Navistar launches $149,900 electric truck

by: Max Kvidera

Navistar Inc. launched its eStar all-electric truck in Portland, Ore., May 25, the first in a series of introductions for its zero-emissions vehicles.
Additional launches are scheduled for June in Sacramento, Calif., and this summer in Chicago. Future introductions are proposed for Detroit and East Coast locations, a Navistar spokesman said at a press event.
The company has selected the initial International dealerships to offer the truck aimed at the Class 2c-3 market. Dealers in Tacoma, Wash., Sacramento, Los Angeles and Chicago will be offering the vehicle, which has a 100-mile driving range between battery recharges. Asked if businesses are ready to buy a $149,900 short-haul truck, Jonathan Wyman, president of Cascadia International in Tacoma, said, “There are plenty of companies in the Seattle area and Portland that want to go green and are willing to step up to the plate.”
Westrux International in Los Angeles will be servicing the first four eStars that were bought by FedEx for use in that area.
Production of eStars is under way at a Navistar plant in Elkhart County, Ind., which also makes Monaco motorcoaches. The goal is to build 400 units this year and 1,000 in 2011, says Mark Aubry, vice president of sales and marketing for the Navistar-Modec Electric Vehicle Alliance that is producing the vehicles.
Those production numbers were promised by Navistar to receive a $39.2 million federal stimulus grant last August. Since then the company has received certifications from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.
Aubry said that as battery technology improves and the charging network infrastructure expands, the driving range for all-electric vehicles could widen to 200-300 miles. Electric vehicles serving the long-haul market “will probably never happen,” he said.
Aubry added that cargo van-delivery truck is not the only application for eStar. Flatbed and pickup models are being developed.
Current eStars are outfitted with a 7 kilowatt charger, running on 220 volts and 32 amps and requiring 8-12 hours to recharge. A version planned for 2011 equipped with a 10 kilowatt charger will reduce charging time to 6-8 hours.
Jim Hebe, Navistar senior vice president North American sales, used the eStar introduction to note that Navistar has developed vehicles powered by compressed and liquefied natural gas that are helping to reduce dependence on oil. “In long haul, nothing will replace clean diesel,” he said.

Associated Petroleum Products entices truckers to celebrate grand opening of new Pacific Pride Fueling Station in Tacoma WA

“Breaker Breaker! Good buddies. Make your 10-20 APP’s grand opening and get a photo with the Seagals and a free world class APP BBQ.
Tacoma WA—(May 26, 2010) - -Associated Petroleum Products, Inc., (APP) today extended a special invitation to truckers to help them celebrate a new APP Pacific Pride Commercial Fueling Network site in Tacoma, WA. The event will begin on Friday June 4, 2010 from 10:30am to 2:00pm. The Seagals will be on hand between 12:00pm and 2:00pm to sign autographs and take pictures. The new fueling location will add one more location to APP’s already robust fueling network giving truckers better access to fuel when traveling to or through Tacoma and the I-5 and Hwy 509 corridor.

“We’ve pulled out all the stops and have organized a grand opening event that truckers will not soon forget said,” Shannon Feichter, APP Marketing Manager. “Truckers can truck on in and meet the Seagals and have a shot at winning a 42” Plasma TV and the BBQ is out of this world,” Shannon added. Other cool prizes including Pacific Pride fuel cards when you sign up with APP and Pacific Pride will be given out every 30 minutes throughout the event. The location for the event will be at 2115 River Street in Tacoma, WA.
About Pacific Pride
APP has “Pride” by offering the Pacific Pride Commercial Fueling System®. Pacific Pride is a network of automated fueling sites dedicated to commercial customers with over 2,000 sites throughout the U.S. and Canada strategically located along major traffic arterials and metropolitan areas. By joining the Pacific Pride Commercial Fueling System®, truckers will simplify fuel management and control fuel costs with a continuously growing card network. Some of the cool prizes include a $100 prepaid Pacific Pride Card. Fill out a credit application and get a prepaid $10 Pacific Pride Card and extra raffle ticket for Business Card Raffle.
About APP
APP is a family-owned, second generation business voted into the Top 150 Privately-Owned Companies in Washington State, one of the Top Ten Fastest Growing Companies in the State of Washington, one of the Top Places to Work, one of the Top Propane Retailer Marketers in the United States, and voted Best in the Northwest Washington Family Business of the Year. APP operates multiple locations in Western Washington, each featuring large quantities of above-ground fuel and lubricant storage and CFN® and Pacific Pride cardlock fueling facilities on-site or nearby.
For further information, contact Shannon Feichter or check out the News section at www.associatedpetroleum.com/news.html

New semi truck legislation on the horizon

The United States Senate and the Truck Safety Coalition are working to improve trucking safety throughout the country. At this time many road deaths and injuries are caused by truck related crashes. At an April 28, 2010 hearing the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee began work on pending trucking legislation. This is part of an ongoing effort to reduce the deaths and injuries caused by large trucks. The topics being addressed in this legislation include:
Fatigue and Hours of Service: Truck drivers may soon be required to have electronic recorders to track driver hours behind the wheel. Many accidents are caused by tired drivers, distraction due to fatigue, and simply too many hours behind the wheel.
Size and Weight: There are considerations in place concerning combination vehicles (2-3 trailers). Opponents claim that the risks of these types of vehicles make them too much of a danger as compared to the benefits of being able to move more in less time, and the effect on the environment.
Driver Pay: Across the country there are disputes about how the drivers are paid. Truck drivers are typically paid by the mile; while others are paid by the hour. This distinction can affect the driver’s attitude and speed while on the road, thus affecting safety. For example if a driver who is paid by the mile has to wait at a loading dock for 3 or 4 hours, he is not being paid. This system creates an incentive for the truck driver, once back on the road, to either drive faster or put in excessive hours to make up the lost time in mileage.

“The main cause of trucking accidents is driver fatigue,” according to Robert Foss, a trucking attorney from Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, “Driver fatigue is a major safety issue in this country and any legislation to improve truck safety gets a ‘yay’ by me.  We also know that the larger the truck the more it affects driver stress and fatigue, affecting lane keeping and the overall physiological state of the driver as their workload is greater.”

Besides these important factors, there are other areas in which the trucking industry needs to make changes in order to improve the safety for all people on the road, this includes not only the people in cars, but the truck drivers as well.

Pilot Program Allows Mexican Semi Trucks Across U.S. Borders

Each year in the United States there are approximately 5,000 deaths and over 100,000 injuries from 18-wheeler accidents. The thought of allowing Mexican trucks free access to our highways has caused an outcry and protests in 2007.
In September 2007, under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Bush administration approved a pilot program that would allow Mexican trucks to freely traverse US highways. However, the period between September 2007 and February 2008 saw only 247 Mexican trucks make long haul trips under the program.
Administration Promises Full Inspection Of Every Vehicle
Mary Peters, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, told the congressional committee that held hearings concerning the opening of our highways to Mexican trucks in March 2008 that the pilot program would require a thorough inspection of every truck before it crossed the U.S. border. This was in an effort to put to rest any questions of unsafe vehicles entering the country that might contribute to additional 18-wheeler accidents. Critics of the plan, however, doubt that “every truck, every time” could be inspected.
Truck Inspections Raise Several Questions
The current high-volume of traffic flows brings concern that inspection centers lack the space, manpower and technology to monitor and catch problems that would reduce 18-wheeler accidents. There are also significant differences between Mexican and U.S. truck safety standards.
In the United States every truck must meet U.S. safety standards. Public Citizen, a major critic of the Bush pilot program, fears that the Department of Transportation assumes all trucks produced after 1996 that are used by Mexican based companies are built to U.S. standards. Further more, since there is no current, reliable method to verify manufacturing date of Mexican trucks, the DOT is going to just rely on statements from Mexican companies that their trucks meet the criteria.
Drug Testing Concerns
Conducting reliable drug tests on Mexican drivers adds additional concerns. Mexico does not have a drug-testing lab that meets U.S. standards according to Public Citizen. A 2005 drug and alcohol survey related to 18-wheeler accidents, estimated that 1.7% of drivers used controlled substances while driving.
The public advocacy group, The Teamsters Union, the Sierra Club and other trucking and safety interests in the United States charge that the U. S. government doesn’t have enough inspectors at the border to thoroughly check each truck and driver from Mexico making “every truck every time” a hollow promise.
Truck drivers in the U. S. have strict rules regarding the number of hours they can drive without a rest since driver fatigue is a factor in fatal crashes. Truck drivers who spend more than eight hours behind the wheel have twice the chance of an 18-wheeler accident, according to The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety from a study they conducted.
It’s Been 15 Years Since NAFTA Was Signed
January 1, 2008 was the date NAFTA went into effect after being signed by Mexico, Canada and The United States. Canadian trucks have freely crossed the border over the past 10 years while Mexican trucks have been blocked. The United States agreed to remove restrictions by 2000 if the Mexican trucks met U.S. standards. There were however disagreements and in 2001 Mexico filed a challenge under NAFTA. They won and the U.S. was forced to open its border to Mexican trucks, but the Bush Administration put into effect the controversial pilot program in September 2007.

Truck enthusiasts in it for the long haul

By Robert Jordan
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 05/26/2010 02:46:29 PM PDT

PLEASANTON — Truck enthusiasts enamored with manual transmissions, elbow-grease power steering and air conditioning systems that works by manually rolling down the windows will have all they can handle starting today.

More than 500 unique trucks and their owners are expected to descend on the Alameda County Fairgrounds for the 39th annual American Truck Historical Society's national convention and antique truck show that starts today and continues through Saturday.
Truck lovers from across the country are expected to gather for three days of meetings, tours and one long convoy of trucks that will end the convention with a five-bridge tour on Sunday.
The convention is making its first appearance in Northern California, and the event is free to the public with the antique truck show running from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days.
Early registration numbers had 515 trucks lined up for the show, all at least 25 years old and ranging from pickups to semi trucks. That number is expected to grow to more than 800 during the event, said Bill Johnson, executive director of the American Truck Historical Society.
"Most people will be amazed at the quality of workmanship of the trucks," said Johnson, who owns 14 trucks. "The austere working conditions with these trucks is great. People can see how things have changed."
Cemex, which has a facility in Pleasanton, is bringing one such truck, a 1948 Ford F-6 concrete mixing truck. The15-foot truck is a glimpse at yesteryear. It is 25 feet shorter than today's models and has a 3-cubic yards of chain driven cement mixer, instead of the 10-cubic yards hydraulic powered edition of today."For anyone in the industry to see this is amazing," said Manuel Gill, the San Francisco foreman for Cemex. "The amount of work to restore this truck is amazing. Construction equipment is used up and thrown away. No one really saves it."
Dennis Chan has been saving such construction vehicles for the past four decades and owns more than 30 trucks. Chan's trucks are mainly Class eight, which weigh more than 33,000 pounds each and he is showing 33 of his prized possessions at the show.
"I started as a young kid," said Chan, 65, president of the American Truck Historical Society's Central California chapter.
"I was born and raised in Courtland and am a farmer," he said. "We started playing around with trucks a long time ago, so you had to love them."
Chan, owner of the Sacramento-based Redi-Gro Corp. restored his first truck in the 1960s and has since tried to restore one to two more each year. Restoring the old giants doesn't come cheap. Chan said most truck enthusiasts can spend anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 restoring an old semi trucks.
"People can restore classic cars and still get reasonable (gas) mileage," Johnson said. "But these old trucks probably get three to five miles per gallon and some of these trucks have come thousands of miles to be here. It just shows the investment and love they have for these trucks."

Robert Jordan covers Dublin and Pleasanton. Contact him at 925-847-2184.

keep on trucking

What: American Truck Historical Society's annual national convention and antique truck show

When: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., today through Saturday

Where: Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton

Admission: Free. Parking is $8.

Details: Visit www.aths.org