2017 WE HARDLY KNEW YOU: THE BEST BLOGS OF 2017

It’s that festive time of year, when folks pull out the tree and do battle with dusty baubles, balding tinsel and impossibly tangled lights. And with a new year dawning, we thought it time to reminisce about some of Isuzu’s finest blog work from 2017 – the posts that you, our esteemed readers, considered the most informative and interesting. FIGHTING FIRE Our coverage of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authority Council (AFAC) conference this year was a fan favourite, with the highlight being the pride of the stand: the awesome New South Wales Rural Fire Service foam-shooting Isuzu firefighting truck. The vehicle – a product built in conjunction with the NSW-RFS and Isuzu – proved a sensation in the comments section and garnered a lot of shares. It’s been dry in many parts of Australia and we sincerely hope the vehicle and its high powered Compressed Air Foam system won’t be required this holiday season. GPS: WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU? Technology is everywhere in this modern world of ours, and we can only anticipate remote controlled socks and self-washing pants can’t be too far away. Hurrah! Most pertinent to the transport industry has been the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. You had a lot to say in response to this blog, with more than one devotee of the old street directory getting their two cents in. DON’T WAIT, LEGISLATE Getting the old nut around state and national trucking legislation and regulations is important and this blog certainly attracted its share of attention. There was no shortage of information to digest and this blog stands as a fantastic resource for you to visit when and if required. Many readers called for a uniform national regulatory framework to help simplify things. Having put this blog together, we can certainly sympathise. We live in hope. OVERLOADING: DON’T MUG YOURSELF More than one ute-based operation has been caught engaging in nutty loading behaviour; from stacking furniture three stories high to moving loose sand on a flatbed tray along a freeway. Some of these stories are funny, sure, but the dangers of overloading your ute are real and significant. Not only do you endanger other motorists, but risk a criminal conviction and voiding your insurance. Avoiding brushes with the law, financial penalties and poor performance – sounds sensible to us. BEAT IT Eager to break out of that peak-hour congestion? Your response to our blog on beating the traffic suggests yes. This one was gobbled up like a Christmas pavlova. Breaking down the fastest roads, those that are treacle slow, and which apps you can use to plan your trip were just some of the goodies in this blog. As always our street wise readers were ready to give some of their personal tips in this eternal struggle. GIVE THIS A TRI While not strictly a blog, you were all over the release of the Isuzu NLR 55/45-150 Tri-Tipper like a crepe Christmas cracker crown on a sticky forehead. The ability to tip a load from the rear or sides of the agile Tri-Tipper was a winner, with lots of shares and enquiries amongst the readers. HOT TOTY We wrap up our blog wrap with a rap about the Truck of the Year wrap. Actually, forget you read that. Every Truck of the Year blog through the year is eagerly anticipated by readers, but none more so than the grand finale – the announcement of the Grand Poo-Bah! And this year’s Truck of the Year winner is… Soon to be announced. Keep those eyes peeled. UNTIL NEXT YEAR And that was the year that was 2017. We’ll be back next year with blogs fuller than Santa’s suit and twice as fun. Until then, we bid you a Merry Christmas and a safe and fun holiday season. We’ll see you a bit further down that yellow brick road in 2018.