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Prime Mover Magazine / October 7, 2015 Freightliner Trucks Australia has revealed the new red Argosy cab-over used as part of its sponsorship deal with V8 Supercars team, Brad Jones Racing. According to Freightliner, the entire combination weighs in at 57 tonnes and will be carry cars, parts, tools, tables, chairs and catering equipment. The Freightliner Argosy is also fitted with a 15-litre Detroit six-cylinder diesel that pumps out 560 horsepower. The truck joins two more Argosys, which will all tow a total of six V8 Supercars, 66 wheels, 24 bumpers, 12 complete doors, 12 bonnets, 30 front brake sets, 18 rear brake sets, 48 suspension dampers, 15 door mirrors, 10 sets of headlights, six tail-shafts, three steering racks, four gearboxes and four spare engines. Established in 2014, the Freightliner Racing is part of the Brad Jones Racing family that runs a total of six cars at Bathurst, in both the main game and the Dunlop Development Series. Among them includes the Number 14 Freightliner Racing Commodore of Fabian Coulthard and the number 8 Alliance Truck Parts Commodore of Andy Jones. Related reading - https://www.freightliner.com.au/Trucks/Argosy .

Commercial Carrier Journal / October 5, 2015 I-405 is the main north-south freeway through the greater Seattle area and often a source of frustration, given the high volumes of traffic that is seemingly always present. But once you clear the congestion, the Pacific Northwest offers stunning vistas and great roads. And while it is true that this area is Kenworth’s home turf, it is also true that you’d be hard-pressed to pick better terrain to test a new 11-liter Diesel engine and terrain-following cruise control system. The new MX-11 was, like its big-brother MX-13, designed by Paccar’s DAF subsidiary in The Netherlands where it underwent extensive testing on the European continent since its debut there in 2013, eventually logging 250 million miles there, with another 2 million logged here in North America. Interestingly, Paccar builds the new engine at its manufacturing facility in Columbus, Miss., with many of those engines finding their way back across The Pond to Europe. The MX-11 features several new design points that were not available when the MX-13 engine was on the drawing board. There are new, modularly-designed components, for example, including an interesting new water pump that features cartridge-style sections that can be replaced without removing the entire system. If the impeller or the belt assembly goes bad, a technician can simply remove and replace those modules and go on his way. A glimpse of the future can be seen in the MX-11 as well: The engine has been designed from the ground up to be quickly updated with new software and can be programmed to meet specific customer requirements. Actual engine displacement is 10.8 liters, which works out to 355 to 430 horsepower options with torque ratings ranging from 1,250 to 1,550 pound feet. Paccar says the new MX-11 is 400 pounds lighter than comparable Cummins ISX12 or MX-13 engines and has a 1 million mile B10 life. On the highway, the MX-11 proved to be superbly quiet with plenty of low-end torque on hand. Lugging up steep mountain grades was no problem at all. My test truck, a sharp Kenworth T680 with an Eaton Fuller 13-speed manual transmission was loaded with about 34,000 pounds in the trailer — a load the MX-11 was easily able handle in that rugged terrain. New Predictive Cruise Control system now in production It was no coincidence that my MX-13-powered T680 test tractor featured the Eaton Fuller Advantage AMT. That transmission is also the key controlling component of Kenworth’s new DAF-developed Predictive Cruise Control system, which I was also given the opportunity to evaluate during my drive. The new system is pretty slick: It uses real-time GPS data to not only control vehicle speeds to optimize fuel economy, but closely monitors GPS terrain modeling to anticipate changing road conditions and set the truck up to deal with them in as efficiently as possible. One of the drawbacks of a conventional cruise control system is its inability to judge terrain conditions. Every driver is familiar with the sudden burst of throttle as cruise control discovers too late that its truck is on a long, steep mountain grade, or scrambled to disengage the system as speed picks up sharply once a grade has been crested. The DAF system can identify these terrain conditions before the truck is actually dealing with them, and adjust throttle settings or gear selections in advance to handle them. This holds true both up a grade, or going down, when the system automatically shifts the powertrain into neutral, or what Kenworth calls “Coast Mode,” to deliver exceptional fuel economy. Should the grade steepen and vehicle speed start to pick up, the system automatically and seamlessly engages the MX-11’s engine brake to hold the truck at its desired speed. It’s a fine system that worked exactly as advertised during my run around the Cascades. Even in steep terrain, drivers can pretty much flip the system on and forget it, with full confidence it will handle any terrain coming its way. Paccar says MX-11 engines will enter production early next year, and the DAF Predictive Cruise Control System is available now as a factory-installed option.

Ford Press Release / July 28, 2015

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/10/07/legacy-classic-power-wagon-first-drive-review/

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2016-chevrolet-colorado-diesel-first-drive-review

The veto power of the 5 permanent council members must be cancelled, as it is the main cause for the UN's ineffectiveness. Owing to the veto power in the security council, the UN has since 1945 been little more than an expensive joke. Ref. The United Nations Security Council "power of veto" refers to the veto power wielded solely by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States), enabling them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" resolution, as well as decide which issues fall under "substantive" title. This de-facto control over the UN Security Council by the five governments is seen by critics, since its creation in 1945, as the most undemocratic character of the UN.

Reuters / September 26, 2015 It is high time the United Nations Security Council is reformed to reflect the real distribution of power across the world in the 21st century, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday. "We need a new method of work to solve problems," Merkel said. "That makes reform of the Security Council necessary, reform which reflects the real power in the world better than the situation today." The appeal was in a summary of Merkel's opening remarks at a meeting with her counterparts from Brazil, India and Japan provided to reporters by the German delegation. "We have to proceed very wisely," she added, according to the summary. "We have to find allies to reach our goal of reform." Merkel is in New York for a summit meeting of world leaders on global development at the U.N. General Assembly. The Security Council, the most powerful U.N. body, has 15 members, five of them permanent. It has the ability to issue legally binding resolutions imposing sanctions or authorizing military action to enforce its decisions. The 10 temporary members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, key allies from World War Two, are permanent veto-wielding council members. Germany, Japan, India and Brazil say the world is very different from what it was in 1945, and the Security Council should reflect that. Germany and Japan, which are global financial powers and top contributors to the United Nations, argue that they deserve permanent council seats. "The current atmosphere is that not only we four but many others don't agree with the structure and the working method of the Security Council," Merkel told the other leaders. "We want to take others with us to reach a modern working structure of the Security Council which suits the 21st century." The goal of expanding the council to include additional permanent and temporary members has long been an elusive one. Many U.N. member states routinely call for Security Council reform and have been working for decades, so far unsuccessfully, to find an acceptable formula for expanding the council. The five permanent council members can block any such moves. Britain and France say they support council reform. The United States has also cautiously backed it. U.N. diplomats say China, and to a lesser extent Russia, are the principal opponents of the idea.

U.S. supported Syrian commander gives U.S.-supplied equipment to al-Qaida Associated Press / September 25, 2015 A Syrian rebel commander who recently completed a U.S. training program has told the U.S. military that he surrendered six U.S.-supplied coalition-provided trucks and ammunition to an intermediary linked to the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, known as the Nusra Front. U.S. Central Command said late Friday that roughly 25 percent of the equipment assigned to that unit was turned over earlier this week in exchange for safe passage within the region. The revelation underscores persistent problems with the U.S.-led coalition's effort to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State. The commander who turned the equipment over to the Nusra Front was one of about 70 rebel fighters who were in the second U.S. training course. The first batch of about 54 trainees has disbanded. Of the 54, no more than five are still fighting ISIS.

Scania Press Release / September 24, 2015 Driving four classic Scania trucks across northern Europe to Scania’s headquarters in Sweden was the trip of a lifetime for a group of friends from the Netherlands. Having taken their classic Scania truck on trips to Germany and France, the Jansen family from the Netherlands have now taken the vehicle to the home of Scania in Sweden. The family and their friends rode in a convoy of four classic Scania trucks with two trailers rebuilt into campers, that made the pilgrimage from the Netherlands to Södertälje, near Stockholm, over the recent European summer. “We had been thinking about going to see the place where Scania comes from for a couple of years,” explains Margo Jansen, whose husband André rebuilt the Scania Vabis L110 that the family travelled in. “Sweden is a beautiful country, and so we made it a holiday.” Classic Scania models André Jansen rebuilds trailers as a hobby and created the camper that the family lived in during their road trip. It is a fully functional home away from home, with a bedroom, kitchen and a bathroom with a shower. “It’s nice to stay in,” says Margo. “We travel in it quite often. We’ve been to France and Germany, and my husband has travelled with it to England.” Margo says André has long appreciated classic Scania models. “My husband always admired the old Scania Vabis models with the long noses. He knew those trucks from his father’s charcoal company.” In 1998, André started searching for a truck for himself, and in the summer of 1999 he came across a suitable Scania Vabis L110. The truck had been completely stripped down by the previous owner who had started renovating it. “Fortunately he had also collected a lot of new parts,” says Margo. “But it was one big jigsaw puzzle. It took my husband six years to restore it on his spare time. It was a huge project, but it was very satisfying.” The home of the Scania trucks When they are not travelling around Europe in their truck, the Jansen family likes to attend meeting for enthusiasts of old trucks, some of which are organised by their own club, Old Transport Achterhoek. The organised club-meets normally attract 100-150 old trucks and are a good opportunity for owners to come together and talk about their passion. This summer’s holiday trip lasted almost three weeks, of which two days were spent in Södertälje. “We went to the museum and took some beautiful pictures of the old Scania building,” says Margo. “We had lots of fun and achieved our goal: showing Södertälje and the Scania Company to our trucks. Once in our lives we and our Scania trucks had to see it.” Photo gallery - http://newsroom.scania.com/en-group/2015/09/24/pilgrimage-to-the-home-of-scania/

The New York Times / September 24, 2015 When the results of a vote to join the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union was announced late Wednesday at the Commercial Vehicle Group (C.V.G.) in Piedmont, Ala., the “hollering and whooping” echoed throughout the plant, said Alan Amos, a welder there. The 2-to-1 margin of victory at the small factory, which makes Bostrom brand truck seats, represents an unusual win in the uphill battle to organize autoworkers in the South. But it was unclear whether the vote signaled a broader breakthrough for labor and the U.A.W. in a region that has historically been allergic to most unions. Employees at C.V.G. cited low pay, which tops out at $15.80 an hour, the growing use of temporary workers at even lower wages and rising health insurance costs as reasons they voted to join the union. The use of temporary workers as a way to cut costs has become a potent organizing issue, according to Daniel B. Cornfield, a labor relations expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Workers see it as closing off “a conventional pathway to the American dream,” he said. Mr. Cornfield considered the Piedmont vote significant despite the plant’s small size. (There are only about 150 regular workers and 60 temporary workers.) “If the U.A.W. can succeed in organizing a Southern manufacturer,” he said, “it makes a statement that trade unionism is not necessarily an anathema to Southern work culture.” For Mr. Amos, a 10-year veteran of C.V.G. and one of the people who spearheaded the organizing effort, the breaking point came this spring. “There were conversations around the break room about how things kept getting worse and worse,” Mr. Amos said, citing high temperatures inside the plant, worsening benefits and the extensive use of temporary workers who earn $9.70 an hour and have no insurance. “It just kept piling and piling on top of each other,” he said. “We complained, but it kept falling on deaf ears.” In May, Mr. Amos called the 1-800 number on the U.A.W.’s website. From there, the organizing drive coalesced quickly, despite the failure of previous efforts at the plant by the United Steelworkers. In many ways the organizing effort flew under the radar. By contrast, conservative groups and Republican lawmakers rallied to defeat attempts to organize employees at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., even though the German car company itself had stayed out of the fray. Opponents argued that unionizing would damage the state’s competitiveness, and repeatedly raised the specter that unions helped bring about the problems in Detroit’s automobile industry. The loss in Chattanooga, by a 712-to-626 vote, was one of a series of failed attempts over the decades to unionize automobile workers in the South, where a number of foreign manufacturers, including BMW, Toyota and Nissan, operate assembly plants. (C.V.G., a global auto supplier, has its headquarters in Ohio.) Volkswagen subsequently agreed to allow several labor unions represent employees in Chattanooga without giving them bargaining power. In Alabama, the U.A.W. is still hoping to organize workers at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Tuscaloosa County, where there are more than 2,200 regular employees and more than 1,000 temporary workers. A local chapter was formed at the plant last October, but it does not have collective bargaining rights there, either. The company has said it is staying neutral on the topic of labor representation. As for this week’s vote in Piedmont, Cindy Estrada, a U.A.W. vice president, said, “I think it shows that workers do want change and they can stand up and win in the South.” In a statement, C.V.G. said, “While we do not believe union representation is in the best interests of the employees, we respect their right to vote on this very important matter.” The National Labor Relations Board is expected to certify the unofficial results next week. Alabama has proved to be more receptive to unions than its neighbors. It has higher union representation than any other state in the South and most of the Midwest; 10.8 percent of its workers belong to unions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationwide, just over 11 percent of wage and salaried workers were members of a union in 2014, compared with more than 20 percent in 1983. Despite anemic membership, advocates for organized labor say they have been encouraged by the growing numbers of Americans who say they have a favorable view of unions. Last month a Gallup poll found that 58 percent of those surveyed approved of unions, up 5 percentage points in just one year and 10 points from a record low of 48 percent in 2009. Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, saw the rare organizing victory in a different context, arguing that it reflected a new militancy by workers at fast-food outlets, Walmart and others at the low end of the wage scale. Referring to efforts to raise the minimum wage to as much as $15 an hour in some cities, she said, “The ‘Fight for 15’ has been a catalyst for organizing by and on behalf of low-wage workers, and that is reflected in the U.A.W.’s success.” The National Employment Law Project, which receives some funding from unions, released a study last year showing that many factory workers earn much less than their counterparts did in the past. The average wage in manufacturing is $23.37 an hour, according to the Census Bureau. But hourly pay in the auto industry has taken a steep dive. Median wages for parts workers fell to $15.83 an hour from $18.35 between 2003 and 2013, the study calculated. Ms. Estrada of the U.A.W. said that many people did not realize that 80 percent of a car was built by workers in the parts sector, which is where she said the union was concentrating many of its efforts. Bruce Nissen, a professor of labor studies at Florida International University in Miami, agreed that a broader awareness of stagnant wages and inequality seemed to be energizing workers in the South and the rest of the country. “I am seeing more willingness to organize on that basis,” he said. Note: CVG produces all the Mack cabs, and has over the years purchased several well known component brands including Bostrom and National seating. http://www.cvgrp.com...es/default.aspx It's up in the air as to whether CVG will produce the new cab. Connecting the dots of Mack conventional cab supplier history, Sheller-Globe purchased Motor Panels of the UK and then put the Norwalk Mack cab plant under its new Motor Panels division. Then that division was sold in 1989 to UK-based CH Industrials, which was sold in 1991 to UK-based Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which was sold in 2005 to CVG. The company had no prior history of assembling cabs, but was willing to do so. Currently, CVG stamps and assembles the cabs under contract in a run-down plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, originally located there to supply the Winnsboro, South Carolina plant, from which they are trucked up to Macungie.

Diesel News Australia / September 24, 2015 What is it about the V8 and the Aussie trucking industry? There is something about the sound of a hard working V8 heading onto the highway, which makes any trucking enthusiast grab the camera and record the truck passing by.

Heavy Duty Trucking / September 24, 2015 Ted Scott, vice president of engineering for the American Trucking Associations, had a succinct assessment of a recent federal regulatory proposal: “FMCSA has finally gone crazy.” The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require trucks and trailers to each carry a label certifying that the vehicle adhered to all federal safety standards on its date of manufacture. If the label is missing, the owner must procure a letter from the manufacturer that the vehicle is in compliance with those standards. The proposed rule has “no value to safety,” Scott said during his semi-annual equipment and regulatory update to members of ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council, who concluded their fall meeting near Orlando on Thursday. That’s why he dubbed it the “mattress tag rule” after another an old federal requirement that identifies materials used in a mattress but does not make it safer. ATA has told FMCSA that “there is no safety benefit… only unnecessary administrative compliance costs” connected with the proposed regulation, Scott said. The rule would interrupt interlining of trailers and other equipment among carriers, roadside inspections would take longer, and that would lengthen driver on-duty times. “Eleven motor carriers out of the 26 responses to a TMC survey indicated that they had missing or unreadable certification labels” on their equipment, he said. “Several commercial vehicle manufacturers are no longer in business, having gone bankrupt, been sold, or just closed their doors, making the ability to obtain a lost- or defaced-certification letter impossible.” Furthermore, the proposal is the result of a motor coach crash in which the driver was at fault, not the equipment or the standards under which it was built, Scott said. And the recommendations by that National Transportation Safety Board that led to the proposal “have nothing to do with trucking operations.” Last year FMCSA touted its elimination of the post-trip inspection report when a driver finds no defects, which it claimed would save the trucking industry $1.7 billion, he noted. “Now, less than a year later, FMCSA is proposing a way to replace that savings with a totally unnecessary, costly burden with no apparent safety benefit,” Scott concluded.

Caterpillar `Bites the Bullet' as Oil Rout Compounds Mining Pain Bloomberg / September 24, 2015 The last time Caterpillar Inc. cut thousands of jobs, a mining slowdown was to blame. Now the main culprit is oil, as slumping prices batter drillers. On Thursday, the world’s most valuable machinery producer announced a plan to cut as many as 10,000 jobs, or 9 percent of its workforce, through 2018 as the effects of crude’s collapse ripple through the industry. The measures -- including the second reduction in sales guidance in two months -- represent the biggest round of cuts since 2013, when the company reduced its headcount by 13,000 as sales to metal producers declined along with prices. The announcement marks a capitulation to a prolonged downturn in energy, the segment that had helped shield Caterpillar’s earnings as mining slumped and construction growth remained tepid, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. “They’ve finally opened up the manila envelope that says ‘doomsday’ on it and they’re executing the plan that they hoped they would never have to execute,” Sameer Rathod, a San Francisco-based analyst at Macquarie, said by telephone. “No one knows what the shape of the downturn looks like or any shape of the recovery.” The Peoria, Illinois-based company will cut as many as 5,000 workers this year and another 5,000 by 2018. It reduced a 2015 revenue projection by $1 billion and said sales are expected to drop 5 percent next year as 2016 results will decline across the company’s three largest segments led by “the most significant decline in the oil and gas portion of our energy and transportation segment.” In July, Caterpillar also lowered its sales guidance by $1 billion. Shares Slump Caterpillar fell 6.3 percent to a five-year low of $65.80, the steepest loss in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The stock has lost 28 percent this year, the biggest annual drop since 2008. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has fallen 18 percent in 2015 while the Dow is down 9.8 percent. The consolidation may affect more than 20 plants, part of a plan that will save about $1.5 billion of operating costs annually and cost about $2 billion pre-tax, it said. Headcount was 111,247 in the second quarter. The elimination of 13,000 jobs in 2013 marked a 5.5 percent reduction at the time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. No Backlog “When they finally went negative in energy, they said ‘we have to bite the bullet’,” Karen Ubelhart, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in New York, said in an interview Thursday. “They basically said in the second quarter they don’t have any backlog. There’s no incoming orders in that segment.” Caterpillar is reorganizing only four years after making its biggest acquisition ever, spending $7.5 billion on Bucyrus International Inc., to expand into mining equipment, as it faces what it says is the first four-year sales decline in its 90-year history. Since the 2011 deal, a slowdown in China has created a glut of metals and coal, leaving Caterpillar’s mining customers with shut down mines and lots full of idled equipment. Now, tumbling oil and gas prices are leading to a similar retreat by drillers, hitting Caterpillar’s business selling energy producers the engines that run their rigs. The number of active oil and natural-gas rigs around the world has averaged 2,472 through Aug. 31, the lowest since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from Baker Hughes Inc. "We are facing a convergence of challenging marketplace conditions in key regions and industry sectors – namely in mining and energy," Caterpillar Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman said in the statement. “While they are the right businesses to be in for the long term, we have to manage through what can be considerable and sometimes prolonged downturns.” Video - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/caterpillar-cutting-up-to-5-000-jobs-at-20-global-facilities

Wall Street Journal / September 24, 2015 Equipment maker projects 10,000 job cuts, revenue falling for record fourth-straight year Caterpillar Inc. said it would slash thousands of jobs and cut manufacturing space by 10%, as it expects weakening demand from resource and construction companies will continue to drive down sales of its heavy equipment through at least next year. The company said the job cuts could exceed 10,000 people through 2018, including 4,000 to 5,000 salaried and management positions to be eliminated by the end of next year. It aims to reduce annual costs by roughly $1.5 billion. Caterpillar said it now expects 2015 revenue to be about $48 billion—$1 billion lower than its previous projection—which would mark a decline of about 27% from a peak of nearly $66 billion in 2012. And it said 2016 revenue likely would fall a further 5% from 2015, which would be the first time in Caterpillar’s 90-year history that sales declined for four consecutive years. The announcement, which sent Caterpillar shares tumbling, underscores the depth of the downturn in the mining and energy sectors after years of rocketing demand for the company’s excavators, mining trucks, wheel loaders and industrial engines. Caterpillar already had cut its global workforce, before Thursday’s announcement, by more than 31,000 since mid-2012, and it had closed or announced plans to close or consolidate more than 20 facilities, affecting 8 million square feet of manufacturing space. Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., had 111,247 employees at the end of June. Previous slumps in global mining have lasted for years, making it difficult for the company to hold on to plants and workers in anticipation of an upturn. The latest restructuring makes clear that Caterpillar expects the current pain to persist. “We are facing a convergence of challenging marketplace conditions in key regions and industry sectors—namely in mining and energy,” Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman said. “While we’ve already made substantial adjustments as these market conditions have emerged, we are taking even more decisive actions now.” He said the cuts would “better position Caterpillar to deliver solid results when demand improves.” Mr. Oberhelman became CEO in 2010 determined to compete better in fast-growing overseas markets, where Caterpillar had lacked production space, and in the mining-equipment market, which it had eyed for years. Caterpillar aggressively expanded during a commodities and construction boom that followed the 2008 global economic slump, anticipating sustained demand for equipment from China, Brazil and other overseas markets. The company anticipated eventually needing production capacity to sustain equipment sales of about $100 billion annually. It also acquired more factories and workers when it purchased Milwaukee-based, mining-equipment maker Bucyrus International in 2010. The $8 billion purchase, the largest in Caterpillar’s history, was a strategic departure for a company with a reputation for caution in acquisitions. The purchase helped increase Caterpillar’s annual sales by $33 billion from 2009 through 2012. But commodity demand has since collapsed amid slower economic growth in China, and lower prices for oil also have squeezed demand from Canada’s oil-sands region for Caterpillar’s giant mining trucks. Mining company BHP Billiton this week cut its planned 2016 capital spending by $2.5 billion to $8.5 billion, and Phoenix-based Freeport-McMorRan Inc. said last month it would slash its 2016 outlay by 29% to $4 billion and cut about one-tenth of its U.S. workforce. Macquarie Bank recently predicted that the industry’s global capital spending would fall by half through this year from its 2012 peak of $134 billion. China’s construction-equipment market also has tanked amid a slowdown in housing and infrastructure construction. Unit sales of construction excavators in China are down about 40% so far this year. “They’ve got huge amounts of capacity in China and now they don’t need it,” said Charles Yengst, president of equipment-market consultants Yengst Associates Inc. “Everywhere you go they’ve been adding capacity, except in Europe, and we’re watching markets all over the globe just shrink.” Throughout the slump, Caterpillar has remained profitable, with earnings of $3.7 billion last year, down from $5.7 billion in 2012. And even as it has shed workers to cut costs, it has spent $8.2 billion on share repurchases over the past three years to support its stock. Still, its share price has fallen sharply. The shares declined 6.3% to $65.80 on Thursday, leaving them down 41% from their high in 2014. Caterpillar on Thursday didn’t update its profit outlook for this year, saying it would do so when it reports third-quarter results late next month. The company said its restructuring effort is expected to lead to pretax costs of roughly $2 billion, but that it expects to record half of the projected $1.5 billion in cost savings from the restructuring next year. It said the restructuring could affect more than 20 facilities, covering more than 10% of its manufacturing square footage. Caterpillar said it isn’t abandoning plans for a new headquarters building in downtown Peoria, but that there currently is no schedule to begin construction. “We do remain committed to Peoria and Illinois, and our vision for a new downtown headquarters, [but] now is not the time to begin work, and I can’t say when,” a spokeswoman said.

Automotive News / September 24, 2015 The wraps come off the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado today at the State Fair of Texas and the changes include improved connectivity, a new, optional gearbox, updated grilles and the end of the truck’s signature stacked headlights. The update likely will be the last major cosmetic change before the big pickup is replaced for the 2019 model year by a redesigned version that uses a combination of steel and aluminum. The front of the truck has been made more muscular, with a restyled hood, LED lighting and an assortment of grilles that vary by model. Under the hood, a new eight-speed automatic transmission will be expanded to trucks with the 5.3-liter V-8 engine. GM is expected to offer a 10-speed automatic, perhaps as early as the 2017 model year, under a joint venture with Ford to produce nine-speed automatics for front-wheel-drive vehicles and 10-speed automatics for rear-wheel-drive vehicles. Other improvements to the 2016 truck include an update to Chevy’s MyLink infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity. Safety features available for 2016 include forward collision alert, lane-keep assist and high-beam assist. Chevrolet said the 2016 Silverado also will be available with a remote locking tailgate and wireless phone charging on LT and LTZ double cab and crew cab models with available bucket seats. Wireless phone charging will come standard on the High Country model. The High Country also will be available with power articulating running boards, which extend to improve access to the cab and swing rearward for easier access to the bed. Related reading - http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2016-chevrolet-silverado-photos-and-info-news .

Automotive News / September 24, 2015 The first-ever aluminum-bodied Ford F-series Super Duty pickup will be up to 350 pounds lighter than the current generation but offer increased towing and hauling capabilities, Ford Motor Co. said today. The 2017 Super Duty, which Ford is unveiling at the State Fair of Texas, is scheduled to go on sale late next year. Ford said it has a high-strength steel frame that’s 24 times stiffer, longer cabs and 16 segment-exclusive features, including LED cargo-box lighting and a remote tailgate release. “As we remove weight, we’re making Super Duty more productive by giving our customers better towing and payload capacity,” Craig Schmatz, Super Duty chief engineer, said in a statement. “We’re backing up improved capability with a stronger gasoline and diesel Super Duty engine lineup.” Ford’s conversion of the Super Duty to an aluminum body is another big gamble after last year’s redesign of the F-150. The F series is Ford’s biggest seller and most profitable vehicle, and the Super Duty accounts for about a third of its U.S. sales. Though rival General Motors has tried to portray aluminum as flimsy and expensive to repair, Ford says F-150 customers have reacted positively to the change. U.S. sales of the F series dropped 2.4 percent in the first half of the year but rose 4.8 percent in July and 4.7 percent in August as inventories grew. Transaction prices have soared since the aluminum F-150 went on sale in December. The weight reduction for the Super Duty is half as much as the 700 pounds that Ford cut out of the F-150. In addition to the body and frame, the F-150’s diet included lighter axles, fenders and other parts that need to be stronger on the heavier-duty trucks. Ford did not reveal payload, towing and fuel economy ratings for the Super Duty. Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in a statement that it achieves “new benchmarks in capability, performance and efficiency.” The 2017 Super Duty’s fully boxed frame is made of 95 percent high-strength steel. Ford said it has heavier-duty four-wheel-drive components, driveline, axles and towing hardware than the current Super Duty. It’s available with up to seven cameras, including a new attachable trailer camera to improve visibility when backing. A high-mounted, stop-lamp camera helps drivers see into the cargo box and hook up fifth-wheel trailers; and four high-definition cameras create a bird’s-eye image of the vehicle. Other features on the 2017 model include: • An in-cab trailer tire-pressure monitoring system. • Adaptive steering, which reduces how much the steering wheel needs to be turned when maneuvering at low speeds. • Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment system with an 8-inch touch screen. • Blind Spot Information System that includes the length of a trailer. • Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support. • Remote tailgate lock and release. • Quad-beam LED headlights and taillights. “While Super Duty is America’s best-selling heavy-duty truck, we never take our leadership for granted,” Ford’s product development chief, Raj Nair, said in a statement. “Our team is using relentless innovation in materials, technology and Built Ford Tough engineering to deliver customers our best Super Duty yet.” Engines are carried over from the current model. The pickup version comes with either a 6.2-liter V-8 gasoline engine, which is mated with a new TorqShift-G transmission for the F-250, or a 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel. The chassis cab version is available with either of those options or a 6.8-liter V-10 gasoline engine. Ford said all three cabs are longer and have a new interior design with a dual-compartment glove box and overhead console-mounted switches to control aftermarket equipment. The SuperCab and Crew Cab versions have flat floors to aid in loading large items. The Super Duty, built at Ford’s Kentucky Truck plant in Louisville alongside the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, will be offered in five trims: XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. Pricing was not released. Related reading - http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2017-ford-f-series-super-duty-official-photos-and-info .

Daimler Press Release / September 23, 2015 Stuttgart/Wörth – People looking for a new truck to handle their transport task these days first look on the Internet. For this reason, Mercedes-Benz has been offering all its truck customers the option to gather information about vehicle solutions using the Truck Online Configurator (TOC) for many years. The Mercedes-Benz TOC has now been further improved and made compatible with the latest digital devices. The Truck Online Configurator is available at https://toc.mercedes-benz.com/ex/. Configuration always starts with selecting a model series. Further information about the vehicle and equipment features can be accessed easily within the configuration process. The following options are available after completing the configuration: Download of the vehicle configuration and the technical data360-degree exterior view of the desired vehicle from four different anglesDesigning the three defined paint areas for cab, ornamental grille and detachable parts with the help of a sample selection of 18 colours for each.The configuration can be sent directly to an authorised Mercedes-Benz dealer to establish contact. As a result, the TOC assists in the buying decision process and helps prepare the next process steps. The sales associate can now contact the customer for preparing a concrete quote. The new TOC has a responsive design, which means it takes the format in which the user wants the desired information displayed into consideration. This responsive design also ensures an optimised display on mobile devices by adapting to their requirements profile. Information displayed side by side on a laptop across the entire width of the screen is automatically split vertically and the content is displayed at the bottom of the page. The same applies when using the TOC on a smartphone. This preserves the functionality of the web page and all information is accessible quickly, easily and in way that is user-friendly – independent of device, operating system and format. With the latest version of the TOC, Mercedes-Benz provides interested parties on all mobile devices with a fast and easy overview of which products are suitable for the transport task at hand and establishes contact with a sales associate.

Renault Trucks Press Release / September 23, 2015 37 drivers from 20 countries will be going head to head during the international final of the Optifuel Challenge 2015, a competition focused on economic driving organised by Renault Trucks. The winner will be the driver capable of consuming the least fuel while maintaining required journey speed. The verdict will come on 7 October, after a day of trials in Lisbon. The finalists will be driving a Renault Trucks T, voted International Truck of the Year 2015. After Seville in 2010 and Nice in 2014, on 7 October Lisbon will be hosting the international finals of the Optifuel Challenge 2015, the economic driving competition organised by Renault Trucks. Twenty countries from Europe and Northern Africa are sending their best eco-drivers to the event, selected during national competitions. This year, five additional countries have decided to enter the competition, so that there will now be 37 competitors from 20 countries competing against each other for the “Best Eco-driver of 2015” title. The Optifuel Challenge illustrates Renault Trucks’ commitment to reducing its customers’ operating costs by offering them a global approach to cutting fuel consumption. The competition consists of two phases: first of all, finalists answer a questionnaire designed to test their knowledge of economic driving. They will then follow a predetermined on-road route taking some 40 minutes to complete in a Renault Trucks T Optifuel. This offering combines a vehicle featuring the latest technological advances with a range of dedicated services: Optifuel Training driving instruction developed by Renault Trucks backed by Optifuel Infomax software which monitors and analyses drivers’ behaviour at the wheel. This driving test, which accounts for 90% of the final rating, judges finalists’ rational driving performance, their journey speed and consumption. All this data is then assessed based on information provided by Optifuel Infomax. After the driving trial, finalists will be able to get feedback on their performance from one of Renault Trucks’ experts on fuel saving and economic driving. The winner of the Optifuel Challenge 2015 will be presented with an €8,000 shopping voucher valid in any store chain, while the company represented will win one year’s full-service rental of a Renault Trucks T 460 Optifuel. Follow the event on Twitter: #optifuelchallenge List of countries taking part in the Optifuel Challenge 2015 finals: Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France, UK, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Tunisia and Turkey The Renault Trucks T Optifuel: Consumption savings of 10.9%certified by the TÜV In spring 2015, the independent certifying organisation TÜV Rheinland certified that the Renault Trucks T Optifuel consumed 10.9% less fuel than a standard T after drivers had completed an Optifuel Training instruction programme. This result confirms the Renault Trucks T Optifuel version’s performance in terms of lower fuel consumption and the important role played by appropriate instruction. Photo gallery - http://corporate.renault-trucks.com/en/press-releases/2015_09_23_renault-trucks-brings-the-best-eco-drivers-together-in-lisbon.html

Renault Trucks Press Release / September 10, 2015 2015 Renault Trucks Int’l “Road To Excellence Challenge” (RTEC) Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaLUbBN9UwQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=9&v=C-Q4UO0huO8

Transport Brazil / September 22, 2015 Truckmaker International has announced the sale of 51 model 9800i COE heavy trucks to Maco Group, the authorized Navistar distributor in Chile. The order includes 41 6x4 and ten 6x2 heavy tractors. These units are all manufactured at the Navistar plant in Canoas, Brazil. The trucks will primarily pull refrigerated trailers involved in the transport and distribution of fruit to other Mercosur bloc countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The trucks are all equipped with 10.8-liter Cummins 410 horsepower ISM engines and 18-speed Eaton FO-16E318B-MXP (Multi-Purpose Extreme Performance) Ultrashift Plus automated manual transmissions. Deliveries begin later this month and should be completed by the end of October. "This is an excellent business opportunity in sales restrictions currently in the Brazilian market and especially favored by the current exchange rate, which brought price competitiveness to our product," says the president of International Trucks, Guilherme Ebeling. Related reading: http://brazil.internationaltrucks.com/trucks/9800i.html http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/41822-road-test-international-9800i-the-cabover-in-brazil/?hl=9800i Canoas plant gallery - http://brazil.internationaltrucks.com/empresa.html Brochures: 6x4 18-speed AMT - http://brazil.internationaltrucks.com/StaticFiles/brazilTrucks/trucks/9800i/9800i_6x4_UltraShift_2.pdf 6x4 13-spd synchro manual - http://brazil.internationaltrucks.com/StaticFiles/brazilTrucks/trucks/9800i/9800i_6x4_Mecanico.pdf 6x2 18-speed AMT - http://brazil.internationaltrucks.com/StaticFiles/brazilTrucks/trucks/9800i/9800i_6x2_UltraShift_2.pdf 6x2 13-spd synchro manual - http://brazil.internationaltrucks.com/StaticFiles/brazilTrucks/trucks/9800i/9800i_6x2_Mecanico.pdf .

Business Wire / September 23, 2015 The Paccar Board of Directors has approved the repurchase of an additional $300 million of its outstanding common stock. Paccar recently completed its previously authorized $300 million share repurchase program. “PACCAR’s excellent net profits and strong cash flow make the company’s shares an attractive long-term investment,” said CEO Ron Armstrong. “The stock repurchase program reflects the Board’s confidence in PACCAR’s successful global business growth.” “PACCAR has earned a net profit for 76 consecutive years and has paid a dividend every year since 1941,” said Bob Christensen, president. “PACCAR is a global leader in high-quality commercial vehicles, financial services, aftermarket customer support and information technology.” In the last ten years, the company’s shareholder return has averaged 9.8 percent, compared to the S&P 500 Index return of 7.2 percent. FYI - Effective April 27, 2014, Ron Armstrong replaced Mark Pigott as CEO. Mark remains in the picture as executive chairman of the Board of Directors. At the same time, Bob Christensen was appointed Paccar president and chief financial officer.

Transport Engineer / September 24, 2015 Charlton-based H Sivyer Transport has taken delivery of nine Volvo FMX-420 8x4 tippers – the first of a 25-strong order, all specified on the X-High, N3G construction chassis. Managing director Simon Sivyer explains that he was looking for trucks that offered good off-road capabilities, were robust and “looked right as construction tippers” serving London and the Home Counties. All of the trucks, supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London, Croydon, were specified with the Volvo D13K 12.8-litre 420bhp engine, delivering up to 2,100 Nm of torque, mated to Volvo’s 12-speed I-Shift AMT (automated manual gearbox). They have day cabs and were fitted with Alcoa Durabrite aluminium wheels, as well as on-board axle weight mentoring systems since they will be loading waste in some instances from sites without weighbridges. Sivyers, which is a Gold FORS registered operator, is also trialling Vlvo’s new low-level nearside window – shown at the CLOCS event in London in February this year – aimed at improving driver visibility of vulnerable road users. “We also specified the lightest possible tipping gear from Edbro and are using lightweight single skin Taperlite steel bodies from Boweld, who handled the whole vehicle type approvals,” says Sivyer. “Weight saving has been the name of the game and we’ve managed to get the net weight down to 12.3 tonnes, which gives us a payload of 19.8 tonnes,” he adds. “The Volvo FMX is in my opinion, pound-for-pound over a period of time, the best product on the market,” says Sivyer. “[it] is well designed and reliable and Volvo holds good residual value.... I am convinced the FMX is the most appropriate truck for our needs and, aesthetically, it looks like a proper construction tipper, which is also important.” .