http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:32:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say. – from “Mark Twain’s Notebook” by Samuel Langhorne Clemens All of us here at FleetOwner are ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/06/24/when-editors-win-readers-win/ People around my age– let’s be kind and call them late-stage baby boomers– and definitely those who are older may recall a phenomenon from their misspent youth or further back in their carefree childhood: The Gas War. Back when “service stations” (how quaint a description is that?) gave away embossed ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/06/19/gas-war-version-2008/ As someone with no dog in this fight except for journalistic endeavor, what fascinates me the most about the big Caterpillar-Navistar deal, word of which broke this morning, is that among other weightier things, it means the death of one Cat come 2010– the heavy-duty on-highway Caterpillar truck engine in ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/06/12/nine-lives/ Only in dreams We see what it means Reach out our hands Hold on to hers But when we wake It’s all been erased And so it seems Only in dreams –chorus of Weezer’s “Only in Dreams,” words and music by Rivers Cuomo I’ve never listened to the rock band Weezer so I can’t say whether I have ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/05/29/not-only-in-dreams/ Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. - Gen. George S. Patton Jr., U.S. Army (1885-1945) While in recent months everything from speculators to refinery maintenance to the developing world has been blamed for the rapid run-up in fuel prices, it now seems the real issue ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/05/22/worse-news/ Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn’t take one more step… –lyric from “American Pie” (1971) by Don McLean (Iona College, B.B.A. ‘68) Just when you think things can’t get any worse, leave it to a Wall Streeter to wreck your holiday weekend– a full two days before it starts. I know my ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/05/21/bad-news/ I’ve long been disturbed by how so many people– truckers included– still do not wear seatbelts when in a vehicle. Maybe I am a hopeless Safety Sam but I even tell my kids to stay buckled up when we pull into a gas station or wherever on the off chance ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/05/02/could-it-be-any-easier/ Not at all unlike auto giants GM and Ford– and diesel engine maker Cummins among other manufacturers serving trucking here– North American-based automotive parts suppliers are apparently prospering by going global. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal today, both Visteon Corp. and TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/05/01/the-big-picture/ How many times have you passed a state trooper or other police officer dealing with a trucker or motorist stopped on the side of the road– and we are talking flashing lights, the whole works here– and you have not bothered to move one lane over, even if ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/04/30/steer-clear/ It was just last week that Ford Motor Co. surprised many by reporting strong first-quarter results. Ford’s long-term strategy of emphasizing global growth was credited in large part with that performance: “We had a challenging first quarter due to market conditions and the slowing economy,” said chairman & CEO Mike ... http://blog.fleetowner.com/reading_between_the_lines/2008/04/28/kerkorian-likes-fords-better-idea/