Vehicles are recalled by auto manufacturers for various reasons, usually pertaining to the safety of the driver. When you receive a recall notice for your vehicle, it is recommended that you drive to the nearest dealership, or have your vehicle towed there if it is unsafe to drive. The dealership is then responsible for repair of the vehicle, on their dime, as well as any previous repairs pertaining to the recalled part (if you smartly kept your receipts from previous repairs).

When operating a fleet of vehicles, the safety of your drivers is paramount to the success of your business. From company morale to return-on-investment to your public image, everything will be effected by the way you implement your safety strategy. So, we found a helpful whitepaper on Automotive-Fleet.com that has excellent advice on developing an all-encompassing safety "culture" at your organization. 

We live in a highly subjective world. Indeed, one might say the entire human experience is an emotional and subjective one. But facts are not. People may use facts incorrectly, or even come up with false data in order to prove a point, but real facts do not pretend to be anything that they're not. They don't even exist for humans to use or interpret; in essence, they simply exist to hold the universe together. 

As the cold of the winter thaws, so do our vehicle and its structural components. The Spring is the perfect time to provide your automobile with a little tender love and care so it may achieve peak performance before hitting the highway.

We at Fleet Services and our partners at LeasePlan have come up with a standard Springtime Maintenance Checklist.

We are living in a century of farewells to many reliable, traditional methods of living. The U.S. Postal Service is slowly becoming defunct as e-mail, text messaging and social media take its place with unsurpassed speed & convenience. Cinemas are suffering because of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime (Blockbuster & friends are already long-gone). In a more relevant occurrence, the American "sedan" is losing popularity and U.S. automakers are abandoning its production. Coming to take its place? Well, we'll get to that. 

Vehicles are particularly delicate instruments of investment that, when owned by a business, should be properly tracked and managed in order to receive the greatest return possible. Thankfully, there are many experts on the topic of vehicle management solutions. One such seasoned veteran of the fleet world is our industry partner, Leaseplan. Their website contains an extensive database of blog articles & resources that are designed to help you maneuver the logistical intricacies of vehicle ownership and fleet management. 

With the new year has come a fresh line-up of vehicles and an increased, nation-wide focus on driver safety. At the NAFA (North American Fleet Association) conference that preceded the 2019 Milwaukee Auto Show, every manufacturer representative made sure to highlight the ways in which their organization has prioritized safety and explained the advanced safety features that come with their 2019 models. 

The #1 concern of Fleet Services is the safety of our clients. We strive to educate on the topic with our blog series, Driver Safety Tips, as well as providing convenient ways to contact our fleet professionals to answer any questions or concerns a driver may have. If a car does break down on the road, we provide 24/7/365 emergency roadside assistance. However, mechanical failures and environmental conditions are NOT the primary cause of car accidents. With smartphone technology constantly buzzing in every driver's pocket and tempting people with the concept of instant gratification, Fleet has recognized a need for advocates that teach & influence drivers to avoid distractions while behind the wheel. 

In our last article about The History Of The Automobile, we told the story of how a young Henry Ford left his home on a Michigan farm to become a professional engineer and inventor, tinkering with gasoline-propelled vehicles and various methods of production until his ambitions were realized. His dream was to create an automobile that was durable, easy to maintain, and affordable to the average, working-class American. He is quoted as saying that he wanted to, "...build a car for the great multitude...so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one." A noble vision on Ford's part. However, the production of such an invention would require a significant amount of old-school trial and error. 

Ford conceived a series of automobiles, beginning with the Model A and ending in 1908 with the twentieth model intended for production. Ford named it the Model T, after the twentieth letter in the alphabet. Despite the lack of creativity in its naming process, Ford's newest invention would alter the course of American history by contributing to the growth of a strong middle class, driving an influx of immigrants and rural peoples to cities, influencing American culture, and revolutionizing industrial mass production. 

"My minivan sold for how much?" My client asked, flashing a look of delight, surprise and slight disbelief. We politely reassured her that, yes, her para-transit minivan was sold at the previous week's Manheim Auto Auction for twice the sale price we anticipated. The minivan was originally acquired for $40,000, and the Mannheim Auction's "Condition Report" came back with some minor maintenance issues. This put our expectations at somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000. At the end of the day, Fleet Services received an e-mail from Manheim stating that the proposed highest big was $14,600. Our client gladly accepted the offer.