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Rejected by Wall Street, Ford’s CEO Has Support Where It Matters Keith Naughton, Bloomberg / February 25, 2020 Days after another dismal earnings report, Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett sent a blunt message during an internal town hall: I’m not going anywhere. If there were any doubts in the crowd about that statement, Hackett underscored it by discussing the early retirement of Joe Hinrichs, a Ford president whom many had seen as a potential successor to the CEO. The comment was a surprising display of force from a man who had just overseen another disappointing quarter that deepened the sell-off in Ford stock during his almost three-year tenure. The reason for such confidence: Hackett, 64, retains the backing of Executive Chairman Bill Ford. While Wall Street has never really warmed to him, Hackett has managed to nurture a close relationship with the 62-year-old great-grandson of founder Henry Ford through frequent visits to each other’s offices, where they mind meld on a digitized future of transportation in which big data drives how automakers create self-driving and electric cars. The two are inseparable, say people familiar with their relationship, who asked not to be identified describing Ford’s inner workings. “Harmony in businesses is a good story,” Hackett said with a chuckle during a phone interview Monday. “And it doesn’t burst out of lack of accountability at all. It’s more, frankly, of a shared view of how much work we have in front of us to transform the company to be really viable for another 50-plus years.” The elevation of Ford’s other president, Jim Farley, to COO, and the departure of Hinrichs, 53, has rocked a company struggling to find its way in an industry undergoing wrenching change. Hinrichs’s abrupt exit completes a clean break from the era of Alan Mulally, who was celebrated for keeping the carmaker out of bankruptcy during the Great Recession. Mulally was close to Hinrichs and believed he should have succeeded him as CEO when he retired in 2014, people familiar with his thinking said. Mulally declined to comment. Farley’s Ascent Farley, 57, will brief investors Wednesday on how he intends to speed up Ford’s turnaround and perk up the stock price, which tumbled to the lowest in over a decade on Monday. The hard-driving marketing mastermind -- and cousin of the late comedian Chris Farley -- is embracing the new role with his signature intensity. Jim Farley is working late into the evenings and on weekends, reviewing all of the company’s plans, say people familiar with his actions. Known as a quick study with an encyclopedic memory for data and details, he doesn’t suffer fools. “In the context of our industry and how it’s changing, we have to accelerate,” he said in a Feb. 7 interview. “We cannot wait years and years.” While Hackett says he has absolutely given Farley a mandate to accelerate, he also defends the deliberate approach he and Bill Ford are taking and says it’s rooted in a company still run by the founding family, which takes a long-term view. “Others will say, well, why has it taken so long? Or why are you contemplating this so rigorously? It’s because we’re balancing the needs of shareholders versus employees, suppliers, dealers,” Hackett said. “We’re not willing to lose the hearts and minds of our people to have one quarter exceed earnings.” Hinrichs’s Stumble Farley and Hinrichs were elevated less than a year ago to be company presidents, with Farley focused on the future and Hinrichs on managing the automotive here-and-now. Within months of taking on their roles, Farley won plaudits for leading Ford’s talks with Volkswagen AG that lead to a tie-up last summer to jointly develop the driverless and electric cars that Bill Ford and Hackett are so excited about. Participants on all sides of that deal, which also involved self-driving startup Argo AI, praise Farley’s mastery of the materials and his negotiating skills that helped keep the talks on track. Fans of Farley say Hinrichs was meanwhile moving too slowly to fix what ails Ford. They point to the botched launch of the new Explorer sport utility vehicle last year that weakened North American earnings for a company that isn’t consistently making money elsewhere in the world. When Hinrichs dispatched a vice president last year to investigate problems at Ford’s Explorer plant in Chicago, some subordinates didn’t even show up for meetings to discuss the situation, said a person familiar with the visit. For a high-ranking executive to be disrespected like that was seen as evidence that Hinrichs didn’t have full control of the situation at the plant, the person said. Hinrichs declined to comment. The Explorer launch failures undercut Hinrichs’s reputation as a manufacturing whiz. He rose to prominence under Mulally, a fellow engineer, and won kudos for successfully overseeing the complicated launch of the aluminum-bodied F-150 six years ago. In 2018, he played a pivotal role in getting those profitable pickups rolling off assembly lines again after a supplier’s factory exploded and briefly disrupted truck production in 2018. Mulally’s Legacy Mulally’s legacy has grown complicated within Ford, with the company moving away from some of his rigorous practices that encouraged executives to admit mistakes and seek help fixing them, rather than let them fester. Mulally also bet heavily on small, fuel-efficient cars, which fell out of favor as gas prices abated. Hackett is pulling Ford out of the sedan market. And the focus on Mulally as Ford’s savior is said to have irked Bill Ford, who also played a key role in securing a life-saving loan that sustained the company through the downturn that wiped out the rest of Detroit. Hinrichs is seen as Mulally’s last acolyte in Ford’s upper management. “Ford is now, with the departure of Joe Hinrichs, back to where it was when everything started falling apart last time,” said Bryce Hoffman, author of “American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company,” published in 2012. “But now it’s in that position in a much more competitive marketplace and in a much more challenging business environment.” Hackett denies that there is any reconsideration of the Mulally era within Ford. “I’ve never heard anything but praise for Alan Mulally. He’s really highly regarded by me, by the board, by Bill,” Hackett said. “We spend zero time and stress about that.” Bill Ford’s Silence Bill Ford hasn’t made any public appearances early this year as Ford shares have dipped back below $8 for the first time January 2019. That month, he endorsed his embattled CEO at the Detroit auto show and appealed for patience with Hackett and his $11 billion turnaround plan. He declined an interview requested though a company spokesman. Now that Farley has taken over Hinrichs’s duties, he is moving quickly to light a fire under his team. Farley is conducting meetings with Ford’s entire top leadership, and more executive changes are expected. Those changes won’t include Hackett, despite some on Wall Street having openly questioned how long his tenure will last. With the executive chairman’s backing, Hackett will keep Farley waiting for an untold period to prove he’s the right pick to take over. But Farley is clearly in ascent. Even the trait once viewed as his biggest weakness -- his hair-trigger temper -- is now being recast as just the skill needed to effect change in Ford’s hidebound culture. “He’s pretty intense,” David Whiston, an analyst for Morningstar with the equivalent of a buy rating on Ford shares, said of Farley. “I’m glad Ford has him.”

These #Autocar ACX New Way Trucks #SidewinderXTR #ASL #refusetrucks are #AlwaysUp for Louisville Metro Public Works. Always Up - Autocar Trucks .

No.

Cummins Press Release / February 19, 2020 The Cummins pickup team is thrilled to have been part of this year's RAM Business Link event! Chris Hiatt, our FCA account rep, even got to show off legendary prototype truck D001 to RAM Brand Director Mike Koval, who gamely took the driver's seat. Thanks for the invite, RAM! .

Paul, they are produced at the massive Ford-Otosan joint venture in Turkey, which is Ford's global market commercial truck headquarters, R&D center and production base.

Ford Trucks International Press Release / February 21, 2020 Ford Trucks are now available in Belarus! We look forward to working with our local distributor to bring the new Ford Trucks F-MAX to our customers in Belarus! #SharingTheLoad #Belarus #FordTrucks

The day cab (CA60) has the standard 11-inch (single element) air cleaner assembly applicable to Mack engines. The other truck has the larger optional 16-inch (single element) that was only available with the (CAS62) sleeper cab. Most customers spec'd standard frontal (air) intake, while Ryder preferred the optional snorkel air intake with their Cummins (MH632/633) and Caterpillar-powered (MH652/653) Ultra-Liners which were paired with either a 13-inch air cleaner (CA60) or 16-inch air cleaner (CAS62). An in-line "pre-cleaner", and inside-outside air intake with in-cab control, were also options.

It appears as though Ford had some of the Ram designers come over and help.

2021 Ford F-150 design cues exposed in spy photos Michael Martinez, Automotive News / February 20, 2020 Spy photographers have captured the best look yet at the redesigned Ford F-150. The next-generation pickup, due out later this year as a 2021 model, was spotted this week in light camouflage near the automaker's Dearborn, Mich., headquarters. The crew cab caught undergoing road testing features what appears to be more stacked headlights, more horizontal fog lamps and a grille that closely mimics the midsize Ranger pickup. The F-150 also appears to have a more raised hood than the current model. The interior of the vehicle is expected to undergo a more radical overhaul with at least a 12-inch touch screen, following the success of a similar-sized screen in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' recently redesigned Ram pickup. Ford is planning a hybrid model that's expected to debut this year, as well as a battery-electric version expected out in 2021. A smooth launch is critical for Ford. The F-Series line of pickups, of which F-150 is a part, has been the bestselling vehicle line in the U.S. for 38 straight years, and the bestselling pickup line for 43 straight years. .

Deere tops Q4 forecasts MarketWatch / February 21, 2020 John Deere said fiscal first-quarter to Feb. 2 net income rose 4% to $517 million, or $1.63 a share, while sales fell 4% to $7.63 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.27 on sales of $6.22 billion. Deere said the U.S. farm sector is showing early signs of stabilization as it reiterated its full-year earnings forecast. Deere said 2020 profit would range from $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion, as it forecast worldwide sales of agriculture and turf equipment to drop 5% to 10% and worldwide construction and forestry sales to drop 10% to 15%.

Volvo Trucks Press Release / February 21, 2020 Something big is going on. Don’t miss it – subscribe to our YouTube channel. .

Scania Group Press Release / February 19, 2020 Stronger cabs, emergency brakes, better protection for drivers and their fellow road users. Safety is in Scania’s DNA. Here are some of the key innovations. It’s a familiar situation for all truck drivers: you are about to make a right turn at a crossroads. The inner-city street is busy with rush-hour traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. Having checked the side-view mirror, you put the indicator on and start turning. Suddenly an alert sounds in the cab: something is moving in your blind spot! You brake the truck and discover a stressed cycling father on his way to pick up the kids from daycare. Phew! – Saved by the Scania truck’s built-in safety feature: Side Detection. “This is the latest advanced driver assistance system in our trucks. We think it will contribute a lot to reducing what is a common accident that often has tragic consequences,” says Adam Claesson, Senior Engineer for active safety systems at Scania. Constant focus on safety The Side Detection function is the latest safety feature from Scania, but throughout its history the company has focused extensively on all aspects of safe transport – vehicles, drivers and fellow road users. The focus areas include passive safety (protecting the driver and other road users if an accident occurs) and active safety (preventing accidents from occurring at all). This means building safe, ergonomic cabs, as well as developing clever hardware solutions and intelligent support systems. Safety is in Scania’s DNA “Safety is a part of our DNA. Historically, Scania has invested vast resources into the area, and we often strive to go beyond the stipulated road and vehicle safety legislation,” says Dan Loftén, Expert Engineer for crash safety within Scania. Or, as Adam Claesson puts it: “Safety is part of our goal of driving the shift in the transport industry. Not only do we want to save the environment, we also want to save lives.” New era for safety in the transport industry The early 2000s ushered in a new era of transport and traffic safety. Active electronic systems to enhance the driver’s performance were introduced, including the Electronic Stability Program. Introduced in 2004, this feature stabilises the truck when there is a risk of skidding, overturning or jackknifing. Claesson adds, “And in 2013, we introduced advanced emergency braking (AEB). It’s a fantastic feature that reduces the risk of the vehicle colliding with the one in front. In my view, AEB is one of the most important active safety features in today’s vehicles, along with lane departure warning and our new side detection functionality.” Scania introduces the world’s first side curtain airbag With the launch of the company’s new truck generation in 2016, Scania took safety to a new level. The company introduced the world’s first side curtain airbag for trucks and the new truck generation also includes a stronger cab, where ultra-high strength steel has been used. “During the development of the new truck generation, we spent an enormous number of man-hours on crash simulations and crash testing,” says Loftén. “In total, we crashed over 40 trucks. We also used the latest technologies, such as Thor, the world’s most advanced crash test dummy. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / February 21, 2020 .

Ford Trucks International Press Release / February 20, 2020 We are going forward on our way in Europe. Our next destination is Belarus! .

Alan Adler, Freight Waves / February 19, 2020 The ratio of retail sales of Class 8 trucks to inventories in January ranked second-highest in industry history, trailing only the worst month of the Great Recession a decade ago. That means that without a rebound in orders, manufacturers will have to cut production further to achieve balance. Overall sales of Class 8 trucks are expected to be down 33-34% this year compared with 2019, one of the best on record. While inventories are swollen because of sluggish retail sales, the industry is in good shape in terms of how many trucks it is building per day compared to the order backlog. The inventory-to-sales and the order-to-build ratios taken together present a picture of the health of the heavy-truck industry. Retail sales follow the hierarchy of orders, backlog, production and inventory. Orders, production and sales are tracked and reported monthly Inventory to sales The inventory of Class 8 trucks rose 3,400 units in January over December 2019 because production outpaced weak sales. The inventory-to-sales ratio in January was 3.9 months, the highest since 4.4 months in April 2009, the worst month of the Great Recession. The ideal inventory-to-sales ratio is 2 to 2.5 months. That is about where PACCAR, the parent company of Peterbilt Motors and Kenworth Truck Co., found itself at the end of December, CEO Preston Feight said on the company’s Jan. 28 call with analysts. “We make sure that what we’re building has a customer name on it, so we’ve been able to adjust our build rates to align with our orders,” Feight said. Inventory management is critical in a cyclical business like trucking, which depends on how much it can charge per mile for hauling a load of freight. Falling spot rates over the last year led to slackened demand for new trucks after a frenzy of orders in the second half of 2018. “There comes a time in every cycle when the industry needs to start shedding inventory,” one analyst said. “High inventories were a positive contributor through most of 2018 and 2019. The total amount of inventory is going to be a headwind for production in 2020.” Simply put, there is no need to build more trucks when sales are slow. In the U.S. tractor market, which accounts for 60% of the heavy-duty truck sales, the inventory-to-sales ratio jumped to 3.1 months in January from 2.5 months in December. “Low is better, at least if you are a manufacturer,” he said. The vocational truck market, which includes off-highway trucks used in construction, also is experiencing lower sales while inventories remain flat. The inventory-to-sales ratio for vocational trucks was 4.3 months in January. The ideal ratio is three months, he said. Backlog to build At 5.4 months, the backlog-to-build ratio is in much better shape than the inventory-to-sales ratio, he said. The industry order bank stood at 119,000 units at the end of January when manufacturers built 1,050 trucks a day. The backlog fell about 4,500 units from December because more trucks were produced than orders placed. “Where the backlog rates are compared with the build rate, we’re golden,” he said. “This is very sustainable and very good for the industry.” By contrast, in August 2019, manufacturers built 1,400 units per day with a backlog of 151,000 orders. If orders continue to be weak and production continues at January’s rate, the backlog will fall further, possibly prompting further reductions in the build rate. Truck makers acknowledged this possibility in their most recent earnings reports. .

Wow.....just wow. Talk about ignoring the customer. No more Cummins option. The same arrogance as Paccar not offering the X12 so as to force customers to use their own DAF engines. https://www.macktrucks.com.au/trucks/titan/specs/

Volvo Group’s Mack Defense unit completes delivery of 1,500 re-badged Renault Kerax 8x8 trucks to Canadian Armed Forces Trailer-Body Builder / February 18, 2020 Volvo Group subsidiary Mack Defense recently assembled the 1,587th and final Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) truck for the Canadian Armed Forces’ regular forces and overseas deployments under its Standard Military Pattern (SMP) program. The truck rolled off the assembly line Feb 13 in Saint Nicolas, Quebec, in front of a select group of dignitaries, military officials and Mack Defense employees. “Mack Defense is proud to have completed the build-out of these trucks, and we look forward to continuing the program and supporting the more than 1,500 MSVS trucks that will be in service with the Canadian Armed Forces,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “This program demonstrates the global reach and collaboration Mack Defense is capable of.” Mack Defense is part of the Volvo Group, allowing it to leverage the group’s large industrial footprint and global capabilities to engineer and produce the MSVS SMP trucks. Before final production took place at a Prevost facility in Saint Nicolas, additional work was completed at facilities located in Bourg-en-Bresse, Marolles, Blainville and Limoges, France. The MSVS SMP program was coordinated through Mack Defense headquarters in Allentown PA. In addition, Mack Defense said it called upon several Canadian partners, including Dumur Industries, EODC, Marshall, Craig Manufacturing and Link Suspensions of Canada (Raydan Division) to contribute to the project. Mack Defense was awarded two contracts in 2015 valued at $725 million CAD by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada on behalf of the Department of National Defense. The contracts called for Mack to deliver more than 1,500 8x8 MSVS SMP trucks, including variants such as cargo, material handling cranes, load handling systems and mobile repair trucks. .

I hate to pop Volvo's bubble, but a manual transmission should still yet be an option on the MD. The market share leader Freightliner M2 106 is available with four manual transmissions, from a 6-speed Benz unit to 9-, 10- and 11-speed Eaton units. https://freightliner.com/trucks/m2-106/specifications/

https://www.midontariotrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/405/2020/02/c10c81c9-1056-4533-b51c-bfbc360413f5_Mack_MDSellSheet_Class7-web.pdf

We had such a great time meeting current & new customers in Las Vegas earlier this month. Excited to see the DC-64M on job sites—taking orders now! .

You need Mack part-no. 38MO343RP3.

An Australian Metro-Liner hood (pictured below) with redesigned Anthem-style fenders. .

Actually, Cummins power is not offered in the Super-Liner or Trident. Only the Titan is available with Cummins power (and the compact Metro-Liner exclusively with the ISL, alike the Granite MHD).