Fleet Maintenance editor David A. Kolman gives his insights on the fleet maintenance and trucking industry.
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Got your BASICS in order?
by David A. Kolman - Monday May 21, 2012The Vehicle Maintenance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) is one of seven categories that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program uses to determine how a motor carrier ranks relative to other carriers with a similar number of safety events (i.e., inspections, violations, or crashes). The Vehicle... -
Putting some Stars through their paces
- Saturday May 12, 2012
When I was very young, I enjoyed playing with trucks in the dirt and on the blacktop. I’d push them around, maneuvering through and around various obstacles. Last week, on the ground of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I had the chance to once again play with trucks in the dirt and on asphalt. Only this time, instead of pushing them around, I was behind the wheel driving. The occasion was... -
Say hello to robot RUTH
by David A. Kolman - Monday April 30, 2012The automotive business is extremely competitive. Manufacturers are continually conducting R&D to make vehicles safer, quieter, more aerodynamic, more appealing and so on. To help better design its vehicle interiors, Ford has developed a robot known as RUTH - short for Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics. RUTH enables Ford engineers to refine various touch points around the...
Professional Tool & Equipment News editor Jacques Gordon talks about the automotive service and repair industry.
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Follow the Money
by Jacques Gordon - Thursday May 17, 2012The 'debate' over E15 is showing up in my Inbox with greater frequency these days. In case you haven't heard, E15 is 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol. Current EPA rules require refineries to produce E10 as road fuel, and a few years ago the Agency began the rule-making process to change that requirement to E15. (The actual ethanol blend at the pump is determined locally by state... -
Can you sell it?
by Jacques Gordon - Thursday April 5, 2012To run a successful auto repair business, being good at sales is just as important as any other skill in the shop. Tell me how you would answer this customer: When they first came out, I had a chance to try a vacuum tool that’s used for leak-checking and filling a cooling system. The brand name was Airlift, and I think there are some other brands now, but these days the tool is generically... -
Fuel Prices
by Jacques Gordon - Tuesday February 21, 2012The price of crude oil is now over $100 a barrel, so fuel prices are climbing again. This time it’s petro-politics. Iran has halted oil sales to France (who buys almost no Iranian crude) and Britain (who buys none at all) and has threatened to halt oil sales to other European Union nations. This is because the EU has announced a plan to stop buying Iranian crude in an effort to convince Iran...
