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Mike Antich

Former Editor and Associate Publisher

Mike Antich covered the fleet management and vehicle remarketing markets for over 20 years. Mike has written or edited over 5,000 articles on fleet management, manufacturer fleet activities, the fleet leasing industry, and vehicle remarketing during this period.

Mike was the editor and associate publisher for Automotive Fleet magazine. 

Mike was also actively involved with a variety of fleet and remarketing industry associations and was a long-time member of the board of directors for the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA). He served as AFLA's president from 2008-2009 and was reelected AFLA president in 2021-2022. He was also the chairman of the AFLA Globalization Committee, where he was instrumental in creating the first-ever Global Fleet Networking Consortium comprised of five international fleet associations.

He was also a member of the board of directors and an officer for the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA). He was the Alliance's long-time secretary and chaired its public relations committee. In addition, he was the past chairman of the IARA certification task force, which developed the industry's first-ever certification program for vehicle remarketers. 

In 2010, Mike was inducted into the Fleet Hall of Fame and inducted into the Global Fleet Hall of Fame in 2022. He also won the Industry Icon Award, presented by the IARA and NAAA.

Mike was an international speaker and has spoken at numerous industry conferences, client advisory councils, and fleet sales meetings.

He passed away on Dec. 19, 2025. 

Market Trendsby Mike AntichSeptember 12, 2008

Mixed 2008 OTD Performance: Some Models Up, Some Down

The 2008 model-year produced mixed results in order-to-delivery (OTD) perfromance. A protracted UAW strike and flooding in the Midwest delayed some models, while other models posted improved OTD due to reduced retail sales, which expedited fleet production. In addition, there was sufficient rail car availability due to soft retail sales and a decrease in quality holds.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichSeptember 9, 2008

Import-Badged Models Increase Market Penetration with 2009 Fleet Buy

When fuel prices crossed the $3.25 per gallon threshold, fleets began looking for ways to downsize vehicles or opt to four-cylinder engines.This trend is reinforced by corporate sustainability initiatives and/or fuel spend/GHG reduction programs. The shift to four-cylinder engines is broad-based and includes many of the nation’s largest fleets. One consequence to this increased demand for four-cylinder models is that fleets have increased their purchases of import-badged vehicles.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichSeptember 8, 2008

Impact of Plant Shutdowns on Ship-Thru Deliveries

With a dramatic decrease in retail truck sales, some fleets are concerned that assembly plant closures and production slowdowns may delay truck deliveries and ship-thru upfits. In addition, there are further concerns about potential fleet allocation issues, availability of transportation, extended lead times caused by shift eliminations, and reduced special equipment runs. One challenge is moving completed upfit vehicles back into "traffic" when an assembly plant is shutdown.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichSeptember 5, 2008

SEC Proposal to Allow Early Adoption of International Accounting Standards

On Aug. 27, the Securities and Exchange Commission raised the possibility that approximately 110 U.S. publicly traded companies will be able to use international accounting standards (IAS) next year and may require all U.S. companies to switch to IAS between 2014-2016. There is a 60-day comment period about the SEC proposal. Fleet leasing will be impacted by the adoption of IAS. It is probable that all fleet leases in the U.S. will need to be capitalized sometime in the 2011-2016 timeframe.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichSeptember 2, 2008

The Hidden Cost of Personal Use

With fuel prices remaining elevated, many companies are wondering whether they are charging enough for personal use. At some companies, this discussion is long overdue. When re-evaluating personal use charges, a common mistake is to focus solely on the cost of fuel, which is understandable because, after all, fuel is the catalyst for these discussions. However, doing so ignores the other “hidden” costs of personal use, which have also risen.

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Articlesby Mike AntichSeptember 1, 2008

60 Ways to Reduce Your Fuel Spend

Fleets are adopting compensatory strategies to offset high fuel costs. These strategies include selector modification, revised vehicle specs, increased personal use charges, streamlined fleet operations, and driver behavior modification.

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Articlesby Mike AntichSeptember 1, 2008

Toyota Financial Solutions Launches Fleet Solutions

With $80 billion in managed assets, Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the third-largest captive finance company in the U.S., offering an extensive line of financing plans and vehicle protection products to customers and authorized dealers.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichAugust 28, 2008

Fleet Becomes an Epicenter for Interdepartmental Encroachment

Interdepartmental conflicts are common in the medical and IT industries, and at most companies between sales and operations. However, for many years, fleet existed as a realm of its own. Management in other departments often didn’t fully understand the nuances of fleet management other than they got a new vehicle every 36 months. Fleet managers of that era (not that long ago) were the “kings” and “queens” of their own realms. However, that reality is rapidly changing.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichAugust 25, 2008

Strategic Fleet Management Focuses on Management by Objective

The greatest challenge facing the future of fleet management is how we see ourselves as a profession. Are we administrators of a fleet or are we managers? Do we manage from a tactical level – putting out day-to-day fires – or from a strategic level focusing on specific long-term objectives using metrics to benchmark progress? In the future, you will need a strategic focus to succeed in fleet management; otherwise you run the risk of fading into irrelevancy.

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Market Trendsby Mike AntichAugust 22, 2008

When Fleet Collides With HR

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (also known as HIPAA) makes it a criminal act to divulge medical information to a third-party without the employee’s permission. Many fleet managers believe HIPAA non-disclosure requirements are counter-productive to fleet safety. One fleet manager lamented to me that “HIPAA is the worst thing that has ever happened to fleet.”

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