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Alkane COE Trucks Get DOT Approval Heavy Duty Trucking / November 12, 2015 Alkane Truck Co. says it has achieved compliance certification from the U.S. Department of Transportation for its propane-fueled Class 7 cab-over-engine trucks, and will begin assembly at a plant in South Carolina early next year. Brakes, wheels and tires, axles, seat belts, lights, interior fabric and glass had to be submitted to laboratories for testing, said Steve Rayborn, Alkane’s sales vice president. All items have to meet federal standards and regulations, and specialty laboratories tested each component of concern to DOT. “There’s a lab for every feature,” he said, and the process was expensive. “If we knew five years ago what this was going to cost, we might have thought twice about it. But we’ve done it, and we’re glad we did it.” The trucks will use cabs and chassis from China, with other components sourced from North American suppliers. The powertrain will include a Power Solutions International 8.8-liter V-8 that’s based on a General Motors block, and an Allison 2500 six-speed automatic transmission. The engine, with 270 hp and 565 lb-ft of torque, delivers diesel-like performance at a lower cost, Rayborn said. http://www.psiengines.com/whatwedo/on-highway-engines/ The current fleet-volume discounted price of a diesel-equivalent gallon of liquid propane is $1.15 compared to $2.49 or more for diesel fuel, noted Bob Smith, Alkane’s chief executive officer. It will be the only medium-duty COE truck in the U.S. that uses propane autogas fuel, he said. A targeted niche market is propane distributors, some of whom have already expressed interest. COE Class 7 trucks, rated at 26,001 to 33,000 pounds gross weight, are widely used for inter-city operations due to their tight turning radius and excellent maneuverability, he said. They are used for delivery of freight, furniture, fuel and beverages and other applications. “We are excited about our new truck,” Smith said. “We’re equally excited to bring new skilled jobs to American workers. Our assembly facility in Dorchester County (South Carolina) will employ more than 300 automotive technicians once it reaches full capacity.” Development continues on a Class 8 truck and tractor, also using Chinese cabs and chassis with domestic powertrain and other components, Rayborn said. The engine will be a Cummins ISX12 G set up to burn compressed natural gas. The heavy vehicle should be ready for production toward the end of 2016. The Chinese supplier is Foton, one of the largest truck builders in that country. “We are the agency of service for Foton,” he said. “No one else can bring one in.” .

Paris attacks: How a ‘really great guy’ became a suicide bomber The Financial Times / November 15, 2015 Omar Ismael Mostefai was identified by a finger blown off in the blast of the explosive belt he detonated in the Bataclan concert hall — as he tried to kill as many people around him as possible. But three years ago, in a quiet neighbourhood of Chartres, about an hour’s drive south-west of Paris, he had seemed like any normal local resident. “Omar was a really great guy: friendly; open,” said a neighbour who knew him and his family between 2005 and 2012, when they moved out. “He talked to the kids; played football with the neighbours.” Another neighbour, Alexandre, 21, concurred: “Normal — really nothing special.” The 29-year-old was one of the Islamist terrorists who staged the deadly attacks on Paris on Friday evening. They killed 129 people and wounded more than 350 in a series of co-ordinated and meticulously planned assaults. Mostefai was also one of at least three French-born attackers in the group. This suggests that the threat from homegrown jihadis has become more severe since January, when three Islamist extremists murdered 17 people in a series of shootings against Charlie Hebdo magazine, the police and a Jewish supermarket in Paris. “It’s unfortunately not that surprising,” said Sebastien Pietrasanta, a French lawmaker who has written a report on homegrown terrorism. “We’ve moved up to another level with suicide bombings. But the risk of seeing more of this kind of attack is real.” The threat is particularly acute for France. With about 571 French nationals fighting for Isis or other terrorist organisations, the country has the largest contingent of foreign jihadis in Syria. Up to 141 have died there and about 246 have returned to France, according to French authorities. This may be the tip of the iceberg. About 2,000 French citizens are thought to be involved in jihadi cells in France, and another 3,800 individuals are said to be showing signs of Islamist radicalization. Besides Mostefei, two other Frenchmen — two brothers — were being linked by authorities to Friday’s carnage. One blew himself up in a restaurant on Boulevard Voltaire, while police believe that the other may have escaped. On Sunday, officers were hunting for Abdeslam Salah, born in Brussels in 1989. The first details to emerge of Mostefai show similarities with the group that targeted Paris in January. Like Saïd and Cherif Kouachi, the brothers who attacked Charlie Hebdo, he was of Algerian origin. Like Amedy Coulibaly, who killed a police officer and four Jewish hostages, he was from Essone, a region on the southeastern outskirts of Paris. Mostefei was known to police, having been convicted eight times for minor crimes, including driving without a license. But he never spent time in prison, unlike Coulibaly, who became radicalized while in custody. Mostefei’s birthplace was Courcouronnes, a grim housing estate similar to Grigny, where Coulibaly lived. But Mostefai spent at least eight years in the peaceful and residential Madeleine district, in eastern Chartres, a small town renowned for its medieval cathedral. There, in a cul de sac, he lived in a two-storey house, with a black door and cream façade, with his parents, two sisters and two brothers. The family had their own indoor garage and a decent-sized back garden overlooking a sports complex. On Sunday, children were riding bicycles and playing football in the street. Two years before leaving the neighborhood, French intelligence services flagged Mostefei for Islamist radicalization. But neighbors did not spot anything. “He wore normal clothes, with training shoes — there was no hint of radicalization,” one of them said. His father was retired, and seemed to live off odd jobs, he added. “The mother wore a veil, but nothing out of the ordinary. She wasn’t fanatically religious at all.” The neighbor also said that both Mostefei’s parents shook the hand of people of the opposite sex, suggesting that they were far from radical in their religious beliefs.

Reuters / November 15, 2015 Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has said his country's intelligence services shared information they had which indicated that France, the United States and Iran were among countries being targeted for attack. "Information has been obtained from Iraqi intelligence sources that the countries to be targeted soon, before it occurred, are Europe in general, specifically France, as well as America and Iran," Jaafari said from the sidelines of talks in Vienna on ending the war in Syria on Saturday. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Surprising to some, this unfolding event is going to result in the U.S. fighting alongside Russia and Iran, which will allow the three countries to settle differences better in the future having gained a newfound understanding of each other.

Another person's interesting comparison. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buddhists living with Hindus = No Problem Hindus living with Christians = No Problem Hindus living with Jews = No Problem Christians living with Shintos = No Problem Shintos living with Confucians = No Problem Confucians living with Baha'is = No Problem Baha'is living with Jews = No Problem Jews living with Atheists = No Problem Atheists living with Buddhists = No Problem Buddhists living with Sikhs = No Problem Sikhs living with Hindus = No Problem Hindus living with Baha'is = No Problem Baha'is living with Christians = No Problem Christians living with Jews = No Problem Jews living with Buddhists = No Problem Buddhists living with Shintos = No Problem Shintos living with Atheists = No Problem Atheists living with Confucians = No Problem Confusians living with Hindus = No Problem WHEREAS........ Muslims living with Hindus = Problem Muslims living with Buddhists = Problem Muslims living with Christians = Problem Muslims living with Jews = Problem Muslims living with Sikhs = Problem Muslims living with Baha'is = Problem Muslims living with Shintos = Problem Muslims living with Atheists = Problem MUSLIMS LIVING WITH MUSLIMS = BIG PROBLEM A religion of peace ?

Obama calls for a “rejection by non-Muslims of the ignorance that equates Islam with terror.” UN Summit on ISIS - September 29, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Not my list, but applicable to the topic) The Paris attacks were Muslims The Charlie Hebdo Attackers were Muslim The Chattanooga Reserve Center Shooter was a Muslim The Shoe Bomber was a Muslim The Beltway Snipers were Muslims The Fort Hood Shooter was a Muslim The underwear Bomber was a Muslim The U.S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims The Madrid Train Bombers were Muslims The Bali Nightclub Bombers were Muslims The London Subway Bombers were Muslims The Moscow Theatre Attackers were Muslims The Boston Marathon Bombers were Muslims The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Muslims The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Muslims The Iranian Embassy Takeover, was by Muslims The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Muslims The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Muslims The Buenos Aires Suicide Bombers were Muslims The Israeli Olympic Team Attackers were Muslims The Kenyan U.S, Embassy Bombers were Muslims The Saudi, Khobar Towers Bombers were Muslims The Beirut Marine Barracks bombers were Muslims The Besian Russian School Attackers were Muslims The first World Trade Center Bombers were Muslims The Bombay & Mumbai India Attackers were Muslims The Achille Lauro Cruise Ship Hijackers were Muslims The September 11th 2001 Airline Hijackers were Muslims All Muslims are not not terrorist........but all terrorist are Muslims. You make the call. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ISIS threat to America should not be taken lightly. But having said that, to date, 99 percent of the murders in America were caused by.......non-Muslim Americans (Christians). For example: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/40732-the-face-of-america-in-year-2015/ Stupidity has become the new normal.....is there still hope for our country? - http://news.yahoo.com/three-missouri-teens-charged-making-terrorist-threats-022916150.html And then consider the vast number of students murdered in school by other students since the first instance at Columbine, plus the spike in domestic violence (e.g. Baltimore, Ferguson). http://news.yahoo.com/baltimore-homicides-top-300-worst-since-1999-011900066.html And Detroit, well, the stratospheric level of crime there makes the Middle East almost appear peaceful. Only a morally healthy and united America can successfully take on a serious global threat.

A whole 20 bombs. Carpet bombing of the area is more like what I had in mind.

Polish minister says Syrians can return to fight and 'liberate' homeland AFP / November 15, 2015 The hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees pouring into Europe can be trained to form an army and return to "liberate" their homeland, Poland's new foreign minister said on Sunday. Witold Waszczykowski also told public television that the refugees could be gainfully employed in this manner rather than sipping coffee on an iconic Berlin avenue or other European cities. "Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have come to Europe recently. We can help them form an army," he said. "Tens of thousands of young men disembark from their rubber dinghies with iPad in hand and instead of asking for drink or food, they ask where they can charge their cellphones. "They can go to fight to liberate their country with our help," said the minister, who takes office on Monday. Waszczykowski said he was trying to avoid a situation where "we send our soldiers to fight in Syria while hundreds of thousands of Syrians drink their coffee in (Berlin's) Unter den Linden" boulevard or in other European cities. Germany has to date maintained an open-door policy for Syrians escaping their country's bloodshed, giving them "primary protection" -- the highest status for refugees. Poland's incoming European Affairs Minister Konrad Szymanski said Saturday that Warsaw no longer considered an EU plan to redistribute refugees across Europe as a "political possibility" in light of the Paris attacks that left at least 129 people dead. The program -- long criticised by the EU's eastern-most members -- has come under fresh criticism after officials said a Syrian passport found at the scene of one of the attacks belonged to an asylum seeker who registered on a Greek island in October.

You're exactly right. Americans are accustomed to things being black and white. In Vietnam for example, unable to distinguish friend from foe, we saw the beginning of a much more challenging fighting environment.

1/3 of Americans don't know what's happening in the world (they intentionally avoid the news.....tidbits of truth, but still something to go on). 1/3 of Americans have heard of ISIS and saw news of the Paris attacks, but consider it a "far away" and "over there" event, not one they need to be concerned about.......it's not going to get in the way of their busy personal life. 1/3 of Americans are concerned. The gun advocates are more convinced of their conviction......but given the way terrorist prey, indiscriminately attacking civilian targets, they'll never see it coming. Fighting these people requires a complete mental reboot, and the temporary discarding of the ethics, morals and values that define us, as only when we fight them at their ruthless level can we defeat them. There's little doubt that ISIS took down that Russian airliner last week, flying at 31,000 feet, murdering 224 civilians. And we know how porous our borders are.........or at least the 12 million-plus illegal aliens in the U.S. do. These people have declared war on western civilization. I fear, while Washington is trying to be politically correct and walk a safe line, things are going to get worse before it gets better. The authorities are no doubt working around-the-clock to keep America safe. But without a reboot of our mindset, I fear our current posture is inadequate. Paris: Islamic militant Abu Maryam: “You have been ordered to fight the infidel wherever you find him - what are you waiting for? There are weapons and cars available and targets ready to be hit.” Islamic militant Abu Salman: “poison the water and food of......the enemies of Allah."

Here's a photo of Raqqa, Syria, otherwise known as ISIS Central. Note that the ISIS headquarters and Islamic court buildings were still standing undisturbed, until France bombed it Sunday night. Odd, isn't it. Now, for how long has the U.S. been supporting a fight against ISIS, including aerial strikes? .

I can assure you that at any one time, the common people are only privy to around 15 to 20 percent of what's going on in the world, who'd doing it, and why. The rest is hidden from view. Think about that.

Transport Online / November 12, 2015 In a year in which the trucking industry has seen sales fall 30 percent, winning large quantity orders has been even more important for truckomakers. Mercedes-Benz recently received an order from Araraquara (São Paulo), Brazil-based Morada Transport for 40 new tractors, including 30 Axor 2544 6x2 tractors and 10 Axor 2644 6x4 tractors. The trucks will operate on routes in the state of São Paulo, South Minas Gerais, Midwest and Rio de Janeiro. "These are the first “Econfort” spec Axor trucks in our fleet. Both Mercedes-Benz and its dealers worked hard to understand our needs and helped us to get the specs right, which made us very confident in the choice, "said Fernando Fernandes, executive manager of Transport Address. "In addition, we note an evolution of the Axor for our applications and take into account the conditions set in the negotiation, which included the involvement of Mercedes-Benz Bank, further strengthening this partnership," he adds. Fernandes explains that an important specific requirement of the gas transport which was attended by the Axor. "The assembly of the generator set with compact layout and easy access, provides a minimum universal joint angle, reducing the need for maintenance. The trucks are equipped with automated transmission Mercedes PowerShift AMT transmissions featuring ECOROLL and Power Mode features, pneumatic rear axle suspension, air suspended cabs and new-for-2015 interiors and seating. .

Volvo Trucks Press Release / November 9, 2015 In our new brand film we want to tell you who we are, not what we are. It is time – for Real Change. Trucks aren’t at the heart of what we do. People are. And cargo isn’t all we carry. It’s ideas, innovations and improvements that are changing things. Pushing progress. By pushing what’s possible for transport, we touch lives everywhere. Volvo Trucks is driving progress in today and tomorrow’s transport society.

Western Australia releases new heavy vehicle charging regime Australasian Transport News (ATN) / November 13, 2015 First reform in 12 years proposes more control to Commissioner of Main Roads The Western Australian government has used main roads law reform to start the Perth Freight Link (PFL) heavy vehicle charging scheme process and to widen its scope. Heavy vehicles are the only users that will be subject to PFL tolls under the Main Roads Amendment Bill 2015. "While the intention is for the heavy vehicle charging scheme to be applicable initially only in relation to the Perth Freight Link, the provision allows for other roads to be included under the roads that may be prescribed in the regulations," the Bill’s explanatory memorandum states. Of the state’s $650 million spend on the new infrastructure, state transport minister Dean Nalder says heavy vehicle owners using it will provide $374.5 million. "I assure members that there will be extensive consultation and discussion with the community and the industry on the detail of the proposed heavy vehicle charge," Nalder tells state parliament in introducing the Bill. "The heavy vehicle charge is about sharing the benefits on a win-win basis with the transport industry, contributing to an even more effective road freight network." Regulations on how the scheme is actually planned to are yet to be drafted. The explanatory memorandum says fees will relate to "prescribed routes" though these are not defined but the memorandum makes plain the link between savings for the trucking industry and fees for its use. "Users of the future Perth Freight Link network and most importantly heavy vehicle operators, will benefit with the project expected to considerably reduce travel times," it states. "The implementation of a direct charging scheme ensures the efficient provision and use of prescribed roads by heavy vehicles. "These fees or charges will be the means by which a significant proportion of the State Government’s contribution to the Perth Freight Link construction costs will be recouped from the private sector (i.e. the road transport industry). "Those heavy vehicle charges and the prescribed roads to which they will apply, will be set out in regulations which will be in place once the road network is complete." Regulations would be made to specify one or more prohibited road or roads in relation to any prescribed road and make it an offence for drivers to take such routes "without lawful excuse". "For each part of the network of roads that comprise the Perth Freight Link, there could be one or several other road/s which are an alternative route that heavy vehicle operators could use," the memorandum states. "In order for the heavy vehicle charging scheme to be effective it is important to provide a disincentive, in the form of a statutory penalty, for driving on other alternative roads rather than the prescribed roads with the view to evade paying the relevant prescribed charge." The reform aims to modernise the Main Roads Act, which has been unchanged for 12 years. It will strengthen Commissioner of Main Roads powers, particularly in relation to safety and allow the office to "enter into innovative business arrangements, such as the creation of private entities, to enable the Main Roads to operate more commercially", Nalder says. This might include dealing with a company involved in toll collection and will include more powers over infrastructure provision. The trip-line for ministerial consent on projects will rise from $500,000 to $1-5 million. There will be greater powers over local government after consultation "to mitigate the effects of works on local roads to minimise traffic congestion The reform Bill and the memorandum can be found here.

Owner/Driver / November 13, 2015 Western Australia is moving closer to allowing tolls on its road network, and trucking operators will be the first in line to pay if the plan goes ahead. Fresh from a meeting last week where Australia's transport ministers agreed to overcharge the trucking industry on registration charges, Western Australia now wants to give the state’s transport department the power to toll roads. Transport minister Dean Nalder has introduced the Main Roads Amendment Bill to allow Main Roads to establish a heavy vehicle charge for the proposed Perth freight link, which is due to run directly from the Roe Highway to the Port of Fremantle. "The funding of the Perth freight Link is contingent upon a state government contribution of $650 million, of which $374.5 million will be recovered through a private sector contribution by way of a heavy vehicle charge," Nalder says. "The charging scheme for the Perth freight link will apply only to heavy vehicles; being vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of more than 4.5 tonnes, which includes all trucks requiring a heavy vehicle driver’s licence to operate." The WA Government has not yet determined the charge, with Nalder saying the details of the scheme and how it will operate "will be drafted in future". The Bill will also allow Main Roads to toll other parts of the network. "While the intention is for the heavy vehicle charging scheme to be applicable initially only in relation to the Perth freight link, the provision allows for other roads to be included under the roads that may be prescribed in the regulations," the Bill’s explanatory memorandum states. The WA Labor Opposition has criticised the Bill and says says it does not support any toll roads in the state. "It gives the Government the green light to impose tolls on roads across the state," opposition spokeswoman on transport Rita Saffioti says. Nalder claims a toll will not be introduced until the Government has finished the Perth freight link. "Exactly what that means will need to be worked through with industry," he says. However, Nalder adds that the road project and accompanying toll will improve industry productivity. "The heavy vehicle charge is about sharing the benefits of a win-win basis, with the transport industry contributing to an even more effective road freight network." According to the Bill’s explanatory memorandum, the link will significantly reduce transport costs while increasing efficiency and freight access between Kewdale and the Port of Fremantle. "Users of the future Perth Freight Link network and most importantly heavy vehicle operators, will benefit with the project expected to considerably reduce travel times," the memorandum states. The WA Government has committed to the first stage of the project known as Roe 8 – extending the Roe Highway from the Kwinana Freeway to Stock Road – but the second stage that will take the link to the port has been put aside for at least one year.

I hear you. It's not a quality issue......same as U.S. production. The issue is that, with a country market the size of the United States, the world's second largest, all but low volume niche car models sold in the U.S. should be produced in the U.S., supporting employment in our country. Given our market size, we have the right to demand that, and we should. The subject is inarguable. Automakers wanting to profit in the United States must build in the United States (with the exception of low volume niche models).

I have no problem with migrant workers entering the country legally, on 6-month short-term work-related visas. But they must enter the United States "legally", which enables authorities to document and track them. Individuals who enter the United States illegally, for one day or forever, are criminals who must be removed and forever banned.

Wade looks like such a happy, gung-ho Volvo guy. He's seen the light.

Renault Trucks Press Release / November 12, 2015 Jost Group has just received shipment of 100 Renault Trucks vehicles. A leader in Europe's transportation and logistics industry, Jost will add these vehicles to its fleet for international hauling. This shipment contained Renault Trucks T 460 models built with a 4x2 tractor configuration. As part of its fleet renewal program, Jost Group, a key player in European transportation and logistics, has turned to a trusted partner in Renault Trucks by acquiring 100 vehicles from the "T" Range, making the truck manufacturer one of the Group's leading suppliers. These Renault Trucks T 460 models, whose delivery was just completed, were specially configured to meet Jost Group's needs on international transport routes. "As regards engine specifications, we feel the 460 horsepower version to be a perfect compromise between required performance and the Total Cost of Ownership, especially when considering the kinds of international hauling conditions these vehicles will be experiencing," says Joseph Schmitz, Head of Group Purchasing. "These vehicles have all been identically fitted with the Fuel Eco Pack in order to optimize the fleet's overall fuel consumption." This Fuel Eco Pack combines a whole host of smart technologies that serve to reduce vehicle consumption, including: an inhibited power mode, an eco cruise control setting with Optiroll-controlled free wheel action, a clutch-activated air compressor, a variable-speed power steering pump, and an automatic engine shutoff switch set at 3 minutes. The vehicles delivered to Jost also feature a differential locking mechanism on the rear axle, a speed reducer, aluminum air and fuel tanks, deflectors on both the roof and sides, air conditioning, a Bluetooth/MP3 docking station and a refrigerator beneath the bunk. The Renault Trucks T 460 models will cover 120,000 kilometers a year, primarily across Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France. They have been equipped with a hydraulic system adapted to the use of skips and semitrailers. Photo gallery - http://corporate.renault-trucks.com/en/press-releases/2015_11_12_renault-trucks-delivers-100-vehicles-to-the-jost-group.html

Heavy Duty Trucking / November 12, 2015 Prices for Class 8 used trucks should begin declining as large numbers of vehicles begin coming in on trade next year, said Steve Clough, president of Volvo Group subsidiary Arrow Truck Sales, during a November 12 webinar. The trade-ins were bought new in 2011, a fairly healthy production year for new trucks, and are due for replacement by fleets using a five-year cycle. Those model-year 2012 trucks sold in ‘11 on three-year trade cycles are already in and others are following. Sales of the ‘12s represented a revival following the sales slump during the Great Recession. The question now is, will demand be high enough to absorb the greater supply? Healthy demand now for used trucks is driven by high freight tonnage being tendered to fleets, and comparatively low sales in 2007 through ’10 restricted the supply more recently, he said. Tonnage is down slightly from last year and fleets report having a bit more difficulty finding loads. Supply, demand, condition and specifications determine prices, Clough reminded the webinar audience, with the actual price of any particular truck determined by “what someone is willing to pay for it.” The reputation of a fleet for maintenance will cause prices for its trucks to be higher than those from fleets which aren’t so good on maintenance. He said premium trucks like “the Paccar brands” still command premium prices in the used-truck market, and the higher price usually reflects what’s paid when the trucks were purchased new. But condition and proper specifications for given hauling jobs are important to buyers, too. Freightliners with Detroit DD15 diesels tend to command a premium because they’ve built good reputations, and will cost more than those with Cummins engines, Clough said. “No premium value is put on a Cummins engine,” he added. Automated manual transmissions were initially slow sellers and lost their upfront price premium. But they now return some of their price premium as second buyers understand their advantages in fuel economy, driver retention and quick new-driver training due to the AMTs’ ease of operation. Exhaust emissions equipment had a big effect on the used truck business in the last 10 years, he noted. 2006 was the strongest year as 284,000 trucks were sold during the “pre-buy” by customers avoiding the then-upcoming diesel particulate filters, which were expensive and suspected of being troublesome. The sales declined steeply, then slumped further as the recession took hold. Values of early DPF-equipped trucks were low. However, California’s regulations requiring DPFs created “an artificial demand” for DPF trucks, he said, and that created a shortage elsewhere in the country. This pushed up prices for them. Although the recession had ended by 2010, the economy was recovering only slowly and freight movement showed no surge, and meanwhile buyers stayed away for fear of selective catalytic reduction equipment that was being added to exhaust systems. SCR offered better fuel economy, but boosted new-truck prices and caused concern; buyers generally didn’t want the first production year of SCR engines, but now accept it, Clough said. Troubles with various diesels in recent years have been addressed, mostly with software changes, by the time they’re traded in, he said. However, Clough said that Internationals with Navistar MaxxForce diesels are difficult to sell due to their history of problems, and Arrow generally doesn’t handle them. Natural gas-powered trucks raise questions about reliability, engine life and residual values. They’ve not been run long enough to provide solid answers, but as well-run fleets gain more experience with natural gas equipment, their values will become more clear. “We haven’t seen any liquified or compressed natural gas-powered trucks or sold any,” Clough said. For now, they seem to be most successful in “close-loop” operations in which they return home regularly where mechanics know how to fix items peculiar to them. Although glider kits have become popular among some buyers, “We avoid glider-kit trucks because there are too many open issues,” he said. “They seem to be bought by those who want to avoid emissions regulations. I prefer to avoid a business that seeks to avoid making the environment better.” An industry forecast of 262,000 North American Class 8 sales this year will be the strongest since the recession, Clough noted. And those trucks will begin coming in three to five years from now. That will create more supply and again the question is, will there be enough demand to absorb them? .

Déjà vu. The Mack Trucks’ Macungie plant union employees had wanted to make concessions so that on-highway production would remain in Allentown and not shift to Winnsboro, South Carolina. However, the UAW ignored the very people they represented and fought Mack Trucks, resulting in a lose-lose for all parties. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Philadelphia Inquirer / February 04, 1987 A Mack Trucks spokesman said the Allentown United Auto Workers membership had approved a new contract despite opposition from the international in Detroit. William McCullough, Mack vice president for corporate affairs, told United Press International yesterday that members of UAW Local 677 had approved, in a vote Saturday, the terms of a January 18th agreement between local union officials and Mack. The Allentown local, locked in a dispute with the union's international Detroit office, imposed a news blackout Monday on the progress of its talks with Detroit officials. The international, whose approval of contract terms is a required part of the ratification process, opposes the January 18th agreement because of wage and benefit concessions it contends are unprecedented. Before Saturday's vote, Local 677 officials had endorsed the tentative 6-year agreement with Mack Trucks primarily because of guarantees by the company that it would not close operations in the Lehigh Valley during the life of the contract. Mack also had promised job offers at a new truck plant in Winnsboro, S.C. to at least 600 Local 677 members who are laid off or facing loss of their jobs. But within a week after the terms of the tentative January 18th agreement were released, the international indicated it would oppose the contract no matter how Local 677 members voted. Local 677 has called its disagreement with the international a "family" matter and even declined to provide some details about the dispute to Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, who went to Allentown on Sunday to try to bring the parties closer. Casey also met with Mack chairman John B. Curcio. Robert Grotevant, a spokesman for Governor Casey, said one of the international's primary objections focused on Mack's refusal to give the UAW an open door for organizing workers at the new South Carolina plant. Wages at that plant are expected to be significantly lower than those at the Mack plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

Speaking of the new GM union contract............... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UAW VP said to endorse ratification of GM pact Automotive News / November 12, 2015 A top UAW official is recommending to the union’s board that it ratify a tentative four-year agreement with General Motors, despite a “no” vote from skilled-trades workers. UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, head of the GM department, told local union officials during a conference call this morning that she planned to recommend that UAW President Dennis Williams and the union’s International Executive Board ratify the pact, according to two people who listened to the call. Last week, the UAW said the tentative contract that was approved by a majority of GM union workers who voted couldn’t be ratified because the skilled-trades workers -- who represent about 15 percent of GM’s 52,600 UAW-represented employees -- voted it down. The UAW’s constitution requires approval by both production and skilled-trades workers. But under the rules, the union can seek to reopen negotiations with GM only if the workers’ objections center on work rules related specifically to the skilled trades -- the elimination of job categories, for example -- rather than on wages, bonuses or other economic aspects of the pact. Union leaders earlier this week visited GM plants across the country to meet with local union officials and skilled-trades workers to get to the bottom of their disapproval. That process wrapped up on Tuesday. Mix of issues Estrada said during today’s call that the skilled-trades workers’ complaints included a mix of economic issues -- being excluded from a $60,000 retirement buyout offered to some production workers, for example -- and non-economic ones, such as a consolidation of worker classifications that could require expanded duties, the sources said. She said GM has signaled that some of those work-specific issues can be hashed out at the local level, rather than set in stone in the national contract. A split vote between production and skilled-trades workers is rare: It happened at Ford in 1973 and again in 2011 when Chrysler’s skilled-trades workers voted down their tentative deal. The UAW ratified the Chrysler contract anyway, after determining that the workers objected to the deal’s broader economic aspects, not to the part of the agreement specific to skilled trades. If the UAW were to decide that the skilled-trades workers’ objections were legitimate, it could jeopardize the entire contract. The union could ask GM to reopen the talks to address some of those specific issues, but the company could refuse, raising the possibility of a strike. Voting on the UAW’s tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co. started today at some plants. Nearly 53,000 Ford workers will have a chance to vote on the deal through next week. Raise for Tier 2 The GM agreement would establish an eight-year grow-in period for Tier 2 workers, who were hired in recent years and are paid an hourly wage of about $16 to $19, slightly more than half what their Tier 1 counterparts earn. About 20 percent of GM’s 52,600 hourly UAW workers are in the lower-paid Tier 2 category. Under the unratified contract, new hires would start at $17 an hour and see wage increases each year through the eighth year of employment, when their wage will reach nearly $30. That would match Tier 1 workers, who also are getting their first wage increases in more than a decade: 3 percent raises in the first and third years of the contract, with lump-sum bonuses in the second and fourth years. GM also committed to spend about $8 billion across 12 U.S. factories over the life of the contract, the union said. That spending should “create and/or retain” more than 3,300 jobs, the UAW said. The deal also included an $8,000 signing bonus, to be paid in the second pay period after ratification. Workers also would be eligible for lump-sum performance bonuses of $1,000, in addition to an annual $500 bonus if GM hits vehicle-quality targets.

The Wall Street Journal / November 12, 2015 General Motors, fresh from agreeing to a new four-year union contract that is expected to drive up its U.S. labor costs, plans to become the first U.S. auto maker to sell a Chinese-made car in America. General Motors, fresh off agreeing to a new union contract that is expected to drive up its U.S. labor costs, plans to become the first major auto maker to sell Chinese-made cars in the U.S. The nation’s No. 1 automaker by sales early next year plans to start selling the Buick Envision, a midsize sport-utility vehicle made in China’s Shandong province. The move would add a third SUV to Buick’s U.S. lineup at a time when such crossovers are among the best selling vehicles in the market. Initially, the company expects to import a modest number—between 30,000 and 40,000—a year. But it signals the beginning of a strategic production shift for the Detroit auto giant and a bold experiment that will be closely followed by other auto companies that have said they would eventually consider such a move. Until now, GM has confined production in China to meeting that country’s demand. But as sales gains have moderated and Chinese tastes in cars converge with Americans’, the potential for more Chinese imports from GM and others could blossom. Global auto makers had been slow to ship Chinese vehicles to the U.S. and Europe, fearing Western buyers would shun them over quality concerns. Volvo Car Corp., now owned by China’s Geely Group, was the first to challenge that assumption when it started shipping Volvo S60L sedans from a plant in China to the U.S. this spring. The arrival of Chinese-made Buicks in the U.S. is likely to rile the United Auto Workers union, which has struggled to gain approval from its members for recent labor deals, in part over U.S. production guarantees. Over the summer, as rumors spread that GM was considering importing vehicles from China, UAW officials called the prospect concerning. However, the UAW and GM discussed the move during recent labor talks and appear to have come to an understanding. Union officials have been hit hard in recent months with news that production of some smaller, less-profitable passenger cars now built in the U.S. will move to Mexican factories over the course of the next four-year labor contract. In 2011, the UAW agreed to a wage contract that led to big bonuses for workers and the addition of tens of thousands of factory jobs. This year, union officials won much richer contracts that are expected to undermine those investment decisions and lead Detroit executives to look for lower-cost manufacturing options. GM officials say importing the Buick Envision would fill a gap in the brand’s product line, and isn’t a cost-saving measure. Buick’s U.S. presence has declined as the auto maker’s market share slid and Chevrolet took center stage as its mass-market brand. Buick’s U.S. volumes have recovered in recent years on more attractive models and a near-record pace for light-vehicle demand. In the U.S., Buick’s most popular offering is the small South Korea-built Encore SUV. Since acquiring South Korea’s Daewoo in 2002, GM has used its Korean plants to supply low-cost vehicles, but lately has been rethinking that strategy due to rising Korean labor costs. Buick’s second-best seller in the U.S. is the Enclave, a larger crossover built in Michigan. By adding a third crossover vehicle to the lineup, GM could accelerate Buick’s attempt to take on other premium auto brands, such as Honda’s Acura or Ford’s Lincoln.

Exactly. Much of today's generation doesn't grasp the concept of "responsibility", a character trait that played quite a role in building this country. When today's generation makes a mistake, there's no remorse. They don't care. If I make a mistake, fail in my obligations, or simply let someone down, it troubles me for a day to a week.....perhaps a month.