Chicago Pneumatic
100 Years
1901-2001
Marking its centenary this year is the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co. (CP). Based today in Rock Hill, SC, the firm founded by J.W. Duntley and Charles Schwab has gone on to provide tools that helped make such engineering feats as the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, the Interstate highway system and a little project known as the Apollo space program possible.
Volvo's alternative fuel
The Volvo brand, which encompasses cars, construction equipment and marine diesels as well as trucks, is sponsoring an around-the-world yacht race because it believes the international sporting event befits Volvo's core value of promoting safe and environmentally friendly products.
Eight teams in 64-ft. high-tech sailboats left Southampton, England on Sept. 23 on the first of nine legs in the Volvo Ocean Race that will take them almost 33,000 miles on wind power. The race will bring the sailors to Cape Town, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Miami, FL; Baltimore, MD; La Rochelle, France, and Gothenburg, Sweden before ending in Germany sometime next June.
As they circumnavigate the globe, the teams are using satellite communications to file on-the-spot progress reports, photos and even videos, which are being posted at www.volvooceanrace.org.
Living legend
Eleven years ago, the last Ford C-Series tiltcab rolled off the assembly line — but not out of circulation. Thousands of the highly recognizable trucks still work America's roads, in both tractor (pictured) and straight truck configurations — a testament to the durability and reliability of a design that made its official appearance on February 1, 1957.
“Ford's C-Series offered a highly functional and handsomely styled ‘low-tilt’ cab configuration that provided outstanding driver visibility and ease of engine maintenance,” says author and veteran Ford employee James K. Wagner. “Teamed with cab supplier Budd, Ford was able to produce a package, using Ford's relatively rugged and durable chassis, that was economical enough to achieve universal appeal.”
WANTED: Photos by Drivers
The Truckload Carriers Assn. (TCA) is again holding its “Trucking Photo Contest” to attain worthy pix to illustrate its annual report. The contest is open only to truck drivers who are currently employed with or leased to a trucking company.
Prizes run from $50 to $1,000 and, of course, include the honor of being published. TCA is most interested in shots depicting the truckload biz, but all submissions will be considered. Entries must be submitted by December 14. Get all the details by calling TCA at 703-838-1950 or emailing [email protected].
LETTER OF THE MONTH
We found your article (see The Bottom Line, pg. 28, 9/01) to be very informative and helpful. We were curious about the issue of blending 14% water with fuel. Is that a misprint or are we missing something important? — Tom Holt, via email
Columnist Ken Simonson replies:
No misprint. I don't know if anyone is marketing this fuel but they evidently persuaded someone in Congress that the tax rate should be adjusted to reflect the lower energy content. I've long favored taxing all highway fuels according to BTU content; picking one more rate for a particular blend just adds another distortion, in my view.
Get in the last word by sending us your comments and opinions
MAIL: P.O. Box 4211,
STAMFORD, CT 06907-0211
E-MAIL: [email protected]
FAX: 203-358-5819
TELEPHONE: 800-776-1246, EXT. 212
