Fleets Of Efficiency
Let's say you manage a fleet of vehicles, and your bosses want it updated. "Make it cleaner," they say, "more efficient." There any number of hucksters (and their hard-won tax breaks) out there who will try to convince you that ethanol is cheaper and sends the right PR message. What they won't tell you (until it's too late) is that converting to E85 costs money and reduces efficiency. Converting to hybrids will come with a sphincter-clenching price tag, if you can even find enough Priora for sale. So what's a fleet manager to do? Invest in education. A Ford-sponsored study at Green Car Congress shows that lessons in eco-driving techniques can bring down fleet fuel economy by as much as 26 percent. That's right folks, an automaker-sponsored study shows that you can save gas without necessarily buying some gimmicky product they're hocking! That 26 percent average reduction came after four days of testing by 48 drivers. Individually, efficiency improved between 6 to 50 percent with instruction. Screw the overhyped technical innovations; this is the real game-changer. Too bad Detroit can't put it in a bottle and sell it. But since they don't have any Priora to sell, this may just have to do.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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@ TexasAg03 I was very close to buying a Prius instead of a Saturn when I bought new in 2001. I don't regret the purchase of the Saturn as it held up well enough for me but if I had it to do over again I would have bought the Prius. I would have seriously considered a used Prius when I bought used cars in 2003 and 2008* if it weren't for the fact that a used Prius isn't cheap enough to offset the condition of the vehicle. It pretty much forces you to buy new unless you are in one of the top largest cities such that there is a bigger pool of used vehicles to choose from**. Give me the old Saturn SL2 updated with a Prius quality hybrid system cheaper than Honda or Toyota could do it and I'd consider it. I'd even consider it if you did the same for the old L100 or whatever a suitable GM equivalent would be that can follow the low sticker price higher value proposition (vs the other models like the way overpriced L200/L300 were). Heck give me a local source for a reliable used Prius in the 2004-2008 range that isn't overpriced or lower the price on a brand new Prius and I won't bother to worry what GM or Ford or Honda or anyone else is doing. *(one for my girlfriend one to replace a damaged vehicle that was in an accident) ** For example in my town I can't find a used Prius under $20K on an average day. In Atlanta you can find them for half that price, not because the cars are that much cheaper (the difference in price on a similar car would be about 10 to 20%) but just because you can find one still on the lot for sale in Atlanta that is actually in the lower price range. You just can't find a hybrid of any make or model in my town for less than $20K no matter how old it is. It won't sit on the lot for more than half a day. Right this minute a vehix search gives me a 2006 Prius for $24K and a 2008 Prius for $30K in my zip. Toyota website says delivered to my zip a 2008 Prius is $22,220. If they could make a profit on a Prius selling for $18K new out the door I and hundreds of thousands of other buyers would be lined up for one. There is plenty of pent up demand for a Prius or a serious Prius competitor. We just want prices to come down a bit and availability to rise.
Hey Andy D, have you given any thought to the Ford Transit Connect that they're supposed to be bringing over mid 2009? I wonder if that will be successful in the fleet/work vehicle niche.