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The “Infamy Speech” (aka. Pearl Harbor Speech) delivered by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of Congress on December 8, 1941, one day after the Empire of Japan's attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the Japanese declaration of war on the United States and the British Empire. Within an hour of the speech, Congress passed a formal declaration of war against Japan and officially brought the U.S. into World War II. Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack. It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt December 8, 1941 .

Davenport, Iowa-based, American family-owned Sears Seating (optional in Macks), or Germany's Grammer (GRA-MAG) that come in Kenworth, Peterbilt and most European trucks. http://www.searsseating.com/product-category/truck-seats/ http://www.gramag.com/products.html

HGVUK / December 5, 2016 Goodyear is introducing a High Load version to its fuel-frugal FUELMAX T range of trailer tyres with EU tyre label ‘A’-grading in fuel efficiency. The new Goodyear FUELMAX T “HL” (High Load) 385/65R22.5 tyre is engineered for axle loads of up to 10 tonnes, to meet the increasing demand for such tyres as more and more European countries adopt higher vehicle weights. Almost 80% of European countries have now extended regulations to permit axle weights in excess of the so far standard 40 tonnes on five-axle articulated vehicles. There are now 32 countries in the region that allow total weights in excess of 44 tonnes even. The new tyre has been developed to meet fleets operators’ demands for high load trailer tyres capable of enabling total weights in excess of 40 tonnes. The new High Load version of the 385/65R22.5 FUELMAX T trailer tyre features FUELMAX Technology, which gives the tyre the most economical ‘A’ EU tyre label grade in fuel consumption. The tyre’s launch follows the successful introduction of the High Load version of the KMAX T trailer tyre, which is optimized to deliver high mileage. The carcass of the FUELMAX T HL 385/65R22.5 is engineered for axle loads up to 10 tonnes giving it a load/speed index of 164K/158L. This not only provides the higher load capacity but also high levels of robustness. A further advantage of the new FUELMAX T HL size is that it carries the M+S designation, fulfilling truck winter tyre requirements across Europe. The introduction of the FUELMAX T HL means that Goodyear now offers in total three FUELMAX T trailer tyres boasting the coveted ‘A’ label grade in fuel efficiency. These comprise the new Goodyear FUELMAX T HL 385/65R22.5, the FUELMAX T 385/55R22.5 and the FUELMAX T 435/50R19.5. The new Goodyear FUELMAX T HL 385/65R22.5 with ‘A’ label grade in fuel efficiency, ‘C’ label grade in wet grip, 69 dB and one wave for external noise is available now. Related reading - http://www.goodyear.eu/uk_en/truck/tires/fuelmax-t/

Buried in the article??? I think not. The Guardian used the same black and white print in noting the seven Democratic electors as the one Republican elector. They assume you are going to read the entire article.

Volvo Trucks Press Release / December 5, 2016 .

US election: broken machines could throw Michigan recount into chaos The Guardian / November 5, 2016 Broken polling machines may have put vote counts in question in more than half of Detroit’s precincts and nearly one-third of surrounding Wayne County, possibly throwing the Michigan recount into chaos. If the discrepancies can’t be solved by recounting every paper ballot in question by hand, a recount in those precincts simply won’t happen. Donald Trump’s slim margin over Hillary Clinton means any chance that the state might flip on a recount likely hinges on Wayne County, where she won by a landslide. Clinton lost by 10,704 votes in Michigan; Wayne’s population of 1,759,335 makes it the likeliest candidate to contain errors bigger than that margin. Eighty-seven of Wayne County’s decade-old voting machines broke on election day, according to Detroit’s elections director, Daniel Baxter. Baxter told the Detroit News, which first reported the story, that ballot scanners often jammed when polling place workers were trying to operate them. Every time a jammed ballot was removed and reinserted, he suspects the machine may have re-counted it. Preliminary investigation by election officials in Wayne County found that 610 of the area’s 1,680 precincts could not reconcile the number of votes cast according to the machines with the number of ballots issued according to the electoral rolls. Detroit contains 662 of Wayne’s precincts; in 392 of those, the number of votes didn’t match up. Baxter said he was confident a recount would match the ballots issued to the paper records, which are sealed and stored under guard. “I don’t think it’s going to be 100%,” he said, “but it never is with a recount.” If hand-tallied ballots can’t resolve all the mismatches, the votes will stand in the counties where the errors remain. State law rejects a recount in places where the two figures don’t match up: a precinct is ineligible to be recounted if the “number of ballots to be recounted and the number of ballots issued on election day as shown on the poll list or the computer printout do not match and the difference is not explained to the satisfaction of the board of canvassers,” the law says. The recount was triggered by Green party candidate Jill Stein in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. On Monday, Stein asked a federal court to intervene in Pennsylvania after state courts demanded a million-dollar bond before it would proceed. Computer scientists have been sounding the alarm about shoddily made, insecure and incompatible voting machines for several years. The only way to find out whether technical problems or even malicious hacking have contributed large errors to the electoral tally is to audit the vote, wrote the University of Michigan’s J Alex Halderman in an affidavit supporting Stein’s call for a recount. Now that a recount is under way, Michigan officials are indeed finding major technical problems. Jeremy J Epstein, a researcher with SRI, successfully campaigned in 2015 to have Virginia’s WinVote machines decertified when he discovered that the factory-set network passwords for WinVote voting machines were often “abcde” and “admin”.

First Republican 'faithless elector' announces intent to vote against Trump The Guardian / December 5, 2016 A Republican presidential elector has become the first to announce that he intends to defect from Donald Trump when he casts his vote as part of the electoral college, vowing to try and block the president-elect from reaching the White House. Writing in the New York Times, Christopher Suprun has declared that he will break ranks with his fellow Republican electors in Texas and cast his vote for a GOP candidate whom he deems to be more fit for highest office. Suprun argues that under the electoral college system he has the constitutional duty to vote according to his conscience, not just according to party loyalty – and his conscience tells him that Trump is unfit for the presidency. Citing the Federalist Papers, the historic documents that laid out the principles behind the electoral college system, Surprun, who as a firefighter was one of the first responders to the Pentagon on 9/11, says that each elector must decide whether “candidates are qualified, not engaged in demagogy, and independent from foreign influence … Mr Trump urged violence against protesters at his rallies during the campaign. He speaks of retribution against his critics.” He adds: “I owe no debt to a party. I owe a debt to my children to leave them a nation they can trust.” Suprun’s declared defection from Trump marks the first time that a Republican has broken ranks in this election cycle to become what is known as a “faithless elector”. Up to now only Democratic electors within states won by Hillary Clinton have expressed the intention to vote against party affiliation as a form of protest against Trump’s imminent ascendancy to the White House. Until Suprun’s defection, seven of the 538 electors across the country had indicated that they intended to become faithless electors by breaking ranks with party affiliation. However, they were all Democrats within states won by Clinton. Under the electoral system laid down by the founding fathers, US presidents are not chosen directly by the popular vote of the American people. Instead, they are elected indirectly by 538 electors who selected by the political parties within each state. In contemporary America, it is widely assumed that the electors will simply vote according to their party affiliation in tune with which candidate won their state. Thus in Texas, which has been assigned 38 of the 538 electoral college votes, it was assumed that all 38 electors would vote for Trump who beat Clinton in the state by 52% to 43%. However, one of the Texan electors, Art Sisneros, has already resigned from the state’s electoral college delegation on grounds that Trump does not satisfy his religious and moral principles. Now Suprun says that he will go further – he will show up on 19 December when the electoral college assembles in each state and actually cast his ballot against Trump, by writing in an alternative Republican candidate of the likes of John Kasich, the governor of Ohio. “I believe electors should unify behind a Republican alternative, an honorable and qualified man or woman such as Gov John Kasich of Ohio,” he writes. The idea that several of the 538 electors might take it into their own hands to attempt to sway the outcome of an election that involved more than 127 million voters has proven to be quite contentious. Some have taken the view that it is in itself a deeply retrograde and undemocratic step; others have lauded it as exposing the implicit undemocratic nature of the electoral college itself that imposes an indirect barrier between presidential candidate and people. Either way, few expect that this year’s rebellion of electors will have any definitive impact on the outcome of the race. Though it looks like being historically large in number, it is most unlikely to tip the balance of electors from Trump to Clinton, who currently hold 306 to 232 electoral votes respectively.

Can Nikola truly transform the trucking industry? Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / December 5, 2016 So Nikola Motors Co. unveiled its Nikola One prototype Class 8 highway sleeper tractor last week at its “world headquarters” in Salt Lake City, Utah – a truck that runs on electricity generated by a hydrogen-powered fuel cell. The company claims the Nikola One’s range is between 800 to 1,200 miles on a single fill up and, with its fuel cell linked to a 320 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, the truck can crank out 2,000 hp and 2,000 ft.-lbs. or torque – enough to handle heavy-haul operations, which is a trucking niche Trevor Milton, Nikola’s president and CEO, is including in his marketing plans. The sales pitch for the Nikola One is pretty straightforward; indeed, refreshingly so, if the company and its partners (Ryder System being playing perhaps the most critical role handling sales, service, and warranty coverage for the vehicle) can make good on their claims. Milton said during the event that he expects to “sell” the Nikola One tractor via an “all-inclusive and integrated lease” costing anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000 per month. And by “all-inclusive” Milton means “all-inclusive”: Not only does it cover the vehicle, but all of its hydrogen fuel as well (“one million miles worth,” he explained), along with maintenance support, warranty coverage, tires, wiper blades, everything – even truck washes. Milton plans to provide hydrogen fuel and amenities to Nikola One owners through a yet-to-built network of 364 refueling “sites” modeled on the Maverik convenience store chain – making refueling a “destination” for Nikola One operators, rather than a necessary evil. Another twist Milton is planning for the Nikola One: Incorporating a freight matching service, Nikola Shipments, as part of the trucks base package of services. Truck drivers will be able to access that service via the 21-in. computer screen built into the dashboard – a computer screen that technicians can also use as a diagnostic tool as well. “Look at it this way: an iPhone would not be an iPhone of you couldn’t listen to your music, send text messages, take photographs, surf the web, and do hundreds other things with it,” Milton explained. “That’s what we are trying to do with the Nikola One. It won’t happen all at once, but essentially we’re going to try and integrate everything a driver needs into this one vehicle.” Of course, there are safety and environmental angles to the Nikola One being played as well. The air disc brakes on the Nikola One will be connected to a “regenerative braking” system to provide more stopping power – stopping power further enhanced through linkage with automatic emergency braking systems (AEB) such as Bendix’s Wingman Fusion and Meritor’s OnGuard Active product. The Nikola One’s battery pack, electric motors and fuel cells will all be positioned at or below its frame rails – providing more stability and a lower center of gravity to reduce the chances of a rollover. Then there are the environmental factors. For starters, fuel cells only emit water vapor, so no expensive and heavy exhaust aftertreatment systems will be needed. Milton also expects the Nikola One to last at least two million miles due to its independent suspension and electrical powertrain, with the first million miles in operation for “new owners” and the second million for those who favor buying used trucks. Even the lithium-ion battery pack can be re-sold, Milton noted: “sliced up” for use in electric back up generating systems for residential homes. “The goal here is to reuse and recycle as much as possible from the truck,” he said. Yet will trucking companies pay $5,000 to $7,000 a month for a hydrogen-powered torpedo-looking truck? And will truck drivers be willing to pilot such rigs? Sandeep Kar, global vice president for mobility at Frost & Sullivan, for one, believes total cost of ownership or “TCO” factors may play into the Nikola One’s favor. “The North American trucking industry is grappling to find ways to address the TCO issue [with] fuel, lease, and repair and maintenance costs are the key components to be tackled,” he explained in a recent report. “They contribute to over half of a truck’s TCO.” With Nikola claiming that its Nikola One prototype can offer twice the power and two to four times more fuel efficiency than an average Class 8 diesel truck, plus all the fuel and maintenance costs rolled into the lease price for good measure, Frost & Sullivan estimates that will provide savings of $21,127 per year on a lease purchase deal versus a traditional Class 8 diesel truck. And even though the Nikola One won’t start full production until 2002, the company said that it’s received over 8,000 reservations for the vehicle with deposits of $1,500 each. Milton claimed during the unveiling that amounts to nearly $4 billion worth of pre-orders – money that Nikola will no doubt use to help fund the development of its hydrogen refueling network. Will that be enough to sway truckers to start switching to hydrogen- powered electric big rigs? We’re going to find out as clock tracking the time to full production of the Nikola One is now ticking. Slide Show - http://fleetowner.com/running-green/digging-nikola-one-details#slide-0-field_images-206851

Class 8 market dip in '17, with upbeat outlook farther out Fleet Owner / December 5, 2016 With many speculating what the incoming Trump Administration will mean for trucking, those are really more 2018 considerations, say truck industry analysts. For 2018 though, analysts expect just over 200,000 Class 8 trucks will be built for the North American market. "We've just got too many trucks and not enough freight," one analyst said. This year should close out at about 228,000 Class 8 trucks built before a continued downward trajectory into 2017. But several factors are likely to help the market pick back up starting in 2018, when ACT expects that 243,000 Class 8 trucks will be built. And things could be on the road to much better after that, should a number of elements fall into place. "If everything goes according to the script that I have written, the conditions should be in place for a very nice Class 8 market in 2019 and 2020," he said. New administration Possible beneficial economic moves from the Trump Administration like pushing for tax cuts or infrastructure investments would come no sooner than 2017, and the fruits of any changes wouldn't be seen until 2018 and going forward. "We've got at least two years to find out what total Republican dominance does to policy, just as we did in 2009 and 2010 when the Democrats had the same opportunity," he explained, noting Republican control of the presidency and Congress. That control "should mean free policy rein, and I do recall the Barack Obama quote from 2009 that 'elections have consequences,'" he added. With the Trump Administration, some things to watch will be stances on trade, foreign policy and immigration, and then there is the 3 a.m. tweet thing, which I think makes us all a little bit nervous. The North American Class 8 market was considerably weaker during the first 10 months of 2016 vs. the same time the prior year. The United States, which accounts for 81% of the market, saw a year-over-year Class 8 decline in that time of 47%. Canada, which is 9% of the market, saw a 26% decline in Class 8. But one bright spot for Class 8 was Mexico, which represents about 8% of the North American market. Mexico has seen growth of 25% for the first 10 months of the year compared with the same 2015 period. Ultimately, it's still a 25,000-unit market, so what happens there only ripples so far. Still, if there's a question regarding the future Trump Administration's policies, Mexico is a key consideration. The thinking generally is that the new administration will ease up on regulations, which should be a boon for businesses: Whether it's labor, environmental or safety, those had been increasing headwinds for business and are likely to be mitigated. Even if the new administration ultimately lightens the regulatory burden, don’t expect GHG Phase II requirements to evaporate. "I think the paybacks are so good on aerodynamics and parasitic drag that even if the Greenhouse Gas Phase II rules get rolled back, the vast majority of that mandate is going to happen because of the bang for the buck for fuel economy relative to cost," he said. "I think the vast majority of the GHG Phase II proposal is almost 'baked in the cake,' regardless of what the Trump Administration does." More positive 2018 The 2018 forecast for Class 8 is more favorable now that Donald Trump has been elected president. A theoretical President Hillary Clinton would've faced with a Republican-led House of Representatives and Senate, particularly with funding issues. "Before the election, we were thinking of something like 225,000-230,000 [total Class 8 North American market units built for 2018] might've been a better place" than our prediction of 243,000, he said. "That was kind of from the realization of having Hillary Clinton as president with the continuation of a Republican-led House of Representatives, which I don't think was ever in doubt. "Then all of a sudden, if we try to push through a $500 billion infrastructure package, the House would say, 'Okay, but you have to cut $500 billion worth of spending.' So the aggregate level of spending was not going to change all that much." President Trump should face smoother going in terms of working with Congress, but what will come of Republican legislative efforts is yet to be seen. If the rosier 2018 predictions are to come about, there will be indicators by about the third quarter of 2017. "As we look back through history, I want to say that every up-cycle that we've seen in the marketplace has started in the fourth quarter," he said. "So if conditions aren't sufficiently good by the third quarter of 2017, you don't get bigger orders in the fourth quarter of 2017, which doesn't start production in time. "So that's that 15,000-20,000-unit delta that we were contemplating." A bubble popped For Class 8, the present reality comes from a cyclical downturn that came on fairly dramatically. "From the end of 2014 to the end of 2015, we went from the top of a cycle to a rapidly deteriorating market heading into 2016, and it continued to deteriorate through most of the first half of 2016," he said. That deterioration has stopped or at least slowed, he added, "but in short, in the current market, we've just got too many trucks and not enough freight." How many too many trucks is that, exactly? Analyst’s fleet utilization model suggested there was about a 5% capacity shortfall at the end of 2014; today, the model shows the market is about 7% overcapacity. "From our model's perspective, that's about 105,000 more tractors than are currently needed in the marketplace," he said. Precipitating the market declines for freight were dips in machinery and capital goods, where "you've got six-to-eight touches by a truck on a relative dollar basis." "Freight started going wrong when the commodity bubble popped in the second half of 2014," he said. "All of a sudden, all the commodity extractors — whether it was the oil guys, coal guys, steel guys, aluminum guys or farmers — they're all like, 'We're not making any money; we don't want any [new] machines.'" Keeping in mind analyst’s approximately 100,000 excess truck estimate, productivity gains are also part of the Class 8 story. In 2013, truck tonnage in North America began a continuous climb while truckloads stayed relatively the same. "Coming out of the recession, we've seen a lot of truck tonnage growth without a lot of loads growth," he said. "Where is it? Increased density? Increased utilization? A little bit of modal share? A little bit of online retail shift? "Were we operating under the same conditions as we were during the last cycle, we would actually need about 10% more tractors — about 150,000 more tractors — than are currently on the road today to haul the same amount of freight," he continued. "So you can see the problem in a nutshell: especially in a slow-growth economy, high productivity growth leads to weak freight outcomes." Points to note Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen far less decline in the Class 8 vocational sector. "If you look at the U.S. numbers, we're not so bad in the vocational market," he said. "One of the reasons we don't have a 'hair on fire' bad forecast for 2017 is that the quarter of the market that is the vocational piece is holding up reasonably well." Class 8 inventories are still swollen, but truck OEMs have adjusted production rates down accordingly. We've worked a lot of inventory off, but there's still a lot of inventory to work off. In terms of sales-to-production balance, trailers held up strong for about a year after the Class 8 tractor market began its decline, but they're now headed for their own equilibrium adjustment. "We saw trailer backlogs drop below 100,000 units in October, which was the first drop below 100,000 since early 2014," he noted. "We still haven't adjusted production relative to the size of the backlog," he argued. "So we think there's certainly some production cuts coming up there." Some signs on the economic horizon are looking up. In terms of strengths of lead indicators like commodity trends, stock market prices and consumer confidence, "over the last couple of months, it's generally been a better tempo on economic reports," he said. Look for "generally slower growth" in the U.S. economy, with a pick-up likelier by around the mid-term elections. The economic recovery is at a tepid 2.1% growth in GDP and 2.1% growth in manufacturing, but there are encouraging signs regarding the latter. "We're seeing some nice improvement on a worldwide basis in manufacturing," he said. "That's very good to see." He noted that Germany, the United Kingdom and India are seeing above trend growth in manufacturing, while China has moved to trend-type growth. "In our argument of what's wrong with freight in the United States, it really gets back to commodity prices," he emphasized. "How you fix commodity prices is you fix aggregate demand for commodities globally. "In the last few months, things are getting better globally," he said. Continued pressure on used One area that's likely not to improve in the near future for Class 8 is the used market. And one thing to keep an eye on in this regard is contract freight rates vs. spot rates. "I pay a lot of attention to the spread between contract and spot rates," he noted. "Contract rates have performed reasonably well compared to spot rates for the past 24 months," he added, while "the guys that operate in the spot market have just absolutely gotten killed over the last 22 months." Trucking companies in the contract market tend to be new truck buyers, he explained, while those in the spot rate market tend to be used truck buyers. Monitoring used truck sales and extracting a small subset of 400,000-500,000-mi. trucks for a look at used sale performance, he noted that "through '14 and much of '15, there was a premium of $10,000 to maybe $12,000 above residual value or book value on equipment. "A lot of fleets were actually booking profits on their used truck trades, and it encouraged them to do more used truck trades," he pointed out. "That flipped toward the end of 2015, and you can see that [used truck] average valuation in four of the last seven months has been below our estimated residual value. That becomes a real issue." With trucks' residual values low, "several OEM groups" are holding back "some fairly large" used inventory stockpiles. "So there's a chunk of inventory that hasn't even been introduced into the marketplace." All things considered, a rebound of used equipment prices doesn't look likely, and that will continue to put pressure on new sales. "For the near-term, there's probably more downward pressure on late-model used equipment values than upward," he noted. ELDs' 'meaningful takeout' A meaningful change in trucking is on the way with electronic logging devices, or ELDs, ACT believes. The group speculates that the coming ELD mandate is likely to squeeze perhaps significant capacity out of the market. Midsize truckload carriers, which make up about 10% of the market, will lose about 5% of their numbers, or about 4,000 trucks. Small truckload carriers, which make up about 20% of the market, will lose a more substantial portion of their total at 10%, which amounts to 16,000 trucks. Owner-operators will be most affected. Those make up 30% of the market, and they could lose 15% of their 240,000 total, or about 36,000 trucks. All accounted for, it’s estimated that the ELD fallout will amount to 56,000 trucks, which is 3.7% of total tract fleet capacity or 7.0% of for-hire fleet capacity. "Basically, the big guys are running legal. It's when you get to the smaller end of the market and for-hire guys" where you'll find some paper log cheating, he said. Taking some midsize and small carriers out of the mix and accounting for them running excess miles, again, the total ELD "takeout" of Class 8 trucks will be the equivalent of 56,000 units. "This is a pretty meaningful takeout," he said. Shippers and insurers eventually could become a factor in fleets having ELDs, he contended. "Now that it becomes a law, do shippers and insurers start to care about whether the brokered truckers they're hiring are compliant?" he pointed out. "At some point, this probably starts to matter." Furthermore, "we do think that there are some post-mandate business failures that almost have to happen as guys just can't adjust to the new paradigm," he argued. "So this could be, especially for the big fleets, the gift that keeps on giving for a while." Coming 'very nice' market Analysts believe that the current buying/ replacement rates for tractors are on a cyclical schedule that will pick up as 2017 progresses and continue climbing from 2018 into much of 2020. And around 2018, other market forces — including legislative activity the Trump Administration is likely to undertake — could make for some bright years for Class 8 in North America before the cycle falls off naturally in 2021. "We do think there's a trade cycle. All of the trucks that were bought in 2012, '13, '14 and '15, as we look out to 2020, our [tractor] trade cycle model begins to ramp up pretty well," he said. "So if trucker profitability is in place then, there's likely to be a decent trade cycle as we look out to the end of the decade." Pair that with the impact of ELDs, and the stage is set. "If the electronic logging device mandate delivers a fairly large capacity takeout at the same time as the Trump Administration delivers an infrastructure project, maybe a corporate tax giveback, and there's good freight volumes and more machinery being sold, yes, I think there's a very good argument for a nice run-up in trucker profitability in 2018 and 2019," he told listeners. "These guys will have a bunch of old trucks to replace that they purchased in 2014 and 2015," he noted. "If everything goes according to the script that I have written, the conditions should be in place for a very nice Class 8 market in 2019 and 2020."

November Class 8 Truck Orders Indicate Stabilized Market Heavy Duty Trucking / December 5, 2016 There was a significant and expected increase in Class 8 truck order activity during the month of November, according to preliminary numbers from FTR. Net orders are projected to hit 19,300 units for the month, representing a 41% increase in order activity compared to October. Backlogs are also expected to increase for the first time in 10 months. “Class 8 orders came in right as expected in November. It is good news that the market has stabilized and is following seasonal trends,” said Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles at FTR. “Backlogs should increase in November and December as production dips, however, this order level should allow production to bounce back some in Q1.” Class 8 order activity for the past 12 months annualizes to 191,000 units, according to FTR. “The downturn in the Class 8 market was in response to weak manufacturing and lackluster freight growth in 2016,” said Ake. “It appears business inventories have finally dropped and manufacturing is regaining strength. This trend is important for the Class 8 market to regain footing early in 2017.”

The all-new 2018 Buick Regal, design in Germany by Opel. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/the-2018-buick-regal-sedan-and-wagon-are-going-to-be-hot-news

Bloomberg / December 5, 2016 Dozens of Volkswagen officials in Germany have hired U.S. criminal defense lawyers as the Justice Department ramps up meetings with managers to gather evidence that may lead to charges against executives. U.S. authorities have traveled to Germany to arrange interviews with managers and seek cooperation in their probe of the automaker’s efforts to subvert anti-pollution rules. With some interviews yet to take place, it makes it less likely that prosecutors will be able to reach a resolution with the company by the close of the Obama administration as some officials had hoped. That activity, and the Justice Department’s efforts to interview executives on foreign soil, shows the U.S. is keeping pressure on the automaker after it admitted last year that it had rigged its diesel engines to lower their emissions during testing. The U.S. has already helped broker a civil settlement that will cost VW over $16 billion in fines and penalties. The Justice Department, characterizing the diesel cheating as a 10-year conspiracy to deceive environmental officials, has said it will pursue criminal charges against not only the company but also individuals. The two-pronged approach would make good on the department’s 2015 call for prosecutors to focus on the individuals behind corporate misdeeds, a policy drafted after criticism that it had entered into multibillion-dollar corporate settlements while failing to prosecute the people responsible. The case could also serve as a capstone to the environmental-enforcement cases pursued under the Obama administration, which includes the $25 billion in criminal fines and civil penalties paid by BP Plc for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The U.S. investigators have urged some of the VW employees to come to the U.S., where they can be interviewed away from German prosecutors, who are building their own cases against company officials. U.S. prosecutors hope VW employees would testify against those above them in the company. In September, U.S. prosecutors secured a guilty plea and cooperation from a former VW software engineer who reported to German executives. The U.S., should it choose to pursue charges against executives in Germany, could face challenges. The U.S. can charge individuals even if German authorities issue their own indictments. But getting executives to stand trial in the U.S. could be difficult. Germany’s constitution doesn’t allow citizens to be extradited outside the European Union. The Justice Department is exploring its options to get executives to the U.S. In one scenario, the U.S. could put pressure on the company as settlement discussions advance by filing charges against individual executives, issuing arrest warrants and sending enforcement requests through Interpol via the so-called red-notice system. At the least, that could restrict executives from travel outside Germany for fear of being detained and flown to the U.S. Investigators have already used this technique in investigations of global banks for rigging benchmark interest rates.

Automotive News / November 5, 2016 Dodge wants to get back into NASCAR, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Sunday. Marchionne was at Daytona International Speedway as part of the Ferrari Challenge World Finals, which wrapped up Sunday. FCA owns Ferrari, and Marchionne is CEO of that brand. When asked if he wanted to see Dodge back in NASCAR, he didn't hesitate. "Yes I'd love to," he said. "I talked to Jim France (executive vice-president of NASCAR) about this just last night." Dodge officially left NASCAR in 2012. The decision came in 2009. Penske Racing was the last team campaigning Dodge before when it moved to Ford in 2012. "I'm the one that made the decision to pull Dodge out," Marchionne said. "I am the guilty party at the table. In 2009 we came out of bankruptcy; we couldn't (justify) racing in NASCAR when I was trying to pay bills and make payroll." "I think we're in a different place now," Marchionne said. At Homestead prior to the final race of the season, NASCAR CEO Brian France confirmed that the sanctioning body was in discussions to bring in another manufacturer. "But we're not in a position to make that announcement," France said at the time. Whether those earlier comments by France are related to Sunday's is a matter on speculation. However, one fact is certain: The man who elected to withdraw Dodge from NASCAR is now ready to return to American stock car auto racing. "We need to find the right way to come back in," Marchionne said. "I've agreed with both Jim and Lesa (France Kennedy, International Speedway Corporation CEO and NASCAR board member) to come back to the issue in short order," he added. NASCAR spokesman David Higdon added, "There is increasing excitement around NASCAR. We continue to have on-going dialogue with a number of auto manufacturers about their interest in joining our sport. We look forward to exploration with them on this topic.”

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The Wall Street Journal / December 5, 2016 November upturn signals truck manufacturing decline has bottomed out, but outlook remains tepid Orders for heavy-duty trucks rose in November from the same month in 2015, the first such increase in nearly two years, in a sign that trucking companies see the freight market bottoming out. Industry research firm FTR Transportation Intelligence said in a preliminary report that fleet owners ordered 19,300 vehicles in November, up 18% from a year earlier and 41% from the previous month. Other analysts estimated orders were up 16% year-over-year last month. The bump follows 20 consecutive months of decline in orders for Class 8 trucks, the big rigs that carry goods on long-haul routes, as fleet owners cut back plans to expand or replace vehicles amid weak shipping demand. However, orders remain below-normal for this time of year, usually the peak period for buying new heavy-duty trucks. In October—a time when fleets typically set plans for the coming year—order cancellations reached the highest rate in more than 20 years. There are “too many trucks chasing too little freight,” said one analyst. “We’ve had no freight growth to speak of in the last six quarters.” Analysts predict Class 8 truck production will total roughly 202,000 vehicles in 2017, a decline of about 12% from this year. Equipment makers have laid off thousands of workers and reduced output from their North American factories over the past year as orders have declined. Daimler AG, which sells trucks in the U.S. under the Freightliner and Western Star brands, and Paccar Inc.’s Kenworth and Peterbilt, are the country’s biggest Class 8 vehicle manufacturers. Between the weak market and holiday shutdowns at truck factories, “we’re expecting November production to be weak and the December production to be pretty bad,” said FTR’s Don Ake. The backlog of heavy trucks ordered but not yet built is expected to increase in those months. Analysts with Stifel Inc. said they expect a 13% decline in truck orders next year. The November upturn “should be viewed as in line with relatively low expectations, though perhaps encouraging that demand has not deteriorated any further,” the analysts said.

The Washington Post / December 5, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump met Monday with former vice president Al Gore, a prominent activist in the fight against global warming. Gore was invited to Trump Tower to discuss the topic by Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka, who is not registered with a political party and has pushed her father to adopt some positions usually promoted by Democrats. “I had a lengthy and very productive session with the president-elect. It was a sincere search for areas of common ground,” said Gore. “I had a meeting beforehand with Ivanka Trump. The bulk of the time was with the president-elect, Donald Trump. I found it an extremely interesting conversation, and to be continued, and I'm just going to leave it at that.” Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax” and said it was perpetrated by the Chinese government to take manufacturing jobs from the United States. But during a meeting with the New York Times late last month, he [flip-flopped] said he would keep an “open mind” on the issue and acknowledged that human activity might be connected to changes in the climate. The former vice president “made clear in his statements following the election that he intended to do everything he could to work with the president-elect to ensure our nation remains a leader in the effort to address the climate crisis,” said a Gore aide. While Gore was not personally close to Hillary Clinton — their relationship became strained in the wake of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment and as they each vied for Democratic donors' support during their respective political bids in 2000 — the former vice president campaigned on her behalf late in this year’s presidential campaign. In October, Gore warned that Trump, “based on the ideas that he has presented, would take us toward a climate catastrophe.” Appealing directly to millennials, he alluded to his own narrow loss to George W. Bush in 2000 in Florida and said young people could not afford to vote for anyone other than Clinton. “The world is on the cusp of either building on the progress and solving the climate crisis, or stepping back, washing our hands of America’s traditional role as the leader of the world and letting the big polluters call the shots,” Gore said. “The choice is that clear. It’s that stark.” Ivanka Trump reached out directly to Gore with an invitation to meet, although Gore did not know that the president-elect would be included. Gore was “impressed by her thoughtful comments and framing on the issue,” according to the associate, and agreed to stop by for a meeting. “She clearly is an emissary, and was on this one,” the associate said. Although Ivanka Trump has said she does not plan to take an active role in her father’s administration, she is one of the most influential people in his life and is a member of his transition team. Her husband, Jared Kushner, is one of Trump’s most trusted aides.

"We're going to cancel the Paris climate agreement … and stop all payments of the United States tax dollars to UN global warming programs," Trump vowed at a May speech in North Dakota. ”The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive“ — @realDonaldTrump ”This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullsh*t has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice“ — @realDonaldTrump

Benjamin Solomon "Ben" Carson Post: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Previous experience: NONE Age: 65 (born September 18. 1951) Schooling: Carson attended Southwestern High School in Southwest Detroit, where he participated in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), reaching the rank of cadet colonel. In his autobiography, Carson claimed to have been offered scholarships to both the University of Michigan and West Point, though the latter one was disputed during Carson's 2016 presidential run. Carson graduated from Yale University in 1973 with a degree in psychology. Carson received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1977. After medical school, Carson completed his residency in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1983, he accepted the position of senior registrar at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Western Australia, spending one year there. Upon returning to Johns Hopkins in 1984, Carson was appointed the university's Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, specializing in traumatic brain injuries, brain and spinal cord tumors, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, craniosynostosis, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia. At Johns Hopkins, Carson figured in the revival of the hemispherectomy, a drastic surgical procedure in which part or all of one hemisphere of the brain is removed to control severe pediatric epilepsy. Carson refined the procedure in the 1980s and performed it many times. In 1987, Carson gained notoriety as the lead neurosurgeon of a 70-member surgical team that separated conjoined twins Patrick and Benjamin Binder, who had been joined at the back of the head. On July 1, 2013, Carson retired as a surgeon, saying: "I'd much rather quit when I'm at the top of my game." Background: Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a minister and later Cadillac factory worker. Both parents came from Georgia and were living in Tennessee when they met and married. Carson's mother was 13 when she married Carson's father, who was 28. Carson's mother subsequently discovered her husband had another family, for which Carson's father eventually abandoned her. Following his parents' divorce, when Carson was 8-years-old, both he and his older brother, Curtis, were raised by their mother, who worked two or three jobs at a time, usually as a domestic servant. Trump says he was “thrilled to nominate” Carson, saying the retired neurosurgeon had “a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities. Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a presidency representing all Americans.” Carson would oversee a budget of nearly $50 billion that provides rental assistance for more than 5 million households. Demand for that assistance is high in part because housing costs are rising faster than incomes. HUD also promotes home ownership with the Federal Housing Administration underwriting about 1 in 6 mortgages issued in the U.S. The agency also enforces federal fair housing laws. On November 15, Carson’s business manager and close friend Armstrong Williams said: "Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency." On November 23, Carson said “After serious discussions with the Trump transition team, I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone. We have much work to do in strengthening every aspect of our nation and ensuring that both our physical infrastructure and our spiritual infrastructure is solid.” “We appreciate Dr Carson’s willingness to take on such a challenging task at an agency that is in need of reform to better serve all Americans,” said Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader and husband of transportation secretary nominee Elaine Chao. “I’m confident his life-long career of selfless service will be a positive addition to the incoming administration.” “Dr Ben Carson is a disconcerting and disturbingly unqualified choice to lead a department as complex and consequential as Housing and Urban Development,” said Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats’ leader in the House of Representatives. “There is no evidence that Dr Carson brings the necessary credentials to hold a position with such immense responsibilities and impact on families and communities across America.”

Billy, for the record, the China-assembled Buick Envision is a solid SUV (crossover), and no different in quality than if it had been assembled in he US. I personally don't like GM vehicles because the build materials (interior trim) appear to age faster than competitive brands. Like you, given the massive size of the United States and its light vehicle market, the world's second largest, I believe that light vehicle makers should produce ALL medium and high volume models on U.S. soil, slow selling niche models being the exception.

The all-new Kenworth T610 and T610SAR*, from Paccar Australia. http://www.kenworth.com.au/trucks/t610/ http://www.kenworth.com.au/trucks/t610sar/ * SAR - Short Australian Right-hand drive

Matt Wood, Trade Trucks AU / December 2, 2016 The choice of the ADF, the Benz wagon is now on the market in a 4x4 cab-chassis variant Mercedes-Benz has just launched a work focused 4x4 cab-chassis spin-off of it’s capable, yet premium-priced, 4x4 G-Wagon (Geländewagen ). The G-Wagon professional brings a 2 metric ton (4,409lb) payload (4,490kg GVM without tray) to the table as well as a formidable off-road pedigree. The Benz G-Wagon is already the light vehicle of choice for the Australian Defence Force. The G-Pro sits on 16-inch alloys and has 245mm of ground clearance and a 650mm wading depth. It uses full-time 4x4 system with front, rear and centre diff-locks. Drive to the front and rear wheels is split 50:50. For those who like to strut up and down their bonnet while in the bush, the engine lid can be fitted with non-slip material and has a load capacity of 100kg. The G-Pro also has a braked towing capacity of 2,210kg. Live front and rear axles are suspended by coil springs all round. The 3,400mm (134 inch) wheelbase of the G-Pro gives room for a 2,400mm (7.87 foot) tray which makes for easy load distribution across both axles. Under the bonnet sits a 3-litre V6 diesel that provides 135kW (181hp) at 3,800rpm and 400Nm from 1,600 to 2,000 rpm. And behind that donk sits a 5-speed auto as standard equipment. There’s also a tyre pressure monitoring system to alert the driver of any sudden deflation. A factory snorkel and cyclonic air filter are standard fit as is a bullbar and headlight and indicator protection mesh. Fuel capacity is 96 litres and electrics are powered by a dual 12 volt battery system. To keep things safe, the down and dirty Benz is equipped with a switchable ESC system that includes Electronic Brake Force Distribution and Brake Assist and ABS. It also gets driver and passenger airbag. There is no factory tray option so the G-Pro arrives sans tray. Customers will have to arrange for their own body or tray fitment. The G300 CDI has a manufacturers recommended list price of AU$119,900 (US$89,268) Including GST and LCT(this excludes dealer delivery and on road costs including tray). .

New Kenworth Unveiled Diesel News AU / December 4, 2016 Paccar HQ in Bayswater has seen a new Kenworth unveiled, the T610. Available in two models, the T610 and T610 SAR, this new generation of Kenworths looks set to revolutionise the truck maker’s range, here in Australia. After almost a decade of development, and the result of more than 100,000 Australian design hours and more than ten million kilometres of testing and validation, Paccar said the T610 is the single largest investment in product development the company has ever made in Australia. The new models have been designed to utilise the technology and components available from the Paccar organisation worldwide, but put it together in a particularly Australian way, to meet the trucking industry’s needs both in terms of power and dimensions as well as being able to remain durable in Aussie conditions. The new cabin is fitted to the traditional Kenworth chassis and is the coming together of three sections, an adaptation of the unitary driver’s cab used in the US, a sleeper compartment custom built at the Bayswater plant and a fibre glass roof designed and built in Australia. The 2.1 metre wide cab is almost 300 mm wider than the outgoing cab, with the engineers having also pushed the cab 300 mm forward over the engine to meet Australia’s difficult length laws. With the introduction of the Cummins X15 engine, the new trucks will be available from 450 to 600 hp. This means the two new models will have the capability to replace all of the existing T4 and T6 range from Kenworth. Not that the existing models will be going away anytime soon, Kenworth will be building old and new models, side by side on the production line for the time being. Kenworth says the new cabin is centred entirely around the needs of the driver. Incorporated into the design is greater foot space, more standing room and storage, wider walkthrough access between the seats and more expansive door and windscreen glass, providing space, visibility and ergonomics never before seen in Kenworth’s suite of Australian made trucks. “The core of this project was about building a bigger cab but it’s really about creating the ultimate driver environment,” said Brad May, PACCAR Australia’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “A good driver environment leads to better all-round driving performance, safety, efficiency and productivity.” .

Exclusive Report: Kenworth launches new T610 Steve Brooks, Owner/Driver / December 4, 2016 Kenworth’s new T610 is the biggest and most expensive truck development program ever undertaken in the company’s Australian history. From Kenworth headquarters and behind the wheel, Steve Brooks files this detailed report In the 40 years and more since Paccar first started building Kenworths at its renowned Bayswater (Vic) facility, there has been nothing quite like the new T610. Sure, the first T600s in the mid-80s revolutionised the world of conventional truck design but in the 30 years since then, the actual structure of Kenworth conventionals with their 1.83 metre wide cab has changed very little. Until now! In fact, senior Kenworth insiders say there is nothing in Paccar’s Australian history to even remotely match the investment made in the T610 with its 2.1 metre wide cab. Word has it that by the time trucks start rolling out of Bayswater in February 2017, around $20 million will have been spent on an entirely new conventional truck engineered and built to the specific requirements of Australia and surrounding regions. Some perspective on the extent of the investment in the T610 is perhaps best understood by the fact that the entire range of current 09 models (T409, T609, T909 etc) plus the radically revamped K200 cab-over all came to life for less than half of what will be spent on bringing the T610 into existence. "This is the biggest single investment ever made in new Kenworth product in this country and outside Australia there is nothing like this truck anywhere in Paccar," said a proud Brad May, Paccar Australia sales and marketing director. "We basically took what we could from Paccar’s global platform but no one should be in any doubt that the engineering and design of the finished product are all ours, all done in Bayswater." Major cost items like the firewall and floor structures as well as a completely new and strengthened dash are uniquely Australian, fully engineered at Bayswater to achieve the structural durability and design goals deemed essential for this market. "Our parent company obviously had to approve the investment and we certainly utilised Paccar’s facilities in the US in the durability validation process, but the engineering design is totally ours," Brad May emphasised. "This is a truck engineered in Australia, for Australia. Absolutely!" While external styling is definitely different and comes with a number of ancillary features adapted from the inventories of both Kenworth and Peterbilt in the US, the T610 is unquestionably an exercise in substance over style. Most notably, the cab is wider, taller and in sleeper form, vastly more spacious and liveable than the long-serving cab of Kenworth’s current conventional range. Unlike existing T4 models, for example, sleeper versions of the 610 provide full standing room from the seat to the sleeper and there’s little doubt this fact alone will be a major attraction for owners and drivers alike. For its initial assault on the market, Kenworth’s new T610 will immediately supersede the hugely successful T409 and its SAR derivative, but only those powered by the 15 litre Cummins ISXe5 engine. The 610’s first foray into the market will see it offered in set-back and set-forward (SAR) front axle configurations, initially as a day cab or with an 860 mm (36 inch) sleeper. Of course, further sleeper options will be progressively added. Meantime, ‘409s punched by Paccar’s own 13 litre MX engine will for the time being continue with the current 1.83 metre cab and existing sleeper options. It’s understood, however, that development work on an MX-powered version (T410) is already well under way. As for other conventionals in the Kenworth range, the 2.1 metre cab is almost certain to be applied to all models in due course. The T610 evolved from the conceptual possibilities provided by a US$400 million Paccar development program in the US around 2008 which ultimately saw the release of new Kenworth and Peterbilt models, notably the T680 and Pete 579. Despite their fiercely held independence, the new Kenworth and Peterbilt models shared a new 2.1 metre wide cab. Realising the obvious potential of the wider cab, Australia’s product planning team were soon in touch with their US counterparts investigating the possibilities of a wider righthand-drive cab for the Australian market. As Brad May remarked, it was a long and highly detailed exercise and while a wider cab was seen as a ‘no-brainer’ for the next generation of Kenworth product, building a truck capable of enduring Australia’s operational and regulatory requirements was an all-consuming task. Meantime, the hugely successful T409 with the Cummins 15 litre engine was seen from the outset as an ideal first candidate for the new cab. Evolving from the T600, the T4 family has grown to become the most versatile range in the Kenworth armoury. There are, however, issues associated with the installation of a big bore engine into the relatively narrow confines of the existing 1.83 metre cab. Chief among those issues are a narrow driver’s footwell, awkward access to the bunk due to limited space and lack of standing room between the seats, complex steering geometry, and poor service access to the rear of engine, particularly the 15 litre Cummins. Yet as a few hours behind the wheel of a pre-production unit quickly verified, the 2.1 metre cab of the T610 dramatically diminishes all these issues and in the case of steering geometry, completely negates concerns about complexity thanks to a straight shaft from the cab to the chassis-mounted steering box. The T610 also provides a substantial (30%) increase in space around the driver’s footwell, the gap between the seats has been significantly opened and with a rise in the height of the bunk, there’s now room for an optional slide-out fridge. It’s actually amazing what Kenworth has achieved with an extra 270 mm between the B-pillars. Meanwhile, floor height of the cab has been lifted by around 75 mm, adding another step for the climb in and out. However, the advantages of the higher floor are considerable. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that it has allowed the cab to be moved forward to create a bumper to back-of-cab (BBC) dimension of just 112 inches on the day cab model, giving the newcomer particularly strong appeal for any number of length-critical applications. By comparison, the current T409 has a BBC of 116 inches. Stayin’ Cool Importantly, the higher stance of the cab allows greater airflow underneath to enhance cooling efficiency and considerably improves service access to the rear of the engine. Furthermore, the taller cab also improves visibility though some drivers may rue the fact that the top of the KW ‘bug’ is no longer visible and therefore unavailable as a line of sight to the edge of the road. Kenworth insiders, however, are quick to point out that the bug remains visible over the snout of the SAR version. Still, it’s almost certain some operators will question the cost-effectiveness of the T610’s single-piece windscreen over the two-piece ‘screen available on current T4s. For now though, Kenworth says it will be sticking with the single ‘screen. However, it’s highly unlikely anyone will question the mirrors. Adapted from US models, they’re mounted on low slung dual arms and offer little visual interference on the approach to roundabouts and the like. They’re also incredibly strong as a Kenworth executive demonstrated by swinging his full weight from the mounting arm. Under the hood, the T610 uses an aluminium radiator and an assertive Brad May says the new model has no difficulty cooling 600 hp at high loads and high ambient temperatures. As for durability of the aluminium cooler, May says there have been no issues with the aluminium radiator used in MX-powered 409s and given the amount of testing done on the T610, Kenworth is entirely confident there won’t be any dramas with the new installation. Furthermore, Kenworth is adamant that despite the bigger cab there has been no increase in tare weight due in large part to the use of aluminium wherever possible, not least in the radiator and the majority of the cab shell. It’s worth mentioning, however, the roof of sleeper cab models is made of a strong yet lightweight composite material. Typically, quality and strength were high on the priority list with extensive engineering and test procedures put in place from the outset. One of those procedures was to ‘wire’ a T650 operating in roadtrain roles with Queensland-based livestock specialist Ross Fraser to electronically record a ‘drive file’ of real world and often severe road conditions for testing and engineering validation. This data platform was the critical factor in creating what Brad May says is "The strongest cab we’ve ever built," with test cabs enduring three times the normal cycle of shaker tests. "No Kenworth cab has undergone greater durability assessment than the T610 and the whole structure stood up to everything put to it. Meanwhile, back in Bayswater the cab was subjected to ECE R-29 crash standards and again came through with flying colours according to Brad May. Likewise, the interior layout is a uniquely Australian design. For example, between the firewall and an injection moulded dash fascia which is said to be double the thickness of US designs, a totally new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system was created for Australian conditions. Additionally, the structural integrity of the dash and its underlying components are founded on what Kenworth describes as a purposely designed cross-car steel beam stretching across the width of the dash. "A huge amount of time, effort and obviously money went into the dash and all the components attached to it. It was a complex exercise but we knew it had to be absolutely right," Brad May remarked. Visually, the dash is decidedly different but in typical Kenworth fashion, strong on function and form. The initial design sees a woodgrain fascia surrounding traditional gauges, with an optional multi-function touchscreen in the pipeline. Lower down and within relatively easy reach is a line of switches to a wide range of functions such as engine brake, diff lock and the like. Meanwhile, switches for cruise control, audio, and menu functions for an LCD info display directly in front of the driver are mounted on the arms of a comfortably padded steering wheel. Most prominent gauges are obviously the speedo and rev counter under the LCD screen. On each side are well positioned gauges and Kenworth points out that up to 18 gauges can be specified in the T610. Putting practicality first and certainly bucking the trend in automotive design are exposed fasteners holding the dash in place. "The trend in automotive styling these days is to hide screws and fasteners," Brad May explained. "But if something needs attention behind the dash, access is made a lot easier and there’s much less chance of damage by simply undoing a few easily reached screws to get behind the dash fascia." Surprisingly, cup holder trays on the lower edge of the dash centre differ between automated and manual transmissions. With a manual stick, the cup holder is neat and unobtrusive but automated versions have the ‘cobra’ shift controller mounted on a much larger assembly which extends notably into cab space. In the lead-up to the launch of the T610, the first field evaluation unit went to work with high profile fleet McColl’s in June and over following months another four units – day cab and sleeper versions – hit the highways with various operators. Kenworth insists that by the time production trucks start rolling out of Bayswater, at least 11 pre-production T610s will be involved in ongoing field trials. Trial results have been extraordinarily positive says Brad May, adding that the years of careful planning, local engineering and design experience, and brutal test procedures have driven high levels of confidence that Kenworth’s latest will also be its greatest. "The T610 is home-grown and we are already incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved with this truck," he said earnestly. "Yes, we’re extremely confident but then, I think we have good reason to be. "After all, the T610 is the latest evolution of what we’ve been doing in this country for 40 years. Building trucks for Australia." .