Commercial Van Solutions

Over 3,600 Mack Trucks employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union went on strike on Sunday to protest treatment they called unfair. It's the first strike against the truck manufacturer since 1984. Mack workers aired a long list of grievances that will sound familiar if you've followed the UAW's bitter, five-week-long strike against General Motors. They're seeking better wages, an improved pension, a more lucrative 401(k) plan, better health coverage, and more job security. Subcontracting, the use of temporary/supplemental employees, overtime, and seniority also appear on their list of unresolved issues with their employer.  Autoblog  reached out to the UAW for more details. Workers feel Mack isn't sharing the fruits of its recent success with those who made it happen. "The last four years, we have helped Mack Truck make significant profit through our work. All we are asking is that the company treat us with the d...

 Last year, Ford made it clear that it was done with conventional car bodystyles and would instead focus on crossovers. But we haven't seen any signs of what would replace its classic sedan nameplates until now. One of our spy photographers caught Ford testing a midsize crossover that looks set to replace the Ford Fusion family sedan. The prototype is clearly early in development and features a crudely stretched Ford Focus body. But it still gives us a good idea of what to expect in the new vehicle. Helpfully, it was being followed by a previous-generation Ford Escape, which shows us that while the overall roofline is still fairly low for a crossover, this prototype sits atop a fairly long wheelbase. In fact, the body size is reminiscent of a Ford Fusion wagon. But unlike a typical wagon, it has an impressive amount of ground clearance. This all leads us to believe that the Fusion's replacement will be something like a Subaru Outback or Audi Allroad. I...

In late September 2009, when Fiat still owned just 20 percent of Chrysler, Automotive News reported that Chrysler would turn Dodge Ram pickup trucks into the standalone Ram Trucks brand. On Oct. 5, 2009, the deed became official, so now it's time to celebrate the 10th anniversary — the tin or aluminum anniversary — of when the tagline "Grab Life" became "Guts. Glory. Ram." The truckmaker will let the world know about the milestone with a multimedia marketing campaign under the banner "Power of Innovation" that will run on broadcast and digital channels. The first 60-second spot is called "Power of Innovation" and debuted at the recent Texas State Fair; the Ram Trucks YouTube channel already counts a playlist showing off some of its goodies, with the hashtag #RamDoesThat. Two more 30-second marquee spots called "Bed" and "Hemi" will follow, as well as a series talking to Ram owners about their rigs. Dodge f...

It seems Anheuser-Busch is set on trying every type of alternative-fuel-powered delivery truck available. In 2017, A-B announced it had ordered 40 electric Tesla semi-trucks. In 2018, A-B said it ordered as many as 800 hydrogen Nikola Motor Company semis. And in 2019, A-B says it is adding 21 battery-electric semis to its distribution fleet, this time from Chinese manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD). The introduction of the electric trucks is part of a collaboration between A-B, BYD, the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), and ENGIE Services U.S. It's called the Zero-Emission Beverage Handling and Distribution at Scale project, and it aims to "demonstrate how to reach zero-emissions across the range of activities at AB distribution facilities with minimal modifications to fleet logistics." A-B claims this will be the largest Class 8 electric truck deployment in North America. The trucks and their charging gear will be used at four...

According to a MailTrucks. com report, roughly 120 mail trucks have caught fire in the past five years. The fires are not the result of accidents or crashes, but instead have been reported when the trucks are carrying out normal driving duties. The frequency of the fires has some worrying, but the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to use the trucks on a daily basis. While the USPS is gearing up to select its next-generation mail truck, the company currently uses Grumman Long Life Vehicles (LLVs). The Grumman's boxy straight-line design outlines the general U.S. public's perception of what a mail truck looks like, proof it's served duty for quite some time. But recently mail trucks have been seen in the news in drastically different settings. Around the country, LLVs have been engulfed in flames. Thus far, the postal service has not found any specific cause of the fires. Trucks. com details parts of the investigation process: The Postal Service hir...

 America faces a growing shortage of truck drivers, with the latest figures saying more than 50,000 drivers are needed. The problem filling the gap is that company truckers — as opposed to owner/operators — work their heinies off far from home for low pay, which is why industry turnover last year was 96 percent. A story in the Los Angeles Times reports on an unlikely group helping to keep that situation from growing worse: Sikhs. The religious adherents to Sikhism began coming to the U.S. in large numbers in the 1980s, fleeing persecution in India. There are said to be anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 Sikhs in the U.S., most of them second- and third-generation U.S. citizens. As many as 150,000 drive rigs, from local delivery trucks to Class 8 tractors, with more than 30,000 climbing behind the wheel in the past three years. The trucking population has grown dense enough for the LAT to refer to a "Punjab Highway," after Punjab state in India where Sikhs ...