Tag: fleet

Saab 9-3 ePower test fleet being assembled

Filed under: Wagon, Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Saab, Electric

saab 9-3 epower

Saab 9-3 ePower assembly – Click above for high-res image gallery

Despite Spyker’s adventures in Chinese business negotiation, Saab is doing everything in its power to try and push forward. The 9-4X is reportedly the only Saab vehicle currently being produced, but it seems another is also coming to life. A fleet of Saab 9-3 ePower electric wagons are being put together for testing.

Hand-assembled in a room just off the main assembly line, the 9-3 ePower is Saab’s first all-electric vehicle, and the automaker will be establishing a test fleet of 70 vehicles. The battery system is said to be good for a 124-mile range with a top speed of around 90 miles per hour. Fleet testing is scheduled to begin later this year.

Saab 9-3 ePower test fleet being assembled originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturn Vue Chevrolet Captiva Sport announced for U.S. fleet customers

Filed under: Crossover, Chevrolet

2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport

2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport – Click above for high-res image

Do you miss the Saturn Vue? If so, General Motors is ready to wipe your tears away. Meet the new Chevrolet Captiva Sport, a shockingly familiar crossover being offered for fleet sales here in the United States. GM is quick to point out that the Sport is a variant of the popular Captiva CUV sold in other markets, though its Saturn-badged kin can still be found all over the nation.

The 2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport will be available in three trim levels – LS, LT and LTZ – with two different powertrain choices. The base engine is GM’s Ecotec 2.4-liter direct-injected four-cylinder, while the uplevel powerplant is The General’s 3.0-liter direct-injected V6. Having experienced both of these units in the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers, we found the four to be far smoother and more refined than the anemic V6. In any case, both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive is optional on LTZ models.

LT and LTZ models use the 3.0-liter V6 and come standard with OnStar and Bluetooth connectivity. LTZ standard equipment also includes leather-trimmed seats (heated for front passengers), a rear-view camera and premium audio system.

Fleet companies can take delivery of the Vue Captiva Sport as early as the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full details, follow the jump for GM’s press release.

[Source: General Motors]

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Saturn Vue Chevrolet Captiva Sport announced for U.S. fleet customers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tsunami in Japan destroys fleet of cars ready for shipping *Updated with video

Filed under: Japan

Earthquake and tsunami in Japan levels auto shipping yard

Earthquake and tsunami in Japan levels auto shipping yard – Click above to enlarge

It’s difficult to comprehend, let alone describe, the massive amount of damage an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and closely following tsunami could incur on a densely packed island nation such as Japan. While we struggle to wrap our minds around such catastrophic levels of destruction, one particular image strikes a chord with us auto-obsessive types.

Clearly, the leveling of a couple hundred automobiles pales in comparison to the actual loss of lives caused by Japan’s most recent natural disaster, but, in automotive terms at least, this is the kind of image that can make a big impression on our often one-track minds.

The image seen above (click to enlarge) was taken above Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture, and we don’t have any information as to which manufacturer’s cars were located here. Thanks to all who sent this in!

*Update: Video of the shipping yard catching fire after tsunami damage after the break.

[Source: STR/AFP/Getty]

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Tsunami in Japan destroys fleet of cars ready for shipping *Updated with video originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could the U.S. Postal Service fleet be outfitted like Google Street View?

Filed under: Etc., Technology

US Postal Service

The U.S. Post Office is having a rough run of things. With expenses increasing at every corner, our nation’s mail system is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Needless to say, the institution is currently looking into extra ways to rake in cash that doesn’t involve hiking the price of stamps. Michael Ravnitzky, Counsel to the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, has come up with a pretty clever plan that could turn postal vehicles into high-tech havens capable of pulling down information on everything from weather and air pollution to road conditions and public safety.

The premise is simple: slap a cheap set of data recording equipment on the roof of each mail truck and then sell the collected data to interested parties. The trucks could be calibrated to warn of biological or radiological attacks to alert the defense department or simply provide a larger sample group for meteorological study. The post office could even lease space on its vehicles for whatever sort of data collection equipment government agencies or private entities could dream up, and Ravnitzky says that it could even be used to fill in blank spots in cell phone coverage. Of course, the likelihood of this coming to fruition seems pretty slim. After all, this is the federal government we’re talking about…

[Source: The New York Times | Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

Could the U.S. Postal Service fleet be outfitted like Google Street View? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Fleet sales artificially inflating auto rebound

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

Hertz rental counter

Third quarter automotive sales figures were the best the industry has seen in just over a year. How are the automakers managing such numbers in light of a puffed-up 2009 third quarter filled with C4C transactions? Fleet sales.

According to Automotive News, during the third quarter of 2010, General Motors, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Chrysler and Nissan combined to sell nearly 2.3 million vehicles. That total is the result of over 1.8 million retail sales and over 450,000 fleet sales. The problem is that the retail figure is actually down four percent from the prior year whereas fleet volume is up 24 percent. Combined, the overall number is up one percent compared with total sales for the third quarter of 2009.

Every one of those previously mentioned automakers, with the exception of GM, Hyundai and Kia, saw a dramatic rise in fleet sales for Q3 2010. In fact, Nissan was up 557 percent; having sold 972 fleet vehicles last year and then 6,384 this year. In Chrysler’s case, the Auburn Hills automaker was previously quoted as gunning for a year-end fleet mix of 25 percent, but it’s currently running at 39 percent with 39,474 units for September versus 24,070 at this time last year.Even with that sizeable increase in vehicles sold, Chrysler sold far fewer vehicles in 2009, so its fleet percentage remains the same.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req. I Image: Chris Hondros/Getty]

Report: Fleet sales artificially inflating auto rebound originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All-electric Saab 9-3 test fleet reportedly to launch in early 2011

Filed under: Sedan, Saab, Electric
During a media launch for the 2011 Saab 9-5, company executives revealed plans to introduce a test fleet of electric vehicles based on the upcoming 9-3. As Inside Line reports, Saab execs confirmed that the test fleet of EVs will roll out in early 2011 and will be deployed at various locations across the globe, including Saab’s hometown of Trollhattan, Sweden.

Saab’s “100 percent electric vehicle” test fleet is a joint effort between the automaker, lithium ion battery producer Boston-Power, electric propulsion systems manufacturer Electroengine and the Swedish Energy Authority. Saab Automobile AB managing director Jan Ake Jonsson said:

The main purpose is to draw technology from this test fleet, technology that we can then incorporate quickly. The key target short-term is to drive fuel consumption down. You can electrify certain portions of the vehicle.

When prodded about a target release date for a mass-production EV, Jonsson ducked out by stating:

Everybody is looking at that question. Nobody has an answer. It will take some time.

Without official word from Jonsson, we’ll have to fall back on the previous comments of Saab’s chief executive officer Victor Muller, who suggested that 2016 is the year the company will go for electrification.

[Source: Inside Line]

All-electric Saab 9-3 test fleet reportedly to launch in early 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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