Since 1961, Ed Bobit called ’em as he saw ’em. Read through our archive of his columns, including his rants (and raves) on everything from seatbelt use to the impact of import automakers on the fleet industry.

1960s: A Booming Fleet Market Gains Momentum

“The new 1966 model car year begins with high optimism for continued strength in the fleet and leasing business. The already spectacular growth of new car registrations in fleet and leasing is still soaring, making the industry benchmark of 15% annual growth seem on the low side.

In 1963, R. L. Polk counted some 516,000 new cars registered by fleets buying 10 or more during the year. In 1964, this figure rose to 590,000, and while the largest fourth quarter in history is predicted for the next three months, there is little question that total year-end fleet sales will be well in excess of 600,000.

These figures have more direct meaning when you find that one out of every twelve new cars enters our market.”

– Ed Bobit, October 1965

1970s: Nader, Noise, and a Skeptical Take on Safety Reform

“Ralph Nader, the self-appointed Bob Hope of the world of automotive safety, initiated his plea for the consumer in Washington with Detroit in mind, but has caught the attention of a concerned audience nationwide and has extended his ‘act’ into Peoria, Shelbyville, and Dubuque, covering such other areas as sports in the major leagues and overbooking on airlines.

His gag writers have been selected from among some of the most liberal and astute young law graduates and students his studio can find. In spite of this, he now appears to be playing to something less than a full house.”

– Ed Bobit, May 1978

1980s: Incentives Get Creative and a Little Spicy

“No one can accuse the auto marketers’ fleet groups of having a stiff attitude when it comes to incentives. Perhaps exposure to all the retail ‘funny-money’ incentives for the buyer off the street has inspired manufacturers’ fleet directors to add a dash of Tabasco and some exotic herbs to the 1989 fleet incentive programs.

For some makers, it was almost status quo, with little change from several past years, while others have broken new ground with innovation.”

– Ed Bobit, August 1988

1990s: Hard Truths for Fleet Decision-Makers

“Let me hasten to state (or restate) that I’ve consistently been one of the strongest supporters of fleet managers and their lot in life, which rarely offers them the focus of a corporate spotlight, even though it may be well deserved.

Recently, though, we contacted several readers who control larger fleets (names you’d undoubtedly recognize). We wanted to develop an objective evaluation of the ’94 factory fleet incentives compared with the ’93 model incentives. The results of our search were most disappointing.

Numerous contacts adroitly came up with reasons why they were not the right people to talk to for this analysis. High on the list was, ‘I don’t buy any X-brand (domestic factory) cars, so I’m not familiar with their program.’

In response, I asked myself, ‘How can you be rational and objective in evaluating your purchase and selection process without carefully studying all the programs?’”

– Ed Bobit, October 1993

2000s: Why Fleet Managers Still Run the Show

“While the function of fleet manager has changed dramatically with the advent of outsourcing, there remain some very critical areas where this staff member is ‘king’ or ‘queen’ (in my book).

The key arena where this is especially true is the company’s relationship with the driver (every vehicle has one). Even with an outside fleet management company fielding all driver calls through an 800 number, it is still the fleet manager’s responsibility to know the pulse of the drivers.

What do we know about drivers? They are human, often selfish, demanding, forgetful, sometimes lazy, and too many times very difficult to communicate with.”

– Ed Bobit, August 2003