One of the great advantages of the Volvo I-Shift automated mechanical transmission is its ease of use. Many drivers entering the driver workforce these days no longer have the experience operating a standard transmission vehicle.

As a result, more and more fleets are finding they either have to spend valuable time training new drivers – and losing those trainees who find it too difficult to learn how to drive a manual – or purchasing a vehicle equipped with an automatic or automated transmission.

I am like many of these new drivers – no experience with a manual truck transmission. In fact, I have no experience with an automatic or automated truck transmission either. So I think I am a perfect representative to speak to how easy it is to drive one of Volvo’s trucks equipped with an I-Shift.

The answer: It’s much like driving my “little” SUV, just a little bigger.

I had the chance to test-drive a Volvo FH16 750, a 750-horsepower cabover, just introduced in Europe at the beginning of September, during a press event this week in Gothenburg, Sweden. Having never driven a big rig like this one, coupled to a semi-trailer, the I-Shift allowed me to speed right through that learning curve.

Now by no means am I a professional truck driver – in fact I barely touched 60 km on my short test-track journey, but not having to worry about getting the vehicle into the correct gear meant I could focus on the truly important chores at hand – not driving the vehicle off the edge of the road or hitting anything, or anybody, on the corners.

The transmission has a number of driver-friendly features, including a very smooth engine brake that downshifts the vehicle several gears at a time while allowing the driver to maintain the same control as under normal driving conditions.

Of course, there is a hill-start aid that gives the driver 1 ½ seconds to press the accelerator before the truck starts moving – in either direction. And the automatic gear selection skips unnecessary gears while accelerating – in all, only six of the 12 speeds are needed to reach highway speed.

Add in the fuel efficiency gains achieved with an I-Shift – as much as 1.5% - and it’s clear to see why we are starting to see a slow shift away from manual transmissions.

Even someone inexperienced like myself can see the advantages, which should only serve to open more doors to careers in truck driving for the younger generation.

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

In what some believe is becoming a more common problem as cities and states use ever-more powerful road deicing chemicals for snow and ice removal, concern grows over the impact those chemicals have on vehicles.

The latest example is the announcement Monday that Ford Motor Co.is recalling more than 1 million F-150 and F-250 trucks, and Lincoln Blackwater vehicles because the straps holding the fuel tanks in place can corrode and break off, increasing the risk of fire. The recall affects vehicles in 22 states. more

As many in the country have sweltered under extreme temperatures this summer, fans and air conditioners have been running full blast. The same is true for a/c devices in both cars and trucks.

For drivers, especially professional drivers who spend so much of their time in their vehicles, air conditioning may not be a luxury. The last thing anyone wants is a driver hauling 80,000 lbs. down the highway, completely exhausted because he’s spent the past six hours sitting inside a 100-deg. cab. The results could be deadly.

But what do drivers do if their cab – and their temperament – are running a little hot? The quick fix comes in a can of R-134a. But in the eyes of at least one expert, the quick fix could do much more damage to your vehicle than it’s worth. more

I’ve driven the long road up Mt. Washington in Pinkham Notch, NH. It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. The twists and turns along the road on the way to the top of the 6,288-ft. summit leave you perilously close to the edge at times.

Traversing this 7.6-mi. route over a road that alternates between serpentine tarmac and gravel is impressive enough. Doing it in just 8:02 is unbelievable. But that’s exactly what stunt driver Mike Ryan accomplished recently. more

So the U.S. and Mexico have officially signed off on a cross-border trucking deal and the fun begins again. The long-awaited program – promised by the Obama Administration since the cancellation of the previous pilot program in 2009 – is officially a government program. We know this because of the criticism it is receiving, including a court challenge the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) has filed.

Without getting into too many details (you can read all the coverage at www.fleetowner.com), the one disturbing trend that continues to appear regarding the program is the claim that Mexican trucks are not up to the standards of U.S. vehicles. While that may be true in Mexico, it definitely will not be true here. Yet, opponents of the program continue to pound us over the heads with this. more

Since port truck replacement programs are in the news this week, it seems fitting that one program, along the Mid-Atlantic region, is forming.

Four states (Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania) have joined forces with the University of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA) to create a new program designed to assist truck operators working in drayage operations in replacing their older trucks.

“We no longer want our ports to be the place where old trucks go to die,” says Joanne Throwe, the director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, which is coordinating the new effort. “It’s not just the air around the port that suffers – it’s the routes the trucks follow throughout the region.” more

Electric trucks are starting to catch on. It only took 100 or so years. Many would be shocked to learn that at the dawn of the 20th Century, it was not gas or diesel power that delivered America’s goods, it was electricity.

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is inviting the public to a birthday celebration for its 100-year-old, 1911 Walker Electric Truck. The Walker Electric Truck was built by the Walker Vehicle Co. in Chicago, IL. The company continued to produce electric vehicles until 1941.

“Many people think that electric vehicles are a recent invention, when in fact they were in production over 100 years ago,” says Dave Meier, museum curator. more

Ever have an idea for a tool that you thought was just perfect but didn’t know how to build it or sell it? Well, OTC, a SPX Brand, has a solution for all you tool inventors out there.

The company has launched a new website dedicated to tool inventors. The site, located at www.otctools.com/inventionsubmission.php, allows anyone to submit ideas for review by tool experts.

(See a video demonstration of the site and how to submit your idea following the jump.)

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Need a bigger truck? How about one that you could literally drive for days? Then the Ram Long-Hauler maybe for you. Ram Truck is showcasing the Long-Hauler at select events this summer, starting this week at the Kentucky Derby in Louisville.

This 24-ft. “concept truck” includes a mega cab, 8-ft. bed, and the ability to hold up to 170 gals. of fuel at any given time. Bring your credit card when you fill this monster up.

Based on a Class 5 Ram 5500 chassis cab, the Long-Hauler includes a mid-ship fuel tank, a second frame-mounted tank, and an optional bed-mounted tank to bring the capacity to 170 gals. It has a 197.4 in. wheelbase with a 37,500 gross combined weight rating. It stands 79.1 in. tall and weighs in at 9,300 lbs.

Want power? more