Rolf Lockwood

Rolf Lockwood is editor emeritus of Today's Trucking and a regular contributor to Trucknews.com.

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Volvo concept boosts fuel economy 30%

With almost one-third lower fuel consumption, Volvo Trucks' new concept vehicle shows how it is possible to drastically boost productivity in long-haul operations. With support from the Swedish Energy Agency, Volvo developed a new concept vehicle, the result of a five-year-long research project aimed at creating more energy-efficient vehicles. The new concept truck is said to cut fuel consumption by more than 30%. "Our concept truck showcases the immense power of on-going technical advances," says Claes Nilsson, Volvo Trucks president and CEO. One of the key factors behind the low fuel consumption is its massive 40% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency that has benefited both the tractor and trailer.

Richard Ross calls it a day

BRANTFORD, ON -- Richard Ross is fond of saying that he's been in trucking for 58 years. If you saw him at his recent retirement party here, and then did the math, that number would seem very wrong. Not so. Just retired as vice president of sales, trucks and trailers, at Carrier Centers based in Woodstock, ON, the affable Ross isn't as old as a 58-year career implies. The thing is, he started when he was a 10-year-old boy in England, working in his father's truck repair business on Saturdays and most evenings. And he's still smiling. As he says, trucks get in the blood. Richard Ross, left, with Carrier Centers chief Rob LongThere was a lot of smiling at The Brantford Club as a couple of hundred friends gathered to wish Ross well. The glitterati in attendance included the likes of David Bradley, chairman of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and the Ontario Trucking Association, and Dan Einwechter, president of Challenger Motor Freight. Hosting the event was Rob Long, Carrier president and dealer principal.

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