kscarbel2

Transport Topics / June 26, 2017 Leaders of Jack Cooper Holdings Corp., North America’s largest auto hauler, are approaching completion of intense negotiations to reorganize a major portion of the company’s debt. CEO Michael Riggs said in a June 22 interview the situation is highly fluid, and the outcome of the reorganization talks is not guaranteed either way, but he thinks a decision could be made by June 30 that will enable the parent of Jack Cooper Transport to stay out of court. The company said in a press release earlier in June that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy remains a possibility, but as of June 22 no such case had been started. Riggs emphasized the discussions concern two tranches of publicly traded Jack Cooper debt and nothing else. The larger batch is $375 million worth of Jack Cooper Holdings Corp. senior secured notes paying 9.25% per year. The other group is $58.6 million worth of Jack Cooper Enterprises Inc. senior payment-in-kind toggle notes that pay 10.5% or 11.25%. The JCEI notes are due in 2019 and the JCHC notes in 2020. JCEI owns JCHC, which owns Jack Cooper Transport. Riggs said his family owns a majority of Jack Cooper Enterprises. The company is based in Kansas City, Mo., and ranks No. 42 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of for-hire carriers in the United States and Canada. It also is the largest vehicle hauler on the list. Company executives have been working with note holders to reach an agreement. As of June 15, 77.4% of the JCHC note holders had reached a definitive agreement with the company, and talks were underway at the time with more debt holders to get to 89.2%. The company is offering to repurchase notes for cash or cash and stock but at a discount to face value. Riggs said the company’s goal is to decrease Cooper’s debt levels and “extinguish $300 million in debt.” The June 15 company statement said the firm is offering to repurchase $1,000 worth of JCEI notes for $150 in cash and other payments. The offer for $1,000 of JCHC notes is to repurchase for $550 in cash and warrants to buy company stock. Riggs said he wants as much approval for the two offers from note holders as possible by the end of the month. If that does not work out, he said a “surgical pre-pack” in court is a possibility, referring to a prepackaged plan of reorganization where a company goes into a federal bankruptcy court offering a reorganization plan at the same time it is asking for relief. Such a move, if it comes to pass, would affect only the two tranches of debt in question. “It wouldn’t change the union deal, the other employees, the suppliers or customers,” Riggs said. 2017 has been an eventful year for Jack Cooper. At the end of March, the company won approval of a contract with the Teamsters union, providing stability through May 2021. The previous labor pact had lapsed 19 months earlier. Shortly after the labor contract took effect, Cooper announced that Nissan North America would terminate its relationship with Cooper effective in July. As is common among auto haulers, the company’s customer base is very small. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cooper said in the first quarter this year General Motors Co. made up 45% of revenue, Ford Motor Co. was 34% and Toyota Motor Sales USA was 13%, leaving 8% from all other customers. Cooper had first-quarter revenue of $161.4 million, on which it produced $5.38 million in operating income. Net interest expense was $12.8 million, or more than twice operating income, yielding a net loss of $6.89 million for the quarter. The company’s balance sheet, also filed with the SEC, showed assets of $248.8 million on March 31, and total liabilities of $642.2 million, including $477.8 million in long-term debt less current maturities. Shareholders deficit was $357.4 million. .

Larry Kahaner, Fleet Owner / June 26, 2017 Many truck drivers still aren't taking the proper precautions against UV rays, because they believe they can't penetrate side window glass. Sometimes they’re right but sometimes they’re wrong. Truck driver Bill McElligott may have the world's most famous left side of a face. Five years ago his photo was featured in the New England Journal of Medicine, accompanying a story about Unilateral Dermatoheliosis – damage to skin on half of his face caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Photos of the 69-year old truck driver – who had been on the road for 28-years – were shown by hundreds of media outlets throughout the world and prompted a rush by many people, especially truckers, to learn how they can protect themselves. Unfortunately, many drivers still aren't taking the proper precautions against UV rays, because they believe that UV rays can't penetrate window glass (some do and some don't), they've tinted their windows (which don't always protect against sun damage) and they wear sunglasses while behind the wheel (they may not have the right kind). The sun emits three kinds of UV rays, all of which are invisible: UV-A is the most damaging to skin and eyes; UV-B rays are less damaging, and UV-C rays are absorbed by the atmosphere and thus not a factor. For the most part, UV-B rays cannot penetrate glass so a trucker who keeps the side window closed on his or her vehicle is protected from them while driving. But what many drivers don’t know is that each type of window glass in their truck cabs offers different levels of protection against the more dangerous UV-A rays. By federal mandate, trucks must adhere to the same glass standards as cars. The front and back windows must be laminated glass; a “sandwich” made of glass-plastic-glass layered atop one another. Upon impact, that type of glass turns into a spider web of cracks that protect the driver from glass fragments – but it also offers protection against UV rays, according to Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler. “That plastic film is where the UV protection is and that’s what also makes the window shatter proof,” he said. “In our study we found that UV protection of the front windshield was on average 96%.” That study, published in the May 12, 2016 edition of the Journal of the American Association Ophthalmology, tested 29 automobiles and assessed their UV protection. However, Wachler noted that side windows in automobiles are crafted from tempered glass; designed to shatter into tiny, benign pieces upon impact. But they also let in a lot more UV rays – on average about 71% more. "This explains why we see a lot more damage to the left side of the face, including eye damage," he explained. What about tinted windows? Trucks are allowed to have tinted windows provided that 70% of the normal light is transmitted. "Some tints will have really good UV protection, but not all do,” Wachler stressed. “Drivers cannot assume that if they have tinted windows that they are protected from UV.” He added that if you want to tint your windows, make sure to get tinting that offers high UV protection. Wachler offers a free, reusable card that allows drivers to check the UV exposure in their cabs: Click here for it. "We have sent out thousands of them," he noted. As for sunglasses, UV protection is not an issue but style is. "The good news about sunglasses is that, by law, sunglasses must offer a very high level of UV protection, so it doesn’t really matter if they’re expensive or cheap sunglasses," he emphasized. Wachler pointed out, though, that the key to sunglass protection is the frame. "It should be a wrap-around, versus a wayfarer type of frame, which is just straight. You should get the kind that hugs your face like some of the sports-types,” he said. “Wraparounds prevent the sun from sneaking around the edge of the frames and hitting your eyes." (By placing the UV card behind sunglasses, you can test their protection, too.) Wachler also noted that drivers should wear sunscreen and a hat to keep the sun from hitting their forehead and the rest of their face. While most people know about the sun's skin cancer-causing rays, they may be less familiar with eye damage caused by UV rays. First, prolonged sun can cause an increase in cataracts and macular degeneration, Wachler explained: "Once cataracts develop there’s really no way to treat it other than surgery." Another sun-caused malady is keratoconus, a disease in which collagen in the cornea is made weaker. "We definitely see people, including truck drivers, who come in with keratoconus; it’s much more common than everybody thinks; about 1 in 500 people,” he said. “So we are able, with a procedure that I developed, to improve people’s vision so that they can keep their job, which is being a truck driver.” Still another disease is pterygium, which is a fleshy growth on the white of the eye that becomes very red and can grow onto the cornea and cause vision problems,” Wachler noted. In conclusion, he noted that most people still maintain a perception that if they’re in their car or truck, then they’re protected from the sun’s UV rays. “I, myself, an eye specialist, thought this before we did the study," Wachler noted, who is also the author of a book Perceptual Intelligence, which delves into why people receive and interpret information differently. "It’s such an interesting phenomenon between what people perceive and what is reality." .

Automotive News / June 26, 2017 A low-risk, high-reward proposition for automakers They had been left for dead as recently as this decade. Hulking dinosaurs, reeking of inefficiency and poor ride quality, body-on-frame SUVs were supposed to have ceded their turf to crossovers and moved firmly into the industry's rearview mirror by now. Consumers had other plans. While the overall number of body-on-frame SUV nameplates has shrunk since their heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, the remaining players are thriving. So healthy are sales and profit margins for their makers and sellers that new variants such as the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler pickup are set to join the fray. It's a group of vehicles steeped in tradition and backstory. Like the Mustang and Corvette, they're among the one-name models in the industry: Wrangler, 4Runner, Bronco. Among the factors driving today's healthy market for body-on-frame SUVs: • Gasoline prices are down and expected to stay there while SUV fuel efficiency is up — somewhat. This combination gives consumers and automakers confidence to invest in a body-on-frame SUV. • The economy has recovered from the recession, so consumers are again looking at discretionary purchases. • With most nameplates switching to a unibody setup, there's less competition for the remaining body-on-frame models. Crucially, because most of these vehicles share their components with either high-volume pickups domestically or other SUV models sold globally, a body-on-frame SUV is a low-risk, high-reward proposition for their makers. "Because you're not starting with an all-new platform, you're starting with something and leveraging an investment you've already made. It just makes [an SUV] much easier and less risky," Craig Patterson, Ford's large-SUV marketing manager, told Automotive News. The low-risk, high-reward rationale is driving Ford's decision to resurrect the Bronco nameplate in 2020. When it arrives, the new Bronco will ride on the same platform as the upcoming Ford Ranger midsize pickup — one currently sold in other markets globally. Thus, if the Bronco debuts and Ford dealers hear crickets from consumers, the automaker won't face a huge loss. Conversely, when a pickup-based SUV sells well, it can mean big profits for the automaker. Ford has other reasons for stepping up its SUV game. Like all automakers, Ford sees consumers' preference for light trucks as a permanent evolution. By adding the Bronco to its lineup, Ford can diversify its portfolio to lure in — or keep — a consumer who might have otherwise picked a Wrangler or 4Runner when they wanted a capable off-road machine. Ford also has a portfolio of fuel-efficient engines to offer in the new Bronco that it didn't the last time it sold the 4x4 back in 1996. Thus, body-on-frame construction doesn't necessarily mean terrible fuel economy. Patterson said the use of Ford's EcoBoost turbocharged engines in the Bronco was "inevitable" though he declined to discuss specifics. Lucrative customization Then there's the customization factor. Because these types of SUVs are often discretionary purchases that fall under the "want" category rather than "need," they're often bought by the kind of person who isn't content with a stock vehicle. "To be considered legitimate in the off-road space, you have to be able to give the folks what they want — and what they want is to be able to customize it," Patterson said. Ford plans a full line of accessories and modifications for the Bronco — many of which will land at dealerships pre-installed. One has only to look to Fiat Chrysler's use of its Mopar products on Wranglers to see the potential. Several years ago, Mopar head Pietro Gorlier made the shrewd decision to grab a larger slice of the massive aftermarket industry that existed in the Wrangler's orbit. The 4x4 has been ranked by the Specialty Equipment Market Association as the most customized SUV on the market every year since 2010, a market that spends billions of dollars annually customizing light trucks. Built-in Mopar FCA gets in on the action early, modifying many of its Wranglers with Mopar parts at the Toledo Assembly Complex where they're assembled. Thus, they arrive at dealerships with aftermarket options that are covered by warranty, creating a tempting new toy for someone looking to avoid the hassle and expense of customizing their Wrangler part by part. On average, each Jeep Wrangler has $850 worth of customization, according to data released by FCA at the 2016 SEMA show. Plus, higher transaction prices for these Wranglers means higher amounts financed. All of this adds up to a significant windfall for both FCA and its dealers. FCA declined comment for this story. Wrangler aficionados will soon have a new toy to play with. Jeep's highly anticipated next-gen Wrangler is expected to be on sale by the end of this year. When it does, it will bring with it new iterations that show FCA's confidence in spending precious development dollars on one of its most iconic models. A pickup iteration of the Wrangler will give FCA a midsize competitor to the highly popular Toyota Tacoma and GM Canyon/Colorado duo, while a diesel Wrangler in the U.S. market will help fuel economy figures. History has favored Jeep when it expands the Wrangler's offerings. It wasn't until 2007 that Jeep sold a four-door model known as the Wrangler Unlimited; today this higher-content version makes up about 75 percent of U.S. Wrangler sales, which totaled 191,774 in 2016. Dealers lobby Consumer and dealer enthusiasm for these kinds of SUVs have gone a long way toward ensuring their survival. Toyota experienced this firsthand. "[SUVs'] biggest impact is the emotional element; buyers desire these products, they're willing to pay for them," Andrew Coetzee, Toyota's group vice president for product planning and strategy told Automotive News. "It's not just a must-have, it's a want. It's an emotional draw, which means they're flexible in what they buy." This makes a difference to dealers, who value this type of consumer and let Toyota know about it. This has saved the body-on-frame 4Runner at least once. Several years ago with gasoline prices at their peak and stiffer regulations looming, the Japanese automaker was reconsidering whether it was prudent to continue selling the 4Runner in the U.S. At the time, Toyota's RAV4 and Highlander unibody crossovers were vastly outselling the 4Runner — they still do — and the crossovers were doing so while being significantly more fuel efficient. But after customers and dealers — a group with whom Toyota has a close, deferential relationship — spoke up in favor of the venerable 4Runner, the automaker's confidence in the 4Runner's business case was renewed and Toyota left it alone. "That's always something that makes a difference for us," Coetzee said of both dealer and customer support. "It's tough to deny their voice, so we try hard to try and match what they're looking for." The move was a prescient one. Despite the current model's age, 4Runner sales were up 15 percent in 2016 to 111,970; through May of this year they're also up 15 percent. That doesn't mean that the 4Runner's identity is inextricably linked to being a body-on-frame vehicle, however. While there are no current plans to swap the 4Runner to unibody, it's not outside the realm of possibility. "In theory, I think there's some openness on the part of buyers as to how their vehicles are built," Coetzee said. "I'm not sure you'll see us abandon [body on frame] any time soon. I'm just open to any scenario of how engineers can develop tough vehicles because I think our people are capable of change over time." Land Rover is a perfect example of consumers' openness to change if the vehicles' off-road abilities remain stout. With the recent replacement of the LR4 with the Discovery, Land Rover now lacks a body-on-frame vehicle for the first time in its long and storied off-road history (the next-generation Defender could return as body-on-frame when it debuts within a year). Yet sales — and owners' perception of strength — remains a key selling point for Land Rover. 4Runner loyalists As with the Wrangler, the 4Runner has enjoyed a loyal following since it was introduced in the U.S. in 1984. Like many original SUVs of that era, the 4Runner was essentially Toyota's pickup with a different body on top — in this case, a removable fiberglass roof covering a second row of seats and a rollbar. It was launched to compete with the second-generation Jeep Cherokee, also from the class of 1984, kicking off a golden era of body-on-frame SUVs in the U.S. that would include the Ford Explorer, Nissan Pathfinder, Isuzu Trooper, Chevy S-10 Blazer, Honda Passport and Mitsubishi Montero. (Ironically, another standout from that era, Jeep's second-generation Cherokee, was a beefed-up unibody design.) These models were downsized from the large, unwieldy Suburbans and were more family-friendly than the two-door Chevy K5 Blazer or Ford Bronco of the era. The new SUVs promised the practicality of the station wagons baby boomers had grown up with, with an extra dose of ruggedness baked in. Automakers loved the prospect of selling SUVs instead of station wagons to consumers since SUVs were cheap to produce and counted as a light truck, therefore facing less-strict fuel economy standards. Lower costs meant more profits for automakers and cheaper prices for consumers. Everything was fine in SUV-land until Toyota took this evolution one step further in 1994 and introduced the first modern unibody crossover, the RAV4. It promised the best attributes of SUVs: practicality, commanding view of the road, all-wheel drive and the impression of safety, while adding better fuel efficiency and comfort. Lexus came next in 1998 with the RX, kicking off the luxury crossover revolution. Other automakers quickly followed suit, adapting their sedan platforms to accommodate a crossover body. In 1999, the 10 crossover models on the market made up 6.4 percent of all passenger vehicle sales in the U.S. In 2005, 38 crossovers accounted for 14.5 percent of the market; in 2016 there were 77 models eating up a third of all sales. SUV sales went in the other direction: 1995 saw 31 models making up an 11.9 percent market share; in 2005 it was 55 models and 12.6 percent market share and in 2016, 29 models made up 7.5 percent share. The body-on-frame SUV was no longer the high-flying king of the road. But it has a bright future as a profitable prince.

Volkswagen Group Press Release / June 2017 With its strategic alliance with U.S. commercial vehicle manufacturer Navistar, Volkswagen Truck & Bus aims to take a big step forward on its way to becoming a Global Champion. Navistar is one of the industry's giants in the United States, where it operates the industry's largest dealer network and has an annual turnover of 8.1 billion dollars. In Europe, however, its name is almost unknown. The opposite is true for Volkswagen Truck & Bus: The brands MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles are highly familiar names to Europeans, and have a long history. However, they are largely unknown in the U.S. except for industry specialists. What would happen if the two companies were to join forces in order to combine their respective strengths? This is exactly what a business deal accomplished on March 1, 2017. Today, Volkswagen Truck & Bus and Navistar are partners. They have formed a strategic alliance from which both parties will benefit. For this purpose, Volkswagen Truck & Bus acquired a 16.6% stake in the U.S. manufacturer – an important step in implementing Volkswagen Truck & Bus’s Global Champion strategy. This long-term investment was officially approved only a few months ago, yet initial results have already been achieved. The partners have set up a joint venture to explore joint purchasing opportunities, which is expected to save considerable amounts of money within three years. But that is not all. "We are discussing projects that we could develop together," says Eric Tech. He is an American and one of the two managers who are responsible for the coordination and implementation of the alliance. Eric Tech comes from Navistar and nowadays works in Södertälje, Sweden. Located in the vicinity of Stockholm, this is also the home of Scania, one of the Volkswagen Truck & Bus brands. The alliance is domiciled in a different part of the city, however, on the top floor of an office building. Eric Tech believes firmly in this strategic alliance: "Before entering it, we looked at many possible partners. However, Volkswagen Truck & Bus was exactly the right one for us." In 2016 alone, more than 200,000 heavy trucks were sold in the United States. To date, it has been a hindrance for Volkswagen Truck & Bus not to have a presence there. Creating a new organization for its brands, in turn, would have been too expensive. Navistar is very well positioned in the U.S. and Canada, with a market share of 16 percent in school buses and heavy trucks. The company is also the largest manufacturer of the famous yellow school bus. Every day, millions of children in the U.S. are picked up with these buses from the farthest corners of this enormous country. The boxy yellow vehicles are a symbol of safety and reliability. "Here too we can envisage joint projects," adds Frederik Zohm. In the meantime, both parties have been working together on future technologies. This includes the mega trend of digitization, which eventually will lead to connecting whole truck fleets. In the future, the respective digital platforms will be coordinated in such a manner that the databases for both partners will be significantly expanded – which will help everyone. Similar effects are expected from cooperation in the areas of alternative motor fuels or autonomous driving. The potential is enormous, emphasizes Frederik Zohm: “As we speak, joint working groups are looking for projects. Fact is, they are coming up with more ideas than we can even realize." While Volkswagen Truck & Bus drivetrains will be present on the U.S. market in the future, Navistar is not thinking of making an appearance in Europe. "We will remain in America,” says Eric Tech. Its goal at the moment is to rebuild its market share. With the help of its new partner Volkswagen Truck & Bus. 100 years of history At Volkswagen Truck & Bus, the project is led by Frederik Zohm, who is enthusiastic about it: "We can become active in North America without first having to painstakingly build up our own brand," he states. After all, Navistar already has more than 100 years of history with the International Truck and IC Bus brands in the region. An immense challenge The company, however, is also facing an immense challenge. While it is well-known for the high quality of its vehicle bodies and operator cabs, there is a gap when it comes to drivetrain technology. A few years ago, this almost drove Navistar into ruin. At the time, the company had placed its bets on an alternative path for diesel emission aftertreatment, which ultimately did not work out technically. Its market share in the United States dropped as a result. Thus, Navistar is placing a new bet on the renowned drivetrains of Volkswagen Truck & Bus. The new A26 engine with 12.4 liter capacity will mark the beginning. It is based on an engine that has long been used successfully by MAN and that will be modified for the United States. Components work together perfectly "We will benefit from the ability to offer integrated drivetrains," is how Eric Tech explains this step. Until now, customers picked the engines and transmissions for their trucks from different suppliers. Navistar then built them into its own chassis. In contrast, there is the integrated truck, which has largely become the industry standard. All individual components work together perfectly since they have been developed for this specific purpose. European expertise In the future, Navistar trucks will be able to claim that their drive systems have been developed based on European expertise. "This has a nice ring to it in the United States, since Europeans are well-known for their quality," says Tech. This way, Volkswagen Truck & Bus will come closer to reaching its goal: becoming a Global Champion in the commercial vehicle segment. "To this end, we must grow and we need new customers - for example, in the United States," says Zohm. North America is, after all, one of the largest commercial vehicle markets in the world. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / June 23, 2017 Because it follows a rigorous remanufacturing industrial process, the quality of the c is better than some of the competitors’ ones. This video demonstrates how the Renault Trucks engine can keep your vehicle’s original performance. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / June 22, 2017 Showdown in the pit lane with Frank „Buschi“ Buschmann: This is what sport's all about! Effectively reduce your TCO. With MAN: https://go.man/EhAtjZse .

Volvo Group Press Release / June 21, 2017 The Volvo Group’s new truck engines are more fuel efficient as a result of their intelligent piston design. Waves have been added to the piston crown to improve the use of oxygen. The more efficient combustion process it delivers has halved the quantity of soot particles emitted by the engine and has also reduced fuel consumption by an average of two percent. .

Speak with anyone who has had a heart attack, or coronary bypass surgery. They'll most likely open your eyes with a sobering discussion.

My friend, if someone described me a bigot, I would simply exercise my freedom (ability) to walk away. Done deal. Life's too short. Step "out of the box" for a moment, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, "Is it really worth getting high blood pressure over?" Well, of course it's not. There's a measure of truth in everyone's thoughts, but no two person's thoughts are identical because we're all different (The world would be an awful dull place if we were all the same).

In life, and particularly when engaging in truck sales in over 100 countries around the globe, I hear thousands of opinions contrary to my own. I can fully agree with some opinions, see clear to understand the thought process of many without fully agreeing, and disagree with others. When I'm confronted with an opinion I don't agree with, out of mutual respect, I listen to it and then [mentally] simply walk away. Why get worked up over another person's opinion? Life's too short. Giving yourself high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack. Is it worth it?

The $1.5 Trillion Business Tax Change Flying Under the Radar The Wall Street Journal / June 25, 2017 Republicans looking to rewrite the U.S. tax code are taking aim at one of the foundations of modern finance -- the deduction that companies get for interest they pay on debt. That deduction affects everyone from titans of Wall Street who load up on junk bonds to pay for multibillion-dollar corporate takeovers to wheat farmers in the Midwest looking to make ends meet before harvest. Yet a House Republican proposal to eliminate the deduction has gotten relatively little sustained public attention or lobbying pressure. Thanks in part to the deduction, the U.S. financial system is heavily oriented toward debt, which is cheaper than equity financing and widely accessible. In 2015, U.S. businesses paid in all $1.3 trillion in gross interest, according to Commerce Department data, equal in magnitude to the total economic output of Australia. Getting rid of the deduction for net interest expense, as House Republicans propose, would alter finance. It also would generate about $1.5 trillion in revenue for the government over a decade, according to the Tax Foundation, allowing for investment breaks and rate cuts elsewhere in the tax code. The dollars at stake are even more than another controversial proposal being pushed by House Republicans known as border adjustment, which would tax imports and exempt exports. The border adjustment plan has been under attack from retailers and Republican senators, whose resistance has put it on the brink of failure. But the idea of eliminating or limiting the interest deduction has generated less vocal opposition, giving it a real chance of passage, perhaps in a scaled-back form. "The overall goal is to be pro-growth. What we're proposing is to take the tax preference from the source of funds, borrowing, and take that preference to the use of funds, business investment and buildings, equipment, software, technology," Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), the author of the plan, said at The Wall Street Journal CFO network this month. In a world with no interest deduction, debt-fueled leveraged buyouts by private-equity titans could become more expensive to finance and junk bonds less appealing. "That's not necessarily bad for society," said David Beim, a retired finance professor at ColumbiaUniversity. "We have too much systemic financial risk in our economy." But for some debt-reliant businesses the interest deduction's demise could be a significant blow. Crop growers who depend on bridge loans to work through seasonal business fluctuations could face higher tax bills for little benefit. Andy Hill, who farms corn and soybeans on about 600 acres in north-central Iowa, said he pays less than $10,000 a year in interest on a line of credit between $100,000 and $200,000. That loan helps him bridge gaps between his expenses and his income, between when he needs to buy seed and fertilizer and when he sells his crops. "[Losing the ability to deduct interest] wouldn't put me in the red by any stretch of the imagination, but it makes it very debilitating as far as household income," said Mr. Hill, who added that he has spoken to both of his senators and his House member about the issue. Midsize businesses may also get squeezed. "The people that utilize debt, they utilize it because they don't have the cash and they don't have the access to equity," said Robert Moskovitz, chief financial officer of Leaf Commercial Capital, which finances businesses' purchases of items like copiers and telephone systems. "A dry cleaner in Des Moines, Iowa? Where is he going to get equity? He can't do an IPO." The idea behind the Republican plan is to pair the elimination of this deduction together with immediate deductions for investments in equipment and other long-lived assets. Party leaders expect the capital write-offs would encourage more investment and growth and greater worker productivity, but not the debt often associated with it. From an accounting standpoint, the tradeoff could hurt companies' reported earnings because immediate expensing would just shift the timing of deductions and the loss of the interest deduction would be a permanent change. Dennis Kelleher, chief financial officer of CF Industries Holdings Inc., a fertilizer manufacturer, said at a conference in May that the most important thing for the company would be a lower corporate tax rate. "I don't think that's a good thing," he said of repealing the interest deduction. "I suspect that won't happen because it would be rather destabilizing, just to the capital markets generally." Unlike border adjustment, the idea of accelerating investment write-offs has broad support from conservative groups, such as the National Taxpayers Union, and some support from Democrats, including Jason Furman, who was President Barack Obama's chief economist. It was a move in the opposite direction, toward longer depreciation schedules, that helped doom a Republican tax plan in 2014. The tax code treats equity financing more harshly than debt. While interest is deductible, dividend payments typically aren't. Corporate profits can thus be subject to two layers of tax -- once at the business level and then when it goes to shareholders in the form of a dividend. That means the effective marginal tax rate on equity-financed corporate investments is 34.5%, according to a report released by the Treasury Department this year in the waning days of the Obama administration. The corresponding rate for debt-financed investment is negative 5%. That subsidy for corporate debt "potentially creates a large tax-induced distortion in business decision making," the report says. But borrowing and deducting interest are deeply ingrained in American corporate finance as a normal cost of doing business. Dislodging the traditional practice will be challenging. Some firms might look to borrow offshore instead to reap tax benefits elsewhere. "I don't even think people think about it much," said Robert Pozen, a senior lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management. "It's clear that they're going to finance it by debt if they have a big acquisition or a big project." Because so much is at stake for so many sectors, writing the law could get messy. Mr. Brady said small businesses and utilities could get exceptions or specialized rules, as would debt-financed purchases of land, which wouldn't be eligible for immediate investment write-offs. The administration, including a president who proclaimed himself the "king of debt," has been wary of repealing the interest deduction but hasn't drawn a hard line. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has said his preference is to keep it. Resistance could build among Republicans in Congress and among real-estate firms and the agriculture industry, which have formed a coalition to fight the proposal. Yet financial markets so far have registered little reaction to the prospect of the interest deduction going away. One reason: The tax change most likely would apply to new loans only. Junk-rated bonds, issued by companies that typically carry a large amount of debt, have returned 4.6% this year -- better than the 4.3% returns of investment-grade bonds, according to Bloomberg Barclays data. Without repealing the interest deduction, Republicans' hopes of providing full and immediate deductions for capital investment are dim. They probably wouldn't have enough money to offset the upfront fiscal cost of accelerating all those deductions. The plus for the GOP is that this issue is more familiar and less black-and-white than the complex border adjustment plan. Limits on interest and accelerated write-offs could be dialed to a politically comfortable spot. If Republicans can't stomach full repeal of the interest deduction and immediate write-offs, they could try something short of that with, say, half of capital expenses being deductible and half of interest being deductible. Andrea , head of global private investment research at Cambridge Associates, which advises institutions that invest in private equity, said the industry would survive a tax overhaul that removes the interest deduction. "The effects will reverberate for sure," especially among larger firms that rely more on debt, she said. "But debt is still going to be cheaper than equity, so I don't think it's going away."

Houston-based Stewart & Stevenson (better known for producing specialized equipment for the oil and gas industries) won a US government contract to supply FMTVs (family of medium tactical vehicles) in 1998, an Americanized version (Cat 3116, Allison MD3070PT) of the Steyr model 12M18 from Austria. Armor Holdings bought Stewart & Stevenson's military vehicle division in 2006, and BAE bought Armor Holdings in 2007. And then Oshkosh won the contract away from BAE in 2011 to build FMTVs, despite never having been involved in its development. I like Oshkosh. I don't like the FMTV. The FMTV's Steyr cab was assembled in the US in order to qualify for the U.S. contract by McLaughlin Body Company in Moline, Illinois from imported components.

"In my opinion, the Mack-Signal merger was the most successful large corporate merger ever attempted." Zenon C.R. Hansen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mack Trucks was at a crossroads when they decided to bring Zenon C.R. Hansen on board to "fix the problem" and lead the company in an all new direction. He did. Zenon "wanted" Signal's financial support, and he later credited the Signal Companies' board for Mack Trucks' return to dominance. Their financial backing could, and did, supercharge Zenon's growth plans for Mack Trucks. And, Signal promised to allow Mack Trucks to operate with autonomy. They did. Mack earned more money for Signal than any other subsidiary, and Zenon famously kept them aware of that! In addition to Signal's financial backing being important to Mack's success, Zenon said "the really significant value has been this, that Mack has been associated with a high-grade organization which made good on all its agreements. We have kept our autonomy under Signal, and they have not meddled in the day-to-day operations of our business." Once, Zenon walked into a Signal board meeting to discuss bonus plans for the conglomerate companies. They didn't tell Zenon what bonuses were going to be handed out, rather he told them! Speaking to the board of the parent company, Zenon knew that it was his company, Mack Trucks, that was making all the money for Signal, and he told them so! "This is the bonus plan this year in my company [Mack Trucks]. I don't care what you're doing in your companies, but this is what I'm doing in mine." Particularly while Zenon C.R. Hansen ran Mack, the Signal Companies was extremely loyal to Mack Trucks. In 1964, prior to Zenon taking over Mack Trucks, the company reported US$275 million in sales. In 1966 with Zenon at the helm for two years, Mack sales reached US$411 million. And in 1970, sales leaped to US$534 million. We're talking about the man that issued every Mack employee a silver dollar-sized coin with a bulldog on one side, and a slogan on the other side stating "You Make the Difference". I carry my coin every day. Mack's outstanding earnings in 1966 was a double-edged sword........it made Mack Trucks a takeover target. Initially, to fight back, Zenon was designated chairman and CEO as well as president. But he finally realized that Mack needed the financial security and protection of a larger conglomerate, but the merger would be on Zenon's terms. Zenon said, "Our feeling was that if we had to get into bed with someone, it would be a Park Avenue glamour girl, not a Greenwich Village streetwalker." Zenon believed that a successful merger must address four priorities in this particular order: 1. The employees 2. The dealers; they have US$100 million tied up in Mack trucks and parts 3. The Mack customer 4. The stockholder In responding to critics who said that shareholders should be the first priority, Zenon said, "What good is the stockholder's dollar if the employees are not happy, if the dealers are in trouble, if they don't have a customer?" New York bankers introduced Mack Trucks to the Los Angeles-based Signal Oil & Gas Company, and it was the perfect match. Recalling their initial meeting, Zenon said, "You size up the people and pull it out fast. We had never met, and we had an agreement in two and a half hours." In the deal, Mack and Zenon retained complete autonomy, and Signal promised not to acquire any other truckmaker. Mack Trucks received Signal's financial backing to ramp up plant expansion, production and sales, and Zenon joined Signal's board of directors. As a result of the Mack-Signal merger, Mack Trucks in 1971 was once more the top selling diesel truck in the United States. One out of five heavy trucks wore a bulldog. By the end of 1973, nine years after Zenon C.R. Hansen had taken the helm at Mack Trucks: - Production had increased 138 percent - New truck deliveries increased 134 percent - Mack sales skyrocketed 200 percent, from US$275 million to US$880 million - Shareholder's equity rose 147 percent, with return on invested capital increasing from 2.7% to 13% - Earnings per share increased by an astonishing 764 percent All of this, because of Signal's support of Mack Trucks and Zenon C.R. Hansen, the best truckmaking CEO in the history of the industry right up to the present day. As Zenon proudly said, and history has gone on to confirm: "I don't think many companies can match that record. I have been asked many times how we did this. I will say it again, there's no substitute for experience. It all boils down to experience, damn hard work, and good application of effort by the Mack management team. Our talented, dedicated, ingenious Mack people have made a difference."

Marmon-Herrington Launches Even Bigger Sisu Heavy-Haul Planetary Drive Axles for North America Market Marmon-Herrington Press Release / June 20, 2017 Marmon-Herrington announced today the release of a new 90,000 lbs. Sisu tandem axle set and a new 136,000 lbs. Sisu tridem axle set. These new releases are double reduction planetary drive axles for heavy duty applications within the N.A. truck market. For approved applications, the tandem axle offers a maximum GCWR (gross combination weight rating) of 400,000 lbs. and the tridem axle offers a maximum GCWR of 600,000 lbs. Sisu Axles has also increased maximum approved ratings for its industry standard 70,000 lbs. tandem axle set to 400,000 lbs. GCWR, and 600,000 lbs. GCWR for its 106,000 lbs. tridem axle set. Marmon-Herrington and key customers within mining, heavy haul, and oil and gas are working to release truck configurations with Sisu’s new 90,000 lbs. tandem and 136,000 lbs. tridem offerings. The Sisu 70,000 lbs. tandem and 106,000 lbs. tridem are currently available through many truck manufacturers and part of Marmon-Herrington’s industry first Rapid Response program, a program that allows Marmon-Herrington to deliver its most popular product configurations to customers in 30 days or less. “We are pleased to offer these new products to satisfy the needs of our loyal mining, heavy haul, and oil & gas fleet users” said Rick Blair, Marmon-Herrington OEM President. “Sisu products have long been known for reliability and strength. The new 90K tandem and 136K tridem allows Marmon-Herrington to continue a tradition of offering industry-best products to our customers.” “We care about our customers and listen to their needs. We’re constantly striving and adapting to provide product solutions that meet the ever-changing needs in each of their industries” said Dan Souhan, Marmon-Herrington Director of Sales and Marketing, “These new offerings exceed the ratings of other product currently on the market. The 600,000 lbs. GCW rating for both the 106K and 136K tridem sets a new standard for high speed, double reduction planetary axles.” Production of these highly anticipated new offerings has already begun and product will be available to ship in the second quarter of 2017. Sisu Axles, Inc. has been supplying similar 90,000 lbs. tandem and 136,000 lbs. tridem axles for years to customers outside of the United States and Canada. Marmon-Herrington offers a full-range of double reduction, planetary axles and durable transfer cases for trucks and specialized vehicles within North America as well as class 6 through 8 all-wheel-drive conversions. With over a 100 years of driveline know how, Marmon-Herrington sets the standards in each of its product offerings. Marmon-Herrington and Sisu Axles are Marmon Highway Technologies/Berkshire Hathaway companies. Marmon Highway Technologies (MHT) supports the transportation industry worldwide with a wide range of high-quality products and services. For more information, contact Dan Souhan, Marmon-Herrington, 13001 Magisterial Drive, Louisville, KY40223, 269-873-5552, www.marmon-herrington.com. .

Transport Topics / June 23, 2017 Marmon-Herrington (http://www.marmon-herrington.com/), a unit of Berkshire-Hathaway, has released new [Finnish] Sisu brand axles, including a 90,000-pound tandem axle set and 136,000-pound tridem axle set intended for heavy-duty truck applications within the North American market. For approved applications, the tandem axle offers a maximum gross combination weight rating of 400,000 pounds. The tridem axle offers a maximum GCWR of 600,000 pounds, the Louisville, Ky.-based company said. Marmon-Herrington and key customers within mining, heavy haul, and oil and gas are working to release truck configurations with Sisu’s new offerings, the company said. .

Heavy Duty Trucking / June 22, 2017 Acela Truck Company (http://acelatruck.com/) has released its Monterra line of trucks. The company's core innovation is the development of a proprietary process that resets U.S. Army Family of [Austrian Steyr model 12m18-based] Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTVs) to a near-zero-mile condition. The trucks are then used in commercial markets — including oil and gas, mining, pipeline construction, and forestry — where current chassis are not equipped to perform. Acela began developing its line of vehicles after several clients approached Acela President and CEO David Ronsen seeking a truck that could handle the extreme, rugged environments of the Canadian Oil Sands with a long life-cycle and a cost-effective price point. Versions of the Acela Monterra have proven themselves in the mines for over 7 years with a 96% documented uptime. FMTVs were originally developed for the U.S. Army to withstand the harshest conditions during combat, and have achieved the U.S. Army's coveted "ultra-reliable" status for 17 years running. Acela Truck Company's proprietary reset process restores FMTVs for commercial use. The company's first model of trucks—the Monterra—boasts the industry's most robust and dependable design features, including drivetrains, frames, axles, suspensions, tires and other components specially designed to withstand the rigors of the most extreme environments. The four pillars of the Acela Truck Advantage are: Total Cost of Ownership Ease of Maintenance On- or Off-Highway Capability One-Year Warranty The Monterra product line made its debut at the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, earlier this month. Acela Truck Company joined Canadian truck body builder Brutus Truck Bodies at the event. "The Monterra is undoubtedly the most extreme-duty truck ever introduced into the Canadian Market," notes Brutus CEO Curtis Turchak. "We are proud to be part of the official launch of Acela. We're confident that this line of trucks will be the number-one choice of chassis in the Canadian Oil Sands and related markets." .

Former VW engine chief told to stay in Germany or risk being detained in U.S. Automotive News – Reuters / June 24, 2017 MUNICH -- Former Volkswagen Group executive Heinz-Jakob Neusser has been advised not to leave Germany because he risks being detained by U.S. authorities. "I have urgently advised my client not to leave Germany. Only here is it safe," his lawyer, Annette Voges, told Germany's Bild newspaper in comments published on Saturday. On Thursday, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the U.S. had issued international arrest warrants for five former VW managers who have been indicted for conspiracy to fraud and violation of U.S. environmental rules. A sixth person, former VW manager Oliver Schmidt, was arrested in February in Miami as he was about to return from vacation to Germany. Voges said the managers would likely have to continue to forgo foreign travel because they could not rely on a statue of limitations, which would exempt them from charges after a certain amount of time. Under the constitution, German citizens can only be extradited to other European Union countries or to an international court. But leaving Germany could pose the risk of being extradited to the U.S. from a third country. Neusser is a former VW head of engine development and a member of the VW brand's management board. He was the highest ranking of six executives indicted by the U.S. in January. The others were Schmidt; Jens Hadler, former VW head of engine development; Richard Dorenkamp, who led a team of engineers that developed the first diesel engine designed to meet new U.S. emissions standards; former VW quality management boss Bernd Gottweis; and quality manager Juergen Peter. Neusser appears to have perfected a "defeat" device used by Dorenkamp and Hadler to evade emissions tests, according to U.S. court documents. A total of seven VW managers have been charged so far. U.S.-based engineer James Liang pleaded guilty in September and is cooperating with the authorities. VW admitted to U.S. regulators in September 2015 that it had cheated on emissions tests there using software installed in as many as 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide.

First of all Jim, the situation described, the minuscule Mack product portfolio, was in place when Martin Lundstedt arrived from Scania. One can arguably blame former ship's captain Olof Persson. And the reason he was begged to come over to Volvo, and Olof fired, is the fact that the company was in a financial crisis. Now, if Martin took "the Volvo reins off of Mack" today, just what heavy truck professional under the Mack brand at Volvo's Greensboro HQ would he be handing the reins over to? The last person they had of any substance was 40-year Mack veteran Kevin Flaherty who was forced into retirement by then Volvo CEO Olof Persson in September 2013.

Jim, they actually only have four models. Axle-forward and axle-back configurations are variants of the same model. We got out of off-highway because it was no longer profitable or practical. CAT works from a different angle........they can make it work but even for them it's about appearing to have a full portfolio rather than it being a profit center. We had the best executive vice president of fire apparatus sales there ever was. He retired after a decades-long brilliant career. He was replaced by a drunk, and our fire apparatus business collapsed. That was the only major mistake that I hold the former Mack Trucks accountable for. "Bleeding (divesting) for years"? Signal did not "dump" Mack, in the sense that I know the term. Signal changed drastically as a company and Mack no longer fit their new direction. As always, I respect your opinions, but mine are different.

Driving the new Volvo VNR Truck News / June 22, 2017 The design of the all-new Volvo VNR was heavily inspired by driver feedback WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — If it takes a village to raise a child, as the African proverb goes, perhaps it takes an industry to design a truck. That was Volvo’s approach to developing its new VNR regional haul truck, which was unveiled at ExpoCam in Montreal in April, and made available to the truck press for initial rides and drives here June 1. When designing the new VNR, Volvo consulted with about 2,000 customers and drivers, and results of their input can be found everywhere throughout the cab. There were so many ‘why hasn’t anyone else thought of that?’ moments noticed during my time in the VNR, that it was clear Volvo was listening carefully to driver feedback, and not just going through the motions. Mostly, it’s the little things. For example, drivers can adjust the interior volume of the turn signals and hazard lights, from obnoxiously loud to barely audible. A good idea for those times a team driver is trying to get in some sleep in the bunk. Also, cupholders can be removed and relocated to the exact position the driver wants them at along a rail on the center console. The driver can even install additional cupholders there. And the cupholders themselves are versatile enough to accommodate everything from large Big Gulp-type mugs, to small Styrofoam cups or narrow water bottles. Volvo powertrain marketing rep Allison Athey told me she inadvertently put the cupholders to the test, when she placed in it a full coffee without a lid and forgot about it. On the road, she looked down in a panic, thinking she’d made a mess of one of the very first prototype VNRs to roll off the line, and to her relief saw that the cup hadn’t spilled over. Chalk it up to an effective cupholder design and the smooth-shifting I-Shift transmission. But enough about cupholders. There’s lots to like about the new design of the VNR, especially if you’re a driver. Volvo defines a regional haul truck as a work truck that tends to make deliveries within a 200- to 300-mile radius. Common applications involve bulk haul, flatdeck, tanker, and city P&D. These drivers typically don’t live out of the truck, but they spend enough time in it that they deserve to be every bit as comfortable as their linehaul brethren, and that’s what Volvo brings to them in the VNR. The interior is stylish and comfortable, with exceptional visibility offered over the short, tapered hood. For the first time, Volvo is offering a full range of seats, regardless of interior trim level selected. If you want to splurge on a comfortable seat you spend all day in, but save on the interior trim level, now you can do so. And why not? Tying the available seat selections to the interior package limits customer choice, and the new VNR is all about choice. Seven levels of seating are available, including high-end RollTek and Bose Ride System seats. You can also choose heated and cooled seats, or a passenger seat with an integrated refrigerator to eliminate the need to clutter up the cab with a cooler. Even the most basic seats are extremely comfortable. I drove a VNR 400 on the highway and assumed my seat was an upgraded option, only to discover it was the most basic one on offer – the X1 vinyl seat from National. The new Position Perfect steering wheel is more comfortable than past designs, and can house up to 19 controls. It’s also pretty much infinitely adjustable. The VNR is a modern truck that doesn’t discriminate; drivers of all shapes, sizes, and statures will be comfortable in this truck. The new steering wheel even offers a neck tilt option so you can position it just right to see the new, colorful driver information display. This five-inch display uses strategic colors – red and green – to convey key messages to the driver with minimal distraction. The display is also customizable, and where drivers can adjust things like the signal light volume, but that’s only possible when the truck’s parked. The door panels have been redesigned as well, the speakers relocated to offer better acoustics and deeper pockets that provide more storage. A cool blue interior light on the door offers interior visibility for the driver and passenger, and a new puddle lamp on the bottom of the door shines down on the step and any hazards below when the door is opened. That’s another idea that had to have come from a driver. No more soaked work boots! Even the door-mounted fingertip controls for the windows, locks, and mirrors were revamped for a better feel. I drove two VNRs – the 400 with 48-ft. flatdeck trailer loaded to about 75,000 lbs on highway, and the VNR 300 with 28-ft. trailer on a city route – and both were incredibly quiet. This is in part due to improvements to engine design, but also thanks to a new rubber floor covering insert that keeps road noise to a minimum. Both trucks were powered by the D11 engine rated at 425 hp and 1,550 lb.-ft. of torque and Volvo I-Shift 12-speed automated manual transmission. The D11 is the standard engine for the VNR and it’s plenty powerful enough for loads grossing up to 80,000 lbs on reasonably flat terrain. The 13-liter will probably be preferred in many Canadian applications. The highway tractor I drove was set up with the XE package for optimum fuel economy through downspeeding, while the city truck had a direct drive transmission and straight torque engine configuration. Both had fleet-level interior trim packages, but these were very well-appointed cabs and perfectly comfortable to drive. The highway tractor had a 42-inch mid-roof sleeper, home to a more comfortable higher-end mattress, while the city truck was a day cab. Both had ample, well placed power options inside the cab, another result of the consultation designers did with drivers. These include USB and 12-volt power outlets at the top of the dash, close to the slots and pockets drivers can use to store their electronic devices. Volvo cleaned up the dash, making it more intuitive while eliminating unnecessary empty switch blanks. An optional touchscreen infotainment system is available, but both trucks I drove were without. The exterior of the truck is indisputably more handsome than the 20-year-old VNM it will replace. The truck has a more modern, streamlined appearance. But changes to the exterior were as much about function as they were aesthetics. Bearing in mind regional trucks are often required to work in tight spaces where damage can easily occur, Volvo designers took steps to protect against damage and to simplify repairs when required. For example, the headlights are inset from the edge of the fenders, where they’re less likely to get cracked. Two bumper end plates can be removed if the truck is going off-highway, or replaced if they get dented. Volvo went with all-LED lighting, which is rated at 10,000 hours, making even bulb replacements less frequent. The bumper hugs the chassis so it doesn’t stick out where it’s vulnerable to damage. The hood offers incredible visibility from the driver’s seat, and Volvo’s stylish hood-mounted mirrors provide excellent visibility around the truck without detracting from the truck’s appearance. The hood is attached to the cab, offering easier access to underhood components. The air intakes on the side of the hood– while not as distinctive as the inverted hockey stick shape I personally am fond of – offer excellent ventilation, Volvo officials said. The truck has a 113-inch BBC, one of the best in the industry, and 50-degree wheel cut, for excellent maneuverability. I was really pleased with how the VNR 300 handled on a tight city route in Winston-Salem. You can tell by looking at the VNR that it’s a more aerodynamic design than the VNM it replaces, which Volvo says will net a fuel economy improvement of about 1%. The new GHG17 engines Volvo rolled out earlier this year contribute another 2.5-3% improvement in fuel economy. So fleet owners will really like the new VNR and its ability to boost their profit margins. But to me, this truck is really about the driver, and bringing unsurpassed comfort, versatility, and customization to a segment that hasn’t always been afforded such luxuries. .

Interpol seeks 5 ex-VW managers over emissions fraud Reuters / June 22, 2017 BERLIN -- The U.S. has issued international arrest warrants for five former Volkswagen managers accused of wrongdoing in connection with the carmaker's diesel emissions-cheating scandal, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday. The five ex-managers and developers, including two executives under former CEO Martin Winterkorn, were indicted by U.S. authorities for conspiracy to commit fraud and violation of U.S. environmental rules, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. A spokesman at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters declined comment. A sixth person, former VW manager Oliver Schmidt, was arrested in February in Miami as he was about to fly to Germany. He is awaiting trial in a U.S. prison after being denied bail. German authorities were unlikely to extradite the five accused to the U.S., Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. Under the constitution, German citizens can only be extradited to other European Union countries or to an international court. But leaving Germany could pose the risk of being extradited to the United States from a third country. VW, the world's largest automaker by sales, admitted to U.S. regulators in September 2015 that it had cheated on emissions tests there using software installed in as many as 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide.

Isuzu: New Class 6 is right truck at right time Fleet Owner / June 22, 2017 QUEENS, NY. The rapid shift from traditional retail store shopping to the purchase of products over the internet is driving major changes to delivery networks as well – including changes to the capabilities of the trucks tasked with making those deliveries. During a ride and drive event held in the shadow of New York City’s Citi Field, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America and Canada showed off its brand-new Class 6 FTR medium-duty cabover truck model, which the company believes is positioned perfectly to benefit from e-commerce driven growth in the delivery of goods to residential areas. “When you look at where a lot of packaged goods are now being delivered, places of business or home, versus going to retail outlets, this is an outstanding vehicle,” Shaun Skinner, Isuzu’s president, told Fleet Owner. “There’s a couple of things advantageous that it [the FTR] brings to the marketplace,” he stressed. “The first is its cab-forward [cabover] design and really from the outset is for urban delivery. A cab-forward product allows not only for a crowded environment, it allows for great visibility and better maneuverability.” Skinner noted that the FTR’s four-cylinder diesel engine gives it a unique advantage as well, as Freightliner is the only other truck maker in the market offering a four-cylinder diesel engine in a Class 6 product. “We believe that brings with it a number of advantages, number one being fuel economy,” he pointed out. “Our vehicle has outstanding fuel economy … and that drives down the cost of ownership.” The FTR is powered by a turbocharged 4HK1-TC engine four-cylinder diesel engine that offers “B10 life” of 375,000 miles, meaning that 90% of those engines should reach that mileage before requiring an overhaul. “Some people could look at that [a four-cylinder engine] as a perceived weakness,” added Skinner. “We look at it as a strength [because] we’re not looking to put it into highly vocationalized areas where you have this robust use of the vehicle from a standpoint of horsepower and torque requirements. This is going to be more of a delivery and pick-up vehicle. From an ownership standpoint, the four-cylinder engine will really be an advantage.” The New York event at Citi Filed is one of several Isuzu held in recent weeks across the country to help familiarize its fleet customers and dealers with its new Class 6 FTR cabover. “A lot of the design work [for the FTR] was done in the U.S. at the Isuzu Technical Center of America in Plymouth, MI,” Skinner said. “Usually for trucks in this market a great deal of the design [by Isuzu] is done in Japan. It’s assembled at the same campus as our gas truck is, with our partner Spartan Motors in Charlotte, MI.” Isuzu expects to begin shipping the FTR by early July. “There’s still a few things we have to make sure of, but so far zero defects have been found,” Skinner noted. “We’ve been out of the Class 6 product since 2009, so this is the first chance we’ve had to reintroduce it in the U.S. and Canada markets,” he added. “That’s because our original strategy was attached to our alliance with General Motors,” Skinner explained. “When they declared bankruptcy, one of the things that went away was the medium duty, their commercial truck part of the medium duty. So when we lost that alliance we had to reformulate how to get back to the U.S. and Canada markets with a Class 6 product.” But once Isuzu found itself able to re-enter the Class 6 market on its own, “we got very excited, because there are about 40,000 Class 6 cab-forward customers out there with not a lot of options,” Skinner emphasized. “We have a high level of U.I.O’s, units in operation, that haven’t had anything since 2009. It’s exciting for us that we now have a product we can bring to market for these people.” .

Spy Shots: First Look at Navistar/GM Medium-Duty Work Truck Trucks.com / June 22, 2017 Here’s the first look at the medium-duty truck Navistar International Corp. and General Motors Co. are developing together. The companies have an agreement to develop and assemble future conventional cab trucks in the Class 4 and 5 work segments. The deal puts Navistar back in a truck category it exited when production of its International TerraStar model ended earlier this year. It also helps GM to expand its Chevrolet commercial truck portfolio. This spy shots are of a mule, or test vehicle. They show a chassis cub work truck with a fiberglass International-style hood that swings up from the windshield. The photos were taken this week at a Bosch facility near Ann Arbor, Mich., where the truck is undergoing testing. The new truck line is jointly developed using Navistar's expertise in rolling chassis configurations and manufacturing capabilities, and GM‘s commercial components and engines. The vehicles are slated for production in 2018 and will be manufactured at Navistar's facility in Springfield, Ohio. Navistar plans to add 300 jobs and invest more than $12 million in facility upgrades and state-of-the-art equipment to produce the new vehicles. “Our collaboration with GM is another example of our customer-centric, open integration approach – providing our customers with the best technologies available,” Bill Kozek, Navistar’s president of trucks and parts said when the project was announced. The truck is expected to debut at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis in March. GM has already announced that its version will have a Duramax diesel engine and Allison transmission. .

Tim Kaine: U.S. strikes on Syrian forces ‘completely illegal’ Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent / Yahoo News / June 22, 2017 WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Wednesday sharply condemned U.S. strikes on Syrian regime forces — like the shoot-down of a military jet over the weekend — as “completely illegal.” “I think the military action that is being taken against Syrian government assets is completely illegal,” Kaine said. There have been four known instances of U.S. forces firing on Syrian government targets in recent weeks, including the early April cruise missile strike in retaliation for the government’s use of chemical weapons. Over the weekend, a U.S. Navy fighter shot down a Syrian warplane. The Pentagon says it has legal authority to act under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed after the 9/11 attacks, which effectively permitted the invasion of Afghanistan and global efforts to stamp out al-Qaida. Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama cited that legislation as the legal justification for the global war on terrorism. Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, bluntly disagreed with the Trump administration’s position. “The 2001 authorization said we can take action against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. Nobody claims that Syria was a perpetrator. Nobody claims that they are connected to al-Qaida. In fact, they’re battling against al-Qaida in Syria,” Kaine countered. “So I think this is a completely unlawful use of power.” Kaine also blamed “political cowardice” as a factor in congressional resistance to debating and voting to authorize the nearly three-year war on the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in places like Syria. “Part of this is, in my view, political cowardice — not wanting to be on the record on a war vote,” Kaine said. Previous attempts to push Congress to debate and authorize the escalating but undeclared war on the terrorist army in Syria and Iraq have fallen short, in large part due to politics. Clinton’s fate in the 2008 Democratic primaries, when her vote in favor of the 2002 AUMF against Iraq became one of Barack Obama’s most potent weapons, haunts Democrats. And Republicans preferred to criticize Obama’s handling of the conflict from the sidelines without taking any steps that might make them co-owners of the strategy. Kaine and Sen. Jeff Flake, R.-Ariz., have written a new AUMF to cover ISIS and other extremist groups. Kaine, who has tried since mid-2014 to get Congress to debate and vote on a new AUMF, said he thinks the political moment might be right to get lawmakers to act. “This has been enormously frustrating,” Kaine acknowledged. But President Trump’s November victory has revived interest in the discussion. “Any change in administration is kind of an opportunity to look anew at the strategy,” he said. But lawmakers are “starting to get nervous” about Trump’s use of military force, Kaine said. “We haven’t heard the strategy about ISIS. We don’t have a strategy about Afghanistan. We’ve now taken action against the government of Syria and their military without a strategy about that,” Kaine said. “So we’re starting to worry about the 2001 authority just being used carte blanche all over the place by this administration, and I think that provides some additional impetus to get this right. Flake and Kaine’s measure, which repeals both the 2001 AUMF and the 2002 AUMF allowing Bush to use force against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, would explicitly authorize making war on ISIS, al-Qaida and the Taliban, as well as “associated forces,” to be defined by the administration and Congress. The legislation would expire after five years.

Pentagon 'wasted $28 million' on Afghan camouflaged uniforms BBC / June 21, 2017 US taxpayers unnecessarily spent $28m on uniforms for the Afghan National Army, according to the US inspector general tasked with overseeing the war. In a scathing report, John Sopko said that officials bought "forest" pattern uniforms, despite the country's landscape being only 2.1% wooded. The decision was "not based on an evaluation of its appropriateness for the Afghan environment", he wrote. A former Afghan defence minister chose the pattern in 2007, he says. In the 17-page report, Mr Sopko writes that Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak chose the privately owned pattern over a cheaper pattern that the US military already owned. US officials, who had been searching for patterns online with Mr Wardak, authorised the purchase because he "liked what he saw", they wrote at the time. "My concern is what if the minister of defence liked purple, or liked pink?" Mr Sopko told USA Today in an interview. "Are we going to buy pink uniforms for soldiers and not ask questions? That's insane. This is just simply stupid on its face. "We wasted $28 million of taxpayers' money in the name of fashion, because the defence minister thought that that pattern was pretty." For years, Mr Sopko's office has criticised the Pentagon for wastefulness during the United States' longest war. In January, he told a think tank in Washington there was evidence that Taliban leaders had instructed commanders to purchase US fuel, ammunition and weapons from Afghan soldiers, because it is cheaper. Senator Chuck Grassley called the uniform decision "embarrassing and an affront to US taxpayers". "Those who wasted money on the wrong camouflage uniforms seem to have lost sight of their common sense," the Republican senator added. The Pentagon is currently considering raising the level of US troops in Afghanistan, with a formal announcement expected this week.