Could Norwegian milk trucks point to the best next step in vehicle electrification?

Photo: Semcon

Don’t get me wrong. As much as any car enthusiast, I love the explosiveness, sound, and feel of raw power under the hood that you get from a strong internal combustion engine. And on a certain level, it’s hard to imagine the idea of a motoring life without those dynamics.

But I also think that the benefits of electric powertrains, like the power of immediate torque at the wheels and the downforce benefits of a chassis-length, bottom-mounted battery—even if we leave aside for the moment any remaining debate about the net economic and environmental impacts— cannot be dismissed.

Washington Post says truck driving is an $80,000/year job, then says it's a $42,000/year job.

Screenshot by Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster of a Washington Post article,
published online on May 28.

The Washington Post seemed just a little confused in an article they published yesterday about a serious shortage of truck drivers in the U.S. But maybe it was a simple matter of disconnect between reporter and headline writer.

Hino—No, Not THAT Heino—Unveils New Line of Work Trucks

No, we're not talking about that Heino (left). We're talking

about Hino trucks. Photo credits Usien (left), posted in
Wikimedia Commons. Right: Hino Trucks website.

Ever heard of Hino? No, not Heino the German pop singer, who we have heard of. Ever heard of Hino Trucks?

Neither had we, until we ran across the recent announcement of the new 2018 lineup of work trucks from Hino Trucks, a Toyota division.

Hino Trucks unveiled its new line of trucks in a ‘big’ way at the 2018 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, IN.  Carrying the name Hino XL Series, this all-new lineup rounds out Hino Trucks Class 7 product offering and launches them into the Class 8 market for the first time in the U.S. The Hino XL7 and XL8 models are powered by Hino’s legendary A09 turbo diesel 8.9-liter inline 6-cylinder engine boasting a B10 life of 1,000,000 miles.