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MATS 2012

Posts Tagged ‘Nov-2009’

Fast Times at Notre Dame du Nord

A spur-of-the-moment race between local trucks has evolved into a must-see yearly event

Sitting on his porch, Gerry Dussault hears the staccato roar of over-tuned diesel engines in the distance. Behind him the quiet village of Notre Dame du Nord in Quebec, Canada, home to about 1,200 people, is host to nearly 60,000 visitors. Concrete barriers cut off some streets. Nearly every lawn and parking lot is crammed with tents, trailers and motor homes, and the village is crowded with singles, couples and families.A couple of blocks away, the bathrooms, shower rooms and cafeteria of the…

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Ease on Down the Road

The newest innovation in automatic transmission

When I learned to drive a truck in the ’80s, the school had me spend the first third of the program in the yard, just learning how to shift gears. Unlike automobile transmissions, trucks have no synchronization. Drivers must learn to “double clutch” — to match engine rpm with vehicle speed, then select the right gear for the situation. It’s easy enough to do until you get on a hill where speeds change more quickly, requiring faster reaction time. Get it right, and…

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Get Moo-ving

The introduction of cow-powered trucks

There are some 90,000 plus dairy operations located throughout the U.S. Someday, these farms could also be producing fuel to run their trucks and generate electricity to power dairy operations. The nation’s first “cow-powered” trucks were unveiled earlier this year. These trucks, which normally run on diesel fuel, were modified to run on clean-burning biomethane. Biomethane is a renewable fuel, most commonly produced from organic wastes, in this case cow manure. Biomethane redu…

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Old Kids on the Block

A personal collection of antique trucks and memorabilia goes up for auction in New Hampshire

A rare 1947 Mack FW truck, one of only 63 ever manufactured by Mack in that year, sold for $29,000 in an auction that both celebrated one of the largest private collections of trucks and service vehicles and helped raise money for scholarships and trust funds. On a sunny Saturday in July, bidders and collectors from all over the U.S. gathered in tiny Hillsborough, N.H., to bid on a piece of Kemp’s Truck Museum. Richard Kemp, who spent nearly 50 years amassing the collection of Ster…

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Drive a Crooked Mile

Virginia tries a unique approach to slowing traffic down

No, that’s no college prank. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has begun a new project specifically intended to confuse drivers. Zig-zagging white lines are being painted on selected roadways. These markings are part of an experiment to cause motorists to slow down or brake instinctively before coming to high pedestrian and bicycle areas. The experiment is taking place in Virginia’s Loudoun County at several popular hiking and biking trails that cross roads with heavy…

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