You know something has changed in the trucking world when all the major truck and engine manufacturers are talking about fuel economy… at the Mid-America Truck Show.

That’s right, at THE truck show for owner-operators, the place where big bore diesels and raw horsepower trump all, everyone was talking about fuel efficiency. And they weren’t just talking about in private conversations, on the side. They were leading off with fuel economy, treating it like a selling point (which it always should be anyway).

There was Freightliner, telling us that their 2010 “SCR” diesel engines from Detroit Diesel and Mercedes-Benz would be offering up a three to five percent fuel economy improvement… There were Peterbilt and Kenworth showing off their diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic trucks… There were vendors showing off new trailer aerodynamic packages, alternative fuels, and “green” initiatives galore (yes, many products were being sold on their environmental benefits, but they almost always offer a fuel-use benefit as part of the package).

Is this a sign of things to come? Yes, I think it is. I think the tide has turned, green is in, and fuel economy is going to overshadow every other issue in the trucking industry. And it’s about time!

I’ve asked the question in the past, “How expensive does a gallon of fuel have to be before Americans say ‘Enough!’” It now appears we may have an answer.

There’s a lot of buzz on internet forums and CB radio channels about independent truckers holding a national “Fuel Shut Down” on Tuesday, April 1st., to protest skyrocketing diesel fuel prices. This could be huge, or it could be a dud (or it could be a colossal April Fool’s joke). There’s no union or cohesive leadership group promoting this event, and there seems to be some confusion about the actual date of the event, but the fact that people are talking about this as a reality says something about how frustrated Americans are by rising gas and diesel prices and our government’s inability to rein in big oil companies and Middle East sheikdoms, both of whom are raking in oceans of money.

Yes, it seems that truck drivers, at least, have said “Enough!” and some of them are ready to take action by shutting down their trucks and disrupting the transportation of vital goods. Will it work? Who knows? No matter how many drivers shut down on the 1st, they’re probably not going to make a dent in the giant American commerce and industry machine, and they may harm themselves in the long run by foregoing the pay they could have been earning. But one thing’s for sure: they have started a conversation, and I predict that, whatever happens on the 1st, that conversation is not going to die down, or go away.

Every now and then I’m reminded that, no matter how long I’ve worked in this business, I still have more to learn. For example, a few weeks back I wrote a very critical blog entry about gas stations that put up signs that say “No Ethanol! Real Gas Sold Here!” In that entry, I said that anyone who used that as a selling point for their gasoline was un-American. Well, l just attended a sustainable energy conference, and I happened to mention the “No Ethanol” signs to one of the City of Milwaukee fleet engineers and he explained the the rationale for promoting “Real Gas.” It turns out that the 10 percent ethanol blend that is commonly sold at gas stations here in southern Wisconsin has a relatively short shelf-life of a year or less. That’s a concern to the many people who leave gas in their lawn mowers, outboard motors, ATVs, dirt bikes, scooters, etc., during the winter (and in their snowmobiles and snow blowers over the summer). Not surprisingly, they don’t want to have to worry that some bad ethanol is going to gunk up their fuel filter or carburetor during the off-season.

The problem is, a lot of people are still going to see this as an excuse to avoid using cleaner, domestically-produced ethanol in their cars and trucks, for no food reason. So, now I understand the rationale for the signs, but I still don’t like it.

I had an illuminating chat the other day with Alexis Coffey, Freightliner Trucks’ Medium-Duty Marketing Manager, about her company’s plans for producing hybrid work trucks. Production is already underway, so if you’ve been thinking about adding a hybrid work truck or stepvan to your fleet, Freightliner is taking orders…

According to Coffey, Freightliner Custom Chassis has been building hybrids for the delivery van market since 2003, and it’s this proven hybrid system that is now available on the Class-6 and -7 Business Class M2. “We started the concept truck two years ago, and now we’re in ‘pre-series,’” she said. “This year we could build 400 to 500 trucks. And going into full production at the beginning of next year, we’ll be talking about very high numbers. You bring me the order and I’ll build you the truck!”

Coffey sees the greatest potential for the new M2 hybrid in the utility market, in large part because the lift and the PTO on a bucket truck can be run silently on the hybrid’s battery pack. Imagine no more shouting between the guy in the bucket and the gal on the ground, because the truck isn’t running (The engine only starts up for a few minutes at a time to recharge the batteries when they get low)!

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s phenomenal news when a truck OEM like Freightliner puts it money where its mouth is and starts putting this type of advanced technology on the market. Of course it will only succeed if there’s a ready market for these trucks, and that’s where you come in. Place your orders now!

There was a standout event at the National Truck Equipment Association Annual Meeting this past week in Atlanta that got me pretty excited about fleets that are already starting to adopt hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. The day-long Hybrid Truck and Alternative Fuels Summit featured speakers from government, industry, and public-private alternative energy groups, all talking about the growth they’re seeing in this market, and the excitement was contagious.

The first such Summit, held at last year’s NTEA Show in Indianapolis, was a sell-out, and this year’s event was bigger and better. Whereas last year you might have heard speakers talking about production runs of hybrid bucket trucks for utility fleets in the dozens of units, this year they were mentioning production runs in the thousands, and in the foreseeable future.

One noteable speaker was Rachel Beckhardt, project analyst, corporate partnerships for Environmental Defense, a public-private partnership that promotes environmentally-friendly technology. In her presentation, Beckhardt invited fleet managers to go to www.environmentaldefense.org/hybridincentives for a comprehensive list of financial incentives available to them to help defray the incremental costs of buying hybrid work trucks. My favorite moment came when Beckhardt gave an example of the kind of information available on the website by saying, “New Hampshire has a big pot of money” for fleets purchasing hybrids. This is New Hampshire, folks, one of the smallest states in the nation… Imagine what kind of money is available across the country!

There are big pots of money out there for your fleet, and now you know one new way to find it!

Here in Wisconsin, we’ve had a particularly cold, snowy winter, so it comes as no surprise that a lot of people have been leaving their cars, trucks and SUVs idling to keep warm. But when is enough enough?

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if it’s 10 below out or a perfect 68 degrees: a lot of people will leave their car, truck or SUV idling while they run into the store for a pack of cigarettes, a Coke, a newspaper, whatever. How and why have Americans picked up this disgusting habit? Don’t people make the connection that leaving their Suburban idling at the curb while they buy stamps is a complete waste of gasoline (or diesel fuel)? Do they realize they’re getting exactly zero miles per gallon?

I don’t understand the disconnect. I’m sure they’re good people, and I’m sure at least 60 precent of them want our troops back safely from the Iraq oil fields, so why are they so wasteful with this increasingly scarce and expensive resource? Even if it’s below zero outside, do they really think their car interior is going to get cold in the three minutes it takes them to buy a pack of smokes? Are we really that soft? Are we really that lazy? Do we really care that little about the world around us?

The good news is that the House passed a bill this week that includes a $4,000 tax credit for the purchase of plug-in hybrids, those great new vehicles that can run on all-electric power for upwards of 20 miles before their gas or diesel engines kick in. That credit could be quite a boost to this new technology, which, while exciting, remains expensive. General Motors has been talking for months about putting their plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt, into production within the next few years, and a $4,000 tax credit could be just the kick that GM needs for a successful launch.

There’s just one catch: President Bush has vowed to veto the bill, because it reduces tax credits for big oil companies. Next time you wonder why we’re not making any progress in reducing our dependence on imported oil, just take a look at the Bush White House’s record of corporate welfare to petroleum companies. And if you are considering buying a plug-in hybrid but hesitate because the price is too high, just remember the message you’ve been sent from Washington.

I just had the interesting experience of spending half my week with fleet maintenance managers at the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting & Expo, and the other half of my week with biodiesel producers, distributors and retailers at the National Biodiesel Congress. I met with a lot of intelligent, knowledgeable people at both events, but at one event there was a whole lot of bad intelligence about the other event. The fleet maintenance managers, it turns out, have some pretty wrongheaded ideas about biodiesel… in fact, some of the things I heard brought to mind Mark Twain’s famous quote: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

Well, here’s what some of the fleet maintenance managers at TMC “know for sure”: They know for sure that biodiesel is causing aluminum fuel tanks on their big rigs to rust out from the inside out. They know for sure that there are absolutely NO quality standards for biodiesel. And they know for sure that, from the moment it’s produced to the moment you pump it into your fuel tank, biodiesel does not pass through a single filter.

After hearing these claims being made by worried fleet maintenance managers at TMC, I had a chance to ask some biodiesel experts at the Biodiesel Congress to respond. One expert did admit that, if you made your own biodiesel at home from questionable feedstock and with absolutely no quality control, you could rot out your fuel tank from the inside out. But then, you could also fill your tank with regular diesel fuel that happens to have water contamination, and you’d have the same result.

In response to the other claims being made about biodiesel at the TMC meeting, the biodiesel experts I talked to simply shook their heads in disbelief and said “We have a lot of work to do.” Now, in all fairness, there were a few fleet maintenance managers at TMC who spoke up in defense of biodiesel, but they were few and far between. The sad fact is that many fleets will not go near biodiesel, because they have bad information. Will they be willing to consider the other side of the story? Maybe, but as one TMC fleet guy told me, “Maybe the biodiesel folks should come and talk to us and hear what’s really going on out there.”

Did you read this financial news this week?

ITEM: Royal Dutch Shell posts record profit of $27.6 billion for 2007.

ITEM: Exxon Mobil posts profit of $39.5 billion for 2007, the largest annual profit in US history.

How much are you paying for gas these days? Oh yeah, about $3 a gallon, right? A little more than that for diesel, maybe? And all the while, the big oil companies beg for more tax breaks and special protection from Washington.

Have you had enough?

Every now and then I see a mind-boggling sign at a gas station when I’m filling up my tank. The sign says, “No Ethanol! Real Gas Sold Here!” And, I have to say, for sheer ignorance this sign takes the cake.

“Real Gas?” What is real gas? Real gas is a precious commodity that we have to import from hostile countries, while members of our Armed Services fight and die in Iraq so that we can import even more. “Real gas” holds the United States hostage to higher energy costs, higher national security risks, more polluted air, automobile manufacturers from Japan who are surpassing our own domestic manufacturers every day, and yes, more deaths in Iraq. This is a selling point?

What is ethanol? Ethanol is a renewable, domestically-produced fuel that reduces tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions, reduces our dependence on foreign oil, and, by the way, provides a higher octane value than straight gasoline. If you live in the midwest, as I do, E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) costs about 60 to 90 cents a gallon less than gasoline. And ethanol doesn’t raise the cost of tacos, but that’s another blog topic.

The point is, any gasoline retailer who uses “No ethanol!” as a selling point is un-American. Here’s my message to them:

Stop what you’re doing! You’re not helping.