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Mike Antich
Former Editor and Associate Publisher
Automotive Fleet's former editor, Mike Antich, shared his opinions and ideas on the overall commercial fleet industry and draws interesting comments from fleet managers and other industry professionals from across the country. Mike was inducted in the Fleet Hall of Fame in 2010.
In today's economic environment, push-back is emerging at some companies about company-provided executive vehicle fleets. As the economy worsens and ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer monies are being used to prop up financially distressed companies, a negative perception is growing about executive compensation and the different perks tied into these compensation packages.
Read More →Fuel prices hit record highs. The cost of financing a fleet doubles. Used-vehicle values plummet. Dealers are unable to sell the vehicles they have in inventory. Geopolitically, the U.S. is embroiled in war and the macro-economy teeters on recession. If you think I'm talking about 2008, think again. The year was 1973.
Read More →October was an extremely difficult month to remarket vehicles in the wholesale market as resale prices took a precipitous drop. Wholesale pricing, based on mixed mileage and seasonally adjusted, declined a record 6 percent in October. The lack of credit to both dealers and retail buyers has been the key catalyst contributing to the downturn in the wholesale market. The market forecast is gloomy until the credit gridlock is resolved.
Read More →The recent drop in fuel prices has been as breathtaking as the earlier run-up in prices. If sustained, these reduced fuel prices will begin to make a dent in overall fleet fuel expenditures. However, there is the risk that lower prices may bring about driver complacency. A large part of fleet fuel expense is controlled by drivers. Many of the hard-won increases in fleet mpg can be negated by drivers reverting to less fuel-efficient driving behaviors.
Read More →Do you know the location of your fleet vehicles during work hours? The most likely answer is no. In fact, nine out of 10 fleet managers have no idea where their fleet vehicles are at any given time. This assertion is based on a recent study that revealed 94 percent of those who operate corporate vehicles are completely unaware of their fleet’s location during work hours. However, this may soon change as a result of growth in the deployment of mobile resource management (MRM) systems.
Read More →Vehicle quality has improved dramatically with fleets experiencing a decline in the frequency of vehicle repairs. However, the average cost of repairs has been increasing. The forecast is for the cost of fleet maintenance to increase again in 2009. There are five factors exerting upward pressure on cost per repair.
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