I have a good friend that works for AAA (RACV for you Aussie's), and he has been giving me some info over the past few months. They have been doing publications for their employee's about AAA trying to be environmentally concious, and they have had Prius' featured in their publications- well NOW it is official- AAA has officially chosen the Prius as their new company car! He handed me a brochure that shows the '06 Prius with the company logo, and it was so cool! They will be the new fleet vehicle. There are discussion forums for the employee's and they have been receiving a lot of flack in regards to the AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION choosing a foreign product for their company car. They responded with the fact that they did much research, and the Prius was the best value for the company $. The critics said that they should have purchased Escape Hybrids- but then the other side argued about how "American" cars aren't as American as they seem, and the Escape isn't a great money saver for their purposes. Anyone interested in me scanning the literature and posting here?
When I started reading your post I thought, yippee, he has told you how to get into all those hidden screens on the MFD. I have followed posts on various subjects that showed ways to get into info screens but little on screens that allow changes to be made. I need to increase the volume of the microphone as receivers of my bluetooth phone calls complain that I am not loud enough. Even the audio record and playback is very soft.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Jul 4 2006, 03:24 PM) [snapback]281132[/snapback]</div> Looks like Orf responded to the wrong thread....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(remaxmanager @ Jul 3 2006, 02:38 PM) [snapback]280651[/snapback]</div> That is reall good news. Do you know how many vehicles make up their fleet? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 5 2006, 09:30 AM) [snapback]281459[/snapback]</div> You are right. This will probably not translate to lower insurance rates. However, it does translate to green cars replacing higher emission gas engine cars and a major U.S. company deciding that the environment is important. Hopefully, this leads to more companies purchasing hybirds for their fleet . . . Toyota or any other hybrid.
I will have to ask him if there are any updates.. I know that they provide their insurnace agents locally with company cars etc- so I am hoping that they will be replacing them too. UPDATE: So I was given more info! All of the claims agents will be given the Prii, so that is cool! The local agents currently drive more than 50k miles per year!
AAA has started off the year (just in Northern CA) by purchasing 250 Prii and Escape Hybrids. Here is a website that they are advertising: www.aaa.com/greenlight
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasidetraveler @ Jul 5 2006, 04:16 PM) [snapback]281625[/snapback]</div> After putting in the required zipcode I see nothing about greenlight. sowwy
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Jul 4 2006, 06:24 PM) [snapback]281132[/snapback]</div> Good one. :lol:
AAA Switching Fleet to Hybrids <div align="center">AAA of Northern California Purchasing 250 Hybrid Vehicles in 2006</div>San Francisco - AAA of Northern California's fleet of company-owned vehicles is going green. The company announced today it will be swapping out its entire fleet of 400 vehicles with hybrids. The organization will be purchasing about 250 hybrid vehicles in 2006. The remaining 150 cars will be replaced over the next two years. The company has selected the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape hybrid as their fleet vehicles. The cars are used primarily by insurance employees whose job requires the use of a vehicle. The decision to convert the fleet to hybrids is part of the AAA Greenlightâ„¢ Initiative, a new program to promote the development and understanding of new automotive fuels and fuel-related technologies. More information about the Greenlight Initiative can be found at www.aaa.com/greenlight. "We're the organization that reports the gasoline prices and we're the advocates for the motorist, so we're doing what's environmentally correct," said Mike Bregante, senior vice president of automotive services for AAA. AAA made the decision to switch to hybrids after an exhaustive analysis confirmed that a move to hybrid vehicles will save the organization money in the long run. "We would have done this anyway, but that's just icing on the cake," Bregante said. The hybrids are 2006 models. Most of the vehicles are white and will display the AAA logo on the side. AAA is buying many of the vehicles through the company's Vehicle Purchasing Service, which eliminates the headache of car-buying by prearranging haggle-free prices with hundreds of dealers. AAA's Vehicle Purchasing Service is a benefit for AAA members. More information can be found at www.aaa.com. AAA of Northern California offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to more than 4 million members. AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers since it was founded more than 100 years ago. Back to AAA and the Environment
Here's another update: This Prius was featured in AAA's newsletter recently, apprenty goes over 30 miles on pure electric- pretty cool!
Good for AAA! The Prius is making its' way into fleets every where. Here in SD I have seen some with County tags, Taxi fleets in the northwest, and other places as well. I think that says something pretty significant about the future of this technology.
