What should a fleet professional know when utilizing assets with run-flat tire versus a non-run-flat tire? According to mounting and balancing equipment manufacturers and tire manufacturers the consensus is a run-flat’s unique construction makes them more difficult to mount and demount.
Mazda, Hyundai, Toyota, and Audi have received top marks for reliability and a low cost for repairs, according to data from automotive repair data and diagnostic solutions provider CarMD.com Corp. The findings came in the 2018 CarMD Vehicle Health Index Make and Model Reliability Rankings.
Citing the higher cost of crude oil, many major manufacturers of finished lubricant products increased prices from 5% to 8% in CY-2018. Plus, each model-year, more OEMs require the use of more expensive synthetic motor oils.
Vincentric has begun offering more in-depth maintenance data as part of its automotive cost-of-ownership database covering more than 45,000 vehicles, the Bingham Farms, Mich.-based data provider has announced.
The 2019 Nissan Versa sedan will increase $380 to $13,255 after two model years of a nearly unchanged price, and will arrive with a few new connectivity features, the automaker has announced.
Monro Inc. has agreed to accept WEX Inc.'s fleet cards at their network of vehicle service centers, which is now the largest company-owned chain in the nation, WEX has announced.
The adoption of autonomous driving technology will lead to fewer accidents, but the collisions that do occur will likely result in costlier repairs and raise difficult questions relating to driver and manufacturer liability, victim compensation and data collection, The Travelers Institute argues in a new whitepaper.
Although repair incidents were flat, other fleet-related maintenance expenses were up in calendar-year 2017, primarily in labor rates and parts prices. PM costs were up around 3%, while replacement tire costs increased 5-10%.
Autonomous vehicles need to be cleaned more often than regular cars but putting them through an automated car wash could actually cause other hazardous issues, according to a CNN report.
Buick and Lexus ranked highest in overall vehicle dependability, which improved 9% overall in the past year, according to J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study. Fleets using a three-year replacement model may benefit from higher resale prices.
Paul Hanson, CAFM, was named fleet and facilities coordinator at Laney’s Inc. in Fargo, N.D.
Senior VP Brice Adamson now leads Enterprise Fleet Management, which has a portfolio of more than 470,000 vehicles and a network of more than 50 fully staffed local offices in the U.S. and Canada.
For the past four years, tire costs have been stable. But new cost pressures have emerged in 2017, primarily with higher prices for commodities used to manufacture tires and the trend to larger diameter, more expensive, tires.
Continued stability in crude oil prices, along with longer oil drain intervals, are helping to offset the higher cost of synthetic motor oils that are now required by more automotive OEMs.
Fleet maintenance costs have remained flat over the past 12 months, with the primary factor being increased overall vehicle quality. Other repair costs adjusted for inflation, were, on average, consistent with those in CY-2016.
