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Yatvitrini / February 26, 2016 The Ford-Otosan unit of Ford Motor Company has introduced an all-new diesel marine engine range at the 9th annual Eurasia Boat Show exhibition. The line-up includes both Ford’s 9-liter engine, and 12.7-liter “Ecotorq” powerplant rated up to 700 horsepower. Marine versions of the engines have been tested over 80,000 hours, and been designed to offer record low NVH levels (noise, vibration and harshness) with emissions levels up to Euro-6. .

CNN coverage - The launch of Ford's new Ecotorq truck engine assembly plant. .

The European test cycle for Euro-6 is easier than EPA2010, but essentially, the U.S. and global (Euro) emissions standards have virtually merged at this point, making it possible to offer both emissions variants, as Paccar, Daimler and Volvo do.

They easily could be sold in the US market, but currently Ford only plans to pursue the global market.

The New Straights Times / May 8, 2016 The annual Kembara Mahkota Johor (KMJ) royal tour in Malaysia will again hit the road this Saturday. Celebrating its 19th anniversary, the royal tour would involve a journey to 10 districts over four days and would cover a total distance of 842 km. The highlight of the trip is the truck that Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar will be driving, a RM1.4 million (US$350,000) custom-built red, blue and white Mack truck from Australia, which was received by Sultan Ibrahim in January. Instead of one truck, the KMJ will also see the debut of two more customized Mack trucks, one embellished in an orange colored theme while the other with a scorpion theme design. The other two Mack trucks will be driven by Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim. Besides the trucks, other vehicles in the entourage includes 35 Harley Davidson motorcycles, ten 4WD vehicles ferrying officials and escorted by Royal Malaysian Police along all the stops. State secretary Datuk Ismail Karim said the annual royal tour this year has no special theme but the objectives remain the same which is to strengthen the bond between the royal institution and the Johor people in the spirit of 'Bangsa Johor, Raja dan rakyat berpisah tiada'. "This year, the addition of the Mack trucks will make this KMJ the biggest ever held for the past 17 years," he said at the KMJ 2016 pre launch ceremony at Istana Pasir Pelangi yesterday. .

Transport Engineer / May 9, 2016 Shell is claiming up to 2% fuel savings and 56% better engine wear protection, as well as longer oil drain intervals, with Shell Rimula Ultra 5W-30 – the oil giant’s most advanced heavy-duty diesel engine oil ever. Shell Rimula Ultra 5W-30 heavy-duty diesel engine oil has been launched with a wide range of truck OEM approvals for Euro 4 to Euro 6 heavy vehicles, and complies with both the latest European specifications (ACEA E6 and E9). Shell recommends its new lubricant for advanced Euro 5 and Euro 6 truck and bus engines, stating that it contributes to warranty compliance for latest technology vehicles and means that mixed fleet operators can reduce the ranges of grades they need. The firm explains that its new oil is based on Dynamic Protection Plus technology, which combines Shell’s PurePlus lubricant production process with its Adaptive Additive technology. The former is based on Shell’s gas-to-liquids process, which converts natural gas into ultra-pure base oil with virtually none of the impurities generally found in crude oil, and delivers optimised viscosity, friction and stability properties. The latter is designed to prevent build-up of acids and deposits on key engine components, including the sump, cylinder head gasket, cylinder sleeve and valve train. Andrew Gibson, Shell’s UK marketing manager, points to trials with OEMs including Mercedes-Benz that have demonstrated its up to 56% wear protection enhancement. He also says that, depending on approvals and manufacturers’ recommendations, oil-drain intervals can be extended to up to 150,000 km – and that operators can expect up to 2% better fuel economy (against typical 10W-40 prodcuts). “Shell Rimula Ultra 5W-30 has been formulated to help customers save time and money, whether they are maintaining a single vehicle or an entire fleet,” states Gibson. In other news, Shell has also further developed its Shell Rimula R6 LM 10W-40 and Shell Rimula R6 M 10W-40 engine oils for utility vehicles have been to comply with a wider range of specifications.

Puget Sound Business Journal / May 4, 2016 Despite current low global fuel prices Paccar Inc. is pouring research dollars into developing more efficient trucks for the future. Speaking from Paccar’s Bellevue headquarters, CEO Ron Armstrong said the truck builder is sometimes operating its new $50 million truck test facility around the clock, as it works to improve designs. Paccar a year ago opened the “climatic chassis dynanometer” near Mount Vernon, a small city north of Seattle. The facility is part wind tunnel, simulating driving at up to 75 miles an hour, but it also can subject test trucks to changes in temperature, air pressure and humidity. “You can do summer testing, winter testing, mountain testing, valley testing, all in this facility,” Armstrong said. “It really accelerates the development process.” Paccar is the second-largest truck builder in North America, assembling Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks in North America and Australia, as well as DAF trucks in Europe and Brazil. The company generated $4.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2016, and generated $2 billion in profit on $18.7 billion in sales, during 2015. Paccar has achieved 77 consecutive years of profit by taking the long view, and the test facility is an example of that, Armstrong said. “I think fuel prices are bound to go up from this point,” he said. “Fuel efficiency gains are going to continue to be an area of competition to move the needle forward.” The rationale behind the test facility is to extract data on the interaction among all aspects of truck design, including aerodynamics, rolling resistance, advanced digital systems, and Paccar-built engines, Armstrong said. “All elements of aerodynamic capability and fuel efficiency are a key focus. A lot of investment will go into that over the 10-year period,” he said. “It’s very dynamic.” About 300 people work at the Mount Vernon test center, and the new dynanometer is lifting the testing to a higher level, Armstrong said. “There are very few of those in the world. It’s a really unique asset for us, and one that’s been fully utilized since we commissioned it a year ago,” he said of the facility. “This is a very important tool.” .

Ford Motor Company – Ford Otosan / May 3, 2016 The culmination of a four year program involving over 750 truck engineers, Ford is proud to announce the 2016 Ford Trucks product range equipped with our new Euro-3, Euro-5 and Euro-6 emissions “Ecotorq” engines. Impressive in design and now available with Euro-6 (near EPA2010) powertrains, Ford’s Cargo heavy truck range raises the bar with a long list of new features including in-cab Wi-Fi, Lane Departure Warning System and Active Emergency Braking System. Ford Trucks and You – "Sharing Each Load Together" "These new trucks are also an important part of Ford Otosan's growth strategy in the coming years. Ford Trucks is once again becoming a global player with a sustainable perspective in the heavy commercial vehicle market”, says Ford Trucks Vice President Ahmet Kınay. “Today, we offer competitive world class products and services, as well as a sales and service network second to none. Ford Trucks is strengthening its brand values to achieve success in the global market. With both financial and technical support from parent Ford, Ford-Otosan has ramped up its R&D and production capabilities. At Ford Otosan, we take the expectations of our global customers seriously, and have created our new brand promise to reflect that. Our new slogan, “Sharing Each Load Together”, signifies our commitment to all our customers around the world. Strong, technically advanced and highly productive Powered by our new Ecotorq engines up to 13 liters in displacement and 480 horsepower, the new generation of Ford Cargo heavy trucks delivers new levels of driving performance and efficiency. Utilizing the latest engine technologies, an increase in fuel efficiency by up to 8.5 percent may be achieved. The multiple advantages of Ford heavy trucks In addition to a new Ford rear air suspension system for vocational models, Cargo heavy trucks are now available with a combined auxiliary braking ability of 1,000 kW (1,341 horsepower) when ordered with the 600 kW (805 horsepower) hydraulic retarder option, and a vocational AMT transmission equipped with off-road, rocking and economy modes. .

I have to say that the current (2015) Mack highway truck brochure is the worst to ever represent the brand. Clearly, Volvo hired an advertising company (VSA Partners) which is completely clueless about the truck industry. The painfully bland theme of the brochure, beginning with a cover photo that lacks a truck, prevents customers from even picking up a copy. I will say though, that the unevenness of the highway in the photo reflects the current state of Mack brand management. http://www.macktrucks.com/~/media/files/brochures/mack_highway_brochure.ashx?as=1 Looking at that truckless empty highway on the cover, one is reminded of the lifeless "Born Ready" video in which trucks are shown less than half the time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAgDmL2oYRA When trucks are visible...........they are always in the background. The video appears to have been originally created for a work clothes manufacturer, and resuscitated in a bid at Volvo's Mack brand business. VSA Partners claims to be a next-generation brand and marketing firm that "designs and activates brands to perform in the modern world" (http://www.vsapartners.com/about/). In order to perform in truck sales marketing, one needs to know something about trucks. And VSA doesn't. But Volvo is obviously to blame for yet another flop in its brand re-identification strategy for the American truck industry's most well known name in trucks. On another note, Volvo has erased spec sheets from the Mack brand website (http://www.macktrucks.com/trucks/pinnacle-series/pinnacle-day-cab/). All one can do is download the "highway brochure", which negates listing all but the most basic specification information. There's no substitute for a spec sheet.

Though we're seeing that China is reining in overloading, most Chinese tractor-trailers still run at 45 to 60 metric tons. Thus, operating in the US market at a mere 36.3 metric tons (80,000 lb), these trucks would be on permanent holiday. With high quality and technology nowadays from the leading truckmakers, the market's leading trucks are comfortable, durable and high-performing. The T7's floor is raised, ever so slightly, in the middle. I have no problem with that. I call it virtually flat (like a Scania). I'm not obsessed with the literally flat floor cab. They could easily raise the cab and completely flatten the floor, but with entry and exit in mind, I think the cab's height is perfect as is.

Buffett-invested BYD is a leader in electric municipal bus design. Tesla could do better, but Musk is not in that market. What's troubling is to remember how GM, Ford and other U.S. companies used to lead the world in technology, particularly during the 1960s. The rest of the world was soooo far behind the U.S., they couldn't even see our dust. And fast forward to today, not a single US company, including Proterra, can create/produce a cutting edge electric bus. This is alike the US truck market which is dominated by foreign truckmakers. That we no longer have the ability to lead/dominate our own truck market, that foreign truckmakers are more skilled/successful in the US truck market than American brands, is damning.

Transport Engineer / May 4, 2016 ZF has now produced one million of its celebrated commercial vehicle retarders [intarder in ZF speak], originally launched in 1992 to reduce wear on service brakes and ensure safe, fade-free braking. The system, which integrates with the transmission, was designed to take on up to 90% of all braking duty, without involving the service brake, by making 4,000Nm of braking torque available within one second of activation. ZF also estimates that its million intarders have to date prevented the emission of around 60,000 tons of brake dust. “The ZF intarder fulfils several requirements simultaneously: it increases comfort and safety, lowers maintenance costs and improves environmental compatibility,” says Winfried Gründler, head of the truck & van driveline technology business unit in ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Technology division. The system was originally designed to rapidly decelerate a 38-tonne vehicle by delivering 816bhp of retardation downhill, with cruise control automatically taking over downhill drive and intarder activation “Thanks to high demand, ZF has been able to almost double production capacity in the last eight years,” continues Gründler. “After the start of volume production, it took 16 years to reach half a million Intarders in 2008. Just eight years later, we have been able to make the jump to one million.”

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / May 5, 2016

Commercial Motor TV / April 28, 2016

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / April 27, 2016

Cummins Press Release / May 3, 2016 Cummins Inc. today reported results for the first quarter of 2016. First quarter revenues of $4.3 billion decreased 9 percent from the same quarter in 2015. Lower production in the North American heavy-duty truck market and weak global demand for off-highway and power generation equipment contributed to the reduction in sales. Currency negatively impacted revenues by approximately 3 percent compared to last year, primarily due to a stronger US dollar. Revenues in North America decreased 10 percent while international sales declined by 8 percent. Within international markets revenues in Latin America and Asia declined the most. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the first quarter were $484 million, or 11.3 percent of sales, down from $562 million or 11.9 percent of sales a year ago. Net income attributable to Cummins in the first quarter was $321 million ($1.87 per diluted share), compared to $387 million($2.14 per diluted share) in the first quarter of 2015. The tax rate in the first quarter of 2016, was 28.4 percent. “Our results for the first quarter reflect solid execution of our cost reduction plans in the face of very challenging market conditions,” said Rich Freeland Chief Operating Officer. “Benefits from restructuring actions, material cost reduction projects and lower warranty costs all helped to mitigate the impact of lower sales.” Other recent highlights: Our QSK95 diesel engine received Tier 4 Final certification from the EPA for the US locomotive market. We announced a joint venture with Olayan to expand access to markets and enhance the service and support provided to customers in the Middle East. Ethisphere Institute named Cummins to its list of the world’s most ethical companies for the 9th straight year. We returned $745 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter, consistent with our plans to return 75 percent of Operating Cash Flow to shareholders in 2016. Read the full press release – including first quarter detail for all Cummins business units – by clicking on the link below. Press Release – Cummins Reports First Quarter 2016 Results

Fleet Owner / May 4, 2016 Class 8 orders dropped 39% in April on a year-over-year basis and declined 16% sequentially. By contrast, medium-duty truck orders remained relatively healthy, down 10% sequentially but up 12% year-over-year. Class 8 orders reached 13,700 units in April, while orders for Class 5-7 trucks topped 20,100 units. Drivers of soft Class 8 demand remain intact from previous months: overcapacity resulting weak freight rate environment; softness in late-model used truck values; and excessive new vehicle inventory. John Larkin, managing director and head of transportation capital markets research at Stifel Financial Corp., noted in a recent market update that motor carriers have, for the most part, backed off on capacity additions. “With a few exceptions, carriers have canceled orders for incremental tractors and trailers,” he said. “Instead, carriers are intensely focused on improving equipment utilization and revenue yield, even though rate increases will be hard to come by.” He added that revenue yield improvements will likely be driven more by customer selection, lane selection, and lane balance initiatives rather than via “classical” freight rate increases. Class 8 orders have annualized to a paltry 190,000 units over the past three months, with the annualized rate hovering at 237,000 units for the last 12-month period. OEMs will not be able to maintain current build rates under these order conditions and it appears more production cuts are on the way. Backlogs are quickly shrinking and are expected to fall below 2014 levels relatively soon. A big order month could stop the bleeding, but we are entering the ‘summer slump’ so Class 8 order activity will probably get worse before it gets better. By contrast, medium duty demand remains bolstered by a number of macro-economic factors: a decent jobs market; rising incomes, which support discretionary spending; plus improved housing and automotive sales activity.

Oddly, TransPower is not one of the 4 companies awarded free money, while two foreign companies were. http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44484-a-100-electric-class-8-truck/#comment-328672 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/38865-transpower-electruck/#comment-278316 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/35887-transpower-unveils-their-latest-generation-electric-heavy-truck/#comment-247157

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 4, 2016 California is awarding $23.6 million to the South Coast Air Quality Management District for a statewide zero-emission, Class 8 drayage truck development and demonstration project. The South Coast air district is partnering with air districts in the Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego and San Joaquin Valley for a statewide demonstration of 43 battery electric and plug-in hybrid drayage trucks serving major California ports. The trucks will be used in all five air districts to target key areas of the state with drayage truck activity. Manufacturers including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo and BYD are involved in the project and will use their engineering resources, manufacturing capabilities and distribution networks to support drayage truck development. The funding comes from the California Climate Investments project and will be aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, petroleum usage and pollution in areas where reduction is needed most. The project is also designed to accelerate the commercialization of heavy-duty advanced, zero-emission technologies, establishing a path for implementing SCAQMD’s clean air plan that is currently under development. The SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. "This project will help put the very cleanest short-haul trucks to work where they are needed most, moving cargo from the state’s biggest ports to distribution centers and rail yards,” said Mary D. Nichols, Air Resources Board chair. “This is good news – and cleaner air – for all Californians, but especially those who live in neighborhoods next to these industrial facilities or along some of our state’s busiest trade corridors.” The effort is part of a larger statewide investment in low-carbon transportation projects aimed at helping the state reach emissions reduction goals and improve air quality. Freight transport in California accounts for about half of diesel particulate matter, 45% of NOx emissions and 6% of all GHG emissions in California, according to ARB. “This unique collaborative effort will accelerate the commercialization of advanced zero-emission truck technologies that are vital to improving air quality in communities near our busy freight corridors,” said Joe Buscaino, Los Angeles city councilman and SCAQMD board member. “Cleaner truck fleets on our roadways are important for air quality and climate goals, and essential to protecting public health.”

Good luck with your Bighorn project. Terrific truck. Please share your progress with us via photographs.

Scania is legendary in the industry for its modular design philosophy. But having said that, a light truck cab (with its simplistic interior and instrumentation) looks ridiculous atop a heavy truck chassis. In India it would be okay where pricing is incredibly sensitive, but I wouldn't sell it anywhere else. Speaking of COE cab trucks, each of the three segments, light, medium and heavy, have a unique design requirement due to their different missions in life. A few global truckmakers reduce their cost footprint by utilizing a common cab for light and medium, and that generally can work. However, when a COE heavy truck cab is cut down to create a medium truck cab, it often appears aesthetically awkward.

The global market FX series reflects just how tight Isuzu's money is. They placed an N-Series light truck cab atop a medium heavy truck chassis, and the result is mediocre at best. http://www.isuzutrucks.co.za/product-series/?series_Id=3 http://www.isuzu.com.au/truck-range/fx-series/ http://www.isuzu.com.au/media/1297/isuzu-fx-series-brochure-effmar14.pdf The Isuzu GXZ (aka. VC46) prime mover with that N-Series light truck cab looks ridiculous, who wouldn't buy a Hino 700 series instead? http://www.isuzutruck.co.za/new-isuzu-trucks/fx-series/#tab-id-8 http://www.qingling.com.cn/vc43/index.htm http://www.hino.com.au/700/gallery/ http://www.hino-global.com/content/dam/hino_global/pdf/catalog/Hino_700S_Catalog_LR.pdf http://www.ghmcchina.com/product/productmessage3.jsp?catid=12|146|150