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Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / April 20, 2017 .

Scania Group Press Release / May 11, 2017 Scaniamilen just one good example of how we pay attention to our employees’ health. Scania takes its employees’ freetime seriously. Yes, you read that correctly; a company that every day works full-pelt to produce trucks, buses and engines for global markets wants to ensure that the time its people are not working is as important as their working time. Therese Forsling Onsfalk, healthpromotor in Södertälje, explains why: “If you have employees that are healthy, they can also make a good contribution with their work, and so contribute towards the success of Scania.” Health facilities around the world The fact that Scania even has a health promotion team is proof of how seriously the company takes employee well-being. The company has sports and health facilities at various sites around the world. In Södertälje the Gröndal centre, open to staff and their family members, offers training facilities, personal training and group exercise classes, as well as other leisure activities including photography and kayaking. “It’s a fantastic facility,” says Therese. “And it’s also a wonderful way for a new employee to get to know fellow workers.” Therese also highlights the work done by colleagues such as Senay Tekeli in Zwolle to motivate those who, for various reasons, are more desk-bound or keeping to the production-line. “Senay introduced Power Sensation to Zwolle last year. It´s a schedule with movements for each month. The idea is that employees do different movements at their workplace (or on their free time) each day, movements for both their upper body and their lower body. You don’t have to change into gym clothes or go to the gym. The idea has caught on and at the start of this month we introduced it in Sweden at Södertälje, Oskarshamn and Luleå.” Scaniamilen – since 1993 Coupled with the Pausit programme on employees’ PCs, which is a bit like a desktop personal trainer, there’s no excuse for people not to stretch their legs (and arms), even if they are as busy as they should be! Also, for those addicted to the demon nicotine, Scania even offers help with giving up, so again, no excuses! One of the most popular health initiatives is the Scaniamilen, a run which has been taking place since 1993, and which also takes place at our sites at Angers in France, Slupsk in Poland and Zwolle in the Netherlands. This year’s Södertälje event takes place on Thursday (11 May) at Gröndal. Runners choose between five or ten-kilometre distances. There will be over 4,500 adults and 1,300 children running this time. Although there are prizes awarded to the top three runners in the men’s and women’s class at five and ten kilometres, the purpose of the event is not competition, but keeping fit and staying active, and doing so with colleagues. National ski team present The event is truly for everyone – the Swedish Cross Country national team is participating, and even some of the Scania bosses are taking part! Among them are Claes Erixon, Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development, and Erik Ljungberg, Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations. For Claes, who is aiming for a time of 50 minutes in the ten kilometres, the event is about bringing employees together in an informal setting. “There’s a real community feeling to the event. It’s about ‘we’ as Scania employees doing something fun together. And of course it’s also good for people’s health.” Meanwhile Erik, a keen runner, is shaking off a knee injury and is using the five-kilometre run as part of his rehabilitation. “It’s a great event for employees and allows them to come together in a different and fun way outside of the work environment. They can bring their families along too. It also gives people a target to work towards, getting them training and, as a bi-product of that improving their health.” .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 11, 2017 MAN Engines recently delivered the first of its D2676 LE264 diesel engines to the French rail vehicle manufacturer Alstom. The 6-cylinder in-line engines, each with 353 kW (480 hp) at 1,800 rpm, are suitable for the use in hot countries and will be installed in "Coradia Polyvalent" diesel railcars (Diesel Multiple Unit – DMU). The single-stage turbocharged and common rail engines are well adapted to withstand to local climatic conditions, like high external temperatures, humidity as well as sandy and dusty environments. As in the conventional Coradia Regiolis, the engines are mounted on the roof, thus enabling easier access for maintenance work. This also increases passenger comfort at the same time, thanks to the space gained in the low-floor area. 102 units of the robust MAN engines will be fitted in 17 railcars for SNTF, the Algerian National Company for Rail Transport, which will then connect the capital city of Algiers with other major cities across the country. A further 60 engines will be installed in 15 railcars destined for use in Senegal to connect the new airport and the city of Dakar. The first trains are due to begin operation in the spring 2018 in Algeria. .

Iveco Trucks Press Release / May 10, 2017 For the first time ever, IVECO will be taking part in the full FIA European Truck Race 2017 as technical sponsor for two teams: will continue to support Team Schwabentruck, and it will back the Team Hahn, who will defend the title in 2017 on IVECO. The first round of the championship is set to take place in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, beginning Saturday 13th May and ending on Sunday 14th May. IVECO's presence on the track will be doubled at the 2017 edition of the FIA European Truck Race Championship. Team Schwabentruck has represented IVECO for the past eight years and this year also Team Hahn – the 2016 champion that will defend the title in 2017 with IVECO – has chosen to compete on board a Stralis race truck. Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, commented: "We have taken up the challenge of being 100% involved in the championship, with two highly competitive teams who will race bearing the colours of the IVECO flag. We are proud that our vehicles will be part of the exciting world of racing, which will engage and thrill our customers across Europe. This is a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the incredible performance of our trucks on circuits that will test the engines and the mechanics of the vehicles to their limits. These intense conditions are designed to test the durability of the vehicles and the reliability of the components used in the production of these trucks." IVECO is supporting Team Schwabentruck with two Stralis models designed for racing. German driver Gerd Körber, three times champion of the European Truck Race (1996, 2001 and 2003), and his teammate Markus Altenstrasser will drive a Stralis 440 E 56 XP-R 5.5-tonne race truck, featuring an IVECO Cursor 13 engine that delivers an impressive 1150 hp. These vehicles are specifically designed and equipped to reach 160 km/h, the maximum speed stipulated by sporting regulations. Team leader Gerd Körber will be competing for the first time to win the entire championship, participating in all races. Team Hahn was established in 1996 and driver Jochen Hahn took his father's place in 1999, when he won the title of Rookie of the Year thanks to the superb results he achieved. The glory years for Jochen and Team Hahn began in 2011, and they went on the take the title victory for three consecutive years, as well as a second place in 2014, third place on the podium in 2015 and first place again in the most recent edition. Team Hahn will also compete with a Stralis 440 E 56 XP-R race truck. In preparation for the first round in Austria, the two teams were in attendance at the official FIA test at the Most circuit in the Czech Republic, testing the latest developments on their vehicles and the new engines. The test at Most was attended by the majority of the teams that are set to face each other in the championship, and was an extremely useful opportunity to trial their competitiveness in the field. Both IVECO teams took full advantage of this first intense test to check the general functionality of the vehicles, with a specific focus on the performance of the new engines. It also represented an important opportunity for Jochen Hahn to gain confidence with the Stralis XP-R, which is different to the trucks he has driven in previous seasons. IVECO will take to the track on each of the nine championship circuits, as well as consolidating the brand’s presence in the paddocks with vehicle displays, fan shops and hospitality facilities. Two of the four IVECO Emotional Truck models will be on display as a special tribute to the great names of the world of motorsport: the Schwabentruck Emotional Truck and the vehicle dedicated to the Dakar Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO. The new Hahn Team Emotional Truck will be on display from the Misano competition onwards. .

The Morning Call (Allentown, PA newspaper) / May 13, 2017 Rickard Lundberg started his career in the Volvo Group in 1989 when he was only about 19 years old. Then, in the first of what would be many jobs with Volvo, he worked on the shop floor, turning crankshafts at the truck maker's engine factory in Skovde, Sweden. So perhaps it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Lundberg, now 47, brings that same hands-on approach to his new job as the vice president and general manager of Mack Trucks' Lehigh Valley Operations. In fact, when Lundberg arrives at the massive Lower Macungie Township assembly plant — a little before 7 a.m. most days — he typically spends the next three hours on the shop floor, preferring to interact with some of the plant's 1,500 employees and understand issues firsthand rather than dissecting the facility's processes within the confines of a boardroom. "I'm born on the shop floor," said Lundberg, who started at Mack on Oct. 1 after a roughly three-year stint as vice president for powertrain production at a Volvo plant in Koping, Sweden. "That's where I started my career in this company many, many years ago, and that's where I hope to die sometime, I think — out there together with people." Now Lundberg — who built scale models of Mack trucks as a 10-year-old boy in Sweden — has the responsibility to ensure the Lower Macungie plant is properly reborn through an $84 million investment that aims to turn the structure into a world-class facility. That investment is slated for completion around mid-2018 and will make the 1-million-square-foot facility more modern, integrated and efficient. Lundberg, who doesn't smile for photos but maintains a sense of humor, spoke to The Morning Call earlier this month about the investment project, his career with Volvo and the possibility of getting a tattoo of the iconic Mack bulldog. Here are excerpts from the interview: Q. Why did you want to take this job at Mack? A. When my manager at the time called me and said there is a position for you if you would like to go there, I took the decision like that [snaps his fingers]. There are many things to it. The first one is of course the brand: Mack. It's easy to fall in love with the brand. I spent time in Volvo for 28 years before coming here, and I never thought about getting a Volvo tattoo, but I'm actually thinking about a bulldog up here [points to his arm]. I kind of promised during my first town hall that there might be a bulldog on my arm. There are 1,500 people that can hold me accountable for that. It's a childhood dream for me to be part of what we are doing here. I built Mack trucks long before I joined Volvo. As a 10-year-old boy, I built scale models. My friends, they built motorcycles and cars. But I built scale models of trucks, and it wasn't Volvo or Mercedes — what you see in Europe. It was American trucks. There were some Peterbilts there, yes, but there were Mack trucks and Freightliners. American trucks have been there for me for a long, long time. Q. How are you transitioning to the area on a personal level? A. Very well. We enjoy the area, both me and my family. I moved here with pieces of my family. I have four kids and two of them are adults — one of them right now is at a university in Sweden and other one is traveling around the world. My wife and two small kids — 5 and 7 years old — relocated here with me in November, and we live in Upper Macungie. Upper Macungie because we like it. We found a wonderful house, and we have a nice park just outside where we are living, where we take the kids and they can play. The soccer season started and both of them are active on soccer teams. We're really enjoying the area right here. The kids are in school — the big one in second grade and the small one in preschool activities, and my wife started working 1 1/2 months ago. We settled down really nicely. Q. Mack recently recalled 100 people back to work at the plant, and you're hiring another 50. Where do you see employment headed at this plant? A. There are two things that decide the employment. One is the market situation, and we will constantly try to adapt to the market. So if the market is showing we're going up, then we will hire people. If we go the other way, we will have other kinds of discussions. Right now, we hired 100 people, we added a second shift for one of our assembly lines and that is to follow where the market is going. And the other thing that will determine the number of people we have is the different ambitions we have at that moment. You said 150 — it's 100 related to the second shift we are putting in place, and the other 50 is connected to our ambitions right now to increase the quality level and to increase our ability to deliver trucks on time to our customers. Q. It seemed, by the summer of 2015, the relationship between Mack and the community might have atrophied a bit. When you got here, what did you see? A. I think you're probably painting a quite accurate picture. Looking into what my predecessor did and maybe some people before that, they wanted to really come back to a situation where people were aware of, "Hey, the headquarters moved in 2009, but we are still here." There's a big chunk of people in the plant — 1,500 people. We are still here. We are still producing all the trucks for the North American market in this place, and we are planning to stay. That's why we are investing $84 million because we are planning to stay in this facility. Q. How's everything going here at the plant with the upgrades, and what is Mack trying to achieve with the expansion? A. We are right in the middle of what we call Reborn. That's the branding name of the whole rebuilding of the plant — creating new infrastructure, how we bring material into the plant, how we can take care of the assembly operation within the plant and how we bring trucks out of the plant. When I joined here, it was more or less set up: This is what we're going to do. So for me, it's very much now that we make sure we do it in the best possible way. I would like to put a lot of emphasis on it's a clear aim to become a world-class facility. This facility was built in 1975 and not much was done over a number of years and now we're trying to do everything at one time. We also need to put much effort into the soft part of the change. Investments by themselves will not make us world-class. It's how we interact and engage people, how we work with people and processes, how we take care of the engaged men that we have on the shop floor. Q. With Volvo reorganizing its truck operations last year, did that give Mack more freedom but also more responsibility? A. After [Volvo President and CEO] Martin [Lundstedt] came in, he's been very clear on trying to give more responsibility to the brands, instead of centralizing and making sure everything is done according to how we decide it should be done in Gothenburg. But still, we are owned by Volvo. It's a fact, and it's also a strength for the Mack brand and for the all the brands that we belong to a big group. That helps us. I will just take the example for us here now: This is probably one of the most diverse plants on the globe right now, at least in the Volvo Group. We have people from India. We have people from South America, from Brazil, from Thailand, from China, from Belgium, from France. There is a Swede here as well, I heard. Right now, this is probably the plant in the Volvo Group going through the biggest changes. We are doing everything at the same time. And I'm telling you if we were Mack alone, we would not be able to mobilize all the knowledge, resources, etc., to do the change. I hear it sometimes, "Don't you want to be more on your own?" Of course, sometimes it's very fun when the parents are away, right? It's free time. But it's also good when the parents are there and taking care and supporting you. All the changes we are doing here right now, it's good with a big group behind you. But it's also important that we have the freedom of doing this our way because we are not Volvo, we are not Renault or any of the other brands. We don't want to become the Gothenburg plant or the other plants. We want to become a better version of Macungie. Q. How about your future plans? Would you like to stay here? A. For me, it's not a one- or two-year project to be plant manager. I need to be here a number of years to really do what we have started to do. At the same time, I don't think it's good to stay in the same position as a plant manager for 10 years. As I used to say, to start with, you're part of the solution. After a number of years, you become part of the problem, and then it's time to do something else. We'll take it year-by-year. Q. A fun question to end with: What are the first words you think of when you hear Mack? A. Tough. It's a tough truck. It's built for a tough environment and demanding customers. It's something — if you just need something that is not that special, you could probably go buy a Freightliner or whatever. But if you need a tough truck that will do the job, then you get a Mack — tough as a bulldog. Video - http://www.mcall.com/business/leadership/mc-mack-trucks-rickard-lundberg-20170513-story.html#nt=oft03a-1la1

Critics pan Trump’s ‘early harvest’ trade deal with China The Financial Times / May 14, 2017 President accused of being outplayed by Beijing as ‘gigantic’ agreement draws derision From the moment he descended an escalator at TrumpTower almost two years ago and announced his presidential candidacy, Donald Trump has vowed to put the US back on a winning path in its trade dealings with China. “I beat China all the time. All the time,” he declared to cheers that day in June 2015. But did Mr Trump just get outplayed in his first trade negotiation with China? A deal announced on Friday by officials in Beijing and Washington was billed as “gigantic” and “Herculean” by his administration in its efforts to reset the relationship between the world’s two largest economies. It also marked a major de-escalation from Mr Trump’s bellicose campaign rhetoric and widespread fears that he might set off a trade war. To some former US officials, Trump advisers, business executives and other close watchers of the US-China relationship, however, this was a poor deal in which Beijing had simply reheated old promises. They say it raises questions about the Trump administration’s strategic wherewithal and the very negotiating muscle the president has so often touted. “This is disappointing on many levels,” says Dan DiMicco, former CEO of US steelmaker Nucor and a campaign adviser to Mr Trump who has long advocated a tough approach on Beijing. “We are rewarding China before stopping their massive trade cheating.” “They got played,” was the blunter assessment of one former US official. The “early harvest” deal rolled out on Friday saw China agree to resume imports of US beef that were suspended in 2003, in a move that US cattle ranchers hailed as “historic” but which Chinese leaders had already agreed to last September. Beijing also committed to open its market to foreign-owned credit rating agencies and credit card companies — a pledge that addressed long-running US gripes but also resembled previous promises. Ahead of China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China had agreed to open credit cards — or the broader market for electronic payments made in renminbi — to foreign-owned companies such as Visa and MasterCard. For its part the US has agreed to encourage natural gas sales to Chinese buyers and opened the door to imports of cooked chicken from China. More importantly, the US offered its tacit endorsement for Beijing’s “Belt and Road” project to revive the ancient trade route to Europe by sending a delegation to a Beijing summit that started on Saturday. That move upended the arm’s-length approach of the Obama administration and left the Trump administration struggling to explain why it was embracing a project many see as Beijing’s latest effort to replace the US as a trading and military power in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the administration, the deal — part of a 100-day plan hatched by Mr Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping during the Florida summit in April — will turn out to be the first of many. But critics say that in its impatience to get a deal done, the new US administration had given up many key points of leverage that would have been useful for future negotiations. Meanwhile, in the name of reducing a trade deficit with China worth more than $300 billion last year, the administration showed no signs of addressing bigger strategic economic issues such as Beijing’s efforts to force US companies to use Chinese technology or to buy US companies in key sectors. “[The Trump administration has] a single metric for trade success and that’s ‘have we reduced the trade deficit with a country?’, says Robert Atkinson, head of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based think-tank. “And the Chinese fundamentally don’t care about the deficit. They are willing to give that away. What the Chinese care about is dominance in advanced industries.” “There are a lot of major concerns about the way China is operating and the things that China does,” says US National Foreign Trade Council president Rufus Yerxa, pointing to Chinese restrictions on tech products and cloud computing. “It’s a bit concerning that those issues aren’t front and center,” he says. Mr DiMicco says that with its promise to sell more natural gas to China, the Trump administration risked undermining what is now an important competitive advantage for US industry — cheap energy costs — and the manufacturing renaissance it has promised. “When the gas exports [to China] get large enough, which they will, it will drive up natural gas prices for our domestic manufacturers, and negatively impact our reshoring efforts,” he says. It also could have longer-term consequences for the US, he warns. “We do not want to have a colonial-like trade relationship with China whereby we try to balance our trade by sending them raw materials and farm products and they send us increasingly high-technology products.”

When I think of the Simplicity brand, it's the chrome hub-capped rear-engined riding lawn mowers from the 1960s that come to mind. May I ask, how much acreage are you cutting?

After AGCO purchased Massey Ferguson, Simplicity began building and selling the Massey Ferguson lawn equipment. Simplicity bought the Snapper company in 2002. Snapper had built Massey-Ferguson lawn tractors many years before. In 2004, was purchased by Briggs & Stratton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplicity_Outdoor I'm thinking that Massey-Ferguson lawn equipment nowadays might be produced by MTD.

Ford of Canada recalls F-150s over brake issue after government pressure Automotive News / May 12, 2017 OTTAWA -- Ford of Canada has agreed to recall 43,600 F-150 pickup trucks after initially resisting Transport Minister Marc Garneau's call for the automaker to repair faulty brake parts that can increase stopping distances. Under the recall posted Thursday by Transport Canada, dealers will replace electric vacuum pumps and harnesses on 2012 and 2013 models of the pickup with 3.5-liter EcoBoost engines. Transport investigators say moisture can cause the pump to fail, reducing available brake assist immediately after first start-up. “Depending on the driver's reaction, (this) may result in extended stopping distance, which may increase the potential for a low-speed collision,” the agency said. In a press release, Ford said “typical driver brake pedal pressure” will stop the vehicle, but conceded that a pump failure “could result in unexpected extended stopping distance on the first brake application after a cold start.” The automaker said it is aware of 11 accidents associated with the issue. None involved injuries. In November 2016, Transport Canada said Ford was contesting its finding that the problem with its top-selling pickup was a safety risk. The agency said it had received more than 100 reports of pump failures. Feedback requested Garneau said he would order Ford to notify F-150 owners of the defect if the government received more complaints. “I am disappointed that Ford disagrees with our assessment, and that is why I’m inviting Canadians who have experienced these issues to provide feedback that will help me make my final decision,” Garneau said. Under current Canadian safety laws, the government can order manufacturers to issue a notice of defect, but not to make repairs under a recall. That would change under amendments before Parliament that would give the minister broader powers to order recalls, impose fines of up to C$200,000 ($146,000) for companies that violate the act and grant wider enforcement powers to Transport Canada inspectors. The bill was introduced in 2016 in the Senate, where it was modified to include compensation for dealers when vehicles on their lots are recalled. It passed first reading in the House of Commons in February. Pump warranty extended In resisting a recall of the EcoBoost F-150s earlier, Ford pointed to a finding by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S. that “the vehicle remained controllable” if the pump stopped working. Ford said an extended warranty has been put in place for all vehicles in the U.S. and Canada to cover the electric vacuum pump for 10 years or 240,000 kilometers (149,000 miles). On Thursday, Ford said the decision to issue the recall now was based on the latest data on pump failures. “Our decisions are driven by the available data and we move quickly on behalf of our customers when we determine a safety recall is needed,” said spokeswoman Michelle Lee-Gracey.

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 11, 2017 PHOENIX, AZ -- As Navistar works to move past the mistakes of the past and looks ahead to the future, International Trucks’ Jeff Sass opened HDT’s inaugural Heavy Duty Trucking eXchange fleet networking conference in Phoenix this week with a peek at the future, from electric trucks to autonomous vehicles. HDTX is a new invitation-only event for select truck fleet executives co-hosted by an array of suppliers. Sass, senior vice president, North America Truck Sales and Marketing, was up front about how the company’s failed emissions compliance strategy is still affecting customers plagued with reliability issues, but forthrightly dealt with customer questions and complaints. And he pointed out that Navistar has an all-new engine, the A26, introduced at the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council meeting earlier this year. “All the people involved in the MaxxForce program are gone,” he said. The 12.4-liter A26 is the first product of Navistar’s Project Alpha and was designed with drivers and uptime in mind, he said. “But connected trucks is really where the industry is headed,” Sass said. Trucks will talk to each other, to the infrastructure around them, and to their owners. Reprogramming trucks remotely and being able to do advanced prognosis on trucks, he said, are “another aspect of making it easier to drive the trucks. Because we have a significant driver shortage. “We as an industry have adopted advances in automated connected vehicle technology,” he continued, noting that advanced driver assistance systems, such as lane departure warning, collision mitigation and cameras, are making truck driving easier and safer — and, he said, “will lead at some point to autonomous, driverless trucks. “Now, do I believe that on I-10 out here at 3 o’clock in the afternoon as my wife is driving my two daughters to soccer practice that there will be a truck with no driver in it? No. But there are short-term applications where driverless will make sense.” He then offered a couple of examples: Congested intermodal ports. At the Port of Long Beach, there’s a 4-mile-long line as drivers wait to pick up containers. “Every minute that driver is in that truck goes against their hours of service,” he said. “Why can’t that line be completely autonomous, driverless, inching forward minute by minute, and as it gets to be fourth in line the driver gets an alert, hops in the truck, and saves all that time and productivity? In fleet yards. While visiting a fleet recently, he observed a driver checking in at the guard shack, then going to the fueling bay, to the wash bay, parking the trailer, then parking the truck, a process that took some 17 minutes. “Why couldn’t that driver get out at the guard desk and go to the locker room and then autonomously have that truck go to the fuel bay, go to the wash bay, park the trailer, park the truck?” Sass suggested. “No one is going to have a problem with a truck on private property operating by itself.” He said another technology on the way is electric trucks. The cost of battery storage is rapidly diminishing, he said, and right now it’s about $185 per kilowatt hour. “If we can get it down to about $100 per kilowatt hour, you will find the inflection point where electric and diesel cross. So, at 100ish dollars per kilowatt hour that’s where it will make economic sense. Elon Musk [of Tesla] says it’s going to be in three years. Most people are saying around 2025.” Platooning is a reality as far as technology goes, Sass said, but he’s not sure the commercial model is there yet. “I’ve seen it happen at our test track in New Carlisle, Indiana. Two trucks 30 feet apart from each other going at 60 mph. Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal until you’re in that trail truck. It’s really close. Really close. If it brakes or has to veer, they talk to each other, the trucks know, and it’s been very safe for us.” However, he said, “can you imagine two fleets that are competitors with one another, both on I-10 right here in Phoenix at 2 in the morning, debating who goes in front? Because the trail truck is the one that gets 90% of the benefit. So, until there’s some sort of legislation, or tax credit, or something that provides a commercial aspect to it,” that’s unlikely to happen, he contended. Looking further down the road, he said that maybe there will be cabless autonomous electric vehicles — “kind of just a battery on wheels that pulls a trailer.” Perhaps there will be remote dispatching, where autonomous trucks that go from hub to hub and autodock at hubs will be controlled by someone pushing buttons on a screen — or a hologram. But in the nearer future, he said, there’s still a role for drivers, a very important one. “With all the increases of electronics on the truck … the role of a driver is becoming more like a pilot,” he said — the pilot handles takeoff and landing, with autopilot used in between, with pilots still right there in case there’s a problem. “I was on my 47th American Airlines flight this year this morning, and I’ll tell you, I feel very comfortable walking in and seeing that there’s pilots sitting in the cockpit. I don't know that I would actually get on a plane without a pilot. There will be drivers in our trucks for a long period of time.”

Jacobs and DTNA sign long-term agreement Fleet Owner / May 12, 2017 Jacobs Vehicle Systems announced it has just signed a new long-term agreement with Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) to ensure its long-standing partnership continues well into the future. With this new long-term agreement, Jacobs and Daimler continue their long-standing relationship which began in 1962 when engine brakes were first installed on a Detroit Diesel Series 71 engine in an aftermarket application. Since the early 1980s, Jacobs Engine Brakes have been standard equipment starting with the joint development of the Detroit Diesel S60 engine platform in 1984 and more recently the Daimler global engine platform that launched in 2007, where the Detroit DD13, DD15 and DD16 engines are available in Daimler Trucks North America vehicles. “This type of longevity would not exist without the strong collaboration between our engineering and commercial teams,” said Steve Ernest, vice president, engineering and business development at Jacobs Vehicle Systems. “When you combine Daimler’s world-class engineering team and global market presence with the world’s leading engine braking technologies, the end result can only drive success.” “We are extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish with Daimler,” said Paul Paré, director, marketing at Jacobs Vehicle Systems. “Working with Daimler from the earliest stages of development can only lead to future benchmark products that meet the demands of our customers. This relationship is a testament to the global leadership of the Jake Brake brand.”

Peterbilt upgrades Model 520, adds vocational axle Fleet Owner / May 12, 2017 Customers in urban environments and applications such as drayage and refuse collection stand to benefit most from battery-drivien trucks, OEM says. Peterbilt Motors Co. recently showed off an electric battery-drive demonstration version of its Model 520 vocational chassis, while unveiling three new cab configurations for that model as well. The OEM also said it is adding the new PACCAR 20,000-lb. and 22,000-lb. wide track steer axles to its vocational chassis lineup. At the WasteExpo 2017 show in New Orleans, LA, this week, Peterbilt unveiled an Model 520 demonstration truck in refuse configuration equipped with a battery-electric drive system built by Transpower ElecTruck. The ElecTruck system uses high-power electric motors, inverters and batteries to power commercial trucks weighing as much as 80,000 lb., and has also accumulated over 80,000 miles of Class 8 heavy duty use in a variety of commercial applications since 2013, noted Joshua Goldman, TransPower’s vice president of business development. The variant of TransPower’s system developed for the Model 520 refuse truck uses a 300 kilowatt-hour battery pack so it can operate for up to 65 miles or eight hours on a single charge. The ElecTruck system also features a 70 kilowatt onboard battery charger that can fully charge the truck’s lithium-ion battery pack in two-four hours, Goldman noted. “Powering heavy refuse trucks is a logical next step in the adaptation of our electric drive technology to vehicles requiring conversion to zero-emission operation,” he said in a statement. “Peterbilt is working closely with its partners to explore the capabilities and performance of battery-electric drive systems,” added Scott Newhouse, Peterbilt's chief engineer. “Customers in urban environments and applications such as drayage and refuse collection stand to benefit from the zero-emissions performance of these advanced vehicles.” Peterbilt is also now offering three different cab configurations for its Model 520 as well: Left-Hand Drive, Right-Hand Drive and Right-Hand Stand-Up Drive in addition to its existing Dual Seated Drive configuration, the company announced. The Left-Hand Drive and Right-Hand Drive configurations provide a comfortable seated driving position while in transit or performing curbside operations, while the redesigned Right-Hand Stand-Up cab configuration provides easier cab entry and exit ingress in applications where refuse drivers must leave the cab multiple times on their routes. Driver ergonomics are further enhanced by standard adjustable seat, angled steering wheel and dead-pedal to rest their left foot during operation, noted Robert Woodall, Peterbilt’s assistant general manager of sales and marketing, in a statement. “Offering a full lineup of cab configurations for the refuse market further enhances the versatility of this vocational vehicle for our customers’ operations,” he explained. Peterbilt is also now providing the new PACCAR 20,000-lb. and 22,000-lb. wide track steer axles as options on its vocational models, available with standard front air disc brakes or optional drum brakes as well as with other suspensions and wheel end options. Both axle ratings will be available in the Models 567, 520, 389, 367, 365, 348 and the 389 glider kit, the OEM added. Kyle Quinn, Peterbilt’s general manager and PACCAR senior vice president, noted in a statement that this new vocational steer axle is ideal for demanding applications such as refuse, construction and heavy-haul based on its combination of weight-savings and durability. It also provides other operational benefits such as improved maneuverability via its turn angle of up to 50 degrees, he said.

Fiat Chrysler recalling 1.25 million pickups for software error Reuters / May 12, 2017 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Friday it is recalling more than 1.25 million pickups worldwide to address a software error linked to reports of one crash death and two injuries. The erroneous code could temporarily disable the side airbag and deployment seat of belt pretensioners -- which reduce seat belt slack during impacts -- during a vehicle rollover spurred by a significant underbody impact, such as striking onroad debris or driving off-road, the automaker said. The company will reprogram computer modules in the affected vehicles to address this error. An FCA spokesman said the likelihood of an incident was very low because a sequence of events was needed to cause an incident. There is no definitive proof the error was involved in two accidents, one of which resulted in a fatality, but the automaker was conducting the recall proactively, he said. The spokesman declined to say whether the code was produced inhouse or by an FCA supplier, saying "we do not discuss supplier relationships." The recall covers 1.02 million 2013-16 Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups, and 2014-2016 Ram 3500 pickups in the U.S., 216,007 vehicles in Canada; 21,668 in Mexico; and 21,530 outside North America, the automaker said. Fiat Chrysler said the recall would start late in June. If the error code appears in an affected vehicle during operation, the problem could temporarily be addressed by turning the vehicle off and then on, the company said. The automaker told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it began investigating the issue in December after it received notice of a suit involving a 2014 Ram 1500 in which the airbag failed to deploy in a rollover crash. More software recalls A growing number of auto recalls have been sparked by software issues as more vehicle functions are controlled by computers. In September, General Motors recalled nearly 4.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a similar software defect that can prevent airbags from deploying during a crash, a flaw already linked to one death and three injuries. Fiat Chrysler has been working to move faster to address vehicle issues after being fined twice in 2015 by the NHTSA. In December 2015, the company was fined $70 million for failing to report vehicle crash deaths and injuries since 2003. In July 2015, Fiat Chrysler agreed to a $105 million settlement with NHTSA for mishandling nearly two dozen recall campaigns involving 11 million vehicles. It agreed to a three-year consent agreement and monitoring by former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.

DAF Booms in Birmingham Steve Brooks, Owner-Driver / May 8, 2017 Unveiling one of the European truck industry’s best kept secrets, DAF shocked competitors and visitors alike at the recent Birmingham Commercial Vehicle Show in the UK with its showcase of a new generation of CF and XF models. Building on the strong market acceptance of its current Euro 6 models throughout Europe and the UK, DAF says this new generation of models will go into European production later this year equipped with engine innovations, new drivelines and aerodynamic optimisations which will deliver up to seven percent lower fuel consumption than existing models. With its current MX-11 and MX-13 Euro 6 engines, DAF is already regarded as one of the most fuel efficient brands in the commercial vehicle industry. However, DAF principals insist the new ‘DAF Connect’ fleet management system will drive even greate efficiency gains. Meantime, the new generation CF and XF models also feature lower tare weight and updated interior and exterior designs for enhanced driver comfort and appeal. "Building on the excellent reputation for fuel efficiency, reliability and driver comfort the current Euro 6 product range has earned in Europe, DAF has developed a new generation of CF and XF trucks offering the best possible solutions for both the customer and the driver," said DAF Trucks president Preston Feight at the debut of the latest models. With Euro 6 engines requiring both SCR and EGR emissions systems, DAF says the air management of its Paccar MX engines has been further improved by applying a more efficient turbocharger, a new EGR system and a new valve actuation design. Additionally, thermal efficiency is said to be enhanced by development of a new combustion system comprising new pistons, injectors and injection strategies including higher compression ratios. While torque peaks of both MX-11 and MX-13 engines have been increased, the big news is that the MX-13 has been boosted to a top rating of 390 kW (530 hp) and 2600 Nm of torque. Fuel efficiency has been further enhanced with the application of low viscosity oils, lower oil levels in the rear axles and low friction wheel end bearings. In the driveline, ZF’s advanced TraXon automated transmission will be standard in the latest CF and XF models. Among a suite of advances in both software and hardware, retardation power of the Paccar engine brake has also been improved. Maximum braking power of the MX-13 is now no less than 360 kW and in the important 1200 to 1500 rpm range, DAF says engine braking power has increased up to 30 percent. Labelled a major innovation in fleet management, the DAF Connect system offers the truck owner real-time information on the performance of his vehicles and drivers. According to DAF, information on vehicle location, fuel consumption, mileage, fleet utilisation and idle time are clearly presented in an on-line dashboard which can be tailored to customer requirements. DAF further explains the user-friendly dashboard can be configured to provide comprehensive fuel reports with current and historical data that compares the fleet’s vehicles and drivers. Meanwhile, driver comfort hasn’t been ignored with DAF describing its latest models as a ‘Driver’s Dream’ due to new interior trims, a new climate control system, upgraded instrument panel and dashboard layout, and at the top of the tree, a luxurious ‘Exclusive Line’ option available in both CF and XF models. As Euro 6 models, the new trucks won’t be appearing in Australia anytime soon but of course, when it comes to emissions regulations, there’s always tomorrow.

Owner/Driver / May 8, 2017 .

Federal Budget: Main Roads Minister says QLD ripped off Owner/Driver / May 10, 2017 Minister for Main Roads Mark Bailey calls on Turnbull to give Queensland its fair share of roads funding ahead of tonight's Federal Budget. As well as a fair share of road funding for Queensland, Bailey has asked that the State also receives the funding the Turnbull Government ripped away six months ago. Bailey says it's time for the Prime Minister to prove his mettle to Queensland voters who are sick and tired of playing second fiddle to other states when it comes to infrastructure spending. "Six months ago, the Turnbull Government ripped-off Queensland by around $150 million in promised roads funding under the Northern Australia Roads Programme (NARP)," Bailey said. "The Federal government originally allocated $375 million in NARP funding for Queensland in their last budget, but they went back on their word giving us just $223.8 million. "The Palaszczuk Government put forward 26 projects and had our 20 per cent funding on the table for all of them, but the Federal government only committed to ten projects. "This means projects like installing overtaking lanes or improving heavy vehicle safety on the Flinders Highway between Townsville and Charters Towers missed out. "It’s disappointing to say the least that Queensland’s fair funding share was siphoned and spent interstate. So I’m hopeful that this funding will be put back in tonight's Budget." List of unfunded Queensland NARP projects: National Land Transport Network: Road Renewal Flinders Highway (Hughenden – Cloncurry): Pavement widening and strengthening (Package 2) Flinders Highway (Townsville – Charters Towers): Overtaking lanes Flinders Highway (Townsville – Charters Towers): Heavy vehicle safety and productivity package Capricorn Highway (Rockhampton – Duaringa): Valentine Creek bridge upgrade Gregory Developmental Road (Belyando Crossing – Charter Towers): Pavement widening Gulf Developmental Road (East of Mount Surprise – Normanton): Pavement widening (Package 1) Landsborough Highway (Barcaldine – Cloncurry): Heavy vehicle rest areas and stopping places Burke and Karumba Developmental Roads (Cloncurry – Karumba): Pavement widening (Package 1) Cairns (Captain Cook Highway): Cairns Airport Access upgrade (Stage 1) Capricorn Highway (Duaringa – Emerald): Gregory Highway intersection upgrade Minister Bailey says he isn't convinced the Turnbull Government has Queensland top of mind, citing the leaked parts of its infrastructure plan this week as proof. "Apparently tough new tests are going to be imposed on the states as part of its infrastructure plan, but what will this do apart from increasing red tape, paperwork and causing project delays?" Bailey said. "I’m also concerned about their conditional user-pays plan to toll all new motorways labelling it as the "fairest way". This wouldn’t be fair on taxpayers if there isn’t an alternative route, so I think this blanket approach is flawed. "It’s getting a little tiresome to continually have to fight for Queensland’s fair share of roads funding from the Turnbull Government, the M1 and the Ipswich Motorway are clear cases of this. "Queensland is a vast decentralised state with some 186,000 kilometres of public roads including 33,343 km of state-controlled roads, which is more than any other state or territory. "Of course more funding should be spent on Queensland’s roads infrastructure than of the other States/Territories. "Our roads network is a vital link across Queensland and serves a diverse economy from mining, agriculture, tourism and service industries. "We’re also subject to extreme climate conditions more than others that impact our roads network like cyclones and flooding." Minister Bailey confirms he'll continue to put Queensland’s interests first and fight for the state's fair share of funding. .

Owner/Driver / May 10, 2017 Road upgrades and proactive safety initiatives are high on the road transport industry’s wishlist, but both require all-important funding. Last night’s Federal Budget saw infrastructure spending high on the agenda, with a number of road and rail upgrades set to better connect regional and metro Australia. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison spoke passionately about the importance of infrastructure as he handed down his second Federal Budget, with a slogan to boot: "To support growth we choose to invest in building Australia, rail by rail, runway by runway and road by road." "It is important to invest in infrastructure…but we have to make the right choices on projects, proving the case to ensure they are part of a broader economic growth strategy," Morrison said. The Treasurer did his best to quell concerns that infrastructure spending can sometimes be misguided, outlining plans for a new agency to oversee project financing. "Our new infrastructure and projects financing agency will help us make those right choices, recruiting people with the commercial expertise to ensure we use taxpayers’ money wisely," he said. A total of $75 billion in funding has been allocated to infrastructure developments over the next ten years, with a good portion of that detailed in this year’s budget. In Queensland, $844 million will be used to upgrade the Bruce Highway including $530 million for works on the section from Pine Rivers to Caloundra. The M1 Pacific Motorway, Gateway Upgrade North, Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, Warrego Highway and Northern Austral Roads Programme will also receive funding for long-awaited works. Minister for Main Roads and Road Safety Mark Bailey says the Queensland funding falls short of what is needed for what is the largest state road network in the country. "I am disappointed we didn’t get our NARP funding back for regional roads in North and Western Queensland," Bailey said. "Six months ago, the Turnbull Government ripped-off Queensland by around $150 million in promised roads funding under the Northern Australia Roads Programme (NARP). "This means projects benefiting truckies like installing overtaking lanes or improving heavy vehicle safety on the Flinders Highway between Townsville and Charters Towers missed out, as well as funding for Heavy vehicle rest areas and stopping places on the Landsborough Highway between Barcaldine and Cloncurry. "A list of initiatives on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list also missed out on funding including the remaining sections of Ipswich Motorway Rocklea-Darra upgrade, Cunningham Highway – Yamanto to Ebenezer/Amberley upgrade and other Brisbane to Gold Coast transport corridor upgrades. These upgrades would be of great benefit to Queensland and Australia’s freight and supply chain productivity." Over in Western Australia $1.6 billion in Commonwealth funds has been invested for better roads access and the government has committed $237 million of that for the Kwiwana freeway as well as $100 million for an access road upgrade near the Fiona Stanley Hospital. Victoria has had $1 billion made available for regional rail and infrastructure projects, with most of that money going to rail. The Tullamarine Freeway widening will see $112 million in 2017-18, the Western Freeway will get $77 million in 2017-18 and the Princes Highway West and East will see improvements. Following a joint Victorian and Federal Government agreement late last year, the Monash Freeway upgrade, completion of the M80 Ring Road upgrade, Rural and Regional Roads Package and Urban Congestion Package will receive Federal support. New South Wales will inject $710.1 million in 2017-18 to the Pacific Highway duplication and a number of Regional Road Freight Corridor projects have received funding under the Commonwealth’s Asset Recycling Initiative. The Northern Territory Roads Package will receive funding, along with the Regional Roads Productivity Package. South Australia and Tasmania saw modest road upgrade funding, with money committed to South Australia’s North-South Corridor projects and Tasmania’s Midland Highway. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) received the ongoing $3.9 million for their Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative – funds redirected from the abolished Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT). "I believe this budget will allow the NHVR to continue with our work to improve heavy vehicle safety and improve productivity for Australia’s heavy vehicle sector," NHVR chief executive Sal Petroccitto said. "In particular we welcome the on-going investment in the $3.9 million Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, as well as the freight-enhancing infrastructure and road safety programs outlined in the budget" The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) welcomed Budget announcements surrounding safety measures and infrastructure improvements. "The Government was re-elected in 2016 with a commitment to continue funding the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity, Roads to Recovery, Black Spot and Bridges Renewal programs beyond 2019-20," ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said. "These programs are highly cost effective and deliver safety improvements such as truck rest areas, roundabouts and street lights at dangerous places on our roads. Meanwhile, the Bridges Renewal Program is upgrading bridges that are critical to truck access to local communities. "The 2017-18 Budget confirms that these programs will continue through to 2020-21. Their safety benefits will continue to flow." The ATA also highlighted positive implications of the small business asset write-off extension for trucking businesses. "The vast majority of trucking businesses are small businesses. 94 per cent have a turnover of $2 million or less," Crouch said. "The Government’s decision to extend the instant asset write-off to 30 June 2018 will benefit many eligible businesses." National Transport Minister Darren Chester confirmed that the Government provided an extra $16 million to extend the Keys2drive program, providing around 200,000 free lessons to learner drivers as well as conducting an inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy. The Australian Government will also continue to fund the Black Spot Programme with $684.5 million from 2013–14 to 2020–21 so it can continue to deliver safety improvements around dangerous sections of road. As far as funding not specifically roads-related but relevant to the road transport industry, the Western Sydney airport and the Melbourne to Brisbane in-land rail project will both go ahead. The Western Sydney airport planned for Badgery’s Creek will commence works in 2018 following the allocation of $5.3 billion in equity. The hotly-debated Melbourne to Brisbane in-land rail project, to be delivered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), was provided with $8.4 billion in funding. The 17,000 kilometre rail project will begin this year and is projected to support 16,000 jobs during the peak of construction. Concerns for the road transport industry with the introduction of an in-land rail project connecting Brisbane and Melbourne remain, but Livestock, Bulk and Rural Carriers Association (LBRCA) President Lynley Miners suggests it may actually support trucking jobs. "Some commodities can go on rail and it works with heavy stuff like grain and coal, but time-dependent goods will still rely on trucks," Miners said. "Road transport will also play a big part of building the in-land rail network and it’ll create plenty of work for transport operators. "Everyone talks about the freight task doubling by 2030, but the roads aren’t keeping up with that as far as population growth and the need for everything to expand. "If rail is part of the system well so be it, we’ve just got to make sure we still get our share of the money for road upgrades and improvements," he said. The NHVR echoed this sentiment, insisting that rail supports the rapid growth in Australia’s overall freight task. "I believe it’s important that freight investment extends beyond the road network to the rail network to support the on-going growth in Australia’s freight task," Petroccitto said. For a full breakdown of state-by-state transport-related infrastructure funding, click here. .

Isuzu Begins Production of Class 6 FTR Heavy Duty Trucking / May 10, 2017 Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., distributor of low cab forward trucks, has announced that production of its all-new entry in the Class 6 medium-duty truck segment — the 2018 Isuzu FTR — began May 8, 2017. The truck is being produced at a new 80,000-square-foot Spartan Motors facility in Charlotte, Mich. “We believe that the all-new FTR is the truck of the future,” said Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. “This truck’s combination of low-cab-forward design, Class 6 GVWR, and four-cylinder diesel engine gives it fantastic maneuverability, the ability to carry more cargo than a conventional Class 6 truck, and outstanding fuel efficiency." The FTR is powered by Isuzu’s 4HK1-TC 5.2L turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine — a first in the segment, according to the truckmaker. It generates 520 lb.-ft. of torque and 215 hp and carries a B10 durability rating of 375,000 miles — meaning that 90% of engines should reach that mileage before requiring an overhaul. The truck has a gross vehicle weight rating of 25,950 pounds. "We’re also thrilled to be working with Spartan Motors in Michigan,” Skinner added. “Much of the engineering for this truck was done at the Isuzu Technical Center of America in Plymouth, Michigan, and many of the parts for it are U.S.-sourced. This is a true medium-duty Class 6 truck designed and built for this market, in this market.” Eight wheelbase lengths, ranging from 152 to 248 inches, accommodate bodies from 14 feet to 30 feet, allowing for a wide variety of body applications. The new truck assembly plant where the FTR is being produced represents a $6.5 million investment and has already brought new jobs to the Michigan workforce. Steve Guillaume, President of Spartan Specialty Vehicles, said, “We value our business relationship with Isuzu, and we’re excited to help bring this groundbreaking new product to the market.” More information can be found at www.isuzucv.com and at www.spartanmotors.com. .

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 10, 2017 For the first time in company history, Cummins has officially endorsed a fuel additive, recommending two Power Service products, Diesel Kleen + Cetane Boost and Diesel Fuel Supplement + Cetane Boost. The announcement came after Cummins conducted internal testing and concluded that both products meet Cummins requirements. These are the first fuel additive products that Cummins has ever officially recommendeded in the marketplace, according to the company. “In recent years, diesel fuel quality has become increasingly important as engines evolve and the diesel fuel manufacturing processes change,” said Roger England, director of technical quality and materials engineering for Cummins. “The Power Service Diesel Kleen and Diesel Fuel Supplement additives provide easily accessible solutions with proven technology to customers in the field when they encounter challenges with their fuel such as poor lubricity, low cetane numbers, low-temperature operability issues, injector deposits, etc.” Power Service Diesel Kleen +Cetane Boost is designed to be used as a year-round performance enhancer. The company said it can clean dirty injectors, prevent injector sticking, smooth rough-running engines, and improve fuel economy. Diesel Fuel Supplement +Cetane Boost is recommended for use in winter months when temperatures drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a winterizer/anti-gel used to prevent fuel gelling and keep fuel filters from plugging with ice and wax. “Cummins is in a unique position in that we design not only the engine, but also the turbochargers, fuel system, and aftertreatment systems, which enables us to fully leverage the Power Service diesel fuel additive technologies,” said England. .

Nikola Motor Co. Outlines Progress on Hydrogen-Electric Class 8 Transport Topics / May 10, 2017 Nikola Motor Co. is considering several changes related to its planned hydrogen electric Class 8 trucks, the company told those who have made reservations and placed refundable deposits. Those changes include chassis design and leasing options. The update came in the form of letter released in April and signed by Nikola CEO Trevor Milton. It arrived four months after the company’s Dec. 1 unveiling of its Nikola One zero-emissions Class 8 over-the-road truck in Salt Lake City. Nikola also is developing the Nikola Two, a day cab model. New pricing options are under consideration for those who lease the trucks, the company wrote. For example, Nikola may offer to bill operators on a price-per-mile basis, including a minimum yearly mileage, instead of a fixed lease price, according to the company. It estimated this option could lower the cost of ownership by as much as 30%, compared with a diesel-fueled Class 8. “We anticipate pricing specifics related to this option to be available for review by drivers in early 2019,” the company wrote. Meanwhile, the company wrote that its “next series of prototypes” will be ready for road testing before the end of 2018. Those trucks will use hydrogen to replenish the battery-charging fuel cell. Also, the company reported that the next version of its trucks for testing with certain fleets will include refinements such as changes to the chassis to reduce weight and size, provide better visibility, increase storage and lower the fifth wheel.

Ford's Board Presses Fields On Future Strategy, But The Problem Is What's (Not) In Showrooms Today Forbes / May 10, 2017 Ford right now is a one-trick pony: its highly profitable F-series pickup truck line is hauling a heavy load, while the rest of its lineup sags. On the eve of Ford Motor’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Chief Executive Mark Fields is reportedly taking heat from the company’s board of directors over his strategy to become both a car company and a mobility provider amid stalled growth and a sinking share price. But there’s nothing wrong with Fields’ plan to reach beyond Ford’s core business of building and selling cars. Its very survival depends on adapting to new market trends and to new players like Uber, Google and Tesla. So he’s absolutely right to invest in ride-sharing services, self-driving car technology and vehicle electrification. The problem is that while he’s spending billions to prepare for tomorrow’s challenges, Ford’s current business is showing signs of weakness. The company is projecting $9 billion in pre-tax profit this year, down from $10.4 billion in 2016. The trouble spots are hard to see behind the smashing success of Ford’s flagship line of F-series pickup trucks, whose sales are up 7.4 percent so far this year. Its newest truck, the Ford Super-Duty, is selling for an average $58,200 -- $8,400 more than a year ago – as buyers gravitate toward the highest trim levels. The regular F-150 is also selling at premium prices: an average $41,900, up $1,600 from a year ago. The Raptor, a high-performance sport version of the F-series, has also found a successful niche. As we’ve seen in the past, though, success with high-margin trucks can mask a lot of problems. Ford’s overall sales were down 7.1 percent in April, and are running 5.1 percent lower so far this year, worse than the industry average. When you exclude its important commercial fleet sales (about one-third of its business) Ford sold fewer vehicles at dealerships than even its smaller competitor, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, makers of Jeep, Ram and Dodge vehicles. In April, Ford’s retail market share shrank by 0.8 points, a substantial loss. Sales of passenger cars, including the Ford Fusion, Focus and Mustang, have been especially hard hit. The market shift toward crossovers and SUVs has hurt sedan sales for every carmaker, but Ford’s cars are faring worse than others. Its passenger car sales are down 22.1 percent through April, twice the industry decline. Ford’s light truck sales are lagging the industry, too. Despite the success of F-series, Ford trucks, SUVs and crossovers are up just 2 percent vs. an industry wide gain of 4.3 percent. The iconic Explorer is down 1.5 percent, while the rival Jeep Grand Cherokee is up 15.4 percent. Its best-selling crossover, the Ford Escape, is up 6.8 percent, but considering the red-hot crossover segment is up 10.1 percent, the Escape is losing ground. The full-size Ford Expedition is up 35.3 percent, but it still commands just 20 percent of the large utility segment, which is dominated by General Motors’ Chevrolet and GMC brands with a combined 67 percent share. A new Expedition (aluminum-based, like the F-series trucks) is coming this fall, along with a new Lincoln Navigator, which will undoubtedly help Ford’s bottom line. Though the segment remains small, large SUVs command outsized profits around $20,000 per vehicle. Ford’s overall market share stands at 15.1 percent so far this year, down from 15.6 percent a year ago. Part of this is deliberate: Ford says it’s not going to chase market share at the expense of profits so it’s resisting a price war with more aggressive rivals that are offering big discounts. But many of its products – other than the F-series line – are fairly dated, which also hurts sales. Some of Ford’s problems can be fixed when fresh products arrive in dealer showrooms, but that can’t come soon enough. The Escape, Explorer and Fusion are all scheduled for overhaul in 2019, according to BofA Merrill Lynch’s annual Car Wars Report, which tracks automakers’ future products. Meanwhile, Ford is making do with minor improvements, like a facelift and new wifi hotspot on the 2018 Explorer. But competition is only intensifying. GM has an onslaught of new crossovers coming, including the Chevrolet Traverse and Equinox, the GMC Acadia and Terrain and the Buick Enclave. Honda Motor, meanwhile, has a new CR-V crossover, plus a new Odyssey minivan, which competes somewhat with SUVs like the Explorer. Even the family sedan market, which is shrinking, is getting more competitive, with new versions of the top-selling Toyota Camry and Honda Accord debuting soon, which will put pressure on Ford’s Fusion. Ford is adept at marketing so it can handle that pressure. Its bigger problem is the products it doesn’t have. As Mark LaNeve, Ford’s vice president of marketing, sales and service, acknowledged last week in a phone call with analysts and media, you can’t sell products you don’t make. “Two fast-growing parts of the market, mini-utilities and mid-size pickups, we're not participating in,” he said. “Participating with them would certainly help our year-over-year growth compared to the competition that has entries in those categories.” Indeed, Ford has a few glaring holes in its lineup. It doesn’t have a little SUV to compete with the likes of the Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade or Chevrolet Trax. Nor does it have a mid-sized pickup to go head-to-head with the popular Toyota Tacoma and the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. In fact, for a while, Ford insisted there was no market for smaller pickups. Now that it’s been proven wrong, it’s playing catch-up. Solutions are coming. Starting early next year, Ford will offer the EcoSport, a small crossover built and sold elsewhere in the world. It will also bring back its once-popular Ford Ranger small pickup, but not until 2019. As an added bonus, it’s also bringing back the iconic Ford Bronco in 2020. Until then, it could be rough sledding for Ford – and for Fields who is trying to steer through the rough patches. Today’s product gaps at Ford can be traced to decisions made in the past, including some that occurred even before Fields was CEO. In the wake of the Great Recession, after Ford barely escaped bankruptcy, Fields’ predecessor, Alan Mulally, put all of the company’s resources toward strengthening its core brand and simplifying its global engineering efforts. With the Obama Administration pushing clean energy initiatives, Mulally also made the fateful decision to overhaul Ford’s flagship product, the F-series, with a new lightweight aluminum body structure, to make it both more fuel efficient and more capable. The shift to aluminum construction for the 2015 model year also required an expensive overhaul of Ford’s manufacturing processes. No one can argue with the F-series’ success, but the gargantuan effort limited the investment dollars available for other products. Now Fields must deal with the hand he was dealt, while continuing to satisfy regulatory requirements and keep up with shifting market trends. Last year, for example, he committed $4.5 billion to develop 13 new electrified vehicles by 2020. And recently, Ford announced it is investing $1 billion during the next five years in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company, to develop a virtual driver system for an autonomous vehicle coming in 2021. As he faces shareholders Thursday, Fields must convince them he has a firm hand on the wheel and importantly, that he knows where he’s going. As he’s fond of saying, “You have to have one foot in today, but also one foot in the future.”

Cadillac’s Diesel Program Is Moving Forward, Unaffected by Opel Sale Car & Driver / May 10, 2017 Cadillac’s diesel program, which we’ve been reporting on for the last couple of years, remains firmly on track, Car and Driver has recently learned. The luxury and performance brand has been working on four- and six-cylinder diesel engines for several upcoming models, but the sale of General Motors’ European subsidiary Opel to the French PSA conglomerate, itself a maker of diesel engines, had cast doubt on Cadillac’s future plans. That’s because the new engines were supposed to be shared with future Opel models, and developing diesel engines solely for Cadillac would be far too costly. But the future of the new engine generation is secured: Opel cars will still be fitted with the new generation of GM diesel engines. The supply agreements are in place, and development has progressed far down the path to production. “The diesel program has been affected, but not catastrophically,” we were told. The four- and six-cylinder diesels are earmarked for several of Cadillac’s upcoming crossover/SUV models, and they are sorely needed to help the brand make a more meaningful impact on the market in Europe. In the premium-SUV segment there, the take rate for diesels still far exceeds that for gasoline engines. And Cadillac may still bring those diesels to the United States. The brand will continue to monitor diesel offerings from BMW and Mercedes-Benz as well as GM’s own Chevrolet Cruze diesel. Audi, Porsche, and VW have yanked their V-6 TDI engine from the U.S. market in the wake of the VW Group’s diesel emissions-cheating scandal, leaving a gap waiting to be exploited by the competition.

Even Tougher Styling Underscores New 2018 F-150's Built Ford Tough Brand Promise 2018 F-150 redesign further expands on the Built Ford Tough design language, while the truck’s solid billet-milled cues and broad stance – a nod to F-Series design heritage – convey strength and durability Ford truck designers share their insights on what makes the new F-150 look more capable than the competition, explaining how the truck walks a fine line between exuding confidence, strength and innovation without appearing overly aggressive Beyond the high-tech industrial tools modern designers have at their fingertips, Ford truck designers rely heavily on customer insight and feedback, as well as design craftsmanship to know what gives their trucks that Built Ford Tough look 2018 Ford F-150 Fact Sheet DEARBORN, Mich., May 10, 2017 – Along with the new 2018 F-150’s more powerful engine lineup, high-strength materials and class-exclusive technologies, its new exterior design conveys a relentless focus on innovation while paying homage to nearly 70 years of the purpose-built, work-tested Built Ford Tough brand promise. For 2018, F-150 takes signature F-Series design language to new levels by building on its solid billet-milled visual cues and broad stance, while harmonizing with the all-new Super Duty lineup. According to Ford truck designers, creating the next chapter in Built Ford Tough design comes down to three main concepts – understanding F-Series design heritage, knowing the wants and needs of Ford truck customers, and applying a dose of craftsmanship where pen meets paper. “We call our F-Series customers ‘bold guardians of the brand,’” says Ford truck design chief Gordon Platto. “These customers know our Built Ford Tough DNA, and they want their trucks to convey strength, capability, boldness and power – without being ‘in your face’ aggressive.” The team meets multiple times with truck owners throughout the design process in an effort to understand how they use their trucks and what they want in terms of features and style. Recent immersions involved designers, engineers and product marketers embedding with owners to gain a deep understanding of customer routines and develop owner personas to refine Built Ford Tough design DNA. “Our success starts and ends with our customers,” says Sean Tant, Ford design manager, truck studio. “We always go back to our customers to test our designs. They want their truck to embody the F-Series brand identity and purpose-built appearance, so we continually rework our designs and retest them until we get it right.” Showroom harmony strengthens F-Series brand Like the all-new F-Series Super Duty, the 2018 F-150 gets a billet-milled body for a new look. A horizontal twin-bar grille conveys strength, precision and muscularity while accentuating the width of the new F-150. All-new C-clamp headlamps wrap tightly to the grille, offering LED lighting and signature daytime running lamps to emphasize F-150’s segment-leading innovations. The chamfered nose and fenders underscore the power and toughness of the available new powertrains. “F-150 needs to look solid, confident and capable,” says Tant. “All design elements need to have individual as well as collective strength. We wanted to continue with the billet-milled style introduced in 2015 while visually making the truck look wide and planted.” From a profile view, the truck carries forward signature F-Series cues like the drop-down in the front doors. Wheel openings, as well as wheel and tire proportions are another area in which strength – as opposed to an over-bodied appearance – is emphasized. With large-diameter tires wrapping six all-new wheel designs ranging from 17 inches to a whopping 22 inches, every F-150 model is sure-footed on-road or off. Customers want functional, authentic trucks, which is why Ford uses traditional frame-mounted bumpers and minimizes plastic covers or fascias. “Form and function matters to Ford truck customers,” says Platto. “Chrome conveys durability and functionality in our customers’ eyes. Ford trucks need to be purpose-built for work and instill confidence among those who use them.” From the rear, style cues follow the same design philosophy, with a billet-milled treatment around the fenders, taillamps and tailgate. The taillamps provide good illumination, and the F-150 badge on the tailgate is replaced with the stamped-in nameplate of popular XL, XLT or Lariat trim levels, while premium King Ranch, Platinum and Limited series feature a unique satin chrome appliqué. Tying it all together is where the craftsmanship comes in, according to Platto and Tant. “When we are designing F-150, we really look at the truck through the eyes of our customers,” says Tant. “We pay attention to detail, and always strive to ensure the truck demonstrates quality – in how its lines meet, accelerate and move through space. We always work to ensure a proper crown is added to the surfaces.” At the end of the day, members of Ford’s truck team ask themselves whether a truck redesign is Built Ford Tough. If not, it’s back to the drawing board to make it right, so that every Ford F-Series truck continues to live up to the legacy of best-selling truck in America. .

Green Car Congress / May 10, 2017 Wrightspeed Inc., a developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty range-extended electric vehicle (REV) powertrains (earlier post), has partnered with AxleTech International (formerly Rockwell International), a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty specialty drivetrain systems. The partnership integrates decades of axle engineering experience into Wrightspeed’s electrification technology to meet growing demand from the company’s customers and partners, including Mack Trucks and New Zealand Bus (NZB). Wrightspeed’s Route REV powertrain system, featuring regenerative braking and a range-extending turbine generator, the Fulcrum, enable heavy-duty electric vehicles to operate as efficiently as possible. Recently recognized as a 2016 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Wrightspeed will now leverage AxleTech’s expertise in engineering and manufacturing to accelerate commercial deployment of its multimodal REV Route powertrain. Wrightspeed’s GTD (Geared Traction Drive) pairs with a custom axle from AxleTech International, designed to accommodate Wrightspeed’s super duty final drive gear. The custom axle-outfitted GTD unit is featured in the Mack Trucks booth at the WasteExpo conference in Nevada this week. Wrightspeed is rapidly expands its supply chain team, bringing on experts with experience at Tesla Motors, Ford, Cummins, and others to meet strong demand for new powertrain technology. Wrightspeed is scaling its operations to meet international interest, including from the largest operator of urban bus services in New Zealand, NZB, as well as continuing its work with Sonoma County recycling leader, The Ratto Group. AxleTech International, based in Troy, Michigan, is a manufacturer and supplier of heavy-duty and specialty vehicle drivetrain systems and components to original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket for commercial and defense customers around the world. The company has manufacturing, distribution, and engineering facilities in Troy, Michigan; Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Saint-Étienne, France; Osasco, Brazil; and Pune, India. Related reading - https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/45567-waste-concept-mack-tests-out-wrightspeed-electric-powertrain/#comment-335858 .

I myself am a fan of real photos. Meanwhile though, Kenworth has been on a sales hot streak from coast to coast for the last 18 months. Peterbilt doing very well too.