The garbage truck that was stolen from the Graham city garage late Wednesday turned up in Durham Thursday.

The Durham Police Department found the truck on Oak Drive in Durham, said Graham Police Lt. Brad Shirley.

“The vehicle appeared to be abandoned on the side of the road,” Shirley said. “There were no suspects with the vehicle and no arrests have been made.”

Graham Police have searched for the 1991 Ford sanitation truck since it was taken at about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday. Someone entered the garage complex and drove the vehicle, which was worth about $71,000, through the gate. Damages to the gate are estimated at about $300.

The dark green truck was spotted in Elon and Gibsonville early Thursday.

RCMP have publicly identified the log truck driver killed near Fort St. James on Wednesday as Robert Joseph Kandler, 44, of Prince George. He died in a collision with another logging truck near the 62-kilometre mark of the North Road, near Fort St. James. The road connects Fort St. James to Germanson Landing.

No information is yet available about what might have caused the two trucks to collide. The investigation is ongoing.

It’s the first fatality involving a logging truck in northern B.C. in 14 months. Logging truck drivers lead the death toll in the forest sector in northern B.C. Although no logging truck drivers were killed in 2007 in northern B.C., more than 30 logging truck drivers and other forestry drivers have been killed since 1995.

Toyota Motor (TM) is at it again. On Jan. 13, the Japanese automaker took the wraps off another product that could have embattled American automakers scrambling to catch up. Its new concept truck, dubbed A-BAT, will made worldwide debut in the heart of the U.S. auto industry, at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. And the tough-looking pickup packs a hybrid gas-electric power supply similar to the Prius sedan, likely the most well-known green machine on American roads.

In November, 2007, General Motors (GM) introduced a hybrid version of its largest pickup, but no other automaker currently offers a modern, small truck with a gas-electric power plant. And none have Toyota’s environmental street cred to make such a vehicle a sales star.

Toyota’s truck division had a banner year in 2007, giving it significant momentum into ‘08. Now, the A-BAT shows a potential new small truck that could slot into the company’s truck lineup under the Tundra and midsize Tacoma, effectively creating a new segment. The small vehicle, which could be built on a car platform, looks big but is about the size of the company’s smallest sport-utility vehicle, the RAV4, and could prove popular with young buyers looking for a fuel-efficient but versatile vehicle.

Toyota designers gave BusinessWeek.com an exclusive peek at the pre-production concept model.

Used Trucks for sale at TrucksJunction.com

According to the State Patrol, the driver of a truck for the Taste of Scandinavia bakery rolled near County Road 14.

Investigators think the truck ran off the road to the right and then overcorrected and rolled over.

The driver was pinned under the cab and was killed. His name has not been released.

 * Competes with: Chevy TrailBlazer, Ford Explorer and other such endangered species
* Looks like: Unfrozen Dr. Evil came up with the product plan
* Drivetrain: 262-hp V-6 with five-speed automatic or 300-plus-hp 4.6-liter V-8 with six-speed automatic; 3.0-liter clean-diesel V-6 to come
* Hits dealerships: Summer 2008

I went to the Kia display at the Detroit auto show to see what had to be an outstanding all-new midsize truck-based SUV. It would have to be outstanding, I thought, because there could be no other explanation as to why an automaker would introduce a truck-based SUV in 2008. All I had to do was enter Detroit Hall, pass the Jaguar and Land Rover exhibits and travel back in time more than 10 years.

There I heard Kia Motors America president Len Hunt talk about catering to buyers with “active lifestyles” and celebrating the company’s first-ever V-8 engine and navigation system. The model in question was not, it turned out, a 1999. It was the 2009 Borrego, which on closer inspection turned out to be a perfectly serviceable seven-seat SUV — but possibly the worst product decision I’ve seen in years. Kia has made one smart move after another in the 21st century, even introducing a low-cost-alternative minivan that went toe-to-toe with the class leaders in most areas. Bringing a truck like this to market while the rest of the industry is scrambling to get out of it just doesn’t strike me as a good move.

It’s not all old-school, though. The Borrego offers power-adjustable pedals, a rear sonar system and backup camera, and a six-speed automatic transmission for use with the 300-plus-horsepower V-8. The base engine is a 3.8-liter V-6, and buyers have a choice of rear- or four-wheel drive. The most modern thing about this model is the promise of a clean-diesel engine option. Asked when this engine would become available, Hunt said only that it would be in the model’s first generation. Off to the side of the display, a cutaway 3.0-liter V-6 diesel promised 247 hp and 398 pounds-feet of torque beginning in 2010. Towing capacities aren’t given yet for this engine, but the V-6 is claimed to pull 5,000 pounds and the V-8 is good for 7,500.

To be fair, the truck itself has a lot to recommend it. It’s not stunning to look at, but it has a relatively high-quality interior with roomy first- and second-row seats, plus a serviceable third row for kids. Safety features abound, including two-stage front airbags, side curtain airbags for all three rows of seats, antilock disc brakes, an electronic stability system with traction control and offroad aids like downhill assist control and hill assist control. There’s also the generous Kia warranty.

It’s possible so many manufacturers will get out of the truck-based-SUV business that there will be a decent market for trucks like this one. Until such a time, the Borrego will make good use of its hill assist control; it’s going to be an uphill climb.

Toyota Motor Corp President Katsuaki Watanabe said on Sunday the Japanese automaker will launch a diesel-powered Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV in the United States soon, in an about-face to its hybrid-centered product strategy.

Toyota, which likely unseated General Motors Corp as the world’s biggest automaker last year, has repeatedly hesitated to committing a diesel vehicle for the U.S. market, which is slowly warming to the fuel-efficient drivetrain, especially for use in larger vehicles.

“I am happy to confirm that a new clean-diesel V8 engine will be offered in both the Tundra and the Sequoia in the near future,” Watanabe told a news conference at the North American International Auto Show.

The diesel vehicles were one way to meet new fuel economy regulations agreed by the U.S. Congress that require a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, Watanabe said.

He added that Toyota will also expand its hybrid line-up by launching world premieres of two all-new, dedicated hybrid models - one for Toyota and one for its luxury Lexus brand - at next year’s Detroit auto show.

“We will not wait until the deadline to comply (with the fuel economy standards),” Watanabe said. “I have issued a challenge to our engineers to meet the new standard well in advance of 2020.”

Toyota, which brought the world the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid, has a goal of selling 1 million hybrid cars a year soon after 2010. In the 10 years since the launch of the first-generation Prius in late 1997, Toyota sold 1.25 million hybrid cars.

At the press conference, Toyota also unveiled a new hybrid pickup truck concept called A-BAT, which stands for the Advanced-Breakthrough Aerodynamic Truck.

Toyota is due to unveil another concept, the Venza, on Monday.

Americans bought more Toyota Prius hybrid petrol-electric hatchbacks in 2007 than Ford Explorer sports utility vehicles, the top-selling SUV for more than a decade.

The change of fortune, buried in US vehicle sales data for 2007 and unthinkable a few years ago, will find an echo at this year’s Detroit auto show, which starts on Sunday.

While Americans’ love for powerful gas-guzzlers remains strong, the slowing economy and high fuel prices are forcing buyers to lower their sights. Pressure on manufacturers to offer more fuel-efficient vehicles increased last month with a law requiring them to improve vehicles’ average fuel efficiency by 40 per cent over the next 12 years.

While Prius sales soared 69 per cent in 2007, demand for the Explorer was less than a third of its 2000 peak. Many Americans are replacing truck-based SUVs with crossover vehicles, which are built like cars, thus offering a smoother ride and better fuel efficiency. Toyota began selling the Prius in North America in 2000, the same year Explorer sales reached a record 445,000 units.

“It’s a combination of an ascending star and a falling star,” says George Magliano, director of automotive industry analysis at consultant Global Insight.

The Explorer led the SUV charge in the 1990s to replace the minivan as the family car. Baby-boomers craving space, a protective cocoon high above the ground and the power of a V-8 engine have driven about 6m out of showrooms over the past 18 years. But filling an Explorer fuel tank now costs close to $70, against $30 five years ago. The traditional SUV “is a dead market”, Mr Magliano says.

Toyota has pushed Prius sales hard in the past year, but in one respect, the car has become like most other North America vehicles – its sales have been buoyed by special promotions.

In Detroit, Ford will unveil a crossover vehicle, Explorer America – a signal that the traditional SUV’s days are numbered. The Explorer America will come with a fuel-efficient engine and the eight-cylinder version will be dropped.

Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Saab and BMW are among other carmakers showing off new crossover models at the auto show. Ford will also be exhibiting a four-door version of its Verve hatchback.

The Motor National Monster Truck Show will be held at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Main Arena of the Forrest County Multi Purpose Center.

This event will feature monster trucks shown on television as they race to beat the clock.

Advanced tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12 on Friday and Saturday only.

Admission at the door will be $15 for adults and $12 for children on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, admission will be $15 for adults and $6 for children.

Tickets are on sale at Mack’s Mini Mart, TJs Western Ware and the Multi Purpose Center Box Office.t