AUTO LEASING GROWING AGAIN

According to a recent article in "Automotive News" lease customers are returning to the showroom. Auto leasing has been growing in recent years. As shown in the chart below leasing accounted for 23 percent of U.S. auto sales through September of this year.  Up from 13 percent in 2009.

 

MINING ASTEROIDS?

This is from an article in the "Seattle Business" magazine.

 

 

Is the idea of mining asteroids a science-fiction notion or can it become a reality?  A number of companies have sprung up to take on the challenge.  Funded by some of the world's wealthiest people and staffed by some of the top minds in aeronautics, these companies believe the time has come for a new multibillion-dollar space industry, with the Puget Sound region serving as its launch pad.

 

Planetary Resources located in Bellevue Washington wants to use unmanned spacecraft to mine asteroids for precious metals.  There are thousands of near-Earth asteroids in close proximity to our planet.  Past analysis shows a single one could contain very large amounts of platinum-group metals.

 

There are many challenges ahead but there is also the intrigue of going beyond our earthly environment and heading out into space, the final frontier.

CHESS JOKE

 

Check out the Tacoma Chess Club

www.tacomachess.org 

 

U.S. MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY

Sunday November 10th is the 238th Birthday

of the United States Marine Corps

"Semper Fi"

 

The Marine Corps Memorial was created from this picture taken

by Joe Rosenthal of the Asscocited Press

Joe Rosenthal caught the flag raising on February 24th 1945 at the top of Mount Suribachi on the small isand of Iwo Jima.  That afternoon the Marines had cleared the slopes of enemy resistance and raised the U.S. flag.  Raising the flag are 5 Marines and one Navy Corpsman: Sgt Michael Strank, Cpl Harlon H. Block, Pfc Franklin R. Sousley, Pfc Rene A Gagnon, Pfc Ira Hayes and PhM.2/c John H. Bradley.

Unfortunately 3 of these men would lose their lives as fighting continued on Iwo Jima.  The three killed were Strank, Block and Sousley.

May God bless them and all our service men and women.

VETERANS DAY

VETERANS DAY IS MONDAY NOVEMBER 11th

Please honor our service men and women

IT'S A CHANGING WORLD

Yes it is a changing world.  A recent survey conducted by American Express shows that a large number of people believe that Online business relationships are as valuable as face-to-face business relationships.  As shown in the chart below, 42% of people interviewed believe that to be true.  That percentage will probably increase over time as more young people enter the work force.  Young people coming out of High School today have never lived in a world without  computers.    

 

PUBLIC ESTEEM

This is from a recent article published in USA today. 

I was happy to see Military on top of the list. 

I believe that Military personnel deserve this kind of respect.

FUEL ECONOMY 2013 VEHICLES

Listed below are several 2013 vehicles with the MPG ratings.  These are the Government MPG (Miles Per Gallon) ratings and estimated annual fuel costs.  As one would expect hybrids are on top of the list. 

This is not an all inclusive list. You can check other vehicles by going to the website: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ 

Click on the chart to enlarge

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Can Bakken Oil bring energy independence to the United States?  

By now most everyone is aware that North Dakota is the home of the Bakken oil formation.

Oil was discovered in the Bakken in 1951.  The Bakken is named after North Dakota farmer Henry Bakken, who owned the land where the formation was initially discovered.

 

Although North Dakota has been producing oil for the past 60 years, the Bakken was never a major source of the state's production because the tight oil formation proved too technically-challenging and too costly to produce.  In 1999 a USGS Geochemist named Leigh Price estimated the total amount of oil contained in the Bakken ranged from 271 billion to 503 billion barrels.

 

Oil companies started testing various methods of drilling to access the Bakken's hard-to-get oil, namely horizontal drilling.  The first horizontal well was drilled in the Bakken in 1987.  This method of drilling proved to be successful.  As a result, oil production in North Dakota soared.  Since then the state has moved up to be the second largest oil-producing state in the country. Second only to Texas.

 

The Bakken has truly been a game changer.  The United States is on track to produce more domestic crude oil than it imports from overseas sources by the end of this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA March 2013 energy report).  According to the report, increased shale oil production in both North Dakota and Texas get the credit.  Thanks to these vast recources in the shale production, OPEC's stranglehold on oil production is about to come to a startling end.  Some are predicting that the United States will be energy independent as early as 2018.

 

 

What the United States needs now are more refineries.  More refineries will increase gas production which could result in lower fuel prices.



FEATURED CUSTOMER - MEET JOHN PARKER

John Parker is the owner of Freight NW Inc.

 

John has been a customer of mine for nearly 20 years.  He leased his first truck with me when he first started his business.  John has successfully grown his company over the years and now has as many as 25 trucks operating on a daily basis.

 

 

 

Freight NW Inc is a freight hauler located in Tacoma Washington.  They serve Washington and Oregon and offer same day delivery.  They haul all types of freight. 

 

Their motto is "Big or Small, We haul it all".

 

John is an honest and hard working individual.  I'm proud of John and the business he has built.  And I'm honored to continue serving his vehicle and equipment leasing needs.

 

If you need the services his company provides you can contact john at 253-572-1179.

NEW AND EXCITING CARGO VAN

 

2013 Nissan NV200 Cargo Van

When Nissan Motor Co. announced that they were building a new compact Cargo Van we at Northwest Fleet Lease got excited.  Knowing the popularity of the Ford Transit Connect, we felt that the new Nissan NV200 would be a winner so we ordered six.  They just arrived!  We ordered three “S” models and three “SV” models all in white.  The estimated fuel efficiency is 24 mpg and the MSRP ranges from $20,835 to $22,265 so these vans will save you money on both the cost and fuel efficiency.  We should have these at our office by the weekend so feel free to stop by and check out the newest thing in commercial vans!

 

COME IN AND CHECK IT OUT!!

For more information please call me.  # 206-979-8015

 

NORTHWEST FLEET LEASE

Website:  www.nwfl.com

CAR TRIVIA: What was the White House's First Official Car?

 

Answer:  1909 White steam touring car

In January of 1909, legislation was entered into Congress on behalf of president-elect William Howard Taft for the appropriation of official White House automobiles.  After some discussion and initial rejection of the funding by the Senate, that February the Congress authorized $12,000 for the purpose.  Taft arranged for the purchase of a 40-horsepower White steam touring car and a 48-horsepower six-cylinder Pierce-Arrow limousine.  Taft's enthusiasm for the technology changed the political culture of the automobile and brought about a national craze for the machines. 

FLEET MANAGEMENT

  Managing a fleet of vehicles can be a very busy task. We can help

  with our fleet management program. Below are some of the services

  provided through our partner company called "Network".  You can

  pick the services you want to utilize:                               

                                         1. Maintenance and Repair 
                                            -  National Account Card
                                            -  Reduce Downtime
                                            -  Post Warranty Recovery
                                         2. Accident Management
                                             -  24 Hour Reporting
                                             -  Collison Repair
                                             -  Salvadge
                                         3. Risk Managment
                                             -  Driver Record Checks
                                             -  Point Assignment Program
                                          4. License and Title Management
                                             -  Flags Vehicle Tags
                                             -  Monitor State Changes
                                             -  Title Retention
                                          5. Value Added Services
                                             -  Fuel Management
                                             -  Emergency Roadside assistance
                                             -  Replacement Rentals
 For more information please contact me:  Phone # 425-251-6000
 or cell # 206-979-8015 or e-mail: larrya@nwfl.com

Tax Time Again

                     YOUR TAX BILL



Is your tax bill looking scary?

 Most business owners are looking for ways to reduce taxes and leasing may help. Why not pay for your equipment and vehicles in a way that could reduce taxes! The example below is intended to show how leasing can be advantageous.  It is not intended as tax advice. We suggest that you discuss this illustration with your tax advisor to determine how it will affect your situation.

When a lease is structured correctly, it can provide a potential tax benefit. That's because the lease payment is a fixed expense and it is paid out of gross profit (Pre-Tax Dollars). The payments reduce the taxable gross profit; therefore the tax bite is reduced.

If a business entitiy is in the 34% tax bracket (Maximum Corporate Tax Rate), it will save 34 cents in taxes on every dollar it pays in the lease payment (Sales Tax included).

Here's the example:

Click on the example to enlarge

In effect, Uncle Sam is picking up 1/3 of the total cost. In addition to the potential tax benefit, a lease requires no down payment or large cash outlay. Lease financing is 100% financing which means the business entity will preserve its cash and its lines of credit for its working capital needs.

The 1898 Winton Automobile

Newspaper advertisement for the Winton Automobile.

The Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland Ohio. A Scottish immigrant by the name of Alexander Winton, owner of the Winton Bicycle Company, turned from bicycle production to an experimental single-cylinder automobile.  In March, 1897 he incorporated the company.  The first automobiles were built by hand.  Each vehicle had fancy painted sides, padded seats, a leather roof and gas lamps.  Tires were made by B.F. Goodrich.

In March of 1898 the first Winton vehicle was purchased by Robert Allison from Pennsylvannia.  The company sold a total of 22 cars that year.

In 1899 more than 100 Winton vehicles were sold.  Winton continued to successfully market automobiles to upscale consumers through the 1910s.  As dozens of new automobile companies

started up, rapid innovation and intense competition led to falling sales in the early 1920s.  Winton Motor Carriage Company ceased automobile production in 1924.