Trucks

Mixing the Old with the New

Diesel News meets an operator in Sydney’s west who is a prime example of mixing the new with the old to get results. We all know we have to move with the times, but, at the same time, we don’t want to lose the values that were so important when setting up a business. There is a stereotypical image of the type of trucking operation we expect to embrace the latest technology to get ahead in business, with a dynamic, young management group driving change, using modern trucks with slick artwork on the doors. This picture is very unlike Parklea Sand and Soil, who is very much a traditional-style operator, running some legacy trucks and using one the few proper sign writers left in the Sydney area.
Read More

New Kid on the Block

There is now a new kid on the block – after eight years at the helm of Scania Australia, Roger McCarthy has handed the tiller to Mikael Jansson as the local Managing Director of the Swedish truck brand. Diesel News looks at Roger’s legacy. The Managing Director’s chair at Scania Australia headquarters used to be a bit of a hot one. There were a couple of short-term appointments, due to a certain amount of churn in the Scania organisation in Europe. The arrival of Roger McCarthy in 2009 was, in retrospect, a calming influence. One that allowed the Australian operation to get its bearings and then find new directions in which to move forward.
Read More

2018 International Truck of the Year Announcement

In Europe, the 2018 International Truck of the Year Announcement has been made today. DAF’s new XF/CF truck range has been elected International Truck of the Year for 2018 by a jury of 23 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing 23 major trucking magazines from throughout Europe. The prestigious award was handed over to Preston Feight, President of DAF Trucks, during the press day of the Solutrans Commercial Vehicle Show in Lyon, France.
Read More

Scanning The Trucking Twitterverse

Diesel News has been scanning the Trucking Twitterverse for a few snippets about what is going on our world. This school kid in Norway got away with a lucky escape after the driver of the truck whose dash cam recorded the incident, flashed the oncoming Volvo just in time.
Read More

Everything Has To Do With Scale

In the Northern Territory everything has to do with scale – it represents 18 per cent of Australia’s land area but is home to just one per cent of the country’s population. Diesel News talked with an operator tasked with distributing fuel across the Territory. Sitting in a modest industrial unit in Katherine in the Northern Territory, and talking to the owner of the operation, John Fraser, it’s easy to think of the operation run by the genial, relaxed man in battered shorts and a shirt, with a dusty baseball cap, as a small concern. However, start talking about the task the company handles, plus the area covered and customers serviced, and you soon realise this is a big operation in a big country, using big trucks. Read More

Merc Breaking Out

The new-generation Mercedes-Benz trucks coming onto the market see Merc breaking out of being a ‘niche’ truck brand and move into the mainstream. Diesel News drives the first batch release of rigid truck models in the range. They went on display for the first time at the Brisbane Truck Show, and now the selection of rigid models Mercedes-Benz is releasing in the company’s new-generation refresh are available and on the road.
Read More

Top Power From Sweden

There’s a lot of talk about trucks with top power from Sweden. However, the arrival of a new Scania V8 diesel gives Diesel News’ European Correspondent, Brian Weatherley, an excuse to examine the real-world demand for high-horsepower super-trucks in Europe. “Just don’t take it personally down-under,” says Brian. I’m going let you in on a secret. I’m struggling to stay enthusiastic about high-horsepower, big-displacement diesels. There, I’ve said it. Considering how many words I’ve written about them in the past (including such clunking adjectives as ‘fire-breathing’ and ‘stump-pulling’) it’s all rather embarrassing. It dawned on me after having recently learned of Scania’s new V8 engine, launched at the same time as its G-Series, the latest in its ‘Next Generation’ of heavies.
Read More

LNG And All That Gas

The price of diesel goes up a little bit and immediately LNG and all that gas comes back into the reckoning. The margins in road transport are so slim, only a small incremental change can tip the balance between fuel options.
Read More

Cummins Unveiled Its All-Electric Powertrain

In the US recently, Cummins unveiled its all-electric powertrain demonstration truck in its home city of Columbus, Indiana. The event took many by surprise, with Cummins is underscoring the move to electric traction – as the environmental alternative to diesel – as a power choice for vocations that can use it going into the next decade. Based on what appeared to be an International Class 7 cab and chassis, heavily modified by Detroit engineering and performance house Rousch Engineering, the two-axle Aeos featured a production-intent Cummins electric power module, and a single, direct-drive motor and battery pack.

Read More