General Motors recently announced a new and updated plan to eliminate carbon emissions from their vehicles and factories. GM's goal and promise is to reach carbon neutrality--meaning ZERO carbon emissions from their vehicles AND their assembly process--by 2040. GM also committed to the rollout of new, zero-emission light duty vehicles by 2035. 

At this time of the year, it is important to pay closer attention to the people and things that fill our lives with joy and meaning. One of Fleet Services’ esteemed clients, a bakery company from Racine, Wisconsin called Racine Danish Kringles (RDK), lives the spirit of the season not only with their delicious pastry, but also with their generous giving to several charitable organizations. This is their story.

The number of electric vehicles (EV's) on the road is continuing to rise from about 1 million at the end of 2018 to a projected 18.7 million by 2030. Concurrently, fleet management organizations are promoting the incorporation of EV's into their clients' fleets more than ever before. So what should you know about vehicles that run on electricity? 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Henry Ford, a most recognizable name that I remember from the final exam of my high school U.S. History class. The question was, inevitably, "Who invented the assembly line?" My instructor, a particularly clever individual who liked to play the role of trickster on occasion, had provided four possible answers. One of the names was Henry Ford, but it was not the correct answer.

Popular culture often associates Ford with the "invention" of the assembly line. In reality, the concept of breaking up large jobs up into smaller pieces to increase efficiency was invented by Ransom E Olds. Another titan of the auto industry, Old's Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced vehicle in American history, selling around 5,000 units in 1904 alone. However, mass production in the realm of vehicle production had not nearly reached its full potential until Henry Ford tried his hand at the assembly line method. Ford's results were extraordinary, and altered the course of American history forever. 

At Fleet Services. we pride ourselves in staying ahead of the curve. This we do for our clients as well, by ensuring that you remain aware of the latest auto industry developments. Our newest blog series will run every Friday, providing you with the knowledge needed to cut costs and make fleet management a less cumbersome task. 

Before 1995, the dangers and logistics of driving a vehicle rested on the shoulders of those who gripped the wheel. We were largely on our own, spare some kids in the back pleading, "Are we there yet?", someone in the passenger seat trying to micro-manage your driving, and a sun-faded Atlas that was probably out-of-date.