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Roy Stein shared his passionate call out to fellow car enthusiasts residing in Iowa and Nebraska to make their voices heard.
Please read Roy’s letter below.
The best opportunity we have to eliminate the dreaded front license plate in Nebraska and Iowa is to pass LB 38 and SF 193 / HF 2028, respectively. Hearings on these bills will take place soon after the legislatures re-convene on July 20th and June 3rd, respectively. Take a fun day trip with friends to Lincoln and Des Moines (keeping safety precautions, of course) and get everyone to sign up to speak in the committee hearings. Information on how to speak in the hearings can be found on the committees’ sites. It means a lot to our lawmakers to see the groundswell of support and their constituents making an effort to physically be at the hearings. Our voices were drowned out in previous hearings, and as a result we failed to get rid of the front plate in previous years. These bills have been languishing in the legislatures for over a year without any action. Don’t let our voices be stifled again!
Please call every single state Senator and Representative, starting with the speakers and relevant committee members, and urge them to side with drivers in support of the fast and permanent elimination of front plates. Also email the lawmakers at the following addresses:
Nebraska:
Contact your legislator – (First Initial).(Last Name)@leg.ne.gov
Contact Governor Ricketts at https://governor.nebraska.gov/contact-form
Iowa:
Contact your legislator – (First Name).(Last Name)@legis.iowa.gov
Contact Governor Reynolds at info@governo.iowa.gov and kirby.connell@iow.gov .
It is of the utmost importance that you keep constant track of this and other front plate legislation. There are two easy ways to do this, and I recommend doing both: 1) search for “plate” in Legiscan after selecting the state; and 2) search for “license plate” + Nebraska or Iowa in Google News, then sort by date.
Spread the word far and wide among your fellow car enthusiasts, car club members, car dealers, car rental companies, friends, family, customers, staff and everyone else. Ask them to join you in your vocal support for abolishing the front plate. Also reach out to newspapers, TV and radio stations, and write letters to the editor.
Here are a few arguments for a single license plate that you might consider using:
I have included below sample letters that you might consider personalizing/adapting and sending to lawmakers and the governor.
Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to help make Nebraska and Iowa the 21st and 22nd states in the nation to switch to a single license plate!
Sincerely,
Roy Stein
——–
Nebraska template letter below:
Subject: Support LB38 and a single license plate
Dear Senator/Governor Name,
I urge you to support LB 38, which would require a single license plate on the back of cars.
A front license plate is redundant and unnecessary when the rear plate is already present. In fact, 19 states have already dumped the front plate, and people in those states are very happy with this. Those states run just fine and have not descended into chaos. No state has switched from one plate to two plates in several decades, and it is easy to understand why: drivers, who make up the vast majority of citizens, loathe to wake up one morning to the nightmare of being told to drill holes into their cars.
Eliminating the front plate is a cost-saving measure in this financially difficult time for Nebraska. The state government will experience an unprecedented drop in tax revenue due to people losing their jobs, and we need to tighten our belt as a state by eliminating unnecessary spending. One common sense way to further this objective is by halting the wasteful expense of manufacturing the superfluous front license plate.
Front plates are a hassle to install by car dealers and consumers. Important safety technology such as proximity and traffic sensors are present on the front bumpers of modern cars, which impede and can be damaged by attempts to install a front plate. The resale value of a car goes down tremendously once holes have been drilled into the front bumper. Eliminating front license plates protects the aesthetic contours of cars so that drivers aren’t forced to disfigure their cars with the dreaded “metal mustache”.
Manufacturing and delivering front plates to every car owner in the state incurs an enormous cost to drivers, placing a disproportionately greater burden on our poorest citizens, who are already struggling to make ends meet.
The money saved by the state by forgoing the second (front) plate is a lifeline to critical infrastructure projects that provide vital services to our citizens. The savings will minimize disruption to these services while at the same time not further overburdening our tax payers.
Now is the time to implement common sense cost-saving measures such as the elimination of front license plates. If we don’t take action now, our state is going to suffer: state employees may need to be laid off, pensions may go unpaid, and citizens will lose access to vital services.
There is an increasing appreciation among state administrators of the advantages to switching to a single license plate, and a growing momentum to eliminate the front plate. The Governor of Ohio has recently signed a bill requiring a single license plate on the rear of vehicles, thus making Ohio the 20th state in the nation to ditch the front plate. Similarly, the Canadian province of New Brunswick, which borders Maine, also got rid of front license plates last summer.
There is absolutely no excuse for Nebraska to continue requiring two license plates. Money and resources will be saved when a single plate is produced and delivered to car owners. Ceasing to manufacture front license plates would also conserve non-renewable natural resources such as aluminum and fuel.
In this precarious financial environment, it is more important than ever to trim the budget fat and ensure our state’s fiscal health in the years to come. By making common sense changes such as getting rid of front plates, we will be preparing our state for a future when the tax revenue starts to dry up due to the crisis. It is our duty to ensure that our state is prepared to withstand whatever dire circumstances it may confront. I therefore plead with you to support LB 38.
I would like to end by expressing my sincere appreciation for all the hard work that you have put into improving the lives of the people of Nebraska. Your support of making Nebraska the 21st state in the nation to require a single license plate wound mean a lot to me and countless other Nebraska drivers!
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
——–
Iowa template letter below:
Subject: Support SF193, HF2028 and a single license plate
Dear Senator/Representative/Governor Name,
I urge you to support SF 193 and HF 2028, which would require a single license plate on the back of cars.
A front license plate is redundant and unnecessary when the rear plate is already present. In fact, 19 states have already dumped the front plate, and people in those states are very happy with this. Those states run just fine and have not descended into chaos. No state has switched from one plate to two plates in several decades, and it is easy to understand why: drivers, who make up the vast majority of citizens, loathe to wake up one morning to the nightmare of being told to drill holes into their cars.
Eliminating the front plate is a cost-saving measure in this financially difficult time for Iowa. The state government will experience an unprecedented drop in tax revenue due to people losing their jobs, and we need to tighten our belt as a state by eliminating unnecessary spending. One common sense way to further this objective is by halting the wasteful expense of manufacturing the superfluous front license plate.
Front plates are a hassle to install by car dealers and consumers. Important safety technology such as proximity and traffic sensors are present on the front bumpers of modern cars, which impede and can be damaged by attempts to install a front plate. The resale value of a car goes down tremendously once holes have been drilled into the front bumper. Eliminating front license plates protects the aesthetic contours of cars so that drivers aren’t forced to disfigure their cars with the dreaded “metal mustache”.
Manufacturing and delivering front plates to every car owner in the state incurs an enormous cost to drivers, placing a disproportionately greater burden on our poorest citizens, who are already struggling to make ends meet.
The money saved by the state by forgoing the second (front) plate is a lifeline to critical infrastructure projects that provide vital services to our citizens. The savings will minimize disruption to these services while at the same time not further overburdening our tax payers.
Now is the time to implement common sense cost-saving measures such as the elimination of front license plates. If we don’t take action now, our state is going to suffer: state employees may need to be laid off, pensions may go unpaid, and citizens will lose access to vital services.
There is an increasing appreciation among state administrators of the advantages to switching to a single license plate, and a growing momentum to eliminate the front plate. The Governor of Ohio has recently signed a bill requiring a single license plate on the rear of vehicles, thus making Ohio the 20th state in the nation to ditch the front plate. Similarly, the Canadian province of New Brunswick, which borders Maine, also got rid of front license plates last summer.
There is absolutely no excuse for Iowa to continue requiring two license plates. Money and resources will be saved when a single plate is produced and delivered to car owners. Ceasing to manufacture front license plates would also conserve non-renewable natural resources such as aluminum and fuel.
In this precarious financial environment, it is more important than ever to trim the budget fat and ensure our state’s fiscal health in the years to come. By making common sense changes such as getting rid of front plates, we will be preparing our state for a future when the tax revenue starts to dry up due to the crisis. It is our duty to ensure that our state is prepared to withstand whatever dire circumstances it may confront. I therefore plead with you to support and SF 193 and HF 2028.
I would like to end by expressing my sincere appreciation for all the hard work that you have put into improving the lives of the people of Iowa. Your support of making Iowa the 21st state in the nation to require a single license plate wound mean a lot to me and countless other Iowa drivers!
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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Renault Chairman Jean Dominique Senard, who also serves as the Alliance chief, laid out an optimistic forecast for the future – though the group is no longer pushing to be the global auto sales leader.
After months of decline, shares of the three automakers forming the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance surged sharply on global exchanges Wednesday.
Shareholders signaled their satisfaction with plans to save the long-running partnership that had been teetering on collapse since the controversial arrest of former Alliance boss Carlos Ghosn in November 2018. At a closely watched joint conference on Tuesday, the partners announced plans to cooperate more closely than ever – but they also ruled out further talk about a formal merger of Renault and Nissan.
By commonizing product development and adopting a “leader-follower strategy,” the three companies are expecting not only to save billions of dollars annually but also get better products to market faster than before.
(Nissan may cut 20K jobs globally; Renault could go under, French minister warns.)
“In a few years’ time, given what we’re doing now, this alliance is going to be the most powerful combination of companies in the world,” Alliance Operating Board Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, who also serves as Renault chairman, said in a joint news conference. The steps outlined by the three automakers, he added, are absolutely essential.”
Renault and Nissan first joined forces two decades ago when the French automaker announced a bailout of the then-faltering Japanese automaker. Mitsubishi was added to the Alliance after Nissan acquired a controlling stake in the smaller company in 2016.
The new strategy aims to bring the Alliance back together after the damage from the Ghosn affair.
For years, Ghosn and other officials routinely bragged about the synergies the Alliance was delivering. By late in the last decade, meanwhile, combined sales grew to the point that the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance rivaled traditional industry leaders Toyota and Volkswagen, surging past General Motors.
But the arrest of Ghosn – who was subsequently accused of a series of financial crimes – revealed what was really a partnership in name more than reality, according to many observers. And it came close to breaking up the Alliance. Compounding matters, all three companies were found to be suffering serious financial problems of their own, Nissan suffering its first full-year loss in 11 years and the French government warning Renault could fail without taking some drastic steps.
The complex mix of moves announced this week aim to shore up each company individually by forming a tighter and more effective Alliance, the partners agreed. But one of Renault’s long-running goals is no longer on the table.
“We do not need a merger to be efficient,” said Senard.
Nissan will largely lead future EV development within the Alliance, though Mitsubishi will oversee PHEVs.
The partners broke with the approach taken by Ghosn who was fond of setting detailed numerical targets that pushed the limits in terms of sales, margins and profits. Critics have suggested that these strategies often resulted in short-term gains favored by investors, but led to long-term problems, such as cost-cutting efforts that left the companies without competitive products.
(Nissan plans for restructuring call for $2.8B in cost cuts.)
Underlying issues, meanwhile, were not addressed. Despite claiming to share underlying platforms, for example, there was far less commonization than needed, the partners now agree. In 2019, for example, only 39% of the vehicles produced by the three manufacturers were based on shared architectures. By 2024, said Senard, that will double.
That is expected to save about 2 billion euros, or $2.2 billion, just on the development of the next generation of compact crossovers for the three manufacturers.
But what is key to making the Alliance finally reach its promise, officials said, is what is being described as a “leader-follower strategy” that will have each manufacturer take responsibility for specifics aspects of the business, as well as geographic “reference regions.”
Renault – one of its French plants shown here – will lead in several key “reference regions,” including Europe, Russia and South America.
Nissan, for example, will be the lead when it comes to most aspects of the joint electrification effort, as well as autonomous driving. Mitsubishi will carve out work on plug-in hybrids, with Renault tackling battery technology for small vehicles.
Nissan, the largest of the three manufacturers by sales, will be lead in China, North America and Japan, Renault overseeing the European, Russian, South American and North African markets. Mitsubishi, meanwhile, will oversee operations in Southeast Asia and Ocenia.
While the three partners are betting the new strategy will make them far more profitable going forward, they have also scaled back ambitions, at least from a sales standpoint. At its 2017 peak, the Alliance racked up global demand for 10.61 million vehicles, surging past both Toyota and Volkswagen. But sales have plunged since then, and the partners are set to scale back the win-at-all-cost approach going forward.
(Renault-Nissan-Mitusbishi Alliance expected to announce plan next week.)
All three manufacturers scored with investors following the announcement of the new strategy, Renault shares climbing as much as 16% on Wednesday, Nissan and Mitsubishi both up more than 5%. Meanwhile, stockholders drove up shares of Daimler AG by around 10%. The German automaker has developed a close relationship with the Alliance over the past decade, though it is not a formal partner. Senard said he hopes to expand ties to Daimler going forward, with an announcement of additional plans set to come in the next few weeks.
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Photo courtesy Hertz
The writing was on the wall for the last month, at least. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic sent rentals — and revenue — crashing, forcing the debt-laden company into a corner that’s proven near impossible to escape from.
One of the world’s largest car rental agencies, Hertz laid off more than 12,000 workers in March and furloughed another 4,000 before scrapping 90 percent of the new car acquisitions it had on the books for 2020. While that might have stopped some of the bleeding, the core issue remains: few people are travelling, and even fewer are renting cars.
In a release, Hertz said the voluntary filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware will allow it to keep its core business and subsidiaries functioning, with $1 billion in cash on hand to fund their operation. The company’s overseas operations and franchised locations are not included in the filing.
“The impact of COVID-19 on travel demand was sudden and dramatic, causing an abrupt decline in the Company’s revenue and future bookings,” Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. said in a release.
“Hertz took immediate actions to prioritize the health and safety of employees and customers, eliminate all non-essential spending and preserve liquidity. However, uncertainty remains as to when revenue will return and when the used-car market will fully re-open for sales, which necessitated today’s action. The financial reorganization will provide Hertz a path toward a more robust financial structure that best positions the Company for the future as it navigates what could be a prolonged travel and overall global economic recovery.”
As the pandemic tool hold, Hertz, unprofitable for the past four years, found itself holding a bag of debt totaling $19 billion. Following the initial layoffs, the company sought relief from its lenders, buying it a brief reprieve. That window drew to a close on Friday, however.
“Today’s action will protect the value of our business, allow us to continue our operations and serve our customers, and provide the time to put in place a new, stronger financial foundation to move successfully through this pandemic and to better position us for the future,” said newly minted CEO Paul Stone.
What will become of Hertz’s 700,000-strong global fleet, of which 400,000 vehicles reside in the U.S., remains to be seen. The company didn’t mention reducing its inventory, just its rate of turnover.
From Bloomberg:
Analysts have warned of ramifications for the broader auto industry from a Hertz bankruptcy. The company has a fleet of about 400,000 cars in the U.S. that are not subject to repurchase agreements with vehicle manufacturers and could be liquidated, Michael Ward, an analyst at Benchmark Co., wrote in a report last week.
It seems almost unavoidable that the company will have to dump a considerable portion of its fleet onto the used-car market, further slimming down an agency that’s already reduced its workforce by half.
No one’s crystal ball predicts the future with 100 percent accuracy, but the coming months — and perhaps years — will surely see a reduction in international travel and related vehicle rentals. Meanwhile, ride-hailing services aren’t going away.
[Image: Hertz]
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The 2020 Nissan Altima is a reminder of the virtues of the midsize sedan.
Midsized cars, once at the heart of new vehicle sales across the United States, have dwindled as consumers have moved towards pickup trucks and utility vehicles.
But the 2020 Nissan Altima shows how and why midsized cars still have a place in the changing automotive landscape. There were lots of reasons why midsized cars were popular. They are practical, efficient and relatively inexpensive in a time when pickup trucks and SUVs.
In addition, the 2020 Nissan Altima underscores of the fundamental fact of automotive life that on pavement or even a well-defined dirt road a passenger car is almost always more fun to drive than a truck or a SUV.
(Nissan plans for restructuring plans call for $2.8B in cost cuts.)
During my test drive of Altima, I could not help but be impressed by the way the car handled curves and passing maneuvers with ease. It also mastered varied pavements, wet surfaces and even the few dirt roads on which I ventured. The Altima’s suspension made even rough passages easy to traverse and the electric power steering was crisp and accurate. The brakes on the Altima were formidable.
I’ve never been a fan of the continuously variable transmission, or CVT, but Nissan has hung on to the technology in the face of some rather biting criticism and the company’s persistence has paid dividends with transmission used in the 2020 Altima.
The new Altima offers plenty of comfort and performance for drivers.
The CVT is matched up with a 2.0-liter, I-4 engine with variable compression turbo charging and never misses a beat or a shift, up or down, has the powertrain deliver the 236 horsepower and 267 foot-pounds of torque.
The favorable power-to-weight ratio helps the 2020 Altima, couple with its impressive driving dynamics, makes the car fun to drive out on the open ride. I suspect anyone who gets behind the wheel of this car will begin to remember that driving can be enjoyable in a vehicle that delivers movement with relative ease.
However, there is more to the Altima than its solid powertrain and passenger-car driving dynamics.
The exterior of 2020 Altima is also pleasing to the eye with a sleek roofline, sweeping neatly down to the rear of the vehicle. It presents a pleasing silhouette when sitting at the curb and while critics, throughout the years decried, the sameness of all midsized sedans, the Altima’s exterior design does have its own unique character.
I also was impressed with the interior of the 2020 Nissan Altima.
(Nissan may cut vehicle production by 1M as part of restructuring.)
Altima doesn’t pretend to be a luxury car, but the interior is deftly laid out to make it comfortable for the use and nicely furnished with an material of good quality that vanquish the old “rental car” stigma that attached to so many midsized cars over the years. The interior on the 2020 Altima genuinely is a step up.
The engineers of pickup trucks and utility vehicles generally have made the most of the revolution in technology that has swept over the car business in the past decade and particularly in the last half decade when new features, which once seemed exotic, have become standard equipment.
The interior of the new Altima features of all the latest technology while offering plenty of comfort.
The 2020 Altima, however, has kept up with trends reshaping consumer expectations particularly among younger buyers, who often seem to care less about power, performance and driving dynamics for the quality of the car’s connected systems.
It comes with Bluetooth and hand-free calling an texting an eight-inch digital screen, Nissan’s “Door-to-Door,” Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Sirius XM Traffic and a separate driving assistance display with traffic-sign recognition as well as rear-facing sonar and two USB ports as well as steering-wheel controls.
There are also features such as push-button start, an auto-diming rear-view mirror dual-zone climate controls, heated steering wheel, heated outside mirrors and remote start. As the features move into mid-sized segments, prices have gone up and the manufacturers suggested retail price of the 2020 Altima that I drove was $38,840, which included an $845 destination charge.
In other words, it is roughly the same price as the average price of a new vehicle currently sold in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Overall, 2020 Nissan Altima is practical car for commuting, running errands and is roomy enough to carry passengers to and from play dates or an evening out if the lockdown ever ends. Not everyone needs a truck, or an SUV and you can always borrow one on the once day of the year you need to haul something home from Lowes or Home Depot.
(Nissan spends $170M prepping plant for new Altima.)
It is also a whole lot more fun to drive.
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