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BPW Press Release / August 31, 2016 Under the name eSolutions, BPW (www.bpw.de/en/) will exhibit two new electrical concepts for economical and low-emission transport at the 2016 IAA show: BPW not only targets the electrification of drives, but will also present a practical solution for electric power generation in the trailer. “Electrification is a megatrend that is now capturing the entire vehicle and logistics industry. Beyond the hype, we are focusing on developing practical innovations that offer vehicle operators and vehicle manufacturers tangible economic benefits,” says Michael Pfeiffer, personally liable managing partner of BPW. “Our solutions for the electric drive and electric power generation also perfectly complement our expertise in the fields of running gear technology, brakes, lightweight design, sensors and telematics. In this way, our eSolutions substantiate our claim of being the leading international mobility partner of vehicle operators and the leading system partner of vehicle manufacturers.” ePower The company has developed a system for energy recovery on the trailer by means of wheel hub generators. They are particularly suitable for supplying power to refrigerated vehicles, because with just one axle equipped with two ePower wheel hub generators, enough energy is generated during the braking process to operate the refrigerated box. This reduces diesel consumption by about 2,500 litres per year. Even with an additional battery for interim storage of the energy, ePower is weight-neutral when compared to cooling by means of a diesel generator. The system is self-sufficient and can be mounted on existing axle designs. eTransport eTransport is the concept for a new electric axle from BPW which has been developed specifically for manufacturers of distribution vehicles. “Especially in inner-city transport, such as courier and express deliveries, e-drives are likely to be the future,” says Michael Pfeiffer. The axle, electric drive and energy storage form a system in eTransport that can be integrated into different vehicle models. The drive is emission-free, recovers the braking energy and improves the manoeuvrability of transporters by actively supporting the steering. This is especially advantageous in the field of city logistics. As needed, the system is designed for performing a typical daily mission in inner-city distribution transport, with reserves for additional applications. It is possible to charge the battery overnight in a few hours. .

Associated Press / December 10, 2016 A Florida father was arrested Friday and charged in the death of his 23-month old toddler son, who was left in a pickup truck for eight hours, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Troy Whitaker, 41, was charged with aggravated manslaughter. Whitaker left his Palm Harbor house Friday morning with his 5-year-old daughter, Addison, and 23-month-old son, Lawson. He dropped his daughter off at school, but forgot to drop his son off at daycare. Whitaker ran errands around town, and noticed his son in the backseat of the Chevrolet pickup truck in the afternoon, after having returned home. The boy had an "extremely high body temperature" and was transported to Mease Countryside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. "It was obvious that he had been dead for a while," said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. The boy was in the truck from about 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., when Whitaker returned from a trip to the supermarket. “What (Whitaker) says, is he thinks he dropped (Lawson) off... but he didn't,” Sheriff Gualtieri said. “He came back here to the house, he arrived at the house about 8:30am, went inside... and stayed in the home until about 10:30 this morning. He then went out and walked the dog, then went back inside and stayed in the house until 3:30 this afternoon. When he came out at 3:30 he entered the truck and says that he did not see Lawson. Where Lawson was seated was in a car-seat behind the driver's seat... facing forward in the backseat of the vehicle. He then goes to the Publix, spends about 30 or 40 minutes (there), then comes out and puts the groceries on the front passenger seat of the truck. At that point, he says again that he does not see Lawson. He comes home, parks in the driveway and gets out, and goes over to the passenger side where he had just put the groceries in, and when he opens the door he sees Lawson. Lawson is deceased at that point... he had not been breathing for a long time.” Gualtieri added Lawson's body temperature was 'about 108 degrees' at 5:00pm. “He was clearly negligent, he can offer no explanation other than he thought he dropped the kid off and that doesn't make any sense quite frankly,” the sheriff said about Whitaker. “He has to be held accountable. This defines culpable negligence.” .

Everyone interested in our country's governance should make the time to read these articles and watch the videos. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/09/dan-jones-cia-torture-cover-report-senate https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/09/cia-insider-daniel-jones-senate-torture-investigation https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/10/cia-senate-investigation-constitutional-crisis-daniel-jones https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/11/cia-torture-report-aftermath-daniel-jones-senate-investigation

Dagens Industri / September 9, 2016 A consulting company made up of Volvo's own former management took over the truck giant’s business last year and earned millions. Now, they continue to work for Volvo and the money is rolling in at high speed. Already during the first few months of 2016, the former Volvo employees turned consultants have earned millions. "We have a policy not to comment on agreements with suppliers and can not do it in this case either," says Joakim Kenndal on Volvo's press department. It would appear that Volvo for many years had its own group of management consultants employed. According to Dagens Industri, as many as 50 people in Sweden have worked under the name Fortos. Their mission was and is to help Volvo Group's senior managers to set goals and implement restructuring programs. The secret consulting business is completely unknown even to Volvo's major shareholders, showing the Dagens Industri's research. "I've never heard anything so stupid," said a key figure among Volvo's institutional owners. "Sick. Did not know," answered another major shareholder. Dagen Industri can also reveal that the group of ex-Volvo management last year had to take over the operations of Volvo on generous terms. The workers set up a new company, Fortos Management Consulting AB, the transaction confirmed in its annual report. The Fortos annual report states: "The company started its operations during the year in the form of a transfer of operations from Volvo AB to Fortos Management Consulting AB in which Fortos took over the employees and services." Dagens Industri has evidence showing that Volvo Group promised the new consulting company significant business in the years ahead. Data indicates that the balance sheet of Fortos is not the book value of the business, and it has no assets. Fortos Management Consulting had no greater financial muscle than Volvo in the first place. The paid-up share capital amounted to SEK 50,000 at the end of the year, as much as its parent company DIHL Group Holding. But in the few months of its existence, from October 2015, the turnover of Fortos Management Consulting reached SEK 12.2 million and made a profit of 1.27 million before tax. The company proposed a dividend of SEK 740,000. At the same time there was a new share issue of SEK 400,000. The old Volvo consultants then got right back the next double issue proceeds. Already at the end of the year it was clear that the agreement with Volvo was a brilliant deal......for the ex-Volvo management at Fortos. Dagens Industri contacted Fortos CEO and partner Torbjorn Loof for comment. You were formerly a part of Volvo. How many employees are with you today? "There are thirty," says Torbjörn Lööf. You formed Fortos Management Consulting AB. Were you paid anything to take over operations from Volvo? "We have no such information we can share with you." Instead of selling to the highest bidder, Volvo has therefore commissioned a group of employees to take it over. These employees have thus undoubtedly profited at the expense of the shareholders from day one, sources claim. In addition, the balance sheet of Fortos at year-end contained advances from Volvo Group in the millions, the annual report shows. Meanwhile, other suppliers to Volvo have to wait 100 days for payment. According to Di task is Volvo's CFO Jan Gurander responsible for the settlement, then the group of internal consultants took over the business from the group instead of listing the unit on the open market. One paper, the deal was supposed to reduce Volvo's human resources and achieve Volvo’s goal of reducing staff costs, but in fact it ended up spending more on another cost item. Volvo plans to hire back its former employees from Fortos. "At Volvo, we have projects and work that remains to be done. These projects and work are now being handled by Fortos. Thus, Volvo need’s Fortos’ human resources to complete and implement these projects and work. It will be a better solution in terms of flexibility, "says Volvo spokesperson Joakim Kenndal. .

Unwanted invading economic migrants attempting to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the north coast of Africa from neighboring Morocco. Nothing but trouble. The European Union and Africa share only two land borders, Ceuta and Melilla, both of which are crucial crossing points for illegal African migrants entering Europe. .

Associated Press / September 11, 2016 French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Sunday, "There will be new attacks. There will be innocent victims." "Today the threat is at a maximum, and we are a target," Valls said. "Every day intelligence services, police, foil attacks, dismantle networks, track terrorists. There are about 15,000 people in France who are monitored, because these people are in the process of radicalisation." "We have almost 700 jihadists -- French or French residents -- fighting in Iraq and Syria," Valls said. "Out of these 700 jihadists, I'd like to remind (people) that there are 275 women and several dozens (of) minors." An additional 196 French jihadists died in Iraq and Syria, he said. France has been under a state of emergency since IS attacks on Paris in November killed 130 people in what President Francois Hollande called an "act of war". However, a recent commission of inquiry found the state of emergency was only having a "limited impact" on improving security. It questioned the deployment of between 6,000 and 7,000 soldiers to protect schools, synagogues, department stores and other sensitive sites. "Every Frenchman suspected of being linked to terrorism, because he regularly consults a jihadist website, or his behaviour shows signs of radicalisation or because is in close contact with radicalised people, must by preventively placed in a detention centre," says former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Associated Press / September 11, 2016 Australian politician and One Nation party leader Pauline Hanson has again called for Muslims to be banned from entering Australia and slammed the idea that 'lone wolf' terror attacks are carried out by people who are mentally ill. Joining fellow Senator Derryn Hinch on Monday, they gave support to new anti-terror bills set to be introduced into Parliament this week. 'We've seen that these refugees we've brought in are actually terrorists themselves, so let's take a hard stance on this. We don't know who these people are,' she said. 'There's no sign saying I'm a good Muslim of I'm a bad Muslim. We have to start protecting ourselves and our country.' Senator Hanson then reacted angrily when Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr pointed out that some recent attackers were mentally ill. 'I don't believe that. They are saying they have been radicalised, and that is the case. Have a look at what they're teaching in the mosques. 'That concerns me as well. Get tough in this country. I don't want to see another Australian killed. What a load of rubbish.' Senator Hanson reinforced her election pledge that banning Muslim people from migrating to Australia was the only thing that should be done. Despite acknowledging that 'a lot of Muslims are not terrorists', she repeatedly made it clear that the Australian government must take a 'hard line stance' on the matter. She called for the complete ban 'because of the mess Australia is in'. The two anti-terror bills are set to be passed by the government in Parliament later this week.

The Sydney Morning Herald / September 11, 2016 Police in Australia have charged a 22-year-old man with committing a terrorist act and attempted murder in southwest Sydney. They say he was inspired by ISIS. The radical Islamist attacker, Ihsas Khan, 22, was charged at Parramatta local court with committing a terrorist attack and attempted murder after 59-year-old Wayne Greenhalg was stabbed multiple times in Minto, Sydney. Khan repeatedly stabbed a 59-year-old Greenhalg in a suburban park, and then tried to stab a policeman. A large knife has been seized from the accused, who will appear in court later on Sunday. The victim, who was walking his dog in the park, suffered injuries to his body and hands, and remains in hospital in a serious condition. Ihsas Khan, 22, allegedly stabbed a stranger in an Islamic State-inspired attack on Saturday afternoon, chasing his victim while repeatedly yelling "someone is going to die today," witnesses said. Neighbours saw Khan waiting in a reserve on Ohlfsen Road for as long as 10 minutes before local man Wayne Greenhalgh, 59, came through the park on his daily walk. Greenhalgh was then stabbed several times with a large knife, suffering near-fatal wounds to his hands and body. He had to run for his life into a neighbour's home before Khan tried to smash his way in through a glass door while shouting "Allah Akbar". Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said it's possible that Mr Khan, who lives metres away from the site of the incident, attacked the stranger in an attempt to lure police and attack them. When officers tried to arrest him outside the Ohlfsen Road home, Khan attempted to stab an officer through the window using a large knife. Investigators have found information suggesting Khan had planned to commit an attack on Saturday that was inspired by ISIS. "We know this person has strong extremist beliefs inspired by ISIS. What made him actually act yesterday we don't know," she said. "There was clearly some planning yesterday that we do know about and that only came to light post the incident." "This clearly was a very volatile, very violent situation that police and the members of the community were confronted with." Police believe Khan, who also lives in Ohlfsen Road, didn't know his victim but Burn said he had "formed some views" about him in the immediate lead-up to the attack. Greenhalgh's wife said Khan had approached them earlier in the day with a Koran in his hand. "We thought he was going to ask us something and then he just turned around and went back home," she said. Khan had come to the attention of police before. However, he was not on a terrorism watch list and was not considered "front and centre" of the authorities' growing list of major investigations. Local police had been called on two occasions when Khan abused and threatened people in public for their non-Islamic behaviour. He was also charged with maliciously damaging property when he destroyed an Australian flag in 2013, yet the matter was dealt with under the Mental Health Act. Police say Khan is a hardline religious zealot and has serious mental health issues including schizophrenia. When police searched his family home on Saturday night, they found an electronic copy of Islamic State's magazine Dabiq and evidence he had been searching for extremist YouTube videos. In an interview with police, Khan said he knew the leader of ISIS and believed he was justified in killing people to protect and exact revenge for Sunni Muslims. "He said he wanted to do the worst he could do," police said. He told police he didn't know Greenhalgh but "disliked him" for reasons unknown. The attack has underscored the challenges facing authorities as they grapple with rapidly radicalised lone wolves who are not on their radar until tragedy strikes. "This is the new face of terrorism. This is the new face of what we deal with," Burn said. "There is an individual who is known to police for some matters and... for whatever reason becomes inspired to act. They are able to get some basic capability and act." One resident on Ohlfsen Road said Khan had stood outside her home a few days ago yelling at her in Arabic. Another resident said she saw him in the middle of the night pushing a wheel and axle and walking in and out of traffic. "It could have been any of us," the resident said. "None of us can believe it." The arrest comes two days after a teenage boy was charged with making threats at Sydney Opera House.

Okay. But with a call to Mack engineering, that Mack service location can fully answer your question without any doubts.

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Alike current EPA head Gina McCarthy, ex-New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman had ZERO qualifications to be head of the EPA (Jan 1, 2001 to June 27, 2003). She was/is totally clueless about the position. In fact, it’s been decades since the EPA had a “qualified” head. Instead, it has been largely lead by a long string of stooge politicians. The many individuals who have acted as Secretary of Transportation, including ex-Charlotte, North Carolina mayor Anthony Foxx, amounts to the same situation……not a single individual with “qualifications” applicable to the post. (City mayor…..transportation…..parallels? NOT) Why is the U.S. taxpayer paying for unqualified politicians to head key posts? If I ran my business this way, I’d be bankrupt within 12 months. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Former EPA head admits she was wrong to tell New Yorkers post-9/11 air was safe The Guardian / September 10, 2016 Christine Todd Whitman, who reassured the public over Ground Zero air, says: ‘I’m sorry. We did the very best we could … with the knowledge we had’ Christine Todd Whitman, who as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under George W Bush at the time of the 9/11 attacks told the public the air around Ground Zero in New York was safe to breathe, has admitted for the first time she was wrong. Among those who were exposed to toxins released when the WorldTradeCenter collapsed, the toll of illness and death continues to rise. Speaking to the Guardian for a report on the growing health crisis to be published on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the attacks, Whitman made an unprecedented apology to those affected but denied she had ever lied about the air quality or known at the time it was dangerous. “Whatever we got wrong, we should acknowledge and people should be helped,” she said, adding that she still “feels awful” about the tragedy and its aftermath. “I’m very sorry that people are sick,” she said. “I’m very sorry that people are dying and if the EPA and I in any way contributed to that, I’m sorry. We did the very best we could at the time with the knowledge we had.” She added: “Every time it comes around to the anniversary I cringe, because I know people will bring up my name, they blame me, they say that I lied and that people died because I lied, [they say] people have died because I made a mistake.” A week after two hijacked passenger jets were flown into the towers of the WorldTradeCenter, killing 2,753 people – 184 died in the Pentagon in WashingtonDC and 40 were killed when a United Airlines plane came down in a field in Pennsylvania – Whitman issued a statement. It said: “I am glad to reassure the people of New York … that their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink.” She has always maintained that as head of the EPA she was simply passing on what government scientists were telling her [because she was clueless about the profession], warning those working at Ground Zero itself to wear respirators but dismissing concerns over the surrounding area, which was engulfed in dust and ash. Three days after the attacks, Whitman, who had previously been the Republican governor of New Jersey, told reporters: “The good news continues to be that air samples we have taken have all been at levels that cause us no concern.” In 2003, the EPA inspector general criticized the agency’s handling of the crisis, finding that the EPA had no basis for its swift pronouncements about air quality. Politicians, including the then New York senator Hillary Clinton, laid into the Bush administration, accusing it of deceiving the public. More than 37,000 people registered with the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), a federal organisation set up in 2011 to oversee those affected by exposure to the toxins released at Ground Zero, have been declared sick. Many have chronic respiratory illnesses or cancer. More than 1,100 people covered by the WTCHP have died [an incompetent Whitman has the blood of Americans forever on her hands]. That number includes first responders who were at Ground Zero and people who lived and worked in the surrounding area. A WTCHP spokeswoman, ChristySpring, said: “We have a list of health conditions that the program provides medical monitoring and treatment for, established by the government to have been related to exposure to the dust and debris from the 9/11 attack on the WorldTradeCenter.” Whitman said: “If people are dying from this – and I have not seen the data – and they had believed everything was fine, then you have got to blame the message they were hearing, and what they were hearing was that the ambient air quality in Lower Manhattan at the time was OK.” Jerrold Nadler, a veteran US congressman whose district covers the WorldTradeCenter site, told the Guardian on Thursday that Whitman had never admitted she had been wrong about the air quality. “She knew or should have known” the air was dangerous, he said. In 2008, Nadler accused Whitman of causing thousands to suffer injury “and in some cases death” due to “unnecessary exposure to toxins released by the collapse of the WorldTradeCenter buildings”. In a ruling in a lawsuit brought by New York residents that year, a federal appeals court ruled that Whitman could not be held liable for health problems caused by the air around Ground Zero. On Friday, Whitman questioned the level of proof that the air made people sick, but said: “If this is a direct relation, we all screwed up.” She thought she was right at the time, she said, but added: “I can believe that the scientists may not have had all the information they needed.” Shortly after the attack on New York, Whitman said it was known that asbestos, lead and other toxins were in the wreckage of the Twin Towers, known as “the pile”, and that those working on rescue and recovery there should wear respirators. Most did not. As the city under Mayor Rudy Giuliani led the work at Ground Zero rather than the federal government, Whitman said, she had had no authority to enforce the recommended wearing of safety equipment. At the time, she said that beyond the pile, in the surrounding neighborhoods and the rest of Manhattan, the air did “not pose a public health hazard”.

Regarding the driver's environment, take particular note from 1:00. Respectfully speaking, there is no better heavy truck interior in the world today. If everyone here was able to spend even as little as five minutes behind the wheel, most would become believers. Paired with the V-8, this is heaven. Also note the redesign Opticruise (AMT) control stalk..........the industry best made even better by Scania engineers who constantly challenge their own benchmarks. .

When you spoke to the service department of your local Mack dealer and they researched your question, what was their answer ?

The Financial Times / September 9, 2016 US border residents fear traffickers more than illegal immigrants On a sweltering summer evening in southern Arizona, dozens of carpet-soled moccasins lie along the portico of a ranch 20 miles from Mexico, serving as a reminder of one of the biggest problems on the border: not illegal immigration, but drug trafficking. Interrupted only by the cicadas, Jim Chilton, a fifth-generation rancher, and his wife Sue explain that Mexican drug mules, who routinely traverse their 50,000 acres of land, cover the soles of the moccasins — which are then worn over shoes — with carpet to avoid leaving tracks that US border agents could follow. Mr Chilton, whose ranch stretches back to a simple barbed wire fence that separates the US from Mexico, was speaking the day before Donald Trump hardened his stance on illegal immigrants in a speech in Phoenix. The rancher says he backs the mogul and his plan to build a wall on the border because it would reduce the influence of the Mexican cartels. “We live in an area [of the U.S.] controlled by the [Mexican] Sinaloa cartel,” says Mr Chilton who has installed motion-sensor cameras on his land to capture video of the drug mules. “We have a mountain back here, Sinaloa cartel scouts resided on it. [On] all of the mountains back here, we’ve seen cartel scouts . . . In fact, they may be watching us now.” While Mr Trump’s wall has resonated from Iowa to Ohio, as well as with Mr Chilton, many border residents in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California are not concerned about illegal immigrants. A recent poll by Cronkite News, Univision News and The Dallas Morning News found that 72 per cent of Americans in border cities opposed the wall, although there has been no comparable study for rural areas, where the population is less Hispanic and where drug traffickers tend to have an easier time getting into the US than at the official border ports. Nohe Garcia, a Mexican-born rancher who has lived in the Arizona border city of Nogales for decades, says Mr Trump has created an ugly climate in the US with his deportation plan and rhetoric about Mexicans. “He’s trying to deport 11 million people. Are you going to be stopping me every day? Do I fit the profile and will I be stopped everywhere?” says Mr Garcia, who laments what he describes as “very hurtful” language from Mr Trump. One reason for the lack of concern in the area about illegal immigration is that it has been in decline, particularly since the 2007 financial crisis, as the US has fewer jobs to offer. According to the US Customs and Border Protection agency, the number of people caught crossing into the country illegally fell from 1.1m in 2006 to 337,000 last year. However, the amount of heroin and meth seized along the border has risen threefold during the past five years, helping to fuel an opiate epidemic and contributing to drug overdoses overtaking car accidents as the top cause of injury deaths in the US. Driving around Nogales, the closest border city to the Chilton ranch, Vincente Paco, a CBP agent, points out two cartel scouts on a hill in Nogales Sonora, a Mexican city on the other side of a three-mile border wall. “We are focused on targeting both [illegal immigrants and drugs] but the biggest threat is drug smuggling,” says Mr Paco, who says the trafficking business has been taken over by the cartels, which see migrants “as dollar signs” because they can serve as drug mules or be used as decoys inside the US. He says US agents and the cartels are playing a game of chess that involves watching each other closely and trying to ensure that their technology does not fall behind. Mr Chilton says his cowboys have found $2,500 satellite phones, $2,000 binoculars and other sophisticated equipment that scouts have left behind. And Mr Paco says the cartels use everything from tunnels and compressed-air cannons to sewage systems to get drugs into the US. While Mr Trump focuses on the crime of illegal immigration, Mr Chilton expresses sympathy for the migrants, saying that as many as 40 have died on his ranch. On the Mexican side of the wall in Nogales, images of candles are painted on the barrier as a memorial to the Mexicans who have lost their lives trying to complete the crossing into the US. Mr Chilton has 22 wells and 29 drinking fountains on his land where migrants can quench their thirst in the harsh desert heat, and these help reduce the number of deaths. And he has even offered water to armed traffickers who showed up outside his door looking for “agua” from the elderly couple. But he says the cartels are brutal in how they treat migrants, describing cases when women have been repeatedly raped and men have had their fingers cut off. Sue Chilton says the couple are not scared, but that when they notice that drug smugglers are in the area they turn off the lights and lay low in their kitchen until the mules have left [Something no American in America should have to do]. “How do we protect ourselves? We pack guns,” says Mr Chilton, who owns a .223 calibre ranch rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a Smith and Wesson pistol. “I have a gun with me everywhere I go.” Video - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d181cc8c-765e-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a.html .

The Hardox-steel Istrail body is superb. http://istrail.com/ http://www.ssab.us/products/brands/hardox/hardox-in-my-body

Unsealed papers in VW scandal reveal panic among engineers The Financial Times / September 9, 2016 As California regulators pursued Volkswagen to get to the bottom of its emissions scandal in the spring and summer of 2015, engineers at the carmaker who knew about the cheating were in a state of panic. A US legal filing unsealed on Friday shows a group of VW employees attempting to cover up the cheating as questions from the California Air Resources Board became more and more detailed. On April 28 2015, an unnamed VW employee wrote: “We only just need a plausible explanation as to why the emissions are still high!!!” On May 12, one employee wrote about the emissions discrepancies between test conditions and real-world conditions: “We need a story for the situation!" The emails are quoted in an indictment, dated June 1, against James Liang, 62, a veteran Volkswagen engineer who spent 30 years with the company. On Friday he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud US customers and regulators. As VW admitted one year ago, up to 11 million of its cars were equipped with illegal “defeat devices” to recognise when its cars were undergoing tests. By detecting vehicle speed, acceleration, air pressure and the position of the steering wheel, VW cars knew when they were on a dynamometer — a sort of treadmill for cars — used for emission tests. The car would then flick on emissions control software to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) pollution, hiding from regulators what it was actually spewing out in the real world. The discrepancies first came to light in March 2014, when a West VirginiaUniversity study raised questions about the real-world emissions of some VW cars. According to the case against Mr Liang, he and his team reacted to that study by pursuing “a strategy to disclose as little as possible” about the illegal software. They “intentionally made . . . false and fraudulent statements” to the Environmental Protection Agency and CARB to make the discrepancies appear as if they were “innocent mechanical and technological problems”. An official at CARB told the Financial Times in February that the emissions issue was initially treated as an anomaly, not an act of wilful misconduct. But he said VW engineers were unusually unco-operative. “They took issue with the way we conducted the tests, with the data we compiled, how we conducted the on-road measurements,” he said. With more time, it became “abundantly clear” something was off, because the car being tested was running “more cleanly when it was cold than when it was hot, contrary to all tenets of automotive engineering,” the official said. In the spring and summer of 2015, regulators improved their testing to effectively trick the cars into thinking they were on the open road. As a result the VW cars responded by emitting higher levels of NOx. The regulators soon discovered what appeared to be “a second set of commands” — one set for being on the road, another for test conditions. With its newfound knowledge, CARB asked more penetrating questions to the engineers, renewing panic with the community of employees involved in the cheating. On June 29, an unnamed VW employee wrote: “We must be sure to prevent the authority from testing the Gen 1!” — a reference to the EA 189 engine that Mr Liang helped design — “If the Gen 1 goes onto the roller at the CARB, then we'll have nothing more to laugh about!!!!” Another concedes on July 23: ”[C]ARB is still waiting for Answers . . . We still have no good explanations.” Mr Liang worked for VW in the Wolfsburg, Germany, headquarters, where he helped develop the illegal software in 2006. In 2008 he moved to VW’s Oxnard, California, facility, where he helped diesel engines fitted with the software to be certified. The engines were at the centre of a major push to popularise its “Clean Diesel” technology. After the West Virginia study came out in 2014, Mr Liang helped his co-conspirators “continue to lie to the EPA, CARB and VW customers”. He also admitted that when, in early 2015, Volkswagen recalled half a million cars to “fix” the emissions problem, he knew the recall would not work. Mr Liang’s role in the conspiracy therefore involved two parts: the original cheating, as well as a cover-up to mislead regulators once they were on a path to detect it. What is not known is whether Mr Liang’s cheating, and his move from Germany to the US, was directed by higher management. “He's not that senior in the totem poll,” an attorney familiar with the case said. “The normal game plan is that you reach a deal with the lower level guys, and you flip them.” Michelle Krebs of Autotrader.com, added: “It begs the question: OK, who's next? This is probably the first of many. How far up does this go? Companies had better pay attention because the feds aren't fooling around.”

If this is all true, I'm shocked at Colin Powell's casual attitude on security. From his knowledge as a high ranking army officer, he should know better.

Scania Group Press Release / September 9, 2016 Svempa’s legendary truck designs are known throughout the world. Now, 77-year old Sven-Erik “Svempa” Bergendahl has taken on a new challenge: designing the eye-catching Scania Mining Black Claw tipper truck. In addition to the striking exterior design, his personal touch is visible in the cab interior with customised upholstery of seats and door panels. Obviously, a truck deserving Svempa’s creative attention must be something out of the ordinary. And this truck certainly is. Built for Siberian off-road conditions, the 6×6 Scania P400 tipper truck has been fitted with super large 16.00R20 tyres. Broader tyres enable the truck to manoeuvre in Siberian permafrost conditions during the short window of opportunity for road construction when it briefly thaws. Rather than completely melting, the earth becomes a gooey blend of mud and sand, hindering traction. This truck thereby matches the performance of articulated dump trucks. Built for the harshest climate, the 14-cubic metre tipper body, which can be extended by an additional two cubic metres, has been equipped with exhaust gas heating and hydraulic vibration to prevent the load from freezing and sticking to the surface. Necessary chassis adjustments have been carried out to make room for the large tyres and the truck features an impressively high ground clearance. The heavyweight truck pushes the scales to 16.7 metric tonnes (36,817lb) with a loading capacity of 18.3 metric tonnes (40,345lb). https://www.scania.com/group/en/svempa-goes-off-road-with-black-claw/

Since Scania introduced the "SCR Only" 410hp and 450hp 13-liter powerplants in 2014 at the IAA show (video below), customers have been thrilled with them. Now, coinciding with the launch of Scania's next generation range, the truckmaker has added a 500hp rating to the "SCR Only" 13-liter engine family. Without a VGT and EGR cooler, engine complexity is reduced while performance and fuel economy are increased. .

The Fiat Ducato (Ram Promaster) and sister Peugeot "Boxer" (shown below) were developed by a Fiat-Peugeot joint venture. .

Dunn's Earthmoving CAT Trucks Australia / Navistar Auspac Press Release / September 9, 2016 NEIL DUNN – DUNNS EARTHMOVING – Director After two years working in Australia’s roughest desert conditions, Cat Trucks are redefining the meaning of versatility. The CT630LS model Cat Trucks never see a sealed road and are often in a different applications day after day, from construction support, to heavy machinery float work, to livestock haulage. The four Cat Trucks work in the fleet of Dunn’s Earthmoving, based deep in the Strzelecki Desert in South Australia, not far from Moomba. Neil Dunn reckons the Cat Trucks have been successful in his operation and have won driver acceptance. “The boys really like them, good to drive and the big bunks mean that when they have to camp in the trucks it’s pretty good,” he said. Operations Manager Trent Ulmer says, “They have certainly stood the test of time on some of the roughest roads in Australia. The trucks are proving their durability and structural integrity.” The CT630LS trucks are 90 tonne rated with a luxury sleeper cab. Cross locks are fitted on the diffs to handle the work in sand. The trucks are powered by the iconic Caterpillar C15 engine that gives more than enough power with a 550hp rating to do the hard yakka and the 1850 ft lb of torque pulls heavy loads through rough conditions with ease. An 18 speed Eaton overdrive transmission sending the power to the Meritor diffs and a PRIMAAX rear suspension complete the bush spec in the Dunn operation. Employing a staff of more than 120 people when the oil industry is running in top gear, Neil Dunn is facing the recent turndown with optimism. “Since oil prices went fro $110 to $26 a barrel, the mining industry shut the rigs down out here, shut up shop. But with oil prices back up to the $40s and $50s a barrel, they have cranked up again. We were pretty quiet for five or six months. Road maintenance kept us going, but we are back in the swing of things now with the rigs cranked up again,” Neil Dunn said. Operations Manager Trent Ulmer works from an office deep in a town-sized camp of transportable buildings at Padulla oil field. Surrounded by computers, whiteboards and maps he explained how the fly in fly out system works. “The crews on the job sites work three weeks on, three weeks off. Admin, tradies and management work two on two off, it’s a system that works well,” he said. Trent Ulmer works back to back with his opposite number, operations manager Craig MacDonald, two weeks on and two weeks off. Neil Dunn and his son, general manager William, work similarly so that there is a Dunn on site twenty-four seven. About the Cat Trucks, “They are handling the work fantastically and holding out really well. They have been a great addition to our fleet,” Trent Ulmer said. The service backup from the Cavpower base in Moomba, only 80 km away, is a major consideration to the boss, Neil Dunn. “Any problems we can just run them into Moomba and they have all the fault finding gear, not that we’ve used it much. They’ve proved themselves so far and this country is pretty tough on machinery”.

McAleese continues to spark critique Prime Mover Magazine / September 8, 2016 Following McAleese’s voluntary administration last week, two executives from advisory form Grant Thornton have now taken on roles within the business. According to the Australian Financial Review, creditor SC Lowy brought in Grant Thornton's Head of Financial Advisory, Said Jahani, and fellow partner, Gayle Dickerson, as receivers to two specific parts of McAleese. “It's understood Grant Thornton were charged with overseeing cash held in one McAleese entity, McAleese Finance, and the company's book of debtors, which back a working capital facility provided by SC Lowy,” the newspaper found. McAleese's day-to-day operations and financing – and decisions around the company's future – remain in the hands of the board appointed administrator McGrathNicol. Meanwhile, Melbourne business expert, Brendan Richards, continued to criticise the McAleese management for not taking action early enough. “It’s easy to think that McAleese was a victim of changing fortunes – a combination of an unforgiving industry downturn in the mining and resources sector and even more unforgiving landlords who wouldn’t consider a rent reduction in tough times,” he wrote in his monthly column for Prime Mover magazine, which will come out in early October. “But that ignores everything else – troubled acquisitions, poor investments, a huge debt burden, and grumpy bankers. At the heart of the McAleese collapse is something hardly anyone ever talks about – and that is blind faith in persisting with a failed strategy.” Update: According to The Australian, some 70 businesses have already expressed interest in the whole of McAleese or some of its assets since offers were sought last week. Meanwhile, the corporate regulator (ASIC) has pressured administrators to push ahead with a spill vote of the board in a move that could see major shareholder and CEO, Mark Rows­thorn, dumped from a company.