PURCHASING NEWS

Pool Vehicles

2003 Model Year
Plant Start-Up Dates

2003 Model Year
Fleet Programs

Issue 225– December 23, 2002

EnviroFleet; ARI's Environmental Fleet Technology Newsletter

GM's OnStar for 2003

For additional information go to
http://www.OnStar.com

Final Reminder: Ford Early Order Incentives Deadline

The $500 Early Order Incentive offered on select Ford and Mercury models will expire on December 31, 2002.

To take advantage of this extra incentive, Ford must receive all orders by the deadline. Please submit orders to ARI by no later than Friday December 27, 2002 to allow for sufficient processing time.

The following vehicles are eligible for the $500 Early Order Incentive:

Taurus
Sable
Windstar
Explorer 4-Door
Explorer Sport and Sport Trac
Mountaineer
E-Series
F-Series (excludes F53)

GM Announces Out-of-Stock Bonus Cash

GM Fleet and Commercial Operations is offering year-end bonus cash for qualified Fleet customers on select vehicles purchased out of dealer inventory.

Eligible models must be delivered from December 1, 2002 to January 2, 2003.

The following vehicles are eligible for the $1,000 Out-of-Stock Bonus Cash:

All 2002 and 2003 Astro/Safari Vans and Express/Savana Vans
All 2002 Heavy Duty Chassis Cabs (Chevrolet model numbers CC31003, CC31403 & CC31803 and GMC model numbers TC31003, TC31403 & TC31803).

The Out-of-Stock Bonus Cash Program is compatible with National Fleet Incentives and the Competitive Assistance Program.

Nissan Releases Photo of All-New 2004 Maxima

The all-new 2004 Nissan Maxima

A snapshot of the completely redesigned 2004 Nissan Maxima has been released prior to the model's world debut, which is set for January 5, 2003 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Also making its debut at the auto show is the redesigned 2004 Nissan Quest.

Nissan said it will release more information, including features and specifications, in early January. The 2004 Maxima and Quest will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Purchasing News.

OnStar Temporarily Constrained on Saab 9-3

Saab recently announced that, due to technical constraints, all 2003 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedans that are produced prior to the year-end shutdown (12/23/02 – 1/2/03) will be delivered without an OnStar button and service. All 9-3's produced on January 6, 2003 or after will be built with an operational OnStar system.

For those vehicles already in service, in the delivery process, or in production, a service campaign will be announced at the end of January 2003. The service action will require the driver to visit their Saab dealer for installation of the button and the software. Saab predicts that the service downtime will be about 1 or 2 hours at the most.

Saab said it will notify ARI and affected drivers of the exact commencement date for the service campaign when it is established.

This constraint does not affect 2003 Saab 9-5 Sedans, 9-5 Sport Wagons or 9-3 Convertibles.

Chrysler Group to Produce Multiple Body Styles in One Plant

2004 Chrysler Pacifica

Chrysler Group's Windsor (Ontario) Assembly Plant is helping to move the company to the next level of flexible manufacturing by adding the all-new 2004 Chrysler Pacifica sports tourer to the same production line as the 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans.

The ability to produce several products in one plant allows the automaker to save millions of investment dollars, as well as bring a vehicle to market faster with minimal downtime.

With flexible manufacturing, the automaker says it will save nearly $100 million for the Pacifica launch while simultaneously reducing tooling and facilities capital expenditures by approximately 40 percent.

"For the first time ever, a Chrysler Group manufacturing facility is able to produce two entirely different products on the same production line as a result of flexible manufacturing initiatives," said Tom LaSorda, Executive Vice President Manufacturing, Chrysler Group. "Flexibility lends to better use of our capacity, which will ultimately increase our ability to meet market demand more quickly, with less cost, while enhancing our competitive position within the industry."

The key to Chrysler Group's flexible manufacturing is the order in which the body is assembled using a unique underbody palette system in the body shop. The same flexible palette system has also been used at the company's Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan - (Chrysler Sebring, Chrysler Sebring Convertible and Dodge Stratus sedan products) and the Toledo North Assembly Plant in Ohio – (Jeep® Liberty and Wrangler).

This means that the same production system may be used to build sedans, convertibles, minivans, sport-utility vehicles, and now, sport tourers.

Production of the all-new 2004 Chrysler Pacifica will begin in early 2003. While it will be produced in the same plant as Chrysler and Dodge minivans, the vehicle will not be built on any one of the company's short or long-wheelbase minivan platforms. It will be built on its own new platform but will use existing corporate components, including the same 3.5-Liter V6 engine that powers the Chrysler 300M.

The ability to produce multiple products on the same line also enables the company to build pilot vehicles, or test prototypes, in the assembly plant much earlier in the launch phase. Building pilot vehicles on the same line as production vehicles allows the company to train employees as well as detect and address any remaining issues to meet stringent quality levels.

Ford's Fleet Website Adds New Navigation Feature

Ford Motor Company's fleet.ford.com website, designed for Fleet Managers, now has a new navigation feature that allows users to create personalized links.

For those who have access to the site, the following steps should be taken to personalize the site:

Go to www.fleet.ford.com
To add a new link, click on the desired location using the tabs
Click on "Add to My Fleet Links"
Click on "Submit"

To change the order or remove links perform the following steps:

Click on "Personalize Links"
Click on "Change Order" or "Remove"
Click on "Submit"

Once the page is customized, your favorite websites will appear on the left-hand side of the fleet.ford.com home page under "My Fleet Links".

For those who would like to gain site access, registration requirements and instructions are located on the main page. A valid Ford Fleet Identification Number (FIN) is required.

Dodge Ram Heavy Duty Pickups Named 2003 ‘Truck of the Year'

2003 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty – Motor Trend's 'Truck of the Year'

The all-new 2003 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty has hauled away Motor Trend magazine's 'Truck of the Year' award following and intensive three-week competition.

"From the onset of our 'Truck of the Year' competition, we knew the Ram Heavy Duty was a prime contender," said Kevin Smith, Motor Trend's Editor in Chief. "It fulfills the promise set forth last year by the introduction of an all-new Ram, and now offers the power and capability expected in the three-quarter and one-ton segments - plus features, content, and capabilities that in many ways raise the bar for this class of truck."

"With its excellent powertrains, off-road prowess, smooth on-road driveability, and stump-pulling power, the Dodge Ram Heavy Duty is the hands-down winner of Motor Trend's 2003 Truck of the Year award," Smith added.

Competitors for Motor Trend Truck of the Year are evaluated on significance, superiority and value. The trucks are put through thousands of miles of testing, including back-to-back comparisons examining each truck's characteristics during normal commuting, traversing mountain roads, cruising freeways, trailer towing, off-pavement running, and loaded and unloaded performance testing. Truck of the Year competitors compete not only against the trucks in the competition, but also against other trucks in their class, whether they are included in the test or not.

Details of the Motor Trend 'Truck of the Year' competition will appear in the February 2003 edition of the magazine.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE CARS EARN 'BEST PICK' DESIGNATIONS IN IHHS CRASH TESTS

In recent frontal offset crash tests of new or redesigned small and midsize cars conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), each vehicle tested received the top rating of good and earned a "best pick" designation. The cars include three compact models including the 2002 Suzuki Aerio, 2003 Toyota Corolla, and 2002 Mini Cooper as well as two midsize cars: the 2003 Honda Accord and the 2002 Audi A4.

The Institute's ratings reflect performance in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier. Based on the results of this test, the Institute evaluates the crashworthiness of passenger vehicles, assigning each vehicle a rating of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor. The better performers among the vehicles with good ratings also are designated "best picks."

"This set of crash test results continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of consumer safety information in improving frontal crashworthiness," Institute president Brian O'Neill says. "When we completed our first set of offset tests of 14 midsize cars in 1995, only 3 earned good ratings. So far this year, all small and midsize car designs we've tested are rated good. In fact, it's now unusual for us to test a new passenger vehicle design of any type or size and not get a good rating."

A vehicle's structural design is important to its crash performance because the IIHS's frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier is especially demanding. The driver side hits the barrier, so a relatively small area of the vehicle's front-end structure must manage the crash energy. This means intrusion into the occupant compartment is much more likely to occur than in a full-width test.

In the 40 mph frontal offset crash tests, each vehicle's overall evaluation is based on three aspects of performance: measurements of occupant compartment intrusion, injury measures from a crash-test dummy positioned in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraints controlled dummy movement during the impact.

All five cars the IIHS tested earned good ratings for structural performance. The occupant compartments of these cars held up well, preserving the space around the crash-test dummy.

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Purchasing News Home

Pool Vehicle Inventory

CARS
Year	Make	Cyl	Model	Dr	Location	Invoice	Ref #
02	Buick	6	LeSabre Custom	4	Phoenix, AR	$22,683	03441
03	Chevrolet	6	Impala Sedan	4	Frederic, WI	$19,572	23219
03	Chevrolet	6	Impala Sedan	4	Council Bluffs, IA	$19,968	23011
03	Chevrolet	6	Impala LS Sedan	4	Council Bluffs, IA	$22,719	20313

TRUCKS
Year	Make	Cyl	Model	Location	Invoice	Ref #
02	Chevrolet	8	3500 HD Chassis Cab	Grand Island, NE	$25,686	Multiple
03	Chevrolet	6	Astro Passenger Van	Raleigh, NC	$21,524	22050
03	Chevrolet	6	S-10 Crew Cab 4x4	Wahpeton, ND	$22,650	23016
03	Chevrolet	6	S-10 Crew Cab 4x4	Council Bluffs, IA	$22,573	Multiple
03	Chevrolet	6	Trailblazer LS 4x2	Springdale, OH	$23,900	38744
03	Ford	6	Ranger 4x4 Super Cab	Smyrna, GA	$18,421	21285
03	Ford	8	F-250 Chassis Cab 4x2	Norwalk, CA	$19,182	Multiple
When a "stock purchase" is desired, you may consider using a vehicle from the ARI "pool" to save money and time. Call your ARI representative for details!

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