kscarbel2

Rainier Truck Targets 2018 Launch Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / December 5, 2017 Rainier Truck & Chassis, LLC, announced that it is set to reboot sales and products with a target production launch of summer 2018 for its Class 4-5 and Class 6-7 truck models. SINOTRUK has signed on to supply its cabins to Rainier's new low-cost, low-tech lineup of cabover trucks. With a starting MSRP of $37,185, the truck will be powered by a Cummins 6.7L diesel, rated at 300 hp and 600 lb.-ft. of torque or a 6.4L HEMI that achieves 370 jp and 429 lb.-ft of torque are standard on the Class 4-5 models. A 6.7L Cummins diesel engine that achieves 325 hp and 750 lb.-ft. of torque will be standard on the Class 6-7 models. Load leveling air suspension will be standard on all models. Ordering is open at www.rainiertruckandchassis.com. Rainier first launched its start-up in 2014 but ran into issues with its cabin suppliers and announced that with its partnership with SINOTRUK production is back on schedule. .

God’s Plan for Mike Pence McKay Coppins, The Atlantic / January-February 2018 Will the vice president—and the religious right—be rewarded for their embrace of Donald Trump? No man can serve two masters, the Bible teaches, but Mike Pence is giving it his all. It’s a sweltering September afternoon in Anderson, Indiana, and the vice president has returned to his home state to deliver the Good News of the Republicans’ recently unveiled tax plan. The visit is a big deal for Anderson, a fading manufacturing hub about 20 miles outside Muncie that hasn’t hosted a sitting president or vice president in 65 years—a fact noted by several warm-up speakers. To mark this historic civic occasion, the cavernous factory where the event is being held has been transformed. Idle machinery has been shoved to the perimeter to make room for risers and cameras and a gargantuan American flag, which—along with bleachers full of constituents carefully selected for their ethnic diversity and ability to stay awake during speeches about tax policy—will serve as the TV-ready backdrop for Pence’s remarks. When the time comes, Pence takes the stage and greets the crowd with a booming “Hellooooo, Indiana!” He says he has “just hung up the phone” with Donald Trump and that the president asked him to “say hello.” He delivers this message with a slight chuckle that has a certain, almost subversive quality to it. Watch Pence give enough speeches, and you’ll notice that this often happens when he’s in front of a friendly crowd. He’ll be witnessing to evangelicals at a mega-church, or addressing conservative supporters at a rally, and when the moment comes for him to pass along the president’s well-wishes, the words are invariably accompanied by an amused little chuckle that prompts knowing laughter from the attendees. It’s almost as if, in that brief, barely perceptible moment, Pence is sending a message to those with ears to hear—that he recognizes the absurdity of his situation; that he knows just what sort of man he’s working for; that while things may look bad now, there is a grand purpose at work here, a plan that will manifest itself in due time. Let not your hearts be troubled, he seems to be saying. I’ve got this. And then, all at once, Pence is back on message. In his folksy Midwestern drawl, he recites Republican aphorisms about “job creators” and regulatory “red tape,” and heralds the many supposed triumphs of Trump’s young presidency. As he nears the end of his remarks, his happy-warrior buoyancy gives way to a more sober cadence. “We’ve come to a pivotal moment in the life of this country,” Pence soulfully intones. “It’s a good time to pray for America.” His voice rising in righteous fervor, the vice president promises an opening of the heavens. “If His people who are called by His name will humble themselves and pray,” he proclaims, “He’ll hear from heaven, and He’ll heal this land!” It’s easy to see how Pence could put so much faith in the possibilities of divine intervention. The very fact that he is standing behind a lectern bearing the vice-presidential seal is, one could argue, a loaves-and-fishes-level miracle. Just a year earlier, he was an embattled small-state governor with underwater approval ratings, dismal reelection prospects, and a national reputation in tatters. In many ways, Pence was on the same doomed trajectory as the conservative-Christian movement he’d long championed—once a political force to be reckoned with, now a battered relic of the culture wars. Because God works in mysterious ways (or, at the very least, has a postmodern sense of humor), it was Donald J. Trump—gracer of Playboy covers, delighter of shock jocks, collector of mistresses—who descended from the mountaintop in the summer of 2016, GOP presidential nomination in hand, offering salvation to both Pence and the religious right. The question of whether they should wed themselves to such a man was not without its theological considerations. But after eight years of Barack Obama and a string of disorienting political defeats, conservative Christians were in retreat and out of options. So they placed their faith in Trump—and then, incredibly, he won. In Pence, Trump has found an obedient deputy whose willingness to suffer indignity and humiliation at the pleasure of the president appears boundless. When Trump comes under fire for describing white nationalists as “very fine people,” Pence is there to assure the world that he is actually a man of great decency. When Trump needs someone to fly across the country to an NFL game so he can walk out in protest of national-anthem kneelers, Pence heads for Air Force Two. Meanwhile, Pence’s presence in the White House has been a boon for the religious right. Evangelical leaders across the country point to his record on abortion and religious freedom and liken him to a prophet restoring conservative Christianity to its rightful place at the center of American life. “Mike Pence is the 24-karat-gold model of what we want in an evangelical politician,” Richard Land, the president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary and one of Trump’s faith advisers, told me. “I don’t know anyone who’s more consistent in bringing his evangelical-Christian worldview to public policy.” But what does Pence make of his own improbable rise to the vice presidency, and how does he reconcile his faith with serving a man like Trump? Over the past several months, I’ve spoken with dozens of people who have known the vice president throughout his life—from college fraternity brothers and longtime friends to trusted advisers and political foes. (Pence himself declined my requests for an interview.) While many of them expressed surprise and even bewilderment at the heights of power Pence had attained, those who know him best said he sees no mystery in why he’s in the White House. “If you’re Mike Pence, and you believe what he believes, you know God had a plan,” says Ralph Reed, an evangelical power broker and a friend of the vice president’s. Pence has so far showed absolute deference to the president—and as a result he has become one of the most influential figures in the White House, with a broad portfolio of responsibilities and an unprecedented level of autonomy. But for all his aw-shucks modesty, Pence is a man who believes heaven and Earth have conspired to place him a heartbeat—or an impeachment vote—away from the presidency. At some crucial juncture in the not-too-distant future, that could make him a threat to Trump. Pence’s public persona can seem straight out of the Columbus, Indiana, of his youth, a quiet suburb of Indianapolis where conformity was a virtue and old-fashioned values reigned. His dad ran a chain of convenience stores; his mom was a homemaker who took care of him and his five siblings. The Pences were devout Irish-Catholic Democrats, and Mike and his brothers served as altar boys at St. Columba Catholic Church. Young Mike did not initially thrive in this setting. He was useless at football (he later sized up his own abilities as “one grade above the blocking sled”), and he lacked the natural athleticism of his brothers, who were “lean and hard and thin.” Pence was “a fat little kid,” he told a local newspaper in 1988, “the real pumpkin in the pickle patch.” But by the time Pence arrived at Hanover College—a small liberal-arts school in southern Indiana—he had slimmed down, discovered a talent for public speaking, and developed something akin to swagger. The yearbooks from his undergraduate days are filled with photos that portray Pence as a kind of campus cliché: the dark-haired, square-jawed stud strumming an acoustic guitar on the quad as he leads a gaggle of coeds in a sing-along. In one picture, Pence mugs for the camera in a fortune-teller costume with a girl draped over his lap; in another, he poses goofily in an unbuttoned shirt that shows off his torso. Pence wasn’t a bad student, but he wasn’t especially bookish either, managing a B-plus average amid a busy campus social life. As a freshman, he joined Phi Gamma Delta and became an enthusiastic participant in the Greek experience. Dan Murphy, a former fraternity brother of Pence’s who now teaches history at Hanover, told me that the “Phi Gams” were an eclectic bunch. “You had in that fraternity house everything from the sort of evangelical-Christian crowd to some fairly hard-core drug users.” Pence was friendly with all of them, and in his sophomore year was elected president of the fraternity. Murphy and Pence lived in neighboring rooms, and made a habit of attending Catholic Mass together on Sunday nights. On their walks back home, they often talked about their futures, and it became clear to Murphy that his friend had a much stronger sense of his “mission in the world” than the average undergrad. Pence agonized over his “calling.” He talked about entering the priesthood, but ultimately felt drawn instead to politics, a realm where he believed he could harness God’s power to do good. It was obvious to his fraternity brothers, Murphy told me, that Pence wanted to be president one day. Pence underwent two conversions in college that would shape the rest of his life. The first came in the spring of 1978, when he road-tripped to Kentucky with some evangelical friends for a music festival billed as the Christian Woodstock. After a day of rocking out to Jesus-loving prog-rock bands and born-again Bob Dylan imitators, Pence found himself sitting in a light rain, yearning for a more personal relationship with Christ than was afforded by the ritualized Catholicism of his youth. “My heart really, finally broke with a deep realization that what had happened on the cross in some infinitesimal way had happened for me,” Pence recounted in March 2017. It was there, he said, that he gave his life to Jesus. The other conversion was a partisan one. Pence had entered college a staunch supporter of Jimmy Carter, and he viewed the 1980 presidential election as a contest between a “good Christian” and a “vacuous movie star.” But President Ronald Reagan won Pence over—instilling in him an appreciation for both movement conservatism and the leadership potential of vacuous entertainers that would serve him well later in life. Murphy told me another story about Pence that has stayed with him. During their sophomore year, the Phi Gamma Delta house found itself perpetually on probation. The movie Animal House had recently come out, and the fraternity brothers were constantly re-creating their favorite scenes, with toga parties, outlandish pranks, and other miscellaneous mischief. Most vexing to the school’s administration was their violation of Hanover’s strict alcohol prohibition. The Phi Gams devised elaborate schemes to smuggle booze into the house, complete with a network of campus lookouts. Pence was not a particularly hard partyer, but he gamely presided over these efforts, and when things went sideways he was often called upon to smooth things over with the adults. One night, during a rowdy party, Pence and his fraternity brothers got word that an associate dean was on his way to the house. They scrambled to hide the kegs and plastic cups, and then Pence met the administrator at the door. “We know you’ve got a keg,” the dean told Pence, according to Murphy. Typically when scenes like this played out, one of the brothers would take the fall, claiming that all the alcohol was his and thus sparing the house from formal discipline. Instead, Pence led the dean straight to the kegs and admitted that they belonged to the fraternity. The resulting punishment was severe. “They really raked us over the coals,” Murphy said. “The whole house was locked down.” Some of Pence’s fraternity brothers were furious with him—but he managed to stay on good terms with the administration. Such good terms, in fact, that after he graduated, in 1981, the school offered him a job in the admissions office. Decades later, when Murphy read about Pence vying for a spot on the presidential ticket with Donald Trump, he recognized a familiar quality in his old friend. “Somewhere in the midst of all that genuine humility and good feeling, this is a guy who’s got that ambition,” Murphy told me. And he wondered, “Is Mike’s religiosity a way of justifying that ambition to himself?” For all Pence’s outward piousness, he’s kept the details of his spiritual journey opaque. Despite his conversion to evangelical Christianity in college, he married his wife, Karen, in a Catholic ceremony and until the mid‑’90s periodically referred to himself as an “evangelical Catholic.” That formulation might befuddle theologians, but it reveals the extraordinary degree to which Pence’s personal religious evolution paralleled the rise of the religious right. Indeed, it was just a year after Pence’s born-again experience in Kentucky that Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, a national movement that aimed to turn Christian voters into a pavement-pounding political force. In the decades that followed, white evangelicals forged an alliance with conservative Catholics to fight abortion, gay marriage, and an encroaching secularism that they saw as a threat to their religious freedom. With conservative believers feeling under siege, denominational differences began to melt away. In 1988, at age 29, Pence launched his first bid for Congress. He garnered attention by riding a single-speed bicycle around his district in sneakers and short shorts, dodging aggravated motorists and drumming up conversations with prospective voters on the sidewalk. It was a perfectly Pencian gimmick—earnest, almost unbearably cheesy—and it helped him win the Republican nomination. But he was unable to defeat the Democratic incumbent, Phil Sharp. Pence tried again two years later, this time ditching the bike in favor of vicious attack ads. The race is remembered as one of the nastiest in Indiana history. In one notorious Pence campaign spot, an actor dressed as a cartoonish Arab sheikh thanked Sharp for advancing the interests of foreign oil. The tone of the campaign was jarring coming from a candidate who had nurtured such a wholesome image, a contrast memorably captured in an Indianapolis Star headline: “Pence Urges Clean Campaign, Calls Opponent a Liar.” He ended up losing by 19 points after it was revealed that he was using campaign funds to pay his mortgage and grocery bills (a practice that was then legal but has since been outlawed). Afterward, a humbled Pence attempted public repentance by personal essay. His article, “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner,” ran in newspapers across the state. “Christ Jesus came to save sinners,” the essay began, quoting 1 Timothy, “among whom I am foremost of all.” With two failed congressional bids behind him, Pence decided to change tack. In 1992, he debuted a conservative talk-radio show that he described as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.” The quaint joke belied the meticulousness with which Pence went about building his local media empire. “He knew exactly what he wanted his brand to be and who his audience was,” says Ed Feigenbaum, the publisher of a state-politics tip sheet, whom Pence often consulted. Most of his listeners were “retirees and conservative housewives,” Feigenbaum says, and Pence carefully catered to them. Over the next eight years, he expanded his radio show to 18 markets, started hosting a talk show on a local TV station, launched a proto-blog, and published a newsletter, “The Pence Report,” which locals remember primarily for its frequent typos and Pence’s lovingly drawn political cartoons. “His Mikeness,” as he became known on the air, began each radio show with a signature opening line—“Greetings across the amber waves of grain”—and filled the hours with a mix of interviews, listener calls, and medium-hot takes. Pence’s commentary from this period is a near-perfect time capsule of ’90s culture-war trivia. He railed against assisted suicide (“Kevorkian is a monster”) and fretted about the insufficient punishment given to a female Air Force pilot who had engaged in an extramarital affair (“Is adultery no longer a big deal in Indiana and in America?”). He mounted a rousing defense of Big Tobacco (“Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn’t kill”) and lamented parents’ growing reliance on day care (pop culture “has sold the big lie that ‘Mom doesn’t matter’ ”). Pence also demonstrated a knack for seizing on more-creative wedge issues. For instance, a 1995 initiative to reintroduce otters into Indiana’s wildlife population became, in Pence’s able hands, a frightening example of Big Government run amok. “State-sanctioned, sanitized otters today,” he warned, ominously. “Buffaloes tomorrow?” Despite Pence’s on-air culture-warring, he rarely came off as disagreeable. He liked to describe himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order,” and he was careful to show respect for opposing viewpoints. “Nobody ever left an interview not liking Mike,” says Scott Uecker, the radio executive who oversaw Pence’s show. By the time a congressional seat opened up ahead of the 2000 election, Pence was a minor Indiana celebrity and state Republicans were urging him to run. In the summer of 1999, as he was mulling the decision, he took his family on a trip to Colorado. One day while horseback riding in the mountains, he and Karen looked heavenward and saw two red-tailed hawks soaring over them. They took it as a sign, Karen recalled years later: Pence would run again, but this time there would be “no flapping.” He would glide to victory. To his colleagues on Capitol Hill—an overwhelmingly secular place where even many Republicans privately sneer at people of faith—everything about the Indiana congressman screamed “Bible thumper.” He was known to pray with his staffers, and often cited scripture to explain his votes. In a 2002 interview with Congressional Quarterly, for example, he explained, “My support for Israel stems largely from my personal faith. In the Bible, God promises Abraham, ‘Those who bless you I will bless, and those who curse you I will curse.’ ” He became a champion of the fight to restrict abortion and defund Planned Parenthood. Pence didn’t have a reputation for legislative acumen (“I would not call Mike a policy wonk,” one former staffer told the Indianapolis Monthly), and some of his colleagues called him a nickname behind his back: “Mike Dense.” But he did have sharp political instincts. Before long, he was climbing the leadership ranks and making connections with key figures in the conservative-Christian establishment. The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer has documented Pence’s close ties to the Koch brothers and other GOP mega-donors, but his roots in the religious right are even deeper. In 2011, as he began plotting a presidential run in the upcoming election cycle, Pence met with Ralph Reed, the evangelical power broker, to seek his advice. Reed told Pence he should return home and get elected governor of Indiana first, then use the statehouse as a launching pad for a presidential bid. He said a few years in the governor’s mansion—combined with his deep support on the Christian right—would make him a top-tier candidate in the 2016 primaries. Pence took Reed’s advice, and in 2012 launched a gubernatorial bid. Casting himself as the heir to the popular outgoing governor, Mitch Daniels, he avoided social issues and ran on a pragmatic, business-friendly platform. He used Ronald Reagan as a political style guru and told his ad makers that he wanted his campaign commercials to have “that ‘Morning in America’ feel.” He meticulously fine-tuned early cuts of the ads, asking his consultants to edit this or reframe that or zoom in here instead of there. But he wasn’t willing to win at all costs. When the race tightened in the homestretch, Pence faced immense pressure from consultants to go negative. A former adviser recalls heated conference calls in which campaign brass urged him to green-light an attack ad on his Democratic opponent, John Gregg. Pence refused. “He didn’t want to be a hypocrite,” the former adviser says. Pence won the race anyway, and set about cutting taxes and taking on local unions—burnishing a résumé that would impress Republican donors and Iowa caucus-goers. The governor’s stock began to rise in Washington, where he was widely viewed as a contender for the 2016 presidential nomination. Then, in early 2015, Pence stumbled into a culture-war debacle that would come to define his governorship. At the urging of conservative-Christian leaders in Indiana, the GOP-controlled state legislature passed a bill that would have allowed religious business owners to deny services to gay customers in certain circumstances. Pence signed it into law in a closed-press ceremony at the statehouse, surrounded by nuns, monks, and right-wing lobbyists. A photo of the signing was released, and all hell broke loose. Corporate leaders threatened to stop adding jobs in Indiana, and national organizations began pulling scheduled conventions from the state. The NCAA, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, put out a statement suggesting that the law might imperil “future events.” The Indianapolis Star ran a rare front-page editorial under an all-caps headline: “FIX THIS NOW.” Caught off guard by the controversy, Pence accepted an invitation to appear on This Week With George Stephanopoulos, where he intended to make the case that the law wasn’t anti-gay but rather pro–religious liberty. What took place instead was an excruciating 12-minute interview in which Pence awkwardly danced around the same straightforward question: Does this law allow a Christian florist to refuse service for a same-sex wedding? “George, look,” Pence said at one point, sounding frustrated, “the issue here is, you know, is tolerance a two-way street or not?” For Pence—and the conservative-Christian movement he represented—this was more than just a talking point. In recent years, the religious right had been abruptly forced to pivot from offense to defense in the culture wars—abandoning the “family values” crusades and talk of “remoralizing America,” and focusing its energies on self-preservation. Conservative Christians had lost the battles over school prayer, sex education, and pornography censorship, and the Supreme Court was poised to legalize same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, a widespread decline in churchgoing and religious affiliation had contributed to a growing anxiety among conservative believers. By 2017, white evangelicals would tell pollsters that Christians faced more discrimination in America than Muslims did. To many Christians, the backlash against Indiana’s “religious freedom” bill was a frightening sign of the secular left’s triumphalism. Liberals were no longer working toward tolerance, it seemed—they were out for conquest. “Many evangelicals were experiencing the sense of an almost existential threat,” Russell Moore, a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, told me. It was only a matter of time, he said, before cultural elites’ scornful attitudes would help drive Christians into the arms of a strongman like Trump. “I think there needs to be a deep reflection on the left about how they helped make this happen.” After seven chaotic days, Pence caved and signed a revised version of the religious-freedom bill—but by then it was too late. His approval ratings were in free fall, Democrats were raising money to defeat him in the next gubernatorial election, and the political obituaries were being written. Things looked grimmer for Pence, and the religious right, than they ever had before. Deliverance manifested itself to Mike Pence on the back nine of Donald Trump’s golf course in New Jersey. It was the Fourth of July weekend, and the two men were sizing each other up as potential running mates. Each had his own hesitations. Coming into the game, Trump had formed an opinion of the Indiana governor as prudish, stiff, and embarrassingly poor, according to one longtime associate. Pence, meanwhile, had spent the primaries privately shaking his head at Trump’s campaign-trail antics, and had endorsed Senator Ted Cruz for the nomination. But as the two men played golf, Pence asked what his job description would be if they wound up in the White House together. Trump gave him the same answer he’d been dangling in front of other prospective running mates for weeks: He wanted “the most consequential vice president ever.” Pence was sold. Before flying out to New Jersey, Pence had called Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser, whom he’d known for years, and asked for her advice on how to handle the meeting. Conway had told him to talk about “stuff outside of politics,” and suggested he show his eagerness to learn from the billionaire. “I knew they would enjoy each other’s company,” Conway told me, adding, “Mike Pence is someone whose faith allows him to subvert his ego to the greater good.” True to form, Pence spent much of their time on the course kissing Trump’s ring. You’re going to be the next president of the United States, he said. It would be the honor of a lifetime to serve you. Afterward, he made a point of gushing to the press about Trump’s golf game. “He beat me like a drum,” Pence confessed, to Trump’s delight. The consensus among the campaign’s top political strategists was that a Trump–Pence ticket was their best shot at winning in November. After a bitter primary season, Trump’s campaign had moved swiftly to shore up support from conservative Christians, who advisers worried would stay home on Election Day. Trump released a list of potential Supreme Court nominees with unimpeachably pro-life records and assembled an evangelical advisory board composed of high-profile faith leaders. One of the men asked to join the board was Richard Land, of the Southern Evangelical Seminary. When the campaign approached him with the offer, Land says, he was perplexed. “You do know that Trump was my last choice, right?” he said. But he ultimately accepted, and when a campaign aide asked what his first piece of advice was, he didn’t hesitate: “Pick Mike Pence.” Nonetheless, as decision time approached, Trump was leaning toward New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a fellow bridge-and-tunnel loudmouth with whom he had more natural chemistry. The candidate’s advisers repeatedly warned that the “Bridgegate” fiasco would make Christie a liability in the general election. But they were unable to get through to Trump. Then, on July 12, a miracle: During a short campaign swing through Indiana, Trump got word that his plane had broken down on the runway, and that he would need to spend the night in Indianapolis. With nowhere else to go, Trump accepted an invitation to dine with the Pences. In fact, according to two former Trump aides, there was no problem with the plane. Paul Manafort, who was then serving as the campaign’s chairman, had made up the story to keep the candidate in town an extra day and allow him to be wooed by Pence. The gambit worked: Three days later, Trump announced Pence as his running mate. On the stump and in interviews, Pence spoke of Trump in a tone that bordered on worshipful. One of his rhetorical tics was to praise the breadth of his running mate’s shoulders. Trump was, Pence proclaimed, a “broad-shouldered leader,” in possession of “broad shoulders and a big heart,” who had “the kind of broad shoulders” that enabled him to endure criticism while he worked to return “broad-shouldered American strength to the world stage.” Campaign operatives discovered that anytime Trump did something outrageous or embarrassing, they could count on Pence to clean it up. “He was our top surrogate by far,” said one former senior adviser to Trump. “He was this mild-mannered, uber-Christian guy with a Midwestern accent telling voters, ‘Trump is a good man; I know what’s in his heart.’ It was very convincing—you wanted to trust him. You’d be sitting there listening to him and thinking, Yeah, maybe Trump is a good man!” Even some of Trump’s most devoted loyalists marveled at what Pence was willing to say. There was no talking point too preposterous, no fixed reality too plain to deny—if they needed Pence to defend the boss, he was in. When, during the vice-presidential debate, in early October, he was confronted with a barrage of damning quotes and questionable positions held by his running mate, Pence responded with unnerving message discipline, dismissing documented facts as “nonsense” and smears. It was the kind of performance—a blur of half-truths and “whatabout”s and lies—that could make a good Christian queasy. But people close to Pence say he felt no conflict between his campaign duties and his religious beliefs. Marc Short, a longtime adviser to Pence and a fellow Christian, told me that the vice president believes strongly in a scriptural concept evangelicals call “servant leadership.” The idea is rooted in the Gospels, where Jesus models humility by washing his disciples’ feet and teaches, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” When Pence was in Congress, he instructed his aides to have a “servant’s attitude” when dealing with constituents. Later, as the chairman of the House Republican Conference, he saw his job as being a servant to his fellow GOP lawmakers. And when he accepted the vice-presidential nomination, he believed he was committing to humbly submit to the will of Donald Trump. “Servant leadership is biblical,” Short told me. “That’s at the heart of it for Mike, and it comes across in his relationship with the president.” Another close friend of Pence’s explained it to me this way: “His faith teaches that you’re under authority at all times. Christ is under God’s authority, man is under Christ’s authority, children are under the parents’ authority, employees are under the employer’s authority.” “Mike,” he added, “always knows who’s in charge.” On Friday, October 7, 2016, The Washington Post published the Access Hollywood tape that showed Trump gloating about his penchant for grabbing women “by the pussy,” and instantly upended the campaign. Republicans across the country withdrew their endorsements, and conservative editorial boards called on Trump to drop out of the race. Most alarming to the aides and operatives inside Trump Tower, Mike Pence suddenly seemed at risk of going rogue. Trump’s phone calls to his running mate reportedly went unreturned, and anonymous quotes began appearing in news stories describing Pence as “beside himself” over the revelation. One campaign staffer told me that when she was asked on TV the day after the tape came out whether Pence would remain on the ticket, she ad-libbed that, yes, he was 100 percent committed to Trump. She remembers walking away from the set and thinking, “I have no idea if what I just said is true.” It’s been reported that Pence sent Trump a letter saying he needed time to decide whether he could stay with the campaign. But in fact, according to several Republicans familiar with the situation, Pence wasn’t just thinking about dropping out—he was contemplating a coup. Within hours of The Post’s bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump’s place as the party’s nominee. Such a move just four weeks before Election Day would have been unprecedented—but the situation seemed dire enough to call for radical action. Already, Reince Priebus’s office was being flooded with panicked calls from GOP officials and donors urging the RNC chairman to get rid of Trump by whatever means necessary. One Republican senator called on the party to engage emergency protocols to nominate a new candidate. RNC lawyers huddled to explore an obscure legal mechanism by which they might force Trump off the ticket. Meanwhile, a small group of billionaires was trying to put together money for a “buyout”—even going so far as to ask a Trump associate how much money the candidate would require to walk away from the race. According to someone with knowledge of the talks, they were given an answer of $800 million. (It’s unclear whether Trump was aware of this discussion or whether the offer was actually made.) Republican donors and party leaders began buzzing about making Pence the nominee and drafting Condoleezza Rice as his running mate. Amid the chaos, Trump convened a meeting of his top advisers in his Manhattan penthouse. He went around the room and asked each person for his damage assessment. Priebus bluntly told Trump he could either drop out immediately or lose in a historic landslide. According to someone who was present, Priebus added that Pence and Rice were “ready to step in.” (An aide to the vice president denied that Pence sent Trump a letter and that he ever talked with the RNC about becoming the nominee. Priebus did not respond to requests for comment.) The furtive plotting, several sources told me, was not just an act of political opportunism for Pence. He was genuinely shocked by the Access Hollywood tape. In the short time they’d known each other, Trump had made an effort to convince Pence that—beneath all the made-for-TV bluster and bravado—he was a good-hearted man with faith in God. On the night of the vice-presidential debate, for example, Trump had left a voicemail letting Pence know that he’d just said a prayer for him. The couple was appalled by the video, however. Karen Pence in particular was “disgusted,” says a former campaign aide. “She finds him reprehensible—just totally vile.” Yet Pence might also have thought he glimpsed something divine in that moment of political upheaval—a parting of the seas, God’s hand reaching down to make his will known. Marc Short told me that in moments of need, Pence turns to a favorite passage in Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Short said, “Mike believes strongly in the sovereignty of God, and knowing that the Lord has a plan for him.” Whatever God had planned for Mike Pence, however, it was not to make him the Republican nominee that weekend. Trump proved defiant in the face of pressure from party leaders. “They thought they were going to be able to get him to drop out before the second debate,” said a former campaign aide. “Little did they know, he has no shame.” Indeed, two days after the tape was released, Trump showed up in St. Louis for the debate with a group of Bill Clinton accusers in tow, ranting about how Hillary’s husband had done things to women that were far worse than his own “locker-room talk.” The whole thing was a circus—and it worked. By the time Trump left St. Louis, he had, in pundit-speak, “stopped the bleeding,” and by the next day, Pence was back on the stump. The campaign stabilized. The race tightened. And on the night of November 8, 2016, Pence found himself standing on a ballroom stage in Midtown Manhattan—silently, obediently, servant-leaderly—while Trump delivered the unlikeliest of victory speeches. Back in Indiana, Pence’s Trump apologia on the campaign trail surprised those who knew him. In political circles, there had been a widespread, bipartisan recognition that Pence was a decent man with a genuine devotion to his faith. But after watching him in 2016, many told me, they believed Pence had sold out. Scott Pelath, the Democratic minority leader in the Indiana House of Representatives, said that watching Pence vouch for Trump made him sad. “Ah, Mike,” he sighed. “Ambition got the best of him.” It’s an impression that even some of Pence’s oldest friends and allies privately share. As one former adviser marveled, “The number of compromises he made to get this job, when you think about it, is pretty staggering.” Of course, Pence is far from the only conservative Christian to be accused of having sold his soul. Trump’s early evangelical supporters were a motley crew of televangelists and prosperity preachers, and they have been rewarded with outsize influence in the White House. Pastor Ralph Drollinger, for example, caught Trump’s attention in December 2015, when he said in a radio interview, “America’s in such desperate straits—especially economically—that if we don’t have almost a benevolent dictator to turn things around, I just don’t think it’s gonna happen through our governance system.” Now Drollinger runs a weekly Bible study in the West Wing. But the president has also enjoyed overwhelming support from rank-and-file conservative Christians. He won an astonishing 81 percent of white evangelicals’ votes, more than any Republican presidential candidate on record. And while his national approval rating hovers below 40 percent, poll after poll finds his approval rating among white evangelicals in the high 60s. The fact that such an ungodly president could retain a firm grip on the religious right has been the source of much soul-searching—and theological debate—within the movement. On one side, there are those who argue that good Christians are obligated to support any leader, no matter how personally wicked he may be, who stands up for religious freedom and fights sinful practices such as abortion. Richard Land told me that those who withhold their support from Trump because they’re uncomfortable with his moral failings will “become morally accountable for letting the greater evil prevail.” On the other side of the debate is a smaller group that believes the Christians allying themselves with Trump are putting the entire evangelical movement at risk. Russell Moore, of the Southern Baptist Convention, has made this case forcefully. In a New York Times op-ed in September 2015, Moore wrote that for evangelicals to embrace Trump “would mean that we’ve decided to join the other side of the culture war, that image and celebrity and money and power and social Darwinist ‘winning’ trump the conservation of moral principles and a just society.” Moore and others worry that conservative Christians’ support for Trump has already begun to warp their ideals. Consider just one data point: In 2011, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that only 30 percent of white evangelicals believed “an elected official who commits an immoral act in their personal life can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties in their public and professional life.” By 2016, that number had risen to 72 percent. “This is really a sea change in evangelical ethics,” Robert P. Jones, the head of the institute and the author of The End of White Christian America, told me. “They have moved to an ends-justifies-the means style of politics that would have been unimaginable before this last campaign.” But even as the debate rages on, there is one thing virtually all conservative Christians seem to agree on: Mike Pence. “He’s an incredibly popular figure,” Moore told me. “Evangelicals who disagree about all sorts of things still respect Mike Pence. Regardless of how they voted or what they think about Trump, they feel a sense of identification with him, and trust in him.” Some prominent evangelicals have gone even further to describe Pence’s role—reverently invoking biblical heroes who aligned themselves with flawed worldly leaders to do God’s will. One pastor compared Pence to Mordechai, who ascended to the right hand of a Persian king known for throwing lavish parties and discarding his wife after she refused to appear naked in front of his friends. Pence has also drawn comparisons to Daniel—who served a procession of godless rulers—and to Joseph of Egypt, the valiant servant of God who won the favor of an impetuous pharaoh known for throwing servants in prison when they offended him. Pastor Mark Burns—a South Carolina televangelist who was among the first to sign on as a faith adviser to Trump—told me Pence’s role in the administration is like that of Jesus, who once miraculously calmed a storm that was threatening to sink the boat on which he was traveling with his disciples. (Burns, who stressed that he was not equating Pence with the Savior, said Trump is represented in this analogy by one of Jesus’s more “foulmouthed” apostles.) “Mike Pence is there praying over the White House every day,” Burns said. And in this tempestuous political climate, the success of Trump’s presidency may depend on those intercessions. “It takes somebody who knows when you’re headed toward a storm to be there praying for you.” The religious right began reaping the rewards of Trump’s victory almost immediately, when the president-elect put Pence in charge of the transition. Given wide latitude on staffing decisions, Pence promptly set about filling the federal government with like-minded allies. Of the 15 Cabinet secretaries Trump picked at the start of his presidency, eight were evangelicals. It was, gushed Ted Cruz, “the most conservative Cabinet in decades.” Pence also reportedly played a key role in getting Neil Gorsuch nominated to the Supreme Court. Pence understood the price of his influence. To keep Trump’s ear required frequent public performances of loyalty and submission—and Pence made certain his inner circle knew that enduring such indignities was part of the job. Once, while interviewing a prospective adviser during the transition, Pence cleared the room so they could speak privately. “Look, I’m in a difficult position here,” Pence said, according to someone familiar with the meeting. “I’m going to have to 100 percent defend everything the president says. Is that something you’re going to be able to do if you’re on my staff?” (An aide to Pence denied this account.) Trump does not always reciprocate this respect. Around the White House, he has been known to make fun of Pence for his religiosity. As Mayer reported in The New Yorker, he has greeted guests who recently met with Pence by asking, “Did Mike make you pray?” During a conversation with a legal scholar about gay rights, Trump gestured toward his vice president and joked, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!” When I asked Marc Short, who now serves as the White House director of legislative affairs, about these exchanges, he dismissed them as good-natured razzing between friends. “I think it’s fun for him to tease Mike,” Short told me, “but at the same time, the president respects him.” Not everyone is so sure. When it was reported last January that the Pences would be moving some of their family pets—which include two cats, a rabbit, and a snake—into the Naval Observatory, Trump ridiculed the menagerie to his secretary, according to a longtime adviser. “He was embarrassed by it; he thought it was so low class,” says the adviser. “He thinks the Pences are yokels.” Pence’s forbearance hasn’t always yielded concrete policy victories for the Christian right, a fact that was highlighted during a skirmish over religious freedom early in the Trump administration. Social conservatives had been lobbying the president to issue a sweeping executive order aimed at carving out protections for religious organizations and individuals opposed to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and transgender rights. The proposed order was fairly radical, but proponents argued that it would strike a crucial blow against the militant secularists trying to drive the faithful out of the public square. At first, Pence’s office reportedly worked to build support for the executive order inside the White House—but the effort was torpedoed when a draft was leaked to The Nation magazine, which warned that signing it would “legalize discrimination.” There proceeded a noisy backlash from the left, and hasty backpedaling by the White House. By the time Trump got around to signing the order, several months later, it was dramatically watered down. Conservatives blamed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for gutting the order. But according to one Trump associate with knowledge of the debate, Pence barely put up a fight. The surrender infuriated Steve Bannon, who was then serving as the chief White House strategist. “Bannon wanted to fight for it,” says the Trump associate, “and he was really unimpressed that Pence wouldn’t do anything.” But perhaps Pence was playing the long game—weighing the risks of taking on Trump’s kids, and deciding to stand down in the interest of preserving his relationship with the president. Pence, after all, had his future to think about. In an embattled White House, the question of the vice president’s ambition for higher office is radioactive. When The New York Times reported last summer that Pence appeared to be laying the groundwork for a 2020 presidential bid, he denied the “disgraceful and offensive” story with theatrical force. But Pence has shown that his next move is never far from his mind—and he’s hardly the only one weighing the possibilities. One senior GOP Senate aide told me that pundits miss the point when they speculate about what kind of scandal it would take for the president to face a serious defection from lawmakers of his own party. “It’s not a matter of when Republicans are ready to turn on Trump,” the aide said. “It’s about when they decide they’re ready for President Pence.” What would a Pence presidency look like? To a conservative evangelical, it could mean a glorious return to the Christian values upon which America was founded. To a secular liberal, it might look more like a descent into the dystopia of The Handmaid’s Tale. Already, in some quarters on the left, it has become fashionable to fret that Pence’s fundamentalist faith and comparative political savvy would make him an even more “dangerous” president than Trump. He has been branded a “theocrat” and a “Christian supremacist.” There is, of course, nothing inherently scary or disqualifying about an elected leader who seeks wisdom in scripture and solace in prayer. What critics should worry about is not that Pence believes in God, but that he seems so certain God believes in him. What happens when manifest destiny replaces humility, and the line between faith and hubris blurs? What unseemly compromises get made? What means become tolerable in pursuit of an end? On the night of May 3, 2017, members of the president’s evangelical advisory board arrived for a private dinner at the White House. They were scheduled to appear the next day in the Rose Garden to cheer Trump on as he signed an executive order most of them considered a disappointment. Instead of creating the far-reaching protections for believers that they had been hoping for, Trump’s order merely made it easier for pastors to voice political opinions from the pulpit—a conspicuously self-serving take on religious freedom. Some social conservatives were already voicing their discontent. Ryan Anderson, a scholar at the Heritage Foundation, called the order “woefully inadequate”; David French, a writer for National Review, dismissed it as a “sop to the gullible.” But inside the West Wing, the president’s faith advisers were getting the full Trump experience. After dining on shrimp scampi and braised short ribs in the Blue Room, they were treated to a tour of the private residence. Trump led them onto the Truman Balcony, and waved off Secret Service agents who tried to stop them from taking pictures. The faith leaders pulled out their smartphones and snapped selfies, intoxicated by the VIP treatment. “Mr. President,” Robert Jeffress, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, said at one point, “we’re going to be your most loyal friends. We’re going to be your enthusiastic supporters. And we thank God every day that you’re the president of the United States.” For many of the attendees, though, the most memorable moment came when Pence stood to speak. “I’ve been with [Trump] alone in the room when the decisions are made. He and I have prayed together,” Pence said. “This is somebody who shares our views, shares our values, shares our beliefs.” Pence didn’t waste time touting his own credentials. With this crowd, he didn’t need to. Instead, as always, he lavished praise on the president.

Big Rigs / December 6, 2017 Sixty odd years ago Harry Robinson saw an opportunity and that was to collect trucks that had had a shunt, put them all in one place, strip them down and flog off the parts to those who didn't want, or couldn't afford to pay top dollar for replacement parts. The business is Universal Truck Wreckers, more commonly known as UTW, based in Shepparton, Victoria. Under its present owners for the past 25 years, UTW is part of the Shepparton Motor Panel Group, which also owns Coburg Truck Parts in Melbourne (new parts only), Gleeman's in Sydney (new and used) And Universal Komatsu Wreckers. Set on two hectares, UTW handles Kenworth, Freightliner, Ford, Western Star, International, Iveco, a bit of Mack and a little bit of Volvo. The business employs two dismantlers, two mechanics and three sales guys. Salesman Brad Payne has been with the business for 18 years. "We sell anything to do with American truck parts, basically anything retrievable off the trucks,” he said. "We would say we are the largest in Australia. There is competition but that's in Brisbane, Sydney and Wagga. "That's pretty much it along the eastern seaboard. There may be others but they are relatively small. There wouldn't be anything that anyone couldn't buy. "The motors are pulled out of the trucks and gone over by our qualified mechanics. We pull the sump off, check the mains and big ends and run them on our test bed. We also offer other motors which are fully refurbished.” At its peak, the business was bringing in 300 trucks a year for dismantling. "It's dropped off a little on that, possibly due to blokes taking more care out on the road.” Most of the product comes in via tender through insurance companies. There are also auctions - mainly Pickles and Fowles - and the business has a contract with an insurance company that they get a few through. Most business is done over the internet these days. The business runs lean and mean with a total of seven people. "There are days when you could use another few blokes,” Brad said. "And then there are other times we could have one bloke less but that's not often. "The clientele is anyone with a truck. We don't do a lot with major fleets, it's mainly the smaller operators and owner- drivers. "A lot of our gear is freighted out intra-and interstate - a lot more than we sell directly out of the yard. We sent motors and gear boxes right around the country.” Darren McIntosh runs the yard and also does sales. He started as a diesel mechanic in the shed after nine years in the same role with Roccisano Transport and has been with the business for 23 years. From where I was standing and talking with Darren, the trucks we viewed looked in reasonable nick. There was a Freightliner Argosy that had probably shunted another truck up the backside resulting in the bull bar being shoved back into the body - although not by much. On closer inspection, Darren pointed out where the floor pan crumpled, the main cab support was also shot, putting the truck beyond repair. To UTW though, the truck is money in the bank. There's the motor, gearbox, fold-out steps, headlights, wiring, interior fit-out - even the bull bar could be resurrected. "Putting the good ones at the front makes the yard look flash,” Darren said. As we moved further into the yard there were some mangled sites to behold. One could only wonder if the drivers survived the accidents that bought the truck to this place. "There are brands that tend to fold up pretty good in an accident. They look tough on the road but, when you get them in here, there's not much holding them together. "Have a look at the way this is put together (showing me a mangled cab). There are only six studs and glue holding the bunk together with the rest of the truck. "Kenworth cabs are made of fibreglass and aluminium but seem to hold up pretty well. With any truck it depends how they go over, of course. Onto the sides and there's not a lot of damage. Onto the roof and, if you can, forget it. The powers that be are obsessed by star ratings on cars but, for some reason, no-one gives a rat's arse about the truck side of things. "In my opinion the European trucks are way ahead in safety terms. Volvo and Scania are well ahead compared to American trucks going by what we see here. Mind you it all depends what you hit.” Darren shows me a truck that had run into a gum tree. "When you hit something like that it really doesn't matter what you're driving. Mother nature is usually going to win,” he said. "Some trucks we sell complete, others we sell for bits. We make use of everything. Unsaleable parts go into the steel or aluminium bins. We pull all the wiring out of the cabs and sell it separately after running it through a wire stripper to get the coating off. It adds up to quite a lot of copper.” .

.

Jason Cannon, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / December 5, 2017 David Carson, currently president of Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC), has been appointed president of Western Star Trucks and chief diversity officer of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), the company announced Tuesday. Carson succeeds Kelley Platt who has been promoted within the Daimler AG global organization to president and chief executive officer of Daimler’s truck joint venture Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA) in China. In his role leading the Western Star team, Carson will become a member of the company’s Operating Committee. He was appointed to his current role as president of FCCC in 2015, where he oversaw engineering, operations and sales & marketing for DTNA’s chassis business. Under his leadership, FCCC continued its development of product offerings and enhancements in the school bus, RV and walk-in van segments, leading to record performance in 2016. He also led efforts to significantly invest in and expand on the brand’s operations, including construction of a new logistics center and chassis loading facility. Previously, Carson served in a variety of leadership roles, most recently as the company’s general manager of human resources responsible for all human resource matters, including negotiations with labor unions. Prior to joining DTNA in 2001, Carson built extensive experience leading operations for an industry-leading automotive supplier and a global technology company. Carson earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Under the leadership of Kelley Platt, Western Star has set sales and market share records. Previously, from 2010 to 2015, Platt served as the president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses (TBB) in High Point, N.C., where she contributed to TBB attaining leadership of the North American school bus market. While at TBB, Platt was the recipient of the Manufacturing Institute’s prestigious STEP Award, recognizing outstanding women in the manufacturing industry who exemplify leadership within their companies. Platt started her Daimler career in 1989 as a manager in the treasury department. She founded the Business Excellence Group in 2006, which first introduced the company to the idea that continuous improvement and LEAN principles could be applied in the office environment in the same manner as was already proving successful in the manufacturing arena. She has been a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion both for DTNA and on the larger global Daimler landscape. Platt holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Economics from Colby College and a Master’s of Business degree in Operations and Finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. .

Ford unveils new 2018 Super Duty Trailer-Body Builders / December 5, 2017 Ford on Tuesday introduced the 2018 Super Duty, which it says is America’s most powerful, most capable heavy-duty pickup truck ever, with five best-in-class claims, and a new F-450 4x2 model. Ford says it has best-in-class horsepower and torque from a newly upgraded 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine. “Super Duty customers expect the best, and for 2018 we’re giving our customers even more power and torque from our 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel – delivering the most horsepower and torque available among all heavy-duty pickups,” said Todd Eckert, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Plus, our new F-450 pickup now includes a 4X2 model, enabling our customers to get more done with the segment’s best payload and towing.” The 2018 Super Duty makes five key best-in-class heavy-duty truck segment claims: • Best-in-class 450 horsepower (a 10 horsepower improvement over 2017) • Best-in-class 935 lb.-ft. of torque (a 10 lb.-ft. improvement over 2017) •Best-in-class 34,000 pounds of gooseneck towing, when properly equipped (a 1,500-pound improvement for the new F-450 4x2 model) •Best-in-class 21,000-pound conventional hitch towing •Best-in-class 7,360-pound payload capacity Upgrades to the 2018 Ford 6.7-liter Power Stroke engine include redesigned cylinder heads for added strength under higher loads, plus optimized fuel and turbo boost calibrations to take advantage of the increased cylinder head capacity for increased horsepower and torque. Ford is the only heavy-duty truck manufacturer that designs and builds its own diesel engine and transmission combination – ensuring the powertrain works seamlessly with all chassis components and vehicle calibrations. This approach enables Ford engineers to optimize vehicle performance across the entire lineup and to further refine the powertrain to the specific needs of the customer. For those who rely on their pickups to haul big trailers to get the job done, the new F-450 Super Duty 4x2 dual-rear-wheel truck is now available for both retail and fleet customers – offering greater strength, efficiency and durability. Leveraging the benefits of a high-strength steel box frame, integrated gooseneck hitch mounts, and added load capacity thanks to Ford’s proprietary high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body, the 2018 F-450 4x2 tows even more with its lighter, more efficient driveline. The result is the most capable, robust and efficient Super Duty tow machine ever, delivering a best-in-class 34,000 pounds of gooseneck towing capacity. The 2018 Super Duty F-450 4x2 dual-rear-wheel pickup will be available this winter in XL, XLT, Lariat and Platinum series offerings. Base MSRP is $52,830, which includes $1,295 destination and delivery charges.

Opponents decry EPA’s glider kit proposal during public hearing Cristina Commendatore, Fleet Owner / December 5, 2017 ATA and others throughout industry say a proposal to exempt heavy-duty gliders from GHG rules would undermine industry investments made and harm public health. Opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to exempt heavy-duty gliders from the Phase 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) rule argued the move would undercut significant investments manufacturers have already made in order to comply with the GHG emissions standards. During the earlier part of a daylong public hearing on Dec. 4, Pat Quinn, executive director of the Heavy-duty Leadership Group, whose members include Cummins, PepsiCo, FedEx, Eaton, Wabash National and Waste Management, said “making modifications to the glider kit provision would undermine investments made in the industry, encourage the use of older, less efficient technologies, and increase smog-forming pollution that harms public health.” The group worked closely with EPA in the development of the Phase 2 rule, which was finalized during the Obama administration. However, earlier this year, EPA said that gliders should not be regulated as “new motor vehicles” or “new motor vehicle engines” under the Clean Air Act. In November, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt signed legislation to repeal emissions standards for glider kits. He said they provide a more affordable option for smaller owners and operators. During the hearing, Glen Kedzie, vice president of American Trucking Assns.’ (ATA) energy and environmental affairs council, stated ATA members strongly oppose EPA changing the course of the agency’s glider provisions. “U.S. member fleets have worked tirelessly to be both sustainable and environmentally sensitive in their operations,” Kedzie explained. According to ATA, the proposed repeal would circumvent today’s emissions standards for diesel particulate matter (PM), NOx and greenhouse gases. “It’s well-known that gliders are purchased to save money, avoid maintenance costs and late penalties, and skirt federal excise tax payments,” Kedzie said, adding that ATA member fleets have paid $31,000 more on average per new truck since 2004 to comply with new emissions rules. “While the best-run trucking companies in the nation are heavily investing and cleaning up the environment and improving the overall profile of the industry, the glider vehicle industry openly promotes their sale of ‘pre-emission’ engines and uses the cost savings differential between clean diesel technologies and high-emitting old trucks as a promotional sales pitch,” he stressed. Steven Cliff, deputy executive officer of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), called the proposal illegal, adding it would have a “profoundly harmful impact on public health.” “The repeal would effectively place thousands of outdated, heavy-duty engines that do not meet modern emissions standards that have been in effect in the last decade on our highways,” he said. “In short, a repeal puts our most disadvantaged communities at risk by walking away from the commitment to reduce their exposure to smog forming and toxic pollutants that impact public health, leading to additional hospitalizations, asthma cases, lost work and school days, and premature deaths.” Modern trucks that meet current emissions standards come with diesel particulate filters to capture toxic diesel particulate matter and selective catalytic reduction systems to NOx emissions. Cliff emphasized that reducing diesel PM is important to cut cancer and other health risks. “Glider builders have been circumventing the requirements for these important emissions controls by using pre-2007 remanufactured engines, misusing a loophole in the provisions to sell thousands of dirty trucks each year with completely uncontrolled emissions,” Cliff pointed out. Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland remarked that he was “baffled and confounded” as to why the EPA would consider repealing this rule. Raskin noted that after one of the largest manufacturers of gliders, Fitzgerald Glider Kits, located in Tennessee, failed to secure a legislative repeal of the glider kits rule via the annual appropriations process, Fitzgerald’s owners met directly with Pruitt this past May. According to Raskin, Fitzgerald’s petition included new information on glider vehicle criteria pollutant emissions which purported to show that glider vehicles were less polluting than non-glider vehicles. Though opponents of the exemption came out in droves – at least during the earlier part of the hearing – glider builder, trucker and owner of Clarke Gliders said he fully supported the proposal. “Glider engines, glider kits and glider vehicles are used parts that still have adequate life in them,” Clarke explained. “By recycling gliders, we can further the life of the existing parts that are so costly to buy new.” In his comments, Clarke stressed that the only new parts in a glider kit are the cab and the hood; the remaining parts of the truck are all used parts. “In no way should a glider be considered a new truck, subject to the new emissions rules set forth in August 2016 because all major components are used and already exist,” he explained. Clarke referenced a study recently conducted by Tennessee Tech University (TTU) comparing NOx levels in older engines versus new engines. He said the study found that older engines are just as clean – and some even better – than the new ones today, mainly due to cleaner sulfur content. Cliff, however, in his comments, noted that TTU study is “invalid and lacks scientific credibility.” In addition, Raskin had this to say about the study: “It is important to note that the study, run by Tennessee Tech University, has been criticized by experts for its poor and shoddy quality and has provoked serious ethical questions about the university’s academic independence and its cozy relationship with Fitzgerald,” he stated, adding that the study was done at Fitzgerald’s request and paid for with grant money from Fitzgerald. But during his presentation, Clarke also cited a Nov. 15 statement released from Pruitt that encouraged Americans to recycle more. Clarke claimed that according to most recent data from 2007, recycling and reclaimed and reused activities created more than 750,000 jobs and $6.7 billion in tax revenues. “We really should be thanking our glider builders,” he urged. “We should be encouraging every trucker in this country to use a glider, or should I say a recycled truck. This is exactly what we do in our business. We recycle old trucks, not only do we create hundreds of jobs, we save our trucking industry thousands of dollars.” EPA estimates that about 10,000 gliders are manufactured annually and make up about 5% of the entire Class 8 truck market. However, the agency previously said gliders could account about one-third of all nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions from the sector. Written comments regarding the proposed repeal will be accepted until Jan. 5.

Ford Super Duty trucks get a bit more super for 2018 Autoblog / December 5, 2017 More power, more torque, more payload, more towing capacity. Ford released specifications overnight for its 2018 F-Series Super Duty trucks, claiming best-in-class bragging rights in five areas: horsepower, torque, towing, gooseneck towing, and payload. Output of its 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbodiesel has increased to 450 horsepower, up 10 from 2017, and it now makes peak torque of 935 pound-feet, which is also 10 more in the torque wars as truck manufacturers keep inching toward 1,000. Upgrades to the 6.7-liter diesel include cylinder heads redesigned for greater strength under higher loads, and optimized fuel and turbo boost calibrations. (Ford offered no word on specs for the 6.2-liter gasoline engine option or the 6.8-liter V10, which presumably continue on as options for 2018.) Ford also lays claim to best in class for conventional hitch towing capacity of 21,000 pounds and 7,360 pounds of payload. And an F-450 Crew Cab 4x2 dualie has been added to the Super Duty lineup for 2018. (The F-450 was previously only offered as a dual-rear-wheel 4x4 with the Power Stroke.) The truck has integrated gooseneck hitch mounts, and its ability to tow a gooseneck trailer has been upped to 34,000 pounds. That's up 1,500 pounds from last year's class-leading number. The 2018 Super Duty F-450 4x2 dual-rear-wheel pickup will be released this winter in XL, XLT, Lariat and Platinum trim. Base MSRP is $52,830.

The Future Of Electrified Trucks, A Discussion With Tesla Cofounder Ian Wright Kyle Field, CleanTechnica / December 2, 2017 The Tesla Semi Truck announcement represents a head-on challenge to the way people move goods around the country, but Tesla is not the first to move into plug-in trucks — far from it. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Tesla cofounder Ian Wright, who has since moved on to start his own company Wrightspeed, which has been helping shipping companies slash their heavy-duty truck emissions for years with its hybrid powertrains. [Note: We also had a Cleantech Talks interview with Ian Wright in 2015 that’s worth a listen.] Getting right to the heart of the matter, we talked about the Tesla Semi announcement and what it meant for reducing or eliminating emissions from heavy-duty trucks. Ian shared that, while Tesla was able to put on a good show, electrifying heavy-duty powertrains was nothing new. “I’m very pleased to see other companies getting around to addressing trucks,” he shared. “As Tesla did with cars, [the Tesla Semi announcement] will raise awareness across the industry.” Ian commented that using fully electric trucks for long hauls did not make sense to him, as the sheer number of batteries required for a long-distance haul would make the vehicles extremely capital intensive, in addition to the weight of the batteries having a detrimental impact on hauling capacity. Ian and company took a different tack with Wrightspeed, which focuses on striking a balance between reducing fuel consumption and emissions as much as possible by looking at the least efficient applications of internal combustion engine vehicles. They found the sweet spot — or the sooty spot, if you will — to be refuse trucks and local delivery vehicles like those used by FedEx and UPS. The Wrightspeed Solution To realize this opportunity, the Wrightspeed team built a suite of powerful yet efficient plug-in hybrid powertrains for heavy-duty, frequent, stop-drive cycle trucks that allow owners to slash fuel consumption and emissions more than 50% compared to conventional petrol powertrains. Wrightspeed does this by utilizing electric motors alone to drive the wheels and move the vehicle forward, which is complemented by a microturbine that runs on any number of fuels — including liquid propane, diesel, liquid natural gas, compressed natural gas, or even landfill recovered gas (sour gas). The microturbine exists solely to provide electricity to the battery packs. The efficient combination translates into serious savings, with an estimated 4 year return on investment for customers compared to the extremely inefficient, maintenance-intensive petrol-fired refuse or delivery truck. The Wrightspeed plug-in hybrid electric powertrain was such an innovative, impactful solution that Wrightspeed was recognized by the World Economic Foundation as a 2016 Technology Pioneer. Wrightspeed’s powertrain solutions deliver: Up to 67% reduction in fuel consumption Up to 63% reduction in emissions Up to $25,000 reduction in annual maintenance One of the many innovations in Wrightspeed’s solution is its Fulcrum microturbine, which was developed in-house. Ian shared that it delivers efficiencies that are very close to the same as the best of the gasoline piston range extenders used in the Chevy Volt and the BMW i3. With comparable efficiency, where the turbine really shines is in maintenance. With only one moving part, two bearings, and no piston rings, maintenance is as easy as changing the air filter and fuel filter, which are extremely simple compared to the maintenance required on a heavy-duty diesel refuse truck or delivery truck. Friend or Foe? With such a prominent name in electrified vehicles entering into the competitive landscape, my question was “does the Tesla Semi Truck announcement change anything for Wrightspeed?” Ian shared that he believed Tesla moving into electrified trucks would help the mainstream media and mainstream consumers to be more aware of the problem and the varied solutions available to solve the problem and that, if anything, it should help the industry. Battery Technology Just as in the early days of internal combustion vehicles, today’s electric vehicles feature numerous innovative technologies, with batteries representing one of the most varied of the bunch. I asked who supplied Wrightspeed’s batteries and Ian shared that they used Toshiba’s lithium-titanate (LTO) batteries. He shared that back in 2003, when he was with Tesla, their battery technology improvement projections led them to expect batteries to improve much faster than they have. There have been cost-competitive technologies in batteries like lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePo) that have promise and are being adopted for commercial applications today. BYD and SimpliPhi Power are two big names using LiFePo chemistries, for example. There are also a number of emerging chemistries, like lithium-titanate, where Ian expects costs to continue to come down over the coming years as volume ramps up. Lithium-titanate batteries are already being used in a handful of electric vehicle applications, like Honda’s Fit EV and some of the Japanese versions of Mitsubishi’s MiEV, but the tech has yet to see true mass-production volumes. Ian believes it is superior to more conventional lithium-ion chemistries because it is not prone to thermal runaway, and he noted that it is the hardest battery chemistry to have any bad things happen, making it very safe. That’s exactly what you want when you are lugging around a few hundred kilograms of batteries in an electric car or truck, if you ask me. In addition, LTO batteries can be charged down to -30°C whereas many of the other high-energy battery chemistries cannot be charged below freezing. This means the batteries do not require a heating circuit to keep them from freezing, nor do they have to expend the energy to keep the liquids in the battery from freezing. Finally, the constituents of LTO batteries are not sourced from conflict areas, like the hotly debated cobalt in Tesla’s batteries. Cobalt is not a show-stopper at current volumes, but with the majority (63%) sourced from politically unstable Democratic Republic of the Congo, it will have to be managed very closely if automakers using it are going to sustain the insane growth curves EVs and stationary storage are going to experience over the coming years. LTO batteries are also easier to recycle than chemistries containing cobalt. What’s Ahead for Wrightspeed? Ian shared that he is passionate about completely displacing heavy-duty vehicles in open environments and believes the financials make it a no-brainer for many companies around the world today. Converting the heavy-duty vehicles roaming around neighborhoods to pick up trash day in and day out to plug-in hybrid electric and fully electric powertrains will also have a noticeable impact on noise pollution. That’s another one of the many, many benefits of electrified transportation that we just don’t talk enough about. Feedback so far is extremely positive for Wrightspeed, with most people left in awe of how quiet they make refuse trucks. Regenerative braking also has an extremely positive upside in that conventional refuse trucks chew up a set of brake pads in 3 months. That’s a lot of nasty particulate that we have been breathing in that simply goes away with plug-in vehicles. Wrightspeed is currently focused on the US and North American markets but has had significant interest from folks in New Zealand where they are paying $8/gallon for petrol.

. .

Daimler Press Release / December 5, 2017 Sven Ennerst to coordinate truck activities in China within the Divisional Board of Daimler Trucks Kelley Platt appointed President and CEO of Daimler’s Truck Joint Venture Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Strong 2017 performance by Daimler Trucks in China Stuttgart / Beijing – Daimler is strengthening the focus of its truck organization for the Chinese market by implementing a dedicated responsibility within the divisonal board of Daimler Trucks. As of January 1st, 2018, Sven Ennerst will take over responsibility for the company’s trucks operations in China including both local production at Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive (BFDA) as well as the import business at Daimler Trucks and Buses China (DTBC). At the same time, Ennerst continues his current function as Head of Product Engineering and Global Procurement. Hubertus Troska, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Greater China, says: “China is by far the world’s largest automotive market – both for passenger cars as well as commercial vehicles. The further focused and strengthened setup for our truck business in China shows our deepening commitment to this market. With the new appointment, we will continue bringing global expertise to our operations in China, to further explore the market potential with our local partners.” Martin Daum, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Trucks and Buses, underlines: “We want to expand our position in the Chinese market. That is why we are elevating the responsibility for China to the divisional board of Daimler Trucks. With Sven Ennerst, one of our most senior and experienced leaders will be taking over this important position in one of our key markets.” Sven Ennerst has gained valuable experience in China during his mechanical engineering studies there as well as his in professional career. He has also held management positions at Daimler Trucks for more than 20 years. In his new role, Sven Ennerst will work closely with both Board Members, Martin Daum and Hubertus Troska, to further advance Daimler’s truck business development in China. Furthermore, [American] Kelley Platt will become President and CEO of Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive – the joint venture of Daimler and Foton for the local production of heavy duty trucks under the Chinese Auman brand. Platt, currently the President of Western Star Trucks, will succeed Zhou Liang, who has decided to pursue opportunities outside of Daimler and therefore will leave the company as of January 15th, 2018. “We are very thankful for Zhou Liang’s dedication and contribution to the BFDA business. We wish him all the best and much success for his future endeavors,” said Hubertus Troska. “With Kelley Platt, BFDA will be headed by a seasoned trucks manager, who has led business units and brands very successfully,” said Martin Daum. During the last years, Kelley Platt headed the Western Star business unit at Daimler Trucks North America. Under the leadership of Platt, Western Star has been setting sales and market share records. From 2010 to 2015, Platt was the President and CEO of Thomas Built Buses in High Point, North Carolina. During her tenure, Thomas Built Buses became the leading brand in the North American school bus market. Kelley started her Daimler career in 1989 in the treasury department. Growing Truck Business in China China is the world’s largest commercial vehicles market – for 2017, the market is expected to be above one million heavy duty trucks. Together with its Chinese partner Foton, Daimler has been building medium and heavy duty trucks under the Auman brand for the volume segment since 2012. Per October 2017, the joint venture BFDA sold about 91.000 vehicles – a 59 percent increase compared to the same period of last year. The legally independent company Daimler Trucks and Buses China imports and sells Mercedes-Benz Trucks for the premium segment. In November this year, DTBC launched the Actros long-haulage truck as well as the Arocs offroad-truck to the Chinese market for premium trucks, which is shifting from an initial purchase price consideration to a focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and lifetime value. .

Meet a swiss company working with a Renault Trucks C Renault Trucks Press Release / December 4, 2017 Discover the benefits of Renault Trucks C range through the point of view of Catrina transport ag’s owner Cornelia Catrina & one of the company truck driver, Reto Hobi. Both recognized Renault Trucks fuel efficiency, profitability & robustness on rough mountain roads & tracks. Renault Trucks C brings a high level of comfort & maneuverability whether on off roads or paved roads. .

Meet an Italian company working with a Renault Trucks D Renault Trucks Press Release / December 4, 2017 Discover the benefits of Renault Trucks range D through the point of view of Fratelli Iapichino’s co-director Enzo Iapichino & one of the company truck driver, Santo Zambaldo. Both recognized Renault Trucks fuel efficiency, profitability & robustness on trunk roads and narrow, winding mountain roads, perfect on a daily routine. .

Ford's China blitz: 50 new vehicles by 2025 Reuters / December 5, 2017 SHANGHAI -- Ford Motor Co. will launch 50 new vehicles in China by 2025, including 15 electrified vehicles, the automaker said at an event in Shanghai on Tuesday, as it looks to rev up sales growth in the market and shift towards cleaner electric cars. Ford's sales in China have been weak in recent months, and the company is scrambling to come up with electric and hybrid vehicles to comply with strict Chinese quotas over production and sales for new energy vehicles, or NEVs. The U.S. automaker is undergoing a broad review of its China operations, part of a strategic re-think under new CEO Jim Hackett, which will likely see the company focus on electric commercial vans as well as electric cars. "Between now and 2025, we will launch 50 new vehicles in China, and of those 50 new vehicles, 15 of them will be all-new electrified vehicles," said Peter Fleet, Ford's head of Asia Pacific, pointing to big growth in the "utility" segment. Fleet also said Ford's China revenue would grow by 50 percent over the same period. China is pushing automakers toward electric and hybrid petrol-electric vehicles, setting tough quotas for NEVs that come into play in 2019, and has signaled a longer-term shift away from traditional internal combustion engine cars. The major shift in the world's largest auto market has jolted some automakers, sparking a spate of recent electric vehicle joint ventures in the market. Ford has announced an EV tie-up with China's Anhui Zotye Automobile Co Ltd. "We've never seen change like we do today," said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. "Everything is being disrupted" by the development of autonomous vehicles, trends such as ride-sharing and electric vehicles, he added. "It's clearly the case that China will lead the world in EV development, and so we at Ford are investing enormous amounts of money both here in China and globally to bring electrification into fruition." .

Daimler Trucks to Deliver 3D Printed Parts in Test Program Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / December 4, 2017 Daimler Trucks North America has announced will make its first delivery of plastic parts produced using 3D printing technology in the coming weeks as part of a pilot program. During the pilot phase of the 3D printed parts program, DTNA will release a controlled quantity of 3D printed parts and will invite feedback from customers and technicians that receive them. The company will collect data on the parts performance and assess potential future demand for 3D printed parts. DTNA sees 3D printing as an opportunity to better service customers, particularly those customers in need of parts that have been difficult to provide through traditional supply chain models, such as for older trucks or parts with low or intermittent demand. To print the parts, DTNA partnered with the 3D printing service bureau, Technology House, which has over 20 years of experience in additive manufacturing. The companies have made the first parts available to customers with Selective Laser Sintering. The SLS process refers to layering powder in a print chamber and then “selectively” melting a pattern with lasers before adding the next layer. The 3D printed parts have been validated to meet durability requirements and many will appear no different to the untrained eye, according to DTNA. During the pilot phase, only parts such as nameplates, map pockets, and plastic covers will be printed and delivered. Parts that are eligible for 3D printing are being stored in DTNA’s digital warehouse. This allows a part to be printed on demand with shorter lead times. Without the need to maintain tooling, these parts will remain available to customers when needed. On-demand 3D printing also removes the need of holding physical inventory. Currently, the order process takes 2-4 weeks, but once the program is fully launched, parts will be able to be shipped in just a few days, according to DTNA. This capability has the potential to increase uptime for our customers who may otherwise experience long wait times for a hard-to-find part. “Over the past five years, DTNA has made significant financial and intellectual investments in the supply chain network in order to deliver parts to our customers faster than ever before,” said Jay Johnson, general manager, aftermarket supply chain, Daimler Trucks North America. “What DTNA is launching today with 3D printing is only the beginning as we continue to develop this technology in our quest to be the benchmark for parts availability.”

EPA Proposal to Exempt Gliders from GHG Regs Draws Criticism in Hearing Deborah Lockridge, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / December 4, 2017 Opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to roll back the glider kit portion of its greenhouse gas emissions regulations testified Monday that the agency is ignoring its own research and that excepting gliders will put truck and engine makers at a significant competitive disadvantage. A public hearing in Washington, D.C., Monday, was scheduled to gather comment on the EPA’s recent proposed rulemaking to eliminate provisions affecting glider kits within the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards, which start to take effect in January. The Phase 2 rules as written would allow glider kits only for their original purpose, which was seen as reclaiming powertrains from wrecked trucks and reusing them in new bodies and chassis. But the EPA announced earlier this fall a proposal to drop the glider kit portion of the regulation. Rachel Muncrief, the heavy-duty program director for the International Council on Clean Transportation and a participant in Monday's hearing, called them “zombie trucks,” writing in a recent blog post, “Scott Pruitt’s EPA is bringing the oldest and dirtiest diesel engines back from the dead—but disguising them in a shiny new host body. How? In the form of the innocuous-sounding glider truck.” The EPA’s proposal to undo the glider kit portion of the GHG regs “would undermine investments made in the industry, encourage the use of older, less efficient technologies, and increase smog-forming pollution that harms public health,” said Pat Quinn, executive director of the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group. This “informal alliance” of companies involved in trucking, including Cummins, Eaton, FedEx, PepsiCo, Wabash National and Waste Management, supports the development of national fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission regulations for heavy-duty vehicles. “Truck and engine manufacturers over the past 10 years have made enormous investments in sophisticated emission control technologies to comply with current emissions standards,” Quinn said. “If EPA’s proposed repeal of emission requirements for gliders has the anticipated effect of expanding glider production, truck and engine manufacturers will face a significant competitive disadvantage.” Dueling data Quinn was one of a number of speakers citing EPA’s own data. That data, he said, “suggests that gliders have become much more common since 2010, when the agency’s latest heavy duty NOx standard took effect, with ‘significantly over’ 10,000 vehicles in 2015. The agency’s data also indicate that ‘nearly all engines for recent glider production’ are MY 1998-2002 that are not equipped with exhaust gas re-circulation (EGR), which lowers NOx emissions. The re-use of these older powertrains in glider kits also produces elevated levels of PM emissions that significantly exceed current standards and currently certified OEM products. Based upon recent EPA data, glider vehicle NOx levels are four to 40 times higher than current powertrains and PM levels are 50 to 450 times higher.” Dave Cooke, senior vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, also spoke at the hearing. In a blog post published before the hearing, he discussed the research being used in this rulemaking process. He criticized research submitted by Fitzgerald Trucks, the glider kit manufacturer reportedly behind the push to take glider kits out of the rule. “The tests were paid for by Fitzgerald and conducted using Fitzgerald’s equipment in Fitzgerald’s facilities,” Cooke said. “The results of the tests were incomplete and indicated that the work was sub-standard.” Among the shortcomings, he said, were that researchers did not use industry standard testing procedures; did not take samples of soot during testing but only “visually inspected” test probes; and did not test under “cold start” conditions when engines put out the most pollution. Meanwhile, he said, higher quality data was recently published from EPA testing. “According to the test results, it appears that these engines actually exceed the legal limits they were initially designed for. This means that the “special programming” of the engine Fitzgerald claims to do to the engines may result in greater fuel economy, but it means greater pollution, too,” Cooke writes. More concerns Quinn of the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group also emphasized the importance of national regulations, saying the group was concerned that repealing the glider provisions “could lead to an inconsistent patchwork of federal and state requirements, producing uncertainty for truck and engine manufacturers and fleets.” California, of course, would be the most likely state to implement its own rules, and if so, it could be followed by others. Indeed, the California Air Resources Board spoke at the hearing as well. “This illegal effort by EPA will open the floodgates to allow unlimited numbers of old and dirty trucks to pour onto our streets and highways masquerading as brand new clean trucks,” said Steve Cliff, CARB deputy executive officer. “The proposed repeal would legitimize the actions of the glider industry, which … has been blatantly circumventing emission control requirements and undermining the vast majority of businesses that play by the rules and clean up their trucks.” Cliff and others also said repealing the glider requirements would also be in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Excluding glider vehicles from the definition of “new motor vehicle,” he said, is inconsistent with the fact that glider vehicles are being manufactured, marketed, and sold as “new” vehicles. The Diesel Technology Forum, which promotes “clean diesel,” issued a statement on the occasion of the hearing, noting that “the greatest benefits for the environment and for trucking customers lie in the adoption of the new generation of clean diesel technology, which would be slowed if the current requirements regarding glider vehicles were changed.” "Almost 3 million heavy-duty diesel commercial vehicles introduced in the U.S. from 2011 through 2016 are now on the road, powered by the latest generation clean diesel engines. These trucks have delivered important benefits in the form of cleaner air, fewer carbon dioxide emissions and dramatic fuel savings," said Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director. "Over a five-year period, the newest generation commercial vehicles have saved 4.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel, and reduced 43 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 21 million tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 1.2 million tons of particulate matter (PM)." .

Michael Roeth, Fleet Owner / December 4, 2017 One of the really exciting things about the trucking industry is that we never seem to stand still. Even after a product is introduced the industry continues to work on improving and refining it. Since in 2013 when we published our original Confidence Report on 6x2 axles, we’ve seen the development of second and third generation products. The third generation is 6x2s with liftable pusher axles and automatic load-sensing/load shifting and traction control. This generation of product has turned out to be a good option for fleets expecting to carry less than 60,000 lbs. at least 30% of the time they are on the road. For fleets with diminishing or variable loads where the full carrying capacity of a tandem axle (up to 34,000 lb.) is not needed at all times, the liftable tandem axle 6x2 configuration may be a more cost-effective solution. The liftable tandem axle system has the drive axle in the rearward position. While operating in the up position, a liftable system performs like conventional 6x2 systems with one drive (live) axle and one free-rolling (dead) axle resulting in the same fuel economy benefits (2.5%) as the non-liftable tag axle systems. During the recent Run on Less fuel economy demonstration, Ploger’s Joel Morrow was driving a 2016 Volvo equipped with a 6x2 liftable axle. I talked to Joel recently to get his thoughts on 6x2 liftable axles. He told me that the time the axle was up exceeded his expectations, which resulted in more fuel savings than he thought he would see. He also believes that the spinning inertia of components have a bigger influence on efficiency than most think – think about these liftable wheel ends just hanging there, or smaller parts spinning in lower displacement engines. Another big savings came in the area of tires. When the axle is lifted, the tires are not on the ground so there’s no tread wear during those times. Overall Joel is pleased with the performance of the liftable 6x2 and the additional fuel economy it gives him. While I know that liftable 6x2 axles aren’t right for all applications, you might want to take a look at them especially if you operate at less than 60,000 lb. GCWR at least 30% of the time. .

Volvo's Susan Alt.....a picture speaks a thousand words.

EPA Urged Not to Repeal Rule Regulating Glider Truck Emissions Eric Miller, Transport Topics / December 4, 2017 Dozens of advocates on Dec. 4 urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to repeal a provision in the 2016 Obama administration Phase 2 greenhouse gas reduction rule to regulate emissions requirements for glider kits. In an EPA hearing, roughly 60 people testified that the estimated 10,000 glider kits currently in existence — trucks with new chassis but older remanufactured engines — were among the “oldest, dirtiest, deadliest” vehicles on U.S. highways. They represented trucking trade associations, health and environmental non-profits, private citizens, truck dealers and manufacturers. The EPA hearing was held in response to a proposed rule issued last month to repeal medium- and heavy-duty truck Phase 2 greenhouse gas emission and fuel efficiency standards for the glider industry. “The previous administration attempted to bend the rule of law and expand the reach of the federal government in a way that threatened to put an entire industry of specialized truck manufacturers out of business,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a recent statement. Pruitt said that gliders not only provide a more affordable option for smaller owners and operators, but also serve as a key economic driver to numerous rural communities. But virtually all of the commenters at the hearing blasted the repeal plan with pitches that ranged from detailing the effects of truck pollution to blunt accusations that Pruitt is more concerned with the health of the glider kit industry than the U.S. population. A decade ago, glider kits in the U.S. were mostly limited to vehicles that had been in an accident that left the body unrepairable, but the powertrain still intact, Rachel Muncrief, who directs the heavy-duty vehicles program for the International Council on Clean Transportation, told EPA officials. But in recent years sales of gliders have increased exponentially as a “deliberate attempt by glider kit manufacturers and assemblers to circumvent emissions control regulations,” Muncrief said. Susan Alt, senior vice president of public affairs for Volvo Group North America, said that these days most glider buyers are not small operators, but often medium and large fleets. “The EPA recently conducted comparison testing of late model glider vehicles with late model OEM products,” Alt told EPA officials. “EPA found that glider vehicles emitted 43 times more NOx and 55 times more soot in highway conditions compared to today’s low-emission diesel vehicles.” Glen Kedzie, vice president and energy & environmental counsel for American Trucking Associations, said that by EPA’s own admission, glider vehicles may account for as much as 33% of total NOx emissions from all heavy-duty on-highway vehicles by 2025 if left unchecked. ATA opposes a repeal of the glider provision, Kedzie said. “It is well-known that gliders are purchased to save money, avoid maintenance costs and weight penalties, skirt federal excise tax payments, elude the use of engine technologies that virtually eliminate NOx and PM emissions, and to avoid the installation of safety equipment in pre-2000 vehicles under the electronic logging device rule which goes into effect Dec. 18,” Kedzie told EPA officials. Luke Tonachel, Director of the Clean Vehicles and Fuels Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the repeal of the glider provision would “open a deadly, dirty truck loophole” that could lead to thousands of premature deaths. “This is astounding and dangerous,” Tonachel said. “Allowing this to occur, completely goes against EPA’s mission to safeguard public health by ensuring that we have clean air.” Patrick Quinn, executive director of the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group, said his organization is concerned that EPA’s decision to encourage the continued growth of the glider industry undermines the significant emissions reduction investments of many motor carriers. “EPA’s proposed repeal of emissions requirements for gliders has the anticipated effect of expanding glider production,” Quinn said. “Truck and engine manufacturers will face a significant competitive disadvantage.” “Here we have Scott Pruitt’s EPA trying to pull a fast one on us in plain sight,” said Molly Rauch, public health policy director for the New York City-based Moms Clean Air Force. “As moms who care about our children’s health, we say, ‘No.’ ” “This is just one part of an all-out assault on public health from EPA. This EPA is showing a support for dirty tailpipes and dirty smoke stacks.” “The consequences of reversing the common-sense 2016 standards are far from esoteric,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). “I am baffled and confounded as to why the EPA would even consider repealing such an important, well-designed and effective public health rule. “I’m mystified as to why EPA would today consider reopening a loophole to allow outdated killer diesel engines to re-pollute our air in the form of glider vehicles. Where is the lobby for turning the clock back to more and more deadly air pollution?” .

Auto sector escapes big hits in Senate tax bill Eric Kulisch, Automotive News / December 4, 2017 WASHINGTON -- The auto industry fared better, on balance, in the tax bill that narrowly passed the Senate on Saturday than in the House version. Now the industry will try to hold onto those gains, or improve on them, as both chambers convene to craft a unified bill. Dealerships won a reprieve when last-minute language was inserted in the Senate legislation to preserve full deductibility of floorplan interest -- mirroring the House measure. The Senate is seeking to limit business interest deductibility to 30 percent of adjustable taxable income, and the original proposal would have included the traditional write-off of interest expense on vehicle inventories. Industry officials say retailers heavily rely on interest-only loans to buy products they can showcase to customers. The specialized financing and interest deduction enables dealerships, often small businesses, to keep down the cost of holding inventory. Family-owned franchise dealerships also would benefit from how the House treats the estate tax, which is levied on property when it transfers to heirs after an owner's death. Both chambers would immediately double the current exclusion, but the House would repeal the estate tax after 2014. For 2017, an individual can leave $5.49 million ($11 million for a married couple) to heirs and pay no federal estate tax, according to the IRS. Aside from industry-specific provisions, the private sector stands to win big with corporate tax rates set to be reduced from 35 to 20 percent, with the change going into effect immediately under the House plan and in 2019 under the Senate version. Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana held out until they got better terms for small business owners compared to large companies. Single proprietorships and other S corporations don't have income taxed at the corporate level but pass it through to themselves and pay the tax on their individual returns. Both proposals would lower the tax rate on individuals and then set thresholds on how much income would be treated as pass-through. The Senate bill allows a deduction for 23 percent of qualifying "pass-through" income, while the House bill caps the maximum rate at 25 percent and has special rules for income over that amount that effectively raises the tax rate. Automakers received good news when the Senate bill maintained the existing tax credit for consumers who purchase electric vehicles. Under current law, consumers who purchase plug-in EVs qualify for a federal tax credit of between $2,500 and $7,500, depending on the size of the vehicle battery. The credit phases out for each automaker when it reaches 200,000 vehicles sold, a level that never has been reached. Clean-energy proponents and automakers argue that the electric-drive sector still is getting on its feet and needs the credit to provide companies an incentive to invest. Most companies also will benefit from a phaseout of capital expenditure deductions, but less than Republicans originally proposed. Early plans called for an immediate write-off for new equipment as opposed to taking annual depreciations. Now, the plans would allow for equipment to be expensed over five years at 100 percent, but after that, the rate will gradually phase out over the next four years. The advantage of accelerated expensing is that it front-loads the benefits, creating greater return on investment. The limitations on business interest and capital expense deductions were necessary to help keep the tax bill within budget rules for not increasing the deficit more than $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Eliminating certain tax breaks could diminish the overall desirability of corporate tax reform for many businesses. That was especially true for dealerships before the floorplan financing exemption made it through, said Shaun Petersen, senior vice president of legal and government affairs for the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. "One of the concerns that we have is that at the end of the day, [overall tax reform] may not be a net gain, and that's especially true if interest rates creep. You wouldn't be able to lower the rate enough if they take away that deduction, so you could end up paying more in taxes," he said. House and Senate leaders are expected this week to name their respective negotiating teams responsible for harmonizing the two tax bills.

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s Request for ELD Delay Draws Rebuke Eleanor Lamb, Transport Topics / December 1, 2017 Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill published a letter Nov. 29 asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to delay the electronic logging device rule, a move that prompted a quick response from the trucking industry. The ELD rule mandates that commercial drivers who are required to record their hours of service do so with the devices. Hill said that “to immediately” require drivers to use ELDs “would place undue burdens on drivers and operators.” FMCSA divided ELD migration into three periods, beginning in 2016. Since February of that year, ELD manufacturers have been able to register and certify their devices with FMCSA, and motor carriers could elect to use ELDs listed on the agency’s website. However, Hill said that the government has not established guidance on the self-certifying process, forcing drivers to “fly blindly” as they research what products they are required to purchase. Jennifer Hall, general counsel and executive vice president of American Trucking Associations, wrote a letter of response to Hill on Dec. 1. In it, Hall expressed full confidence that ELD vendors are ready for the mandate, and FMCSA and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance have worked to make the transition as smooth as possible. For example, CVSA has announced that it will not place any drivers operating without an ELD out of service until April 1. Furthermore, the letter notes that the final ELD rule has been “on the books” for almost two years and has received bipartisan congressional support. “Your recommendation that FMCSA immediately delay the ELD implementation date is unnecessary,” Hall said in her letter. In his request, Hill also urged FMCSA to clarify certain guidelines before proceeding with the mandate. For example, he said the agency’s Plan and Procedures Manual lacks information on testing schedules and quality assurance programs. Also, he said FMCSA’s website states that e-mail and web services testing environments are “coming soon.” “This is particularly concerning considering the number of registered devices on the list currently who have yet to utilize these tools and the pressing compliance date,” Hill said. Furthermore, Hill stated that the technical specifications laid out in the ELD final rule are too complex and leave certain points open to interpretation. There also are no set testing standards that must be conducted prior to use, according to Hill. He said trucking is important to Indiana, noting that almost 200,000 of the nation’s 3.5 million truckers are estimated to live there. “As the deadline for compliance quickly nears, even a cursory perusal of industry trade publications provides clear evidence that many drivers and operators are completely unprepared for the proposed changes,” Hill said. “I urge your agency to put on hold the new requirements until you are able to develop guidelines that offer greater clarity to the individuals you expect to follow them.” In her letter, ATA’s Hall said, “Delaying the implementation date will reward non-compliance while punishing law-abiding drivers and carriers, is contrary to the rule of law, and would redirect FMCSA resources away from the agency’s obligation to carry out existing laws and pursue its mission of safety.”

VW bosses coached me to lie, jailed manager tells U.S. judge ahead of sentencing Bloomberg-Reuters / December 3, 2017 Volkswagen Group manager Oliver Schmidt, who is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for violating U.S. environmental regulations, told a judge he was coached by company executives to lie about diesel emissions in a meeting with a U.S. regulator two years ago. Schmidt has been in custody since his arrest in January after pleading guilty on Aug. 4 to conspiracy and violating the U.S. Clean Air Act. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sean Cox in Detroit federal court and faces up to seven years in prison. In a letter to the judge last week, Schmidt, former general manager of Volkswagen’s U.S. Environment and Engineering Office, said he first learned about the company’s emissions-testing evasion scheme in the summer of 2015. Schmidt said he was given "a script, or talking points" approved by VW management and "high-ranking lawyers" to follow when he met with a California environmental official, Alberto Ayala, on Aug. 5, 2015. "Regrettably, I agreed to follow it," Schmidt said. "In hindsight, I should have never agreed to meet with Dr. Ayala on that day. Or, better yet, I should have gone to that meeting, ignored the instructions given to me" and admitted "there was a defeat device in VW diesel engine vehicles and that VW had been cheating for almost a decade." Schmidt told the judge he feels "misused" by VW, Bild newspaper reported. "I must say that I feel misused by my own company in the diesel scandal or 'Dieselgate,' Schmidt wrote. VW spokesman Nicolai Laude declined to comment. Eight executives Schmidt, a 48-year-old German national, described himself as a small player in the automaker’s emission’s cheating scandal in February, when he asked a judge to release him from a maximum-security prison. His request was denied. In August, veteran VW engineer James Liang was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his role in helping VW to cheat U.S. emissions tests. Liang was the first person prosecuted in the scandal. Liang and Schmidt are among eight VW executives criminally charged for their alleged roles in the scheme. The charges followed VW’s admission in September 2015 that about 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with so-called defeat devices that helped them pass emissions testing. An investigation is ongoing in Germany and against individuals in the U.S. After being informed of the existence of the emissions software in the summer of 2015, according to his guilty plea, Schmidt conspired with other executives to avoid disclosing "intentional cheating" by the automaker in a bid to seek regulatory approval for its model 2016 VW 2.0-liter diesels. The case is U.S. v. Schmidt, 16-cr-20394, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit).

The 1973-1975 2-stroke Honda CR250M "Elsinore" scared the heck out of me. Nothing else has since (including all-over-the-road Cruise-Liners), until the Huracan.