kscarbel2

Heavy trucks, what in the United States is called "Class 8". Does not include medium or light trucks (light trucks being Isuzu NPR-like in size). Note: FYI - Global market light trucks are often called medium in the US.

Xinhua / February 2, 2019 China's heavy truck manufacturers reported strong sales last month, pointing to continued vitality in the broader economy. Some 96,000 heavy trucks were sold in January in China, up 16 percent from a month ago, according to cvworld.cn, an auto industry information service provider. The sales performance remained high, notching the second-best January in recent years, moderating slightly from the same period a year ago.

Jack Walsworth & Larry Vellequette, Automotive News / February 3, 2019 Chicago will come out of its arctic freeze this week to find a redesigned Subaru Legacy, two freshened pickups and a handful of special editions taking auto show center stage. One of the country's largest auto shows in terms of visitors, the Chicago event this year boasts four indoor test tracks and — polar vortex or not — six outdoor test drive areas at the mammoth McCormick Place. Here's a look at the vehicles expected to be featured. Ford Ford Motor Co. plans to unveil a freshened Super Duty pickup, capitalizing on the Chicago show's truck-oriented reputation. The pickup, expected to arrive this year as a 2020 model, likely will feature cosmetic updates to the grille and interior as well as new engines and transmission. General Motors Chevrolet and GMC plan to bring heavy-duty pickups to Chicago, the first time either will have been displayed at an auto show. Chevrolet released photos of the Silverado HD in early December and is expected to unveil the truck early this week in Flint, Mich. GMC held a private unveiling of the Sierra HD lineup late last month in San Diego. The pickups have design cues and performance attributes that separate them from their smaller siblings. General Motors noted that the only exterior piece that the Silverado HD shares with the standard Silverado is the roof. Lexus Lexus will feature a Flare Yellow special-edition LC 500 coupe, with plans to produce just 100 units. The 2019 LC 500 Inspiration Series will start at $107,235, including shipping. It rides on 21-inch wheels, has a carbon fiber roof and gets yellow door inserts and matching trim stitching. The coupe is the third limited-run Inspiration Series vehicle Lexus has produced. Lexus also is expected to roll out a special version of its NX crossover, the NX F Sport Black Line Special Edition. Mazda Mazda will show a 30th-anniversary special edition of its MX-5 Miata. In a blurry teaser image released by the company, the car appears to be a red Miata RF variant (RF for "retractable fastback"). The first-generation two-seater debuted at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. Nissan Nissan plans to bring a slightly tweaked 2020 Rogue Sport to Chicago, as well as a special-edition Pathfinder three-row crossover. Ram After redesigns of the Ram 1500 last year and the Heavy Duty 2500 and 3500 last month, Ram is turning its attention to the 3500 chassis cab. The pickup is typically sent to upfitters who use the chassis for commercial vehicles. Subaru Chicago will mark the global debut of the redesigned Legacy midsize sedan, the latest nameplate to join the Subaru Global Platform. Spy photos last summer indicated that the 2020 Legacy would retain styling similar to the current version, with some areas updated to match the rest of the lineup. The 2020 is likely to be slightly larger than the outgoing Legacy, if other Subaru nameplates from the platform are any indication, with a bump in power. Last week, Subaru released a teaser image of the sedan's interior indicating a significantly updated infotainment and console area. Toyota Toyota will lean toward body-on-frame products in Chicago. Last week, the automaker teased the front end of its 2020 Tacoma. The freshened pickup will have a new exterior look and interior updates that will augment the 2016 model redesign. Toyota also will present a 60th-anniversary edition of the 2020 Land Cruiser. Unlike the standard three-row Land Cruiser, the Heritage Edition will be offered only as a two-row model available in black or white. The limited batch of 1,200 vehicles will get bronze wheels with "Toyota" on the center cap, bronze contrast stitching throughout the interior, vintage-style exterior badges, darkened headlight housings and darkened chrome design touches on the exterior. The edition drops the SUV's running boards and lower body side moldings to create a more rugged look. Volkswagen Volkswagen will show a GLI variant of the redesigned Jetta. The sporty GLI likely will add some performance chops and styling cues to the compact sedan, which was redesigned onto the automaker's MQB platform for the 2019 model year.

This is big Bob. It says something about how Ford does business......ethics. They call inventors greedy and then steal their technology. And Ford isn't a Chinese company.....hmm.

Ford F-150s use tech stolen from MIT professors Christopher Yasiejko, Bloomberg / February 3, 2019 WILMINGTON, Delaware -- The most-popular vehicle in the U.S. -- the F-series truck -- is among the many Ford Motor Co. products using stolen technologies to run its newest fuel-efficient engines, according to three Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors who say they invented the enhancements. With Ford selling two trucks every minute and generating about $42 billion in revenue last year from the F-series alone, the MIT inventors are demanding an unspecified share of the proceeds. In a lawsuit filed Jan. 30, they say their patented dual port- and direct-injection technology were added to the company’s EcoBoost engines in recent years without permission. The dispute marks a split in the long collaboration between MIT and Ford, which created a joint energy-research program in 2007 to focus on powertrain, fuel and energy technologies. A separate MIT Energy Initiative paired Ford personnel with university researchers. Chairman Bill Ford, great-grandson of the automaker’s founder Henry Ford, received a masters degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1984. But by 2015, Ford suggested the professors were “greedy inventors” and refused offers to negotiate exclusive rights to license the patents, the lawsuit alleges. Ford sells “a lot of vehicles, most with EcoBoost,” said Kevin Tynan, senior automotive analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence in Princeton, N.J., who estimates the company has sold about 8 million light trucks alone since 2015. It’s too soon to know how costly any royalties would be for the company, he said. “At $1 per vehicle, no big deal. At $1,000, $8 billion hurts a little.” EcoBoost engines have been a key part of Ford’s strategy to develop cars and trucks with better fuel efficiency and power with fewer emissions, and they’ve been installed in millions of new vehicles over much of the past decade. 'Revolutionary throughout the industry' MIT professors Leslie Bromberg, Daniel R. Cohn and John B. Heywood, who have been working for decades on improvements to internal-combustion engines, say they invented dual-injection technologies that allow for better fuel-and-air mixing and combustion stability than direct injection, with less engine knock. “Revolutionary throughout the industry,” is how MIT describes the technologies, which have been cited by more than 115 other patents, including dozens by Ford, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Wilmington, Del. The professors transferred ownership of their creations to MIT, one of the premier U.S. research universities, which then granted exclusive patent-licensing rights to a small company the three men founded, Ethanol Boosting Systems LLC. EBS offered to license patents on the enhancements to Ford in 2014, but the company declined. Since then, the technologies have become integrated into new EcoBoost engines Ford is promoting in recent models, including F-150 trucks, Lincoln Navigator SUVs and Ford Mustang sports cars, according to the plaintiffs. Licensing questions Heywood, who was director of the Sloan Automotive Laboratory at MIT and wrote the 1988 textbook “Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals,” emailed two Ford executives in October 2014 to discuss licensing the dual-injection technology, according to the complaint. Heywood cited MIT’s history with Ford and wrote that EBS “would like to give Ford the first opportunity” to license a portfolio of five patents, one of which is named in the lawsuit. After a volley of emails, Bill Coughlin, then Ford’s chief intellectual-property officer, agreed to meet at MIT in April 2015. According to the complaint, Coughlin proposed that “in exchange for EBS agreeing not to assert the patents against Ford,” the auto giant “would work with EBS to market other MIT/EBS technology.” At one point in the conversation, Coughlin asked the three professors “whether they were ‘greedy inventors,’” the complaint says. EBS invited Ford to analyze the patents and identify any that weren’t applicable to its products, but that never happened, the plaintiffs allege. After more rounds of emails and phone calls, including with Greg Brown, then the counsel for global engine intellectual property at Ford Global Technologies LLC, the carmaker told EBS in November 2015 that it wasn’t interested in licensing the patents. Asked whether Ford might be interested in the technology for future vehicles, Brown, according to the complaint, “indicated that Ford had no plans that he knew of to use that technology in its vehicles.” 'Imminent plans' But Ford “did have imminent plans” to use the technology, and “already was incorporating that technology into its engines and fuel-management systems,” MIT and EBS said in the lawsuit. The complaint cites a June 2017 press release in which Ford said it was using dual port- and direct-injection technology in its 3.5-liter EcoBoost engines and other engines that are available in the F-150, Expedition and other models. The majority of Ford trucks, and 60 percent of F-150s, have EcoBoost engines, Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s executive vice president of product development and purchasing, said Jan. 15 at the Wolfe Research Global Auto Industry Conference. “We sold 1 million F-series last year,” Thai-Tang said. “Our PR team did the math. We sell one every 29 seconds.” The F-series in 2018 “outsold the nearest competitor by the widest margin ever,” CEO Jim Hackett said Jan. 23 in an earnings call.

No slave wages in China.....not for many, many years. In year 2019, the cost of labor is high. That's why most off-shored manufacturing has shifted out of China to elsewhere (India, Thailand, Vietnam, ect.). There is massive manufacturing in China, but most is for domestic consumption. Thanks to protectionist policies, if multi-nationals want to profit in China, they essentially have to produce there and thus share some of the spoils with the people and country from whom they are profiting. I call that "fair", and we should practice that in the states.

First, they have absolutely no proof that those tires were sold below cost. Second, they love to make money as much as the next person. They don't sell below cost. Triangle, Double Coin and many other Chinese brands are first-rate tires. With tractor-trailers there legally carrying 46 to 49 metric tons (101,413lb to 108,027lb), they need to be (Many actually run up to 120,000lb). Those tires are on vacation in the states.

Ford Trucks International / Sharing The Load Whether you’re a one-unit fire department in a small town or the transportation department for a large state, you demand maximum value for your money. That’s where Ford Trucks can help. Ford has a broad line-up of trucks engineered to handle all municipal and state government job applications, from fire and rescue to snow removal and road repair. Why buy Ford? At Ford Trucks, we are committed to providing you with the latest technology in the truck industry, trucks that are “optimized” by our engineers to meet your specific requirements. That’s why we say, “Ford Trucks are built Ford tough”. .

Stagnant F-35 Reliability Means Fewer Available Jets: Pentagon Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg / January 30, 2019 US Marine F-35Bs, which cost $122 million each, can only fly for a quarter of their expected life because of major structural issues Durability testing data indicates service-life of initial F-35B short-takeoff-vertical landing jets bought by Marine Corps “is well under” expected service life of 8,000 fleet hours; “may be as low as 2,100″ hours Pentagon test office says in 2018 annual report obtained by Bloomberg that’s scheduled for release this week. That means some jets expected to start hitting service life limit in 2026. Furthermore, there’s no “improving trend in” aircraft availability to fly training or combat missions as it’s remained “flat” over the past 3 years. Details come a day after Defense Sec. Pat Shanahan told reporters the F-35 “has a lot of opportunity for more performance.” Interim reliability and field maintenance metrics to meeting planned 80% goal not being met, test office director Robert Behler says in new assessment as improvements “are still not translating into improved availability” Current fleet performance “well below” that benchmark Cybersecurity testing of aircraft in 2018 showed some previous vulnerabilities “still have not been remedied,” assessment says Amount of time needed to repair aircraft and return to flying status “has changed little” in last yr; remains “higher than” rate needed to indicate progress as aircraft fleet numbers and flying hours increase, assessment says Computerized maintenance tool known as “ALIS” doesn’t “yet perform as intended,” as some data and functions deficiencies “have a significant effect on aircraft availability” and launching flights Maintenance personnel, pilots “must deal w pervasive problems w data integrity, completeness on a daily basis,” tester says Testing through September of Air Force model gun intended for air-to-ground attack indicates accuracy “unacceptable,” DoD tester says

I dislike blatant protectionism for the sake of existing tire companies who see a way to rub out new competition thru legal process. The wealthy involved with the tire industry are annoyed with competition taking money out of their pocket, and sent their Washington lobbyists on a mission. I despise lobbyists in general. Whether the tires are from China or Mars, they make a good product and have a competitive price. When the existing "tire club" promotes those two virtues, we're supposed to be impressed. But when a new guy in town offers the same two virtues and steals market share from the existing monopoly, they get accused of foul play. It's a crock. What is “price underselling"??? They offered a better price. So what? If the Chinese are guilty, then Amazon and Wal-Mart surely must be "guilty" of price underselling as well. The ITC was looking at data from 2013-2015, and during that time the U.S. market grew by 21.3%. But the domestic tire makers’ share of the market dropped by 7.7%, from 53.3% to 45.6%. Oh well, they had a better price. But remember other Asian tire makers (e.g. Hankook) had a hand in reducing the domestic tire maker's market share as well......but they don't get flagged.....it's all political. Tires are one of an operator's biggest expenses. We don't need government propping up high tire prices to keep the rich.....rich. The talk of a free market is just a tale.

Roger Gilroy, Transport Topics / February 1, 2019 Volvo Group reported fourth-quarter revenue rose as net income fell, while higher worldwide truck orders and deliveries increased both revenue and net income for the full year. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Volvo — which reports in Swedish krona — had net income that was the approximate equivalent of $250 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, compared with $526.8 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter increased to $11.6 billion compared with $10.1 billion a year earlier. Despite some continued capacity constraints, Volvo delivered 62,352 trucks during the quarter, or 4% more than the 59,814 units it delivered in the same period a year ago, according to the Gothenburg, Sweden-based company. At the same time, quarterly net truck orders fell to 59,535 from 69,597 a year earlier. North American orders in the quarter decreased by 24% to 14,014 vehicles, while deliveries increased by 35% to 14,072 vehicles. “Order intake in North America has moderated, which was expected as the order book is close to full for 2019,” Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a statement. During the quarter, Volvo Trucks signed an agreement with Brønnøy Kalk AS in Norway to provide its first commercial autonomous transport solution for a limestone mining site, the truck maker noted in the earnings report. Volvo Trucks also announced that it plans to introduce all-electric Volvo VNR demonstrators in California in 2019, operating in distribution, regional-haul and drayage operations. Sales of the Volvo VNR Electric in North America are slated to begin in 2020. Volvo Financial Services continued to grow its credit portfolio and increase profitability, with record new business volume for the quarter due to increased deliveries of trucks and construction equipment and a stable penetration rate, Volvo said. For the full year, Volvo’s net income was $2.8 billion, or $1.35, compared with $2.2 billion, or $1.11. Revenue jumped 17% to $43.2 billion compared with $36.7 billion a year earlier. Global truck orders in 2018 climbed to 257,504 compared with 232,439 a year earlier. North American orders rose 54% to 79,364 compared with 59,613 a year earlier. Truck deliveries rose to 226,490 from 202,402 in the 2017 period. North American deliveries jumped to 53,877 compared with 37,941 a year earlier. “In 2018 we continued our drive to develop next-generation transport solutions. We moved our positions forward in electrification, automation and connectivity. For instance, both Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks will begin selling electric trucks in Europe this year and Mack Trucks will have an electric refuse truck in operation in New York City,” Lundstedt said. “We expect demand for trucks to be on historically good levels also in 2019. Growth in the North American economy, with high transport volumes and good freight rates, is expected to support the truck market also in 2019,” he said. Volvo’s North American forecast for 2019 remains unchanged at 310,000 heavy-duty trucks. Volvo’s trucks, construction equipment, Volvo Penta and financial services all recorded their highest adjusted operating income ever in 2018. As previously reported, Volvo Group has detected that an emissions control component used in certain markets and models may degrade more quickly than expected, affecting the vehicle’s emission performance negatively. The company has made a provision in the fourth quarter of $770 million relating to the estimated costs to address the issue. Negative cash flow effects will start in 2019 and gradually ramp up in the coming years. Volvo Group will continuously assess the size of the provision as the matter develops, it said.

Eric Miller, Transport Topics / February 1, 2019 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to tailor its new glider truck emissions standard to help protect the glider industry from “going out of business or substantially reducing its economic growth potential,” agency chief Andrew Wheeler said in a document sent to Congress. In written response to questions submitted by Senators after his public Jan. 16 confirmation hearing, Wheeler said that the most appropriate means for analyzing costs and benefits of glider trucks would be to compare the trucks’ remanufactured engines to used trucks, since gliders “tend to be bought in lieu of used, and not new, trucks.” “While we do not yet have a firm schedule for completing a rule, we plan to move ahead as expeditiously as practicable,” Wheeler said in the 150-page document, obtained by Transport Topics, which addresses a variety of environmental policy questions. The agency earlier said it would issue the new rule by the end of 2019. But Glen Kedzie, energy and environmental affairs counsel for American Trucking Associations, noted that EPA cannot set a separate emissions standard just for glider trucks. “Emission standards are based on public health, not based upon what the glider industry wants,” Kedzie said. Jed Mandel, president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, called Wheeler’s statement “concerning.” “There are important rulemakings that EPA should be working on,” Mandel told TT. “Any further work on gliders will divert EPA’s limited resources from more important tasks. We will watch carefully for EPA’s next steps.” During Wheeler’s nomination hearing, held before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Democratic members criticized his efforts to roll back Obama-era regulations on fuel efficiency and carbon emissions from power plants, while Republican members praised his leadership and experience on environmental efforts. Glider trucks combine new truck bodies with older and oftentimes rebuilt engines. They have long been the target of criticism by environmental groups, truck manufacturers and segments of the trucking industry, since the kits’ older engines do not meet current federal emissions standards. According to an EPA study from 2017, glider trucks can emit up to 450 times more diesel particulate matter and up to 40 times more nitrogen oxides than new trucks. Separately, three Democratic House committee leaders in a Jan. 28 letter asked Wheeler to provide both internal and external agency documents related to gliders. Expressing concerns over “harmful exhaust” from glider trucks, the lawmakers said in the letter that their committees want information on EPA’s process to develop possible regulatory revisions of an Obama-era rule limiting production of glider trucks to 300 annually per manufacturer. “The [Energy and Commerce] committee seeks additional information on this process to ensure EPA policies are consistent with the agency’s own scientific conclusions and do not benefit a small set of manufacturers at the expense of human health and the environment,” the letter said. The letter was signed by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rep. Diana DeGette, (D-Colo.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Rep. Paul Tonko, (D-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. The Obama-era glider truck rule is being enforced by EPA through the end of 2019 after a series of on-again, off-again decisions that began in November 2017 when then-EPA chief Scott Pruitt proposed repealing the rule. Last July, Pruitt suspended enforcement of the rule, but a few days later Wheeler lifted the suspension after Pruitt left the agency under a cloud of ethics violations and lawsuits filed by environmental groups and several states. The documents sought by the three House leaders include: Electronic communications regarding glider trucks among several top EPA officials from February 2018 to the present. Copies of communications between or among the top EPA officials and employees of Fitzgerald Glider Kits, the nation’s largest glider manufacturer. Copies of any briefing materials regarding gliders prepared for the agency’s Office of Air and Radiation Assistant Administrator William Wehrum from June 2018 to present. An explanation of whether EPA has initiated or conducted any enforcement activities relating to Fitzgerald. EPA did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

What a crock.

Modern Tire Dealer (MTD) / January 31, 2019 It took three years and a day, but the International Trade Commission has reversed an earlier decision and ruled the U.S. tire market is being harmed by the import of truck and bus tires from China. On Jan. 30, 2019, the ITC filed a 62-page determination in response to an order from the U.S. Court of International Trade. On Nov. 1, 2018, the court remanded the ITC’s earlier decision not to impose tariffs on truck tires — effectively forcing the ITC to re-examine the case. What does it mean? It likely means that truck and bus tires imported into the U.S. from China will be subject to tariffs. The court ruling doesn’t reveal the tariff rates, or a timeline. But all of the parties will have an opportunity to respond to the ITC's new findings. How it happened When the ITC started its re-examination, it did so with five members on the commission. Four had been part of the original ruling, and they split their votes 2-2. The fifth commissioner, Jason Kearns, was new to the case. (He had been nominated in the final days of former President Barack Obama’s term in Jan. 2017, and then was nominated by President Donald Trump in June 2017. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2018.) The former commissioner who had determined there was no injury to the domestic tire market, Scott Kieff, left the ITC in June 2017 to return to academia. He left three years before his nine-year term was to expire. The new commissioner, Kearns, “made his determination in these remand proceedings de novo by weighing all of the evidence in the record and reaching his own independent conclusion,” and ended up being the swing vote. He voted with Irving Williamson and Rhonda Schmidtlein and determined the domestic truck tire market is being harmed by the imports. (Commissioners David Johanson and Meredith Broadbent maintained the market isn’t being hurt by the Chinese imports.) A condensed roundup: How we got here The issue of Chinese truck tires became a formal government complaint in January 2016 when the United Steelworkers union filed a complaint, saying the imports were harming the U.S. truck tire market. The complaint worked its way through the typical government process, with investigations by both the U.S. Department of Commerce and the ITC. Typically, the ITC has the last word, and if the commissioners say there’s no harm to the domestic industry, then no tariffs are imposed on the affected goods. If the commissioners find there is injury, then there are tariffs. It was a surprise in February 2017 when the ITC voted 2-3 not to impose tariffs, as every other tariff investigation in the tire industry had resulted in duties being charged at the border. The USW had one more chance. They took the negative ruling to the U.S. Court of International Trade and appealed the ITC’s ruling. On Nov. 1, 2018, the court issued its ruling, and the ITC was forced to re-examine its work. What the commission reviewed The court upheld some of the ITC’s findings, but found an issue with two points, and told the commission to reconsider them. The ITC did not reopen the record, meaning it examined the same data that was presented originally. It focused on: price effects of the imported tires impact of the imports Price effects: In studying price effects, the ITC is charged with determining if there was been “significant price underselling” by the imports as compared to the domestic product. Also, the ITC must determine if the imports depress prices significantly or prevent price increases which otherwise would have occurred. The ITC looked at data for four different truck and bus tires, including price data for shipments to both original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. “In total, the Chinese subject tires undersold the domestic tires in 79 of 85 comparisons. In the aftermarket, the segment with the most significant growth over the investigation period and where the subject imports are concentrated, the Chinese truck and bus tires undersold the domestic tires in all 60 quarterly comparisons. These quarterly data totaled 2.5 million tires. In the OEM market, the subject imports undersold the domestic like product in 19 of 25 comparisons.” Impact of the imports: The ITC was looking at data from 2013-2015, and during that time the U.S. market grew by 21.3%. But the domestic tire makers’ share of the market dropped by 7.7%, from 53.3% to 45.6%. Domestic shipments grew 3.9%. At the same time, the Chinese imports grew by 41.9% and their market share increased 4.9%, from 28.7% in 2013 to 33.6% in 2015. Capacity utilization improved, U.S. production increased, but domestic shipments only grew by 3.9%, far below the overall consumption of 21.3%. Chinese tire makers say their imports are filling a gap in demand in the U.S., but the ITC says data doesn’t support that claim. Industry wide, capacity contracted slightly from 2013 to 2015. The Chinese producers also argued that the financial health of U.S. tire producers proved they weren’t being harmed by imports. And decreasing raw material costs could explain lower prices. “We disagree. We find that subject imports had a significant adverse impact on the domestic industry. The industry lost substantial market share to the subject imports in a period of strong demand. The subject tires undersold the domestic product by significant and increasing margins of underselling and depressed prices, preventing the domestic industry from increasing its revenues commensurate with growing demand. “Although profitable, due to the increasing presence of low-priced subject imports from China the industry lost revenues that it would otherwise have obtained, had unused capacity, and postponed investments that would have expanded capacity rather than simply maintained current equipment and current capacity levels. Lower shipments than what otherwise would have occurred also impacted the ability of the industry to expand employment opportunities in a period of increased demand. “In sum, we find that the significant volume of subject imports, at prices that undersold the domestic like product and depressed domestic prices, adversely impacted the domestic industry. We consequently determine that the domestic industry is materially injured by reason of subject imports.”

Jim Park, Today's Trucking / February 1, 2019 TORONTO, Ontario — Cold temperatures and water can lead to only one outcome, and ice has no place in a truck’s air system. Frozen moisture can disable compressors, along with any of the multitude of air valves in the system. Plunging temperatures, like we have seen across much of the Lower 48 states in recent weeks, will be put air systems to the test. Hopefully your systems are not found wanting. Compressed air always contains moisture, and the air leaving the compressor is hot. But as the air travels through the line from the compressor to the air dryer, it cools, and that’s when the moisture in the compressed air condenses to liquid. If it’s cold enough, that liquid will freeze, threatening the air supply to various systems including transmissions, suspensions, and of course, brakes. A heavy truck’s air compressor puts out four to six U.S. ounces of water during an average day’s operation — more when operating in regions of high relative humidity, and less when air is cold and dry. If all that water is sloshing around in your air reservoirs or some other spot further downstream, you could be in trouble when temperatures plummet. Air Compressors and Air Dryers Your first line of defense is the air dryer, but there’s potential for trouble even before that. While it’s unlikely under normal circumstances, water vapor can freeze in the line from the compressor to the air dryer. If you have a particularly long line, or if the line has any restrictions or 90-degree-angle fittings, you’ve got a potential spot for problems. As well, any low points in the line can provide a point for water to collect and freeze, cutting off the air supply to the air dryer and thus the rest of the air system. If the compressor discharge line becomes plugged, you’ll probably hear the compressor banging away as the pressure builds up in the discharge line. Or, if you hear a loud rush of air, it could indicate that the safety valve on the discharge line has opened to relieve the pressure in the line. Either of those symptoms would indicate a blockage or restriction somewhere between the compressor and the air dryer. If you know anything about the venturi effect, an older and carbon-choked discharge line can be especially susceptible to ice formation. As the warm, moist air leaves the compressor and encounters a restriction in the discharge line (in effect, a venturi), the change in pressure on the downwind side of the restriction causes a rapid and dramatic drop in temperature — sometimes as much as 70 degrees Fahrenheit — that will turn moisture to ice almost instantly. That ice can build up in the discharge line, eventually choking it completely. Air compressors almost always pass a small amount of oil, which usually collects harmlessly in the air dryer or the wet tank. Older compressors can pass much more oil, which can prematurely foul the desiccant material in the air dryer, reducing theability to remove moisture from the air. The mucky mixture of oil and water from a slobbery compressor also increases the risk of a blockage in the air line as the ice and oil bind together. “It’s normal for most compressors to pass a little oil, but if you constantly have to replace your air-dryer desiccant cartridge you may have excessive oil passage,” says Jonathan Adams, product manager at Tectran. “Air dryer effectiveness and air system performance decline quickly as oil is passed into the desiccant cartridge. Check your wet tank for moisture and other contaminants.” If you see sludge in your wet tank, oil is getting through the air dryer and passing into the downstream air system. Most air dryers are equipped with heaters to prevent the collected waste from freezing in the purge valve reservoir, but these heater elements can fail, too. It’s possible that air could leak past the purge valve if it doesn’t seat properly due to ice after a purge cycle, causing a loss of air through the open valve. Air won’t escape from the tractor reservoirs because of the one-way check valves, but the air used in brake applications and by the suspension won’t be replaced. Drivers can check the condition of their air dryers by observing how much water and oily sludge comes from the wet tank when it’s drained, says Abe Aon, director of sales – Wabco North American Aftermarket. “We don’t recommend completely draining all reservoirs every day,” he says. “Pulling on the drain cord or opening the drain cock for just a few seconds is a good indicator of the overall health of the air system.” For linehaul applications, most OEMs and air dryer manufacturers recommend replacing the air dryer cartridge every two to three years. The air dryer cartridge on vocational vehicles such as garbage trucks should be changed much more frequently. Some fleets can go longer or shorter between cartridge changes than others due to the climate they run in, the amount of air that they use, or the age of the vehicle, Aon says. “Older vehicles tend to have more air leaks and compressors that pass more oil.” Oil and Water Don’t Mix, The Freeze Since there will always be some oil in the compressor discharge air, and moisture, the idea is to trap it before it gets downstream where it might do some damage. “The first place it goes is into the air dryer contaminating the desiccant material,” says Richard Nagel, Bendix director of marketing and customer solutions – air charging. “That’s why air dryers lose efficiency. The desiccant does not expire or get used up, but it can become saturated with oil and it will no longer be capable of removing moisture.” Even though the compressor might be the problem, fleets are more likely to change the cartridge and service the air drier more frequently because that’s much less expensive than replacing the compressor — which can be a six-to-eight-hour job, plus the cost of the compressor. “It might be cheaper to replace the desiccant cartridge more often, but the desiccant won’t remove oil from the air,” warns Nagel. “Air dryers are available with oil coalescing cartridges designed to remove oil from air systems, but they will need to be changed more often if you have an oily compressor.” While most brake valves are fairly tolerant of oil contamination, equipment like automated transmissions often have air-operated solenoid valves, which are very sensitive to both oil and water contamination. Brake valves are more sensitive to moisture. Typically, these valves contain tiny little passages that can easily ice up and close off partially or completely. Depending on the effectiveness of the air dryer, a significant amount of moisture can get into the system and cause problems in these valves. That’s why it’s so important to drain the air tanks frequently. Moisture accumulated during the summer stays in the system like a time bomb, waiting for a minus-40 cold snap. If your trucks are out in the wild with poorly maintained air systems, it’s probably just a matter of time until sub-zero temperatures sideline the truck.

With the MS300 Mid-Liner being a Mack-branded product, as owner of the Mack brand, Volvo Group has an obligation to provide you with reasonable technical assistance.

On January 24th, the temperature in Adelaide reached 46.6 C (116 F). A question to Ted, Paul and our other members in Oz........how are you making out?

The passions of America's wealthy have always puzzled me. Enjoy Jamaica.

There's just something indescribably special about them Mark to a great many people. I've always wanted to own one.

Ford Trucks International / January 31, 2019 We proved our professional excellence with AVA Digital Awards! Our Ford Trucks corporate website in the web design branch of the website category and F-MAX microsite in the web creativity branch of the microsite category were granted two awards! https://www.fordtrucks.com.tr/tr-en http://fmax.fordtrucks.com.tr/en #AVAAwards #AVADigitalAwards #AVAAward2019 #FordTrucks .

You Don’t Need to Wait Until 2020 to Buy a New Ford Bronco Hannah Elliot, Bloomberg / January 31, 2019 Ford disappointed legions of fans and pundits this month at the Detroit auto show when it failed to unveil or announce progress on the new Bronco. Rumors had swirled for months that the update to the 1970s icon was coming; the rig has been promised in time for 2020 sales. Queries about it to a Ford spokesperson that week and since have returned only vague answers about updates happening in the fall. And the stakes are high. Kevin Tynan, senior automotive analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, says that in order to really thrill the Bronco market, Ford must do the opposite of what Chevrolet did with the Blazer. That one was “just another crossover” slapped with a well-known name from the past, he says. It got lost in a sea of generic modern crossovers. “If executed with aplomb, Bronco can fit into that ‘truck but not like other trucks’ niche that can serve as a halo product,” says Tynan. “It probably won’t be a volume nameplate, but put Ford in that SRT Jeep or Durango discussion of badass performance trucks. Bronco Raptor?” Maybe. In the meantime, there are plenty of other ways to get your hands on a modernized Bronco. While they won’t have the fresh OEM seals on them like the 2020 Bronco, they retain the rugged spirit of the original. The Original American Work Horse The market at the moment is red hot. While used Broncos can still be had for less than $30,000 on the auction website Bring a Trailer, the average value for a running, driving 1966 Ford Bronco two-door wagon 4x4 in good condition is $32,700, according to collectible car experts Hagerty, up from an average value of $15,000 three years ago. Broncos in excellent condition average almost $81,000 in value, up from $42,000 in 2016. Ford built the first Broncos in 1966. Intended to compete with International Scouts and Jeeps CJ-5s, they attracted buyers in the American west and central plains who needed four-wheel-drive, durable, practical, and affordable vehicles for hunting, ranching, and farming. Soon, buyers in northern states embraced them for their capability to handle snow and ice; some even attached snow plows to their tall metal fronts. They were offered in three options: wagon, pickup, and open, with cut-outs in the sides instead of doors. Engines included an inline six-cylinder or a V8 during the model’s first year of production; there were a handful of original colors to choose among, from orange to blue and, of course, white. That they cost less than $2,500 at the time (comparable to Jeeps) and were mechanically simple enough to repair at home fed their popularity. During its first year of production, Ford sold 24,000 of them. The initial generation lasted 12 years. Most of the members of that first generation were used hard. They were beat up, crunched, crashed, and battered through years of tough work; actual labor was their calling, after all. Many of the examples that have survived into modern life need major repair. The Modern Restorations That’s where builders such as Velocity Restorations come in. The Pensacola, Fla., shop makes 30 of the old Broncos “new” each year. Co-owner Brandon Segers says this number is up “substantially” since even a few years ago, and he doesn’t see it slowing anytime soon. “We are very excited about the launch of the 2020 Bronco. It will only grow the popularity” of the model at large, whether old or new, he says. Segers’s Broncos, models taken straight from the 1970s, are restored with new components so they’ll run as reliably as any modern truck. A $169,000 Mountain Edition inserts a 302 Ford engine into a donor Bronco body, adds power disc brakes, power steering, a suspension lift, high-back reclining seats, Bluetooth, and a choice of automatic or three-speed manual rebuilt transmission. A $209,000 Lake Edition includes those things with a Ford Coyote 5.0 fuel-injected engine and 4R70 electronic shift overdrive transmission. The $239,000 Beach Edition comes with the same, plus 35-inch tires and 17-inch wheels and a power-retracting step. Those three are set-priced vehicles that come basically as they’re offered. Segers estimates that each model takes 1,200 to 1,700 hours to produce. Donor bodies come from auctions, barns, fields, and back alleys, where they’ve been stored for years. Elsewhere, Classic Ford Broncos works out of Ohio; Gateway Bronco specializes in “sympathetic” restorations in Illinois; and a bearded man named Amos Zook builds them in his barn in Pennsylvania Amish country—if you can find him. All specialize in complete restorations. Jonathan Ward’s Icon Broncos are rather more bespoke. His trucks are hand-built in southern California from original Bronco body shells and then upgraded to some very high-end buyer specifications. Common options include Marine-grade textiles on the seats; high-end surround sound systems; and a paint finish in gloss or matte of whatever color you bring into the shop. There are multiple design packages that allow you to pick whether or not you want doors, or even a roof, as well as such add-ons as sport suspension with Nitro-charged shocks, Brembo brakes, heavy-duty winches, locking differentials (better for true off-road situations), custom leather hides for the seats, and stainless steel metalware. Many of the nearly 60 Broncos Ward has sold worldwide include technologies that make them usable on a familiar basis: satellite radio and navigation, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and reverse parking cameras. Icon Broncos cost a lot—$400,000 on average, depending on the build—and require patience, as the waiting time can reach three years. Not that any of those things has hampered business one iota. Neither has the impending new one. “Reinvigorate isn’t even the word for what the new Bronco is doing for the market. It’s out of control right now,” Ward says. “The 2020 Bronco has significantly brought the model back into the modern culture’s mind. This is a huge push.” .

Bob, remember when the oil filter on the V6 Explorers was vertically mounted and so easily accessible from underneath?

I hear you. The great thing about brooms is they are far less destructive, and more forgiving. And obviously, snow-type rotary brooms clear the road surface more completely of snow and ice. . . . .

We are likely standing on the edge, or in the vicinity, of a blowout rally. “More than likely, these better-than-expected numbers from the tech titans, coupled with no more interest rate hikes this year, should see the market make up all of the ground lost in Q4 2018." Vestact Investment “If President Trump manages to pull off a deal with China, that’s gonna be it. You can imagine what this market’s going to do. Even if we get a bad deal with China, the market doesn’t care, the market is completely disconnected from the economy." Gregory Mannarino