kscarbel2

Heavy Duty Trucking / June 10, 2016 A California judge has ruled that the California Air Resources Board erred in delaying the enforcement of stricter diesel emission rules for certain heavy-duty truck operators. The ruling by the Superior Court of California’s Central Division sets aside delays amended to the state’s Truck and Bus clean-air rule by CARB in 2014, ostensibly to level the playing field between large and small truck operations. In a statement, CARB said those amendments “provide badly needed flexibility to smaller fleets (three trucks or less), lower-use vehicles including those operated by small farmers, and fleets in some rural areas.” The agency said it will immediately file an appeal, which “will maintain the status quo while the case makes its way through the higher courts.” CARB said that as the case makes its way through the Court of Appeal process, its statewide staff will continue to enforce the regulation and will cite those vehicles found to be out of compliance. “We strongly disagree with the court, and will file an appeal in all possible haste,” said Jack Kitowski, head of CARB’s Mobile Source Division, which is in charge of putting the regulation into effect on a daily basis. “We don’t want to see small fleets and farmers hurt by this decision.” The lawsuit was filed by John R. Lawson Rack and Oil of Fresno and the California Trucking Association, which alleged that CARB did not follow the proper procedures of the Administrative Procedures Act and the California Environmental Quality Act in adopting the amendments. “This ruling confirms that CARB failed to properly consider the impact on business and the environment when it pulled the rug out from under thousands of compliant fleets by not enforcing the rules across the board, to all trucks on California roadways,” said Shawn Yadon, CEO of CTA. “This is an important ruling for all businesses operating in California because it supports the requirement that regulatory agencies must evaluate the economic impact of their actions.” “In 2014, said CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey, “we recognized the extreme economic pressures experienced by smaller trucking fleets and independent owners as they sought to comply by upgrading or purchasing new equipment. We responded by amending the regulation to make it more flexible for ‘the little guys’ to comply. This court decision negates those amendments and deals a profound blow the smaller fleets, small farmers and independent owners.” CTA’s Yadon told HDT that the lawsuit “was not about big carrier vs. small carrier. CARB’s amendments picked winners and losers, with the losers being those operators and carriers who stepped up and complied with the rule, at great cost. "Those compliant operators and carriers were then placed in an unfair competitive landscape alongside those who had not complied and had not stepped up and incurred those significant compliance costs,” he added. Yadon noted that during CARB’s April, 2014 public hearing on amending the delays to the clean-air rule, truck operators and small trucking companies “detailed significant financial hardships to comply with the rule, and spoke in opposition to the amendments to allow non-compliant operators a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Upon hearing directly from operators/carriers about the economic impacts the amendments would create, CARB voted to approve the amendments without conducting the thorough economic impact analysis required under the California Administrative Procedures Act.” Joe Rajkovacz, Director of Governmental Affairs and Communications for the Western States Trucking Association, which did not have a position on the case, told HDT that the decision was not unexpected. He said that WSTA was “responsible for helping create the flexibility options” and was “successful in politicking the board in 2014 for these compliance options.” Rajkovacz said that an appeal of the ruling could take years. “One of the flexibility options (for small fleets) effectively expires on January 1, 2018,” he noted, “rendering any final decision potentially moot should the appeals court affirm the trial court’s decision.”

If I was running a truck (logistics) company in Western Europe, or some other parts of the world, say Singapore or Malaysia, I would consider a Volvo. But in the US......never. All you have to do is listen to what the distributor principals, and veteran sales, parts and service people have to say.

GM Gives Some Van Work to Navistar The Wall Street Journal / June 9, 2016 General Motors wants to focus more on increasing pickups to meet demand General Motors Co. , looking to boost its supply of pickup trucks to keep up with demand and halt declines in its market share, is hiring Navistar International Corp. to take over assembly duties on some commercial vans. The agreement, disclosed on Thursday, is a boost for Illinois-based Navistar as it continues to look for ways to make up for the revenue lost from a truck-making venture with Ford Motor Co. that ended last year. The GM deal calls for Navistar to produce certain Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans in a Springfield, Ohio, plant starting in the first half of 2017. GM is tapping Navistar for production help as it scrambles for ways to boost supply of small pickups at a time when low gasoline prices fuel demand for light trucks. The Express and Savana vans are now built in a Wentzville, Mo., factory where GM also makes its small pickup trucks. GM initially approached AM General LLC, the company that makes military vehicles and other products in Indiana, for help with the vans, according to people familiar with the matter. Those talks didn’t progress due to disagreements over contract terms, they said. Although work vans remain a hot niche market among commercial buyers, GM dealers have consistently complained about inadequate supplies of pickups. The pickups are among GM’s most profitable vehicles. It is unclear how much the Navistar deal will affect pickup output, but it provides more flexibility to keep with demand, a GM executive said. The auto maker’s share of the U.S. light truck market was 20% for the year through May, a decrease of 2.3% compared the same period a year earlier, according to data provider Autodata Corp. GM accelerated production of the small Chevrolet Colorado and GMCCanyon built in Wentzville earlier this year, but the company said demand for the midsize pickups still exceeds supply. It is also making moves to boost supply of full-size trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado, and full-size SUVs, such as the Cadillac Escalade. Terms of the multiyear contract weren’t disclosed, but Illinois-based Navistar said it plans to add at least 300 jobs and restart a second assembly line at a plant that has been idle for several years. In a separate deal announced last year, Navistar will hire an additional 300 workers in Springfield to build larger GM medium-duty commercial trucks beginning in 2018. “It’s great news for us,” said Jason Barlow, president of United Auto Workers Union Local 402 in Springfield. “We’ve taken some pretty hard body blows in the past. We’re thrilled that GM has confidence in us.” The assembly contracts with GM bring Navistar some much-needed production volume to offset slumping demand for its larger commercial trucks. Navistar has spent four years trying to recover lost sales stemming from a disastrous strategy for complying with federal regulations on engine exhaust that undermined the reliability of Navistar’s trucks. Navistar on Tuesday reported its first quarterly profit in four years, but cut its sales and profit outlook for the year because of a weak large truck market. The vans that Navistar will assemble typically feature a cab, an engine and chassis that can be modified for specific uses, such as a shuttle bus, an ambulance or a delivery truck. Navistar said GM will supply the engines for the vans. The cabs will continue to be built at the Wentzville plant and shipped to Springfield where they will be painted and assembled into vans.

My understanding is the fuel economy of the Wrightspeed-designed micro-turbine is good, better than the Capstone units that everyone else has employed in their studies. The micro-turbine is the key to eliminating large, heavy and costly battery packs, and making the system viable. Ian Wright is extremely sharp. He's an engineer than also understands the elements of truckmaking. Paccar (Kenworth) is running several Capstone-powered units on the west coast, and is enthusiastic about the results. I view overhead electrification as a step in the learning curve.

At a time when the foreign aggressors (Daimler and Volvo) are "sucking wind", laying off people in droves, it's intriguing that our two remaining U.S. truckmakers (Paccar and Navistar) are holding their own and moving forward. While Troy is no truck guy (that's what Navistar's Bill Kozek-led Paccar gang is for), his relationship with former employer GM has been a plus.

GM deal with Navistar paves the way for more midsize pickups Automotive News / June 9, 2016 General Motors has contracted with Navistar International Corp. to build some of its commercial vans, a move aimed at enabling GM to produce more hot-selling Chevrolet Colorado and GMCCanyon midsize pickups. Navistar said today that it will manufacture cutaway versions of the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans, which are made at GM’s plant in Wentzville, Mo. Offloading some van production to Navistar’s plant in Springfield, Ohio, starting in the first half of 2017, should enable the Wentzville plant to crank out more Colorados and Canyons. A person with knowledge of GM’s plans said the move will enable the Wentzville plant to build roughly 40,000 additional Colorados and Canyons in 2017. GM spokesman Tom Wickham declined to comment, beyond saying that production of the pickups would be increased. In a statement, Cathy Clegg, GM’s head of manufacturing and labor relations in North America, said the Navistar deal “will provide our Wentzville, Mo., assembly plant more flexibility to keep up with continued demand for mid-size trucks and full size vans.” GM’s discussions last year with contract manufacturer AM General to build cutaway models didn’t pan out, the source said. Automotive News reported in November that a note distributed to workers in Wentzville said GM was “studying a partnership” with Indiana-based AM General for cutaway production. Cutaway models are incomplete versions sold to upfitters for a specific use, such as an ambulance. They account for roughly one-third of the vans built in Wentzville, the source said. Combined, GM sold 56,142 Colorados and Canyons in the U.S. through the first five months of the year. It sold 36,639 Express and Savana vans combined in the same period. GM has strained to keep pace with demand for the midsize pickups since they were launched in fall 2014. Inventories remain tight: There was a 41-day supply of Colorados on dealer lots or en route to stores as of June 1, according to the AutomotiveNewsDataCenter. There was a 58-day supply of Canyons. The Wentzville plant will continue to assemble the cab for the cutaway models, which will be shipped to Navistar to attach it to the chassis and install the interior, Wickham said. He declined to discuss the projected volume that Navistar will produce. Navistar CEO Troy Clarke was a 35-year GM executive before going to Navistar in 2010. He became CEO at Navistar in 2013. He last served GM in 2009 as president of GM North America.

Springfield News-Sun / June 9, 2016 Navistar will add 300 jobs in Springfield in a second deal with GM, doubling the new jobs from the partnership and further cementing the truck maker’s long-term presence in ClarkCounty. The news is another sign of Navistar’s dramatically improving fortunes in Springfield. As recently as 2010, the Springfield plant had as few as 300 workers and many people worried it might close. Now the site will regain its status as one of the city’s largest employers. The new agreement calls for Navistar workers to build a cutaway model of GM’s G Van beginning early next year. The two manufacturers also made a joint agreement in September to build medium-duty trucks in Springfield, along with a pledge to add at least 300 jobs for that work over the next three years. That means combined that at least 600 more people will work in Navistar’s Springfield plant. Navistar will reopen a manufacturing line in Springfield that has been closed since about 2001 to build the G Vans. The plant currently employs close to 1,500 workers and the company has thousands of retirees in the area. The new work is also significant because it could attract more jobs at other companies that supply parts to Navistar, said Mike McDorman, president and CEO of the Chamber of Greater Springfield. “600 jobs over the next couple years is huge for our community and our economy,” McDorman said “These are well-paying manufacturing jobs and as we move forward as a community, these are the jobs that are going to be the staple for what we’re trying to do in diversifying our jobs base.” The new agreement could create as much as $10.4 million in new payroll, according to information from the Dayton Development Coalition. Navistar will receive a $200,000 Jobs Ohio workforce grant under the newest GM agreement. The new deal will also mean more investment to improve the Springfield facility, although the exact value of those improvements is still being determined, said Jason Barlow, president of the UAW Local 402. Moving production of the van to Springfield frees up space for GM at its facility in Wentzville, Mo., Barlow said. GM also produces the Chevrolet Colorado and GMCCanyon at that site. The vans can be sold to a variety of commercial customers and used for purposes ranging from ambulances to hotel or airport shuttles and moving vehicles, Barlow said. “They need more capacity and GM has all the confidence that we can provide a quality vehicle for the industry and we’re thrilled to be able to do that,” Barlow said. The agreement makes sense for both GM and Navistar, said Bill Osborne, Navistar’s senior vice president of global manufacturing and quality. The heavy truck market is expected to face weak demand in the near future, but the market for the GM vans is much more stable, he said. “It allows GM to focus on their very profitable Colorado and Canyon product lines and obviously it gives us the opportunity to solidify volume for the Springfield plant for a number of years to come,” Osborne said. “It provides a lot more job security and gives us the opportunity to weather cyclical changes in our industry.” Much of the credit for the turnaround should be directed to Springfield’s workforce and union leadership, Osborne said, as they were willing to work with management to implement lean manufacturing. Last year the union and truckmaker reached a four-year labor agreement after negotiations stretched on well beyond the original deadline. But Osborne said both sides committed to making a deal happen and built trust during that process. Thursday’s announcement wasn’t a sure bet despite the joint agreement last fall between GM and Navistar to produce medium-duty trucks, Osborne said. GM was talking to other manufacturers but union leaders in Springfield worked with management at Navistar to offer a competitive package. “It wasn’t what I would call an inside deal,” Osborne said. “It was an open bidding process and we went after it with great vigor.” The new jobs will also likely offer a higher wage than similar jobs in other industries, said Tom Franzen, assistant city manager and economic development director for Springfield. “The real positive here is that these jobs, because of the contracts and negotiated wages, are going to be higher than the average wages we currently have here,” he said. “They’re manufacturing jobs and they’re good-paying manufacturing jobs.” Earlier this week, Navistar reached a milestone when it reported a $4 million profit in the second quarter of this year. That was the first profit the company had recorded since 2012. ------------------------------------------------------------ By the numbers: 1,500 — Estimated workers at Navistar’s Springfield facility 300 — Jobs to be added as part of newest GM agreement $10.3 million — Estimated new payroll 2017 — Year the new vans will begin production Staying with the story The Springfield News-Sun has provided unmatched coverage of Navistar, one of ClarkCounty’s largest employers. It has closely tracked the truckmaker in recent years, including stories digging into its failed engine technology and the company’s efforts to rebuild. .

Saturday (buffet) dinner at the Holiday Inn (Routes 22 & 100) used to be the norm for many, but I always admired the folks who made a run down to Millers (http://www.millerssmorgasbord.com/).

Good for Navistar. But the cutaway market is so small, small shuttle buses are the only application that absolutely requires them. I honestly don't see how GM and Ford make any money at it. It's mostly an exercise for image. Anyone with a box body application (noting the photo in that article) would choose the vastly superior upcoming Chevrolet 4500 COE (Isuzu rebadge), or the GM version of the jointly designed Navistar conventional cab CV.

Emails in Clinton Probe Dealt With Planned Drone Strikes The Wall Street Journal / June 9, 2016 Some vaguely worded messages from U.S. diplomats in Pakistan and Washington used a less-secure communications system At the center of a criminal probe involving Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information is a series of emails between American diplomats in Islamabad and their superiors in Washington about whether to oppose specific drone strikes in Pakistan. The 2011 and 2012 emails were sent via the “low side’’—government slang for a computer system for unclassified matters—as part of a secret arrangement that gave the State Department more of a voice in whether a Central Intelligence Agency drone strike went ahead, according to congressional and law-enforcement officials briefed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe. Some of the emails were then forwarded by Mrs. Clinton’s aides to her personal email account, which routed them to a server she kept at her home in suburban New York when she was secretary of state, the officials said. Investigators have raised concerns that Mrs. Clinton’s personal server was less secure than State Department systems. The vaguely worded messages didn’t mention the “CIA,” “drones” or details about the militant targets, officials said. The still-secret emails are a key part of the FBI investigation that has long dogged Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, these officials said. They were written within the often-narrow time frame in which State Department officials had to decide whether or not to object to drone strikes before the CIA pulled the trigger, the officials said. Law-enforcement and intelligence officials said State Department deliberations about the covert CIA drone program should have been conducted over a more secure government computer system designed to handle classified information. State Department officials told FBI investigators they communicated via the less-secure system on a few instances, according to congressional and law-enforcement officials. It happened when decisions about imminent strikes had to be relayed fast and the U.S. diplomats in Pakistan or Washington didn’t have ready access to a more-secure system, either because it was night or they were traveling. Emails sent over the low side sometimes were informal discussions that occurred in addition to more-formal notifications through secure communications, the officials said. One such exchange came just before Christmas in 2011, when the U.S. ambassador sent a short, cryptic note to his boss indicating a drone strike was planned. That sparked a back-and-forth among Mrs. Clinton’s senior advisers over the next few days, in which it was clear they were having the discussions in part because people were away from their offices for the holiday and didn’t have access to a classified computer, officials said. The CIA drone campaign, though widely reported in Pakistan, is treated as secret by the U.S. government. Under strict U.S. classification rules, U.S. officials have been barred from discussing strikes publicly and even privately outside of secure communications systems. The State Department said in January that 22 emails on Mrs. Clinton’s personal server at her home have been judged to contain top-secret information and aren’t being publicly released. Many of them dealt with whether diplomats concurred or not with the CIA drone strikes, congressional and law-enforcement officials said. Several law-enforcement officials said they don’t expect any criminal charges to be filed as a result of the investigation, although a final review of the evidence will be made only after an expected FBI interview with Mrs. Clinton this summer. One reason is that government workers at several agencies, including the departments of Defense, Justice and State, have occasionally resorted to the low-side system to give each other notice about sensitive but fast-moving events, according to one law-enforcement official. When Mrs. Clinton has been asked about the possibility of being criminally charged over the email issue, she has repeatedly said “that is not going to happen.’’ She has said it was a mistake to use a personal server for email but it was a decision she made as a matter of convenience. U.S. officials said there is no evidence Pakistani intelligence officials intercepted any of the low-side State Department emails or used them to protect militants. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the agency “is not going to speak to the content of documents, nor would we speak to any ongoing review.’’ The email issue has dogged Mrs. Clinton for more than a year. Despite her success in nailing down the Democratic presidential nomination, polls show many voters continue to doubt her truthfulness and integrity. Her campaign manager has acknowledged the email matter has hurt her. Republican rival Donald Trump has attacked Mrs. Clinton repeatedly on the issue, calling her “Crooked Hillary,’’ saying what she did was a crime and suggesting the Justice Department would let her off because it is run by Democrats. Beyond the campaign implications, the investigation exposes the latest chapter in a power struggle that pits the enforcers of strict secrecy, including the FBI and CIA, against some officials at the State Department and other agencies who want a greater voice in the use of covert lethal force around the globe, because of the impact it has on broader U.S. policy goals. In the case of Pakistan, U.S. diplomats found themselves in a difficult position. Despite being treated as top secret by the CIA, the drone program has long been in the public domain in Pakistan. Television stations there go live with reports of each strike, undermining U.S. efforts to foster goodwill and cooperation against militants through billions of dollars in American aid. Pakistani officials, while publicly opposing the drone program, secretly consented to the CIA campaign by clearing airspace in the militant-dense tribal areas along the Afghan border, according to former U.S. and Pakistani officials. CIA and White House officials credit a sharp ramp-up in drone strikes early in Mr. Obama’s presidency with battering al Qaeda’s leadership in the Pakistani tribal areas and helping protect U.S. forces next door in Afghanistan. Targets have also included some of the Pakistan government’s militant enemies. In 2011, Pakistani officials began to push back in private against the drone program, raising questions for the U.S. over the extent to which the program still had their consent. U.S. diplomats warned the CIA and White House they risked losing access to Pakistan’s airspace unless more discretion was shown, said current and former officials. Within the administration, State Department and military officials argued that the CIA needed to be more “judicious” about when strikes were launched. They weren’t challenging the spy agency’s specific choice of targets, but mainly the timing of strikes. The CIA initially chafed at the idea of giving the State Department more of a voice in the process. Under a compromise reached around the year 2011, CIA officers would notify their embassy counterparts in Islamabad when a strike in Pakistan was planned, so then-U.S. ambassador Cameron Munter or another senior diplomat could decide whether to “concur” or “non-concur.” Mr. Munter declined to comment. Diplomats in Islamabad would communicate the decision to their superiors in Washington. A main purpose was to give then-Secretary of State Clinton and her top aides a chance to consider whether she wanted to weigh in with the CIA director about a planned strike. With the compromise, State Department-CIA tensions began to subside. Only once or twice during Mrs. Clinton’s tenure at State did U.S. diplomats object to a planned CIA strike, according to congressional and law-enforcement officials familiar with the emails. U.S. diplomats in Pakistan and Washington usually relayed and discussed their concur or non-concur decisions via the State Department’s more-secure messaging system. But about a half-dozen times, when they were away from more-secure equipment, they improvised by sending emails on their smartphones about whether they backed an impending strike or not, the officials said. Some officials chafed at pressure to send internal deliberations through intelligence channels, since they were discussing whether to push back against the CIA, congressional officials said. The time available to the State Department to weigh in on a planned strike varied widely, from several days to as little as 20 or 30 minutes. “If a strike was imminent, it was futile to use the high side, which no one would see for seven hours,” said one official. Adding to those communications hurdles, U.S. intelligence officials privately objected to the State Department even using its high-side system. They wanted diplomats to use a still-more-secure system called the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Community Systems, or JWICs. State Department officials don’t have ready access to that system, even in Washington. If drone-strike decisions were needed quickly, it wouldn’t be an option, officials said. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the State Department-CIA tug-of-war over the drone program in 2011. Under pressure to address critics abroad, Mr. Obama pledged to increase the transparency of drone operations by shifting, as much as possible, control of drone programs around the world to the U.S. military instead of the CIA. An exception was made for Pakistan. But even in Pakistan, Mr. Obama recently signaled a shift. The drone strike that killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour last month was conducted by the military, not the CIA, and the outcome was disclosed. While the CIA still controls drones over the tribal areas of Pakistan near Afghanistan, the pace of strikes has declined dramatically in recent years. U.S. officials say there are fewer al Qaeda targets there now that the CIA can find.

When you contacted Horton customer service at 1-800-621-1320, what did they say ? http://www.hortonww.com/en-us/home.aspx

Just to keep things clear, The Mack model FDM was based on a Savage Manufacturing design.........Mack purchased Savage in 1989. Fast forward to 1998, Mack signed an agreement with Oshkosh to sell a Mack-powered variant of the S-Series called the FCM. Many here saw it at the 1999 MATS in Louisville. Volvo cancelled the program when it acquired Mack in 2000, before the effort could take off. http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/34458-the-mack-hmm-“front-runner”-front-discharge-mixer-chassis/ http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/34451-the-macksavage-fdm700-front-discharge-mixer/

I encourage everyone to take 16 minutes to watch the video (Ian Wright's presentation) above.

Nothing yet about a Durastar replacement.....it still sells very well. The Cummins ISB option, available from 2013, has augmented current sales volume (Ford's new for MY2016 Ohio-produced F-650/750 medium truck range was legless out of the gate because they decided NOT to offer the ISB, and also Allison transmissions). As mentioned in the link, the new Class 4-5 truck will be called the "CV". I never cared for the aesthetics of the current Class 4-5 Terrastar.....too unattractive, awkward looking, ill proportioned.

Chevy escalates Silverado advertising battle with Ford F-150 Automotive News / June 8, 2016 Chevrolet is escalating its truck battle with Ford through a provocative advertising campaign that claims the Silverado pickup’s steel bed is more durable than the F-150’s stamped aluminum bed. In the start of a major sales and marketing offensive, Chevy released a batch of new videos overnight that show the Silverado’s roll-formed steel bed sustaining only superficial damage when subjected to various construction-site poundings, while the same tests punctured and cracked the F-150’s bed. The tests were conducted without a bed liner. Chevy plans an ad blitz starting today that will run 30- and 60-second commercials on ESPN, NASCAR programming, the NHL finals, Major League Baseball and more. It will also run longer versions in 2,400 movie theaters nationally. Print ads are slated for most major markets in Texas, a strategic state for pickup truck sales and marketing. A four-page wraparound add also appeared in Detroit's newspapers today. One video shows front loaders dumping 825 pounds of landscaping stones into the beds of the Silverado and F-150. In a press release, Chevy claims that in 12 straight demonstrations, the F-150’s bed cracked, while the Silverado exhibited only scratches and dents. The video, shot in Chevy’s long-running “Real People, Not Actors” campaign format, features several truck owners clambering onto the pickups’ beds to survey the damage. “I’m surprised they’re trying to put a product out like this, ya know, and they’re supposed to sell ‘Ford Tough,’” remarks one. Another chimes in: “I think Ford needs to change their motto.” Joules in the rough Chevy said in the release that engineers used a 17-pound wedge-shaped striker to scientifically test the strength of each pickups bed. It says the Silverado withstood 90 joules of impact energy without cracking, while Ford’s aluminum bed floor “exhibited hairline cracks at just 30 joules, and was completely punctured at 40 joules.” A joule is a form of energy measurement equal to moving a small object, such as an apple, about one meter in one second, or .24 of a calorie, according to several online definitions. In response to the campaign, a Ford spokesman released this statement today: "When you're the market leader for 39 years, competitors sometimes try to take shots at you with marketing stunts. The fact remains that F-150's high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy cargo box offers the best combination of strength, durability, corrosion resistance, capability, safety and fuel efficiency ever offered in a pickup. We have built nearly a million new F-150s, and our lead over the competition continues to grow." Chevrolet truck marketing manager Sandor Piszar told reporters on a conference call that the campaign is not “targeting Ford directly,” but merely pointing out what GM believes is a competitive advantage. “It’s not an attack on Ford. It’s not an attack on aluminum,” Piszar said. “It’s us showing that we have a better choice for customers in the highly competitive truck segment.” He said the tests were done without a bed liner because many people buy their pickups that way. He said half of Silverado customers “leave the dealership without any form of bed protection.” Ford spokesman Mike Levine said just 17 percent of F-150s are sold with a spray-in bed liner. On the same conference call, Mark Voss, a GM engineering group manager for truck body structures, said the choice of roll-formed, high-strength steel was aimed at “putting the right material in the right application.” He declined to answer whether GM would continue to use steel for the bed in its next-generation Silverado and GMC Sierra, expected to arrive in 2018. But he wouldn’t rule out the use of aluminum if it could meet GM’s specifications. “We’re continuing to evaluate any new materials as long as they exceed the performance of a high-strength, rolled-form steel bed. We’d consider it,” Voss said. Chevy said the campaign "is a dramatic example of Chevrolet engineers’ work to select the right material, enabled by the right manufacturing processes, for the right application." Escalating war It’s also a dramatic escalation of the war between the two biggest pickup brands, which have gone after each in marketing campaigns intermittently for years as they seek the upper hand in the industry’s most profitable segment. Lately it’s been Chevy tweaking Ford’s aluminum-bodied F-150, launched in late 2014 and billed as a revolutionary material transformation that GM and others eventually would be forced to mimic to reduce mass and make it easier to comply with fuel-economy regulations. While GM is expected to use more aluminum in its next-generation Silverado and GMC Sierra, due out in 2018, company executives and engineers have said frequently that they won’t rely too heavily on one material to achieve mass savings. Last summer, Chevy launched a prelude to the new campaign with a commercial that had volunteers assess the strength of an aluminum cage vs. a steel one, just before a grizzly bear lumbered into the room. Almost every person scrambled to the steel cage. “Truck customers demand the ability to haul their toys, tools and other cargo,” Piszar said in today’s press release. “These videos demonstrate the real-world benefits of the Silverado’s bed, in both extreme and everyday scenarios.” Repair costs Chevy also raises the issue of repair costs. Piszar claims in the release that, even if the Silverado’s bed is damaged, steel is “easier to repair than aluminum, potentially saving money and minimizing time” in the collision shop. In another video, former NFL hall of famer and occasional Chevy pitchman Howie Long chats with Silverado chief engineer Eric Stanczak about the differences between the Silverado’s steel bed and the F-150’s aluminum one. Stanczak demonstrates by nudging a large metal toolbox off the edge of each truck’s bed wall. The corner of the box gashes the F-150’s bed, while leaving only a small dent in the Silverado. “All of this would really make me think twice about buying a truck with an aluminum bed,” Long concludes. Truck incentives The campaign comes as Ford tries to claw back market share it ceded to Chevy last year, when Ford’s F-series availability was limited as the company ramped up production of the redesigned pickup. The Silverado had its biggest market share gain in a decade while Ford’s share slipped. Ford bounced back through May this year, with F-series sales rising 7.1 percent and Silverado sales slipping 0.1 percent. Ram sales rose 7.7 percent. The campaign’s launch coincides with Chevy’s Truck Month promotion, which features some of the largest incentives offered on the Silverado since the current truck rolled out in mid-2013. Qualified buyers can get 0 percent interest for 60 months plus up to $8,250 in cash and other incentives on certain crew cab models.

The global Ford Ranger, which has been brutally tested, has a steel bed. Aussie Ford truck engineering impresses. .

Chevrolet Trucks Press Release / June 7, 2016 We compared the roll-formed, high-strength steel bed of the Chevy Silverado to the aluminum bed of the Ford F-150. See how they held up. .

And remember, Navistar's upcoming new "LT" range, the replacement for the ProStar, is due out later this year. http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/42260-navistar-readying-new-truck-lineup-for-2016/

Paul, I still can't get over how good the AU "Born Ready" video is, versus how bad the North America video is. Meanwhile, Daimler has a great video to be proud of (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGDH8OLcQ7cI). I don't know what Mack USA thinks. Within Volvo's senior Mack brand management, there isn't even one individual with a truck industry background........they live in a vacuum. Road shows are popular in the global market, and quite successful. You can really connect with the local customers. But US truckmakers aside from General Motors never seized the opportunity. General Motors, at one time a global technology leader and manufacturing powerhouse that touched nearly every aspect of people's lives, was very successful with its "Parade of Progress" road shows (as well as its World's Fair exhibits). http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40653-remembering-gm’s-parade-of-progress-road-show/#comment-294654

But battery technology is moving along at a nice pace now, smaller, lighter and greater capacity battery packs. I'm also optimistic about vehicle-equipped micro-turbines.

Dagens Industri / June 7, 2016 Market registrations of heavy trucks (both imported and locally produced) in Brazil fell 26.0 percent to 1,228 vehicles (from 1,660 units) in May, compared to the same period last year. Compared with April 2016 (1,297 units), heavy truck sales declined 5.3 percent. In the semi-heavy truck segment, truck registrations fell 41 percent to 1,114 trucks (from 1,902 units in May 2015). Compared to April 2016, semi-heavy truck sales fell 3.2 percent. A total of 423 Volvo trucks were registered in May, down 48.5 percent from the same period last year (821 units). Compared with April 2016 (466 units), Volvo sales declind 9.2 percent. Of the 466 Volvo trucks sold in May, 315 were in the heavy segment (versus 607 in May 2015), while 108 trucks were in the semi-heavy (versus 214 in May 2015). Rival truckmaker Scania saw its sales increase with 319 new truck registrations in May, representing a rise of 3.2 percent from the same period last year. Mercedes Benz heavy truck registrations fell 27.6 percent year on year in April. MAN's heavy truck registrations declined 8.3 percent.

MAN presents Remondis with 4-axle TGS featuring new triple-axle configuration at IFAT 2016. MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / June 7, 2016 At the world's leading environmental technology show, MAN has handed over the first Euro-6 TGS 32.360 8x2-6 chassis to refuse specialist Remondis. Remondis Board Member Egbert Tölle and Purchasing Manager Josef Holtermann were presented the keys by MAN Truck & Bus Executive Board Member for Sales and Marketing Heinz-Jürgen Löw and Martin Zaindl, Head of German Regional Sales Southeast for Trucks. The 360 hp four-axle vehicle with specially developed MAN TipMatic ASF automated transmission will be put into service with a rear loader waste collection superstructure at the Remondis branch office in Oberhausen. The axle configuration of the 8x2-6 type features the special rear axle configuration with a steered pusher axle and a steered tag axle in addition to the driving axle. This triple axis variant, which is increasingly in demand in the disposal industry, provides increased payload to the chassis with high manoeuvrability and reduced tyre wear in comparison with the classic 6x2 axle configuration. MAN’s 8x2-6 configuration is ideal for waste collection operation where high payload reserves in the rear axle area are a key technological requirement. This is a real advantage, for example, when emptying organic waste collection bins as a cubic metre of organic waste weighs more than a cubic metre of household waste or recycling. In refuse industry applications, the higher rear axle payload enables better area coverage each time, reducing the number of journeys and results in environmental benefits as well as saving time. Another advantage of the new MAN 8x2-6 axle configuration is its availability direct from the factory. Complex and cost-intensive additional adjustment work is not required, also the vehicle can go directly from the production line to the body builder without delay. .

Scania Group Press Release / June 7, 2016 Imagine a service which, based on how you actually use your vehicle, tells you when it’s time to go to the workshop. Not too often and only when it’s needed. This service is called Scania Maintenance with flexible plans – a service contract that maximises a vehicle’s uptime. .

Fleet Owner / June 7, 2016 Michelin Americas Truck Tires, a division of Michelin North America, Inc., has introduced the MICHELIN X Works Z, an all-position tire, for mixed on/off road applications that operate in demanding environments. “The MICHELIN X Works Z is designed to improve uptime,” according to the company. “It features a 50% wider protector ply and a thicker layer of cushion gum than leading competitive tires1; together, these provide extra protection and casing durability. The MICHELIN X Works Z also offers a 5% increase in removal mileage2 and is backed by Michelin’s six-month worry-free road hazard guarantee3.” “Construction, energy and tanker customers demand a tire that fights against road hazards so they can keep running and get their work done,” said Adam Murphy, vice president of marketing for Michelin Americas Truck Tires. “With multiple features to protect the casing and sidewall from shocks and impacts, the new MICHELIN X Works Z delivers the uptime, durability and capping those fleets demand.” According to the company, its casing features a groove-to-groove protector ply to provide protection all the way to the outer grooves and thick shock-absorbing cushion gum for extra protection against impact shocks. The MICHELIN X Works Z also features a dual-layered defense against stone retention and stone-drilling, with V-channels and groove bottom protectors. The sidewall features a double treatment of TW6 Ozone Resistor for increased protection against ozone cracking and thick sidewalls to fight impacts, the company added. “Confident in the tire’s unsurpassed durability, Michelin stands behind the MICHELIN X Works Z with a six-month worry-free road-hazard guarantee3,” Michelin said. “If the tire is taken out of service in the first six months or before 50% of its useable tread life, Michelin will provide a $200 credit per tire. The tire is available now in 11R22.5, 12R22.5 and 11R24.5 sizes in load range H and a 315/80R22.5 size in load range L. A 12R24.5 size in load range H will launch at a later date.”