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Canada Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck Sales Sink in December Wards Auto / January 13, 2017 Canadian truck makers undersold in December, down 21.1% to 2,620 units from like-2015’s 3,322. Class 8 deliveries totaled 1,911 units for December, down 17.9% from year-ago. Group leader Paccar gained a mere 0.2%, balanced out from Kenworth’s increase of 0.7% and Peterbilt’s decrease of 0.5%. All other truck makers in this segment posted double-digit losses, including Daimler (-22.1%), International (-15.1%) and Volvo Truck (-25.7%). With all brands in the segment posting year-to-date losses, heavy-trucks totaled 23,037 deliveries for the year, down 22.1% from 2015’s total. Medium-duty truck sales plummeted 28.7% to 709 units from 995 in same-month 2015, with year-to-date losses in each segment. Class 7 sales fell 9.2% from year-ago’s 260 units to 236. Kenworth sunk 35.7% and sister brand Peterbilt rose 11.1%, leaving PACCAR with a 21.7% drop to 47 units. Group leader International posted a large gain of 44.8%. Ford’s sales cut in half, dropping to six units. Freightliner and Hino also saw double-digit losses of 28.6% and 20.3%, respectively. Over the 12-month period, Class 7 sales shrunk to 4,370 units, an 8.8% fall from 2015’s 4,792. In Class 6, an 88.9% dive in Peterbilt sales and a 65.6% plunge posted by Freightliner drove the segment to a 57.9% loss. Hino (-35.7%) and International (-61.9%) also posted large losses. Ford remained flat with 4 deliveries. Year-to-date sales in this class dropped 17.3% to 1,068 units. With its domestic line dropping 33.4% and imports falling 23.6%, Class 5 deliveries totaled 336 units, an overall decline of 30.1% from year-ago’s 481. Volume leader Ford dropped 37.5% with 135 units. Hino saw the smallest decline of only 1.2% to 80 units, while International posted the largest loss of 80% delivering only one unit in December. FCA and Isuzu also saw large declines of 18.3% and 43.4%, respectively. Deliveries in Class 4 fell 34.4% to 84 units. Isuzu’s domestic line rose 850% but on small volume. Group leader Ford fell 43.8% to 50 units. Hino (-14.3%) and Isuzu’s import line (-62.5%) also posted losses. For the year, domestic sales increased 0.7% and imports dropped 30.8%, leaving a Class 4 combined loss of 6.6% on 1,434 units compared to like-2015. Over the 12-month period, medium-and heavy-truck deliveries totaled 35,281 units, 18.2% less than the same period in 2015. .

U.S. Big Trucks Down 9.9% in December Wards Auto / January 13, 2017 U.S. sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in December fell 9.9% from like-2015 to 35,725 units. Class 8 sales sunk the most in December, down to 15,629 units, a 22.0% decrease from year-ago’s 20,773 units. PACCAR’s Kenworth increased 5.8% to 3,079 units, while all other companies dropped. The largest declines came from International (-39.2%), Daimler (-31.6%) and Volvo (-23.1%). Class 8 year-to-date deliveries also plummeted, down 22.6% to a 2016 total of 192,662. Volvo’s 12-month total dropped the most in the group, down 33.6% to 20,543 units. For December, medium-trucks rose 2.3% on 20,096 deliveries. Year-to-date, the group rose 3.6% to 207,694 units, up from 200,529 from like-2015. Class 7 sold 4,810 units, a 3.9% drop from year-ago. PACCAR’s Kenworth had the biggest gain, 12.7% over year-ago, and its sister company, Peterbilt, also grew, up 10.3% to 689 deliveries. Hino saw the largest drop in the group, down 38.9% to only 158 units from 2015’s 268. Ford also posted a double-digit loss of 21.8% on only 166 deliveries. Freightliner fell 8.2%, while International remained nearly flat, rising 0.9% to 1,188 units. Year-to-date, Class 7 increased 1.7% to 59,917 units from 58,888 in 2015. Class 6 was the only segment to post a double-digit gain for the month, up 14.1% on 5,623 units. Group leader Peterbilt more than doubled in sales, up 127.2% on 46 deliveries. Its sister company Kenworth declined 6.6%, leaving PACCAR with a 2.4% increase over like-2015 on 308 units. Hino saw the largest drop in this group as well, down 25.5% to 580 units. Ford (32.2%) and Freightliner (16.4%) posted positive gains. Year-to-date, Class 6 performed 11.2% better than 2015, with 61,287 trucks delivered. Class 5 came in with 7,880 units, a 2.4% drop from last year’s 8,370, due largely to the 3.3% drop in domestics. Imports rose 4.6% to 1,015 units. Daimler’s Freightliner and Mitsubishi Fuso posted large drops of 59.4% and 82.2%, respectively, bringing Daimler down 61.0% to 192 units. FCA (47.1%), Isuzu (22.6%) and Peterbilt (3.7%) were the only brands to increase from year-ago. Kenworth plummeted 74.1%, International dove 73.0% and Hino sunk 42.5%. Despite the large declines, Class 5 remained nearly flat for the 12-month period, up only 0.1% to 72,241 units from like-2015. Year-to-date, Class 5 imports rose 4.9%, but domestics dropped 0.4%. Class 4 imports fell 10.5%, but domestics soared 25.7%, leaving Class 4 up 8.8% in total on 1,783 units. Isuzu’s domestic line posted the largest gain in the group, up 29.1% on 777 deliveries. Mitsubishi Fuso dropped the most to only 15 units, an 83.5% drop from like-2015’s 94 units. Ford (-25.7%) and Hino (-27.7%) saw large double-digit losses, while Isuzu’s import line fell only 4.8%. In the 12-month period, Class 4 domestic line rose 15.6%, while imports fell 18.3%, leaving Class 4 year-to-date dropping only 0.8% to 14,249 units. U.S. big-truck sales finished the year with 400,356 deliveries, down 10.9% from year-ago’s 449,333. December finished with a 73-day supply of medium-duty trucks in inventory, down from only 74 in like-2015. A 55-day supply of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks was down sharply from 2015’s 70 day-supply. .

Fleet Owner / January 17, 2016 U.S. sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in December fell 9.9% from like-2015. In Canada, truck sales were down 21.1% in December. Class 8 sales in the U.S. were down to 15,629 units, a 22.0% decrease from year-ago’s 20,773 units. Kenworth increased 5.8% to 3,079 units, while all other companies dropped. The largest declines came from International (-39.2%), Daimler (-31.6%) and Volvo (-23.1%). Class 8 year-to-date deliveries also plummeted, down 22.6% to a 2016 total of 192,662. Volvo’s 12-month total dropped the most in the group, down 33.6% to 20,543 units. For December, medium-trucks rose 2.3% on 20,096 deliveries. Year-to-date, the group rose 3.6% to 207,694 units, up from 200,529 from like-2015. In Canada, Class 8 deliveries totaled 1,911 units, down 17.9% from year-ago. Paccar gained 0.2%, balanced out from Kenworth’s increase of 0.7% and Peterbilt’s decrease of 0.5%. All other truck makers in this segment posted double-digit losses, including Daimler (-22.1%), International (-15.1%) and Volvo Truck (-25.7%). Medium-duty truck sales plummeted 28.7% to 709 units from 995 in same-month 2015, with year-to-date losses in each segment.

Car & Driver / January 17, 2017 There is one constant in the world of pickup trucks­—year after year, trucks become more capable and more powerful. Two years after re-entering the mid-size-truck market, the 2017 Chevrolet Colorado hits the streets carrying the same mass yet packing more power and more gears. Here we go again: Another escalation in the pickup-truck arms race. For 2017, the Colorado—and its GMC Canyon sibling—is propelled by General Motors’ all-new V-6, coded LGZ, a variant of the LGX V-6 found in the Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LaCrosse, and GMC Acadia, among others (the LGZ designation references a different oil pan and the lack of auto stop/start). It’s a distant cousin of the former LFX V-6 that it replaces, and while the 3.6-liter displacement may suggest that this engine is essentially the same, it’s not. The redesigned six shares with its predecessor only its 60-degree included angle between its cylinder banks. This V-6 has cylinder deactivation, which shuts down two cylinders under light loads. Good for 308 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque, it’s up 3 hp and 6 lb-ft over last year’s Colorado. (The LGZ makes less power in this truck than the LGX in the cars, but GM says that’s just a product of intake and exhaust restrictions.) Significantly, a new competitor emerged last year in the Honda Ridgeline, which offers a little less power but proved quicker than the GM trucks in our tests of the 2016 Honda. Now, the muscled-up Colorado stretches its power margin over Honda’s V-6 to 28 horsepower and 13 lb-ft, enough to put it back in front. Also contributing to the improved performance is the Colorado’s new eight-speed automatic. Built in-house, the Hydra-Matic 8L45 provides quick and smooth shifts, and its additional two gears help keep the engine rpm near the torque sweet spot. The four-wheel-drive example we tested recorded a 6.1-second sprint to 60 mph, a full second quicker than a similarly equipped 2015 Colorado and 0.5 second ahead of the all-wheel-drive Ridgeline. Its quarter-mile time improved, too, requiring only 14.8 seconds to cross the line at 95 mph, gains of 0.7 second and 4 mph and again shading the Ridgeline’s 15.2-second run. The Toyota Tacoma with a V-6 and four-wheel drive trails these two by a wide margin, needing 7.9 seconds to get to 60 mph and 16.1 for the quarter-mile. The 2017 Colorado also feels a little livelier in everyday driving, although the 60-degree V-6 still sounds coarse—and rougher still when it is sipping fuel in four-cylinder mode. The new transmission, however, keeps both the revs and the noise down at highway cruising speeds. As we’ve reported in earlier tests of the Colorado and its GMC Canyon sibling, the term mid-size applies loosely here. The Silverado’s little brother is nearly as long as the full-size truck, although its width, nearly six inches narrower, eases the task of navigating Home Depot parking lots. The slimmer cabin does feel more carlike, and it uses gauges, switchgear, and infotainment systems found in other platforms across Chevrolet’s lineup. The overall cabin volume is nearly identical to that of an Impala, and the Colorado makes a comfortable commuter, offering an ideal seating position and supportive front seats. The electrically assisted power steering is lighter than we’d prefer but communicates well with the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT rubber as the truck approaches its 0.75-g cornering limit. The brake pedal feels firm and is easy to modulate during normal driving stints, but we noted heavy fade after repeated panic stops in testing. Still, the truck stopped from 70 mph in 183 feet despite weighing 4493 pounds, which is 12 feet shorter than the aforementioned Ridgeline that weighs 70 pounds less. One might expect that a new V-6 redesigned for efficiency and paired with a gearbox housing more ratios would improve fuel economy. Not according to the EPA: The 2017 model wears a 19-mpg combined rating versus 20 mpg in 2016, more a reflection of stiffening EPA testing scrutiny than the changes in hardware; the 17-mpg city and 24-mpg highway ratings are unchanged. During this Colorado’s brief stay at C/D headquarters, we measured 18 mpg, the same figure we recorded for the 2015 model. Many similarly equipped full-size trucks cost at least $45,000, making the sticker on the crew-cab, all-wheel-drive Colorado in LT trim look reasonable at its $34,465 base price. Our tested example had options that swelled the as-tested figure to $38,985. The $1080 Luxury package includes power-adjustable and heated front seats, automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated power outside mirrors, and chrome cladding for the door handles and the rear bumper. The leather-appointed seats in Jet Black and Dark Ash add $950, while the LT Convenience package ($690) brings a sliding rear window and defroster, remote start, a dampened tailgate, and front fog lamps. Tack on another $495 for Chevrolet’s 8.0-inch MyLink infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity and $500 for the premium Bose audio system. An automatic locking rear differential adds $325, while accessing the Colorado’s top tow rating of 7000 pounds requires the $250 Trailering Equipment package. The $230 trailer-brake controller helps slow heavy loads. While the revised powertrain makes this Chevy the quickest entry in the mid-size pack, it’s now even capable of beating up on some full-size models. With Ford fixing to re-enter this segment with a new Ranger, the mid-size segment arms race is just getting started. Given that the Colorado can already do more than most buyers really require, maybe automakers could start calling these models their full-size trucks and relabel the big rigs as oversize, which is what decades of unrelenting focus on improved capability from year to year has made them. Photo gallery - http://www.caranddriver.com/photo-gallery/2017-chevrolet-colorado-v-6-8-speed-automatic-4x4-instrumented-test

Trump says Europe is in trouble. He has a point. Sebastian Mallaby, The Washington Post / January 17, 2017 Germany’s foreign minister reports “astonishment and agitation.” The French president protests indignantly about unsolicited “outside advice .” Even Secretary of State John F. Kerry sees behavior that is “inappropriate.” President-elect Donald Trump’s weekend interview, in which he casually predicted the breakup of the European Union, has certainly attracted attention. But despite the consternation, there is some truth in Trump’s message. The E.U., he observed, is dominated by Germany. “People, countries want their own identity,” he said. The most obvious vindication of Trump’s warning comes from Britain, whose prime minister, Theresa May, has just laid out her plans for a hard break with the European Union. May could have interpreted June’s Brexit referendum differently, seeking the “Norway model” of continued membership in the E.U.’s Single Market even while withdrawing from the E.U.’s political structures. But, to paraphrase Trump, the prime minister evidently believes that Britain must have its own identity. She is determined to curb E.U. migration, even though migrants contribute positively to the economy; she wants out of the European Court of Justice, even though that court has upheld British commercial interests in the past. Combined, these two positions rule out continued Single Market membership. The E.U. is losing its second-biggest economic power. Britain has always been a semi-attached member of the European Union, so the malaise at the heart of continental Europe is even stronger evidence that Trump is on to something. Ironically, all the pressures that are commonly wheeled out to explain Trump’s election are far more evident on the other side of the Atlantic: sluggish growth, poor prospects for workers, a backlash against migrants, disaffection with elite governance. Americans may feel that their recovery since the financial crisis has been anemic. But, adjusted for inflation, the U.S. economy has actually grown by a cumulative 12 percent since 2008. In contrast, the 28 countries in the European Union managed combined growth of just 4 percent . And in the subset consisting of the eurozone minus Germany, output actually fell. Even though the strong dollar may help Europe this year, most of the Mediterranean periphery has suffered a lost decade. Naturally, this horrible performance has taken an enormous human toll. The unemployment rate in the euro area stands at 9.8 percent, more than double the U.S. rate. Unemployment among Europe’s youth is even more appalling: In Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus and Portugal, more than 1 in 4 workers under 25 are jobless. America’s ability to put its economic house in order after 2008 shows that there was nothing foreordained about this. Europe has suffered an optional catastrophe. It has a lost generation to match its lost decade. The decisions that delivered this destruction were made overwhelmingly in Germany, just as Trump seems to suspect. Angela Merkel, the country’s sober, deliberate and altogether un-Trumpian chancellor, systematically slow-walked measures that could have accelerated Europe’s recovery. Budget stimulus, bank recapitalizations and, at least early on, monetary policy were sluggish because of German resistance. At some points in this process, Merkel was protecting German taxpayers, which is both reasonable and yet at the same time supportive of Trump’s view that national interests beat euro cohesion. At other points Merkel has been protecting nothing more vital than Germans’ phobia of even modest public borrowing and inflation — and never mind the plight of Mediterranean youth. Merkel’s cautious leadership of Europe has sown the seeds of a populist backlash. This has been a surprisingly long time coming: For several years after the onset in 2010 of the euro crisis, austerity and mass unemployment did remarkably little to turn voters against establishment leaders. But a recent Italian poll suggests that, if an election were held today, the anti-globalization and anti-euro Five Star Movement would take as many votes as the leading establishment party. In France, polls have the anti-E.U. Marine Le Pen as the joint front-runner in this spring’s presidential election. In Merkel’s Germany, support for the anti-migrant AfD party has jumped from about 5 percent in 2013 to 16 percent now. If you take Trump literally, his recent comments on Europe were exaggerated and confused. Populists may be on the rise, but we are a long way from a crackup of the European Union. But if you take Trump seriously rather than literally, then it has to be admitted that the president-elect has a point here. Europe is in deep trouble. It is time for its leaders to recognize that incremental policies are failing the continent’s people. Sebastian Mallaby is a Post contributor and Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is author of “The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan.”

Trump team questions the almighty dollar The Financial Times / January 17, 2017 Donald Trump has threatened to overturn two decades of US economic policy by questioning the strong value of the dollar, raising fears that his presidency could set off a new round of currency wars between the world’s major economies. On Monday, Trump appeared to break from the longstanding “strong dollar” policy of successive administrations, declaring that the currency was too high and that this was preventing US companies from competing with Chinese counterparts. “Our companies can’t compete with them now because our currency is too strong. And it’s killing us," he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Speaking in Switzerland after Trump’s comments, Anthony Scaramucci, a leading figure in the transition team, said the administration would need to take heed of the problems of a buoyant currency. “In the Trump administration, there will be a lot of symbolism in terms of reaching out for lower-class families and middle-class families,” he said, adding that in doing so “we have to be careful about the rising currency because of not just what is going on internationally, but it’ll have an impact internally in the US”. But Scaramucci also suggested that if the new administration could create fast growth, it would allow the US to deal with the tighter monetary conditions that come with a higher currency. Previous incoming administrations have ritualistically sworn fealty to a strong dollar, saying this was in the interests of the US economy — even when the currency’s value was arguably doing more harm than good at the time. This was part of a broader US strategy aimed at allowing the currency to find its own value rather than trying to micromanage the exchange rate. With the dollar trading near 14-year highs against a basket of its peers, however, Trump’s team faces a serious barrier to its goal of reducing the US trade deficit. The danger is that if the US starts suppressing the value of its currency, it could trigger a broader currency war far greater in magnitude than the skirmishes seen in the wake of the 2008 global crisis. Besides China, such a war would draw in economies in Europe and Japan. It also would mark an unwinding of the longstanding G7 consensus that markets ought to set the value of currencies. “We haven’t seen anything yet. If the president of the United States begins talking the dollar down, then we will have currency wars and it will make a mockery of the previous things that we thought were wars,” said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. He argued that Trump could end up unwinding the G7 consensus, triggering instability in financial markets and discouraging foreign investors from investing in US assets. “This is a case where the stirrings of a currency war could set the ground for a broader trade war,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell economist and author of The Dollar Trap. “It does raise the specter of trade tensions with many of the US trading partners. Once you give up the strong dollar policy and start focusing more on the [level of the] currency it does raise the prospect of bringing to a head many of the trade tensions with key trading partners including Europe, Japan and China.” Some analysts question the potency of such verbal interventions — especially at a time when Trump’s apparent willingness to advocate deficit-widening tax cuts could bring forward interest-rate increases and add to the dollar’s strength. What’s more, Trump’s decision to criticize Chinese foreign exchange policies seems out of date: recently Beijing has not been seeking to push down its currency but rather to prop it up. However, C Fred Bergsten, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said Trump was right to think the strong dollar policy was now misplaced, adding that the US currency was by his calculations overvalued by at least 10 percent. He said the exchange rate might prove the best route towards addressing the deficit compared with alternatives such as throwing the US economy into recession or erecting trade barriers. “If you could nudge it down through oral intervention, which this is, that is probably less risky than alternative efforts,” he said. The complication, however, was that Trump’s other economic policies could end up pushing the currency higher. “Donald Trump comes in having made quite a high priority in reducing the US trade deficit. The question is how is he going to do that — particularly since his own economic policy — tax cuts, stronger growth probably inducing the Fed to tighten more rapidly — is going to make the dollar go up even more.” That message was echoed by Lael Brainard, a member of the Federal Reserve board, on Tuesday. The governor and rate-setter said that more “expansionary” fiscal policy in the US could increase expectations of a divergence between US and overseas economic conditions and so push the exchange rate higher. The US has notionally stuck with its strong-dollar mantra since the 1990s, but during the election campaign Trump showed little regard for the policy. “It sounds good to say ‘we have a strong dollar’. But that’s about where it stops,” he said. His new interventions recognize that a strong dollar represents one of the main obstacles to his campaign promises to create manufacturing jobs in the Rust Belt states that swept him to power. “In this one respect at least, Trump is certainly putting economic realism ahead of macho nationalistic bluster,” said Cornell economist Eswar Prasad. “I think he, as a businessman, recognizes the importance of the dollar’s value towards accomplishing what he wants to accomplish, which is trying to preserve US jobs in declining industries.”

Tim, Mazda says it is a gasoline engine. http://www2.mazda.com/en/publicity/release/2011/201105/110517a.html

Hyundai, Kia plan $3.1 billion U.S. investment, consider new plant Bloomberg / January 17, 2017 Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. said they will spend $3.1 billion in the U.S. in the next five years, joining other vehicle manufacturers in announcing investment plans amid threats from President-elect Donald Trump of higher levies on auto imports from Mexico. The planned U.S. investment by South Korea’s two largest automakers is nearly 50 percent more than the $2.1 billion they spent in the previous five-year period, Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday. The group is considering building a new factory in the U.S. and may produce Hyundai’s upscale Genesis vehicles and a U.S.-specific SUV in the country, said the executive, who also oversees the strategic planning for Kia. “We expect a boost in the U.S. economy and increased demand for various models as President-elect Trump follows through on his promise to create 1 million jobs in five years,” Chung said. “We will actively consider introducing new models that have increasing demand and profits.” Hyundai and Kia join a growing list of automakers announcing investments in the U.S., even though they have yet to be singled out by Trump. Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said this month they’ll spend on U.S. plants after the president-elect threatened for months to slap Mexico-built vehicles with a 35 percent import tax. Carmakers are eager to cooperate with the incoming administration as they prepare to ask for favors including weaker fuel economy rules and lower corporate taxes. “When automakers such as Toyota announced their new strategies in response to the so-called Trump risk, the industry was nervous and asked, ‘Who’s next?’,” said Kim Jin-woo, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co. in Seoul. “This is positive news that came at the right time as the automakers were facing capacity constraints in the U.S,” he said referring to Hyundai and Kia’s investment plans. Hyundai and Kia will invest about 30 to 40 percent of the $3.1 billion on new technologies such as autonomous driving and green cars. The rest will be spent on facilities and adding new models, according to the company. Hyundai has been considering expanding its plant in Montgomery, Ala., which produces the Sonata, Elantra sedans and Santa Fe crossover. The factory is running at its top capacity of 370,000 cars a year. Kia’s factory in West Point, Ga., is also at full tilt, producing 360,000 units of the Optima sedan and Sorento SUV a year. Kia opened a new $3 billion, 200,000-vehicle-a-year production line in Mexico two months before the U.S. presidential election, with plans to increase capacity there to 300,000 units this year and to 400,000 vehicles by the end of 2018. The automaker may add a new SUV model to the plant in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, though the decision isn’t final and the company has “flexibility” on its strategy, Chung said. Kia is targeting to export 80 percent of cars made in Mexico, mainly to the U.S. and Latin American markets. Hyundai and Kia have no additional plans to invest in Mexico and will not transfer production or jobs from the U.S. to Mexico, according to a company spokesman. “The U.S. market is strategically a very important market for us and success or failure there is a barometer of our success globally,” Chung said. “Our interest in the U.S. market is consistent regardless of the government of the day.”

GM to invest $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing, move axle work from Mexico Automotive News / January 17, 2017 General Motors today said it would invest $1 billion in its U.S. manufacturing operations to create or retain 1,500 jobs in this country. GM, in an announcement timed to ease pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, also said it would move production of pickup axles from Mexico to Michigan and create at least 5,000 more U.S. jobs in other parts of its business during the next few years. GM did not say how many of the 1,500 manufacturing jobs would be new as opposed to positions that otherwise would have been outsourced or eliminated without the investment. The company said insourcing axles for the next generation of its full-size pickups, expected to debut in 2018, would create 450 jobs in Michigan. “As the U.S. manufacturing base increases its competitiveness, we are able to further increase our investment, resulting in more jobs for America and better results for our owners,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “The U.S. is our home market and we are committed to growth that is good for our employees, dealers and suppliers and supports our continued effort to drive shareholder value.” Barra said she expects GM’s financial arm, advanced technologies and other non-manufacturing growth areas to generate more than 5,000 additional U.S. jobs “over the next few years.” Trump indirectly referenced GM’s investment in a series of Twitter posts about 30 minutes after the company’s announcement. “With all of the jobs I am bringing back into the U.S. (even before taking office), with all of the new auto plants coming back into our country and with the massive cost reductions I have negotiated on military purchases and more,” he wrote, “I believe the people are seeing ‘big stuff.’” The news comes three days before Trump’s inauguration and follows similar investment announcements from Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Trump, in a nationally televised news conference last week, praised those companies and said he hoped GM would follow suit. “I think they will be,” Trump said Jan. 11, though it was unclear whether he had knowledge of GM’s plan or if he was merely encouraging GM to do so. 'Mostly theater' “All of the decisions behind today’s announcement are good business decisions, and they have been in the works for some time," GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said. “There’s no question there is an emphasis on job creation in the U.S. right now. This was good timing for us to share what we are doing, including our ongoing commitment and track record for U.S. investment over the last several years.” The announcement is “mostly theater to play in the news cycle created by President-elect Trump’s tweets,” said industry analyst Michelle Krebs. “These investments and hiring plans have long been in the works and are a continuation of what the company has been doing in recent years -- trying to run a successful, profitable business. The only thing ‘new’ here is GM’s aggressiveness in announcing its plans.” Trump has threatened 35 percent tariffs on vehicles imported to the U.S. from Mexico. In addition to the Detroit 3, he has said Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW should build plants in the U.S. instead of Mexico if they want to sell those vehicles in this country. He told a German newspaper Bild that Germany had an unfair relationship with the U.S. because Germans don’t buy Chevys at the same rate that Mercedes-Benz sells in the U.S. GM dropped the Chevy brand in Europe in 2015 to focus on Opel instead. Latest U.S. investment GM said the investment is on top of $2.9 billion announced for its U.S. operations last year and $21 billion invested in its home country since 2009. In the past four years, it said it has created 25,000 U.S. jobs, including 6,000 hourly manufacturing positions and added nearly $3 billion in annual wages and benefits to the U.S. economy. Barra, who has been chosen to sit on an economic advisory panel to Trump, last week said she was looking forward to showing GM’s contributions to U.S. employment as the new administration considers any new manufacturing policies. “We look forward to having the conversation with the administration and with the president-elect to make sure they understand,” Barra told reporters. “When you look at our industry, and General Motors specifically, of how much we already contribute to jobs and the long-lead aspects of our business, that’s what we want to make sure is understood and we think that voice will be heard as any policy is set.” In addition to its own axle-making jobs, GM said one of its suppliers has committed to moving 100 jobs from Mexico to build unspecified components for the next-generation pickups in Michigan. UAW-GM Vice President Cindy Estrada, in a statement, said the GM announcement stemmed from the company's 2015 union contract agreement. “Today’s announcement continues GM investments that have emerged as a result of the 2015 national bargaining agreement. We are pleased that there will be over $1 billion in new investment for current and future UAW GM members. Through hard work and the quality products we build, UAW-GM members, their families and their communities will benefit. "We will continue to work with GM to bring more product to the United States and enhance the job security of our UAW members." Mexico focus Mexico has been the central focus of Trump’s criticism of GM and other automakers. In a Jan. 3 post on Twitter, Trump said GM should pay a “big border tax” to import Chevrolet Cruze hatchbacks from Mexico. He made that threat just hours before Ford said it was canceling a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico and instead expanding a plant in Michigan. FCA later said it would spend $1 billion to add 2,000 jobs in Michigan and Ohio. Both companies said the decisions were based on market conditions and not directly in response to Trump, but they also have more or less allowed the president-elect to take the credit. Ford said it still plans to move small-car production from Michigan to Mexico, a plan Trump has called “disgraceful.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GM to build axles at Grand Rapids area plant The Detroit News / January 17, 2017 General Motors Co. will build axles for its next-generation full-size pickups at its Grand Rapids components plant, a move that is tied to investment and jobs that the automaker announced more than 18 months ago, according to two sources familiar with the automaker’s plans. The automaker said Tuesday it will add thousands of new jobs in the next few years, including in-sourcing axle work from a supplier that includes work now done in Mexico. GM said the move to operations in Michigan would create 450 U.S. jobs. A GM spokeswoman on Tuesday declined to name the supplier or where or when those jobs would come to the U.S. However, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it was losing the work. GM in June 2015 announced it would add about 300 new jobs and invest $119 million to produce future vehicle components at its components plant in Wyoming. That investment was part of $5.4 billion GM in April 2015 said it would spend in U.S. plants over three years, creating 650 jobs. One of the sources who asked not to be identified because GM has not announced its plans, said some of the jobs difference at the Grand Rapids plant is the addition of engineering-related salaried positions in Southeast Michigan, including at GM’s Warren Tech Center and its Milford Proving Ground. American Axle announced in July 2015 that it would retain an estimated 75 percent of sales content of the axle and driveshaft work for GM’s next-generation full-size pickup program. The Detroit-based supplier has since updated that figure to retaining 65 percent of that work. It currently builds axles for GM’s full-size pickups at its Three Rivers, Michigan, plant and at its Guanajutato Manufacturing Complex in Mexico. “GM’s announcement confirms our July 2015 announcement where AAM indicated that based on current design and program direction, we expect to retain a majority of the sales content provided to GM for the next generation full-size truck and SUV program,” Chris Son, an American Axle spokesman, said Tuesday. “AAM has covered approximately 90 percent of this expected sales impact of this sourcing transition with new and incremental business wins that will launch in the 2018 to 2020 time frame.” GM’s components plant, operated by its subsidiary GM Components Holdings LLC, has about 530 employees who work on three shifts to produce precision-machined automotive engine components. The automaker on Tuesday said it plans to add 7,000 U.S. jobs in the next few years and invest $1 billion in U.S. plants. The new plant investments will create or retain more than 1,500 jobs, though GM would not say how many would be new. The automaker said it expects more than 5,000 salaried jobs, with a significant portion in southeast Michigan, will come in key growth areas such as with its subsidiary GM Financial and in advanced technology. The announcement comes three days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. He has pressured automakers to add jobs and work in the U.S. instead of shipping work to Mexico.

I think yes.

BMT...........Simply the best knowledge base for truck information the world over.

Today, it was announced that the search for MH370 has been cancelled. As a frequent flyer, the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing troubles me. The only thing for sure is the public isn't being told the truth. I doubt it's in the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia. Based on its behavior, someone was flying the plane. Why the 4 hour delay by Malaysia before launching a search? Why were reported and creditable sightings ignored? Last September, when Russian fighter jets turned off their transponders as they flew into Syria in an attempt to avoid detection, our government bragged that U.S. satellites rapidly saw that the aircraft were there. After all, we have the global satellite overage second to none. And yet, during MH370's alleged 7-1/2 hour flight to the unknown, not one satellite for even a minute saw this huge Boeing 777 aircraft ??? Ladies and gentlemen, that is impossible for me to believe.

Family affair Owner/Driver / January 4, 2017 The winner of best rigid at the 2016 Castlemaine Truck Show was the Doria's Dodge The Doria’s operate five trucks full time and have a couple of spares. They had four trucks at the show, the newest being a T404 body truck and the oldest a 34 Dodge. "We mainly cart fruit and vegies out of the markets and then we do some storage and distribution during the day," the Doria’s explained. "We start at midnight and after they finish the market work, we distribute to farms." The T404 was built in the Kenworth factory as a 14-palleter and it has a Cummins ISX 475hp engine. "It has a bit of character to it! It was actually built for a subby that ran for Toll doing their late freight, running up and down to Sydney. "From there, it went to Queensland and then to WA before we bought it. It’s a great truck and being so long gives an unbelievable ride, it’s an amazing truck to drive and is comfortable. "Our colours have always been red but it is too good a condition to paint." The whole family had come up for the show and they were looking forward to a great weekend. Photo gallery - https://www.ownerdriver.com.au/events-news/1612/castlemaine-truck-show-2016-11

Like father, like son Owner/Driver / January 6, 2017 The winner of best rig over 14 years at the 2016 Castlemaine Truck Show was this T601 On Saturday evening, Paul and Dan Askew were still hard at work polishing their Kenworth T601. Paul has owned the 601 for four years and had just finished restoring it from top to bottom. He did the chassis, engine, gearboxes and diffs. "We did the whole lot," Paul says. "It’s an old truck but we like the style. It’s got a 12-litre Detroit under the bonnet and we do local cartage around Melbourne and off the wharf." Paul has been driving for 30 years and been an owner-driver for the last six. This is the second truck that he has bought and it probably won’t be the last with his son Dan mad keen on them. "He is just waiting to get his licence and then he will be behind the wheel," Paul says. "This is the third year I have been here. It is a top weekend to come and have a few beers and chill out. "It’s good to be involved in a great weekend with your mates and have a few drinks and the whole weekend raises money for good causes." .

Owner/Driver / January 17, 2017 Tutt Bryant has led the way for more than 75 years, and choose Isuzu as the truck of choice. Isuzu trucks feature heavily in the Tutt Bryant loading depots and docks across the country. Construction work takes its toll on everything – from the equipment, to the tradies themselves – and only the industry’s best stand the test of time. For over 75 years, Tutt Bryant has weathered the trials and made a real contribution to the growth of Australia's construction industry. From humble beginnings back in 1938, they’ve risen to become one of Australia's largest crane, construction equipment hire and equipment distribution companies, with over 400 staff operating Australia-wide. Tutt Bryant’s general hire division provides some of the nation’s biggest contractors with plant and equipment hire for earthmoving, civil construction, rail maintenance, and mining. Tutt Bryant Fleet Maintenance Manager, Mick Collier, oversees all purchasing for the hire fleet in the southern region, and says Isuzu has been his number one choice since he joined the company in 2001. "Part of my role is to select the best possible equipment for the job, and to maintain it through its whole working life, right up to resale. "The last company I worked for had a wide range of trucks, including Isuzu and their competitors. We found the total cost of the truck life was better with Isuzu – they came out on top with servicing, reliability and re-sale value. "Some of the other states will shop around a little bit, but for us the service network and the whole package Isuzu provides is second to none, and with my previous knowledge, it’s a no-brainer. "In the hire division alone we have 25 Isuzus," Mick said. Mick’s most recent purchases span Isuzu’s light and medium-duty ranges, including two FSRs for water cartage, three of the new award-wining ready to work N Series Servicepack models, two F Series Tippers and an FRR for crane hire. And none of these vehicles gets a cushy lifestyle. "Our transport trucks can do 80,000 kilometres a year and the service vehicles do around 50 to 60,000. "The water cartage trucks don’t travel as far but they do a lot of idle-time work, constantly stopping and starting, so that needs to be taken into consideration too," Mick said. Stop-start work is ‘child’s play’ for Mick’s FSRs, as their Allison Auto 6 speed automatic transmission makes for a quick take off, every time, providing real fuel savings. "We have a mixture of automatic and manual transmissions in the fleet, but we’re starting to lean towards more automatics now for driver comfort and efficiencies. "We find an auto makes it a lot easier for our hire customers – they jump in the vehicle and drive away without having to think about different shift patterns in gearboxes. "And our drivers seem to really like the Isuzus’ reliability and comfort. "On one of the last trucks we purchased, the drivers in our Geelong branch had a lot of input into the buying process and the specialised body, and they’re all very happy with the outcome," Mick said. Cab comfort is covered in the new trucks by an ISRI air suspension driver’s seat, ensuring Mick’s team are kept comfortable on the longer runs, while the Digital Audio Visual Equipment (DAVE) unit with its 6.2" LCD touch screen, DAB+ digital radio and fully integrated Bluetooth, offers crystal clear sound and fingertip control. Mick also opted to add Isuzu Telematics to all of his new vehicles. Isuzu Telematics technology provides a range of operational and safety management efficiencies, such as live vehicle positioning, trip playback, geo-fencing and fleet and engine data information tools. The system also observes driver behaviour such as harsh braking, over acceleration, over revving and fuel usage. It’s all valuable operational information fleet managers like Mick can then utilise to improve fuel economy, implement driver training and create genuine efficiencies. "We have older, aftermarket telematics systems on our bigger trucks and earthmoving equipment that we use extensively and it’s an area we’re keen to utilise more," he said. "Telematics is one of the reasons we’re continuing with Isuzu trucks. We can run them all off Isuzu Telematics and keep an eye on all the trucks on the one system." Mick and his team are on and off commercial worksites constantly, so safety, in every sense of the word, is not only a priority, it’s a must. Mick’s new purchases tick all the boxes on that front and include standard safety features such as driver and passenger airbags along with seatbelt pretensioners, an ECE R29 compliant cab, an ECE-R93 compliant Front Underrun Protection Device (FUPD) and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). "Safety is a key point these days and it’s a real factor in what we buy," he said. "The Isuzus are very safe and we’re really happy with them – we’ll definitely get more in the future. "We’re looking to expand our tipper and excavator hire, and Isuzu will be our pick when it comes time to buy again." .

Big Rigs / January 16, 2017 Fines for minor spillages under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), towns complaining, arguments over liability for spillage between livestock carriers and primary producers. It's all a bit of a mess. We're talking about effluent, that mix of faeces and urine - cow, pig and sheep sh*t! New South Wales is hitting livestock carriers hard with $550 fines for dropping small amounts of effluent. These fines do not come under environmental or council legislation but under the improper restraint clauses of the HVNL. The future is clear, no matter how ridiculous it might be, effluent management systems for livestock hauliers are coming for all Australia, even if some years down the track for more remote regions. Industry associations like the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) and its state subsidiaries are jockeying to stem the surge towards national law by invoking the sharing of liability for effluent spillage "up the chain” within COR legislation. After all, "it's not our effluent”, one association member told Big Rigs, saying that the client owned the livestock and therefore any forthcoming effluent. The ALRTA says it has successfully argued to the Queensland Parliamentary Transport and Utilities Committee that the application of chain of responsibility laws to effluent control must be clarified. The Queensland Minister for transport has directed the NTC to clarify the matter within the next 12 months. "We are putting all options on the table including a full exemption under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.” Graham Hoare from Martin's transport is the south-east Queensland delegate for the LRTAQ and he said many livestock transporters are trying to keep ahead of the game, especially close to the metropolitan areas of south-east Queensland. "All the abattoirs and meatworks are in the Brisbane area and while we have fitted effluent tanks there is nowhere to empty them before we come into the metropolitan area,” he told Big Rigs. Mr Hoare agrees that the RMS in New South Wales is savage on effluent and said Queensland operators are trying to be proactive before legislation moves on the issue. All new livestock trailers must be fitted with effluent tanks "but we need somewhere to empty the tanks, like near the new Toowoomba bypass. That would be ideal”. While Mr Hoare says the industry is responding, the government and councils need to keep up and match the operator's investments in effluent facilities. "We want to lead the way and we are looking at the example of New Zealand to find out ways around this problem.” Mr Hoare said cattle producers and feed lot management are not buying into the liability of effluent, saying once the cattle are on the truck, it's the operator's responsibility. CEO of the Australian Livestock and Rural Transport Association based in Canberra is Matthew Munro. He said effluent control is a core part of the livestock transport process. He said the root cause locks in to the chain of responsibility and a cattle producer providing cattle to a transporter is an integral link in the chain. If there is a breach under the restraint clauses of the NHVL, that producer and their role fits into the HVNL definition of packer therefore carries responsibility under COR. He said while producers and livestock handlers are resisting liability, this is not an excuse to expect the transport operator to break the law. He uses the example of fresh seafood having to be carried from the coast several hundred kilometres to where it will be sold with the inherent need for it to arrive fresh. But in this case there is no expectation for the transport operation to break the speed limit legislation to get it to its destination in a more fresh condition. He said there is a need for transport operators, producers and livestock companies to work together to find a harmonious solution to this issue by having the cattle in the most appropriate condition, possibly after a curfew, before loading so keeping the best balance between livestock weights at the saleyard and the transport operator meeting the requirements of the law. The other alternative, says Mr Munro, is that the definitions under the HVNL be changed so that effluent is no longer covered under the restraint conditions. "Cattle producers are aware and they don't really want the transport operator to break the law, however their outlook is driven by market incentives and the way I see forward is a combination of the transport operator using effluent tanks on livestock trailers, that suitable dumping facilities for effluent are provided in appropriate places and the condition of livestock when loaded are suitable for transport in that there has been a curfew if the cattle are coming off green feed.” Mr Munro said the livestock associations are working towards setting up a set of guidelines that will keep both the producers and the transporters safe and that risk is assessed before the transport task. The south-east Queensland town of Kilcoy is currently an effluent hotspot. Big Rigs contacted the Somerset Regional Council for comment. Biosecurity The ALRTA is concerned that effluent is a prime vector of disease. For example in the case of a foot and mouth outbreak in Northern Australia, Mr Munro says that such an outbreak could cost the nation $60 billion. However effluent control and a simple alkaline or acid detergent wash at facilities could stop the spread of the disease. "$50 million spent now could save billions and entire industries in the future,” Mr Munro said, ending the report. .

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Being reminded of Isuzu’s ceramic engine causes me to mention Cummins’ adiabatic engine research. Adiabatic is a thermodynamic term meaning no heat loss. The engine retains virtually all the heat created by the combustion of the fuel, and thereby requires no cooling system. Cummins and the United States Army experimented with such an engine in a five-ton model M813 6x6. The Army was interested in the project because it found that 60 percent of its vehicle-related failures involved problems with cooling systems. The Army’s Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) at Warren, Michigan, and Cummins jointly developed this first generation adiabatic engine by modifying the NHC250 normally found in the M813. The major changes involved making the pistons, cylinder liners, cylinder head, valves and exhaust manifolds out of a ceramic-metallic mixture which could tolerate temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. By retaining most of the heat generated by fuel combustion and converting it into energy, the efficiency of the engine was improved almost 100 percent. A normal engine is only able to convert about one third of the heat created into usable power. The other two thirds is lost through the cooling system or out the exhaust pipe. Fuel economy was also improved with the adiabatic NHC250 version by almost 30 percent. Other advantages to the adiabatic NHC250, particularly in military applications, included the ability to install the engine within a vehicle in any position, since there was no requirement for airflow, or the need to be near a radiator for cooling. Without the need of a radiator, hoses and water pump, a weight savings of 338 pounds was realized with the adiabatic version. Lastly, because of the adiabatic engine’s very high combustion chamber temperatures, it could run well on a wide variety of fuels. Related reading: http://papers.sae.org/830314/ http://papers.sae.org/840428/ .

That was Isuzu, as I recall. Please correct me if I'm wrong. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ October 27, 1983 Isuzu Motors said Thursday it has developed a ceramic internal combustion engine that is capable of generating more power than the conventional type while cutting fuel consumption by half. The prototype, a 1,995 cc turbo-charged diesel model, will be displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show opening Friday. Developed together with Kyocera, the leading Japanese industrial ceramics products maker, the combustion chamber of the ceramic engine is built with the highly heat-resistant material that is capable of withstanding up to 2,000 degrees (C) of heat without a cooling system. Test results show that the ceramic engine can generate 30 percent more power at half the level of fuel consumption. Isuzu, however, stressed that the model is only a prototype and that the company still has to iron out durability and other unspecified technical problems before the engine can be put into commercial use. Specifically Isuzu engineers will have to make the ceramics more durable. The material, while highly heat-resistant, cracks easily, auto experts said. The Isuzu spokesman confirmed durability is among the unresolved technical problems but indicated the Isuzu engineers would be able to overcome them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ United States patent on ceramic engine design - https://www.google.com/patents/US5063881 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Motor Panels is linked to North America. Connecting the dots of Mack conventional cab supplier history, Sheller-Globe purchased Motor Panels of the UK and then put the Norwalk Mack cab plant under its new Motor Panels division. Then that division was sold in 1989 to UK-based CH Industrials, which was sold in 1991 to UK-based Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which was sold in 2005 to Commercial Vehicle Group (CVG). CVG had no prior history of assembling cabs, was willing to do so. Likewise Bendix, who had never produced cabs, has assembled White Xpeditor cabs for Autocar in Huntington, Indiana since 2008. Currently, CVG stamps and assembles the cabs under contract in a run-down plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina (originally located there to supply Mack Trucks' Winnsboro, South Carolina plant 70 miles away), from which they are trucked up 470 miles to Macungie.

This Motor Panels brochure shows the cab sourced by Mack for the European F-model. .

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Scania Group Press Release / January 16, 2017 What ingenious engineering lowers oil consumption and extends engine life, and has been around for the last 40 years? .

DAF Trucks Press Release / January 16, 2017 .