FleetWeek

We are pleased to announce that we have released enhancements to FleetView's Driver Communications. The enhancements allow users to set maintenance and oil change reminder e-mails based on new parameters such as the vehicle's unit type, year, make and model. This allows you to better account for manufacturers' year-by-year changes to recommended intervals for oil changes and other preventive maintenance tasks.

If you have any questions regarding maintenance and oil change reminder e-mails, please contact a member of your account team.

Please keep in mind that as you review and update your fleet policy, it is essential that you effectively communicate any changes with your drivers. Effective communication not only keeps drivers informed, but also helps you garner useful driver feedback that may help when making adjustments to your policy or ordering process.

We would like to take this opportunity to provide you with some useful tips to keep in mind for creating and distributing effective communications.
 

• State the goal. Communications serve a purpose, and the goal should be clear. Generally, the goal will be to distribute information or to provide a call to action for the recipient.
   
• Less is more. Communications should be concise. Drivers on the road often do not have time to decipher long and complicated communications.
   
• Drive a mile in their car. As you develop the communication, try and think like the recipient. Let someone who isn't as close to the content read it for you and provide feedback.
   
• Clear statements avoid questions. What questions arose when reviewing the communication from the point of view of the recipient? Others may have the same questions, so be sure to answer those questions in the communication.
   
• Time communications well. Even well-developed communications may generate phone calls. While the goal should be to address all questions upfront, questions still should be anticipated. Knowing this, carefully determine the best time for distributing the communication. It will be easier on the recipient and those fielding the calls if they don't hit at a peak time for the call taker. Generally, inbound call volume peaks on Monday and Friday, so if possible, try to schedule communications for Tuesday through Thursday receipt.
   
• Communicate the communication. Distribute communications to any group that may receive questions or comments on the communication prior to mass distribution. Ideally, you want to give this group the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on the content. This should include internal stakeholders as well as external partners, such as Wheels, if we field your driver calls.

We would be happy to review any fleet communications you are preparing. Please contact a member of your account team if you would like assistance.

Wheels has introduced enhancements to FleetView and the ordering process to support the industry-leading Application Code. This innovative coding offers fleets a new strategic way to analyze and compare vehicles based on how they are used, and also to accurately judge and measure the fleet's performance.

Introduced by Wheels earlier this year, Application Codes entail a universal set of categories that describe how a vehicle is used within a fleet and can aid in most major fleet management decisions.

For example, the same vehicle may have different business functions within the fleet (e.g. Service Route Delivery or Service Call Response), which usually means different driving conditions, downtime cost, mileage, and lifecycle factors. Application Codes help organize this data and enable fleets to benchmark within their organization and across industries, all while providing a common understanding of the fleet's multiple uses to help drive decisions.

Vehicle application is a key concept that we incorporate into all facets of our business, from operational processes to technology tools. This integration includes expense control analysis through our industry-leading expense management tools, Cost Projection and Expense Variance. Application Code is also tied to the ordering process and the Reporting and Inventory sections of FleetView. For more information on ways Application Code can help you analyze your fleet's performance, please contact a member of your account team.

Please note that the following information applies to U.S. models, except where noted.

GM

GM has announced that the final order cutoff date for all 2009 Chevrolet and GMC Medium-Duty T Series vehicles will be this Friday, February 20, 2009.

In addition, the final order cutoff date for the 2009 Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac G3 is scheduled to be February 27, 2009.

Ford

Ford has announced that the final order cutoff date for the 2009 Mercury Sable will be February 20, 2009. The Sable will be discontinued after the 2009 model year, so please contact a member of your account team to discuss alternative options if it was a part of your selector.

Also, effective February 4, 2009, Ford of Canada stopped accepting orders for the 2009 Ford Taurus sedan. The order cutoff date was previously planned to be February 27, but was accelerated due to market demand.

Audi

The final order cutoff date has been accelerated to February 27, 2009 for its remaining 2009 models (A3, A4, A5, A8, Q7, TT). Audi had previously announced March 6 as the final order cutoff date.

Saab

The final order cutoff date for the 2009 Saab 9-3 will be February 27, 2009.

Please keep in mind that the above dates are tentative and subject to change, so we strongly encourage clients to order as soon as possible. Placing orders early will help to ensure production of your vehicle and avoid missing the cutoff date due to sudden changes by the manufacturer.

A full list of 2009 order cutoff dates and projected 2010 production startup dates can be found in the Reference section of Wheels.com: http://wheels.com/public/Reference/Production-Start-Up-Dates.aspx.
 

Monthly invoices will be printed the week of February 23. Clients are asked to submit any necessary data changes to Wheels in writing or electronically via FleetView as soon as possible.