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Netherlands-based logistics provider Simon Loos B.V. has taken delivery of its 1,000th Mercedes-Benz truck in the form of a specially prepared extended cab Actros "Longline". This unique truck is a Mercedes-Benz Actros model 2648 with a 480 horsepower 13-liter 6 cylinder engine. The cab is a hybrid: the front part of the cab is a Mercedes-Benz "Big Space", while the rear is a "Giga Space". This combination is the only one in the world! The inside of the cab is no less special. A luxurious interior features spacious sofas, flat-screen TV, microwave, refrigerator and high-end music system. After a hard days work, a spacious bed is awaiting. Of course, beautifully stitched leather is throughout the interior. This special edition Actros will operate with our bulk transport division. Curious how the unique cab looks inside? Experience it in the virtual tour at simonloos.nl/1000. .

Yes, per Ford-Otosan.

For now, the narrower last generation Ford Cargo cab remains in production for vocational. American operators and their accountants focused on profitability would smile if they could get their hands on this product. .

Scania Group Press Release / July 31, 2018 Following comparative study, UK haulier orders 200 Scania trucks. UK multi-modal specialist Maritime Transport has placed its biggest single order yet with one manufacturer. A leading combination of whole life cost, impressive fuel economy and driver acceptance prompted Maritime Transport to order 200 new generation Scania R 450 tractor units. Whole life cost is key to the decision-making-process at Maritime, with fuel consumption being the biggest weighted element in the mix. It has been one year since Maritime started operating the first five new generation Scania trucks and although it is still early days in the 5-year life cycle, Scania has already shown a fuel advantage in the fleet. Track trial confirms superiority Fleet Director, Stuart Wardlaw explains, “Our work can be so varied that usually comparing a vehicle’s fuel performance to another is difficult. To allow us to make an informed decision we undertook a track trial with the latest products across our fleet. As part of this, we eliminated as many variables as possible, such as container size, load weight and route. When it came to fuel economy Scania outperformed the other brand.” “This alongside all other factors of the whole life cost of the vehicles was the deciding factor when placing our order for the 200 Scania R-series.” Specification of the truck itself is important to Maritime to ensure a certain standard of driver welfare, especially where sometimes on-road facilities are not up-to-scratch. The spacious R cabs, which are fitted with fridges and microwave ovens, provide both a comfortable working and living space for their drivers. “From our perspective, when they have got their vehicles we want our drivers to have access to everything they could need – space, storage and home comforts,” comments Wardlaw. Better performance linked to vehicle Keeping their drivers happy is two-fold for Maritime. The company believes that not only will it impact retention but also improve the vehicles’ performance. As Wardlaw puts it, “A driver’s acceptance of a vehicle has a direct link to their behaviour and performance. When they are happy with the vehicle they are driving, we believe they will drive more economically and safely.” As a growing business, Maritime utilises staff feedback to shape future decisions. The feedback from drivers on the new generation Scania trucks has been positive. “It really is a great truck. The overall vision of your surroundings is brilliant, which gives you so much more confidence on the road. The drive is smooth, quiet and responsive and due to the interior design, you can get to everything without taking your hands off the steering wheel. Not only can you do the job, but do so in style and comfort too,” says Maritime driver Andy Parsons. Maritime, which was established in 2001, has a fleet of 1,200 trucks and is one of the largest privately-owned multi-modal transport businesses in the UK. .

Uber Shutters Autonomous Truck Business Division Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / July 31, 2018 Uber is shuttering its autonomous truck research division. At least for now. That’s the word that came late on July 30 about the San Francisco-based tech company, which is ending research on autonomous trucks in order to focus on self-driving cars. Uber acquired its autonomous truck business from startup Otto almost two years ago in a move that was widely considered controversial and, at times, proved to be contentious. The story broke when online technology journal TechCrunch reported on an email from Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies group, which stated that, “We recently took the important step of returning to public roads in Pittsburgh, and as we look to continue that momentum, we believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on this effort is the best path forward. “Rather than having two groups working side by side, focused on different vehicle platforms, I want us instead collaborating as one team,” Meyhofer said in an email to employees reviewed by TechCrunch editors. “I know we’re all super proud of what the Trucks team has accomplished, and we continue to see the incredible promise of self-driving technology applied to moving freight across the country. But we believe delivering on self-driving for passenger applications first, and then bringing it to freight applications down the line, is the best path forward. For now, we need the focus of one team, with one clear objective.” The move will not affect the Uber Freight business unit, which uses the company’s location-based, ride-location app technology to connect truckers with available freight. According to TechCrunch, Uber will shut down its San Francisco operations and move employees to Pittsburgh, where its autonomous car research is located. The company said in a statement that it intends to continue to explore autonomous vehicle technology using passenger cars as foundational research units, but will maintain relationships with trucking OEMs as this technology matures. Uber’s autonomous truck efforts have been hampered by controversy and legal battles since the company acquired the business unit from Otto in 2016. The acquisition later became the subject of an intellectual property lawsuit by Google, citing the role of Anthony Levandowski, the co-founder of Otto, who was a head engineer at Waymo, Google’s self-driving car spinoff, before leaving to concentrate on the new company. Waymo accused Levandowski of taking trade secrets, in the form of photos, schematics, and emails, with him and providing them to Uber. The lawsuit eventually contributed to the resignation of Travis Kalanick, co-founder of Uber, as CEO in 2017. Uber denies that it ever possessed any of the intellectual property, however, it agreed to settle the suit in February by paying Waymo approximately $245 million, and by promising to never use any of Waymo’s confidential information in any of its products. Lawsuits weren’t the only forces working against Uber’s autonomous truck research. In March, an Uber autonomous research vehicle was involved in a fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona., resulting in negative press coverage of autonomous vehicle research and a temporary suspension of tests on public roads pending a review of safety procedures. The company’s decision to suspend research into autonomous vehicles comes a week after the company restarted testing its passenger cars on public roads in Pittsburgh. Currently, the company is running and evaluating self-driving Volvo XC90 vehicles. According to Uber, the vehicles are only being driven manually by humans and under a new set of safety standards that include real-time monitoring of its test drivers and efforts to beef up simulation.

Cummins Emissions Recall Includes Over 500,000 Engines Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / July 31, 2018 A voluntary recall affecting more than 500,000 Cummins engines has been initiated after an investigation by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) discovered excess emissions resulting from defective emissions aftertreatment systems. Cummins has worked collaboratively with CARB on the voluntary recall, which the agency stated was the largest such effort for heavy-duty trucks to date. Owners of 2010-2015 model-year vehicles are required to replace the faulty emissions equipment. The trucks will be recalled in two phases. Starting in Aug. 2018, owners of the 500,000 affected vehicles will receive letters with instructions on how to get their catalysts replaced or receive reimbursement for the cost of replacement. The second phase begins in March 2019. It is required for vehicle owners to replace the catalyst in order to renew a California DMV registration on most engine families. It was discovered that the selective catalytic reduction systems were defective after excess emissions were detected through CARB’s Heavy Duty In-Use Compliance program. The Cummins recall is the first major recall to result from the program, in which vehicles are equipped with Portable Emissions measurement Systems to measure truck emissions while operating under typical demands and conditions. During testing, some of the Cummins engines revealed higher than expected emissions of nitrogen oxides. This led more comprehensive testing by CARB that confirmed the cause as a defective SCR. The same problem was found in about 60 “engine families” under the Cummins name found in a wide range of vehicles, from large commercial trucks, to larger pickup trucks, and some buses. Cummins also conducted its own testing to confirm the failures and agreed to institute a voluntary recall to replace the catalysts. “Our new heavy-duty in-use compliance program ensures that heavy-duty and other trucks already in operation meet the required emissions standards both in the lab and on the road,” said Mary D. Nichols, CARB chair. “Our portable testing equipment tells us exactly how clean a truck is when it’s actually operating in the real world: pulling a full load and driving on roads and through neighborhoods where people live.” The cause of the problem was purely mechanical, according to CARB, and was the result of faster-than-expected degradation of the catalyst. The degraded catalyst issue is not a safety risk and does not affect current model year Cummins engine families. Following the recall, CARB and EPA will work together to ensure that the affected vehicles will meet all emissions standards.

Matt Cole, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / July 31, 2018 Groendyke Transport (No. 106 on the CCJ Top 250) is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to allow it to use pulsating brake lamps in addition to steady burning brake lights. In its application, the Oklahoma-based hazmat tanker fleet says it assessed “what it could do to prevent other drivers from rear ending Groendyke trailers” and decided that increasing visibility would “be an efficient means to prevent rear ending accidents.” The company says it then searched for ways to grab the attention of other drivers faster. The request would allow the company to install an amber brake-activated pulsating light to the upper center portion of its trailers. Groendyke’s application states that research shows that pulsating brake lights in addition to steady burning red brake lights improves visibility and reduces accidents. The company also cites studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on rear-end crashes, which indicates, according to Groendyke, that drivers are alerted faster when a pulsating brake lamp draws their attention. In a study of its own in which the company added pulsating brake lights to nearly half of its 1,440 trailers, Groendyke found that the frequency of rear-end collisions dropped by 33.7 percent on trailers with the lights compared to those without. FMCSA is requesting public comment on the request, which can be made here through Aug. 29. .

James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / July 31, 2018 Cummins has instituted a voluntary recall of roughly 500,000 model-year 2010-2015 engines, according to an announcement from the U.S. EPA. The recall involves faulty emissions systems components that cause the engines to fall out of compliance with federal emissions regulations. The trucks and engines under the voluntary recall have seen degradation of their selective catalytic reduction systems, according to financial reports issued by Cummins. SCR systems are the exhaust aftertreatment components that use diesel exhaust fluid to curb emissions of nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gases. All manufacturers of engines for Class 8 trucks use SCR and DEF in their emissions-control systems. Engine makers adopted thetechnology in 2010 to meet that year’s emissions hurdles. In financial reports issued for the 2017 fiscal year and for the first quarter of 2018, Cummins noted that the EPA and the California Air Resources Board had pulled “certain pre-2013 model year engine systems for additional emissions testing” and that “some of these engines failed… tests as a result of degradation of an aftertreatment component.” EPA says that Cummins will contact owners of Cummins engines with information on how to have their engines repaired. Cummins said in those reports that it planned to institute a field campaign to address the issue. The engine maker said in its 2017 10-K filing that it had set aside nearly $200 million for the repair campaign. CCJ queried Cummins on multiple occasions in recent weeks asking for information on a potential field campaign and to the extent it would affect fleets who own and operate Cummins engines. CCJ also asked Cummins how many engines were tested by EPA and CARB and how many engines failed the tests due to degradation and whether that percentage could be extrapolated to all Cummins engines in use. Cummins responded to these queries, but did not provide any insight into the questions asked about the emissions-control systems or the field campaign. Cummins spokesperson Jon Mills said in June that the company was working with the EPA and CARB to address the issue. In the company’s 10-Q filing for the first quarter of 2018, Cummins said it “had not yet determined the impact to other model years or engine systems or the percentage of the engine system populations that could be affected.” In its quarterly earnings conference call on Tuesday, July 31, Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger said the issue is isolated to 2010-2015 model-year engines and that the company has set aside $181 million for repairs of those engines’ exhaust aftertreatment systems. “We’ve reached agreements with the appropriate regulatory agencies regarding our proposed actions, and we will launch that campaign in phases starting in the third quarter this year and expect to substantially complete the campaign by the end of 2020,” he said. “This issue does not affect any of our current products.”

UPS agrees to help develop, test new Thor electric delivery truck Jason Cannon, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / July 31, 2018 California-based electric truck startup Thor Trucks is about a year from debuting their Class 8 ET-One tractor but their efforts in lighter GVWRs just got a major shot in the arm. Shipping giant UPS announced Tuesday a collaboration with the truck maker to develop and test a fully electric Class 6 delivery truck in Los Angeles, Calif., later this year. Carlton Rose, UPS president of global fleet maintenance and engineering, says UPS will test the medium-duty electric delivery truck as part of its fleet for six months. Testing will include off-road evaluation to address durability, battery capacity, technical integration, engineering and any items found during on-road testing. Depending on the success of the deployment, Rose UPS may make additional purchases of the vehicle. “UPS believes in the future of commercial electric vehicles,” Rose says. “We want to support the research needed to make advances and the companies developing those innovative products. Performance is critical in our fleet. We are excited to get this vehicle on the road to test how it handles routes in and around Los Angeles.” Thor Trucks CEO and co-founder Dakota Semler says the chance to work with UPS is valuable opportunity for his company to gain insight into what it will take to fulfill its mission of getting entire electric fleets on the road. UPS’s is far from a newcomer into the electric truck space. The company already uses electric vehicles and works with a wide array of manufacturers including ARRIVAL, Daimler, Tesla, Thor, Workhorse and others. UPS deploys about 9,300 low-emission vehicles, including all-electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane. .

They're done a bit differently, simplified a bit, but still look great.

GM brings back iconic 1960s Tripower name Richard Truett, Automotive News / July 31, 2018 TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- For the first time since the mid-1960s, General Motors will use the Tripower name on an engine. But today's Tripower setup -- due in the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups -- means something very different than it did in 1966, the last time a Tripower engine was offered in such cars as the Pontiac GTO. For the new 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder engine designed specifically for GM's full-size trucks, Tripower will refer to a suite of technologies that boosts horsepower and fuel economy, explained Mike Anderson, executive director of global transmission and electrification hardware engineering. Speaking at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars on Tuesday, Anderson said the new Tripower will encompass: Cylinder deactivation, which shuts off two of the four cylinders at light-load cruising speeds. Active thermal management that can increase or decrease heat in various parts of the engine to speed warm-ups or reduce temperatures in order to keep the engine running longer in its most thermally efficient range. Intake valve lift control, a system that reduces the length the intake valve opens at certain speeds, which helps improve fuel economy under certain drive conditions. GM expects deliveries of the new engine to start after the new trucks are launched this year. It is rated at 310 hp, one of the highest ever for a regular production four-cylinder engine. The new engine also uses an electric water pump, and a new and more efficient turbocharger from BorgWarner. The original Tripower setup referred to the use of three two-barrel carburetors sitting on top of Pontiac's V-8 engines, used in the automaker's high-performance muscle cars. The final version of Pontiac's Tripower engine, a 389-cubic-inch V-8 used in the 1966 GTO, made 360 hp. The arrangement was a less expensive option than fuel injection. Pontiac offered Tripower engines in 1957-66. Pontiac muscle cars with Tripower engines from that era are now highly coveted by collectors, and the Tripower name is one of GM's most revered. .

Taro and pineapple.

Reuters / July 31, 2018 United Parcel Service said it would partner with a Los Angeles-based company to develop an electric medium-duty delivery truck, as the package delivery company expands its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles. The truck, developed jointly with electric commercial vehicle startup Thor* Trucks Inc, is expected to be deployed later this year, UPS said on Tuesday. The truck will have a driving range of about 100 miles, with lightweight battery designed and built by Thor. UPS will test the class-6 delivery truck for the first six months, including its battery capacity and technical integration, after which UPS may buy more of these trucks. This will be a part of UPS’s plan of about 9,300 low-emission vehicles, including all-electric, hybrid electric and CNG, to understand which technology works best for some routes. UPS has partnered with Workhorse Group to build an all-new electric delivery van, and also has pre-ordered 125 electric semi-trucks from Tesla Inc. * https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/51984-another-all-electric-class-8-prepares-for-production/?tab=comments#comment-387733

Navistar brought a restored unit to the Beijing Auto China Show in 2012. That one was nice. http://m.efu.com.cn/news/newsview-212539-1.html The AeroStar, already shown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was also featured at the Beijing show. http://www.360che.com/tech/120425/20446_all.html .

My guess is that a group of truckmakers in the US market paid Uber an amount to walk away from autonomous truck development (for a certain number of years). Happens behind closed doors all the time. Remember, Volvo and Daimler have already spent serious money developing their own autonomous truck technology, and they're not about to have its future in North America derailed by Uber.

The apple pies used to be rather good when they were deep-fried. The baked ones today are terrible.

Uber to stop developing self-driving trucks Reuters / July 30. 2018 Uber will stop developing self-driving trucks that have been hauling cargo on U.S. highways, the ride-hailing company said on Monday, seeking to focus its autonomous-vehicle technology solely on cars. Through its acquisition of Otto in 2016, Uber had sought to disrupt freight hauling with self-driving trucks and Uber Freight, its smartphone app that connects truck drivers and shippers. Uber Freight, which has seen "rapid" growth, is unaffected by the decision, the company said. Trucking has been viewed by transportation experts as a natural application for self-driving technology because of the relative predictability of highways compared with busy city streets. Uber had unveiled plans earlier this year to integrate manual trucking with self-driving trucks by deploying the former for short hauls and the latter for longer distances. "We believe having our entire team's energy and expertise focused on (self-driving cars) is the best path forward," Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, said in an emailed statement. San Francisco-based Uber faces competition from Silicon Valley companies including Tesla Inc and Alphabet Inc's Waymo as well as traditional automakers such as Ford and General Motors in the race to bring self-driving cars to the market. Uber said it will move employees working on self-driving trucks to other internal roles within autonomous vehicle development. .

One good thing leads to another......... .

Looking at them from a distance, not in person, I like what I see. If this was a factory effort, there would be no lack of refinement. At the rate in which dealers in the US and Canada are ordering these, one can expect GM to soon grab the reins.

Hyliion Acquires Gentherm’s Battery Division Transport Topics / July 30, 2018 Heavy-duty vehicle supplier Hyliion has acquired the battery division of Gentherm Inc., a move intended to consolidate control of its battery technology supply chain that underpins its 6X4HE hybrid-electric axle. Hyliion was the division’s primary customer prior to the acquisition. Terms were not immediately disclosed. Having proprietary technology is crucial to succeeding in the heavy-duty truck electrified space, Thomas Healy, CEO and founder of the Austin, Texas-based company, told Transport Topics. “It is a battery packaging and software play for us,” he said of the acquisition. “The amount of energy we are trying to store in these batteries and then discharge when you go to accelerate is unbelievable. We can capture over five kilowatt hours of power on some downhills, which is about 20% of the power used in a home per day.” In the Hyliion system — available primarily as an aftermarket item for Classes 7-8 trucks — regenerative braking captures power when the truck is slowing down, then electric power is applied when necessary to keep a diesel engine at its most efficient revolutions per minute. Healy said the hybrid-electric approach for commercial vehicles was not new but now it is “being revitalized.” At the same time, with a hybrid-electric truck it is difficult to figure out how the diesel is performing, Healy said — is it in its efficiency band, is it outside — and then have the system software respond accordingly to supply or capture energy. “We have been able to see over 40,000 charge-discharge cycles out of our system. That is about a 7- to 10-year life out of the product, which is much higher than what we are going to see out of fully electric trucks,” he said. Hyliion has partnered with Toshiba Corp. for its battery cell technology and with Dana Inc. for cooling technology to improve the thermal management of the batteries. “I can guarantee you there is no one else out there who can charge and discharge batteries at the rate we are and have a stable solution. It is pretty remarkable, actually, what the team has been able to accomplish,” Healy said. Meanwhile, there was a strong response to the company’s recent offer to allow fleets to use a Hyliion truck equipped with the 6X4HE, an electric auxiliary power unit and aerodynamic package from FlowBelow Aero Inc. — 70 fleets signed up, he said. “Honestly, that was too many for us to be able to handle. So we shortlisted a group of fleets we have been working with, and we are just at the point of shipping out revenue units now,” Healy said July 27. The hybrid axle can boost fuel efficiency by 15%, the electric APU by 12% and the aerodynamic components by 3%, according to Hyliion. The cost of the system is $25,000, and the payback period is two years for over-the-road trucks, Healy said. On a hybrid-electric longhaul truck, the batteries can weigh 400 to 500 pounds, according to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. Formula One race cars use regenerative braking as do numerous models of electric and hybrid passenger cars, NACFE reported in its confidence report on hybrid technology. Hyliion in 2015 started with a focus on trailers. Although it has shifted its attention to the tractor, Hyliion sees the trailer application as eventually more suited for international use and some segments in the United States, Healy said. Also, the company has test units with more industrial designs in the hands of operators of tugboats and commercial off-road applications, and high-voltage systems operators, he said. .

Toyota Reveals Latest Version of its Hydrogen Fuel Cell Class 8 Truck Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / July 30, 2018 Toyota unveiled the latest version of its Project Portal hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck, which it said boasts greater range and improvements to versatility and maneuverability. The truck was shown during a media briefing on July 30 at a Center for Automotive Research meeting in Traverse City. Michigan. This Beta iteration of Project Portal expands on the original Alpha version by increasing range from 200 to 300 miles, adding on a sleeper cab, and engineering a unique "fuel cabinet combination" that increases cab space without increasing wheelbase. Power numbers remain the same, with an output of over 670 horsepower and 1,325 lbs.-ft. of torque. “Our goal with the first truck was to see if it could be accomplished, and we did that," said Craig Scott senior manager for Toyota's North American electrified vehicle & technologies office. "This time we're looking at commercial viability.” The Project Portal Alpha vehicle has been operating at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in Southern California since April 2017, so far logging 10,000 miles of testing and real-world drayage operations. The improved Beta version will begin operating at the same ports in the fall. The truck was developed as a learning exercise for both Toyota and the ports to help develop the zero-emissions Class 8 vehicle for short-range, drayage duty cycles. The truck’s powertrain is based on that of the company’s Mirai fuel cell electric car, which is soldd in limited quantities in the U.S. Toyota noted that it is one of the first hydrogen fuel cell sedans sold commercially. In fact, the Project Portal truck combines two Mirai fuel cell stacks and a 12 kWh battery to power the vehicle. "By evaluating the first truck in our test facilities and on the actual roads in the Los Angeles area, we made a list of improvements for the Beta truck build process and performance enhancements," said Andrew Lund, chief engineer for the project. "We needed to move beyond a proof of concept, which the first truck accomplished, to something that is not only better than the original,but is also more commercially viable." This doubling-down for Toyota on a hydrogen fuel-cell Class 8 truck is part of the company's Environmental Challenge 2050 to eliminate CO2 emissions from its Toyota Logistics facility at the Port of Long Beach. Toyota previously announced the construction of the Tri-Gen facility which will be the first megawatt-sized carbonate fuel cell power generation plant with hydrogen fueling in the world. . The renewable plant will use agricultural waste to generate water, electricity, and hydrogen that will support Toyota Logistics Services' operations at the Port of Long Beach. “We want to help make a difference… a significant difference when it comes to the air quality not only in the LA area but across the U.S. and around the globe,” said Scott. .

50 years on, McDonald's isn't messing with its Big Mac Associated Press / July 30, 2018 McDonald’s is fighting to hold onto customers as the Big Mac turns 50, but it's not messing with the makings of its most famous burger. The company is celebrating the 1968 national launch of the double-decker sandwich whose ingredients of "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun" were seared into American memories by a TV jingle. But the milestone comes as the company reduces its number of U.S. stores. McDonald's said Thursday that customers are visiting less often. Other more trendy burger options are reaching into the heartland. The "Golden Arches" still have a massive global reach, and the McDonald's brand of cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and french fries remains recognizable around the world. But on its critical home turf, the company is toiling to stay relevant. Kale now appears in salads, fresh has replaced frozen beef patties in Quarter Pounders, and some stores now offer ordering kiosks, food delivery and barista-style cafes. The Big Mac remains unchanged, showing just how much McDonald's and the rest of fast-food have evolved. "Clearly, we've gotten a little more sophisticated in our menu development," McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a phone interview. As with many of its popular and long-lasting menu items, the idea for the Big Mac came from a franchisee. In 1967, Michael James "Jim" Delligatti lobbied the company to let him test the burger at his Pittsburgh restaurants. Later, he acknowledged the Big Mac's similarity to a popular sandwich sold by the Big Boy chain. "This wasn't like discovering the light bulb. The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket," Delligatti said, according to "Behind the Arches." McDonald's agreed to let Delligatti sell the sandwich at a single location, on the condition that he use the company's standard bun. It didn't work. Delligatti tried a bigger sesame seed bun, and the burger soon lifted sales by more than 12 percent. After similar results at more stores, the Big Mac was added to the national menu in 1968. Other ideas from franchisees that hit the big time include the Filet-O-Fish, Egg McMuffin, Apple Pie (once deep-fried but now baked), and the Shamrock Shake. "The company has benefited from the ingenuity of its small business men," wrote Ray Kroc, who transformed the McDonald's into a global franchise, in his book, "Grinding It Out." Franchisees still play an important role, driving the recent switch to fresh from frozen for the beef in Quarter Pounders, Easterbrook says. They also participate in menu development, which in the U.S. has included a series of cooking tweaks intended to improve taste. Messing with a signature menu item can be taboo, but keeping the Big Mac unchanged comes with its own risks. Newer chains such as Shake Shack and Five Guys offer burgers that can make the Big Mac seem outdated. Even White Castle is modernizing, recently adding plant-based "Impossible Burger" sliders at some locations. A McDonald's franchisee fretted in 2016 that only one out of five millennials has tried the Big Mac. The Big Mac had "gotten less relevant," the franchisee wrote in a memo, according to the Wall Street Journal. McDonald's then ran promotions designed to introduce the Big Mac to more people. Those kind of periodic campaigns should help keep the Big Mac relevant for years to come, says Mike Delligatti, the son of the Big Mac inventor, who died last year. "What iconic sandwich do you know that can beat the Big Mac as far as longevity?" said Delligatti, himself a McDonald's franchisee.

It would be so easy for Ford to create a conventional cab variant of the H62X. https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44824-chinese-truckmaker-launches-new-high-end-conventional-us-market-next/?tab=comments#comment-330351 https://product.360che.com/img/c1_s66_b30_s7127_m54990_t0.html