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Greg Bush, Owner-Driver / May 10, 2019 Australia’s rock legend Jimmy Barnes and Mack Trucks Australia have joined forces to raise money for drought-stricken farming communities in New South Wales and Queensland with the launch of the ‘Working Class Mack’ at Wacol, Brisbane. The stylish artwork adorning the Super-Liner recreates Barnes’ iconic album cover For The Working Class Man, which was released in 1985. The Mack Super-liner is now being auctioned through Pickles. Bidding will close on June 13 with funds then being distributed by Rotary Australia. Mack Trucks Australia vice president Dean Bestwick says Barnes had overseen the artwork spray painted on the truck’s cabin. "This Australian-made Mack Super-Liner is an enormous, inspirational homage to Jimmy’s legendary Working Class Man – an iconic album from 1985 that still resonates with farming communities across the country," Bestwick says. "We’re auctioning the Working Class Mack and donating the profits from the sale to Rotary to show our support for farmers who’re doing it tough. They’re the backbone of our nation and Mack trucks work side-by-side with them every day." Launching the auction at Mack’s Brisbane factory on May 10, Barnes says people on the land needed all the help they could get. "It’s extremely urgent – 99 percent of New South Wales and 65 per cent of Queensland are in drought. "Tens of thousands of farmers are on their knees and country towns are working hard to make a living, because of the worst drought in living memory. "It’s time for all Australians to rally around those in the bush, to show we care, and I’m really proud to team up with Mack for this fundraiser," Barnes says. Bestwick urged Mack and Barnesy fans to dig deep. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so bid big and remember it’s for our farmers," Bestwick says. With Bestwick riding shotgun, Barnes took the Mack around the inside perimiter of Mack HQ at Wacol, Brisbane. The B-double specced ‘gold bulldog’ Super-Liner is powered by a Mack MP10 16 litre engine, with a Mack mDrive 12-speed automated manual box. On top is a 58-inch high-rise sleeper. The successful bidder of the ‘Working Class Mack’ will own what is arguably the most eye-catching truck on the Australia’s highways. .

Power Torque Magazine / May 2019 Childhood memories can hold a special place in the heart − a trusty family dog, a favourite push-bike or matchbox car, or special experiences long held dear. For those with truck-driving fathers, sometimes those experiences come from school holiday adventures riding shotgun with Dad to far-off places. For Bowral, NSW-based Rod Preston, this is exactly how he remembers his childhood holidays and, in particular, his father Roger’s R-700 Mack prime mover. From around 10 years of age, a young Rod recalls school holiday adventures with his father on trips from Sydney to Darwin − firstly in an R-600 Mack, followed by an R-700. “In the aftermath of Cyclone Tracey (1974), Dad did a lot of work carting building materials for the rebuilding of Darwin,” Rod recalled. “He would load Oregon timber, Cypress pine flooring or fibro from James Hardie in Sydney, and he was also a prime contractor for Tubemakers, carting pipes to NT uranium mines. “In those days, road trains had to be coupled at Barringun in Queensland for the run up to Darwin, although it was common practice for double road trains to be hitched in Dubbo at midnight and set off from there under cover of darkness. “Originally Dad bought an R-600 Mack, but it wasn’t long before he realised that it was not going to be ideal up the arduous Sydney-to-Darwin freight run, which was in those days 1000 miles (1600 km) of gravel roads. Ultimately, this led to him buying his R-700, which he had custom-built for the job and purchased from Mack Trucks at Rocklea.” The R-700 is recognisable by its long bonnet, being 12 inches longer than an R-600 to accommodate larger-sized engines. Roger’s R-700 featured a Thermodyne V8 engine rated at 375 hp (280 kW) and 1040 ft/lb (1410 Nm) of torque. Cog swapping was done via the 12-speed Maxitorque twin-stick splitter transmission and it rode on 44,000 lb diffs and Camel-back springs. If anyone doubted it was a true Mack, the sounds of the trademark air start announcing it was time to head up the highway soon dispelled any ideas others might have had about sleeping in a little longer. Rod says his Dad was always on top of maintenance, and used the best equipment he could find. Fruehauf provided his choice of trailer and in true pioneering fashion in 1978, he requested Fruehauf build him a quad-axle trailer to carry the sometimes 50-tonne payloads on each trailer. Rod explained: “The R-700 was the truck I learned to drive in. I actually reached the point where I was driving so frequently that when Dad returned from a Darwin trip once he told me that the policeman from Avon Downs Station in the NT had told him it was about time I got my truck licence. I said ‘OK, then, I’ll have to drop in and see him on the next trip’, to which Dad quipped back ‘there’s no need for that, he’s seen you driving enough, he sent your licence back with me’. I was 18 years old.” Unbeknown to Rod at the time, those carefree days of trucking with his Dad would light a fire deep inside that would smoulder for years. Those long-haul trips created an itch for Rod that would one day need to be scratched, whatever it took. Rod had always wondered what had happened to his Dad’s truck after he sold it in 1979. For a while they kept track of it, as it was initially sold to one of Roger’s mates, Barry Handorf. Unfortunately, contact with the truck was eventually lost when Barry traded it in for an early-model Mack SuperLiner. After that it was believed to have had numerous owners throughout the NT and Queensland, although its location was by then unknown. Utilising the bush telegraph, Rod had been trying to locate the R-700 since 2009, eventually getting a tip-off that the truck was at a property in Alpha, Queensland. Rod managed to contact the owner who had been using the truck to cart tractors and machinery on a low-loader trailer. Rod’s plans were to try and buy the truck back and restore it. Life doesn’t always go as planned and ill health required Rod to refocus on something more important, so the R-700 project was placed on the backburner for a time. By 2014, Rod was again ready to focus on that insatiable desire to see the R-700 return to its original owner. He made a call to the property owner in Alpha, only to be told the truck had been sold to a collector/restorer in Toowoomba, Glen Buetel. Rod was heartbroken and thought his quest was at an end. However, Glen had heard of Rod’s efforts to track down this particular truck, and his connection to it. Glen wanted to restore the truck to its totally original condition and who better to help with photos and memories of all the small details about the truck than Rod and Roger? Throughout the re-build project, Glen and Rod regularly collaborated on various stages to achieve Glen’s vision for the truck, although a surprise was in store for Rod. Glen asked Rod if, at the end of the rebuild, would he like to buy the truck? Rod didn’t hesitate to answer that he certainly would. Rod had one condition, though – he would only buy it if the retro-fitted Caterpillar engine was removed and replaced by an original V8 Thermodyne. Rod felt that the heart and soul of that truck was its engine, and he would accept nothing less than that unmistakeable Mack V8 rumble. This stipulation posed yet another challenge to the project, as these engines are getting harder to come by. However, an engine was finally located just outside Sydney, and a subsequent inspection from a mechanic deemed it sound. During the restoration it was found that the cab had too much rust, so a replacement was sourced and fitted. The bunk was also replaced after finding an identical unit that exactly matched the original. Rod said a lot of parts were either missing or not original, and enormous effort has been put in to replicate the original truck. “Most of the interior trimming has had to be manufactured from scratch, as you just can’t get this stuff anymore,” he said. The R-700 project really gained momentum in the last few years, with the finishing touches winding up in 2018. There was just one thing left to do. Rod had not told his father he was buying the truck. Although Roger knew of the restoration and had even dropped in for a visit to see and drive it, until that stage he looked on his involvement as simply being grateful for that experience. When the truck was ready, Rod rang his father and told him that he had some business in Brisbane and was planning to head out to Toowoomba to catch up with Glen Buetel and John Grossman, the sales manager at Mack Trucks Brisbane, and suggested Roger might like to tag along. Roger thought it would be a nice day out and a good opportunity to spend some time with his grandson Warwick (Rod’s son) who also came along. Upon arrival at the Mack dealership, the R-700 was parked up in the delivery bay in all its 1970s glory. Rod conveyed to Roger that, sadly, the truck had been sold to a private collector, to which Roger seemed disappointed after all the hard work that had been put into the project. Rod then went on to explain that the good news was that the private collector lives in Bowral NSW, and that Rod had come to pick up his new truck. “It was Dad’s 79th birthday.” It was at this point, Rod said, that “Dad was quite a bit overcome and emotional”. After some time to take in and talk over the situation, it was time to drive the R-700 home to Bowral via Brisbane, to drop Roger at his current home. Rod asked if Roger would like to drive the truck home − to which he replied, “no, I drove it out from the Rocklea dealership when it was new, it’s now your turn”. And with that, three generations of Preston men drove out of Toowoomba’s Mack dealership in a fully restored 1976 R-700 and into their family history album. Roger Preston is still driving trucks, working in the truck relocation field delivering trucks which, while unladen, would still give a much more comfortable ride than the old R-700. In 2018, Roger was inducted into the Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs. . .

IVECO Trucks Australia / April 18, 2019 For Gold Coast market gardeners, ‘Salad Makers’, the decision to add a new Stralis ATi 6x2 to its distribution fleet was an easy one, especially given the excellent performance of its other Stralis models, the oldest which was purchased in 2012. Salad Makers General Manager, Belinda Adams, said the company had exclusively used IVECO trucks since this time and saw no need to consider other brands. “We currently have three IVECO Stralis models. This latest truck replaces another older IVECO – given the driver acceptance, the comfort of the trucks, and the fact that we’ve never had any issues with them, it was a logical choice to again select a Stralis,” Belinda said. Having worked for 11 years at the company that was started by her parents, Barry and Lyn Moss in 1983, Belinda oversees a staff of approximately 35 people while helping to manage several properties, a production facility and associated compliance tasks. Along with growing a variety of salad mixes, whole lettuce and herbs on its own properties, Salad Makers also source additional produce from approved suppliers, before delivering to a range of supermarkets in the region using its refrigerated-bodied Stralis trucks. A typical working shift would begin with the IVECOs being loaded with the palletised produce at around midnight before travelling to their destinations about 45 minutes away. The trucks are then often back loaded before returning to base where the procedure can be repeated up to two or three times depending on demand, before finishing at around 9:00am. The new IVECO features the Cursor 8 engine producing 360 hp and 1500 Nm from a low 1125 rpm and is matched to a 12-speed Eurotronic AMT. The new truck and the earlier models are also equipped with rear Electronically Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS), ensuring a smoother ride for the produce and the driver. “The trucks don’t usually cover high kilometres, but there’s a lot of start and stop conditions, and for this it’s important to have a safe and comfortable vehicle,” Belinda said. “As well as being comfortable and easy to drive with the automated manual transmission, air suspension seat and climate control, the trucks have a good size sleeper (2020 x 620mm), meaning that if the drivers are out and there’s a delay in loading, they can rest for an hour or two.” Belinda said that each driver is assigned a truck and that they are responsible for cleaning and maintaining it. “We’ve found that if each driver is allocated his own vehicle, the truck is better cared for and there’s familiarity with the vehicle,” she said. “They keep tabs on when the truck needs to be serviced and if there’s any other preventative maintenance needed.” Enjoying a good relationship with selling dealer, Brisbane IVECO and Gold Coast (Arundel) IVECO service and parts outlet, Gibbs Truck & Trailer, provides Salad Makers with additional peace of mind in knowing that support is not far away if required, according to Belinda. “Given the sensitive nature of the produce that we transport, it’s good to know that if we did have issues with a vehicle, help wouldn’t be far away,” she said. “Brisbane IVECO operate a 24 hour call-out service and Gibbs Truck & Trailer is close by. “The Stralis models have everything we need in a truck and the drivers really like them. The driver of this latest truck has thanked me so many times for getting him the new one.” .

UD Trucks Australia / April 30, 2019 .

Asian Trucker / April 25, 2019 Hino's March 2019 truck and bus sales in Indonesia ranked number one in the country with 3,038 units delivered. Hino's sales were supported by its medium duty trucks where 1,964 units were sold, which is 63 percent market share with the Hino New Generation Ranger FM 260 JD being the best-selling model. The Hino New Dutro in the light-duty truck segment also contributed to the brand's strong showing with 1,055 units, while the remaining sales were driven by contributions from the heavy truck segment. Director of Sales and Promotion of Hino Motors Sales Indonesia (HMSI), Santiko Wardoyo, said this success was evidence that the Indonesian people, especially businessmen, are increasingly believing in the Hino brand. Besides that, Hino also prioritises the Total Support services to loyal customers and their businesses. This principle minimises vehicle costs and maximises vehicle operational time so that the working time of the vehicle becomes optimal. "Becoming a total market leader for trucks and buses is an added driving factor for us to continue providing the best service and value for the customer's business," Santiko added. .

Overdrive / May 10, 2019 Jacobs Vehicle Systems announced its engine brake model 5783A is now standard equipment on the International A26 engine. Jacobs has supplied a compression release engine brake for International Truck’s 13-liter engine since 2009. Jacobs says its 5783A engine brake increases foundation brake life, improves driveability and lowers the total cost of ownership of A26-powered International trucks equipped with this engine brake. The Jake brake is now standard on the International A26 engine and comes factory installed on International LT Series long-haul vehicles, International RH Series regional haul vehicles, and International HV and HX Series severe vehicles. .

China Armed With Powerful Market Weapons in Duel With Trump Katherine Greifeld, Bloomberg / May 10, 2019 China has a powerful financial-market arsenal for its trade tussle with America, including a hoard of Treasuries and its currency. But using those weapons is not without cost. Beijing said it will be forced to retaliate — but didn’t specify how — after U.S. President Donald Trump followed through with his threat to raise tariffs May 10 on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25% from 10%. But simply responding with its own tit-for-tat tariffs isn’t China’s most likely move, said Brad Setser, a former Treasury official who’s now a senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Matching the U.S. dollar-for-dollar on the U.S. tariffs would imply raising a 25% tariff on all U.S. imports, including those that go into China’s exports,” Setser said. “China certainly could do that, but it would in many cases damage China directly.” Trump pays attention to financial markets. He has often tweeted about stocks as they’ve zoomed to record highs. After Trump announced the tariff hike on May 5, the S&P 500 dropped four straight days. China, the world’s second-largest economy, has market levers it can pull to escalate the battle. Here are some of them: Chinese policy makers could devalue the yuan to offset the impact of U.S. duties on China’s economy. The offshore yuan weakened 5.5% against the dollar in 2018, drawing Trump’s ire and fueling speculation that the country was deliberately weakening its currency. While it has fallen 1.8% this week, the currency rose May 10 after the People’s Bank of China set its daily fixing at a stronger-than-expected level. However, China’s painful experience with devaluing the yuan in 2015, which prompted capital to flee the nation, is likely to dissuade a similar move, according to Tao Wang, UBS Group AG’s chief China economist and head of Asia economic research. “China doesn’t like the self-fulfilling outflows that come as a result of depreciation, which tend to diminish domestic confidence,” she said. “In addition, yuan depreciation last year angered the Trump administration and led to higher U.S. tariffs.” Currency has been a focal point in the trade talks. The U.S. has sought a yuan stability pact as part of an eventual deal. China owns $1.1 trillion of U.S. government debt, more than any other foreign nation. If it pared back its holdings in that $15.9 trillion asset class, that could be a potent weapon. Bond markets were jolted last year by a report that Chinese officials recommend slowing or halting Treasury purchases. However, China doesn’t really have other good options for where to park its $3.1 trillion in foreign-currency reserves — the world’s largest stockpile — making this an unlikely path, according to Ed Al-Hussainy of Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In addition, if China dumps Treasuries, that could cause prices to plummet, driving yields higher and devaluing whatever U.S. debt the country is still holding. So far, bonds have rallied, not fallen. “Any sharp moves higher in U.S. yields both adversely impact the valuation of their existing Treasuries stock and could spark a dollar rally,” the strategist said. “The financial and FX stability risks of this policy could outweigh the benefits.” China, the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, has already slapped a 25% duty on them. Much of the crop is grown in Midwestern states that make up Trump’s electoral base, making its fate even more important to the president. Before the trade negotiations soured, China made what U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue described in February as some “good faith” purchases. Now, future buying might be up in the air. While devaluing the yuan or dumping Treasuries would be harder to pull off, balking at soybeans would be a relatively easy move, Setser said. “There are some easy things for China to do,” including withdrawing from soybeans, he said. Futures on the crop have dropped 11% since April 10.

US Gives China a Month for Trade Deal as Talks Stay Deadlocked Bloomberg News / May 10, 2019 President Donald Trump’s administration told China it has a month to seal a trade deal or face tariffs on all its exports to the Unites States, even as both sides sought to avoid a public breakdown in negotiations despite a developing stalemate. The threat was made during talks in Washington on May 10, hours after Trump upped the ante by imposing a second round of punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods. The talks are under close scrutiny across global financial markets, and U.S. stocks turned positive after negotiators on both sides said the session had gone fairly well. In a series of tweets that cheered markets further, Trump on May 10 declared that the talks with China had been “candid and constructive.” “The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue,” he said. Further talks are possible, but there’s no immediate plan for the next round. Earlier, in a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. officials laid out their bottom line, telling him that Beijing had three or four weeks to agree to a deal or face additional 25% tariffs on a further $325 billion in exports to the United States. The threat came in response to the lack of any meaningful concessions by China during two days of meetings. The lack of progress left major question marks hanging over the search for a deal on trade — just one source of tensions in a growing geopolitical rivalry that’s already shifting supply chains and testing established economic and security alliances. In a series of morning tweets, Trump sought to justify his decision to hike tariffs as well as to convince businesses and financial markets that he wasn’t walking away from a deal. “There is absolutely no need to rush,” the U.S. president said. In another tweet, Trump proposed a vast new plan to use income from tariffs to buy up the crops of American farmers who’ve watched their exports to China collapse, and send them to poor countries as aid.

You're welcome old friend, my pleasure. No, GVW sold Workhorse to Navistar in 2005, who dumped it in 2012.

Tenneco is a "buy" at these 52-week low levels. This truly is a $48 stock. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TEN?p=TEN https://www.autonews.com/suppliers/tenneco-stock-plunges-after-lowered-outlook-spinoff-delayed Note the dividend yield of 7.97 percent. That's hard to come by. https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TEN/dividends/yield

A superb video on why the US, sadly and mistakenly, doesn't have high-speed passenger rail service (and of course government and big business made the choice......not the "people" who now suffer for a lack of it).

Here's something you won't see at VTNA..........

They have engineered an entire range of models, what one would expect from professional truck people. Power includes the X15. To invest in a new cab, chassis and so many components, the "plan" had to include a full portfolio. As I learn more, I will share.

Here's an article that gives you some idea about the man leading today's Autocar. Alike Elon Musk, he's from South Africa. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Taitz Chairman, CEO, Grand Vehicle Works LLC Margaret Littman, Crain's Chicago Business Without a college education — but with on-the-job training running a frozen-food business in his native South Africa — Andrew Taitz immigrated to the U.S. "I wanted to buy and build businesses, and the States is the single largest, most accessible market," he explains. "At that time, South Africa did not have a great future to bring a family up in." Two weeks after he and his wife, Dana, married, they came to the U.S., choosing Chicago for both practical and emotional reasons. "It was 1990, and there was a recession then. I was looking for manufacturing firms, and Chicago was one of the least-affected regions," he says. "But it also felt right to start here. It is not hard to be a foreigner here." That same combination of pragmatic and intuitive thinking helped Mr. Taitz turn beleaguered and bankrupt businesses into a $400-million niche. In 1993, he made his first purchase, Indiana-based Union City Body Co., a maker of bodies for delivery trucks. His first job was to woo back the company's old customers. "A lot of them were deserting Union City because (the firm) wasn't going to be around long," recalls Merrit Kinne, director of fleet maintenance for California's Aramark Services Inc., a Union City customer. It was at this time that Mr. Taitz had a flash of insight. He realized it was inefficient to have one company make a truck body and another make the chassis — which had been the industry standard. Why not merge the two? "His vision pretty much caught the rest of the industry flat-footed," Mr. Kinne says. By 1998, Mr. Taitz persuaded General Motors Corp. to sell the specialized chassis division he needed to produce the guts for Union City's body parts. He moved the GM operations from Detroit to Indiana, renamed the business Workhorse Custom Chassis, and structured it under Grand Vehicle Works LLC, the Highland Park holding company that also encompasses Union City. He promised that the new plant would be up and running within eight weeks, and it was — surprising even his supporters. "It was a difficult time. It was 20 below zero, and I am not used to winter. It was stressful because we had to stick to the timelines I had promised," he says. "But that's what's exciting about business — doing things that people think cannot be done." .

"This idea that undocumented [illegal immigrants] - and by the way a significant portion of undocumented folks [criminals] in our country are there because they've overstayed their visas. It's not people breaking down gates coming across the border." Joe Biden May 9, 2019

"I think that anyone who is in a situation where they're in need of healthcare, regardless of whether they are documented or undocumented [a legal or illegal immigrant], we have an obligation to see that they are cared for." Joe Biden May 9, 2019

Over the next couple of weeks, Autocar is holding meetings with its major refuse customers on the DC-64R. After that time, they will present more information to the general public. Response to the truck has exceeded their expectations. They're handling this launch very carefully. They are a smaller truckmaker who can't afford to make costly mistakes and waste money. Each step must be calculated. I'm impressed. The truck "passion" at Autocar is driven by majority owner Andrew Taitz. He bought out Carlisle Group's stake in 2005 and has been stubbornly growing the company every since. “Our approach is different because we take orders from the customer and start from there, customer-engineer it, and build it for the application taking into account exactly what it’s going to be used for. That’s a pull model, and everyone else in the business has a push model, where they focus on high-volume production for over-the-road and delivery and then modify those vehicles for severe-duty applications. That doesn’t work as well.” Andrew Taitz

Ford Trucks International / May 9, 2019 The Ford Trucks F-MAX makes life easier with technologies such as Maxcruise, its multimedia system and more! . 1507940147251-drlcss.mp4

Bill Ford: 'Very pleased' with recent stock performance Michael Martinez, Automotive News / May 9, 2019 DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s top executives Thursday promised shareholders that difficult decisions made last year are setting up the company for stronger performances in 2019 and beyond. During the company's annual shareholders meeting, CEO Jim Hackett and Executive Chairman Bill Ford pointed to strong first-quarter earnings — and a corresponding surge in Ford's stock price — as signs that Hackett's controversial global reorganization was necessary. Since the start of the year, Ford's stock price has risen 34 percent, and last month it topped $10 a share for the first time since August. Shares were trading down 1 percent to $10.24 on Thursday in afternoon trading. "I think our stock price kind of languished as a result of us slogging through some very necessary but difficult changes," Ford said. "We're not where we're going to be, we know that, but we're very pleased that the results of a lot of the hard work that took place in 2018 are starting to show in 2019 and that our stock price is responding." Hackett, who has spent considerable time in his first two years as CEO defending his plan to Wall Street analysts, said Thursday his so-called redesign was not "moving too slowly, nor was it too futuristic," and that it is finally showing positive results. "The optimism in the company is higher now," Hackett said. "We've turned that corner." Recession planning Hackett last month vowed that Ford would be ready for any upcoming recession, and shareholders Thursday pressed for details. CFO Bob Shanks, who retires next month, reiterated the automaker's position that it is working to ensure the company could break even if U.S. industry sales plunged to 11 million per year. He said Ford would be able to break even if the annualized selling rate — which was 16.41 million in April, according to the Automotive News Data Center — hit 11.5 million. In 2009, automakers sold just 10.4 million vehicles in the U.S. "We've been thinking about the design of our business such that it doesn't only make money in great times," Hackett said. "We have to be a vibrant business through all cycles." Shareholder proposals For the second consecutive year, shareholders questioned Ford's decision to abandon the North American sedan market in favor of crossovers, SUVs and pickups, and Hackett reiterated Ford's position that it plans to keep sedan customers by offering different types of low-cost vehicles. Responding to a question about a potential spinoff of the company's Smart Mobility business, Ford said it's not something the automaker was considering because the sector is rapidly evolving. Among shareholder proposals, voters rejected an annual request to eliminate the Ford family's special class of shares. Ford said 65.7 percent voted against the change, up from 63.9 percent last year. For the third year in a row, Ford conducted its annual meeting solely online, a departure from in-person gatherings of the past in Delaware. Some shareholders have complained, but the automaker said it can answer more questions and reach more shareholders with the virtual format, and General Motors has said it would move to a similar online-only format.

Houston, they have a problem. Many of their dealers aren't qualified to be successful heavy truck dealers. They could only suffice to provide after-sales spare parts support. https://www.autocartruck.com/find-service-location-distributor/ For example: Dallas - http://www.iptruck.com/ Chicago - https://www.standardequipment.com/

You're right of course. The problem is this dealer network will need to reboot itself (get pumped up) so as to effectively take this ball and run with it. I assume they have been doing direct sales to Waste Management and the larger fleets (as the Mack factory branches did). For that reason, the dealers have been doing more after-sales support than selling. Now, this business model will have the change.

No, spoke to them on the phone.