Playbook: Equipment, Maintenance & Tech

Patrick Hatzis Friday, September 11, 2026

Shell, FAW test immersion-cooled batteries to improve truck performance

Shell and FAW Trucks have developed and tested a battery pack that uses an immersion-cooling system to better manage battery heat, improve vehicle performance and durability, Shell announced. The battery pack uses an electrically insulating fluid that surrounds the battery cells, allowing heat to be transferred away from the cells more effectively during operation. Managing […]

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Adam Wingfield Thursday, July 9, 2026

PACCAR Is Raising the DEF Limp-Mode Speed From 5 MPH to 25 MPH. It Is Part of the Biggest Rollback of Diesel Emissions Enforcement in Years.

For any owner-operator who has ever been stranded on the shoulder of an interstate at 5 miles per hour because a sensor decided the diesel exhaust fluid system had a problem, the announcement PACCAR made on July 6, 2026 will read like overdue relief. The company is rolling out updated software for trucks equipped with […]

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Rob Carpenter Monday, July 6, 2026

The prosecution and the pardon that ended the diesel wars

On July 3, 2026, President Trump pardoned early a dozen people who were convicted under the Clean Air Act for tampering with diesel emissions, months after the Justice Department stopped prosecuting diesel cases entirely. The technology is still bolted to every truck on the road, and nobody in Washington wants to discuss the “what now” of who pays for it.

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