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Dakar 2017: IVECO once again on the podium of the world’s toughest rally Iveco Trucks Press Release / January 15, 2017 The 39th edition of the Dakar Rally came to an end with Saturday's twelfth stage. With a short special of 64 kilometres looping Río Cuarto, participants took their vehicles to the finish line to conclude world's most difficult rally raid. Gerard de Rooy, PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO team leader and winner of the 2012 and 2016 Dakar rallies with IVECO, took his Powerstar to the third spot on the podium having battled adversity and jockeyed for position with his rivals during the two weeks' competition. Having led the race, the Dutchman suffered several punctures through the stages. As a result he fell back behind other vehicles, so that excessive dust and limited opportunities to overtake frustrated his efforts to regain the lead. But the power of his IVECO truck enabled to add another podium finish to his name, as he finished third, 41m19s behind Dakar winner, Eduard Nikolaev. Ton van Genugten's and Wuf van Ginkel's IVECO Trakkers travelled together in the last stages and recovered some positions after loosing more than six hours for being stuck in mud. Van Genugten, behind the wheel of the #507, finished in 16th place, almost seven hours away from the leaders. Van Ginkel arrived behind his teammate in 17th position, but more than eight hours behind. Behind the wheel of another IVECO Powerstar, Federico Villagra finished the 2017 Dakar Rally just behind De Rooy in fourth place. He was not able to repeat last year's podium win and is yet to achieve his aim to win a stage. However, the Argentine driver showed good potential in his second year with IVECO. Stage 12 Results – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 34m25s 2. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) +33s 3. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) +44s 4. Peter Versluis (MAN) +1m09s 5. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +1m25s ----------- 8. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +2m21s 10. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) +2m40s 11. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) + 2m42s Overall Classification – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 27h58m24s 2. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) +18m58s 3. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +41m19s 4. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +1h00m04s 5. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) +2h26m50s ----------- 16. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) +6h58m03s 17. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) + 8h19m48s

Dakar 2017: Three IVECO trucks in Top Ten in Stage 11 Iveco Trucks Press Release / January 14, 2017 The Dakar Rally is getting close to the end. The caravan of trucks that survived the harsh conditions of the first 11 stages arrived today at the bivouac in Río Cuarto, in the province of Córdoba, after racing 290 kilometres in dunes and WRC roads and driving almost 500 kilometres of the connecting section, since the start of the day in San Juan. After some difficult stages with punctures in his #500 Powerstar, Gerard de Rooy placed his IVECO in the Top 5 of today's special, but he was unable to narrow the gap with the leaders due to a great amount of dust in part of the stage. The PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO Team leader finished in fifth place, 14m41s behind Eduard Nikolaev, winner of the special. "In the last 100 kilometres I was driving behind a cloud of dust and there were trees to contend with. It was impossible to overtake, the risk of writing off the truck was just too great," stated Gerard de Rooy after the stage. Ton van Genugten, with the #507 IVECO Trakker finished very close to teammate De Rooy, less than three minutes behind. This left him 17m40s off the best time in sixth position, and clearly shows he delivered a great performance in almost every special in Dakar Rally. Wuf van Ginkel started Stage 11 one minute behind Van Genugten and finished in eighth place, five minutes behind his teammate and 22m43s away from the leader. With van Ginkel's placement, three PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO Team trucks are in the Top 10 of the stage. Meanwhile, Federico Villagra came very close to winning the special, having lost the lead in the last part to Eduard Nikolaev and finishing just 52s behind him. This places the Argentine with the #502 IVECO Powerstar in fourth place in the overall classification. On Saturday, the 2017 Dakar Rally will reach its final destination in Buenos Aires, with the ceremonial ramp where winners will be crowned after completing more than 9,000 kilometres. But first, participants will race in a 64 kilometres loop stage in Río Cuarto to proclaim the champions of the Dakar Rally's 39th edition. Stage 11 Results – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 3h56m47s 2. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +52s 3. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) +9m53s 4. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) +11m54s 5. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +14m41s ----------- 6. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) +17m40s 8. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) +22m43s Overall Classification – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 27h23m59s 2. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) +17m09s 3. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +38m58s 4. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +58m39s 5. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) +2h26m17s ----------- 15. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) +6h55m21s 16. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) +8h17m08s

Dakar 2017: a hard stage for Gerard de Rooy leaves him in third place Iveco Trucks Press Release / January 13, 2017 The Dakar Rally was able to complete a full race day for the first time in a week, as the competition linked Chilecito and San Juan, in the west of Argentina. Stage 10 was the longest special in the race, as partial or full cancellations were made in the previous five stages. Yesterday, drivers of all categories drove 449 timed kilometres to reach the bivouac in San Juan. It was not an easy day for IVECO, although Gerard de Rooy had a strong start in his #500 Powerstar. The PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO Team leader was less than a minute behind the first truck at Waypoint 1, but then fell 23m43s back as two flat tyres cost him time. Although he managed to hang on to the third place he was holding in the morning, he is now 24m17s behind the leader. Ton van Genugten and Wuf van Ginkel’s Trakkers started behind their teammate De Rooy, and both suffered in this hard stage. In the first section they lost half an hour and finished in the Top 15. Van Genugten finished 35m02s behind leader Nikolaev, while Van Ginkel placed his #525 Trakker 37m54s behind. Federico Villagra, behind the wheel of his #502 Iveco Powerstar, lost more than half an hour in this difficult special that took away his chances of climbing up in the classification. The Argentine remains in fourth place, but almost one hour behind the leader’s Kamaz. The race is approaching Buenos Aires, where on Saturday 14th the ceremonial finish will take place and winners will receive their trophies at the an end of the 9,000 kilometre trek along South American routes. Stage 10 Results – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 5h33m06s 2. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) +7m01s 3. Airat Mardeev (Kamaz) +7m41s 4. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) +12m51s 5. Ales Loprais (Tatra) +16m04s ----------- 7. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +23m43s 9. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +30m27s 13. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) +35m02s 15. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) + 37m54s Overall Classification – Dakar 2017 1. Eduard Nikolaev (Kamaz) 23h27m12s 2. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) +5m15s 3. Gerard de Rooy (IVECO) +24m17s 4. Federico Villagra (IVECO) +57m47s 5. Pascal de Baar (Renault) +1h18m47s ----------- 20. Ton van Genugten (IVECO) +6h37m41s 21. Wuf van Ginkel (IVECO) + 7h54m25s

DAF Trucks Press Release / January 13, 2017 DAF Trucks is experiencing impressive growth in Taiwan. The 5,000th truck has rolled off the assembly line less than ten years after it opened in Dadu. With a market share of almost 30% in the 12 ton+ segment, in Taiwan DAF is the undisputed market leader among non-Asian truck brands. Every week, DAF Trucks ships components for the popular LF, CF and XF105 series from its factories in Eindhoven and Leyland to Taiwan, where its partner, the Formosa Plastics Group, assembles around four trucks per day. All the vehicles are powered by highly reliable and economical Euro 5 PACCAR engines. Two years ago, the ultramodern assembly line in Dadu was expanded significantly to meet the growing demand for DAF trucks in Taiwan. "The quality of the DAF trucks assembled in Taiwan is at the same high level as the trucks that come off the production lines in the Netherlands and the UK", says Geert van Genugten, who is responsible for sales into south-east Asia at DAF Trucks. "The 5.000th Taiwanese DAF truck is a CF 85.410 tractor unit which will be used to transport raw materials for the paper industry." "Costs per kilometre set the industry standard" The unmatched quality, combined with low fuel consumption is valued highly by the Taiwanese transport operators. "The excellent reliability and low costs per kilometre of the DAF trucks set the standard in the industry", is how Wilfred Wang, President & Director of Formosa Plastics Group, explains DAF’s success in Taiwan. "In addition, a tight network of DAF dealers has developed in a short time on the island, offering top-quality service and parts supply." Conscious choice of DAF DNA Richard Zink, Director Marketing & Sales at DAF Trucks has seen how the Taiwanese truck market has taken DAF to its heart: "We are truly proud of our partnership with the Formosa Plastics Group. Together, we are building fantastic trucks that exceed the customer’s expectations. More and more renowned Taiwanese transport companies are choosing DAF. Just like in the rest of the world, they are consciously opting for our DNA: unprecedented quality, low total cost of ownership, highest uptime and industry-leading comfort for the driver." .

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VW blowing smoke at customers stuck in diesel scandal Paul Muschick, The Morning Call / January 14, 2017 You'd think Volkswagen would be going all out to salvage its reputation after the diesel emissions cheating scandal. Instead, the automaker is further alienating and exhausting many customers while trying to make amends. In addition to a $4.3 billion criminal fine, Volkswagen agreed to pay $10 billion to nearly a half-million people who bought or leased vehicles marketed as "clean-diesel" that instead were excessive polluters rigged to pass emissions tests. Vehicles are being bought back, leases are being canceled and other payments are being made to settle lawsuits filed by federal authorities. Owners who want to keep their vehicles can have them modified so they don't pollute excessively. Many VW owners say they have had trouble getting claims processed on time, getting paid after turning in cars and getting other problems resolved. I wrote in December about the program getting off to a rocky start. It doesn't seem to have improved, based on the nearly 30 complaints I've heard since then from across the country. Thousands of people have complained elsewhere. Lisa Hunt told me she turned in her 2010 Jetta on Dec. 15. She lives in rural Wyoming and had to drive to a dealership in Fort Collins, Colo., about an hour away. She and her husband, Mark Gaskill, told me that when they arrived, they learned the transaction couldn't be completed because they had exceeded the mileage allotment since the time they accepted the buyback offer. They weren't off by much, about 100 miles. That's understandable, as going to the grocery store where they live is a 20-mile excursion. But it lessened their payout by about $150. They said they agreed to turn in the vehicle and have a check sent to them. They didn't get paid until Friday, which was nearly a month later. "Apparently, writing a check is very, very difficult for VW," Hunt said. They've talked to people at the VW claims hotline and a lawyer and paralegal who were involved in the settlement. They even tried reaching the judge on the case in California. "We can never get any straight answers," Gaskill said. They said they've been told repeatedly by representatives at the VW claims hotline that their case has been "escalated," a term they consider to be a put-off to make them believe something's being done. "This is a relatively simple solution," Gaskill said. "They have all the documentation. They have possession of the car. They just need to do a journal entry and have an accountant write a check and FedEx it to us." Hunt told me they finally got a call last week explaining they would be paid electronically. They got that call after I relayed their problem to a representative for the legal team representing vehicle owners in the case, though I can't say for certain if that's what motivated VW. As I noted in my previous column, VW's media relations people haven't been responsive to me and have ignored my attempts to reach them. VW's silence can't hide the fact there are problems. They are well-documented by Ankura Consulting Group, which was appointed by the court to supervise the compensation claims process. In a Dec. 27 report to the court, Ankura noted Volkswagen had received more than 155,000 complaints. The legal team representing owners had heard from 10,000 people. Others have contacted Ankura, the court and the Federal Trade Commission, one of the agencies that had sued Volkswagen alleging its "clean diesel" marketing claims were deceptive. "Despite progress for many consumers, frustration for others resulting from delays was compounded by customer service challenges," Ankura said. "Many of these challenges emanated from Volkswagen's claims hotline at a time when responsiveness and clarity could have diffused angst in a growing population of impatient consumers." The report said Volkswagen was "deploying more highly trained and dedicated resources to ensure consumers' questions and concerns are promptly and effectively addressed." After an owner's claim is determined to be eligible, VW is supposed to make a buyback offer within 10 business days. Through Dec. 18, that deadline had been met only 53 percent of the time, according to Ankura's report. More than 5,000 claims were more than 30 days overdue. James Kent of Massachusetts can attest to that. He told me his eligibility was confirmed on Oct. 30 but an offer wasn't made until Dec. 30. It came after he also sought help from the legal team representing vehicle owners. Kent said he had been unable to get answers from VW's hotline about the delay, which was costly. He already had lined up a replacement vehicle for the Jetta he would be turning in. But because he didn't have the VW payment to use as a down payment, he had to finance the entire purchase, which resulted in him paying a higher interest rate. "If they had just been able to stick to the timeline or give people a reasonable expectation of how this would all play out, I think it would have helped everybody plan their lives better," Kent told me. "It would have saved a lot of aggravation for an awful lot of people. It's been an extremely frustrating process." The longer customers drive their vehicles, the less they may be paid for them. Customers have complained to me about having to continue making car payments and pay for maintenance. Hunt told me she and her husband lost a $200 deposit on a replacement vehicle when they couldn't close the deal because VW hadn't paid them. Kent also will incur travel costs to turn in his car. He said the earliest appointment he could get at his local dealer was March 2. So he got one with another dealer about an hour away in mid-February. He will return home by bus. One of the biggest frustrations I have heard from people is that they don't know where to seek help with claims problems. You can file a complaint with the FTC at 202-326-2222 or www.ftc.gov. You also can contact one of the class-action attorneys representing vehicle owners. Their information is on the VW settlement website, www.vwcourtsettlement.com. Go to "documents," then "notices" and "long form notice." The list is on page 23. You can also try to deal directly with VW through the claims hotline at 844-98-CLAIM.

Navistar Plans to Issue Additional Notes at 8.25% Transport Topics / January 13, 2017 Navistar International Corp. announced plans Jan. 12 to issue, subject to market conditions, $200 million of its 8.25% senior notes due 2021. The latest offering is for additional notes under a previous indenture for $1.3 billion, of which $1.2 billion remains outstanding, Navistar said. The company said it expects to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures.

FedEx, Amazon Lead Twin 33s Advocacy Group Transport Topics / January 13, 2017 Americans for Modern Transportation, a new coalition of shippers and retailers led by FedEx Corp. and Amazon.com intends to press congressional lawmakers this year to approve nationwide access of twin 33-foot trailers. “We need to lay the groundwork for a modern transportation system,” the coalition wrote Jan. 11. “Central to this goal is combining infrastructure enhancements with efficient trucking and policies as well as incentives for better safety and fuel technology.” While the group argued the longer combination trailers would be safer and gain greater fuel efficiency, opponents balk at sharing roadways with the longer combinations. Aside for advocating for the industry’s use of the twin 33-foot trailers, the group indicated it will tell lawmakers to increase investments for highway funding, and establish new road technologies. Other coalition members include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Securing America’s Future Energy, the National Industrial Transportation League, American Highway Users Alliance, International Warehouse Logistics Association, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency and the National Association of Manufacturers. A spokeswoman for the group said the coalition does not have a singular leader. American Trucking Associations has stated it is neutral on the policy matter. In 2015, Congress sought to adopt a proposal that would have approved twin 33s industrywide. Pushback from key senators ultimately led to the removal of the proposal in a fiscal 2016 spending bill. In May, Fred Smith, founder and chairman of FedEx, said he was optimistic nationwide use of 33-foot twin trailers would be able to gain approval during the next presidential administration. The trailers are banned absent exemptions. FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. Related reading: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42296-3-senators-set-news-conference-to-state-opposition-to-33-foot-trailers/#comment-308348 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43605-twin-33s-included-in-bill-targeting-obama-overreach/#comment-320727 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43312-federal-spending-bill-includes-increase-to-idaho-truck-weight-limit/#comment-317729 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43144-bill-aims-to-strengthen-restart-suspension-slams-brakes-on-twin-33s/#comment-316117 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42734-senate-votes-to-delay-twin-33s-approval-in-transportation-funding-bill/#comment-312045 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42607-senate-longer-double-trailers-for-trucks-must-be-safe/#comment-310891 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40655-senate-funding-panel-includes-twin-33-provision-in-fiscal-2016-transportation-bill/#comment-294684 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40388-dot-releases-truck-size-and-weight-study/#comment-292682 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40009-house-bill-allows-twin-33s-nationwide-keeps-restart-suspension-active/#comment-289852 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/39948-trucking-friendly-plan-in-congress-decried-as-attack-on-safety/#comment-289172

Achates Power building 2.7L opposed-piston light-duty engine; exceeding CAFE 2025, Tier 3 targets at lower cost Green Car Congress / January 13, 2017 Stemming from a major project partially funded with a $9-million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) to develop an opposed-piston two-stroke gasoline compression ignition engine (OPGCI) (earlier post), Achates Power announced it is developing a 2.7-liter, 3-cylinder (i.e., six-piston) light-duty version of its opposed piston engine (OPE) in both diesel- and gasoline-fueled versions. Achates will demonstrate the engine in 2018 in a driveable light-duty truck. The 2.7-liter compression-ignition OPE will will be 30-50% more fuel efficient than comparable diesel and gasoline direct injection engines, reduce emissions and cost less than alternative technologies under development for meeting 2025 CAFE fuel economy and Tier 3 emission targets. The 30-50% improvement metric encompasses both gasoline and diesel variants of the OP engine. An OPGCI engine versus a four-stroke spark ignition engine will be on the higher end of that scale (50%), while the OP engine running on diesel versus a four-stroke compression ignition (diesel) will be on the lower end of the scale (30%). The new Achates Power 2.7-liter OPE will deliver nominal power of 270 hp and max torque of 650 N·m (479 lb-ft); the vehicle will achieve 37 mpg—12% above the 33 mpg fully phased-in CAFE 2025 requirement for a full-size, light-duty pick-up truck (65-70 sq. feet). (That works out to an estimated window-sticker label rating of 28 mpg combined.) Further, Achates is planning to meet the 0.03 g/mile NMOG + NOx Tier 3 fleet average target (the old Tier 2 Bin 2 level). Achates has done several studies with leading aftertreatment manufacturers for a diesel application; results suggested the Achates OP engine could reduce the diesel engine aftertreatment cost by 30%. With the OPGCI engine, Achates also expects a significant cost reduction of the aftertreatment because the engine-out NOx and soot are much lower than with diesel. The current best guess is close to gasoline SI aftertreatment system cost, said Fabien Redon, Vice President, Technology Development. We are capable of achieving very low engine-out NOx and do it with a lower penalty in BSFC. Our NOx/BSFC trade-off is not as steep, so in general we favor lower NOx regulations because it makes our engine even more competitive. —Fabien Redon The light-duty engine is a “basic” Achates opposed piston 2-stroke engine, said Redon—i.e., it does not make use of more advanced technology elements under consideration for lowering the fuel consumption of combustion engines. The beauty of that is that it basically allows us to exceed the 2025 CAFE regulation without adding any cost to the vehicle. This is taking the existing powertrain out, putting in the OP engine, and it exceeds the CAFE regulation. —Fabien Redon The corollary to that is that the addition of more fuel efficiency technologies would further reduce the fuel consumption performance of the OP engines. In other words, there still is upside potential, even after besting the 2025 CAFE target. The OP engine would be less expensive than a current production light duty diesel, such as in the Ram, but slightly more expensive than a gasoline engine, said Redon. However, the OP solution does not require the additional fuel efficiency technology projected to meet CAFE targets, thereby making it a more cost-effective solution. The EPA’s draft Technical Assessment Report released in 2016 forecast cost increases to integrate fuel saving technology. Using this information and a related National Academy of Sciences report, Achates Power determined that including the Opposed-Piston Engine in the roadmap to achieve CAFE will be at least $1,000 less expensive. The Opposed-Piston Engine uses fewer parts, including the eliminating the cylinder head(s) and related components, eliminating the valvetrain and related components, and a reduction in the aftertreatment system size and cost, among other things. A comparison between the 2.7L OP Engine and a comparable V6 with supercharger shows a part reduction of more than 60% (110 primary components for the Achates Power inline 3-cylinder engine vs. 325 primary components for the V6), enabling an approximate 10% cost reduction. Achates light-duty development engines will be available for automakers. Achates and the OPE. Achates Power has spent 13 years improving the opposed-piston engine, a historically efficient engine originally developed in the late 1800s. The Achates Power Opposed-Piston Engine features two pistons per cylinder, working in opposite reciprocating action. The Opposed-Piston Engine does not need cylinder heads, which are a major contributor to heat losses in conventional engines. Ports in the cylinder walls replace the complex poppet valves and friction-creating valve trains of conventional engines. Opposed piston engines offer a number of fundamental engine efficiency advantages compared to four-strokes: · Lower heat transfer. Heat transfer is proportional to the combustion chamber surface area-to-volume ratio; the smaller the ratio, the better. One of the main reasons larger displacement engines are more efficient than smaller ones is the reduction in area-to-volume ratio. At equivalent displacement, the OP engine has more than a 30% lower area-to-volume ratio. Looked at another way, the OP engine surface area-to-volume ratio is equivalent to that of a 4-stroke engine of more than twice the displacement. E.g., the area-to-volume ratio of a 6-liter OP engine is equivalent to that of a 15-liter conventional diesel. · Leaner combustion. The opposed-piston two-strok (OP2S) engine has a combustion event at every revolution in each cylinder. It features a larger cylinder volume for a given fuel quantity, leading to leaner combustion at the same boost level, which leads to a higher ratio of specific heat. A higher ratio of specific heat leads to higher ideal engine efficiency. · Optimally phased and faster combustion at equivalent pressure rise rate. The larger volume also enables shorter combustion duration while preserving the maximum pressure rise rate. Shorter combustion and lower heat transfer results in a more advanced combustion phasing. · Lower pumping work. Air pumping is decoupled from the engine cycle. The OP engine ports are less restrictive than poppet valves. A very significant factor in meeting emissions requirements is the ability to light off the aftertreatment system as soon as possible. Achates has demonstrated the ability to achieve exceptionally high exhaust gas temperatures at idle—much beyond what can be done with equivalent 4-stroke engines. This enables the earlier light-off of the aftertreatment, therefore resulting in lower emissions over the cycle. The intake ports at one end of the cylinder and exhaust ports at the other are opened by the piston motion and enable efficient uniflow air scavenging. The two-stroke, compression ignition engine has been engineered to achieve superior thermal efficiency by the virtue of its lower heat losses, higher expansion ratio, lean combustion and reduced pumping losses. Achates Power currently has engine programs under development with 12 leading engine manufacturers, including work with Cummins on the Advanced Combat Engine for the US Army, an Opposed-Piston, Gasoline Compression Ignition Engine for the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory and Delphi Automotive, and Fairbanks Morse. These customers have a wide range of product specifications: from 50 hp to 5,000 hp power output, for example, in different types of vehicles, using different fuels. While we continue to work on our customer programs, and research and development programs (like Gasoline Compression Ignition), we are excited to showcase the fuel efficiency, low emissions and outstanding driving characteristics of our Opposed-Piston Engines. There is no technical solution to respond to the proposed 2025 CAFE regulation that is as cost-effective, compatible with our existing vehicles and fuels, ready for production and adaptable to future renewable fuels as our Opposed-Piston Engines. The OP Engine confirms what the industry already knows; the technology needed to exceed these standards and deliver fuel economy and cost savings to customers is currently available, and works with existing infrastructure and fuels. We have a development program underway to create the engine and look forward to coming back to the North American International Auto Show in 2018 to show our progress and we’re even more excited to drive the vehicle later that year. —David Johnson, president and CEO, Achates Power Light-duty diesel OP. Achates has been considering a light-duty version of it engine for awhile, and, in early work, compared an earlier version of a 2.7-liter, 3-cylinder implementation (similar to the one to be deployed in the demo truck) to the Cummins ATLAS inline-4 diesel. ATLAS (Advanced Technology Light Automotive Systems) is the result of a collaboration between Nissan and Cummins reaching back to a US Department of Energy project which began in 2010. ATLAS is targeting a Tier 2 Bin 2 emissions-compliant diesel for application in a light duty pickup, along with a 40% fuel economy improvement over current gasoline V8 powered half-ton pickups. In March 2015, Cummins reported that ATLAS was capable of meeting 2025 CAFE requirements for a half-ton pickup as well as beating Tier 2 Bin 2 emissions standards. (Earlier post.) The Achates 2.7-liter engine to be deployed in the demo truck is a new clean-sheet design incorporating all the latest learnings. Engine design will be complete early this year, with first physical prototypes being manufactured by the end of the year. Vehicle development will start early in 2018, with initial demonstrations that year. OPGCI. Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) uses high cylinder temperatures and pressures to spontaneously combust gasoline fuel without requiring spark plugs. Benefits are projected to include high-efficiency, low-emissions and low-cost. The opposed piston engine is a promising platform for GCI: · Superior mixture preparation. 4-stroke engines (generally) use a single injector, with spray aiming at the cylinder wall, leading to high probability for fuel in crevice volumes. OP engines use diametrically opposed dual injectors with the potential for the cancellation of spray momentum. Additionally, there is simply a longer distance for fuel to reach the crevice area. In addition, the proprietary combustion system design (both pistons form the combustion chamber) provides high mixing. Further, the split injector flow enables superior small quantity control. · Better peak load management. A 4-stroke requires high BMEP to achieve competitive power and torque density. A high compression ratio and high charge mass causes high cylinder pressure. The OP engine requires lower BMEP for maximum load. Its higher efficiency requires less fuel. The larger cylinder volume tolerates faster heat release rates for the same combustion noise. · Superior charge temperature and pumping management. The OP engine features high internal EGR with lower pumping. Due to its large, fast opening ports, there is low restriction. A high trapped temperature results in high exhaust gas temperatures. Achates is working with Delphi Automotive (which has been avidly pursuing gasoline compression ignition for some time) and Argonne National Laboratory on the ARPA-E-funded project to develop the OPGCI engine. (Earlier post.) ARPA-E is providing initial funding of $9 million to this project over three years; Achates Power, Argonne and Delphi expect to spend a total of $13 million on the program, including cost share. The $9-million award was “one of the largest single ARPA-E awards ever made,” noted Chris Atkinson, the ARPA-E program manager for the Achates project. The goal of the 30-month Achates ARPA-E project is to deliver a three-cylinder, 3.0-liter opposed-piston, gasoline compression ignition engine applicable to large passenger vehicles, pick-up trucks, SUVs and minivans. It could also be the first of a family of OPGCI engines spanning 1.0 to 4.0L displacements, said Redon. The smaller displacement derivative (1.0L) could be extremely interesting as a range extender, while a two-cylinder derivative could serve nicely as a direct drop-in for front-wheel drive applications, delivering around 180 hp and 430 N·m from a swept volume of 1.8 liters.

Dieselgate: 13 VW Managers Indicted Around The World, Big Guys Unbothered Forbes / January 12, 2017 Volkswagen managers are living dangerously, as 13 of their own have been indicted by governments around the world. In the U.S., six current and former Volkswagen managers have been charged, outgoing Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said yesterday in a press conference in Washington, D.C. On the same day, South Korea enlarged a list of Volkswagen managers charged with criminal wrongdoings to seven, per South Korea’s Yonhap newswire. At a DOJ news conference that had its thunder stolen by the more salacious appeal of President-elect Trump’s NYC presser, Lynch formally announced a $4.3 billion settlement with Volkswagen, an indulgence trade that bought Volkswagen’s way out of criminal persecution by the U.S. government. The trouble for Volkswagen’s people however has just begun. “We can't put companies in jail, but we can hold their employees personally accountable,” said FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, as criminal indictments were announced against six current and former Volkswagen executives. And the suspects are ... Their names are Oliver Schmidt, Jürgen Peter, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Richard Dorenkamp, Bernd Gottweis, and Jens Hadler. In the indictment, the DOJ describes them as follows: Heinz-Jakob Neusser: from July 2013 until September 2015, Neusser worked for VW as head of Development for VW Brand and was also on the management board for VW Brand. Jens Hadler: from May 2007 until March 2011, Hadler worked for VW as head of Engine Development for VW. Richard Dorenkamp: from 2003 until December 2013, Dorenkamp worked for VW as the head of VW’s Engine Development After-Treatment Department in Wolfsburg, Germany. Bernd Gottweis: from 2007 until October 2014, Gottweis worked for VW as a supervisor with responsibility for Quality Management and Product Safety. Oliver Schmidt: from 2012 through February 2015, Schmidt was the General Manager in charge of the Environment and Engineering Office, located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Jürgen Peter: Peter worked in the VW Quality Management and Product Safety Group from 1990 until the present. From March 2015 until July 2015, Peter was one of the VW liaisons between the regulatory agencies and VW. According to AG Lynch, “these individuals all held positions of significant responsibility,” but Volkswagen insiders differ. When I woke up a high-ranking Volkswagen exec in Wolfsburg with the news that a number of his colleagues are wanted in America, the drowsy contact said: “Who? Winterkorn? Diess? Stadler? Hackenberg? Hatz?” He could name the usual suspects at Volkswagen in his half-sleep. By name he only knew two on the DOJ’s list, Neusser and Dorenkamp, both suspended in late 2015, the rest drew a blank. Duly rattled from sleep, my contact assumed that the others on the wanted list “must be department-level types, I will have to look them up.” The DOJ is going after the soldiers, not the generals (or VW’s Fuhrer....Ferdinand Piech). Gottweis should be hired, not charged With Bernd Gottweis, the Feds definitely are after the wrong guy. Throughout his career at VW, the long-retired manager was the inconvenient voice of conscience at Volkswagen, warning everybody that if U.S. law is not observed, it can result in time behind American bars. Gottweis was head of the “Ausschuss für Produkt-Sicherheit (APS)” (product safety taskforce). Unofficially, the team quickly was called “Feuerwehr-Kreis” (firefighter circle), also because it used to meet in the company's fire department. Of course, “product safety” was a euphemism. The taskforce deployed around the world in an early warning system to protect the company from harm caused by dodgy products and manager stupidity. According to Germany’s usually well-informed BILD tabloid, it was Gottweis who alerted Volkswagen’s then-CEO Martin Winterkorn on May 23, 2014, warning the boss that “it can be assumed that the regulator will investigate the VW-systems for the presence of a cycle-beating function in the engine controller software (so-called defeat device).” As part of the DOJ deal, Volkswagen will have to endure an “independent corporate compliance monitor” watching over Volkswagen’s future good behavior. The unintimidable Gottweis would be well-suited for that chaperone job, instead of a post-office poster. By going after Gottweis, the Feds ultimately signal that speaking out gets you in trouble. One of the mid-level six, Oliver Schmidt, was nabbed by the Feds when he foolishly vacationed in Florida over the Christmas holidays. The skinheaded manager faced his magistrate judge in prison garb and handcuffs. All others are at large, assumedly in Germany, out of reach even for the long arm of American justice. Extradition? No dice When Dave Shephardson of Reuters inquired at the Washington presser about the prospects of the Germans fugitives facing justice in America, AG Lynch obliquely answered that “we usually work very well with our German colleagues on various law enforcement matters,” but that it would be too early to tell. That close cooperation won’t help. By their American-authored constitution, German citizens are protected from extradition. In narrowly defined cases, German nationals may be extradited to another EU country, but not to the U.S., or elsewhere. Germans can be tried in Germany for crimes committed outside of the country, but with dieselgate-type cheating being treated as a gentlemen’s offense in Germany and the rest of the EU, Messrs. Peter, Neusser, Dorenkamp, Gottweis, and Hadler should be safe at home. Their freedom of international travel however should be considered as considerably curtailed. Other Volkswagen managers also will be careful about racking-up frequent flyer miles. “This investigation is on-going, and we will continue to look into individuals,” Lynch said without elaborating further. Making a check on outstanding warrants a part of travel preparations will be of little help. Oliver Schmidt wasn’t wanted when he departed to the U.S. The criminal complaint was filed on December 30, 2016, when Schmidt was already enjoying the Florida sun. The perils of travel America is a favorite destination for Volkswagen managers. That appeal is set to diminish. Elsewhere, “commonwealth-countries should be considered high-risk,” told me a Volkswagen manager serving in the company’s far-flung international operations. Commonwealth countries have, between them and treaty partners such as the U.S., extradition agreements requiring the handover of suspects sought for the flimsiest of offenses. “Even travel to other EU countries could not be without problems,” the manager added. Under the agreement with the DOJ, Volkswagen “agrees to fully cooperate in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation and prosecution of individuals responsible for these crimes,” as the DOJ says. Volkswagen is on a three-year probation, and if it won’t snitch on its own people, it will face the redoubled wrath of the U.S government. The imminent danger of being sold out to the Feds by their own company will lower the already rock-bottom morale among Volkswagen staffers even more, “as impossible as it may sound,” the manager resignedly said. “Faceless multi-national corporations don’t commit crimes, flesh and blood people commit crimes” said Deputy AG Sally Quilian Yates at the press conference. She is the author of the famous Yates Memo that says that the DOJ will henceforth go after individuals involved in corporate malfeasance which results in criminal actions. “The fact that we are announcing charges today against six high-ranking executives at Volkswagen,” said Yates, “demonstrates that this is not just a paper policy” Not exactly. The really high ranking execs enjoy their diamond-studded parachutes in freedom. South Korea goes after the top men, current and past Also yesterday, South Korea enlarged a list of Volkswagen managers facing trial on criminal charges to seven. Seoul prosecutors indicted Volkswagen Group’s country chief Johannes Thammer, his predecessor Trevor Hill, and Hill’s predecessor Park Dong-hoon on charges of violating the country’s clean air conservation act to win sales approval from the local authorities, South Korea’s Yonhap wire reported. Four former and current staff members also were charged. One of the staffers, a man identified by his surname Yoon, last week received an 18-month jail term. Even before the indictment, Thammer’s continued presence in South Korea was secured in an unorthodox way: If Thammer wanted to travel outside the country, his wife had to stay behind, effectively held hostage to secure Thammer’s return to Seoul, wrote Germany’s Manager Magazin. When the wife wanted to travel. the husband had to stay at home, I was told. Thammer’s predecessor Trevor Hill is in Germany, managing Audi’s internationalization project. Hill started at Volkswagen as a young sales manager in South Africa. Non-German citizens technically could be extradited, should a foreign country press the issue. Renault becomes collateral damage Park Dong-hoon, who headed Volkswagen South Korea from 2005 to late 2012, is another delicate case. He is now CEO of Renault’s South Korean operation Renault Samsung Motors Co. Alliance partner Nissan was targeted by the SK government earlier last year after importing a few hundred of its Qashqai SUVs that were legal in the EU, and by virtue of the trade agreement legal in South Korea -- but suddenly they weren’t. Two weeks ago, South Korea's Environment Ministry banned the importation of Nissan’ Infinity Q50 and Qashqai models. Nissan is by far the largest Japanese car importer to South Korea, bringing in more cars than Toyota and Honda combined. While Volkswagen managers are wanted to be brought to justice on both sides of the globe, what is happening at home, where the enormity of the committed crime – half of Europe’s cars are diesel -powered - dwarfs dieselgate shenanigans elsewhere? Not much. The prosecution in Braunschweig near Wolfsburg is investigating 21 suspects for fraud, but it is taking its own time. The prosecutors might not come to a decision in 2017, spokesman Klaus Ziehe told Reuters. “The Americans are a year ahead of us,” Ziehe said. Reuters received hints that no board members are among the suspects. The admission of guilt as part of the arrangement with the DOJ may have some bearing on lawsuits brought by investors and customers in Germany, but that is another matter left for another day.

Trump threatens BMW with border tax on cars built in Mexico Reuters / January 15, 2017 President-elect Donald Trump has warned the United States will impose a border tax of 35 percent on cars that German carmaker BMW plans to build at a new plant in Mexico and export to the U.S. market. Trump was speaking in an interview with German newspaper Bild, which on Sunday released excerpts of his comments translated into German. A BMW spokeswoman said a BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosi would build the BMW 3 Series starting from 2019, with the output intended for the world market. The plant in Mexico would be an addition to existing 3 Series production facilities in Germany and China. Trump said BMW should build its new car factory in the United States because this would be "much better" for the company. He went on to say Germany was a great car producer, borne out by Mercedes Benz cars being a frequent sight in New York, but there was no reciprocity. Germans were not buying Chevrolets at the same rate, he said, making the business relationship an unfair one-way street. He said he was an advocate of free trade, but not at any cost. The BMW spokeswoman said the company was "very much at home in the U.S.," employing directly and indirectly nearly 70,000 people in the country.

Trump's first UK post-election interview: Brexit a 'great thing' The Guardian / January 15, 2017 US president-elect tells Michael Gove that Britain voted to leave EU because people ‘want their own identity’ Donald Trump has pledged to secure a rapid trade agreement with Britain and offered to end sanctions against Russia as he predicted that leaving the European Union would be a “great thing” for the UK. In an interview with the Times, the US president-elect said people voted for Brexit because they “want their own identity”. He also used the interview to signal his desire for a new arms reduction agreement with Russia saying the numbers of nuclear weapons should be “reduced very substantially”. In contrast to Barack Obama, who said Britain would be at the “back of the queue” when it came to a trade deal with the US, Trump made clear it would be a priority for his administration. “We’re gonna work very hard to get it done quickly and done properly. Good for both sides,” he said. He made clear that – unlike his predecessor who urged British voters to back remain – he welcomed last June’s referendum vote. “People, countries want their own identity and the UK wanted its own identity,” he said. “Brexit is going to end up being a great thing.” Despite having prompted fears of a new arms race last year when he said the US needed to “greatly strengthen and expand” its nuclear capability, Trump indicated he would like to strike a new nuclear deal with Russia. “For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it,” he said. The president-elect – who will be inaugurated on Friday – also spoke of his belief that the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had made an error when she opened Germany’s doors to migrants. “I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals,” he said. Trump said he wanted nuclear weapons arsenals of the world’s two biggest nuclear powers – the United States and Russia – to be “reduced very substantially”. “They have sanctions on Russia – let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia. For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it,” Trump was quoted by the newspaper as saying. Trump also criticised Russia for its intervention in the Syrian civil war, describing it as “a very bad thing” that had led to a “terrible humanitarian situation,” according to the Times. He said that he would appoint Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, to broker a Middle East peace deal, urged Britain to veto any new UN security council resolution critical of Israel and repeated his criticism of Obama’s handling of the Iran nuclear deal. He said Nato was obsolete because it had not provided a defence against terrorist attacks but that the military alliance was still very important to him. “I took such heat, when I said Nato was obsolete,” Trump told the newspaper. “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of [terrorism]. I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying Trump is right.” Trump added that many Nato members were not paying their fair share for US protection. “A lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States,” Trump said. “With that being said, Nato is very important to me. There’s five countries that are paying what they’re supposed to. Five. It’s not much.”

Merkel made catastrophic mistake over open door to refugees, says Trump The Guardian / January 15, 2017 US president-elect tells German newspaper Bild that chancellor was wrong ‘letting all these illegals into the country’ Donald Trump has called Angela Merkel’s open door policy to refugees a “catastrophic mistake”, which he said Germany would pay for. In his first interview with mainland European media, Trump told the tabloid Bild that while he had “great respect” for the chancellor, calling her “magnificent” and a “fantastic chief”, she had made an “utterly catastrophic mistake by letting all these illegals into the country”, according to a translation from the German version of his interview. “Do you know, letting all these people in, wherever they come from. And no one knows where they come from at all. You will find out, you’ve had a clear impression of that,” he said, referring to the December attack in Berlin in which 12 people were killed when a lorry driven by an asylum seeker from Tunisia careered into a Christmas market. “So I am of the opinion that she made a catastrophic mistake, a very serious mistake.” When asked whether he would be willing, like his predecessor Barack Obama, to support Merkel’s re-election when she stands for a fourth term as chancellor next autumn, he said: “I respect her, I like her. But I don’t know her so I can’t say anything as to who I might support - in the case that I would support anyone.” In the simultaneous interview with Germany’s Bild and the Times, he was pressed as to whether he would repeat his claim that Merkel’s refugee policy towards Syrians was “insane”. Trump replied: “I think that it was not good. I think that it was a big mistake for Germany. In particular Germany. Germany was (in earlier times) one of the strictest countries in the world regarding immigration rules.” He said he would meet Merkel. “I respect her and I like her, but I think it was a mistake,” he said. “People make mistakes, but I think it was a really big mistake. “I think we should have set up security zones in Syria. That would have been considerably cheaper. And the gulf states should have had to pay for them. After all, they have money like hardly anyone else has. The whole thing would have been considerably cheaper than the trauma that Germany is now going through. I would have said: create security zones in Syria. “Look, this whole thing should never have happened. Iraq should never have been attacked in the first place, right? That was one of the worst decisions, possibly the worst decision that has ever been made in the history of our country. We managed to unleash something; it was like throwing stones into a bees’ nest. And now, it is one of the biggest screw-ups of all time. “I have just looked at something … Oh, I should not show you it at all, because it’s secret - but I have just taken a look at Afghanistan. If you look at the Taliban there, they’re just getting bigger and bigger and bigger every year. And you ask yourself ‘what’s going on there?’” It was put to Trump that Merkel and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, know each other well, that he speaks fluent German and she speaks fluent Russian. He was asked which of the two he trusted more. “First and foremost, I trust both of them,” he said. Asked if he understood why eastern Europeans might fear Putin and Russia, Trump responded: “Of course. Indeed. I know that. I mean, I understand what’s going on there. I’ve been saying for a long time, Nato has problems. It is obsolete because, for a start, it was created many many years ago and secondly, because countries don’t pay what they should pay.” Trump also told Bild that the US would impose a border tax of 35% on cars that BMW, a German company, plans to build at a new plant in Mexico and export to the US. The US president-elect said BMW should build its new car factory in the US because this would be much better for the company. A spokeswoman for the carmaker said a BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosí would build the BMW 3 Series starting from 2019, with the output intended for the world market. The plant in Mexico will be an addition to existing 3 Series production facilities in Germany and China. The US president-elect went on to say that Germany was a great car producer, borne out by Mercedes-Benz cars being a frequent sight in New York, but there was no reciprocity. Germans were not buying Chevrolets at the same rate, he said, making the business relationship an unfair one-way street. He said he was an advocate of free trade but not at any cost. The BMW spokeswoman said the company was “very much at home in the US,” employing directly and indirectly nearly 70,000 people in the country. Asked in the interview conducted on Friday in New York city, whether there was anything typically German about him, Trump, whose grandfather was German, said: “I like orderliness. I like it when things are dealt with in an orderly way. That’s what the Germans are quite well-known for. But I also like order and I like strength.”

VW pulled out of Daimler deal before embarking on diesel cheat Bloomberg / January 14, 2017 Volkswagen Group might have stayed clear of the diesel cheating that led to the worst business crisis in its history had the company not pulled out of a promising deal with Daimler more than a decade ago. Led by former CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, Volkswagen examined strategic options for tie-ups and cooperation projects in 2005, a time when the company was undergoing painful restructuring. The deliberations included senior-level talks on a possible deal with Volkswagen that would have given it access to Daimler's diesel technology and could have even included cross-shareholdings of about 10 percent. But Volkswagen abruptly called off talks that year, instead forging ahead with its own diesel systems which ultimately proved incapable of meeting strict U.S. emissions standards. Faced with an aggressive management push to finally achieve a turnaround in the U.S., the maker of Golf and Jetta cars resorted to secretly rigging its engines until regulators blew open the scheme in late 2015, hammering the once-proud German manufacturer with a potential legal liabilities of about $23 billion in the U.S. and Canada and leaving its reputation in tatters. Project 'TableMountain' Talks to advance the top-secret project, dubbed "TableMountain," were canceled by Volkswagen before a key meeting near Brunswick, Germany, in summer 2005. That's several months before the first indications that Volkswagen engineers were working on the defeat device that eventually rigged 11 million vehicles worldwide to cheat on emissions tests. The scheme unraveled in the summer of 2015 when U.S. authorities pressed Volkswagen to explain why on-the-road emissions of smog-inducing nitrogen oxides were as much as 40 times over the legal limit in cars that met standards in test labs. In addition to fines and costs for fixing or buying back the tainted vehicles, at least seven company officials face charges, including former board member of the namesake brand Heinz-Jakob Neusser. Volkswagen also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and obstruction of justice. A deal with Daimler, which owned Chrysler when the talks were under way, could have thwarted the disaster by offering access to the Mercedes-Benz parent's BlueTec diesel technology, which uses a urea solution to clean up harmful emissions. But Volkswagen balked at using BlueTec, because it would have added about 1,000 euros per car ($1,064) to install and the manufacturer struggled to lower production expenses sufficiently to compensate. Offering affidavits Pischetsrieder and former VW brand chief Wolfgang Bernhard, who had joined from Daimler and championed the use of the Stuttgart company's technology, have offered to make an affidavit that they were not involved or knew about the development of illegal engine software. Instead of adopting Daimler technology, VW insisted on using its own TDI diesel engines, which directly injected fuel into the cylinders and didn't use a urea solution to clean the exhaust. The technology enjoyed strong internal support from then-chairman Ferdinand Piech, a former VW CEO who had pushed the technology in the 1980s during his time in charge of Audi. Piech devoted an entire chapter to it in his autobiography, published in 2002. In a bid to expand in the U.S., Volkswagen ultimately relied on a trick to sell those vehicles as a high-performance, fuel-efficient alternative to gasoline models. By detecting test conditions, the rigged diesel cars artificially lowered emissions during regulatory evaluations, while breaching legal limits on the road. Calling off the talks with Daimler sparked controversy within Volkswagen's top management at the time. One area of concern was that U.S. emissions limits could prove difficult, if not impossible, to reach without Daimler's BlueTec. First prototypes of VW's EA189 engine, the motor at the heart of the diesel scandal, were shown internally to executives during 2006. Project 'U.S.'07' Evidence reviewed by internal auditors and external lawyers points to early 2006 as the time when developers at Volkswagen started working on the illegal software to cheat on emissions tests. While the timing suggests a link, it's unclear whether there is indeed a direct connection between senior executives backing out of the talks with Daimler and the development of Volkswagen's defeat device. The U.S. Justice Department's Statement of Facts dates the first concrete evidence for the cheating back to May 2006 as part of a project internally dubbed "U.S.'07," referring to the EPA's plan to tighten emissions limits that required manufacturers to fully comply as of model year 2007. Volkswagen was evidently aware in 2005 that U.S. emissions regulations posed a problem. The company entered a Consent Decree with American authorities in June of that year to resolve allegations that it violated the Clean Air Act by failing to file an emissions defect report with the EPA in a timely manner. Under the agreement, VW was forced to conduct a $26 million recall, implement enhanced defect tracking and reporting systems on possible defects. It was also required to submit a status report to the EPA once a year. Even though the alliance talks were terminated in 2005, VW later entered an agreement to use Daimler's BlueTec technology for the Jetta sedan and the Touareg SUV. The two companies planned to jointly promote diesel in the U.S., but the Wolfsburg-based automaker abruptly ended the cooperation after less than a year in August 2007. Independent monitor One significant result in the wake of these talks was a production agreement involving the Mercedes Sprinter and the VW Crafter delivery vans. Daimler let the contract expire at the end of 2016 to use the capacity for its own expansion. Volkswagen and Chrysler, which is now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, cooperated on the VW Routan minivan for the U.S. between 2008 and 2013. Any prospects to revive a deal have long since ended. In 2006, Pischetsrieder was ousted as CEO by former Chairman Piech. He then installed confidante Martin Winterkorn, who stepped down in the wake of scandal. Bernhard left in January 2007 and has since rejoined Daimler. Volkswagen officially presented the EA189 diesel engine in 2007 and started using it in cars in the following year. Under the agreement with U.S. authorities, Volkswagen agreed to improve compliance systems, enhance whistle-blower programs and appoint an independent monitor for three years.

Reuters via The Guardian / January 15, 2017 The self-styled greatest show on earth has been hit by the enforced loss of its elephants and declining ticket sales The American circus, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, has said it will cease performances after 146 years because of declining tickets sales and high operating costs. “After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey will hold its final performances in May,” Kenneth Feld, chairman and chief executive of Feld Entertainment, the circus producer, said on the circus’ web site. In May last year, the circus retired its elephant act, years after legal action by activists. It admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to a six-figure fine several years before ending the elephant performances. In his statement on Saturday, Feld noted that declining sales had fallen off even more dramatically following what he called “the transition of the elephants off the road”. Animal rights group Peta said it the decision heralded “the end of what has been the saddest show on earth for wild animals, and asks all other animal circuses to follow suit, as this is a sign of changing times”. Peta president Ingrid Newkirk also said in its statement that 36 years of protests had “awoken the world to the plight of animals in captivity.“ Activists often appeared outside venues with fliers, protesting against the use of elephants, and pictures of animals they said were abused. After Feld Entertainment sued, claiming malicious prosecution, more than a dozen animal welfare groups agreed in 2012 and 2014 to pay settlements totalling about $25m to end 14 years of litigation. The circus went by the slogan “The greatest show on earth”, a catchphrase that was so ubiquitous it was employed for the title of the 1952 Cecil B DeMille best picture Oscar-winning film starring Charlton Heston and Betty Hutton. The circus will end it long run with performances in Providence on 7 May and in Uniondale, New York, on 21 May. Other Feld productions, including Marvel Universe LIVE!, Monster Jam, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!, will continue, and the company said it will continue to develop new shows. Employees were told of the decision to close down following performances on Saturday in Florida.

Italy Rejects Germany’s Request on Fiat Cars in Months-Long Feud Bloomberg / January 14, 2017 Italy rejected Germany’s request to look closer at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s vehicles to ensure they meet European emission rules, as the months-long feud between the countries over the issue escalated. Italian Deputy Transport Minister Riccardo Nencini said the “insistence of the German government after the responses given by the Italian ministry is incomprehensible.” Italy’s government is collaborating with the European Commission, Nencini said in a statement late Friday after the EU’s executive arm said German authorities have expressed serious concerns on emissions of the Fiat 500x. “We have repeatedly asked Italian authorities to come forward with convincing answers as soon as possible,” the EU Commission said in an e-mailed statement Friday. Germany’s KBA motor vehicle authority has carried out investigations on several Fiat vehicles, German Transport Ministry spokeswoman Svenja Friedrich told reporters at a regular government press conference on Friday. “The result was that a considerable reduction of the exhaust gas cleaning function occurs after a certain time. We are still of the opinion that these are unlawful switch-off [so-called "defeat devices"] facilities.” The German Transport Minister wants the EU Commission to intervene in the feud by setting up consultations to find a resolution to disagreements over test results. “The EU Commission is now doing exactly what has been demanded for a long time: it’s talking again with the Italians,” Friedrich said. Under EU rules, Italy is responsible for testing Fiat because the automaker’s regional operations are based in the country. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in May that he doubts Fiat’s cars are in line with rules for emissions certification. Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio replied in a Bloomberg interview a month later that the carmaker’s vehicles were “absolutely fine” and the company showed “maximum transparency.”

Here we go............again. Our employees in Washington at the U.S. Mint clearly have too much free time on their hands. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press / January 13, 2017 The United States Mint and Treasury have unveiled a new gold coin that portrays Lady Liberty as a woman of color for the first time in American history. In a press conference Thursday held in the Department of Treasury's "historic" Cash Room, the two departments introduced the 2017 American Liberty High Relief Gold Coin, which celebrates 225 years of coins being minted in the U.S. "We are very proud of the fact that the United States Mint is rooted in the Constitution," said Principal Deputy Director Jeppson. "Our founding fathers realized the critical need for our fledgling nation to have a respected monetary system, and over the last 225 years, the Mint has never failed in its mission." In "a departure from previous classic designs," the new coin portrays Lady Liberty as a black woman wearing a crown of stars. The coin is inscribed with "1792," for the year the U.S. Mint was established, "2017" and "IN GOD WE TRUST." The reverse side of the coin contains a "bold and powerful eagle in flight," according to the press release. The 1-ounce coin will be struck in .999 fine 24-karat gold at the West Point Mint facility in New York. It is the first in a series of 24-karat gold coins that will feature designs representing Lady Liberty as Asian-American, Hispanic-American and Indian-American. The coins will be issued every two years. Last year, the Treasury announced that civil rights activist and abolitionist Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. .

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Will someone please remind me why brave American soldiers are putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan? The thoroughly corrupt country’s government, police and military are untrustworthy. The American taxpayer has, not by choice, wasted billions of dollars there in a country that is allowed to produce heroin for the global market. This is a country where it is socially acceptable for men to rape young boys, their sex slaves, contradictory to American values. Our employees in Washington oddly instruct our soldiers to ignore it. (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41486-decorated-green-beret-booted-after-striking-afghan-police-commander-who-raped-boy-12-and-beat-up-mother/#comment-301270) What is the clear mission objective? How is our presence in the interest of the United States ? As of October 18th, 2016, there have been 2,386 reported U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan. 20,049 American soldiers have been wounded. And there were 1,173 U.S. civilian contractor fatalities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afghanistan: US Marines headed back to HelmandProvince CNN / January 13, 2017 Approximately 300 Marines will deploy to Afghanistan's HelmandProvince this spring, returning to the scene of some of the fiercest battles in America's 15-year-long engagement there. The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, said Thursday that the troops have "no delusions about the difficulty and the challenges they're going to face." The Marines will be tasked with training and advising Afghan soldiers and police in the volatile opium-rich province. Afghan security forces there have been locked in constant clashes with Taliban insurgents, who have managed to reestablish a significant presence. Helmand sits in the country's southwest. While geographically large, it is very rural and contains only about 3% of the Afghan population. "The enemy has fought hard for Helmand," Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon last month. Nicholson said the Taliban "receive much of their funding from the narcotics trafficking that occurs out of Helmand," adding that "there's a nexus here between the insurgency and criminal networks that's occurring in Helmand that makes Helmand such a difficult fight." "This is a mission we've always been ready for," Lt. Gen. William Beydler, who oversees Marines in the region, told reporters last week. The contingent of Marines will replace US Army advisers currently carrying out the mission, forming "Task Force Southwest," to be commanded by Brig. Gen. Roger Turner Jr. "They continue to need international support," Turner said of the Afghan troops, noting that US personnel would be focusing on intelligence and logistics advice. Some of the troops will be operating in the vicinity of CampLeatherneck, the one-time home of thousands of Marines in Afghanistan. "The Marine Corps has a deep operational history in Afghanistan, particularly Helmand Province," Turner said, with Beydler noting that Marines first deployed to the province in 2001 and later fought battles against insurgents in Sangin and Marjah, where Marines took some of their heaviest casualties. But the two officers were quick to downplay any symbolism in returning to a region that the Marines left after the end of formal combat operations in 2014. "I wouldn't read into this from a symbolic standpoint," Beydler said. "It just so happened that it turned up now and we're ready and we're going." Neller struck a similar tone, saying, "The simple reason why we're going back is because someone asked us if we could do this and I said, 'yes.' " Turner noted that there would be some advantages to going back, particularly when it came to rekindling relationships with America's partners in the Afghan army. "These are folks who we fought alongside and who we fought with and we bled with, and we think there'll be a real synergy in reestablishing relationships," Turner said. "We have a lot of blood, sweat and tears invested in Helmand, and so I think a lot of the Marines are really excited about this opportunity to go back and work again with our Afghan partners," Turner added.

Where there is smoke, there is generally fire. I suspect there is something to all this, and we’ll all actually find out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Senate intelligence committee to question Trump team on Russia links The Guardian / January 13, 2017 The Senate intelligence committee plans to interview senior figures in the incoming Trump administration as part of its inquiry into alleged Russian hacking during the US election, its chairman said on Friday. The announcement, one week before Donald Trump assumes the presidency, comes amid a bitter row between him and the US intelligence agencies he will soon lead. Only yesterday the committee chairman Richard Burr, a Republican, had told reporters that connections between the president-elect and Moscow would be outside the remit of his committee’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s alleged attempts to influence the election through hacking and other cyberattacks. But Burr – in a statement issued jointly with the panel’s top Democrat, Mark Warner – said the committee would use “subpoenas if necessary” to force Trump’s team, as well as officials from the Obama administration, to testify. “As part of the Senate select committee on intelligence’s oversight responsibilities, we believe that it is critical to have a full understanding of the scope of Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States,” the statement said. Among other things, the inquiry will examine “counterintelligence concerns related to Russia and the 2016 US election, including any intelligence regarding links between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns”. The statement is the first formal announcement describing the scope of the committee’s investigation. The inquiry falls short of a demand, backed by every House Democrat and many Senate Democrats, for an independent bipartisan commission. With congressional Republicans opposing that move, Democrats have been hoping to build pressure as intelligence briefings on the Russia hacking have accumulated in the past week. Warner indicated in a statement, issued alongside his statement with Burr, that he did not necessarily view the intelligence panel’s inquiry as the final investigative option. “This issue impacts the foundations of our democratic system – it’s that important,” he said. “This requires a full, deep and bipartisan examination. At this time, I believe that this committee is clearly best positioned to take on that responsibility ... If it turns out that SSCI [Senate Select Committee on Intelligence] cannot properly conduct this investigation, I will support legislation to empower whoever can do it right.” The announcement comes hours after the Guardian reported that FBI director James Comey frustrated lawmakers at a closed briefing on Friday when he refused to clarify whether his agency was conducting an inquiry into Trump’s ties to Russia. Comey had previously told the Senate intelligence committee that he would “never comment” on a potential FBI investigation “in an open forum like this”, raising expectations that he would put the issue to rest in a classified setting. But, according to sources attending the closed-door meeting, that was not the case. The bulk of the intelligence committee’s hearings will be held behind closed doors, the statement from Burr and Warner said, although it would try to conduct public hearings when possible. The senators vowed to follow the intelligence “wherever it leads”. The announcement is a reversal of Burr’s previous statement to reporters. On Thursday, he said an inquiry into the possible links between Trump and Russia would not involve investigating ties between Moscow and the Trump campaign, asserting that the committee doesn’t “have anything to do with political campaigns. We don’t have any authority to go to any campaign and request information that one would need to do an investigation.” When asked who should, he suggested the FBI. The move comes in the aftermath of the publication of a set of unverified documents alleging covert links between the Trump campaign and Moscow and referring to personally comprising material about the president-elect, allegedly collected by Russian intelligence when he visited Russia. Trump has called the allegations “phony stuff”, adding: “It didn’t happen.” The material was put together by Christopher Steele, a former British counter-intelligence official who was commissioned to do research on Trump on behalf of his political opponents. Steele was reportedly so alarmed by what he found that he forwarded a copy of the documents to the FBI over the summer. David Corn, Washington editor of Mother Jones, who first broke the story about the existence of the documents, described his interview with their author in October. He said he had agreed to speak “under the condition that I not name him or reveal his nationality or the spy service where he had worked for nearly two decades, mostly on Russian matters.” The former spy told Corn that he had decided the material he began receiving in June was “sufficiently serious” for him to send it to his contacts at the FBI. Steele did so without permission from the American firm [Fusion GPS] that had hired him. “This was an extraordinary situation,” he told Corn. The former counter-intelligence official said the reaction from the FBI was “shock and horror” and a few weeks later the Bureau asked him for information on his sources and their reliability and on how he had obtained his reports. The Bureau also asked him to carry on sending further reports to its investigators. He stressed that the reports were raw updates of what he was learning from his sources. “This was something of huge significance, way above party politics,” the ex-spy told Corn. “I think [Trump’s] own party should be aware of this stuff as well.” He noted that the operations aimed at Trump were part of Vladimir Putin’s campaign to “disrupt and divide and discredit the system in western democracies”.

Carmakers in DC’s Crosshairs in Final Days Before Trump Bloomberg / January 14, 2017 This is so much more than a parting shot. With a week to go before Donald Trump becomes president, the Obama administration has unleashed a final, multiprong effort on enforcement and regulation in the automotive industry, with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV now at the fore. On Friday alone, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rejected automakers’ bid to weaken fuel-efficiency standards, news broke that federal authorities had opened a criminal investigation into Fiat Chrysler over its handling of emissions in 104,000 SUVs and pickup trucks, while embattled supplier Takata Corp. agreed to plead guilty and pay $1 billion to settle a U.S. probe into its exploding airbags linked to at least 17 deaths worldwide. Together the developments -- along with this week’s $4.3 billion in fines and penalties against Volkswagen AG for its diesel-emissions cheating and the indictment of three Takata executives -- mark one of the most aggressive industry-related moves since the Obama administration helped General Motors Co. and the former Chrysler LLC through bankruptcy in 2009. The question now is how Trump, who campaigned on promises to revive the fossil-fuel industry and roll back environmental regulation, will respond to steps the auto industry says will hurt jobs and cost consumers. Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive officer of Fiat Chrysler, told reporters on Friday the Obama administration has taken a “belligerent view” of the industry. “We don’t belong to a class of criminals,” he said. The administration’s biggest move was EPA jumping several months ahead of schedule to affirm President Barack Obama’s mandate requiring automakers to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by boosting their fleet-wide fuel economy to an average of 50.8 miles per gallon by 2025 from 35.3 mpg now. National Automobile Dealers Association President and CEO Peter Welch urged Trump to reverse the EPA decision, saying in a statement the rule would add thousands of dollars to the cost of new cars and trucks. Welch’s comments echo the auto industry’s broader tone since Nov. 30, when the EPA telegraphed that the regulations would see no major changes. Friday’s announcement marked the conclusion of an EPA review automakers say was unfairly cut short to safeguard a signature Obama administration environmental policy from Trump. ‘Politically Costly’ “Obama is making it more difficult and more politically costly for the new administration to unwind the regulations,” said Brian Johnson, a Barclays Plc analyst in Chicago. For Trump to do this, he would have to re-start the process that produced the rules in the first place. Dave Cooke, senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says such a move would include reaching a fresh conclusion that the 2025 standards needed to be changed and then a lengthy rulemaking to actually do so. “This is not a hasty decision,” Cooke said. “It’s based on years of data and it’s a lot of work and effort to overturn.” Washington-based analysts at ClearView Energy Partners LLC issued a note to clients on Friday, saying Congress probably won’t roll back the regulations. “We think the Trump Administration may be more inclined to consider short-term administrative ‘tailoring’ of the program to give automakers more flexibility as it considers a comprehensive rewrite of the MY2022-2025 standards,” it said. Possible Amendments The Republican-controlled Congress also could amend the Clean Air Act to bar the regulation of carbon dioxide as a pollutant, or to prevent California and other states from enacting their own requirements for zero-emission vehicles. As part of a rulemaking slated for later this year, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will codify its own fuel-economy targets for 2022-2025. The Trump administration could use this to grant concessions automakers want related to, for example, credits they can earn by installing eco-friendly technologies such as aerodynamic grilles. Relief on these rules is near the top of automakers’ wish lists for what they hope will be a more business-friendly administration under Trump. In an interview at the Detroit auto show earlier this week, GM North America President Alan Batey expressed concern the current targets force companies to add expensive equipment he said “the customer won’t pay for and, in many cases, doesn’t even value.” A longer timeline would relieve some of the pressure, he added. Petitioning Trump Beyond fuel economy, automakers petitioned Trump’s transition team for a broader re-set of relations with the government just days after the election, asking for a new presidential advisory panel to coordinate the panoply of regulatory agencies that oversee pieces of the industry. Yet the impact of even an aggressive move by Trump to de-fang Washington’s auto-regulatory regime may have limits, as counterparts overseas show no signs of backing off their own initiatives. “There may be an adjustment in the U.S. standards after 2021, but I don’t see them going down in Europe or China,” said Warren Gibbon, who helps manage $370 billion for Standard Life Investments in Boston and sold his holdings in big Detroit car companies in 2012. “To the extent these cars and trucks are all global platforms, that could be an issue.” Trump’s election has alarmed climate activists who worry the president-elect will make good on his vow to dismantle environmental regulations limiting carbon-dioxide emissions. Trump once described climate change as a hoax, and many of his nominees for key cabinet positions also have been skeptical of humans’ role in the phenomenon. Stoking Fears Fears also have been stoked by a questionnaire Trump transition advisers sent to the Energy Department in December, asking for the names of employees and contractors involved in climate policy matters. Given the volume of emissions from America’s 250 million vehicles, Obama’s fuel-efficiency plan is widely considered to be one of the country’s major efforts to combat climate change. For now, automakers don’t know if Trump is spending much time even thinking about how to regulate their industry. “I’m not sure if ‘our neck of the woods’ is going to be on top of the list,” said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “The new Secretary of Transportation may be spending more time on infrastructure than on regulating autonomous cars or fuel economy.” “I have no idea.”

Here's ExxonMobil's lobbying disclosure that Menendez had in his hand, which includes where the company lobbied against H.R.5094 (the STAND for Ukraine Act), an event under Tillerson's tenure as ExxonMobil head. It's the tenth "Lobbying Activity" on the list. https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=6B7C97D3-08DB-456E-B05E-E22EF3C89AC2&filingTypeID=60

Tillerson, who joined Exxon in 1975, has been Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobile from 2006 thru 2016. Now for example, I've read that ExxonMobil lobbied repeatedly on the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, the bill imposing sanctions on Russia’s oil sector after its 2014 invasion of Ukraine. Based on that, it is impossible for me to believe that he as Chairman and CEO didn't know about his company's lobbying efforts.