, he showed that salaries and commissions amounted to $34.00, delivery expense totaled $19, and policy work came to $6.50 on each fleet sale for a sub-total of $59.50. Added to this he outlined costs of $23 for "money" costs and $13 for such things as forms, billings, telephone, postage, dues, travel, and advertising expense for a grand total of $95.50 for each fleet car sold.
Discussion & Panels
Following each of the speakers' talks was a question and answer period and a panel discussion which further elaborated on each speaker's topic.
The Fleet Buyer panel consisted of Eric Hoyer of CIT, Don Miller of Lease Motor Vehicle, and Frank Kraus of Lever Bros. Hoyer discussed the practice of using the factory invoice number of the dealer as a means of easy identification in billing and what leasing companies expect from a dealer when disposing of a used car. Kraus outlined what services the fleet manager expects from the fleet dealer plus the buying and selling practices of Lever Bros. Miller suggested that leasing companies keep a list of fleet-minded dealers and urged fleet managers to utilize information provided in trade magazines such as AF. Further, he maintained that it is up to the fleet manager to recommend the proper model of ears in order to obtain the best retail value.
The Fleet Service Panel which consisted of Dick Norton of Hertz Leasing Division, Ted Harazin of Tom Edwards Chevrolet, and Bill Rosenberg of Dale Olds discussed such problems as pre-delivery, warranty, maintenance, and credit. Harazin gave a detailed outline of how a fleet car is readied for delivery at Tom Edwards Chevrolet, while Rosenberg discussed dealer warranty problems.
The last panel which discussed the need for a fleet industry code of standards was led by Earl Stewart of Ruckle Pontiac, Howard Shallin and. Mark Baslow of Robin Ford. Each of (he speakers stressed the need (or greater cooperation between fleet dealers and fleet buyers, Baslow proposed that dealers handle disposal of fleet vehicles for a certain set fee in the interests of obtaining the highest possible bid.
Since time was running short, committee reports were postponed until the next association meeting. Ed Bobit, publisher of AF, adjourned the meeting after briefly discussing future plans of AFLA and outlining the program of the Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
