The Jim Winsor Technical Achievement Award from North American Truck Writers is an annual award given to recognize innovation, technical excellence, wide applicability, and real benefits to commercial truck operators. It combines a turbo-compounded diesel, 13-speed automated manual transmission, low numerical (fast) axle ratio, and load sensing software for cruising at low engine revs. Real-time map-based data and GPS positions are used to manage speed and gear shifting while traveling over grades. The award was announced March 1 during the Technology & Maintenance Council's Annual Meeting and Truck Exposition in Orlando and is available in several Volvo truck models. The I-Torque Powertrain was one of five finalists chosen from an initial list of 16 products nominated by the journalists, who then discussed choices and voted over a two-week period in February.
Award Finalists:
The other four nominees were:
- Detroit Assurance 5.0 system– Electronic safety devices that help drivers keep a truck in its lane and under control to avoid and mitigate collisions;
- Grote 4See Smart Trailer System— Hardware and software that brings together all the independent electric and electronic equipment into a common communication stream, without increasing the harness or hardware required on a trailer;
- Phillips Connect Smart 7 nosebox(in three versions) — Advanced cellular gateways, GPS trackers, and sensor hubs that pinpoint and transmit trailer location, status, and critical conditions to the cloud; and;
- PlusDrive autonomous truck retrofit system— Converts an existing truck into semi-autonomous operation using lidar, radar, cameras, and autonomous driving software.
Tom Berg, a freelancer who writes for Land Line and Construction Equipment magazines, led the judging panel for the Technology Achievement Award, which is dedicated to James W. Winsor, a respected trucking journalist for 50 years. The award has been sponsored by Susan Fall of LaunchIt Public Relations and includes members of the Truck Writers committee.
