The Mayor of South Ribble has paid a visit to the Leyland Trucks plant at Farington as part of a series of visits to local companies during the final weeks of her mayoral year.

Councillor Kath Beattie, was accompanied by her consort, Mr Frank Redfern, a former employee of the company, for the visit earlier this week.

Councillor Beattie enjoyed a tour of the huge site - which covers 60 acres - during which she met a number of the 1,400 employees.

The Mayor was able to see the complete assembly process of DAF trucks destined for the UK and Continental markets and Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks for markets around the world.

Gleeman Truck Parts was named as the naming rights sponsor of the annual 50-lap Speedcar race at Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway on Saturday.

Finalising details with TPCR’s Managing Director Steven Green, Gleeman Parts Manager Glen Giffin said he was delighted to have his company again sponsor the 50-lapper for the second consecutive season.

“It is good to sponsor this race, it is good for our business and it helps raise the awareness of Speedcar racing,” Giffin said.

“This 50 lapper is gaining in status, largely because it is a 50-lapper. I would like to think that it will become the number two race in the country – second only to the national title,” he added.

Meanwhile Steven Green welcomed Gleeman Truck Parts and said the company’s involvement was also very beneficial to Speedcar racing.

“To have Gleeman Truck Parts onboard as naming rights sponsor is not only great for Speedcars, but also gives our 50-lapper more credibility.”

Gleeman Truck Parts also sponsor second generation driver Nathan Smee who is the defending winner of the 50-lap event following his victory in 2006. That was the last time the race was run after rain washed out the 2007 edition of the 50-lap marathon.

Steve Green topped up the prizemoney pool for the race to provide a further lucrative incentive for the Speedcar division. “I have always loved Speedcar racing and the very high calibre of competition the division puts on here at TPCR is very exciting. They certainly deserve to get a prizemoney bonus.”

With prizemoney from TPCR, plus the Gleeman Truck Parts sponsorship and a lap-by-lap money endorsement raised by the Speedcar Association of NSW, there is upward of $9,500 on offer for the 50-lapper making this race one of the most lucrative midget events of the season.

Queenslander Barry Velentino already has confirmed he will be a starter at TPCR, while New Zealander Stevie Walsh has also been named as a starter.

The wet weather Thursday didn’t keep local kids from having the chance to play with some very big toys at Cosmopolitan Park. The Columbia Parents as Teachers program put together its yearly Tons of Trucks event to give kids the opportunity to explore all sorts of trucks. Children of all ages got to climb inside and explore.

Organizers say this is a great opportunity for families to have some fun with their children.

“Activities for children, you need to do the things that they like,” said Linda Romine, program coordinator. “This is an opportunity for them to learn about community service workers, they can learn about lots of different vehicles, have an expansive vocabulary, and see big trucks, little trucks, big wheels, little wheels.”

Stunning is a word that gets thrown about a lot at auto shows, but rarely comes true. How many Yugo Cabriolets really have the power to stun?

Then there’s the Pontiac G8 sport truck, a truly stunning vehicle that’s about to make its world debut at the New York auto show.

Why’s it so shocking? Well, when’s the last time you saw a V-8-powered sports sedan with a pickup truck bed attached to the back?

If you recall from the 1970s, the last time this idea came from General Motors, it fathered the El Camino. This time around, it’s being borne from the Australian arm of General Motors, which already sells a car/truck half-breed Down Under.

The new G8 sport truck blurs the lines of cars and trucks right down the middle. Halfway back, down its sides, a pickup bed replaces where you’d expect to see another set of doors. And the pickup bed’s a useful, real one: Pontiac says it can tote 1000 pounds of payload and that the truck can tow 3500 pounds, while the bed’s long enough for some serious wood.

It’s based on the G8 sedan (a version of Australia’s Holden sedans) but the sport truck gets a longer wheelbase and longer overall body than the four-door version. And under the hood it gets a big V-8 that puts out 361 horsepower through a six-speed automatic. Pontiac says that’s good enough for a run to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, faster than any truck we’ve driven lately.

Inside, the sport truck carries much of the same gear as the G8 sedan. Standard features include side and curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, cruise control, power windows/locks/mirrors, and Bluetooth, along with a 230-watt, six-disc stereo. Options will include leather seats with two-tone trim.

Rising gas prices are leaving some local truckers with nothing — no job, no rig and no home.

“I know two guys who took money out of their homes to buy trucks and now they are losing both,” said Tom Holden, owner-operator of Holden Trucking in Hesperia. “Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon.”

Holden, who has been in business for some 16 years, said his fuel costs were about $7,000 a month and jumped to $11,000 in the past few months.

“When companies pay 32 cents per mile and some older trucks get something like two miles to the gallon, the cost of fuel is more than the load pays,” said Dave Green, a mobile truck mechanic from Hesperia.

He added that some of the newer, lower-emission trucks get worse gas mileage than the ones built around 2005.
Skyrocketing gas prices are just one of the many problems facing the trucking industry, said Julie Sauls, spokesperson for the California Trucking Association. New environmental bills are pushing many truckers to flee the state while they still can experts said.

“At this moment I am keeping watch on 80 bills that can impact the trucking industry,” Sauls said.

The San Pedro Area Clean Air Action Plan may make the biggest impact, Sauls said.

According to the San Pedro plan, trucks need to make certain changes in order to meet environmental and air quality guidelines, including having to purchase either new lower-emission trucks or making modifications to existing trucks.

Many see this as a difficult balancing act.

“When you try to solve the environmental problem, which does have to be addressed, people don’t realize that it’s trucks that drive the food into the markets,” said Eddie Moreno, co-owner of Quality Driver Solutions, a driver-recruitment center in Ontario.

The CTA is working every day to strike a good balance between reducing emissions and transporting goods, said Sauls. Some of those efforts include California’s use of ultra-low sulfur fuel for almost a decade and traveling at more fuel-efficient speeds.

The ultimate increase in price in passed onto the consumer, said Sauls.

“This is the worst I have ever seen it in 19 years in the business,” said Green.

“Coupled with diesel prices topping off at more than $4 a gallon, some of the owners are finding it harder to conduct business and are operating on a thinner margin,” Sauls said.

The price of diesel in California has also impacted out-of-state drivers.

“We don’t fuel up in California,” said Robert Schaefer of Oklahoma. Other long-haul truckers share Schaefer’s sentiments.

“The big problem is that we don’t get any of that increase, the company doesn’t see the money. It all lines the pockets of those oil mongrels,” said Lisa Serrao of Arizona.

PACCAR Trucks Melbourne has achieved the highest recognition possible for DAF truck dealers in Australia by winning the 2007 DAF Dealer of the Year Award.

Winning the award is testament to its focus on growing DAF’s presence in the Melbourne market.

Andrew Kneebone, General Manager, Retail Operations for PACCAR Trucks Melbourne, says he is thrilled to win the award, which recognises excellence in overall dealer performance, truck sales, parts sales and customer support.

“It is great to be recognised for our DAF sales and customer service efforts. DAF is a premium European brand – and with good reason. The range meets the needs of virtually every niche market, from smaller rigids for metro and short-haul applications to prime movers for heavy-duty and line haul,” Kneebone says.

“At PACCAR Trucks Melbourne we have a closely-knit team of knowledgeable sales and service specialists who are dedicated to DAF trucks – and this award acknowledges their commitment to providing great customer service.”

PACCAR Trucks Melbourne services the western and northern suburbs of Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong and surrounding districts. It is located only minutes from the Westgate Freeway and the Western Ring Road, and is within easy reach of CityLink, the Tullamarine and Calder Freeways as well as the Western and Hume Highways.

New and used truck sales, an ALLRig parts supermarket, an ALLRig Express truck wash, and state-of-the-art service facilities with 30 service bays including four fast lube service pits are all available at this leading dealership. It operates from 8am to 11pm Monday to Friday, as well as Saturdays until 6pm. A 24-hour breakdown and emergency parts service provides peace of mind for their customers.

In presenting the DAF Dealer of the Year award, Brad Wolstenholme, General Manager, DAF Trucks Australia, said PACCAR Trucks Melbourne is committed to excellence in every department. “We are proud to present PACCAR Trucks Melbourne with our premier award. This dealership has worked hard as a team to not only meet customer needs, but to also set a new standard for the industry,” he said.

“It has invested heavily in training staff and building a solid infrastructure that supports the DAF brand. It is proactive in the marketplace, by identifying and supplying a variety of transport solutions to new and existing customers. Above all else, PACCAR Trucks Melbourne has demonstrated its commitment to DAF customers, by providing them with the best service before, during and after the sale,” Brad added.

“We have had great success with the DAF CF range,” Andrew said. “These models feature a low tare weight for optimum payload, powerful engines and a broad range of chassis and axle configurations The CF series is suitable for a multitude of applications, ranging from inner-city delivery to construction vehicles and intrastate operations. DAFs are designed to make life easier for the professional driver.”

“DAF customer support is very important to us. We have two specialist DAF Sales Consultants and seven highly-trained DAF service technicians. As our DAF business grows, we will add other professionals to the DAF team,” he added.

DAF Trucks Australia, a division of PACCAR Australia Pty Ltd, distributes a range of medium and heavy-duty trucks throughout Australia.

The price of diesel fuel hit a record Friday — and gasoline prices are leaping so fast they could set records next week.

Rocketing retail fuel prices are the result of the week’s $100-a-barrel crude oil prices and tight supplies as refineries switch to producing costlier summer-blend, clean-air gasoline that’s required by federal regulations.

The nationwide average price for diesel Friday was a record $3.541 per gallon, according to data collected daily at more than 85,000 fuel stations by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and published by travel organization AAA.

That’s a jump of 3.8 cents a gallon overnight and 7 cents in two days, huge moves in a universe where a penny is considered significant.

The nationwide average for regular-grade gasoline Friday was $3.115, up 2.9 cents overnight and 6.2 cents in two days. At that rate, the average price by the middle of next week would break the record $3.227 set May 24.

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Uncovered garbage trucks can no longer use the South Road Properties (SRP) road in going to the Inayawan landfill starting Monday.

Nagiel Bañacia, SRP’s newly appointed chief executive officer, announced Tuesday that the city will ban all uncovered trucks at the SRP to keep the area clean.

“This will keep the SRP area clean and free from falling garbage and filth,” Bañacia said.

Banacia said he noticed uncovered garbage trucks from the Department of Public Services (DPS) and the different barangays (villages) using the SRP road in going to the landfill.

Since the trucks were not covered, the garbage fell on the road. This happened especially to speeding trucks.

Banacia said the maintenance crew at the SRP spent more time cleaning the area of fallen garbage.

Banacia said cleanliness in the SRP area is important because this is the city’s prime project to attract investors.

He said he made the recommendation to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena who agreed to his proposal to ban uncovered trucks.

Banacia said the ban also applies to other types of uncovered trucks like hauler trucks and dump trucks carrying sand and gravel.

“If they want to use the SRP road, they should cover their trucks,” he said.

Starting Monday, Banacia said checkpoints will be posted at different entrances of the SRP.

Barangay captains were all notified.

Banacia said DPS chief Dionisio Gualisa is aware of the new rule.

Banacia added that by Monday, strict traffic rules will also be implemented in the SRP to avoid accidents, like the wearing of helmets for motorcycle riders, and backriders should be limited to just one person.