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Test drive: International LT Series Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / October 13, 2016 Navistar CEO Troy Clarke often says his company builds the most driver friendly truck on the highway, so it only makes sense that he doubled-down when it came time to overhaul the company’s flagship on-highway truck. Many of the refinements that went into International’s LT Series, which the company unveiled earlier this month in Las Vegas, were gleaned from feedback provided by more than 400 drivers. Adding a crowd-sourced element to the design process of a truck that will eventually replace the company’s ProStar is in step with Clarke’s pro-driver charge. Denny Mooney, Navistar senior vice president of global product development, adds it also hones the company’s focus on building a truck that can become a tool for driver recruitment and retention, since driver feedback has begun predicating purchasing decisions. “We’ve had fleets tell us that if the drivers don’t want to drive your truck, we’re not going to buy your trucks,” Mooney says. “Driver retention equals cost of ownership,” adds Jeff Sass, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Navistar. Sass says keeping drivers in the seat has begun to trump fuel economy and efficiency benefits due to the investment in the driver’s equipment and training. “Everything we’re doing today is for the driver.” This week, I was able to take the LT for a quick spin around Navistar’s New Carlisle, Ind., proving grounds to get a feel for just how driver-friendly the final product is. The company borrowed many of the LT Series’ exterior elements from its SuperTruck project, a multi-million dollar joint endeavor with the U.S. Department of Energy. Upgraded aerodynamic features on the new International LT Series include an aero-contoured hood (with 4 inches added to the slope), fender, wheel opening and chassis skirts and an aero-enhanced three-piece front bumper. Longer side extenders also shorten the trailer gap. Standard LED headlamps offer a bump in durability and efficiency over halogen predecessors. The exterior may have been inspired by efficiency, but the inside is all about comfort. Based on a review of more than 500 points where the driver and truck interact, the LT features an all-new interior that offers better elbow room, hip room and leg room. In a shout-out to all the shotgun riders, the LT Series passenger side gets two extra inches of room over the ProStar. The air brake release has been relocated from the left side of the B-panel, giving the driver easier access to switches more applicable for driving and improving egress into the sleeper. “There’s no reason to have the primary real estate on the B-panel because you don’t touch [the air brakes] unless the truck is stopped,” Sass says, “[and] you don’t bump it with your right knee if you happen to be swinging into the sleeper.” The redesigned interior also features a premium dash cluster with a digital driver display that features up to 15 customizable digital gauges. It can be manipulated with a steering-wheel mounted toggle and offers real-time fuel economy monitoring. A column-mounted gear-shifter also helps un-clutter the dash and shares the right side of the steering column with a three-stage engine brake switch. The air horn was relocated back to its traditional position over the driver door in another nod to driver feedback. The truck features a redesigned one-piece side window for a clearer line of sight and the mirrors have been engineered so the driver will have to turn their head 15 percent less on the driver’s side and 5 percent less on the passenger side – a change Sass expects to improve driver fatigue. It’s also a design element that contributes to LT’s “wrap around” feel from the driver’s seat. A better HVAC system – more tightly sealed vents and improved reliability and performance – is sure to be popular with International loyalists. Bendix Wingman Advanced Collision Mitigation system also comes standard in the LT Series. The LT Series will initially be available with the 2017 Cummins X15 engine, offering a horsepower rating of up to 500 hp in the efficiency series and up to 565 hp in the performance series. My white 73-inch SkyRise sleeper LT test unit featured a horsepower rating of 450 and was matched to an Eaton Fuller Advantage 10 speed automated manual transmission. My brief test only flirted with 60 mph a couple of times, but the truck is a comfortable driver. Sass says aero enhancements also provide a four-sone decrease in wind noise inside the cab. I didn’t spend a lot of time at highway speeds so I’ll defer to their experts on that, but the cab is noticeably quieter than a ProStar similarly equipped. International’s predictive cruise control uses preinstalled GPS maps and the latest commercial route data to make adjustments to cruising speed without the need to pre-drive the route. It looks ahead of the vehicle and recognizes the terrain and continuously calculates the most efficient speed and gear for optimal fuel economy in real time. My test was on a closed track so I didn’t get to fully deploy this feature. A 2017 Navistar N13 engine will be available early next year and rated up to 475 hp with up to 1,750 lb.-ft. of torque on LT models. Its design is expected to be 500 to 600 pounds lighter than traditional big bore engines. Reception to the LT since its debut barely two weeks ago has been strong, and Sass says more than 3,000 have been ordered to-date with 1,150 slated to be built by year’s end. All in all, if International was looking for a truck that carries the mantle of the company’s driver-centric mission a little further, the LT Series seemingly fits the bill with its mixture of traditional elements to keep drivers happy and technological innovations that help boost efficiency and the bottom line. .

Associated Press / October 13, 2016 The New York Times' general counsel has informed Donald Trump's lawyer, in scathing terms, that it will not retract its story about two women who claim that Trump touched them inappropriately. In a letter to Trump attorney Marc E. Kasowitz sent Thursday, New York Times general counsel David McCraw wrote, of the request that the Times retract the story, "We decline to do so." McCraw then laid into Kasowitz and his client, writing, "The essence of a libel claim, of course, is the protection of one's reputation. Mr. Trump has bragged about his non-consensual sexual touching of women. He has bragged about intruding on beauty pageant contestants in their dressing rooms. He acquiesced to a radio host's request to discuss Mr. Trump's own daughter as a 'piece of ass.' Multiple women not mentioned in our article have publicly come forward to report on Mr. Trump's unwanted advances." He continued: "Nothing in our article has had the slightest effect on the reputation that Mr. Trump, through his own words and actions, has already created for himself." There were spontaneous bursts of applause for McCraw when he walked through the paper's newsroom on Thursday afternoon. Trump said at a Thursday afternoon rally in Florida that "we are preparing" a suit against The Times. Legal experts have doubts that Trump will actually file such a suit. The Times story featured two women, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks, who said that Trump made inappropriate physical advances on them. When Times reporter Megan Twohey interviewed Trump by phone Tuesday night, "he threatened to sue us if we published these allegations," said Twohey. She quoted Trump as saying that "none of this ever took place." She said Trump shouted at her and called her "a disgusting human being." Twohey also received a legal letter from a Trump attorney Wednesday afternoon. The Times published the story online shortly before 7 p.m. Eastern. "I think it is pretty evident this story falls clearly in the realm of public service journalism, and discussing issues that arose from the tape and his comments since it surfaced," says Times executive editor Dean Baquet. Shortly after midnight Thursday, a lawyer representing Trump, Marc E. Kasowitz, sent a letter to Baquet saying "your article is reckless, defamatory and constitutes libel per se." "We hereby demand that you immediately cease any further publication of this article, remove it from your website and issue a full and immediate retraction and apology. Failure to do so will leave my client with no option but to purse all available actions and remedies," Kasowitz wrote. The letter lacks any substantive facts to cast doubt on the Times story, and is not a lawsuit. In his response to Kasowitz, McCraw wrote, "The women quoted in our story spoke out on an issue of national importance -- indeed, an issue that Mr. Trump himself discussed with the whole nation watching during Sunday night's presidential debate.... It would have been a disservice not just to our readers but to democracy itself to silence their voices.... If Mr. Trump disagrees, if he believes that American citizens had no right to hear what these women had to say and that the law of this country forces us and those who would dare to criticize him to stand silent or be punished, we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight." In the Times story, Leeds says Trump, whom she says she had never met before, grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt while the two were on an airplane more than three decades ago. Crooks, who worked in Trump Tower at a company that Trump did not own, says Trump kissed her outside an elevator after she introduced herself. The Post features a woman named Mindy McGillivray who says she was groped by Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 23. Twohey said Crooks, who was was initially reluctant to speak publicly, reached out to the newspaper after it published a story in May titled "Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private." Leeds contacted the newspaper after Sunday's debate, when Trump was asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper if he had ever done the things he described in that video. "No, I have not," Trump said. The Times report comes in the wake of the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump boasted about being able to kiss women and grope them in ways that would amount to sexual assault.

Heavy truck sales slip in U.S., Canada Wards Auto / October 13. 2016 Heavy-duty truck sales in the U.S. fell 13.7% in September, and four of the five medium- and heavy-duty weight classes in Canada recorded double-digit losses for the month. In the U.S., deliveries of medium- and heavy-duty trucks hit 32,357 in September compared to 37,514 the previous year. Losses in Classes 4 and 8 outweighed the gains in the rest of the segments. Class 8 continued to be the primary downfall, dropping 28.6% on 14,968 units vs. 20,978 year-ago. Daimler’s Freightliner and Western Star were off 36.1% and 11.2%, respectively. Kenworth (-17.7%) and Peterbilt (-23.5%) brought PACCAR down 20.3%. Through nine months, Class 8 was 21.2% below like-2015 on volume of 149,473 units. Overall medium-duty sales fell 5.2% on 17,389 units delivered in September. Year-to-date, the group fell 7.7% versus the first nine months of 2015. In Canada, Class 8 sales totaled 2,124 vehicles, 26.9% less than prior-year, as all brands saw declines. Freightliner (-36.4%) and Western Star (-17.9%) brought their parent company, Daimler, down 32.5%. PACCAR’s Kenworth and Peterbilt undersold like-2015 by 20.3% and 32.6%, respectively. Mack and Volvo, combined, fell 31.2%.

Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / October 13, 2016 So we all know that the Phase 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) rules mandate fuel economy improvements for a wide variety of trucks, which in turn is leading to a whole host of changes to those vehicles – especially to their diesel engines. The new 2017 designs offered by Cummins – the X15 series and X12 model – as well as those from Volvo and Mack, under-the-hood changes by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) to its 2018 Freightliner Cascadia (along with the introduction of the DD5 medium-duty engine in North America), plus tweaks made to the PACCAR MX lineup represent just some of the initial technological responses to the regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Every class of truck is being affected by the new rules – even pickups, though the Phase 2 rules are more lenient in their case. According to EPA and NHTSA, heavy- and medium- duty pickup trucks and vans represent about 23% of the fuel consumption and GHG emissions within the heavy- and medium-duty vehicle sector. Yet the Phase 2 standards for heavy-duty pickups and vans will apply largely in the same manner as the Phase 1 standards – thus, under this approach, all manufacturers face the same standards, but the average emission and fuel consumption rates applicable to each manufacturer depend on the manufacturer’s sales mix, with higher capacity vehicles (in terms of payload and towing) having less stringent targets. Yet the light-duty OEMs aren’t sitting on their technological haunches where diesels are concerned. Take General Motors as but one example, with its newly-redesigned Duramax 6.6-liter V-8 turbo-diesel, which will be offered on its 2017 model Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. GM said its retooled Duramax – which will be built at the OEM’s manufacturing facility in Moraine, OH, and will be available in the Sierra early in 2017 – will crank out 445 hp and a net 910 lb.-ft. worth of torque; some 19% more torque than what’s generated by the previous Duramax incarnation. The redesigned Duramax also cuts noise at idle by 38% as well, due in large measure to a series of design tweaks a new, GM-developed control system, noted Gary Arvan, the engine line’s chief engineer, in a statement. “Nearly everything about the Duramax is new, designed to produce more torque at lower rpm,” he said. “You’ll also notice the refinement improvements the moment you start the engine, and appreciate them as you cruise quietly down the highway — with or without a trailer.” Dan Nicholson, vice president of global propulsion systems, added that the new Duramax 6.6-liter shares essentially only the bore and stroke dimensions of the current engine, with a lot of internal component changes: New, stronger cylinder block and cylinder heads New, stronger rotating and reciprocating assembly Increased oil- and coolant-flow capacity New exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system with single cooler and integrated bypass New electrically actuated/electronically controlled turbocharging system All-new solenoid fuel system All-new electronic controls New full-length damped steel oil pan that contributes to quietness New rocker cover/fuel system acoustical treatments B20 bio-diesel compatibility GM also developed a new patent-pending vehicle air intake system — distinguished on its heavy-duty pickups by what the OEM calls a “bold hood scoop” — to drive cool, dry air into the engine for sustained performance and cooler engine temperatures during difficult conditions such as pulling trailers on steep grades. “Cooler air helps the engine run better under load, especially in conditions where engine and transmission temperatures can rise quickly,” Arvan noted. “That allows the Duramax to maintain more power and vehicle speed when trailering in the toughest conditions.” Some things aren’t changing too much, though, GM stressed. As with previous versions, the new 6.6-liter Duramax block features a strong cast-iron foundation, with induction-hardened cylinder walls and five nodular iron main bearings. Yet the new Duramax retains the same 4.05-inch and 3.89-inch bore and stroke dimensions as the current engine, retaining the Duramax’s familiar 403 cu.-in. displacement, GM added. Here’s a deeper dive into some of the engine’s other major changes: A deep-skirt design and four-bolt, cross-bolted main caps help ensure the block’s strength and enable more accurate location of the rotating assembly, with a die-cast aluminum lower crankcase also strengthens the engine block and serves as the lower engine cover, while reducing its overall weight. The Duramax’s pistons don’t use pin bushings, reducing reciprocating weight to help the engine “rev up” quicker and respond faster to throttle changes. New larger-diameter crankshaft connecting rod journals that enable the placement of a stronger crankshaft and increased bearing area to handle higher cylinder loads. The engine’s new forged micro-alloy steel crankshaft anchors its stronger rotating assembly. Cut-then-rolled journal fillets contribute to its durability by strengthening the junction where the journals — the round sections on which the bearings slide — meet the webs that separate the main and rod journals. The connecting rods are stronger, too, and incorporate a new 45-degree split-angle design to allow the larger-diameter rod bearings to pass through the cylinder bores during engine assembly. They’re forged and sintered with a durable powdered metal alloy, with a fractured-cap design enabling more precise cap-to-rod fitment. A new aluminum head casting uses a new double-layer water core design that separates and arranges water cores in layers to create a stiffer head structure with more precise coolant flow control. The heads’ airflow passages are also heavily revised to enhance airflow, contributing to the engine’s increased horsepower and torque. The engine’s common-rail direct injection fuel system features new high-capability solenoid-type injectors. High fuel pressure of 29,000 psi improves “fuel atomization” for a cleaner burn that promotes reduced particulate emissions. The new injectors also support up to seven fuel delivery events per combustion event, contributing to lower noise, greater efficiency, and lower emissions. Technology advancements enable less-complex solenoid injectors to deliver comparable performance to piezo-type injectors. An enhanced “oiling circuit,” with higher flow capacity and a dedicated feed for the turbocharger, provides increased pressure at the turbo and faster oil delivery. Larger piston-cooling oil jets at the bottom of the cylinder bores spray up to twice the amount of engine oil into oil galleries under the crown of the pistons, contributing to lower engine temperature and greater durability. A new, two-piece oil pan also helps the new Duramax operate more quietly; a pan consisting of a laminated steel oil pan with an upper aluminum section. The aluminum section provides strength-enhancing rigidity for the engine, but a pan made entirely of aluminum would radiate more noise, so the laminated steel lower section acts to dampen noise and vibration. An integrated oil cooler with 50% greater capacity than the current engine’s, ensuring more consistent temperatures at higher engine loads. Here’s a neat little engineering twist to the new Duramax: the use of a “re-melted” combustion bowl rim for greater strength. “Re-melting” is an additional manufacturing process for aluminum pistons in which the bowl rim area is reheated after casting and pre-machining, GM said, which creates a much finer and more consistent metal grain structure that greatly enhances thermal fatigue properties. And, as noted before, the new Duramax can operate on B20 biodiesel, a fuel composed of 20% biodiesel and 80% conventional diesel – and it’s approved to do so right out of the gate. That’s just a brief look at how diesel engines are changing not only to meet new regulatory requirements but deliver more benefits for truck owners across the commercial vehicle class spectrum. And I’ve got no doubt this is only the start, as yet more improvements will be necessary as we continue down development pathways being created in part by GHG regulations.

Navistar: LT Truck Sales Already 'Great,' Joint GM Project 'On Schedule' Tom Berg, Heavy Duty Trucking / October 13, 2016 Order levels for Navistar International’s LT series are “absolutely great,” reflecting dealer and customer enthusiasm for the new highway trucks, said a company executive at a ride-and-drive demonstration at the firm’s proving grounds near South Bend, Indiana, on Oct. 11. The LT, unveiled September 30 in Las Vegas, followed the February 1 introduction of the HX premium vocational model, for which “thousands” of orders are in hand, said Jeff Sass, senior vice president, sales and marketing. Meanwhile, Navistar and General Motors are proceeding with development of a new series of Class 4 and 5 trucks, and the project is “on schedule and under budget,” he said. The trucks are due out in 2018 and will have International and Chevrolet versions using GM cabs on Navistar chassis, other sources said. Engines will include GM’s Duramax diesel. Navistar execs also showed off their SuperTruck, built under federal Department of Energy sponsorship, and a pair of tractor-trailers engaged in platooning development with the Texas Transportation Institute, part of Texas A&M University. The platooning trucks have automated steering, called “lateral control” by engineers, as well as throttle and braking controlled by the lead vehicle as the two rigs proceed along a roadway. LT, for Linehaul Transport, is a redesign of the nine-year-old ProStar using ideas gathered in interviews with about 400 drivers, Sass said. The LT’s exterior is more aerodynamic and the cab’s interior has extensive changes based on drivers’ suggestions. “Everything we do today is based on the driver,” Sass said. Drivers are vital because of the ongoing shortage, and the cost of hiring and training a replacement driver is about $5,000, fleet executives have told Navistar people. “Fleets have told us, ’If my drivers don’t want to drive your trucks, we’re not going to buy your trucks,’” related Denny Mooney, senior vice president, Global Product Development. Navistar has answered by building reliability into its current models and upgrading the ProStar into the more desirable LT. The long-nose LT625 using Cummins' 2017 X15 diesel will begin production in November, and a medium-nose LT613 with Navistar’s own N13 engine will follow in April. Equivalent ProStars will be phased out as the new vehicles come on line. Brief drives in three LT625 tractors showed exceptional quietness, smooth ride, good outward visibility, and pleasing design and convenient placement of gauges and controls. The drives were confined to the grounds’ 3-mile high-speed oval track, though reporters could take as many laps as time allowed. (A Quick Spin article will follow later on TruckingInfo.com and in Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.) Only rides were allowed in the SuperTruck and the platooning rigs. The SuperTruck, called "CatalIST," is based on a futuristically streamlined ProStar pulling an extensively faired Great Dane van trailer. It has attained 13 mpg in highway cruising tests, Navistar has said. The tractor includes heat and kinetic energy recovery devices, while the trailer has three large solar panels on its roof. An engine stop-start system works like those in hybrid cars, with the engine shutting down while the rig is stationary and restarting when the driver takes his foot off the brake pedal. During that time, HVAC continues functioning because the system is electric-powered, using energy stored during operation and from the solar panels. While coasting, the engine disconnects from the Eaton automated transmission and goes into idle to further conserve fuel. The platooning demonstration had one rig leading and the other following with a gap of 15 to 30 meters (5o to 100 feet) between them. The second rig’s engine, brakes and steering were controlled by radio signals from the first tractor. The system works from a standstill to highway speeds; the second tractor’s driver placed his hands near the steering wheel, but not on it, throughout the demonstration. Automated steering, using an electric-over-hydraulic system from TRW Automotive, is unique to this project, they said, as others require drivers in the second rigs to steer while other functions are controlled from the lead tractor. The second rig faithfully followed the first rig but wavered several feet left and right at times as the two rigs traveled along the track. Interference in signals from GPS satellites overhead was to blame, said the second rig’s driver, Navistar engineer Scott Smay. Steering control will be further refined as development continues. Aside from that, today’s technology would allow platooning of trucks with no drivers in the second and subsequent tractors, TTI engineers said. Operational and regulatory hurdles remain before platooning could become routine, said Navistar executives in discussing the development. .

Up close: 2018 International LT Kevin Jones, Fleet Owner / October 13, 2016 NEW CARLISLE, IN. Following up on a spectacular unveiling of the new International LT series at Las Vegas, Navistar invited truck editors to the company’s 700-acre test facility here to put its Class 8 flagship tractor through its paces. “The reception from customers—and most importantly, from drivers—has been absolutely spectacular,” said Jeff Sass, senior vice president, North America Truck Sales and Marketing at Navistar, who also reported more than 3,000 orders already. “I can’t be more excited. Everything we’re doing is based around the driver.” Indeed, the "DriverFirst" design of the LT series addresses a critical part of the cost-of-ownership equation: driver retention. “What’s the number one thing to keep drivers happy? The truck has to work,” Sass said, and he did the math on the staggering cost of replacing drivers when the industry is averaging a turnover rate of 100%. “Uptime and fuel economy comes under that, but it’s all about driver retention.” And it really is that straightforward, added Denny Mooney, ‎Navistar group vice president for global engineering. “We have big fleets, CEOs that look me in the eye and say, ‘if the drivers don’t want to drive your trucks, we’re not buying your trucks,” Mooney said. Of course, uptime is a factor; and the New Carlisle Proving Grounds has hand in important role in the development of the LT, Mooney continued. “For me in engineering, when I think about uptime it’s really about reliability and durability. It’s about making sure the truck never has to come in unless it’s about scheduled maintenance,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything worse for a driver than to be on the side of the road with the truck not running.” A former executive at GM, Mooney noted that the truck business is different from the automobile business in that a brand can “earn” its way into a fleet through real-world testing and performance. “The proving grounds has been a huge enabler for us,” Mooney said. “It’s been the icing on the cake to make sure our trucks are reliable.” Slide show - http://fleetowner.com/equipment/close-2018-international-lt#slide-0-field_images-203231

Navistar Demos Platooning Technology, Concept Vehicle With New LT, HX Series Trucks Transport Topics / October 13, 2016 NEW CARLISLE, Ind. — Navistar Inc. engineer Scott Smay paid close attention to the ProStar tractor he was driving on a closed course here; he just didn’t spend much time with his hands on the wheel or feet on the pedals. As the driver of truck No. 2 in a platoon, there was no need for it, even though he was driving at 45 miles per hour and was just 17 meters, 56 feet, behind another tractor-trailer. Usually a driver should leave enough distance for a 3.5-second gap to allow for reaction to changes on the road, but now it was sliced to a single second — far too little distance for humans, but an ample amount in the wireless-connected world of truck platooning. At what was once a Studebaker Corp. facility*, the original equipment manufacturer took Oct. 12 to show off its present — the new International LT and HX series trucks — and a glimpse of the future with a platooning demonstration and rides in its CatalIST concept vehicle built for the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck research and development program. Navistar is working on a platoon project with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and the Texas Department of Transportation. Mo Poorsartep is the TTI project manager in charge. He said they are working on a system that combines longitudinal control, or following distance, and latitudinal control, or steering. “The system can do lane changes. We worked with Bendix [Commercial Vehicle Systems] and what we’re doing is built on top of their Wingman system,” Poorsartep said. Engineering consulting firm Ricardo PLC wrote the software that controls the inter-truck movements in the platoon. Asked if a sudden, hard stop would be part of the demonstration, a Ricardo engineer said no. “We are still in the proof-of-concept stage of development, not the bullet-proof production stage,” he said. The CatalIST demonstration included height adjustment of the tractor while in motion. The tractor-trailer has a 6x2 power configuration, and at highway speeds the front of the tractor and back of the trailer drop lower, while the tractor’s tag and drive axles stay high, thereby producing an air foil. At lower speeds the front and back elevations return to normal heights, said Dean Oppermann, Navistar’s chief engineer for advanced technologies, including the SuperTruck program. Oppermann said the truck utilizes three different electrical systems: a traditional 12-volt for most applications, 48 volts for solar and hybrid operations and 24 volts for the starter system. International LT was unveiled Sept. 30 in Las Vegas, immediately before the start of American Trucking Associations’ annual meeting there. The new linehaul tractors made available for editors and reporters came with either automated manual or classic manual transmissions and were hooked to Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co. flatbed trailers. The LTs traveled around the high-speed oval at the proving grounds, while the vocational HX dump trucks went through their paces on a dirt course that included man-made obstacles. The HX was launched in February as part of Navistar’s effort to update its entire product line. * http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40066-navistar-buys-668-acre-indiana-proving-grounds-from-bosch/ .

Why are you sorry? The discussion never ends. Yes, the beige color option was only on Hayward-produced models. Colamco was the supplier of our interior trim at that time. We later switched to Belmor (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/34169-mack-cabs/#comment-225546).

‘Parts Issue’ Slowed Launch of Ford’s F-Series Super Duty Truck The Wall Street Journal / October 13, 2016 Louisville factory union official tells workers it will be ‘impossible’ to build all of the lost units in third quarter Ford Motor Co. ’s shipments of its newest heavy pickups known as the F-Series Super Duty were hurt in late summer because of unspecified “parts issues,” a union official said, signaling a potential drag on the auto makers’ third-quarter earnings. Rodney Janes, the United Auto Workers union chairman at Ford’s Louisville, Ky., truck factory, said while the issues are being ironed out, it would be “impossible to build all the lost units” from this past quarter. The shortfall could mean overtime work for assemblers as the company races to meet demand for the redesigned truck, among the industry’s most profitable products. In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Janes said the production efforts now are “fabulous” and are ahead of plan. “There’s always a possibility of parts issues,” he said. “When launching a new truck, you don’t come out of the gate going 1,000 miles per hour. If there is a problem, you stop right there.” Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker declined to comment on the component problem, but said “we continue ramping up production on the all-new Super Duty. We are working closely with our suppliers to meet customer demand for the truck, which has been outstanding.” Company executives earlier this year said Ford was counting on the rollout of the Super Duty truck to lift earnings in the back half of the year, but in July warned higher costs associated with the launch could hurt its prospects of meeting 2016 guidance. In a note to union members, the UAW’s Mr. Janes said parts issues have led to shortened workweeks and canceled weekends of planned overtime at the plant. The UAW and the company haven’t disclosed what parts were involved in the production delays. “The launch has created situations that are way out of the norm for [the Kentucky truck plant],” the official wrote in the union newsletter, noting that because of the downtime many employees will be working “excessive overtime” for up to a year from the launch date. Ford made waves when it re-engineered its F-Series trucks with fuel-efficient aluminum body panels instead of steel. It introduced a redesigned version of the lighter-duty F-150 in late 2014 and then moved to its heavier Super Duty version last month. The Super Duty is priced starting at $32,500 and rising to nearly $80,000. The truck has been a strong contributor to Ford’s earnings in recent years because tooling costs of the older model were written off long ago. Auto makers book revenue on wholesale shipments, not sales on dealer lots. Major hiccups in production schedules can have an impact on quarterly profits. Ford is expected to report results for its third quarter on Oct. 27. Last year, as Ford was ramping up production of its new F-150, the company also struggled with parts problems that forced it to cancel planned overtime and halt the assembly line during regular shifts. That left dealers short on pickups and ultimately dented profit and market share during 2015.

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US modifies plans to crack down on inversions The Financial Times / October 13, 2016 The Obama administration has revised a proposed crackdown on US companies moving overseas to cut their tax bills in an effort to stop other businesses from suffering collateral damage. Jack Lew, the US Treasury secretary, announced on Thursday that he was modifying the plans designed to deter deals known as inversions, which scuppered Pfizer’s $160bn takeover of Allergan when they were unveiled in April. The administration had been struggling to stop US companies merging with smaller foreign rivals to shift their domicile to low-tax jurisdictions — often in Europe — and therefore reduce their American tax bills. The aggressive measures announced in April triggered an outcry from businesses that had nothing to do with inversions and which complained that their ability to manage their finances via internal loans would be impaired. Mr Lew told reporters on Thursday that the Treasury had been told by companies that its proposals “could unduly constrain ordinary business practices”. “After carefully considering this feedback, we have addressed stakeholder concerns by more narrowly focusing the final regulations on aggressive tax avoidance tactics and providing certain limited exemptions,” he said. At issue is the way companies lend money between their subsidiaries using what are known as intra-company loans or related-party debt. The Treasury wanted to make inversions less profitable by stopping companies from making loans from foreign subsidiaries to the US and deducting the interest payments from their US tax bills, a practice known as earnings stripping. But American businesses and foreign companies with US subsidiaries said the proposed rules — which restricted the types of financial instruments that could be classified as debt — would interfere with their day-to-day financial management. One corporate lobbyist recently told the Financial Times that some companies feared that their subsidiaries in emerging markets would have to resort to borrowing from local banks because access to intra-company loans would be cut off. There were signs that corporate America was not entirely happy with the Treasury’s revisions on Thursday. The American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical companies, said: “We are deeply concerned by [the] rushed review of Treasury’s debt-equity regulations. The proposed rules touched many segments of the American economy, and we are disappointed that the administration moved too quickly to conduct a meaningful review of the rules’ impacts.” The Treasury’s revisions include exempting from its crackdown the “cash pools” that companies use to manage cash. It is also exempting transactions where it deems the risk of earnings stripping is low and transactions between banks that use related-party loans in their roles as financial intermediaries. Kevin Brady, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, which oversees tax issues, said: “It appears that the Obama administration has ignored the real concerns of people who will be most impacted by these far-reaching rules.”

U.S. targets corporate tax-reduction strategy with new regulation Reuters / October 13, 2016 The Obama administration, in its latest bid to prevent American companies from minimizing U.S. taxes by rebasing abroad, issued final rules on Thursday to combat a key tax-reduction technique known as earnings stripping. Six months after proposing the regulations, the U.S. Treasury made good on its pledge to move swiftly against corporate tax inversions by rolling out the new final rule, despite opposition from business groups and from Republicans in Congress who demanded a delay only last week. "For years, this administration consistently has called for comprehensive business tax reform to fix our broken tax system," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told reporters. "In the absence of congressional action, however, it is Treasury’s responsibility to use our authority to protect the tax base." Business lobbyists said the rules would likely be challenged in court. Tax inversions occur when a U.S. company is acquired by a smaller foreign business from a low-tax country and adopts its domicile to reduce the combined firm's overall U.S. tax burden. Inversions have occurred since the 1980s, but a new wave in recent years prompted the Treasury to take a series of actions including Thursday's final regulations, which were unveiled in April as part of a package that led to the collapse of a $160 billion merger deal between U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and Ireland's Allergan Plc. Treasury also imposed a temporary rule in April to prevent foreign companies from engaging in serial inversions. That is expected to be finalized later this year. Earnings stripping occurs when the U.S. subsidiary of a newly inverted company avoids taxes on domestic operations by sending them overseas as tax-deductable interest payments. The newly finalized regulations would reclassify some forms of debt as equity, changing tax-exempt interest payments into dividends that are taxed. Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have warned that the regulations could harm the cash management operations of U.S.-based multinationals and pose damaging unintended consequences for a range of businesses by creating mountains of red tape. But Treasury officials said the final rules addressed those concerns by granting exemptions for regulated financial and insurance firms, cash pooling, short-term debt, transactions between the foreign units of U.S. companies, stock acquisitions for employee compensation plans and other operations. The regulation also relaxed requirements for companies to document intercompany loans and delayed the documentation deadline for a year to Jan. 1, 2018.

Because it's an SX, I assumed it was built as a tipper, and then had the wheelbase shortened and a tractor package added for the Desert Storm requirement. At any rate, you own a real piece of history, and Mack history at that.

We only know what the media tells us.........we have no way to personally confirm it. Based on what we're told, neither of these individuals should be allowed to head the country. That the elections are weeks away and Americans have no qualified candidate to choose from, is damning of our system of government. The candidates behind doors number one and two are indescribably bad, and there is no door number three. In effect, for America's most important office, at a time when the world is in an extremely dangerous state, there's nobody to vote for. I can't describe how concerned I am. The average American has no idea how fractured the world is right now. And the world order is changing. Successfully maintaining our position in the new world order is of the utmost importance. It requires a professional, qualified and experienced individual. Frankly speaking, the elections must be delayed, and new nominees selected. Like anything in life, you don't make a decision until you have the right options before you.

It takes a smart individual to do parts right. But in today's world, smart people don't want to work in a heavy truck dealer's parts department. It's become a serious problem in the US market, as most of the old school career parts people have now retired. Call Watts Mack (1-888-304-6225) and identify yourself as a BMT member. They know how to look up your truck with the model and serial number of your truck's vehicle identification plate (RD822SX-1100), and will give you as fair a price as Volvo's pricing schedule permits. Whether your truck was built specifically for Operation Desert Storm, or repurchased from one of the dealers to meet the deployment deadline, it's in the Mack parts system. FYI for new readers: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42258-rd822sx/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/34637-mack-people-and-trucks-tackle-the-eye-of-a-‘storm’/

The first half of this quote is real, the second half is fake. "She will say anything and change nothing" is a quote from a campaign ad that was endorsed by President Obama and so even though he didn't say it himself, his endorsement of the ad carries with it that these are effectively his words. However, the second half of the quote is fake. The words "Hillary can't be trusted and isn't qualified to be President" do not appear in the campaign ad with the first half of the sentence and cannot be found in any other statements from Barack Obama at any time from 2008 until now. .

Thank you. I didn't realize they had launched a gasoline version of the 8.8-liter.

The 4x2 FTR has a GVW of 25,950lb, not 50,000lb. The 215hp/520lb/ft 4HK1-TC will be fine, much like the 5.1-liter Detroit DD5 (Mercedes-Benz OM934). Remember, the MIDR 06.02.12 engine in the MS200P and MS250P Mid-Liners was rated at 175hp/395 lb/ft horsepower (165hp/385 lb/ft in California) and it was a spirited performer. I question whether GM's small block 6.0-liter LQ4 gasoline engine would be appropriate for the 4x2 FTR. Ford has a monopoly on such an engine, the 6.8-liter V-10. But even though we think volumes are strong for gasoline F-650s, Ford's accountants think V-10 production numbers are impractically small (spoiled by light vehicle engine volumes). Chevrolet sold the big block to PSI (http://www.psiengines.com/) who now offers it as an 8.8-liter for natural gas or propane. With the upcoming tandem, if it's a standard duty FV-Series, it'll have a 7.79-liter 296 horsepower 6HK1-DCS. If the tandem is a heavy-duty FX-Series for vocational applications, it'll have a 9.84-liter 345 horsepower 6UZ1-TCN. I'm guessing that GM doesn't see a large medium-duty COE market, even though COE is superior to a conventional cab, particularly in medium duty applications. They see Paccar isn't selling a lot of US market DAF LFs, and they have the all-new Navistar-built conventional cab medium duties coming on line in 2018. It's easy for GM since production will be at Navistar's Springfield, Ohio plant. All GM has to do is sell them, which they will. Of course if the US medium-duty market trend ever shifts to COE, GM could sign an additional deal with Isuzu overnight. Funny you ask if Chevrolet commercial truck dealers will get a rebadged version of the medium-duty Isuzu FTR. As a result of the new cooperation with VW Group, Navistar has had preliminary talks with VW Brazil on bringing medium-duty versions of the COE Constellation to the US market (https://www.man-la.com/produtos-volkswagen/modelos/constellation-7/chassi-rigido-7). Terrific truck. Paccar of course sold the "Worker" in the US years ago, but the company and its dealers were clueless on selling medium-duty, where as Mack dealers sold thousands and thousands of Mid-Liners to the point that it became the number one selling medium-duty COE in America. Ryder and Penske loved them.

MAN is very good at chassis packaging, as can be seen on this 4x2 tractor. Again, note an integral AdBlue (DEF) tank. .

While I don't care for the chosen color scheme of the Australian Penske promotional trucks above, the D38-powered TGX is cutting edge truck. All the TGXs at the IAA show were normal colors. I took a day off to take a few pictures for BMT. Note the integral AdBlue (aka. DEF, AUS-32, ARLA 32) tank, and proper drive axle fenders. .

MAN brings 15-litre TGX D38 to Australia Big Rigs / October 13, 2016 MAN Trucks released its new 15-litre TGX D38 in Brisbane on Tuesday, where Penske Corporation chairman Roger Penske introduced the flagship truck and discussed the brand's future aspirations within the Australian market. The TGX model is positioned at Australia's B-double segment, and MAN spent 18 months down under developing the all-new truck to suit the unique operating conditions we face. The D38 features a new powertrain designed for the most demanding transport tasks, and its 15.2-litre six-cylinder inline engine produces 560HP and 2,700Nm, achieving maximum torque from a low 930 rpm. This engine will lug and thanks to its broad torque spread works well with a B-double combination as tested at the launch day. MAN has managed to make the D38 one of the lightest engines in its class, coming in at 160kg less than its V8 predecessor, in part thanks to an aluminium flywheel housing, compacted graphite iron engine block and cylinder head, and a plastic sump and rocker cover. Despite the high output of this new engine, operators can take advantage of oil drain intervals of up to 70,000 kilometres in heavy B-double applications and up to 100,000 kilometres in single trailer set-ups. MAN has also developed a "Top Down" system that pumps coolant from engine top to bottom, minimising cylinder head stress while protecting the injectors and exhaust valves, which adds to the longevity of this powertrain. The 12-speed Traxion Transmission AMT gearbox comes standard in the TGX D38 and features three new fuel saving modes and GPS-controlled cruise control as part of the MAN EfficientCruise system. While test drives on the launch day were fairly short, the gearbox did a fantastic job of taking a loaded B-double combination up and down hills without any noticeable lag in shifting, and it always seemed to be smack bang in the torque band. One feature that works a treat alongside the intuitive gearbox and torquey engine, is the Brake Matic system - which will brake for you and hold a set speed with just a touch of the brake pedal to initiate it. The interior was another highlight, featuring high-quality finish and a complete array of driver-facing controls and steering wheel controls to do most of what you'll need to on the fly. MAN Truck and Bus Australia general manager Mark Mello spoke about the D38's long distance focus at the launch event. "Given our reliance on truck transportation in Australia and the distances between cities, efficiency and productivity are the key factors that dictate business success today,” Mr Mello said. "The MAN TGX D38 strikes an excellent balance of capacity and cost efficiency, and is built specifically for customers who transport high-gross combination weights. "We believe these qualities stand operators requiring B-double and heavy-duty applications in Australia in good stead.” Mr Mello says MAN expects strong sales year-on-year for the D38 and expects to see a good number hit the road in 2017. "We're looking at the D38 providing us a segment of the market we've not had before, we're also realists, we understand that we're now providing a product to customers they haven't necessarily tried or had in their fleets before. "I have an expectation we'll get 80 or 100 of these things into the traffic, and we would expect this will continue year-on-year. "We'll certainly start to take a decent chunk of that market space.” Penske chairman Roger Penske reiterated these comments, saying the D38 offers customers a real competitive edge. "The MAN D38 has been engineered for local customers, and with their needs of economy at the fore,” Mr Penske said. "I believe that the MAN D38 package from Penske Commercial Vehicles will quickly become an attractive and viable business option, giving our customers the edge they need." Mr Penkse also spoke in detail about a shift in focus for MAN, in particular a greater emphasis on dealer commitment which makes the new flagship even more enticing. "We've got to be sure that we've got the best dealers and where we can, we can't wait, we don't have five years to wait. "We've got to do it ourselves and we're willing to invest that capital immediately. "I think that what we want to do as a next step would be to have more company-owned locations so we have more consistency from the standpoint of customer expectations and customer service.” The MAN TGX D38 is now available through Penske Commercial Vehicles, and its authorised dealer network. .

MAN on a mission: Roger Penske Launches 15-litre D38 Engine Trade Trucks AU / October 13, 2016 In his first address to the Australian truck media since taking control of Western Star, MAN and Dennis Eagle operations in Australia and New Zealand more than three years ago, business and motor racing mogul Roger Penske has confirmed MAN’s critical part in the future plans of Penske Commercial Vehicles. Speaking this week during the launch of MAN’s new TGX D38 flagship model powered by the 15.2-litre D38 engine at Brisbane’s Mt Cotton Training Centre, Roger Penske said, "We expect MAN to be a powerful business for us." Asked if MAN’s inconsistent history in the Australian market was a negative for the brand, Penske said simply, "I’m not looking back, I’m looking forward. "We wanted this (D38) model 18 months ago but two years from now we expect it to be successful. "There is a trend to this type of truck," he emphasised, adding that brands such as MAN with a fully integrated engine, automated transmission and driveline package are fast becoming the preferred choice of truck operators at all levels but most notably with major fleets. Penske operations in the US run 244,000 trucks and it was an adamant Roger Penske who remarked, "We only buy AMTs (automated mechanical transmission) in the US now. They just have so many advantages." Service and support are, however, the main focus of his Australian operations and the key to the growth of Penske Commercial Vehicles, he continued. "This is a very competitive market and things like fuel economy and service are the big ongoing issues today. "We have to get better in our own business. We’re going to ask a lot more of our dealers and if they don’t stand up, then we’ll do it with our own dealerships." On the downward spiral of Western Star sales in Australia over the past three years, Roger Penske commented, "There are no excuses but this is a highly competitive market with low sales volumes, but we will build on the business. "When we came to this market the exchange rate (with the US dollar) was 97 cents to the dollar. Today it’s around 74 cents to the dollar, so we haven’t had it easy in that respect. "But we certainly won’t give trucks away," he said in reference to the fierce price competition that exists among some competitors. With third quarter sales results for this year showing MAN at just 2.1 per cent of the heavy-duty market and Western Star a poor 3.8 percent, Roger Penske said his expectations are for both brands to grow their shares. "The buying trends are changing," he asserted, further suggesting that he sees significant potential for MAN to grow its share of the heavy-duty market, particularly with the entry of the TGX D38 model. Engine Details First launched in Europe more than two years ago and previewed in Australia at the 2015 Brisbane Truck Show, the D38 is an in-line six cylinder engine using a single overhead camshaft, twin sequential turbochargers and common-rail fuel injection to produce peak outputs of 411kW (560hp) and 2700Nm (1,991 lb-ft) of torque. Euro VI (near EPA2010) emissions levels are achieved with the combination of EGR and SCR systems and what MAN explains is a ‘closed particulate filter system’, or CRT – continuous regeneration trap – to significantly reduce particulate filter service demands. Other innovative features of the engine according to MAN include a ‘Top Down’ cooling system that pumps coolant from engine top to bottom, minimising cylinder head stress while protecting the injectors and exhaust valves. Domed valves are also used, with additional convex shaping to prevent deformity, strengthen the valve disk and increase service life of the valve seating ring. This is particularly important, says MAN, for maintaining stringent emission standards over a prolonged period. Furthermore, the German maker says a turbo exhaust valve brake (TEVB) has been developed to provide high engine braking capacity up to 600kW (804.6 horsepower). In another first for MAN, all cable routing is encased in foam-filled harnesses to dramatically reduce wear caused by rubbing and vibration. The D38 is also claimed to use up to three percent less fuel than an equivalent Euro V engine due to a third generation common-rail system injecting fuel at up to 2,500 bar, or more than 36,000 psi. A particularly notable performance aspect of the engine according to MAN is the low rpm torque delivery, with peak torque on tap from 930 to 1,350rpm due in large part to two-stage sequential turbocharging. Aftercooling is provided by twin air-to-water intercoolers. There’s also an engine-powered, twin-cylinder air compressor designed to disengage whenever the charging of the air system is not needed, increasing operating efficiency by up to 90 per cent compared with a constantly running compressor. Also said to be one of the lightest engines in the 15-litre class, the D38 uses an aluminium flywheel housing, an engine block and cylinder head made of lightweight compacted graphite iron (CGI), and a plastic sump and rocker cover. MAN emphasises that the wide use of lightweight, high-strength materials throughout the design of the TGX D38 model not only provides tare weight advantages over competitors but also delivers "a near perfect balance of weight in a B-double application with an even distribution of load across the steer and drive axle sets". Yet while it’s the newest engine in MAN’s line-up, the D38 is also said to share a high degree of parts commonality with the current D20 and D26 engines used in Australian models. Meanwhile, oil drain intervals are certainly generous at up to 70,000 km (112,654 miles) in B-double applications and up to 100,000 km (160,934 miles) in single trailer roles. With the introduction of the D38, MAN has also introduced an updated version of its automated TipMatic 12-speed automated manual transmission and a GPS-based cruise control system. From all appearances, it seems MAN is on the move. Video - https://www.tradetrucks.com.au/product-news/1610/tgx-d38-man-on-a-mission .

Supermarkets pull Marmite over plunging pound – Prime Minister silent The Financial Times / October 12, 2016 The plummeting pound is threatening UK households’ supplies of Marmite* spread, as Tesco, the country’s biggest supermarket, pulled dozens of products from sale online in a row over who should bear the cost of the weakening currency. Unilever has demanded steep price increases to offset the higher cost of imported commodities, which are priced in Euros and dollars, according to executives at multiple supermarket groups. But Tesco signaled it would fight the rises, removing Unilever products like Marmite from its website and warning that some of the items could disappear from shelves if the dispute dragged on. Other supermarkets have warned that they could follow suit. The pound has fallen 17 per cent since Britain voted to leave the EU. Officials cautioned ahead of the June 23 referendum that a vote for Brexit would cause food prices to rise, a warning that Eurosceptic MPs have dismissed as “scaremongering”. Tesco head Dave Lewis signaled last week that it he was limbering up for a fight with suppliers that tried to use the fall in sterling to push through price increases. He said many of them had failed to pass on currency benefits to consumers when sterling was on the way up, and that he was “uncomfortable” with efforts to raise prices on the way down. An executive at another British supermarket group said Unilever had threatened to cut off its entire supply unless it agreed to an across-the-board price increase of 10 per cent. He said the retailer would consider banishing Unilever products from its stores rather than comply with the ultimatum. Unilever refused to comment on its negotiations with supermarkets. Tesco said in a statement: “We are currently experiencing availability issues on a number of Unilever products including Marmite. We always work to ensure customers get the best possible prices and we hope to have this issue resolved soon.” * Unilever Marmite is the UK equivalent of Australia’s Vegemite and New Zealand’s Sanitarium brand Marmite.

A 6x4 F-Series tandem axle rigid (straight truck) is also on the way to the US market.

Freightliner Offers FlowBelow AeroKit on Cascadia Heavy Duty Trucking / October 12, 2016 FlowBelow Aero, a manufacturer of tractor-mounted aerodynamic products, will have its complete Tractor AeroKit system offered as a factory-iinstalled option on the most fuel efficient Freightliner Cascadia Evolution equipment package. The new partnership between Daimler Trucks North America and FlowBelow expands an earlier supplier agreement to offer FlowBelow’s Quick-Release aerodynamic wheel covers as a factory installed or aftermarket option. As part of the new supplier agreement, the complete Tractor AeroKit system will be paired with the new Cascadia Evolution trucks built at Daimler’s truck plants as well as made available for aftermarket purchase and installation through all Freightliner dealers in North America. The Tractor AeroKit reduces aerodynamic turbulence and drag on the truck by streamlining airflow past the drive wheels. When optioned, each 6x2 or 6x4 truck is outfitted with Quick-Release wheel covers, center fairings located between the wheels, and rear fairings behind the wheels. The system improves fuel efficiency by controlling the air flow along the side of a vehicle. “With the addition of the FlowBelow Tractor AeroKit system to the Cascadia Evolution truck, we are providing increased value while also laying the groundwork for further aerodynamic enhancements,” said Josh Butler, founder and CEO of Aero. FlowBelow has also announced a partnership with a Mexican distributor to expand its business into that country. The company has partnered with major Mexican distributor Andromeda Business Solutions to distribute the company’s Tractor AeroKit technology. .