The revised Special Fleet Account Credit for the 2003 Ford Crown Victoria is $495.

To be eligible for the program, companies must have an existing fleet of at least ten vehicles registered to their organization, five of which must be luxury vehicles defined as units with MSRPs exceeding $28,000. There are four volume-based incentive levels. The total volume of Mercedes-Benz Executive Choice passenger cars and light trucks purchased or leased by a registered business account during the annual incentive period determines the exact level of incentive paid to the registered business account. (ARI Note: All incentives are based on calendar year deliveries not on a per unit basis so the net effect of any incentive cannot be used to reduce the capitalized cost of the vehicle.)

The new program offers a number of benefits including access to Mercedes-Benz vehicles with their strong warranties and high residual values, combined with Executive Choice volume-based incentives.

Additional details on the program can be accessed on the Executive Choice website, www.mb2b.mbusa.com.

The new link will be called "Manufacturer Recall Campaigns" and it will feature up-to-the-minute recall information as communicated to ARI from the manufacturer. It will be updated as campaigns are announced, so please be sure to check it periodically.

In addition, the web-based version of the ARI Purchasing News will now include Final Order Due Dates and Startup Dates simultaneously beginning on Monday May 13, 2002. Currently, we do not have all 2003 Startup dates from all manufacturers; however, the information will be updated as new dates are released.

To access "Manufacturer Recall Campaigns", go to www.arifleet.com and look for the link on the home page. For Final Order Due Dates and Startup Dates, please go to the web-based version of the "Purchasing News", link also found on the home page.

2004 Chevy Colorado

Chevrolet recently announced that their all-new mid-size pickup truck will be named "Colorado".

The Colorado marks the fifth all-new Chevy truck since the announcement of the Chevy Avalanche at the 1999 North American International Auto Show.

Colorado production will begin at the General Motors truck plant in Shreveport, LA in the fourth quarter of 2003. It will debut as a 2004 model.

The new joint venture company will be owned equally by all three companies and will be located in the United States. By combining resources, the engine will have the most competitive technologies of the Chrysler Group, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. Each company will produce the world-class engine for future vehicle applications. Under the new joint venture, Hyundai will have the lead responsibility for implementing the decisions of the joint venture company for design, development and engineering.

The engine will be a state-of-the-art aluminium engine with displacements of 1.8, 2.0 and 2.4 liters in the range of 120 to 165 horsepower. With this range of displacement, each company will utilize the engine in a wide variety of vehicles for various market segments. The modern aluminium design will enhance fuel efficiency and provide improved performance.

Each company will produce the engine for its own vehicles with the total production of engines expected to approach 1.5 million units annually, making this engine one of the most utilized in the industry.

With the signing of the joint venture agreement, the new company will begin operations in May 2002. Initial production of engines by Hyundai is expected by March 2004, with Chrysler and Mitsubishi engine production planned to start in 2005. The companies have also agreed to investigate the possibility of joint production for the engine in the NAFTA region in the immediate future.

DAIMLERCHRYSLER
2002 MODEL YEAR FLEET PURCHASE ALLOWANCES

2002 MY NATIONAL COMMERCIAL FLEET PROGRAM
FORD, MERCURY, LINCOLN

c/ A Commercial Fleet Credit (Order Code 56S) of $546 (WSD) is available in addition to the $600 National Fleet Incentive or Crown Victoria P72 commercial fleet units only.

d/ Ford authorized pool accounts cannot order vehicles with a fleet incentive. A Ford dealer must apply for the fleet incentive for eligible commercial applications after the pool account assigns the chassis to the Ford dealer. The dealer must report unit sold to a valid end-user FIN code.

e/ Excludes the F53 motor home strip chassis. The F53 is not eligible for a National Fleet Incentive.

f/ Complete vehicles purchased from certain body manufacturers (F650/F750) may not be eligible for fleet incentives.

g/ E-Series RV cutaway (47M) is not eligible for fleet incentives when sold/leased for a motor home application.

2001 MY National Commercial Program Details