GELCO CORPORATION ANNOUNCES THE ELECTION. . .of Morton Zalk as president and chief operating officer of Gelco. Zalk has been chief executive officer of the Feld Truck Leasing division since Gelco acquired that company in 1974. He assumes his new duties immediately. N. Bud Grossman continues as chairman of the hoard and chief executive officer of Gelco. George May has been named president of Feld and Kenneth Liva has been promoted to executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Feld.
VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA LOWERS PRICES. . .on their most popular model, the Rabbit L. With this $625 reduction, the L, which accounts for the majority of VWoA sales in America, now carries a suggested retail price of $5990. At the same time, the company also announced reductions of up to $385 on other models of the Rabbit, pickup truck and Jetta sports sedan. The Rabbit Basic, their most inexpensive car, now carries a tag of $.5690. suggested retail. The price reductions will be in effect until the end of the model year and apply to all 1982 ears mentioned above in dealer stock or ordered by customers. The Basic pickup truck now sells for $6450.
TRUCK LEASING WILL GROW . . .throughout the'8Os at twice the growth rate of the truck market, according to International Resource Development. Commercial hanks will continue to offer the lowest lease rates, according to the study, and continue to increase their share of the market. Specialized truck leasing companies, however, will offer increasingly comprehensive packages of services to lessees. Service packages will be effective in masking the true finance cost of the vehicle and its competitive imbalance with bank leasing. The ability to service nationwide accounts, according to this study, will put the larger leasing companies in a very strong position, offering large private fleets the extensive service support that they need.
GSA REDUCES LEASE RATES . . .and this is the first instance of passing along cost savings, with the government's General Services Administration hoping to have additional reductions before the end of the fiscal year. September SO. The across-the-board rollback is $6 per month for each of some 90.000 leased vehicles, according to Automotive News' reports. The monthly charge for a subcompact sedan will drop from $117 to $111. The savings for the Defense Department alone will total nearly $1 million over the rest of this fiscal year alone. Streamlined procedures enabling the GSA to buy vehicles when market conditions are best, replacing vehicles leased from commercial firms with government- owned ones and using capital saved on other vehicles were cited as reasons for the money-savings.
CADILLAC COMPLETES THE TWO LARGEST FLEET ORDERS. . .in their SO year history according to Dave John, director of fleet and leasing for the Division. Sales to Avis Rent A Car and National Car Rental Systems cover the delivery of 2042 1 982 Cadillacs. Delivery of the cars is scheduled to begin in June. The majority of cars are full sized Sedan DeVille models, equipped all the cars ordered with the 4.1 liter V8 engine and a four speed automatic transmission. John says the order is indicative of the rising demand for fine cars in the rent-a-car field.
SHORT TAKES. . .GM has announced their intention to sell Isuzu-built mini-cars in this country by 1984, smaller than the Chevette . . Runzheimer says that anew midsize car has increased in price by 139 percent over the past ten years, and that new surveys indicate vehicle condition, mileage and appearance influence fleet autos most at disposal time. . .The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. truck makers are 'beating back the Japanese' in the small truck market. In April, domestic manufacturers chalked up 55 percent of sales of 57,694 total units.. .Ford Motor Company reports that in fleet tests conducted by Gelco Courier Services, ten Escort and Lynx models turned in 1981 operating costs of 5.5 cents per mile in a 50,000 mile test based at gas costing $1.80 per gallon. . .Sanford Sigoloff, newly-elected chairman and chief executive officer, took the helm as 11 of Wickes Companies filed for bankruptcy. What effect this may now or eventually have on Gamble's C&M Leasing, a Wickes Company which did NOT file for bankruptcy, remains to be seen. . . GM will take additional steps to further consolidate their world-wide truck and van operations. . .U.S. Auto Leasing, Chicago, has announced their acquisition of Rifeo Auto Leasing and Modern Cars. Inc. of Worth, IL. . .Jackie MacMillan, fleet administrator for Monsanto, has been installed as president of the new Gateway Chapter of NAFA, in St. Louis. . James Fuller has been selected to head the Volkswagen Division of VWoA and Peter Fisher will succeed Fuller as head of Porsche-Audi in this country. . Isuzu will soon open four dealers in Hawaii. . .Keith O'Brien has been elected to the board of directors of Illinois Auto Delivery, Inc.
