Truck

In the world of utilitarian power rangers, Mercedes-Benz’ Unimog and Econic transporter rank up there as two of the toughest, most versatile vehicles available. Mercedes Special Truck division is hoping to maintain that reputation with the unveiling of its latest models.  Read More

With government encouragement, London is seeing more cyclists taking to the road, which is great for the environment and public health. Unfortunately, London’s roads were built for oxcarts, not bicycles, and certainly not cyclists and lorries at the same time. Sat nav company Navevo, in association with Transport for London (TLC), is trying to make this combination a bit safer with Navevo’s ProNav HGV Cyclist Alert software, which provides visual and audible warnings of junctions and stretches of road with heavy cycle traffic.  Read More

For decades, the pickup truck has been the redneck-jock of automobiles – big, strong, dirty and not necessarily all that smart or refined. With the Atlas Concept, Ford envisions a future where the pickup truck adds a dose of technology and refinement. Consider the Atlas Concept that infuriating jock that managed to get straight As while playing a sport every season.  Read More

According to the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), though only five percent of all motor traffic in the UK's capital are lorries (trucks), they account for half of all cycling deaths in the Greater London area. Last November, the group launched its Safer Lorries, Safer Cycling campaign – which calls on councils to take a pledge that insists on cyclist-aware training for drivers and the use of the latest safety technology in all council-operated lorries and for all lorry contractors. Now LCC has released details of a lorry design overhaul that helps make cyclists more visible to drivers, while also lowering the chances of a rider being dragged underneath the wheels.  Read More

If you think your average annual gas bill is expensive, imagine how much the shipping industry spends to ship all forms of goods around the globe with its fleets of massive trucks. The Mercedes-Benz Aerodynamic Truck and Trailer aims to save a little of that fuel, money and pollution.  Read More

If there’s one thing that truck drivers don’t want their articulated tractor/trailer rigs to do, it’s jack-knifing. This typically occurs when the tractor skids on the road, and the momentum of the trailer causes it to swing out from behind, ultimately resulting in the tractor and trailer being folded up against one another – not unlike a jack knife’s body and blade. The folded rig usually ends up blocking the road, and the tractor can’t undo the situation under its own power. Fortunately, Greek researchers have recently created a system that they claim could greatly reduce jack-knifing.  Read More

A Jeep Wrangler pickup just makes sense given that the Wrangler is a true off-road model. If you're out tackling trails and rock crawls in the middle of the desert, you're going to need supplies - big supplies, like gas cans, water jugs, tools, etc ... and a pickup bed is the perfect place to store those supplies. The Brute Double Cab bolts a pickup bed onto a modified four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, becoming the Jeep pickup for the 21st century.  Read More

Although transport truck drivers routinely shift gears when going up or down hills, those hills can sometimes sneak up on them. Using Daimler’s GPS-enabled Predictive Power Control, however, the new Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor unit will now be able to see those hills coming. This will allow it to automatically change gears before the going gets tough, resulting in fuel savings of up to three percent over moderately difficult topography.  Read More

With most major auto manufacturers now actively developing electric vehicles, the drive towards a zero emission personal electric transportation future seems very much on the horizon. Road pollution doesn't just come from cars of course, freight vehicles are also major players in choking our highways and byways. Siemens is currently testing a possible solution in Germany that's based on proven railway and tram technology but has been adapted for trucks on roads. Heavy goods vehicles have been fitted with a newly-developed pantograph that can automatically raise to meet overhead cables and transfer electric power to hybrid diesel/electric power trains. Energy recovered from regenerative braking can also be fed back into the system for re-use by other vehicles.  Read More