Jim Park
Jim Park was a CDL driver and owner-operator from 1978 until 1998, when he began his second career as a trucking journalist. During that career transition, he hosted an overnight radio show on a Hamilton, Ontario radio station and later went on to anchor the trucking news in SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking channel. Jim is a regular contributor to Today's Trucking and Trucknews.com, and produces Focus On and On the Spot test drive videos.
Financial Planning: Structure a lease that’s right for you
TORONTO, ON -- What is it that you do best: fix trucks, manage toll payments and fuel taxes, change tires, sell used trucks, or move freight? If you're even a modestly successful fleet in today's market, you're probably pretty good at most of the above, but you probably wish you could devote more time and resources to your core competency - moving freight. About 10 years ago, André Boisvert, vice president and co-owner of Lachine, Quebec-based Trans-West Group, concluded that he was better at transportation and logistics than he was at maintenance and fleet management.
Test Drive: Paccar unveils 12-speed automated transmission
Paccar is the latest North American truck manufacturer to bring a proprietary automated transmission to market. Called the Paccar Automated Transmission, it's a 12-speed, twin countershaft design that was conceived as an automated transmission, which is to say, it was designed that way. It's not a manual box fitted with add-on shift-actuators. Paccar says it's the lightest automated transmission currently in production. At just 657 pounds, it is nearly 200 pounds lighter than Eaton's Advantage AMT. The addition of the automated transmission completes Paccar's goal of having a fully integrated proprietary powertrain. Paccar says its new transmission has been performance-optimized for MX-series engines and the new 40,000-pound drive axles unveiled in October 2016.
