Deputy Transportation Secretary Meets with Safety Advisory Panel

Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari visited a safety advisory panel meeting Tuesday to thank the volunteer members of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee for their service. The panel of 20 representatives from trucking, the bus industry, law enforcement and safety advocates researches issues and offers recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Truck […]

 

Toyota Adds to Long List of Recalls with NHTSA

Toyota and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration have cited three separate voluntary recalls, involving a little bit over one million vehicles built between 2006 and 2011. The recalls were only the latest in a long list by Toyota. The two vehicles covered by the latest service action are the 2010 Lexus HS 250 hybrid […]

 

What Female Drivers Need When Fleets Spec Acquisitions

Female truck drivers are, on average, six inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than male drivers. The number of women drivers is growing steadily, and transportation companies need to take this trend into consideration when spec’ing their next truck acquisitions. Ellen Voie, president of the Women in Trucking non-profit group, spoke to the issues at […]

 

GECFS Releases Enhancements in Phase over to New Fleet Management Platform

GE Capital Fleet Services released new technology enhancements for fleet managers as part of a phased build up to the launch of its new and improved fleet management platform later this year. The new enhancements include advanced tools for customization, search, cost management, factory ordering, compliance, driver messaging, remarketing and data integration that GE has […]

 

Mazda Counting on Skyactiv to Hit Fuel Economy and Powertrain Performance Goals

Mazda North American Operations reported its best August sales in 10 years at 28,106 units sold – 26.4% over last year. Sales are up nearly 7% for the year. This is a company that has struggled to increase sales for years. Now Skyactiv technology seems to be the secret behind its newfound success. New vehicles equipped with Skyactiv accounted for 74.8% of all Mazda’s sold in August, and the company is increasing production of Skyactiv engines and transmissions to meet demand. So what’s behind this sales surge? Here’s my take on it…..