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China is getting closer to equipping its warships with electromagnetic railguns, state media reports -- which means its fleet could soon boast some of the most advanced weapons technology on the planet. Citing CCTV, the state-run Global Times on Thursday reported the underlying railgun technology -- which utilizes electrical power rather than explosives to launch projectiles -- was based on "fully independent intellectual property," rather than copied from other countries. Unconfirmed sightings of a Chinese landing ship apparently equipped with a test railgun in an undisclosed location have circulated around the internet this week. Carl Schuster, former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, said it was significant that China appeared to be transitioning from copying foreign weapon designs to "developing their own" technology. "It also tells you (that China) is no longer 10-15 years behind (the US)... They are now approaching parity with the west in terms of weapons development," he added.

Ford Trucks International / January 3, 2019 http://fmax.fordtrucks.com.tr/en . .

U.S. lifts tariffs on China-made injection molds Steve Toloken, Automotive News / January 4, 2019 WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration unexpectedly put a hold on steep 25 percent tariffs on injection molds imported from China in late December, a decision analysts say is likely to hurt American mold building companies but help U.S. plastics companies that supply automakers. The announcement from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) means that the 25 percent tariffs on injection molds -- imposed in July as part of the first round of $34 billion in duties on Chinese imports -- will be suspended for at least one year. USTR did not explain its decision, but one attorney for the mold making industry said it may be a response to a flood of more than 200 requests from plastic injection molding companies, many in the automotive supply chain, to exempt their specific mold imports [from Red China]. The USTR announcement is broader than molds, exempting about 30 different categories of imports from the tariffs. Molds are the largest plastics-related category. "I believe they have had so many requests from companies seeking exemptions of molds from the tariff, that the government decided to exclude molds in their entirety rather than spending resources on each individual exemption request for a mold," said H. Alan Rothenbuecher, a lawyer for the Indianapolis-based American Mold Builders Association. "No one knows for sure why, but that is my opinion." Rothenbuecher, a partner with the Cleveland-based law firm Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, said the ruling will hurt U.S. mold builders but help U.S. plastics companies that buy molds. "There was and is strong support among the [U.S.] mold builder community for these tariffs," Rothenbuecher wrote in an email. Plastics processors, however, said [whined] the higher costs from the 25 percent tariffs would be hard for them to absorb, causing significant problems in their already price-sensitive businesses [can't have your cake and eat it too]. Auto suppliers impacted Many argued to USTR that since mold purchasing takes months and the contracts for these molds were signed before the tariff details were discussed, they could not plan for the 25 percent tariffs. Plastikon Industries Inc., for example, asked for what it called a "one-time exclusion" for molds ordered from China in late 2017 for a project for a U.S. automaker. "Due to the timing, significant size and technical requirements for the U.S. vehicle launch, however, the company cannot re-source the items of concern to a U.S. supplier," the company said. It said [whined] a 25 percent tariff would "impart significant economic hardship," possibly forcing it to cancel the multiyear contract with the automaker and risking the jobs of 600 workers at one of its plants in Kentucky. Other companies, including plastics housewares maker Keter U.S. Inc., made similar points, arguing that higher tooling costs would make its U.S. manufacturing less competitive and risk jobs. Plastikon said it had taken steps to source more molds in the United States. "We fully support the strategic objectives of shifting manufacturing to the U.S. and have already taken steps to source future molds from the U.S. and from fair trade countries," Plastikon told the USTR. Automotive reaction More than half of the requests for tariff exemptions came from injection molding companies in the automotive supply chain and argued that the tariffs would raise costs or slow down vehicle development. [Chinese-owned] Yanfeng U.S. Automotive Interior Systems LLC, for example, submitted more than 80 requests. Forteq North America Inc. submitted more than 20, and International Automotive Components Group North America Inc. and Faurecia U.S. Holdings each requested more than 10 mold tariff exemptions. IAC -- which was founded by Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross -- noted that its Chinese mold supplier is chosen directly by its customer, Ford Motor Co. IAC added that the U.S. mold making industry did not have capacity to meet its needs. The Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., said lifting the tariffs will help hold down U.S. car prices but hurt mold makers who supply the industry. "It's good for autos; it's bad for domestic mold builders," said Kristin Dziczek, CAR's vice president of industry, labor and economics. "The mold industry in the U.S. is no better, no worse off than they were, but the protection from Chinese molds would have been beneficial." While the automotive injection molding sector was vocal in complaining that tariffs would bite them, the U.S. mold making industry has clearly faced its own worsening trade picture in recent years. The U.S. trade deficit in molds shot up from $1.14 billion in 2015 to $1.53 billion in 2017, the last full year figures are available, according to a recent report from the Washington-based Plastics Industry Association, which said the U.S. imports 3.5 times as many molds as it exports. The mold trade deficit with China rose from $390 million to $498 million in those three years. But industry trade data also suggests Canada may be the bigger challenger to the U.S. industry's trade picture. U.S. mold makers consistently have their largest trade deficits with Canada. It reached $884 million in 2017, and that rose from $690 million in 2015, according to the association's report. AMBA Executive Director Troy Nix said survey data collected from processors is now showing a trend toward more sourcing of molds in the United States. Nix added that the industry will be watching to see if eliminating tariffs on Chinese molds would slow or reverse that. Rothenbuecher said getting rid of the tariffs on Chinese molds will "plain and simple" hurt U.S. mold builders, but he also said the U.S. government may have been concerned about signs of overcapacity in the American mold making sector. Reaching capacity "It has been reported that the U.S. mold building industry may be or is at overcapacity with the amount of work that has been directed back to United States mold builders," Rothenbuecher said. "That consideration may have played into why molds are now being exempted from the tariff." Several U.S. injection molding companies argued that lead times are being stretched out for U.S.-built molds because the industry is at capacity. Mack Molding Co., for example, said in its filing that it goes overseas when U.S. capacity is tight: "Due to the more recent robust economy, many of the domestic mold shops have had a workload that prohibits us from getting fast deliveries on tooling to support our customers, so we have the tooling built in China and fly the molds back to the U.S." As well, custom injection molder Sajar Plastics told USTR it faces long lead times for tooling in the U.S. and is currently having 28 molds built in China. "U.S. tool shops typically take 18-20 weeks for each tool build," Sajar wrote. "Many of the tools we currently have in China are ready to ship within the next four weeks and be in production in the next 10 weeks." USTR said that the tariff exclusions would be retroactive to the original July 6 tariff announcement and would run until Dec. 28, 2019, one year past the official publication of the exclusions in the Federal Register. What happens after that is not clear, but some industry observers said they could be extended.

If you're pulling heavy loads, per Eaton, an overdrive version of their boxes is stronger than a direct drive unit. For US fleets pulling a mere 36k (or less), direct drive works. However, in the rest of the world where the norm is far more, an overdrive box is preferable.

Reuss succeeds Ammann as GM president Michael Wayland, Automotive News / January 3, 2019 DETROIT -- General Motors product chief Mark Reuss will succeed Dan Ammann as president, the automaker said Thursday. Reuss, 55, will assume responsibility for GM's quality organization in addition to leading its Global Product Group and Cadillac. The appointment is effective immediately, according to GM. In November, GM said Ammann, 46, would step down from the role to lead the company's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit, effective Jan. 1. A replacement was not named. Reuss, whose father, Lloyd Reuss, served as GM’s president from 1990-1992, described the appointment as “truly a great honor.” The position’s responsibilities will be more product-focused for Reuss than they were for Ammann. GM CEO Mary Barra will retain direct responsibility over global regions and GM Financial, while GM CFO Dhivya Suryadevara will continue to oversee corporate development -- previously all responsibilities of Ammann. Reuss added responsibilities for Cadillac and global portfolio planning from Ammann in June 2018. Since then, he has been restructuring and building an integrated product development team that will focus significantly more resources on autonomous and electrified vehicles -- particularly battery-electrics -- while streamlining GM's army of engineers. Barra, 56, said Reuss’ appointment to president will continue to “strengthen” the automaker’s core business and “take advantage of growth opportunities and further define the future of personal mobility.” “Mark has played a critical role in leading the development of the company’s award-winning vehicles while transitioning his team to prepare for growing electrification and autonomous technologies,” she said in a statement. Reuss, a mechanical engineer and road racer, began his GM career as a student intern in 1983. The 35-year GM veteran has risen through the ranks to be one of the most well-known executives in the company -- particularly for his contributions to GM’s product portfolio and performance chops. Previously, Reuss was executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain from 2013-2018. Before then, starting in 2009, Reuss was president of GM North America, responsible for the automaker’s performance, manufacturing, portfolio and dealer network. He also created and led the GM Performance Division in 2001 while serving as executive director of Architecture Engineering. Reuss will continue to serve on the board of GM China’s joint venture, Shanghai General Motors Co. He also serves on several non-GM boards such as The Henry Ford and other Detroit-area philanthropic, business and educational organizations. .

Ford follows GM in moving to quarterly U.S. sales reporting Michael Martinez, Automotive News / January 3, 2019 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. this year will follow crosstown rival General Motors by moving to quarterly reporting of U.S. sales figures. The automaker is abandoning monthly reporting amid a busy product year, where it will continue the culling of its sedan portfolio and add a number of nameplates, including the Ranger midsize pickup and Lincoln Aviator crossover, and debut redesigned models of its Escape and Explorer crossovers. Ford, which is one of two automakers to hold monthly sales calls for analysts and media, will transition to a quarterly call and release beginning in April. It will still provide monthly figures to data agencies. "We feel it's kind of transitioning to more of an industry standard," Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, said Thursday on a call with analysts and media. "We think the intense focus on month-to-month numbers is just not how we want to run the business. We believe quarterly will provide great transparency." GM moved to quarterly sales reporting last April. Ford, at the time, said it would assess the situation, noting that there's oftentimes volatility in monthly figures. Analysts have cautioned that moving to quarterly reporting could [will] lead to less transparency and more speculation and errors, especially if some automakers follow suit and others do not.

Volvo sets aside $800m for costs over ‘emissions control’ issue Sylvia Pfeifer, Financial Times / January 3, 2019 Volvo Group has said it will set aside Skr7bn (US$780 million) to cover potential costs related to the admission that its trucks could be emitting higher levels of poisonous nitrogen oxide gases than is legal. The company revealed in October that the “emissions control component” in its vehicles was wearing out faster than expected, sending its shares down more than 6 per cent on the day of the announcement. At the time Volvo predicted a “material” cost from the issue. The Swedish group said on Thursday that the estimated costs were based on “several factors” such as vehicle testing and statistical analysis, as well as “dialogue with relevant authorities”. “The next step will be to define how to implement corrective actions concerning the component in vehicles affected by this issue,” Volvo said in a statement released after European markets had closed. Shares in the company closed at Skr113.85 on Thursday in Stockholm, down from a six-month high of Skr160.85 at the start of last October. The provision will impair operating income in the fourth quarter of 2018, while the negative cash flow effect will start in 2019 and gradually ramp up in the coming years, the company said. “The Volvo Group will continuously assess the size of the provision as the matter develops,” it added. Volvo said the degradation of the component did not pose a product safety issue. All engines and vehicles equipped with the component “meet emissions limits at delivery”, it added.

Remember Paul, the truck above doesn't pull any weight in the states, max 36,287 kg.

Transport Engineer / December 24, 2018 Grundy & Co Excavations has taken delivery of its first DAF 8x4 tippers, after positive performance from a demonstrator vehicle. Supplied by dealer North West Trucks, the Widnes-based operator’s two new arrivals are CF 450 FAD eight-wheelers and join a mixed tipper fleet. Owner Kevin Grundy says: “We’ve never had a DAF 8x4 before, but it’s fair to say we were very, very impressed – impressed enough to order two of them, and we certainly haven’t been disappointed.” A key factor in the decision was the DAF’s low chassis weight, enabling the operator to specify a heavy-duty steel body, from Marshalls Truck Bodies, without any loss of payload. Fuel performance, too, has been an unexpected bonus. “We’re all finding it hard to believe,” says Grundy. “Even the drivers are talking about it. We have never had heavy tippers that didn’t need refuelling for two and a half days like these two.” He adds: “When you’re getting around 11mpg on motorway stretches from vehicles doing this type of work, and they’re still bedding in, you know you’re on to a winner.” The drivers are also enjoying the cab comfort and overall performance, he says: “It makes a big difference to a driver to have a truck that really can do the job without strain, because that allows them to focus on the rest of their work – driving safely, meeting schedules and getting the best performance out of the vehicle.” .

As future of Sears remains in doubt, the retailer's mail order houses stand tall in Lehigh Valley Kayla Dwyer, Thw Morning Call / December 29, 2018 The first weekend she moved into her Mosser Street home in Allentown, Laurie DeTurk got a puzzling question from a friend who stopped by for pizza. “Is this a Sears house?” She paused. “What are you talking about?” A trip to the basement quickly revealed the answer. There in a dark corner was a serial code stamped on the side of a wood beam. It was the telltale proof that DeTurk’s red brick home with a pitched roof came from Sears, Roebuck & Co. Before the days of Levittowns and McMansions, a slew of companies offered mail order homes in the United States and abroad. Sears was the largest in the United States, selling as many as 70,000 homes from its Sears Modern Homes catalog between 1908 and 1940. Customers would pick the design and get nearly all the materials down to the nails delivered to the site, where buyers would hire a contractor or build the homes themselves. The prices ranged from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars — including DeTurk’s 1930 Belmont model, which boasted six rooms and a bath. But DeTurk knew none of that when she bought the house in 2008. “Laurie just thought it was cute,” said her boyfriend, Dennis Parry, who lives with her. Had she known, DeTurk said, she would have been even more attracted to the house. “It would have definitely been a selling point, because it’s so unique,” DeTurk said. That quality could be lost to memory if the once-mighty Sears, which began in 1893 and went on to become the country’s largest retailer, doesn’t find a way out of bankruptcy. On Friday, Sears’ chairman, Eddie Lampert, through his hedge fund, ESL Investments, submitted a bid to buy the retailer and keep it alive. The locations of only a fraction of the 70,000 Sears homes have been documented for posterity. Sears Archives, a website devoted to the history of the retailer, was collecting data on mail order homes for a while, but that fizzled. There are enthusiasts scattered across the country keeping regional lists and embarking on street surveys with the aid of Google Street Maps and mortgage records. One national database kept by the blog Kit House Hunters has surpassed the 10,500 mark, which leaves at least 50,000 left to be discovered. Pennsylvania ranks third on this list, with nearly 1,500 Sears homes identified. Pittsburgh is listed as a hotbed of houses, nearly reaching the 500 mark. Cluster in Hellertown The Lehigh Valley’s own hotbed is in Hellertown, thanks to Bethlehem Steel. With its burgeoning workforce in mind, Bethlehem Steel bought a plot of land in the late 1930s and drew up plans for the Mountainview neighborhood. The company commissioned Quaker Construction Co. to start building 300 Sears homes — designs that would be picked out by Steel employees — beginning in 1939. Jeanette Boos, who lives on Constitution Avenue , remembers her father peeking in on the progress. “These will never hold up,” he said at the time. But they did. They formed the basis of a tight-knit community that Marian Van Keuren, then 63, recalled in a letter she wrote in 1998 to the new owner of theBirch Street home she grew up in. Van Keuren, who has since died, wrote of children spending summer days playing by the creek or making plans to sneak into the Hellertown pool at night, only to chicken out every time. She also recalled singing Christmas carols around a tree at Juniper and Birch roads. “And Santa Claus would come and give candy to the kids. I think the tree has only been gone a few years,” she wrote. With Sears’ ending home sales in 1940, the Mountainview orders were among the last placed. In the end, 61 of the planned 300 homes were built. The neighborhood later expanded with a wave of Cape Cods, including Boos’ home, built by a company called Wills Homes Pennsylvania — but they were not Sears blueprints. Rebecca Hunter, author of the book “Putting Sears Homes on the Map,” said Bethlehem Steel wasn’t the only company to build Sears homes. She said Standard Oil Co. built a subdivision for its coal miners in Carlinville, Ill. On a smaller scale, she said, contractors could make a decent buck advertising their services in the early days of mail order homes. Built to last Despite their mail order origins, Sears homes were not shanty towns. “This thing’s not going anywhere,” Parry said of the Mosser Street home his girlfriend bought. “It’s built 10 times better than houses today.” Sears sold catalog homes before the days of cheap plywood, using sturdy hardwood from forests that are depleted today, Hunter said. Most of the nearly 450 designs were small, two- to three-bedroom houses marketed to the “buyer of modest means.” The listing prices, however, were only for the pieces. They did not include the land, the foundation, the plumbing, heating or lighting fixtures, or the labor. No surprise, then, that a quarter of the homes’ original owners worked in the construction trade, Hunter said. The buyer also had to pay the cost of freight. Add all this together, and the end price was probably double the sticker price, Hunter estimated. Still, that’s a hefty resale value for the vast majority that still stand and would sell in the $100,000-200,000 range today. Hunter said she saw an Osborn model recently come on the market near her hometown of Elgin, Ill., listing at $199,000. Its catalog price ranged from $1,163 to $2,753. A Martha Washington — Sears’ flagship model — sold for more than $1 million in Washington, D.C., in 2016. Its catalog price ranged from $2,688 to $3,727 in 1921. Original owners of the Mountainview Sears homes had to put up a $450 down payment, according to The Morning Call archives. Then they launched into another new territory that Sears, in part, pioneered: a monthly payment plan. The modern mortgage market took shape after a federal government intervention during the Great Depression. Before that, Sears started offering a form of mortgages with their mail order homes beginning in 1915. “They figured out they could make way more money financing mortgages than they could selling houses,” Hunter said. And they did — thousands of them — easily. “Back then, you applied by filling out a half-page form, one question was ‘Are you employed?’ ” Hunter said. “That’s all they wanted to know. And then, ‘OK, we’ll give you money.’ ” A typical five-year plan was $25 to $30 a month. The Mountainview homeowners had payments of $33.80 a month. But during the Great Depression, Sears lost at least $8 million in uncollected mortgages, Hunter said, forcing it to repossess those homes and halt its mortgage program in 1933. That might explain why it’s a lesser-known part of Sears’ home-selling legacy. “I just think it’s neat to have something that no longer exists anymore, and it was just such a strange thing in our past that you actually were able to do it,” DeTurk said recently. “I think that’s so neat, that you could just … pick it.” .

Thoroughly enjoyed this episode.

Perhaps you are thinking of the TRDLG1070 7-speed. It wasn't an early version, rather just another version. I liked it, though it never caught on in popularity. You only split fourth and fifth, which worked out perfectly with the Maxidyne high-torque rise engine.

Good review of the Florida massacre........http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/ Not to be blunt but, given that he murdered 17 people........why hasn't Nikolas Cruz been executed yet?

Dan Ronan, Transport Topics / December 28, 2018 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Dec. 26 announced it has issued a five-year exemption to Stoneridge Inc. to allow its aftermarket MirrorEye mirrorless digital camera and sensor system to be installed on trucks and motorcoaches as an alternative to traditional mirrors. Under current law, trucks and buses must have two outside mirrors positioned to show the driver a view of the highway to the rear, and the area along both sides of the commercial motor vehicle. In announcing its decision, FMCSA said, “The Agency has determined that granting the exemption to allow use of the MirrorEye system in lieu of mirrors would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety provided by the regulation.” The system works with five cameras, sensors and three digital displays. Along the right and left A-pillars are two 12.2-inch high-definition monitors, and another 7-inch display that is mounted high in the center of the cab. The displays are positioned within the driver’s line of sight to improve their reaction time as they scan their panel. In 2013, Glynn Spangenberg, the co-founder of original developer Spangenberg Partners, demonstrated the mirrorless camera and sensor system to American Trucking Associations’ Future Truck Committee. From there, his company took the idea to eventual manufacturer Stoneridge, where a prototype was developed and the two companies reached a sales agreement to market the concept to the trucking industry’s equipment aftermarket. More than a year ago they presented the system to FMCSA and requested the agency consider an exemption to the mirror regulation and allow trucks and buses to operate with their system and without mirrors. Speaking to Transport Topics, Spangenberg called the decision historic and praised FMCSA for “adapting to the rapidly evolving vehicle safety and automation capabilities of the trucking industry.” FMCSA officials also agreed with Stoneridge’s assertion that the all-weather cameras and sensors perform better than mirrors in rain, snow and ice, and low-vision conditions. Spangenberg said tests have shown that the mirrorless system decreases drivers’ head movement and the need to looking outside of the cab. By removing the mirrors there is also less aerodynamic drag on the vehicle and fuel efficiency will improve by 2% to 4%, Stoneridge says. Veteran trucking industry consultant Randy Mullett, of Mullett Strategies in Washington, D.C., told Transport Topics FMCSA’s decision is a victory for technology. “I think the big change isn’t going to be day-to-day driving in good weather conditions, but it’s going to be in those lousy conditions, it’s going to be at night, and it’s going to be in tight quarters when they realize I can always see the back end of my trailer,” Mullett said. “Think about that as eliminating blind spots, not just reliant on the blind spot radar detector, but you’ve got a camera doing it, that can pan and coordinate with those blind spot radars. This is really a great leap forward in driver-assist technology and I think makes us all better drivers.” Since 2017, Maverick Transportation, J.B. Hunt and Schneider National have been testing the technology. Spangenberg said those three companies have logged more than 2 million miles using the mirrorless system and their findings concerning the improvement in a driver’s overall situational awareness were included in the application submitted to FMCSA. .

Introducing the X-32 Stealth Fighter (The Plane That Could Have Replaced the F-35) David Majumdar, The National Interest / December 26, 2018 In October 26, 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Lockheed Martin’s X-35 had won the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) contest over Boeing’s X-32. The win secured Lockheed’s future as the manufacturer for all of America’s fifth-generation fighter platforms. But Lockheed’s resultant F-35 has suffered myriad delay, technical glitches, unrecoverable technical shortfalls and massive cost overruns. Already the largest ever defense program with an estimated price tag of $233 billion in 2001 for a total of 2,866 aircraft, the F-35 program is now estimated to cost more than $391 billion for 2,457 jets, according to the Government Accountability Office . Moreover, while the short-takeoff vertical landing F-35B was originally projected to achieve initial operational capability with the U.S. Marines in 2010, it only reached that milestone in 2015—five years late. Meanwhile, the conventional F-35A and the F-35C carrier variant were both slated to achieve initial operational capability with Block 3 software in 2012—but that software block is now scheduled to be delivered for operational testing in 2017 at the earliest. Would Boeing have done any better? Hard to say—the Joint Strike Fighter was always a technically challenging and extraordinarily ambitious program. It is likely that Boeing would have run into similar but different technical and budgetary problems. The fundamental issue with the Joint Strike Fighter was that is was always an overambitious program to replace multiple specialized types with one aircraft in the hope that it could perform every role equally well. The result is predictably a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. One of the main reasons why Lockheed Martin’s design was selected over Boeing’s was because the X-32’s direct lift system—which uses engine thrust to lift the aircraft—is prone to pop stalls. That’s a phenomenon where hot exhaust gases are reingested into the engine causing a power loss. There were also questions as to whether the engine would be powerful enough to lift a fully operational F-32—the prototype had to have parts removed to ensure it would fly. It probably didn’t help Boeing’s case that it had to redesign the X-32 to meet the modified JSF requirements. An operational F-32 had a very different configuration from the X-32. Even if Boeing managed to solve the airframe issue, they would have had to deal with the extremely complex sensor fusion software. The software was always going to be a challenge under the best of circumstances. The only edge Boeing had was that it had developed the Lockheed Martin F-22’s avionics package—but the JSF is much more complex. Overall, it is very likely the Boeing would have run into the same sort of technical hiccups, cost overruns and delays as Lockheed did on the X-32. Lockheed mismanaged the F-35 program to an extent, but the Pentagon’s requirements for a all-in-one wonder plane is what caused the programs problems. With either company, the JSF program was almost certainly going to be late and over budget—it just a question of by what margin. .

Bob, these would have sold well in the North American market.

You're the first person to note that......and the date. Separately, the death of the 7-year-old boy in the truck accident outside Toowoomba is very sad.

Designed by Mack, constructed by Orrville in Ohio.

Proof that Volvo copied American truckmaker Ford to create their "Integral Sleeper".

https://www.junkmail.co.za/trucks/gauteng/other-gauteng/2-x-ford-louisville-trucks-for-sale/a1872f33b5d84ad4953fb9c1dbb7114c# .

Scania Group Press Release / December 27, 2018 TransWeb orders two new Scania trucks from the Netherlands… then drives them back to Japan. The specialist Japanese haulier TransWeb is well-known for its innovative approach to transport services. But the decision to travel overland from the Netherlands back to Japan with two new Scania S 410 trucks was exceptionally bold. After a gruelling total of 13,000 kilometres, the trucks recently arrived home safe and sound to their depot near Tokyo. TransWeb began as a motor sports logistics provider, and this remains a core part of its business. Nowadays, with 40 Scania trucks in the fleet, the company has expanded into event and concert transports, and vehicle transports of foreign-made cars. Driver comfort key for choosing Scania “Deploying Scania trucks not only helps to improve transport quality but also boosts the image of transported goods,” says Managing Director Takeshi Maezawa. “At TransWeb we really care about our drivers. By operating Scania trucks, they benefit from a spacious and comfortable cab that reduces fatigue, even when driving long distances.” It was against this background that Maezawa’s overland project was developed. “I have ideas that are a bit out of the box and TransWeb has both the passion and ability to realise them,” says Maezawa. “In our industry, we seem to focus on the negative, such as the lack of drivers, strict regulations, soaring fuel costs, environmental costs and the price of vehicles. Instead, we had the positive desire to pursue a dream.” Many raised concerns about safety but Maezawa was adamant. He declared that he would take full responsibility for the trip. And he lived up to his promise: in mid-September Maezawa and his team, including no fewer than four teams of drivers, travelled to Beesd in the Netherlands to pick up the trucks from trailer manufacturer Van Eck. An unprecedented feat Following a stop at the IAA Commercial Vehicles trade show in Germany, they travelled through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia, before reaching Japan at the end of October. “I believe that picking up trucks in Europe and driving them across Eurasia is unprecedented,” says a proud Maezawa. The driver teams usually travelled 600 kilometres a day but occasionally they managed to drive as far as 800 to 900 kilometres. Along the way, the TransWeb team made stops at Scania dealers in Russia, where events were organised to mark their special journey. Fumiaki Ohino, Head of Vehicle Management at TransWeb, oversaw the team that drove the 5,500 kilometres from Ryazan to Irkutsk. This gave him a good introduction to the new generation Scania. “The new trucks are quieter and the driver’s seat is also good,” he says. “The truck is easy to drive but the biggest improvement is the wider field of vision. But despite the larger cab, fuel consumption is surprisingly low.” Never stop dreaming The long drive through Russia – 10,000 kilometres – ended in Vladivostok where two trucks boarded the ferry to Tottori for the final 900-kilometre leg to TransWeb’s head office, about 50 kilometres east of Tokyo. Although Maezawa is thrilled by the “wonderful and incredible experience” he still has a taste for new adventures. “I will never stop seeking challenges and I am keeping an eye open for new bold ideas with Scania in the future.” .

Brasil