According to an article in China Daily, Chinese heavy-duty truck maker Beiqi Foton Motor Co. is planning a vehicle for the U.S. and Western European market. The Auman GTL (which stands for global technology leader) was designed for the strict environmental requirements of the U.S. and Europe, the company said.

“Foton has already established a good presence in the Southeast Asian, South American and African markets, but it barely achieved anything in developed economies,” Wang Jinyu, president & CEO, told China Daily. “Now we are endeavoring to enter the mature markets including the U.S., Europe and Japan.”

According to Wang, the vehicle includes high-quality materials similar to those found in U.S. trucks and cost $266 million to develop. more

Say goodbye to underinflated tires robbing fuel economy. That day could be coming soon if a new technology that Goodyear is testing pays off.

Goodyear is developing a technology called Air Maintenance Technology (AMT) that not only monitors the inflation pressure inside a tire, but also inflates the tire when needed. All without the external pumps and electronics that are needed by today’s automatic tire inflation systems. more

Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined Peterbilt Motors Co. executives at Peterbilt’s Denton, TX, plant for a bill-signing ceremony where Perry put his signature to a bill that will expand the natural gas infrastructure in the state of Texas.

Senate Bill 20 establishes a natural gas transportation corridor in the rapidly expanding Texas Triangle, which encompasses Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The bill will increase the number of natural gas refueling station to support the use of natural gas powered trucks. more

U.S. Reps. Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) along with four co-sponsors have introduced a bill that would provide incentive for commercial fleets to install advanced safety technologies such as stability control systems. The bill, H.R. 1706, has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

(Photo at right: Meritor Wabco SmartTrac stability control system)

“Each year, there are over 384,000 crashes involving trucks, buses, and other heavy vehicles,” Thompson said. “Many of these accidents could have been prevented if advanced safety technologies had been in place. I was proud to work with Congressman Davis to introduce this legislation, which would make safety systems more affordable for the folks who need them.” more

A waste management company in France is set to begin the rollout of all-electric garbage trucks to clean the streets of the Paris suburb of Courbevoie. By the end of the year, SITA France expects to have 11 of the vehicles in operation and plans to replace the entire fleet eventually, according to Reuters.

“The engineers faced a real challenge of how to make it all work together - how they would be able to minimize overall electrical usage and come up with the vehicle that we have here,” SITA industrial director Cyril Fraissinet told the news organization.

The trucks were developed by PVI and Dow Kokam, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical. They use an advanced lithium polymer battery and all elements of the trucks and collecting refuse bins are electric. The 26-ton, zero-emission truck will eliminate 130 tons of CO2 per truck per year, the companies said. more

It seems that a new wave of fuel options is heading our way – and quite fast. In recent months, several companies have announced new dual-fuel systems that run on a combination of propane and diesel. I’m not sure how popular these dual-fuel engines will eventually become, but based on the number of companies investing in the technology, it has a chance.

The latest release comes from Icom North America, which recently showed its JTG-Dynamic System. The system uses a 50/50 mixture of liquid-injected propane and diesel fuel. Vehicles can also run on straight diesel fuel.

“Our innovative JTG-Dynamic System will provide vehicle owners with more power, more torque and improved efficiency along with huge fuel-cost savings and lower emissions,” said Icom’s CEO Ralph Perpetuini.

According to Icom, the system can be installed on diesel injection engines with electronics specifically programmed for each engine platform and does not require any mechanical changes to a traditional diesel engine. Icom is offering systems configured for the International DT466 and Cummins 11.9 engine families, with more platforms under development. more

“Ole Number One,” a 1983 Ford CL 9000 cabover tractor operated by LTL carrier Con-way Freight will have a permanent home in the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum. Con-way donated the classic vehicle, which was the company’s first tractor to go into service with the Con-way name in the Midwest. It officially retired from service in 1992 with over 500,000 mi. on it.

The vehicle, which bore the name Con-way Central Express (CCX), was fully restored in 1992 and on display at the company’s Ann Arbor headquarters until those offices moved in 2009. One of its original drivers, Dick Heyob, attended the formal gifting ceremony. Heyob still drives for Con-way Freight today. more

For those people who always say, “If I was designing this…,” here’s your chance. Well, OK, you’re not actually designing the product, but you input is being sought.

Continental Tire the Americas, as part of its display at this week’s Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, is asking drivers, fleet managers, and anyone else who wants to stop by their booth, to offer their input on Continental’s next great tire – the company’s first super single drive tire for highway use.

The company already has a super single trailer tire, the HTL1, but now it’s getting into the business of super single drive tires. The HDL2 Eco Plus (the “223″ at right), expected to launch later this year, is expected to provide superior fuel economy, exceptional traction, and a weight reduction over dual fitments, the company said.

What Continental doesn’t know yet, though, is what you think. more

Sometimes, it really is who you know. The Seattle-based Northwest Lions Foundation knew the right person, and that person gave the charity a gift that will save hundreds, if not thousands, of children from life-altering sight and hearing problems.

Red Bingham, an 87-year-old retired marine construction worker, and his wife Beverly, gave the Northwest Lions Foundation the boost it needed to purchase a new Kenworth T660 tractor that would pull a new trailer designed for vision and hearing screenings. The Lions Foundation uses the tractor-trailer to visit schools in Washington State and Northern Idaho and offer free hearing and sight tests for elementary school children to identify potential problems before they interfere with learning.

The truck travels about 25,000 miles a year, the organization said, conducting tests on about 28,000 children. About 12-14% are identified as having previously undiagnosed sight or hearing problems. more

Authors Judy Agnew and Aubrey Daniels have published a book that lays out the case that just because a trucking fleet puts the latest safety gadgets on its trucks, that alone does not make it safe.

In fact, the book, “Safe By Accident: Take the Luck Out of Safety: Leadership Practices that Build a Sustainable Safety Culture,” makes the argument that human behavior needs to change to truly create a culture of safety. Using science-based solutions, the authors have come up with seven steps companies can take to increase safety.

One point they make is to get rid of most traditional practices such as incentive programs, safety signs, and punishment. These things, especially the overuse of signage, simply clutter the process and cause employees to tune out more important messages. Instead, use signs that direct specific behavior, such as “shut off engines,” “set brakes,” “chock wheels,” they say. more