A couple more problems with fleet sales:

--cars must be designed with fleet customers' needs in mind (i.e. low cost)

--they imply that the products simply don't have what it takes to win over customers who care about performance, styling, comfort, and so forth; fleets have much lower standards in these areas than retail customers. Good enough is, well, good enough. Retail customers, though, are more likely to pay their hard-earned money for the product that is best for their needs, not just one that is good enough.

My full take on this in my blog:

http://www.truedelta.com/blog/?p=97

Trying to get some free advertising out of TR eh?

I am not sure I agree that fleet sales impact retail sales, but I do agree to at least some extent. For instance, a friend recently went to upstate New York and rented a BMW 5 series. He spent TONS of money to rent it, but now he is selling his 2005 300C, and in what I would almost call desperation, he is trying to find a deal on a 06 to 07 5 series.

On the opposite end, whenever my fathers 99 Tahoe breaks (and it has done so frequently), his company rents him a car. His last one was a 2006 G6. It was fun to drive, but most of us hated it. The interior was the last thing to love about the car, and the first thing to hate. Over all else, I think that after having rented the car, we'd rent one again, but never would we buy one. A week was more than enough time at once to have to commute in that thing. But again, it was fun to just floor the gas pedal.

So in the case of BMW, which sells all-around great cars, it seems having one on a rental lot helps now and then. But in the case of GM, which sells cars not as reputable, its hurtful. And this speaks to something else.

The BMW was actually a model that can be purchased at retail, it was not a "Fleet Model." Meanwhile, the G6 was, we think, a fleet-only version, due to the cheap plastic-feeling seats (was it bad faux-leather or plastic? we dont know) and spartan-like interior. Same engine as the retail version, hence the fun. So maybe if GM distributed retail-grade cars to fleets for rentals, people would have fonder memories of "that car I rented on that business trip," and more people would buy them.

I like fleet sales because I buy used cars and it makes them cheaper to buy.Why would I want to pay more for a car.Also if you want a nice car then rent a Cadilac instead of the cheaper GM cars.As far as European cars or BMWs they are less reliable than US cars.They are at the bottom of the list.Look it up.Also doesnt it make sense to sell cars at a little of a profit than to lay off workers and pay them unemployment.Theres NO profit in that.