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Caterpillar’s 2020 Outlook Adds More Gloom to Virus-Shaken Markets Joe Deaux, Bloomberg / January 31, 2020 Caterpillar Inc., a worldwide barometer for manufacturing, is warning of more pain to come for the global economy in 2020. The heavy-equipment maker is projecting that its profits for the year will trail analysts’ estimates by as much as $2 a share. The weak outlook comes just as markets are reeling from the worsening outbreak of the coronavirus, a slump in manufacturing activity and major cutbacks in spending. “We expect continued global economic uncertainty to pressure sales to users in 2020 and cause dealers to further reduce inventories,” CEO Jim Umpleby said. Caterpillar has been trying to cut costs and trim inventories as demand in some of its main markets trails production. The outlook signals further headwinds for machine sales, which fell the most in almost three years last month. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings statement was released before the start of regular trading in New York. Caterpillar shares slipped 1.9% to $132.75 at 9:32 a.m. Profit in the fourth quarter topped analysts’ estimates, with the company citing “strong cost control” as helping to offset its demand issues. “We expect to be sort of flat to down 5% for our business in China, because of general market conditions, competitor positioning and so forth,” Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield said Friday. “It’s a very competitive market, we were down slightly this year, even in an upmarket because of competition. So we got to get out there and fight.” Bonfield said Caterpillar expects U.S. residential and non-residential construction to decline, while investment in state and local infrastructure will be stable. He also said capital spending in mining will continue to increase in 2020, but that the recovery has been “much more slow and steady,” as companies are “maintaining capital discipline.” Caterpillar expects share buybacks in 2020 to be at a “similar level” to those in 2018 and 2019, Bonfield said. The outlook clouds prospects for the company that reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $2.63 per share, beating the $2.37 average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. “Strong cost control more than offset lower-than-expected end-user demand” helping the company report better-the-expected fourth-quarter results, Umpleby said. The company expects the bulk of the inventory drawdown to happen in the first half of the year, Bonfield said on an earnings call with analysts. CFRA (S&P Global) has downgraded Caterpillar (CAT) from hold to sell, and reduced its 1-year target price from $156 to $120.

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / January 30, 2020 Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Germany’s Knorr-Bremse AG, is buying R.H. Sheppard Co. Inc. from Wabco, a move that it says helps cement parent company’s position as a global supplier of integrated steering and braking systems as a basis for highly automated driving and advanced driver assistance systems. Sheppard is a supplier of steering technologies for commercial vehicles. Wabco is in the process of being acquired by ZF, which has its own advanced steering offerings. Closing on the $149.5 million deal is subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is contingent upon the closing of the ZF acquisition of Wabco. The move follows Knorr-Bremse’s spring 2019 acquisition of the commercial vehicle steering division of Hitachi Automotive Systems in Japan. “For Bendix and the North American marketplace in particular, this is a strong combination of two market leaders and an ideal addition to our evolving product and solutions portfolio,” said Michael Hawthorne, Bendix president and CEO. “The Sheppard product portfolio will further enable us to better respond to the requirements of North American customers in the different market segments and to offer tailor-made system solutions for the full range North American commercial vehicles.” Related reading - https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/51040-europe’s-wabco-acquires-steering-gear-maker-rh-sheppard/?tab=comments#comment-380222

The gentleman in the video says the silver bulldog means its a Mack truck because it's supported by vendors like Cummins, Allison and Meritor??? I thought a Mack truck had a pedigreed drivetrain? We did offer vendor drivetrains for stubborn fleets like Roadway, but a real Mack truck incorporated our self-designed engines, transmissions and axles. If having a Cummins engine means it's a Mack truck, then one assumes the Class 8 Macks come with Cummins engines........but they aren't even an option. Only the slow selling niche market Granite MHD has an ISL, and the Cummins-Westport ISX12N natural gas powerplant in select models. The Cummins X12 and X15 are not available in any Mack models.

Traton Makes Much-Anticipated Bid to Acquire Navistar Jack Roberts, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / January 31, 2020 News broke late Jan. 30 that Volkswagen’s global truck unit, Traton SE, is finally making its long-anticipated bid to fully acquire all stock holdings of Navistar International. Since 2016, Volkswagen, through subsidiary Traton, has acquired a nearly 17% stake in Navistar. Now the company has made an unsolicited bid to acquire the remaining Navistar stake for $35 a share, representing a 45% premium on the company’s closing price of $24.07 a share on Thursday, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. This would put Navistar’s total valuation at $3.5 billion, WSJ added. Shares in Navistar rose 51% in after-hours trading. Traton and Navistar Traton was formed in 2018 out of Volkswagen’s Truck and Bus Group, in order to spearhead the German automaker's push to become a major player in the global commercial vehicle market. That bid included establishing a presence in North America – the world’s highest volume commercial vehicle market. To further that goal, Volkswagen had already developed a close relationship with Navistar, in 2016 announcing a strategic alliance that included various research and development projects. That alliance has helped lead to Navistar introducing a version of Volkswagen truck brand MAN’s diesel engine as the International A26 engine for International Class 8 trucks and more recently, a prototype electric medium-duty truck. Navistar struggled in the wake of its controversial decision on how to meet the Environmental Protection Agency's emissions 2010 standards. It decided to forego selective catalytic reduction (SCR) downstream exhaust technology to reduce diesel emissions in favor of advanced exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology. The company’s MaxxForce family of diesel engines were plagued with technical issues, largely related to the significant increase in waste heat they generated due to their advanced EGR systems, and Navistar’s commercial vehicle market share and stock price suffered as a result. Navistar endured a long series of lawsuits over the failure of the MaxxForce engines to perform as advertised, but settled all pending complaints and “closed the books” on those engines last year. In a press statement, Traton said that as the global commercial vehicle industry continues to evolve, it believes that the proposed transaction is the logical next step and would result in even greater benefits. Traton said the combined company would be better able to meet the demands of new regulations and rapidly developing technologies in connectivity, propulsion and autonomous driving. Combining Traton’s leading position in the European and South American markets with Navistar’s presence in North America would create a leader with global reach and complementary capabilities, it said. “Over the past three years, we have benefitted from a highly collaborative and productive strategic alliance with Navistar,” Traton CEO Andreas Renschler said in the press statement. “As the market continues to evolve, we believe there are compelling strategic and financial benefits to a full combination of Traton and Navistar. The proposed transaction would create a leader in commercial vehicles with global scale and a strong portfolio of leading brands and cutting-edge products, technologies and services while delivering immediate and substantial value to Navistar stockholders.” The transaction would also provide substantial value to Navistar stockholders through an immediate and certain cash premium, it noted. Will a Traton-Navistar Deal Happen? Navistar issued a news release confirming the news of the offer, saying it would carefully review and evaluate the proposal, and advised its shareholders to take no action at this time. “There can be no assurance that any negotiations between Navistar and Traton regarding this proposal will take place, and if such negotiations do take place, there can be no assurance that any transaction with Traton will occur or be consummated," the statement read. A report in Barron's noted that one stumbling block could be the need to win over Navistar's largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, whose fund controls 16.9% of Navistar’s shares. "Icahn and two other activist funds, Mark Rachesky’s MHR Fund Management and Gabelli Funds, together own 40% of Navistar’s shares, according to Refinitiv data," Barron's reported. "Rachesky and another MHR executive, Raymond Miller, sit on Navistar’s board [of directors], as does a representative of Icahn’s interests. Traton Chief Executive Andreas Renschler and the German truck maker’s chief financial officer, Christian Schulz, also have seats on Navistar’s board." That board, as Navistar noted in its statement, "in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, will carefully review and evaluate the proposal in the context of Navistar's strategic plan for the company in order to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders." Jeffery Kaufman, managing director for Loop Capital and a Navistar shareholder, told HDT in a statement that the Traton offer “feels light.” “We reaffirm our Buy rating and $38 price target based on forward fundamentals,” Kaufman said in a market analysis his firm issued on the proposed deal. “We believe the unsolicited proposal by Traton SE to take over the remaining 83.2% of the company that it doesn't own is inadequate. Recall that during Navistar's analyst day last fall, implied management targets to 2024 suggest a $120+ share price over the next five years. Clearly the cycle will be near a low point for the next 12-18 months, and coming in with a bid to acquire the shares makes sense – however, our current sum-of-parts valuation for Navistar yields $51.”

VW Plots U.S. Truck Expansion With $2.9 Billion Navistar Offer Bloomberg / January 30, 2020 Volkswagen offered to buy the rest of Navistar International in a $2.9 billion bid to secure a bridgehead in the U.S. heavy-truck market and step up its challenge to Daimler and Volvo. The expansion was somewhat offset by Volkswagen’s first major divestment since the German automaker skidded into the diesel-emissions scandal in 2015. An agreement to sell industrial machinery unit Renk AG, valued at 760 million euros ($840 million), indicates VW is more inclined to bulk up than slim down, even amid the costly shift to electric cars. The swoop for Navistar would reduce the reliance of VW’s heavy-truck unit Traton SE on Europe and South America. While the deal could help the company vie with Daimler and Volvo in North America, heavy-truck makers are preparing for a downturn after years of growth. Navistar, truck-engine maker Cummins and supplier Meritor announced thousands of job cuts late last year. VW’s heavy-truck division was created from acquisitions of Germany’s MAN and Sweden’s Scania. The unit had for years struggled to combine the operations before hiring former Daimler executive Andreas Renschler, who successfully spearheaded a partial listing of Traton last year. Traton offered Navistar holders $35 a share in cash, 45% higher than its Thursday closing price. Lisle, Illinois-based Navistar -- which builds International-brand trucks, school buses, defense vehicles and engines -- said its board will review the proposal and there’s no assurance the deal will take place. Shares of Navistar, whose biggest holder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn, soared as much as 53% to $36.79 in late trading on Thursday. VW, which already owns a stake of almost 17%, gained 0.4%. at 9:51 a.m. in Frankfurt on Friday. Traton shares rose 0.3%. VW purchased its stake in Navistar in September 2016, laying the groundwork for a footprint in North America, the truck industry’s largest source of profits. Daimler’s Freightliner and Volvo’s Mack divisions generate significant sales in the region. It’s unclear whether VW’s offer will satisfy Icahn, 83, and Mark Rachesky, the founder and chief investment officer of MHR Fund Management, which is Navistar’s third-largest shareholder with a 16% stake. Icahn, who first bought into Navistar in 2011, built his holding with an average cost per share of $33.62, and the stock has traded below that level for most of the last year. Rachesky’s average price paid was $27.80. Rare Streamlining If a deal closes, VW will take over a company in the midst of a fix-it job. Navistar said in December it will reduce employment by 10% and cut its 2020 revenue forecast to a range of $9.25 billion to $9.75 billion, below analysts’ lowest estimate. Alongside the expansion, Wolfsburg, Germany-based VW agreed to sell Renk to private equity firm Triton Partners. The company was acquired as part of the automaker’s acquisition of MAN and represents a rare streamlining move by VW, which has been reviewing its non-core businesses for years with little progress.

But there’s nothing special about it. It has nothing at all over the T270/370, which is at this late stage firmly established in the market. Unless they price them competitively, which Volvo never does..........

I found a video. It's not on the Mack brand YouTube site, but rather the obscure customer center site. I don’t care for the loud obnoxious music. I’d rather hear a confidence-inspiring voice telling me about the truck. .

Volvo unveils Mack medium-duty lineup to be built in Virginia Truck News / January 30, 2020 ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Mack Trucks is returning to the medium-duty truck market with a new Class 6/7 lineup that will be assembled at a dedicated facility in Roanoke County, Virginia. Known as the MD Series, the trucks begin serial production late this summer and are available for order today. The new Roanoke Valley Operations location represents a US $13-million investment for the OEM, 250 new jobs, and an annual economic impact of $364 million for the region. It was supported by a $700,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund. “This is an exciting day for Roanoke County,” said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, before joining Mack Trucks executives and other government representatives to cut a ribbon to open the plant. The project has been in the works for about two years but was a tightly guarded secret prior to the announcement. Medium-duty truck market “Mack Trucks is very proud to make this investment and to now offer a full lineup of Class 6 to Class 8 commercial vehicles, serving virtually every segment of the market,” said Mack president Martin Weissburg. “With this investment, Mack is well-positioned for future success.” “The Class 6/7 market has been historically stable, 90,000 to 100,000 trucks a year in U.S. and Canada,” added Jonathan Randall, senior vice-president of North American sales and marketing. “We have a lot of customers already in our portfolio who already run medium-duty trucks, and they’ve been asking us for a single-source solution for quite a while.” “Now we feel our family portrait is complete,” he said. Mack hasn’t had a medium-duty offering since discontinuing the Freedom model in 2002. Earlier offerings in these weight classes included the MC Series and Midliner. “This isn’t new to us in any shape or form,” Randall said of the business segment. “[But] the Freedom was a heavily Renault-based truck, and this is all a North American-based truck.” The Mack MD The Class 6 Mack MD6 has a GVWR of 25,995 lb., while its Class 7 MD7 counterpart has a GVWR of 33,000 lb. They’ll focus on applications including dry van, refrigerated, stake/flatbed, dump and tank trucks, and be available in 4×2 configurations. The truck will be available in eight wheelbase lengths, supporting typical bodies that run from 10 to 26 feet. A 103-inch bumper-to-back-of-cab measurement will help to load up the front axle and deliver a tight turning radius as well. The Mack MD will come equipped with a Cummins B6.7 engine that can deliver 220-300 hp and 560-660 lb.-ft of torque, and Meritor front and rear axles. An Allison 2500HS six-speed automatic transmission will be standard, although an Allison 2500RDS is available for those who need a PTO. “They started from a solid foundation for the chassis, for the cab, for the exterior, for the interior,” said Roy Horton, director – product strategy. ‘Strength is at the very core’ Base models will ride on a spring suspension, although a Mack Maxlite air suspension is optional. Wheels will come in a standard 22.5-inch size, but 19.5-inch wheels are also available. “We’ve made the 120,000-psi steel frame rails standard,” Horton added, noting the industry standard is 80,000 psi. “Strength is at the very core of our image.” The cab itself will ride on an air suspension rather than rubber blocks, and includes several features found elsewhere in the Mack product family. The grille and hood match the styling of the Mack Anthem, introduced in late 2017, while the cab is a variation on the Mack Granite. Inside, drivers will find the same flat-bottom steering wheel used in the other trucks. Other features include power windows and door locks, cruise control, an air-ride driver’s seat, and optional two passenger bench seat with storage underneath. Telematics support will come in the form of a Geotab Go Rugged system, offering access to the Mack Uptime Center, as well as OneCall and ASIST support. The MD6 can be operated without a commercial driver’s licence when moving non-hazardous payloads. Mack’s new home The new Roanoke Valley Operations location was chosen to leverage several advantages. “From a logistics standpoint, the proximity to global headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina was a significant piece,” said James Chenier, senior vice-president – strategy and business development. The facility itself also required few modifications. “Proximity is important to us,” Randall said. “It fit our logistics really, really well.” The cabs will also be painted at Volvo Trucks North America’s nearby New River Valley plant. “This is a completely new platform, completely new product, and does not take anything out of LVO [Lehigh Valley Operations],” Randall stressed. The newly announced jobs offset Mack’s recent decision to lay off 305 employees from the LVO plant in Pennsylvania because of a downturn in the heavy truck market. Laid-off employees will have a chance to apply for roles in the new location, he said. “This is a great day for all Virginia,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. .

Volvo Unveils Medium-Duty Mack Truck Plant in Southwest Virginia Transport Topics / January 30, 2020 SALEM, Va. — Mack Trucks opened a facility to produce a new series of medium-duty trucks in southwest Virginia. Mack executives joined Virginia officials to unveil the plant, called Roanoke Valley Operations, on Jan. 30. The site will specialize in assembling medium-duty commercial motor vehicles. The 280,000-square-foot space, perched in the Blue Ridge Mountains, was converted from an industrial printing facility. The company invested $13 million, a sum that covered equipment, tooling and building enhancements. The plant is scheduled to start production in July. Mack will start taking truck orders immediately. “It’s a new product, it’s a new facility here, and it’s new jobs,” Mack Trucks President Martin Weissburg said. “We know this is the right place for this big investment.” Specifically, the plant will be used to assemble the Mack MD series. The Mack MD6 is a Class 6 truck that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 25,995 pounds. The Mack MD7 is a Class 7 truck that has a weight rating of 33,000 pounds. The trucks will be equipped with new lightweight chassis. Also new is the series’ air-suspended cab, which Director of Product Strategy Roy Horton said is meant to improve driver comfort and vehicle durability. The trucks are furnished with multiple grab handles, which a driver can use when entering and exiting the vehicle. The interior of each cab features a wraparound dashboard and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. The trucks are equipped with cruise control as well as power window controls and door locks. “For us, strength is at the very core of our image,” Horton said. “It’s a sharp-looking truck.” The trucks will be supported with Go Rugged telematics devices, produced by fleet management company Geotab. In terms of powertrain, the trucks will have Cummins B6.7 engines, Allison transmissions and Meritor front and rear axles. Each truck will feature a silver bulldog on its hood. The silver ornament signifies the truck contains components (such as an engine and transmission) that were not created by Mack. Gold bulldogs, which Jonathan Randall, senior vice president for North American sales, called the “purebred,” means a truck has all Mack components. Roanoke Valley Operations is projected to create 250 jobs, according to Gov. Ralph Northam, who approved a $700,000 grant from the commonwealth’s Development Opportunity Fund to support the project. “It is especially rewarding when we come to more rural parts of Virginia,” Northam said. “We have one of the most talented workforces.” This series marks Mack’s re-entry into medium-duty trucks. The Mack Freedom [Renault Midlum] was discontinued in 2002. Randall noted the MD series will translate into various applications, such as flatbeds, dump trucks, tank trucks and refrigerated loads. He said the customers who probably will find these vehicles useful specialize in something other than trucking, such as beer distributors and lumber professionals. “This is a natural extension of our brand,” Randall said. “Now, our family portrait, we believe, is complete.” Salem, which lies 7 miles west of Roanoke, toes Interstate 81. A major freight corridor, I-81 runs through Virginia for 325 miles. Weissburg said the new plant’s location complements Mack’s Mid-Atlantic footprint. Parent company Volvo Group has a manufacturing facility in Dublin, Va., about 45 miles west of Salem. .

"If" they had their act together, the Mack brand website would include the new MD Series on announcement day. It does not. https://www.macktrucks.com/trucks/ A YouTube MD Series promotional video would be a nice touch on announcement day as well. But hey, what could I possibly know.

Bob, they're using an abandoned facility outside Salem, formerly home to LSC Communications, and reconfigured it for truck "assembly". The Roanoke County and the City of Salem, Virginia, are thrilled. In 2018, Camrett Logistics purchased a 280,900-square-foot manufacturing building at 6450 Technology Drive that sits on 134 acres, just outside Salem, in Roanoke County. Volvo is leasing from Camrett Logistics, so they can bail when the truck flops. Foreign aggressor Volvo should give thanks to the American engineers of the former Mack Trucks for that CA/CH/DH cab, who made this new model possible. .

Volvo opens manufacturing facility in Virginia for new Mack medium-duty truck line Jason Cannon, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / January 30, 2020 Mack Trucks on Thursday cut the ribbon on a new production facility in Salem, Virginia, that the company will use to build a new medium duty truck lineup. Mack’s Roanoke Valley Operations (RVO) – a 280,000 square foot facility, representing an investment of $13 million in Roanoke County – will employ upwards of 250 people and is charged with birthing Mack’s new MD6 and MD7, Class 6 and Class 7 trucks, respectively. Jonathan Randall, Mack Trucks senior vice president of North American sales and marketing, noted the official unveiling of RVO and the company’s expanded lineup caps a process that started two years ago. Governor Ralph Northam has approved a $700,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund for the project. Mack’s investment will be being used for equipment, tooling and building enhancements. “This is a great day for Salem, a great day for Roanoke County and a great day for all of Virginia,” said Brian Ball, Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade. Unemployment in Virginia sits at 2.6%, a full percent below the national average, and Mack Trucks President Martin Weissburg cited the local pool of potential employees as an attraction to the area, which is also strategically positioned between Mack’s Geeensboro, N.C. headquarters and its Allentown, Pennsylvania truck production site. It’s also less than an hour from sister company Volvo Trucks North America’s New River Valley truck production site. “We’re excited about being part of being part of this community,” Weissburg said. The operation is expected to have annual impact of $364 million across the region. The Mack MD6 & MD7 Mack’s new medium duty entries – the Class 6 MD6 and Class 7 MD7 – unlocks new over the road segments for the truck maker. The Mack MD6 has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 25,995 pounds, and the MD7 model has a GVWR of 33,000 pounds. Both are exempt from the 12% Federal Excise Tax (FET). Serial production of the trucks is set to begin this summer and the company is already taking orders. The MD lineup becomes the first automotive project in the State of Virginia to go from prototype to production, and targets trucking applications in dry van and refrigerated segments, and stake/flatbed, dump and tank truck vocations. The exterior is stylized similarly to Mack’s on-highway champion, Anthem, but the new MD trucks will be equipped with Cummins 6.7 liter engine and made available in a 4×2 configuration. Mack says both models will feature a sharp wheel cut for urban maneuverability and noted the MD Series cab design features a short, industry-leading, 103-inch bumper-to-back-of-cab (BBC) measurement. .

Volvo launches Mack medium-duty truck line The Morning Call / January 30, 2019 Mack is back in the business of medium-duty trucks. The truck maker on Thursday launched its all-new Mack MD series of medium-duty trucks. As part of the announcement, Mack announced a $13 million investment to establish its Roanoke Valley Operations, which will be a new manufacturing site in Virginia that will handle production of the MD series. Production of the Mack MD Series is slated to begin in July. The project will create 250 jobs in Virginia. “Mack Trucks is very proud to make this investment and to now offer a full lineup of Class 6 to Class 8 commercial vehicles, serving virtually every segment of the market,” Mack President Martin Weissburg said in a statement. “With this investment, Mack is well-positioned for future success, and we’re taking orders for the new truck beginning today.” The Mack MD6, a Class 6 model, has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 25,995 pounds, and the MD7, a Class 7 model, has a GVWR of 33,000 pounds. The new trucks could be used for applications such as dry vans/refrigerated, flatbeds and dump and tank trucks. The announcement confirms Mack’s long-rumored re-entrance into the medium-duty truck market. Last February, The Morning Call reported that Mack was working on a project in the Salem area, near Roanoke, and hiring engineers there. Mack and its parent, the Sweden-based Volvo Group, had declined to answer questions at the time about whether the project was related to a potential medium-duty truck line. Right now, all Mack vehicles for the North American market are assembled at the company’s Lower Macungie Township assembly plant, which pumps out semitrucks, construction and garbage trucks. The local union’s contract does not allow Mack to shift the Lower Macungie plant’s existing work. But the operation in Virginia is a new product line.

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / January 30, 2020 Mack Trucks is getting into the medium-duty business, announcing an all-new Mack MD series of medium-duty trucks on Jan. 30, with production to start in July in a new manufacturing facility in Roanoke Valley, Virginia. The Mack MD6, a Class 6 model, has a gross vehicle weight rating of 25,995 pounds, and the MD7, a Class 7 model, has a GVWR of 33,000 pounds. Mack said the trucks will meet the needs of trucking applications requiring dry van/refrigerated, stake/flatbed, dump and tank truck vocations. The Mack MD Series is an all-new model range built specifically for medium-duty applications. Available in 4x2 configurations, the MD6 and MD7 models feature a sharp wheel cut for enhanced maneuverability for tough urban settings. The new trucks will be supported by Mack’s dealer network. Mack also announced a $13 million investment to establish its Roanoke Valley Operations (RVO), a new manufacturing facility in Roanoke Valley, Virginia, for the production of the Mack MD Series. The project will result in the creation of 250 new jobs. “Mack Trucks is very proud to make this investment and to now offer a full lineup of Class 6 to Class 8 commercial vehicles, serving virtually every segment of the market,” said Martin Weissburg, Mack Trucks president. “With this investment, Mack is well-positioned for future success, and we’re taking orders for the new truck beginning today.” .

Exactly. It was my understanding that tightening emissions regulations brought about their demise in North America. But today, I still see many 7.8-litre powered Louisvilles with the "Ford Diesel" emblem and the operators I'm able to question are extremely loyal to them.

I can not. Within Mack, I was distanced from Ford. Bob is our best Ford expert from that era.

GMC's Hummer EV Pickup Is Real, Will Have 1000 HP Car & Driver / January 30, 2020 General Motors' new all-electric pickup truck will wear the hallowed Hummer name when it officially arrives in late 2021. Though it's technically badged as a GMC, this new model sounds like it will be unlike any truck we've seen before from GM. The company is making some wild claims about its capability as part of a Super Bowl ad campaign: 1000 horsepower, 11,500 lb-ft of torque, and a zero-to-60-mph sprint of 3.0 seconds. That torque figure sounds suspicious to us, so we're thinking that it's a measure of the amount of wheel torque, meaning it's multiplied through the truck's gear ratio. The amount of torque actually produced by the electric motors would probably be more like 1150 lb-ft. We asked GMC for clarification, and a spokesperson told C/D that the company is not getting more specific at this point. The first teaser photo of the GMC Hummer EV shows a futuristic-looking front end with LED headlights, a light bar across the grille, and a massive Hummer badge split up into six segments with a small EV badge at the end. A far less prominent GMC badge is mounted lower on the bumper. We assume the Hummer will be sized like a full-size, half-ton pickup truck given the huge power numbers GM is touting early in the game. It sounds like it will be the first electric vehicle built in GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan. The company recently announced a $2.2 million investment in this facility to build EVs. Before its official debut on May 20, 2020, the revived Hummer's first real introduction to the world will be a Super Bowl ad campaign set to air this Sunday, February 2. The full ads are rumored to feature basketball star LeBron James, and from the teasers GMC has released, they accentuate the truck's quietness and highlight the horsepower, torque, and acceleration claims. .

I felt the Brazilian New Holland 6.6-litre and particularly the 7.8-litre performed well in North America. Would you not agree Bob? https://www.dieselhub.com/specs/ford-new-holland-6.6-7.8-diesel.html

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The 12.7-liter Cursor 13 Ford purchased was found in agricultural machinery, while the 12.9-liter Cursor 13 is used in Iveco trucks.

It is not the Cursor13 you know from Iveco Trucks. I heard Ford acquired another Fiat Powertrain engine, previously used on New Holland agricultural machinery, and had AVL revise/update it.

Ford Bronco SUV, with Raptor-like tires, spotted Michael Martinez, Automotive News / January 28, 2020 Ford Motor Co.'s Bronco SUV is starting to come into focus more than three years after the automaker confirmed its existence. Spy photographers captured images of a heavily camouflaged four-door variant recently in Dearborn, Mich., although the model teases more features than previously spotted test mules. The latest off-road prototype features wider flared fenders, a raised suspension and Goodyear Wrangler tires similar to those used on F-150 Raptor variants. It's unclear whether Ford would offer a Bronco Raptor, but the test vehicle exemplifies its desire to seriously challenge Jeep in the off-road market. The Bronco's signature round headlights can be seen peeking out from the front cover. Dealers who have seen the vehicle said it features a retro design with round lights and the word "Bronco" stamped in the grille. The camo features black dots depicting off-road activities, with the Bronco horse logo and letters spelling out the name of the vehicle. Ford does not comment on future products. The automaker plans to build two- and four-door versions of the Bronco. It's designed to be customizable, with a removable hard top and removable doors that can be stored in the cargo area, according to those who have seen it. The side mirrors will be attached to the front pillars so they remain in place when the doors are taken off, unlike the Jeep Wrangler — one of the chief rivals Ford is targeting with the Bronco revival. Ford plans to unveil the 2021 Bronco in the spring. It's possible the reveal could come around the time of the Detroit auto show, which this year was moved to early June after years of taking place in January. .