Automotive Trucks information on net.

Recently several large trucking companies have announced huge profits due to hedging against fuel prices, which came down towards the last quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006 before racing back up in the middle of Q2 2206.

Large Profit takers were Swift Transportation, Knight Transportation, FedEx, UPS and many others. Now with oil prices pushing upward and Hurricane Season coming and of course the looming Iran Nuclear Weapons Showdown of 2006 most in the transportation sector are not so optimistic. In fact many have significantly raised rates to be assured they are not slaughtered in Q3 2006.

There were some carriers including Covenant Transportation with losses and some companies are now talking Mergers. In fact the CEO of UPS has said the company may consider an extremely large acquisition. This makes a lot of sense, but who might that be? Would it be Yellow/Roadway, a Rail Road, Covenant or some other Cargo Container Company?

When UPS says; “extremely large” they would mean Big as in enormous. So who are the players and will UPS indeed kick off a huge string of mergers once again in the Transportation Sector like FedEx did a few years ago with their move into FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight? Consider all this in 2006.

# posted by Medical Information : 6:14 PM  0 Comments

Pollution Standards for trucks are changing and sulfur in diesel fuel is also changing and many truck manufacturers have been working on this for many years. Some are making quite a bit of head way indeed. Soon all over the road 18-wheelers will run more efficiently and cleaner. Let’s talk about one of those companies now; Daimler Chrysler with their Caterpillar partnership.

Here is an excerpt of an article from back in 2002, as companies aligned themselves with partnerships in order to comply with the Clinton-EPA low-sulfur rules by 2006;

“DaimlerChysler-Catepillar joint venture is a major step in coming up with a non-sulfur high performance engine. This may give Freightliner and Sterling the only trucks with engines to perform with the new fuel requirements in cold weather states and mountainess terrain. Also it could possible be the only diesel engine allowed in a few years under CA emissions law as part of the AQMDs recent phasing out of non-clean burning engines on truck weighing over 14K GVW. Also with Volvo no longer allowing choice of engines on their future trucks to save on the stocking of parts and to prevent their customers from going to Select-A-truck routine maintenance centers owned by Freightliner who is owned by DaimlerChysler. This could also be a problem for TA Truck Stops because they usually house Select-A-Truck service centers that would not normally stock all the genuine Volvo truck parts in their new deal with two other manufacturers of engines. Can you say turf war? As new truck sales decline and lay offs already occurred at Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbuilt, Volvo, International.”

Any time there are new regulations on fuel mileage efficiency, environmental controls or safety regulations the free market adapts in real time. Sometimes this causes chaos and thus opportunity for one competitor over another. I think this is one example of that, as we shall see many more such examples in the transportation and Auto Manufacturing markets in this year. So consider all this in 2006.

# posted by Medical Information : 6:13 PM  0 Comments

Want to save more fuel America? Well then start with the over the road 18-wheeler tractor-trailer rigs. That is right, you see, trucks often get only 4-6 miles per gallon and much of the fuel is consumed over 55 miles per hour as the co-efficient of drag chart goes hyperbolic.

I propose that we design different trailer bodies for all these trucks, which include a squared off cone rear-end. Shaped like a pyramid on its side facing behind the truck trailer. Learn more about truck aerodynamics to continue this conversation;

http://www.nasaexplores.com/show2_articlea.php?id=02-009

By reducing drag drastically we should be able to get 2-4 miles per gallon more off every truck on the road. Accumulatively that is a huge savings of 16.8% of our total diesel usage in our nation. This will also drastically lower prices due to lessening of the volume of demand on the total supply.

How will this cone shaped invention or innovation I have in mind work? Well simple. The base of the cone sticking back will attach to the rear of the trailers edges. When the truck goes to back up the top and bottom will swivel on the sides to the right and left sides and then slide back on sliders along the sides of the truck and out of the way for loading or local city driving.

For long hauls the cone comes out for fuel efficiency and this also keeps cars back further and a safer following distance before the hard bumper of the trailers. The cones will be made of light-weight material and due to the economies of scale to produce one for every truck, the price will be under $3,000 and that can be saved in the first 8,000 to 15,000 miles in fuel at the current $3.00 per gallon costs. And remember many of these tractor trailer rigs will have 500,000 to 1 million miles on them before they are sold as used and then bought by Mexican Trucking companies and seconds. Consider all this in 2006. Lets be technologically smart about the fuel, which drives us around.

# posted by Medical Information : 6:13 PM  0 Comments

So often we see misleading headlines such as; Truck Accidents Up in 2005 or some such thing. But not only are these articles misleading and the data skewed, it is borderline criminal and completely bogus information. In fact 56% of the time the car or Four-Wheeler is totally at fault, not the 18-Wheeler Professional Truck Driver.

Indeed if you read the fine print of these Department of Transportation studies you will see that 75% of the time the main reason for the accidents major cause was the cars fault and that only 25% of the time it was the trucks fault. Additionally 19% of the time the truck was somewhat at fault, meaning the commercial truck driver could have avoided the accident with better care.

Now then let us also consider that in a robust economy there are more trucks on the road than ever before and with all the windfall tax receipts from fuel the Department of Transportation is doing a lot more construction and thus that added congestion puts trucks on the road for more hours than usual.

For our media to purport that trucks are not safe is simply BS. Automobile drivers need to stop being in such a hurry and drive more responsibly in the “no zone”, pay more attention to their driving than all their cool new electronic toys and stop feeling so safe because they think they are in a big bad 7,000 pound SUV. Trucks often way in at over ten times that much or more, so let’s get real on these negative truck articles, you irresponsible liberal scum writers. Take you BMW and shove it up your butt.

# posted by Medical Information : 6:12 PM  0 Comments

Recently I have tested the new Ford Explorer 2006 RSC Advanced Trail. And I was impressed. I leave you to find a complete list of specifications of this the most selling SUV in North America somewhere else on numerous websites, in car magazines, and present below impression and opinion of my own.

Ford Explorer 2006 is the real proof that straggling company is on a right track to gain back trust of Americans significantly corroded in a last 15-20 years, although Explorer, as it mentioned before, remains the bestseller through these years of Japanese auto expansion to the American market.

The new Explorer is one of those vehicles that present well balanced combination of SUV and car abilities. Its highway ride on a 100/120 km per hour is smooth and absolute cars’ like. In fact I regret while on a front passenger seat that this SUV is missing a handle above the window which is standard on every well equipped car model. Other than that it is provide car’s comfort in every dimension with very good noise protection. Powerful engine almost silent, suspension soft enough, dashboard is well designed with all buttons of a right size and in proper place except maybe gear shifter that looks like an on/off switch on a kids electronic toy.

I am a car guy, so to continue SUV/car comparison I have also figured out that the front passenger of new Explorer is slightly discriminated (as at most trucks and cars) compare to the driver in its ability to go in/out of the truck. While driver enjoys “seat moving back” feature when key is out from ignition, passenger is climbing in its seat with far less comfort ability. Nevertheless both driver and passenger seats are comfortable even for a long ride. Praising designers for the Explorer’s dashboard I will withdraw a few compliments back while talking about inside door handles. As for me they are located too low to be good to grab to open/close the door for an average size man.

Every vehicle today is a receptacle of cap holders and Explorer is no exception. But not every one has convenient and big enough glove compartment, so our tester is definitely not a winner here.

I like adjustable pedals, it is a great option. But is it safe to allow the driver to adjust pedal while driving?

There is plenty of room on a second raw seats and roomy enough although less comfortable on a third. At least you have an option: carry 6 passengers and no luggage or 4 with descent cubic footage on a back of your Explorer.

For some reason all four doors of new Explorer in their lowest part are sharply curved towards the body of the vehicle and it’s cool and probably gives some extra rigidity. But if you are tended to notice with regret every new scratch on your beast/beauty body (pick the one!); you will see them (scratches) for sure right after taking Explorer off road for a first time. Scratches easily appear on a lower part of rear doors which sandwiches between the vehicle’s frames and sidestep with so small clearance in between, that sand and muds sticking to the doors are working as abrasives for all surfaces.

Few years ago I have tested then new Explorer 2001 along with others SUVs in a same class like Nissan Pathfinder, Jeep Cherokee etc. That Ford Explorer was not much different or worse than other contestants in terms of off road capabilities. But it was squeaking and crackling on every serious pothole or bump. There is nothing like this on Explorer 2006.

Year after year customer demands more and more from the vehicle and auto manufacturers should accommodate those demands to keep pace. Ford made it with the new Explorer. It is really great truck.

Journalist, car enthusiast

# posted by Medical Information : 6:12 PM  0 Comments

Tonneau covers are attached to your truck bed to create space which is protected from theft and bad weather. They will also improve the conservation of oil within your vehicle, and will make it much more aerodynamic. Tonneau covers are typically made out of molds which are specifically designed for the type of truck you have. They will fit around your truck in such a way that they will give it a sleek look.

Tonneau covers can be expensive. High quality hard covers could cost as much as $1000. They can be custom painted to match the color of your truck, and you will want to give the instructions for this prior to purchasing them. Aluminum covers are cheaper, and will cost around $400. They don't fit along the contours of your truck, and you only have a few colors to choose from. Before you purchase a cover, it is important to remember that they are heavy, are are not easy to remove frequently.

It generally takes two or more people to remove a cover from a truck. Despite this, some truck owners have developed methods for handling the tonneau covers themselves. You should make sure you understand the lift system which comes with the cover. Many truck beds are not designed to withstand the pressure of 200 pounds pushing down on them constantly. This is why you should know more about the lift system. Some use gas props which will add more pressure to the truck bed than just the cover itself.

Some companies have added systems to their covers which reduce the amount of weight added to the truck bed, and will reduce the pressure of the gas props as well. By reducing the pressure, the life of the truck bed will be extended. You will also want to figure out which features you want to add to your tonneau cover. There are a large number of options, including third brake lights, safety glass, paint finish, power locks, or a windshield wiper. The list goes on, and you will want to get options that fit within your budget.

There are a large variety of tonneau covers available, and it is important to pick the one which suits you best. They are an expensive investment, but will keep your cargo from being damaged by rain or stolen by thieves. If you don't plan on removing the cover often, you may want to invest money on a hard cover. If you are on a budget and one something that is easy to remove, a soft cover may be the best option.

# posted by Medical Information : 6:11 PM  0 Comments