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These are some quick notes I have on the subject. In 2012, Amp Electric Vehicles purchased Navistar’s Workhorse (Cash-strapped Navistar decided to close the Union City, Indiana plant to reduce costs), and stopped converting cars. (Workhorse was created in 1998 by investors who took over GM’s discontinued P-Series Stepvan chassis. Workhorse built chassis for stepvans and motor homes. Navistar acquired Workhorse in 2005, recalling the I-H Metro Van.of years past) Advantage – AMP builds their own chassis rather than buy it. Disadvantage – Freightliner Commercial Chassis (Daimler) has deeper pockets to design a more refined chassis To get a 100 mile range with 20,000lb trucks, AMP uses 100kWh battery packs Workhorse E-100 (pure electric) Narrow track W88 chassis Amp-designed air-cooled 100 kWh lithium battery pack using Panasonic 18650 cells (Tesla) that provide power to a 2,200N.m (268 bhp) permanent magnet motor/generator powerful enough to eliminate the need for a transmission (which reduced weight). E-GEN – extended range electric drive – introduced Sept 2014 Range-extending engine allows for smaller battery pack – reducing weight Narrow track W88 chassis Amp-designed air-cooled 60 kWh lithium battery pack using Panasonic 18650 cells (same as Tesla) 25hp generator – automatically turns on if battery level requires - when the truck is turned off 2.4L (GM Family II) gasoline, CNG or propane engine supplied by Power Solutions International (PSI) * Recharging only occurs if the battery state of charge falls below a predetermined level, the emergency brake is on, the vehicle is in Park and the key is out. Recharging is designed to occur while the driver is making a delivery, loading, or at lunch. 200kW/268hp/2,200N.m permanent magnet motor/generator 20mpg expected 2014 – UPS orders 18 E-100 pure electric delivery trucks March 2015 - Amp Electric Vehicles changed its name to Workhorse Group. Sept 9, 2015 - UPS purchased 125 additional Workhorse E-GEN hybrid electric delivery trucks as part of a broader program to deploy electric-powered vehicles with longer range and performance. The vehicle features a 60-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack containing Panasonic 18650 cells, and have a 50- to 60-mile-per-day range. UPS said the new trucks will deliver fuel-economy equivalency gains with up to four times the fuel economy of a gasoline-powered vehicle, compared to a 10% to 15% improvement with previous hybrid designs. They will be deployed in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida the first half of 2016. While the new electric vehicles will cost UPS slightly more than a similar truck with a conventional engine, the company said its sustainability commitment influenced the purchase decision. UPS began using hybrid-electric vehicles in 1998. The company did not provide the exact cost of the latest vehicles. Cincinnati-based Workhorse Group manufactured the vehicles and also manufactures electric drive systems for commercial trucks and can equip them with electric engines. “These vehicles are a bridge to the delivery trucks of tomorrow,” said Mark Wallace, UPS' senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability. “This investment will help create and grow the market for groundbreaking alternative propulsion systems that reduce environmental impact, reduce operating costs and save fuel.” UPS, with its suppliers, continues to work toward development of the next generation of zero-emissions trucks, the company said. UPS is collaborating with Workhorse to develop a more intelligent electric vehicle to determine when and where the batteries will be charged and recharged, the company said. The initiative is part of UPS’ Rolling Laboratory program, which seeks to optimize the use of alternative-fuel and advanced-technology vehicles. “These trucks are designed specifically to meet the stop-and-start needs of UPS’ urban delivery routes,” said Steve Burns, CEO of Workhorse Group Inc. “They rely on a very small internal combustion engine and lithium ion battery to deliver a 50- to 60-mile per-day range.”

DAF Trucks Press Release / November 13, 2017 Belgium Vice Prime Minister Kris Peeters and PACCAR Executive Chairman Mark Pigott today officially opened DAF Trucks’ completely new cab paint facility in Westerlo, Belgium. The new facility represents a 100 million euro investment and sets new standards in quality, efficiency and environmental-friendliness. DAF opened its Westerlo factory in 1966, where - in addition to its high quality cabs - it also produces its highly efficient axles. DAF Vlaanderen is among the largest companies in Belgium. Some 2,600 dedicated employees manufacture cabs and axles for medium and heavy duty DAF trucks. 50% capacity increase The new cab paint facility is 144 meters long, 58 meters wide and 26 meters tall. It is capable of painting 3,000 customer selected colors. The capacity of the new facility is 300 cabs per day which is 70,000 per year. This represents an increase of 50% over the current paint factory. The capacity increase will accommodate DAF’s future growth in Europe and around the globe. Most modern of its kind in the world DAF’s new cab paint facility is among the most modern in the world. The facility was created in cooperation with suppliers Cordeel Company, Eisenmann and Dürr, who are leaders in the field of creating automotive paint facilities. The ultra-modern paint robot spray nozzles rotate at speeds of up to 50,000 rpms to produce world class quality and minimize paint consumption. Latest innovations Along with excellent quality and efficiency, environmental excellence has been a major focal point for DAF's new cab paint facility. As a result of the advanced paint systems a 50% reduction in emissions is being realized. Many innovative solutions are being applied, including a special method to reduce and capture the ‘overspray’ while painting the cabs, using the latest technologies to clean the air leaving the spray booths and extracting energy from the exhaust stream to help efficiently operate the plant. Continuation of strong tradition “This important investment continues a strong tradition of setting the industry standard in product quality, customer service and environmental leadership”, commented Mark Pigott, PACCAR Executive Chairman. “In the last 15 years, PACCAR and DAF have invested over 600 million euros in our Cab and Axle plant. We look forward to a very bright future in Belgium.” Next chapter in rich history “I would like to congratulate DAF trucks with this investment in an innovative and sustainable cab paint facility. This is the next chapter in a history that has become very rich in the meantime. It is important that we offer companies like this an excellent environment for entrepreneurship, investments and innovation. We already had the tax shift which increases competiveness of our companies. And with the reform of the corporate income tax we add a new pillar to that. The federal government is very focused on translating economic growth into jobs and prosperity and I’m delighted to notice that DAF Trucks Vlaanderen fully applies this principle in practice.” .

https://dynamic.donaldson.com/WebStore/hierarchy/hierarchy.html?section=10113 If the inlet diameter is 6 inches, the Mack part number is 49MD51. The 7 inch diameter model was Mack number 49MD51P2 (We sold thousands of them).

Bloomberg / November 15, 2017 TORONTO -- BYD Co., the Chinese electric-vehicle maker backed by Warren Buffett, plans to open its first assembly plant in Canada, anticipating a surge in demand for electric trucks from municipalities and businesses. BYD will open the plant next year in Ontario and hire about 40 people to start, BYD Canada spokesman Ted Dowling said in a phone interview. The Shenzhen-based company has decided to “significantly” accelerate its investment in Canada as growing demand for electric vehicles and provincial tax incentives create a more welcoming environment than the U.S. in the short-term, he said. “There is less of a barrier to entry when it comes to having Chinese products in Canada compared to the U.S.,” Dowling said. The company, which is partly owned by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., declined to say where in the province the plant will be, how much it plans to invest or any government incentives it was offered. It expects to make an announcement in a few weeks, Dowling said. BYD’s plan comes as countries shift to electric vehicles to combat climate change and reduce health risks. The U.K. and France plan to ban sales of diesel- and gasoline-fueled cars by 2040, while China has said it will set its own deadline. Some Canadian provinces are offering thousands of dollars in rebates to electric-vehicle buyers, and companies are moving toward electric fleets, with grocer Loblaws Cos. unveiling its first fully electric truck last week. A spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Growth declined to comment on any investment from BYD. Garbage trucks BYD will start its operations in Ontario by shipping technology and components from China and making short-range vehicles such as garbage and delivery trucks, said Dowling. The company intends to expand, hiring more people to add more Canadian content in the future, he said. “BYD is a global company, but we like to localize,” Dowling said. “It doesn’t make sense to build everything in China and then ship it. It makes more sense to utilize the incentive programs and policy changes and create jobs in different markets.” The company opened an electric-bus manufacturing plant in Lancaster, Calif., starting with less than 100 employees in 2013 and has boosted that to 700 workers. New industry A core attraction for Ontario is that the region around Toronto has many distribution centers within close proximity, so if one company goes electric and sees their costs reduced, other companies will start doing it too, he said. If successful, BYD could be at the forefront of rebuilding a dormant truck-manufacturing industry, Dowling said. Canada has been losing auto investment to cheaper locations in the U.S. and Mexico with one of the last major commercial truck assembly plants closing in Ontario in 2011. Ontario is still home to Canada’s auto industry with General Motors and Ford Motor Co. among companies with plants in the province. “We’re bringing back an industry and we’re doing it through electrification,” Dowling said. “It’s a totally different game.”

I continue to hear from the distributors that Mack is priced substantially higher than equivalently spec'd competition. And, Volvo will always push the one core brand, Volvo, over the other brands. Mack is expendable.....Volvo isn't.

Yes. I believe the early models has the Spicer model 184 "Turbo-Matic" 2-speed automatic transmission, and later models had the Spicer 918. Two speeds doesn't sound like much but they were actually a pleasure to drive, including on the highway.

Trent, my thought about using it as a template wasn't about the current owner profiting more long-term. I was thinking of the hobby, about how wonderful it would be for current "L" model owners to be able to purchase a reasonably authentic mat in year 2017.

Tesla's entry into truck-making presents a whole new challenge for Elon Musk Los Angeles Times / November 14, 2017 There’s a cool new electric semi truck coming around the bend. It looks Space Age sleek: no gears, so no constant shifting. Recharging the battery is a lot cheaper than diesel fuel. Finn Murphy, an independent truck owner-operator, can’t wait to try it out. “The cab is larger, the living area is larger,” he said. “It’s very exciting.” The truck Murphy was describing? It’s the Nikola One, a fuel-cell electric truck from Nikola Motor in Salt Lake City that’s expected to hit highways in 2021. Not the much-hyped Tesla semi that Chief Executive Elon Musk is set to unveil at an elaborate stage outside Los Angeles on Thursday night. The event “will blow your mind clear out of your skull into an alternate dimension,” Musk tweeted recently. He discussed the truck, and displayed a shadowy photo, at a TED talk last April. Musk could reveal some amazing technology breakthrough on Thursday, a partnership with a big truck maker or some other surprise. But while Tesla had the luxury electric car market to itself when it upended the auto industry with the Model S sedan in 2012, the company can’t yet claim to be a pioneer in electric semi trucks. It will enter the semi truck business with an array of competitors already hard at work. Heavy-duty fuel-cell trucks built by Toyota are moving freight at the Port of Los Angeles. Cummins, the diesel engine maker, debuted a prototype electric-drive semi in August. BYD, the China-based company with a big factory in Lancaster, is about to deliver its first drayage semi tractor, with six more by the end of the year, to pull containers around ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego. Daimler, the German motor vehicle giant best known for its Mercedes-Benz brand, already is making electric urban delivery trucks and plans to put the Vision One big rig on the market by 2022. “Basically every [truck] manufacturer is developing battery, fuel-cell electric or hybrids,” said Andrew Swanton, vice president for truck sales at BYD Motors North America. “Peterbilt, Kenworth, Volvo.” A slew of electric semi start-ups includes Wrightspeed, run by Tesla co-founder Ian Wright, which retrofiits standard truck frames with its own extended-range hybrid electric drive system; Proterra, an electric bus builder in City of Industry that plans to expand into trucks; and Chanje, a Los Angeles company that will assemble trucks from kits sent from China. The Tesla truck will be introduced with Autopilot-like self-drive capabilities. But competitors ranging from Google’s Waymo to Uber-owned Otto and a slew of other start-ups will be selling driverless systems to manufacturers who aren’t developing their own. “We are actively working with all those software developers,” Swanton said. The reason for all this activity is clear: Governments from Europe to California to China are mandating and subsidizing electric vehicles to fight pollution and global warming. In fact, the trucks being tested at the ports are supported in part with California taxpayer money. At the same time, truck owners and shipping companies are looking to cut fuel and maintenance costs. And self-drive trucks could remove a huge labor expense by cutting human truck drivers out of the equation. The leaders in those technologies could dominate the market. Still, the electric truck business is in its infancy. Long-range heavy-duty semi trucks won’t overtake traditional trucks anytime soon, not in an industry where the main alternative to diesel fuel is gasoline, industry analysts say. Electric penetration of the big-rig market “isn’t going to be very significant until after 2025 or 2030,” said Antti Lindstrom, truck industry specialist at IHS Markit. “And even then, it will be very limited compared to the total number of trucks being sold.” Limited range and excess pounds for batteries will weigh on electrics for years. Every extra pound means less freight can be carried on a fully loaded vehicle; the upper limit in the U.S. for truck, trailer and freight is 80,000 pounds. Range is crucial because with today’s technologies it could take hours to charge up a heavy-duty truck battery. Musk has talked about setting up battery-swapping stations, an expensive proposition whose market acceptance can’t be determined until it is tried. The BYD port truck has a range of 100 miles — fine for moving containers from dockside to railhead but not for much else. Even then, it weighs 3,000 pounds more than an equivalent diesel tractor. Everyone watching Tesla has heard rumors that the truck will have a stated range of 200 to 300 miles. It will take a real mind-blowing breakthrough to achieve that range at reasonable weight and manufacturing cost. The upshot: The Tesla truck won’t be bringing in cash for quite a while, and the company has urgent matters to address. Right now, Tesla is having trouble handling what’s already on its plate. The compact Model 3 sedan, whose closest gas-engine competitor is the BMW 3-series, is off to a bad start. The company sold 30 of them to its own employees in July, and since then only a few hundred have been produced. Both the company’s Fremont auto assembly operation and its giant Gigafactory battery plant are in what Musk has called “production hell.” That’s why some competitors profess to be unworried about the Tesla truck. “Everybody can do a one-off,” said Julie Furber, executive director of electrification for Cummins. “As the Model 3 shows, putting a model into production is a different kettle of fish.” Whether the Model 3 proves a hit or a flop, Musk already has enshrined himself in automotive industry history by proving he could build and sell high-performance, cool-looking electric cars, when plenty of naysayers said he couldn’t. He woke up a dozing auto industry, pushing the boundaries on self-driving cars and lapping all automakers with successful deployment of over-the-air software updates to add new features and make software-repairable fixes. On all counts, the auto industry is struggling to catch up. The truck makers watched what happened and vowed not to get caught off guard. They’ve begun spending billions on electric powertrains and autonomous driving technology, which together would reduce fuel costs and wipe out labor costs, for potentially huge boosts to their bottom lines. Daimler sells more heavy trucks around the globe than anyone: 415,108 in 2016 for $39 billion. Daimler trucks operate under the Daimler and Mercedes-Benz badges, and in the U.S. Daimler owns Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses. “Daimler trucks is massive,” said Marc Llistosella, the high-energy chief executive of Daimler Trucks Asia, based in Tokyo. “We know this business,” he said. “Why should we hand it over to Tesla, which has no experience in trucks?” History, of course, is littered with examples of dead or diminished industry leaders that proved so beholden to existing business models or products that they couldn’t respond to young upstarts and shifting technology. Daimler is trying hard not to be among the victims. Llistosella was dispatched to India to build a truck business there nearly from scratch, and succeeded. Now he’s the motivating force behind Daimler’s move into electric trucks with its Mitsubishi Fuso unit. Already, Mitsubishi Fuso is selling medium-duty electric trucks, under the name e-Canter. The first commercial customer is United Parcel Service. “We are leaner and smaller” than other Daimler divisions, and so faster and, perhaps, more innovative, Llistosella said. Tesla hasn’t said much about its truck. No one doubts it will be equipped with driverless technology — another fiercely competitive arena. Google is developing autonomous technology that could apply to trucks as well. Last year, ride-share service Uber bought Otto and its self-driving truck technology. (The deal led to a lawsuit by Google’s Waymo unit, which claims theft of trade secrets.) It’s only a matter of time before driverless trucks hit the highways, and that’s got drivers plenty worried. “The ultimate goal of these companies is to eliminate the driver,” said Murphy, whose book about the trucker life, “The Long Haul,” was published recently. “That will save a lot of lives,” he said. “On the other hand, you’ll have two and a half million truck drivers applying for jobs at Wal-Mart.”

U.S. business groups ask trade agency to keep trucking rules in NAFTA [U.S. business groups support Mexican economy, trucking] Reuters / November 14, 2017 WASHINGTON • More than 100 U.S.-based retailers, agriculture groups and transportation councils urged the government’s trade agency on Tuesday to preserve trucking provisions in any new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed eliminating the provision that allows Mexican trucks to move more easily into the United States, and vice versa, and instead reverting to rules established by Congress, which would likely be more restrictive on Mexican trucks. “We depend on the trucking industry, both American and Mexican, to safely and efficiently haul our products in both countries,” the groups said in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The USTR did not respond to a request for comment. President Donald Trump has criticized NAFTA for draining U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico, calling it “the worst trade deal ever made” and he has threatened to cancel the 1994 pact signed by the United States, Mexico and Canada even as the countries negotiate to rework the deal. It took almost a decade after NAFTA’s passage to fully implement the truck provision, as the Americans argued Mexican trucks posed a safety risk. The U.S. government eventually backed down and allowed trucks to cross the border. The letter — signed by the American Farm Bureau, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, North American Shippers Association, the Toy Association and others — said that Mexican trucks do not actually compete with American trucks. “Currently, it is a small, but important way of making sure our industries and North America remain competitive in the world market,” the letter said. The Teamsters union, which represents many U.S. truck drivers, said it supports the USTR decision to reconsider the trucking provision. Mike Dolan, the union’s top legislative representative, said the other groups misunderstood the USTR proposal, “which is simply to let the Congress legislate in this area, to keep our interstates safe and to safeguard the competitiveness of the American trucking industry.”

Ford will avoid layoffs, plant closures as it cuts costs Automotive News / November 14, 2017 When Ford Motor Co. went through its Way Forward restructuring a decade ago, it closed 14 plants and slashed tens of thousands of blue-collar jobs. But Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of global operations, said Tuesday the company's latest effort to become more financially efficient won't involve any such actions. "We don't expect restructuring costs tied to any specific initiatives," Hinrichs said at a Goldman Sachs conference in Boston. "We don't have that kind of footprint redo that has to be done." CEO Jim Hackett has called for Ford to shed $14 billion in costs over the next five years. That includes $10 billion in incremental material cost reductions and $4 billion in engineering savings. Hinrichs said the material cost cuts will involve "aggressive plans" to save money with suppliers on production of current vehicles, as well as reductions on new models that will come early next decade. The automaker also plans to save money by reducing complexity. That includes a tenfold reduction in orderable combinations of the next-generation Escape crossover. The $4 billion savings on the engineering side will focus on reducing product development time, Hinrichs said. "None of those require restructuring charges," he said. "They do require redesigning how we do our business together." Hinrichs likened Ford's goal to be more financially fit to losing weight, saying that your first steps would be to examine your diet and then start working out. Ford is doing the same thing in looking at how its vehicles are made. "We can't afford the cost structure we have today if we want to get to the margins we want to get to," he said. Ford is targeting global profit margins of 8 percent. Without offering specifics, Hinrichs said that growth could mean a drop in revenue. "Expectations are going to be lower on the revenue front," he said. "It's all about margins, clearly."

It's a funny situation. Volvo acquired Renault's truck unit (RVI), and like the Mack dealer body, treat Renault people as if they couldn't possibly know anything about trucks. But the Swedes still feel uncomfortable, out of their element, in France. And they're intimidated by the French government. And then there's sales, where Renault is the highest performing brand within Volvo Group. Thus, Renault enjoys considerable autonomy, whereas Mack is literally just a nameplate on a few doors at Volvo's U.S. headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina (and within are a collection of misfits who actually do know nothing about trucks).

I was thinking of this last night, trying to remember the supplier. The 6-speed knob/valve part number is 20QE398. The 10/12 speed unit had different raised lettering, low and high versus low and direct. I was thinking Wagner, who made our modern day rotochamber brake chambers (19QE396P5) for the 20,000 front axle (FAW20) application, but then I was thinking Berg. Sorry, many years ago. $115 for a little 14RC1131 bag of o-rings??? Volvo "bend over" pricing at work.

The four key reasons are: 1. Ruthless foreign aggressor Volvo 2. The UAW (union) 3. Mr. Marc Gustafson. 4. A United States government that doesn't support its truckmakers, as it does its automakers. https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43897-how-the-mack-name-ended-up-where-it-is-today/?tab=comments#comment-323090

The fastest way to get back on the road and generating revenue would be to take it to your local Mack distributor (R&R ?) http://rrtrucks.com/Locations/

Those pictures bring back a lot of memories.

Wards Auto / November 13, 2017 Double-digit gains across all classes resulted in eight consecutive months of year-over-year gains for Canadian truck makers. Despite having one less selling day this year, sales soared 50.4% in October for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, hitting 4,028 deliveries compared to like-2016’s mere 2,789. Class 8 sales continued their five-month gaining streak with a 43.1% boost to 2,719 units. Large gains were seen from every single truck maker in the segment with International leading the way with a 62.2% jump in sales. Strong numbers this month leave Class 8 year-to-date sales with a 10.0% lead with 21,146 deliveries compared to 2016’s 19,224. Medium-duty truck sales flourished 68.3% with large gains from all segments. All classes also lead sales for the year, resulting in a 24.1% gain for the whole group with 13,147 units. Sales in Class 7 rose 59.1% to 469 deliveries. Peterbilt saw the most improvement, jumping 269.3% from 11 to 39 units. A 45.8% increase for sister brand Kenworth resulted in nearly doubled sales for PACCAR. International’s 73.6% gain pushed it to 55.4% market share, up from 50.8% year-ago. September’s year-to-date total was ahead a mere 0.2%, but with a strong October, the gap widened to 4.4% with 3,987 deliveries. Class 6 posted the greatest improvement in October with an 81.6% leap in sales to 129 units. International more than doubled its sales from 21 to 49 units. Ford’s 151.7% hike to 348 units helped Class 5’s sales achieve a 74.8% growth for the month. Isuzu also came in strong with a 70.0% gain on 62 deliveries. Sales in Class 4 totaled 137 units, up 64.0% from 87 the year before. Ford saw the greatest growth, soaring 91.3% from 49 to 90 units. Isuzu also outperformed year-ago with large gains from both domestics (+36.7%) and imports (+56.3%). Class 4 year-to-date sales had the widest gap of any class through October, ahead 40.8%. Year-to-date sales totaled 34,293 at the end of October, 15.0% ahead of 2016’s 29,815. .

F-650 (Class 6) sales fell 19 percent. What's the deal there Bob? With minimal F-750 (Class 7) sales, Ford depends on Class 6 to justify the F-650/750 business case.

Wards Auto / November 13, 2017 With a booming 27.0% spike in October, hitting 36,494 deliveries, U.S. medium and heavy trucks were finally able to catch up to 2016 year-to-date sales, enough to put this year 0.4% ahead with 336,176 units compared to 2016’s 334,879. Class 8 came out 36.9% ahead in October with 17,928 deliveries. Daimler’s Freightliner (+50.7%) and Western Star (+20.1%) kept them on top with combined sales of 6,707. Mack Truck fell 3.2% but Volvo Truck’s 10.3% gain kept Volvo Group in the positive. Year-to-date sales totaled 152,409, still 6.6% behind year-ago’s 163,092, leaving Class 8 the only sector to fall short for the year. Medium-duty truck sales grew 18.7% with 18,566 deliveries. Sales in Class 7 jumped 14.7% with large volume gains from Ford (+89.5%), Hino (+102.7%) and International (+25.5%). Kenworth was the only truck maker in the group to underperform, dropping 15.9% to 388 deliveries. Sister brand Peterbilt’s 30.6% boost left PACCAR with an 8.4% improvement. Class 6 was able to pull off a 12.6% gain thanks to International’s 84.6% hike to 1,223 deliveries. That offset Ford’s 18.7% downfall, which resulted in a market-share drop of 10.3 percentage points. Ford (+29.3%) and FCA (+2.7%), together achieving 85.1% market share, led Class 5 to a 21.6% rise in sales to 6,581 deliveries. Daimler saw great improvement, up 194.5% on 371 units. Class 4 sales continued to bloom, marking the eighth consecutive October record, a string beginning with only 630 deliveries in 2010, up to 1,451 (+50.3%) last month. Isuzu’s domestic line grew 1.6% and imports, 2.2%, good for a combined 51.8% stake of the segment. The No.2 spot was filled by Ford, soaring 141.8% with 358 units. With October also marking eight consecutive months of year-over-year gains for Class 4, year-to-date sales totaled 14,946, up 32.2% from like-2016’s 11,304. Class 8 inventory rose last month to 42,091 units, only 2,634 ahead of last year’s 39,457. October’s days’ supply was 59, down from 75 in like-2016. Medium-duty truck makers ended the month with 61,456 units in inventory, an 83-day supply. That compares with 57,664 and 92 days in like-2016. .

New generations of oils begin to take hold Neil Abt, Fleet Owner / November 14, 2017 Lower viscosity options offer higher fuel economy, longer drain cycles Nearly one year since the official transition to the latest generation of engine oils, industry executives said the process has gone just about as smoothly as anyone could have hoped for. Among the payoffs, for fleets already taking advantage of the CK-4 or FA-4 oils, have been increased fuel economy and longer drain cycles. “As engines and technology have evolved, so have engine oils,” said American Petroleum Institute senior manager Kevin Ferrick, who has been involved with the group’s engine oil licensing and certification program for 20 years. From 2006 through last December, CJ-4 was the industry standard, lasting through multiple phases of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s engine emissions regulation. “Ten years for engine oil standards is a long time,” said Ferrick. Shawn Whitacre, senior staff engineer with Chevron, called the decade-long period of oil stability “unusual,” with longtime truckers and technicians used to a faster pace of change. For a variety of reasons, including additional controls required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the latest models, there “was a recognition the engines … about to be put on the road were different than the ones when CJ-4 went into place in 2006,” Whitacre said. Several years of industry collaboration yielded two variations of the next generation of oil—CK-4 and FA-4. “The oils are thinner but just as durable and are able to withstand a high-shear engine environment,” said Brian Humphrey, OEM technical liaison at Petro-Canada Lubricants. Higher fuel economy “can be achieved because lower viscosity oil means less friction in the engine, leading to a reduction in both fuel consumption and [carbon dioxide] emissions—while still offering exceptional levels of wear protection.” Since officially being released into the market in December, about 600 licensed CK-4 products have been approved and registered. They were rapidly becoming readily available at stores nationwide. Conversely, the introduction of FA-4 has been far slower, with only about 80 licensed items thus far. That comes as little surprise or concern to the officials interviewed for this story. “It is not slower than what we expected, but I will say it has had a slow start,” said Dan Arcy, OEM technical manager with Shell Global Solutions. “We expected a slow ramp-up, and at some point it will break the slow curve and expand exponentially.” FA-4 was developed preemptively alongside CK-4 in order to lay the groundwork for future engine designs that will be able to further leverage the benefits of thinner viscosity, said Chevron’s Whitacre. Jason Richards, program manager of preventive maintenance for TA Truck Service, said that over the course of 2017, “we have definitely experienced a large shift from 15W40 to 10W30. 15W40 is still king of the road, but we are definitely experiencing a shift to 10W30, especially with larger fleets.” API’s Ferrick said while Detroit Diesel recommended use of FA-4 in its latest engines from the start, other manufacturers are taking a more cautious approach, and are “looking to get a little more assurance FA-4 is suitable.” Some of the hesitation involves the limited backwards compatibility of FA-4, because some older engines are not designed for low viscosity oils. The latest engines have slightly more finely polished surfaces on critical parts, according to Valvoline. These surfaces can tolerate the slightly thinner film of oil produced by FA-4 because of its lower viscosity. “Unless a fleet has all [Detroit Diesel] series engines, they really are kind of handcuffed,” said Paul Cigala, applications engineer for commercial vehicles at ExxonMobil. Beyond the endorsement of engine manufacturers, recommendations on oil use from makers of reefer trailer units and auxiliary power units will temporarily slow overall industry-wide adoption of FA-4 oil, Cigala added. He projected FA-4 will not truly become relevant in the field until 2019 or 2020, depending on how quickly fleets choose to replenish their equipment. “My guess is you will start to see more recommending it,” API’s Ferrick said. “We will eventually see them migrate over and will become the majority in time.” Whitacre agreed, saying while CJ-4 represents the immediate, natural progression from CK-4, in a few years FA-4 will become the prominent oil. “We expect the uptake to increase as OEMs release their recommendations for 2017 and newer vehicles as fleets and owner-operators view evidence of the potential cost benefits and operational efficiencies the new oils can deliver,” said Humphrey of Petro-Canada. That is slowly changing, with Navistar and Cummins approving use of FA-4 in X-15 and A26 engines, respectively. Arcy noted that Shell has done a lot of FA-4 testing, including on engines that are not yet recommended for use. He said engine makers are doing their “due diligence” and taking into account the various duty cycles of their customers. Richards said TA truck stops plans to begin conducting tests on FA-4 oil in the near future “with select customers wanting to explore it so we can better understand the product before we introduce it into our network.” Understanding the benefits The top benefit for fleets that transition to the new generation of oil is higher fuel economy. According to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), over-the-road fleets that use CJ-4 or CK-4 (a 5W or 10W-30 engine oil) instead of the more traditional 15W-40 “can realistically expect fuel savings in the range of 0.5% to 1.5%. The savings from switching to the fuel-efficient FA-4 variant … can be expected to add a further 0.4–0.7% of increased fuel efficiency.” NAFCE said while these gains are modest, it is a rare instance when “an efficiency technology can be implemented across the entire fleet very quickly, does not require an upfront investment, and does not require any changes in operation or maintenance practices.” Chevron’s Whitacre put it an even simpler way: “Extrapolate that across a large fleet;that is real money being saved.” Even if FA-4 is not yet a realistic possibility for most fleets, API’s Ferrick urged that they don’t wait on advancing to the latest CJ-4 products “because they offer a higher performance.” That was a similar message from Exxon’s Cigala, who said “it boggles my mind” that some fleets ignore the recommendation to use 10W30 and continue to use 10W40 “because of success in the past.” Whitacre said this is a key reason Chevron and other companies have put a strong emphasis on outreach and education with customers as a way to “demystify” the new oils. Some customers can be “skeptical there may not be anything in it for them,” he said, adding that even for reluctant fleets, the new oils provide an opportunity to modernize their operations with updated oil choices that match their current vehicles. Beyond better fuel economy, what they also will find with the new oils are extended drain intervals. “This is huge for customers that want to have the opportunity to keep trucks on the road and not in the shops and still have warranty coverage,” Cigala said. NACFE noted “a switch to lower-viscosity oil may allow a fleet to consider an extended drain interval, which can help offset that price premium.” Humphrey estimated the new oils could boost drain intervals up to 50%, to 750 hours from 500 hours. “These new oils have been designed to be more robust and more resistant to oxidation, all of which contribute the ability to extend drains with no compromise to engine protection and uptime,” he stressed. Shell’s Arcy recommends fleets focus on optimizing their intervals based on maintenance programs. For example, an extended interval may call for 50,000 miles, but “if the truck has to come in at 40,000 for something else, it doesn’t make any sense” to bring it back in a second time, Arcy said. The new oils are also credited for protecting against catalyst poisoning, particulate filter blocking, piston deposits, and soot-related viscosity increase. Proceed with caution Even as FA-4 becomes a bit more widely accepted, fleets should check the recommendations of their trucks and engines before making decisions, officials said. Likewise, they said while fleets should expect longer drain intervals, it does depend on the severity of service and type of application. There are other reasons fleets need to be careful before bringing FA-4 oil into the mix, said API’s Ferrick. “Take great care not to mix FA-4 with CK-4. Co-mingling will adversely impact the viscosity grade of the FA-4 oil, and that is part of the reason they are getting FA-4 oil in the first place,” he said. Shell’s Arcy noted that large fleets have truck trade-in cycles “and one thing we know is they want one oil to use in all their equipment.” He added they already understand the fuel economy gains will “add up quickly,” especially if they are burning millions of gallons of fuel a month. Exxon’s Cigala said it is logical that fleets will not want more than one engine oil on hand “to avoid the possibility of cross-contamination, and keep to it as simple as possible for technicians. Otherwise, it would be a “no-brainer” to switch sooner, in order to reach the additional fuel-economy benefit, he said. In the meantime, Ferrick urged fleets, especially those buying in bulk, to not only purchase API-licensed oil but to make sure suppliers confirm in writing the oil being delivered has been properly tested. “Historically, unfortunately, bulk oil fails at a higher rate,” Ferrick said. Using analysis Regardless of oil or engine a fleet uses, Exxon’s Cigala said conducting an oil analysis is a needed tool to help set intervals and discover potential issues before they become catastrophic failures. Some large fleet customers use analysis labs on a daily basis, far different than other fleets “that seem to run blind and don’t take advantage of the tools that are out there,” he said. While Cigala looks at oil analysis as providing “piece of mind,” it often is a “harder sell than you would think.” Chevron’s Whitacre also strongly recommended taking advantage of oil analysis testing. He noted that prior to changing products, fleets should alert the oil analysis lab so they know to expect a different profile. They should also provide a fresh oil sample to allow for the baseline testing that future samples will be compared with. TA’s Richards said “it’s strongly recommended by our vendors that trucks performing extended drains are on an oil analysis program even if they are running synthetic blend or fully synthetic oil. It reduces warranty risks and improves equipment life.” He noted that for truckers that purchase a kit at a TA location, technicians could take a sample and ship it to a third-party lab at no additional cost. Cummins Inc. is just one of the engine makers linking together longer drain cycles with analysis. The company announced earlier this year its X15 Efficiency Series and X15 Performance Series offered intervals up to 80,000 miles using the free Cummins OilGuard program, which combines engine performance data and oil analysis. “With oil changes routinely costing $350 or more for the oil, oil filter, labor and disposal costs—and a typical over-the-road trucker performing two to three oil changes per year—we see the potential to significantly reduce costs and downtime, with some customers needing an oil change only once a year,” said Mark Ulrich, Cummins’ director of customer support. “Most importantly, you get an optimized oil change interval while preserving your warranty coverage—and at no risk to engine component durability or resale value.” Exxon’s Cigala said he is using his role with the Technology & Maintenance Council’s (TMC’s) S.3 Study Group to help educate the industry on the intricacies of the newer engines, and the role the new oils play in achieving higher levels of performance and protection. Cigala is already involved in creating a full session during TMC’s annual meeting in March in Atlanta that will focus on new maintenance strategies and other advice for taking complete advantage of the new oils to lower a vehicle’s total cost of ownership.

From what bus fleet did that engine come from? City Of Hampton?

I don't like to gouge people. If the buyer is good people, if they're actually going to use it, in a serious restoration, I'd be satisfied with $200, versus it going unused in your hands and deteriorating further with age. The other good option is to retain it as a sample, for having L mats reproduced. But having said that, the era of active "L" (and "B") restorations has passed.

I've posted this before. The Mack parts system, unlike today, was design by parts people.........for parts people. Timeless in effectiveness, brilliant in logic and simplicity, the Mack parts system was the envy of the industry. Speaking of parts breakdowns (illustrations), it was Mack parts people who drew them so accurately. The beginning of the part number (prefix) told you what kind of part it was, with P-number suffixes that told you what variation it was. Here are just a few examples of the part number prefixes: 1AX - fine thread bolt 4AX - course thread bolt 36AX - lock washer 37AX - flat washer 62GB - rod bearing 64GB - main bearing 631GC - turbocharger 2ME - muffler 4ME - exhaust pipe 47MO - turn signal lamp 1MR - electrical switch 11MR - circuit breaker 3MT - temperature gauge 7QH - tie rod 10QH - tie rod end 2QK - front spring 4QK - rear spring 10 QK - suspension rubber insulator 1QM - hood 301SQ - king pin set .........and so on. The "P" suffixes were equally straightforward, continuing the brilliant simplicity of the Mack system. 2QK3378P1 10,500lb front spring 2QK3378P2 12,000lb front spring An "A", "B" or higher letter between the base part number and the "P" suffix denoted an engineering improvement. For example, 3MT35AP2. 3MT - temperature gauge 35 - R/U/DM A - see above P2 - negative ground or P3 (positive ground) Because of the brilliant Mack part numbering system, the part numbers were very easy to remember, due to the fact that each part of the number had a logical and clear meaning. This is why veteran Mack parts people, in my humble opinion, were significantly better than their peers in the truck industry. With literally thousands of Mack part numbers comfortably in their head, veteran Mack parts people worked faster and more efficiently than those of any other manufacturer. But now, Volvo has replaced Mack part numbers with Volvo global part numbers, randomly selected part numbers that have no meaning whatsoever. This is why the handful of veteran Mack parts people still around can no longer quickly assist you. The Volvo parts system, by design, is immensely time consuming. Not to mention the horrible, inconsistent Volvo Group electronic parts catalog for Mack brand trucks. For Volvo to throw away the staggeringly efficient Mack Trucks parts numbering system, frankly the truck industry's best, and replace it with meaningless Volvo global part numbers so as to meet the demands of their arrogant bureaucracy, is a tragedy for the Mack brand customer. As a Mack veteran, it leaves me totally disgusted. Even though today's Mack brand truck is for the most part a rebadged Volvo, the Swedish truckmaker would have been better off to adopt Mack's superior part numbering system rather than force their often criticized system upon the former Mack dealers. But then, the culture of arrogance at Volvo prevents them from admitting they are inferior at anything. A number of Mack veterans argued against Volvo's inferior system. They were fired or asked to retire early. There is no more Mack Trucks. It's just a nameplate on a Volvo truck. Pretending that a Mack-branded truck today has any connection to America is simply dreaming. Swedish foreign aggressor Volvo's frequent waving of the United States flag is offensive, as is the name "Anthem".