Commercial Truck Success

IdeaLetter
Dec 6, 2010                                                                                 Issue No. 80
  

"If you're not failing every now and again,
it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."
-- Woody Allen

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.
Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
-- Winston Churchill

"Leadership is the ability to decide what has to be done
and then get people to want to do it." 
-- Patricia Fripp

 "The fact is, everyone is in sales.
Whatever area you work in,
you do have clients and you do need to sell."
-- Jay Abraham
    
"If we study the lives of great men and women carefully and
unemotionally we find that, invariably, greatness was developed,
tested and revealed through the darker periods of their lives.
One of the largest tributaries of the river of greatness
is always the stream of adversity."
 -- Cavett Robert

"It seems to me that it's actually harder
to invent excuses than it is to be successful."
-- Jeffrey Gitomer
  
"Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration,
motivation, and a pinch of creativity."
-- Bo Bennett 
In This Issue
New Service
New Dealer Truck Bargains Blog
First Ford Transit Connect Taxi
New Contractor Design
ITB Builds Unique Tool Truck
Truck Equipment Aids Tornado Studies
TeleSwivel Hitch
Knapheide Gooseneck Body
Nissan NV
Royal Sign Display
Sno-Way Megablade
Boss Snowplow TV Show
Latest Gen Fuso Canter
Argos Adds 25 Isuzu's
Load Grief
Here's Something Fun
Need Some Ideas?
4x4 Van
More Favorite Links









  










Knowledge Cafe


Empowerment
Takes More
Than A Minute
 

by Ken Blanchard, John P Carlos, Alan Randolph

 

There's no time like the present. Here is a link to get it right away. This is available in hardcover. You will be so glad you did:
  

  
From the book dust jacket:

"Empowerment Takes More Than A Minute explains that empowerment is not "giving power to people"; rather, it is releasing the knowledge, experience, and motivation they already have.

Drawing on ten years of research and consultation with a wide variety of companies, the authors define the three essential keys for achieving true empowerment. When these three elements are in place, employees will be able to make decisions for themselves rather than relying on superiors, and will draw from each other the skills and knowledge necessary to get the job done.

Acknowledging the difficulty of instigating change in traditional organizations, the authors thoroughly examine the challenges and paradoxes that inevitably crop up along the way, and offer guidance for overcoming resistance and obstacles.

Written in an engaging format, Empowerment Takes More Than A Minute provides checklists to help managers use the book's information to achieve true, lasting results in their organizations."

From the back cover:

"The Three Keys to making Empowerment work in your organization. . .

These expert authors explain how to empower the workforce by moving from a control-and-be-controlled mindset to a supportive, responsibility-centered environment in which all employees have the opportunity to do their best. They explain how to build responsibility and trust, and they define the three essential keys to making empowerment work in large and small organization:

1. Sharing information with everyone.
 
2. Creating autonomy through boundaries.
 
3. Replacing old hierarchies with self-managed teams.

Empowerment Takes More Than A Minute reveals the dilemmas and paradoxes inherent in attempting to create an empowered workplace and culture. The authors present a clear case in support of the bottom-line value of empowerment, and provide a masterful plan for getting there."
K.C. Archive
  Here is a list of books and audio's that have been recommended in
the Knowledge Cafe.

Empowerment
Takes More
Than A Minute
by Ken Blanchard, John P. Carlos & Alan Randolph

Peak
by Chip Conley

Delivering Happiness
by Tony Hsieh

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Revised and Updated Version)
by John C Maxwell

Today and Tomorrow
by Henry Ford

My Life and Work
by Henry Ford

Steel Titan
by Robert Hessen

Rich Dad, Poor Dad
by Robert T Kiyosaki 

How To Make One Hell Of A
Profit And Still Get To Heaven
by Dr John F Demartini 
I Don't Mean To
Be Rude, But. . .
by Simon Cowell

The Seasons of Life
by Jim Rohn

Switch
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

ReWork
by Jason Fried & David
Heinemeier Hansson

Maximum Confidence
by Jack Canfield

The Little Big Things
by Tom Peters

Customer Satisfaction
Is Worthless
Customer Loyalty
Is Priceless
by Jeffrey Gitomer

Linchpin
by Seth Godin

The Circle of
Innovation
by Tom Peters

Raving Fans
by Ken Blanchard
and Sheldon Bowles

All Marketers Are Liars
by Seth Godin

Failing Forward
by John C Maxwell

Leadership Is An Art and Leadership Jazz
 by Max DePree

The Spirituality of Success
by Vincent M Roazzi

Power In Praise
by Merlin Carothers

The Go-Giver
by Bob Burg &
Hohn David Mann

The Gratitude Effect
by John DeMartini

Who Moved My Cheese?
 by Spencer Johnson, MD

The Power To Have It All
Audio Package
by Bob Proctor

The Secret - Book
and Audiobook
by Rhonda Byrne

Acres of Diamonds
by Russell Conwell

Think & Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill

As A Man Thinketh
by James Allen

The Power of Focus
by Jack Canfield,
Victor Hansen and 
Les Hewitt
  
How To Talk To Anyone,
Anytime, Anywhere
by Larry King

Lead the Field Audio
by Earl Nightingale

Your Invisible Power
by Genevieve Behrend
and
The Spirit of Opulence
by Thomas Troward

You Were Born Rich
by Bob Proctor 
  
Psycho-Cybernetics 
by 
 Maxwell Maltz, MD

You2
byPrice Pritchett

The Magic of Believing
by Claude M Bristol

Awaken 
the Giant Within
by Anthony Robbins

Success Magazine
and
How To Lose Friends and
Alienate 
People 
by Irving Tressler
and
How To Win Friends and
Influence People
by
Dale Carnegie

The Psychology of Selling
by Brian Tracy
and
How To Sell Anything
To Anybody
by Joe Girard

How I Raised Myself From
Failure To Success In Selling
by Frank Bettger
  
The Success Principles
by Jack Canfield
Jeffrey Gitomer  
Little Books
Collectors Edition:
5-pack of books plus CD

Enterprise One To One
and
The One To One Fieldbook
by
on Peppers and
Martha Rogers

Sales Bible
by Jeffrey Gitomer

Customers For Life
by Carl Sewell
 

 

CTS Blog
 
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Truck Clubs
 CTS is proud to be associated with the following Truck Clubs:
If you're part of a Ford dealer, we highly recommend you subscribe to the FordPros Magazine. It's FREE! Click on one of the links below to sign up and get access to their new website.
 
This is a great organization!
 
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CTS
Daily Inspirations
 
Free
CTS 
Daily Inspirations
Email
 
We all need a little pump up to start our day, including myself. We now offer a Daily Inspirations email to give you some food for thought and a little encouragement. We began this new feature in Sep '09, and feedback is very positive.
 
To subscribe, click the link above "join our mailing list" logo. You will be sent an email to finalize your changes.
 
To see some samples, click here: Samples.
 
If you prefer, an easy way is just to drop me an email (see link below) and put Daily Inspirations in the subject line. As always, you can unsubscribe easily at any time.
 
Enjoy! 
 
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4x4 Van
 
 
 
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916-376-0690
 

Finally!

 

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In association with:
JAMdesigns
 
 
 Partial Trend Setter
client list:

Harbor Truck Bodies
West Coast Truck Equipment
Jay Vaswani
 Larry Geweke Ford
North Bay Truck Center 
 Fairfield Chevrolet-Isuzu Truck
North Bay Truck Body
Vaca Valley Truck & SUV

Welcome! 

CartoonMe
Welcome to the Commercial Truck Success Idealetter!
 
Published every other week, the Idealetter is an informative thought starter and news source for busy commercial sales professionals and managers with numerous links to great products, the Commercial Truck Success website, Daily Blog and many other links to useful information, tools and inspiration!
 
Please feel free to offer comments and suggestions for future topics that are of interest to you. Also, please forward this to others you wish to share it with. There is a forward email link at the bottom of this page. I wish you success! Keep up the good work! And, never stop learning! - Terry Minion, Editor
NEW! Dealer Truck Bargains Blog!

 

As a result of inquiries to put old stock and bargain-priced units on our CTS Blog, we've started a new blog with that specific purpose exclusively. This is a FREE service.

If you have an old unit, or four our five and you want us to include it in our blog, send me the information on the unit with copy of specs or invoices to fax 707-428-3190, or email to [email protected].

See some trucks listed now: CTS Dealer Truck Bargains

First Ford Transit Connect Taxi Delivered

 




  • First Ford Transit Connect Taxi in the U.S. arrives in Boston
  • Boston Cab Dispatch receives keys at New England International Auto Show
  • The Transit Connect Taxi offers features designed specifically for the taxi industry, including an expanded second-row passenger space, a CNG/LPG engine prep package and rear view camera and back-up sensor


NEW ENGLAND CAB COMPANIES TO ADD FORD TRANSIT CONNECT ALTERNATIVE FUEL UNITS TO TAXI FLEETS


BOSTON, Dec.1, 2010 - The first Ford Transit Connect Taxi in the United States was delivered today to Boston Cab Dispatch at the New England International Auto Show.


Brett Barenholtz, CEO of Boston Cab Dispatch, received the keys to the Transit Connect Taxi and said he is eager to put it into service.


"Transit Connect Taxi offers important features for our passengers and our drivers," said Barenholtz at the auto show. "It has more legroom and cargo space, better fuel efficiency, and makes the entire operation more economical."


Sentry Ford in Medford, Mass., is the delivering dealer, working with Boston Cab Dispatch to integrate Transit Connect into the cab company's fleet.


The taxi was outfitted by Creative Mobile Technologies of Long Island City, N.Y., which provides equipment such as payment processing and passenger information systems in the taxi, including an 8.4-inch electronic infotainment and navigation screen that shows cab fares, news, weather, sports scores and stock ticker. "CMT is thrilled to combine state-of-the-art technology with a next-generation taxi platform like Transit Connect," said Jesse Davis, president of CMT.


Transit Connect Taxis also are on their way to other New England taxi companies. George Summers, president of USA Taxi, has added a Transit Connect to his Boston fleet. And two Connecticut operators, Bill Scalzi, president of Metro Taxi in West Haven, Conn., and Marco Henry, president of The Yellow Cab Company in Bloomfield, Conn., have ordered compressed natural gas (CNG) versions of the Transit Connect Taxi for their fleets.


"We've always driven Ford vehicles, Crown Vics and Escape Hybrids" said Summers. "Now, we're adding the Transit Connect Taxi. It has great dimensions and fuel efficiency that will work well on the road." Stoneham Ford in Stoneham, Mass., is the delivering dealer for USA Taxi.


In April, the Licensing Division of the Boston Police Department approved Transit Connect for taxi use, making Boston the first city in the country to do so. To be approved, the vehicle had to meet basic size requirements for passenger headroom, legroom and cargo space.


"Transit Connect fits the bill," said Mark Cohen, Licensing Division director. "The size, shape and configuration of this unique vehicle make it comfortable for both driver and passengers."


While the small perimeter dimensions and tall shape of Transit Connect make it easy for drivers to maneuver and park, the standard 2.0-liter I-4 engine gets 21 mpg city and 26 mpg highway mpg, an estimated 30 percent improvement in fuel economy versus traditional V8-powered sedan-based taxis.


Furthermore, Transit Connect Taxi is available with an engine preparation package for conversion to compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied propane gas (LPG).


The Transit Connect Taxi package adds comfort for the passenger with a repositioned second-row seat for more legroom, grab handles and rear air conditioning/heat vent with passenger controls. For the taxi driver, new features include rear view camera and back-up sensor, heavy-duty battery and a wiring block connector to power upfitted accessories.


"We're excited to see Transit Connect Taxi in service in Boston," said Kevin Koswick, director of Ford's North American Fleet Operations. "Ford is committed to offering new solutions and maintaining our leadership as America's No. 1 taxi provider."


Transit Connect Taxi package vehicles are now available for order.

 

New Contractor Design From Carter Ind.








Carter Industries of Union City, CA was on hand in force at the recent Nor Cal Ford Truck Club Luau/Vendor Nite event on October 21st. One of the units they had on display immediately caught my eye and I just loved it. In my opinion, Carter Industries has been the leader in progressive changes to the typical Contractor Body.


For those in other areas, in California we call it a Contractor Body when it is a flatbed with tapered headboard, HD tapered leg rack, upper tool boxes typically with open top lids like a service body, but not necessarily, short contractor style gates around the rear with a load divider at the back of the upper boxes, underbed boxes on both sides, and finally a class IV receiver and trailer plug. That combination is a typical Contractor Body and made by many different manufacturers with the same basic components and basic design.


What has made Carter Industries the leader in my opinion is that they were the first that I saw to have fold-down gates around the back and they were alone in that for at least a year. They were the first to go to a different size and shape upper bed box with a drawer and shelf in each side. This was a useful change for many and it was very popular, but the lids were heavy as they were steel. Later, they had aluminum tall upper boxes which worked a lot better. They also lead by covering the top of the cross bars on the rack with stainless steel sleeves to keep the paint from scratching off and creating rust drips. They have always used Knapheide platforms, but they order them with the little door at the tail to carry long items, which to me is sort of like a conduit box except not mounted on the rack, but under the floor of the bed. They were among the first to use composite material floors. They have led the field and all the others have essentially copied what Carter has done.


Now, they are leading again. Their newest version of the Contractor Body utilizes Knapheide upper and lower boxes for the first time. In this they have special ordered all of their upper boxes with the Master Locking option as you can see by the handle in the photos. This allows double locking, or more convenience by only locking one lock during the day. In addition, they have gone to those beautiful and lightweight aluminum gates. What a tasty touch that is! They look marvelous!


Carter has a great product here and I have only one standing complaint (not really a complaint, just a preference issue), and that is they continue to weld their racks rather than go the extra step and bolt them on. There are a number of people who like the flexibility of a Contractor Body because the upper boxes and rack are often removable (Harbor Truck and Scelzi, at least) which allows one to very quickly turn this into a flatbed for special jobs. When the rack is welded, it will always be in the way when used that way. I know you can do it Carter!


All in all, this is a hit and I predict will be very popular. Look for the others to follow suit on the aluminum gates. See all of Carter's products at www.carterind.com.



 

  Intercontinental Builds Unique Tool Truck

 










Intercontinental Truck Body of Conrad, Montana recently built a unique tool body for their client, Bonneville Power and is mounted on a 6x6 Mack truck. Just a few of the features include:


  • The generator is mounted on an inverted "bed slide." It hangs from the roof of the generator compartment, and can be slid out for ease of maintenance.

  • The rear bottom step is a flip-up/flip-down design, and a removable entry assist handle was added for more ingress/egress safety.

  • A custom wire aluminum wire rack was built with strength and weight in mind. An aluminum toolbox was added under the wire rack for efficient use of space.

  • Exterior tool boxes were created for access to items without entering the body.

  • Behind the Lista cabinets, Intercontinental Truck Body build a custom ladder holder, so ladders can be slid in the rear, and stored inside protected from the weather.

  • Notice also the unique rear door assembly with special lighting that is aim able depending on door opening.

Although Bonneville Power had some specs in mind, ITB's engineers worked together with the Bonneville team to make each desire become a working utility within this truck. Commercial Truck Success thinks it is an awesome mobile workshop designed to go just about anywhere and carry very heavy loads to boot. Nice job ITB!


Our thanks go to Mitch Hauer, General Sales Manager of Intercontinental Truck Body for sharing these photos and this job with all of us. See more from ITB at www.itbusa.com.

  Truck Equipment  Aids In Tornado Studies

 




 

A truck equipped with some of the best accessories in the industry has helped to achieve a feat previously unattainable in the dangerous scientific field of tornado recording. The A.R.E. 2010 GMC SIERRA "Twistex Probe" Vehicle enabled Tim Samaras, featured on Discovery Channel's Stormchasers television program, to record "historic" tornado measurements.


Tim Samaras has been chasing tornadoes and recording valuable data for over ten years. Earlier this year, when he was hoping to build a new chase truck, Mastercraft Truck Equipment in Englewood, Colorado put together what Tim refers to as the "ultimate tornado chase vehicle."


The truck is outfitted with a custom A.R.E. Deluxe Commercial Truck Cap and Tommy Gate G2-Series 1,500lb. capacity hydraulic liftgate. Other additions include: an Eclipse navigation system with back-up camera, Jotto Desk mobile office laptop holders, Luverne hitch steps, mega steps, and grill insert, a Warn XD 9000I Winch system, as well as numerous square sensors covering the hood and cab.


This vehicle enabled Tim and his crew to record some first-of-its-kind information about tornadoes. In order to obtain this data, Tim needed to deploy a four-hundred pound "probe" instrument, his own invention, in the path of a highly-destructive tornado while at the peak of its powers. On the 22nd of May, in South Dakota, Tim did precisely that.


"The measurements we collected that day were historic, as we measured the wind speed of the passing tornado at two different heights. This confirmed that the boundary layer (the highest rate of change wind speed) is less than two feet high," Tim later said. "This measurement would not have been possible without a way of quickly getting the instrument off the truck--and the liftgate most certainly has risen to the challenge!"


The data collected is another step in further understanding tornadoes and will help engineers in how they design and build structures in the future. "This information--along with future deployments will be very useful for engineers to construct buildings in the Midwest to help resist these types of winds. If we can build better buildings--then we'd eventually save lives."


The truck equipment industry can be proud this season about its contributions to the advancement of science and safety.

 
Exciting New Hitch Design: TeleSwivel

 TeleSwivel Hitch

  Mike Presents Knapheide Gooseneck Body

Knapheide Gooseneck Body

2011 Nissan NV Van At NTEA

Nissan 2011 NV

Cool Sign Display By Royal Truck Body

Royal Truck Sign Display

Sno-Way Megablade Revolution

Sno-Way Megablade

Boss Snowplow - TV Show

Boss Snowplow Video

  Commercial Truck Success
 World View

 

Latest Gen Fuso Canter Truck Inveiled

 

 1975 Fuso Canter


2011 Fuso Canter

  • Full model change introduced for Japan market
  • Successful model with enhanced efficiency, environmental compatibility, safety, and design
  • First light-duty truck to meet Japan's new emission regulations
  • 
Argos Adds 25 New Isuzu's






See full story: Argos New Isuzu's 

Load Grief




Overloading trucks began pretty much with the advent of the truck 
and it continues to this day all over the world.

Center of gravity and sheer weight. Liquid is heavy!

Here's Something Fun!


 
 

 

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I wish for you an exciting and successful week!
 
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Commercial Truck Success Blog