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Ohio man suffocates 3-year-old to death Reuters / August 13, 2015 An Ohio man was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for suffocating his 3-year-old stepsister while he babysat her and her 8-year-old sibling, prosecutors said on Thursday. Brian K. Scales, 21, was sentenced on Wednesday in a Montgomery County court in Dayton, Ohio, after he was found competent to stand trial and changed his insanity plea to guilty for killing Tristan Carlton. Carlton's body was found "in her bed, cold and stiff," by her mother, Inas Scales, the afternoon of Feb. 14, Montgomery County prosecutor spokesman Greg Flannagan said in a statement. Scales, from the Dayton suburb of Trotwood, was charged with aggravated murder, endangering children and two counts of murder after Carlton's mother called 911 and an investigation into the child’s death determined she had been suffocated. Inas Scales told her son she still loved him at his hearing but when he responded by saying his stepsister's death was "a mistake that happened," she replied, "You don't mistakenly murder somebody."

The life of a drug cartel-controlled teen IN AMERICA CNN / August 13, 2015 Cesar was 15 when he thought that, finally, he had turned his life around. Just 15, but he already had much he wanted to distance himself from: drug trafficking, human smuggling, murder. He even blamed himself for the death of his toddler brother in a tragic accident outside their home in Texas. But now he was staying out of trouble, going to school, working with his dad on construction sites. And then he got a phone call that reminded him his past was very much still his present. It was September 25, 2013. A Wednesday. At 8:05 p.m. He texted his girlfriend to say goodbye. He updated his Facebook status in a mix of Spanish and English to say his life was over. "It all had to end like this. Yo sabia que tarde o temprano, me iba tronar. Dios, cuida a mi familia." I knew that late or early, I would die. God, take care of my family. He sent a text to his probation officer: "I have a feeling I will not make 16 don't tell my mom I'm telling you this whenever I die let her know that I always loved her." The phone call had been from a drug cartel telling him he was needed for a job. We are coming for you [to your American Texas home]. No need to hide. Cesar didn't want to do their business any more. He thought he'd gotten out of gang life. But the cartel had been explicit: Cesar would pay if they didn't get what they wanted. Despite the threats, he was steadfast. He was done with it. He wanted to rest. So he made peace with what was coming; he thought he would die that night. "Straight up this is the end of my story," he texted his probation officer. This is where it stops. This is where it ends. His probation officer called the sheriff, and officers were sent to his house. They found Cesar armed with two kitchen knives to defend himself against his killers. Under his bed they found a safe and a bulletproof vest. Cesar was taken into custody and given a psychological evaluation. At first he wouldn't talk. And then he revealed the death threats against him and a little of what he'd been through. He was diagnosed with a nervous breakdown. At the age of 15. Cesar was brought to Eagle Pass, Texas, from Mexico by his parents when he was 3 years old. They were undocumented [illegal aliens] but his father, Juan, was able to find enough construction jobs off the books to support his family, even in Eagle Pass, where poverty and dirt roads outnumber jobs and opportunities. He and his wife, Ester, a devout Christian, provided a stable, loving home for Cesar and his three siblings who would be born later. Cesar enjoyed school and loved sports. He played on the football and baseball teams, collecting trophies, until junior high, when his own undocumented status meant he couldn't go to out-of-town games. Cesar's house is about a mile from the Mexican border and Cesar and the neighborhood children often scrambled up the hills to look from Eagle Pass across the Rio Grande to Piedras Negras on the Mexico side. The two towns now linked by bridges for vehicles and pedestrians each have a colorful history. Piedras Negras claims to be "where the nacho was invented" while a slogan for Eagle Pass says it's "Where Yee-haw meets Olé." On the American side, bus companies advertise rides to San Antonio, the nearest big city, about 140 miles away, while Border Burger touts the "best burger and taco special in town." Mexican and American influences abound in this border town in the language, cuisine and culture of its 28,000 or so residents. But so does the dark side of the modern border -- the smuggling of drugs and people. It's all around, waiting to impact, perhaps destroy lives, even that of a boy. Sometimes the gang life emerges on those overlooks, where one of the children will say to another, would you like to make some easy money? For Cesar, it was a direct introduction from a boy he thought was his friend. Leo was a little older than Cesar but lived in the same neighborhood and they started to hang out. He always seemed to have money. The summer after sixth grade, 12-year-old Cesar was at a party with Leo when he was introduced to another boy, Alejandro. Two days later, Leo called Cesar to pass on a message from Alejandro: Do you want to work for Los Zetas? Cesar said no, even when Alejandro came by to ask him in person. But a couple of days later, Alejandro called Cesar and told him to go with Leo on a job for Los Zetas, then and now one of Mexico's most violent, vicious and powerful gangs. He said Cesar would be sorry if he didn't go. So Cesar went. Leo and Cesar drove a truck away from town down El Indio Highway and pulled off to the side. Eight or so masked men ran from the surrounding fields to the vehicle, opening the door and throwing in eight sacks of marijuana. The door was closed and the boys drove back to Eagle Pass. Not a word had been spoken. They dropped off the truck with Alejandro, were given a ride to the mall and a down payment of $1,000 in cash with $6,000 more to come. That scenario played out again and again, with Alejandro assigning jobs to Cesar and Leo. Cesar said he always told Alejandro he wanted no part of it but Alejandro's reply was that Los Zetas were impressed by him and that more senior cartel members wanted to meet him. And he kept going along. One day, outside Eagle Pass Junior High School, Cesar got in a truck to be told that after one more job, he would belong to Los Zetas forever. Even as he said he protested, they gave him a cell phone and told him they would call soon. He refused to answer the calls, and then a man came to his house, saying he was the boy's commander. "You work for me. You do what I say when I say it and how I say to do it. Without any errors or I will kill you." The "work" started that same night, with Cesar ordered to drive a truck 20 miles to a ranch where it was stripped, packed with cash and reassembled for Cesar to drive back to Eagle Pass. For that he was paid $15,000 in cash, handed to him through a car window by someone he never saw. He hadn't even started seventh grade. There was no way out. Perhaps Cesar wasn't looking for that way out, for he was also beginning to enjoy the trappings of gang life. In return for smuggling drugs and moving people he got pay and perks. "Money, protection, parties," he said later -- those were the good things. He went to parties in clubs and at ranches in San Antonio and Houston, and across the border in Puebla, Guanajuato, Monterrey and Sinaloa. If anyone truly bothered him, he knew he could make a call and have them warned, scared or worse. "Sometimes it makes me feel proud of myself," Cesar said. "Because not any [teenager] can say 'Oh, if you mess with me, I can kill you.' Not me, but I can send people to kill you and your whole family." He certainly didn't tell his parents; he was too embarrassed and knew they would disapprove. Juan and Ester were doing their best to bring their American dream to their children. They worked hard to maintain their blue-collar lifestyle without seeking any government assistance and unlike many on their block, they didn't resort to drugs. So Cesar hid his cartel life, walling that part of himself off, even as he was beginning to feel he deserved it. "I chose this life. Now I have to live it ... face the consequences. Anything that happens." There were other boys in Eagle Pass working for Los Zetas, including Eduardo, who was about 15 and had been smuggled from Mexico to work for the gang. One day Cesar, Leo, Eduardo and some other youths were ordered to go to Mexico. Los Zetas had a favored route across the Rio Grande where the river was nearly dry and you could cross the border unmolested without even getting your feet wet. And they also had a number of Border Patrol agents in their pocket, paid to look away if teens were seen crossing the river, Cesar said. The boys had been told there would be a party but when they arrived, armed men rushed them, hitting Eduardo in the back of the head and throwing him on a truck. The other teens were loaded on another vehicle and taken to a ranch where they were told to line up. All except Eduardo. "This is what happens if you don't do what we say," the boss said as Eduardo was pulled off the truck and forced to kneel. The boss pushed Eduardo's head back and cut his throat with a "huge knife," Cesar said. Then another man took Eduardo's body to one side and chopped off his head with an ax. Cesar said he'd been told Eduardo had been called on to do a job but replied that he couldn't do it at that exact moment. Because of that, Eduardo was killed. And from then on, Cesar did exactly what he was told. His main role was to pick up vehicles packed with cocaine and marijuana that had been smuggled into the United States and drive them with other youths three hours away to San Antonio. Completing job after job without getting caught won him credibility, and more work. His boss came to trust him and introduced him to more senior cartel members, once at a ranch on the Mexico side of the border. Cesar said he was scared but one comandante told him he had "heard good things" about him and he and other chiefs gave Cesar their cellphone numbers, telling him to call if ever he needed to. Before he left the ranch, a man accused of stealing $325,000 was brought in. When he denied the theft, the commander became angry, pulled out his gun and shot the man three or four times in the head. It's possible Cesar, now 13, was becoming inured to the life and death around him. But then death came to his home. It was May 12, 2011, and Cesar was out of school, suspended for three days for talking back to a teacher. The silver lining was that he could spend the day with his beloved 2-year-old brother, swimming and watching TV. Their mom checked in on them after work before heading to a Zumba class, returning about 9:30 p.m. The toddler heard his mom's voice and ran outside. At the same moment a neighbor was pulling her truck into the driveway. He was struck and died later in the hospital, two months before his third birthday. No one blamed Cesar - except Cesar himself, who thought if only he hadn't left the gate open. He couldn't move on. Now he felt there was nothing good in his life, not one redeeming factor. He thought he was no better than the cartel and that should be his life. But with the complex emotions of adolescence, he also began to chafe against the cartel authorities. That same year, Cesar's chief was replaced. His new boss was violent and explosive, killing for any reason, even once burning a bus with children and adults inside it, Cesar said. Cesar was no longer a favored son and the pressure increased. "I told him that I didn't want to work for Los Zetas anymore and that I would rather be killed than to continue to work under him," Cesar said he declared after one night of constant text orders. The new boss called at 5 a.m. and told Cesar he was coming to pick him up to kill him. They met outside Cesar's house. The man pointed a gun at Cesar's face. Then, he started laughing. He told Cesar he wasn't going to kill him. But that he would keep working or his family would be killed. He had been working with the cartel for too long. He would have to work again that morning. That job was moving marijuana again. But this time, the Border Patrol was waiting and Cesar was arrested for the first time - with 240 pounds of marijuana, then worth an estimated $192,000. Like most children arrested for drug trafficking, Cesar was taken to a detention center. He was released 10 days later and was assigned a probation officer. Later, Cesar said one of the comandantes he'd met in Mexico called and asked him what happened. "I told him everything -- how I had told [my chief] that I didn't want to work anymore and how he had come to my house, pointed a gun to my face, and forced me to work saying that he would kill my family if I didn't. [The comandante] told me that I could leave Los Zetas now and that he would take care of my boss. And that was it for me with Los Zetas. I took the opportunity to leave as soon as it was given to me." Cesar said he had won favor and the right to get out because he'd been so successful for so long. In July 2011, about a year after his first Zetas job, the cartel discharged him. For two years, he started to rebuild his life. Working at school, working with his dad, staying away from the cartels. Until that phone call from a rival gang, Cartel del Golfo, which was taking over territory from Los Zetas. They'd been trying to recruit him for a few weeks, saying how much they liked his work for Los Zetas and how valued he would be, especially since he could give them inside information on their rival. And if the flattery didn't work, maybe the threats would. Cesar knew his age would be no reason he would be treated kindly. He wouldn't even be the first 15-year-old to disappear from Eagle Pass and turn up dead. Officials here can rattle off three other cases of boys dead or missing in recent months, with suspicions falling on the cartels. But still, Cesar couldn't say yes, so he prepared to be killed. The actions of the probation officer, the sheriff's deputies and the medical staff saved Cesar that night and in the days after. For them, he's one of many. The probation officer says he and his colleagues have become involved with about 100 children used as drug couriers for the Zetas since Cesar was arrested four years ago. Others likely go undetected, as Cesar did for so long. But the probation officer also sees a special chance for Cesar, even now as he sits as a 17-year-old in a detention center awaiting a deportation hearing triggered after he was taken into custody for a violation while he was driving. That official is supporting Cesar's family's efforts to gain legal status. Cesar still has the support of both parents and his siblings. Doctors say his mental and physical scars can heal with time and treatment. And he wants to get better, to enjoy life and to contribute. He wants to regain the sense of purpose and optimism he had. When he was 15.

If Ford was serious about the medium duty segment, they'd be offering a COE as well, Cummins, Eaton AMTs and Allison autos..............well, no point in wasting my breath because Ford's has but a little interest in medium trucks. Ford would have to get very serious in order to compete with Freightliner in the medium segment. Once upon a time, Ford had experienced truck people, but most have retired.

MAN Press Release / August 11, 2015 New Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) system with sensor fusion of radar and camera // ESS emergency stop signal // LGS lane guard system with latest camera technology MAN's new generation of the EBA emergency braking system combines information from the radar sensor in the front end and from the windscreen-mounted camera. This sensor fusion allows the system to make trustworthy interpretations of situations on the road. Vehicles in front and stationary obstructions can be identified faster and with greater certitude. The system thus gains time to initiate emergency braking earlier if so required. In an emergency the vehicle can thus shed more speed and come to a halt some valuable metres sooner. MAN is currently introducing the new generation of advanced emergency braking system with sensor fusion (EBA emergency brake assist) and the emergency stop signal (ESS). At the same time the EBA and also the new lane guard system (LGS) are becoming standard accessories in those vehicle models to which mandatory equipment requirements apply for new registrations from November onwards. This includes the vast majority of MAN trucks, both MAN and NEOPLAN coaches and intercity buses, and also MAN coach chassis. Continuing trend towards more safety systems Even in 2014 every second MAN TGX sold in Germany already included the Active or Active Plus safety package and was equipped with the EBA advanced emergency braking system - and the trend was upwards. Heinz-Jürgen Löw, Sales & Marketing Chair at MAN Truck & Bus, explains: "This trend confirms our commitment to active safety and MAN's next step towards a rapid spread of our safety systems: from July the new generation of advanced emergency braking system and lane guard assistant will be standard in virtually all truck and coach models. Our customers are thus given a comprehensive range of safety features and consequently a very high level of active safety. MAN's new EBA advanced emergency braking system even now delivers braking performance considerably better than that which will be required by law in 2018.” Deadline 1st November 2015 EC legislation requires the following vehicle categories to be fitted with a Level 1 emergency braking system from November 2015: Newly registered trucks with two or three axles, a gross vehicle weight over 8,000 kg and an air-sprung rear axle. Also mandatory is a lane guard system for two- and three-axle trucks over 3,500 kg. The EBA emergency braking system to be fitted by MAN from July 2015 onwards even now easily satisfies the stricter legal requirements for Level 2 which come into force in November 2018 for newly registered vehicles. This means that today's customer purchases a high-value and future-proof system. Sensor fusion: the interaction of radar and camera MAN's new generation of the EBA emergency braking system combines information from the radar sensor in the front end and from the windscreen-mounted camera. This sensor fusion allows the system to make trustworthy interpretations of situations on the road. Vehicles in front and stationary obstructions can be identified faster and with greater certitude. The system thus gains time to initiate emergency braking earlier if so required. In an emergency the vehicle can thus shed more speed and come to a halt some valuable metres sooner. Stationary objects are distinctly harder to recognise with certainty than vehicles in front. In this respect, the system must distinguish relevant objects (such as a broken-down vehicle or a stationary vehicle at the tail-end of a traffic jam) from irrelevant objects (road signs, tunnel entrances, bridges). In order to prevent an emergency braking being carried out in error, the emergency braking assistant does not react until the situation is with a very high degree of probability correctly interpreted. The system makes a more intensive and therefore longer analysis in order to make absolutely sure that there really is a stationary obstruction in the lane ahead. High driver acceptance thanks to warning strategy research MAN possesses significant competence in researching vehicle operation concepts in commercial vehicles. Scientific observation of drivers in the driving simulator at the Technical University of Munich yielded important findings for the interpretation of the warning and reaction behaviour of the EBA system, for example, regarding driver attentiveness and distraction, as well as stress and behaviour in emergency situations. The design of the EBA emergency braking system follows the principle that "the driver should always be in control". This MAN-specific warning philosophy ensures a high level of driver acceptance. The interaction of two technologies - radar and camera - reduces the risk of unjustified warnings significantly since two technologies can be used for object recognition. MAN thus achieves its aim of bothering the driver as little as possible with warning signals. Following his own assessment of the situation the driver can overrule the emergency braking system when there is a warning or even when emergency braking is already in progress. Here he can use the accelerator or brake or operate the indicator to start changing lanes and in this way cancel the warning or abort automatic braking. When there is no further risk of collision, for example, when a slow-moving vehicle has moved onto the hard shoulder, the EBA cancels the emergency braking procedure. Always alert: the emergency braking sequence The EBA reacts to a detected emergency braking object and to the absence of driver response (either a change of lane or braking) with a number of measures spread over time. The driver is warned first by a penetrating warning tone and a message on the display. At this moment, the brake lines are already pre-filled so as to shorten the response. At the same time, the brake lights are activated, in order to give timely warning to vehicles behind. In addition, the MAN EBA system cuts the engine torque as early as the warning phase. This represents a further noticeable warning effect for a driver who may not be paying attention. Should the driver not react, the brakes will be applied automatically as a warning (warning braking). If the risk of collision is still likely and the driver is failing to react, the EBA initiates emergency braking which under ideal conditions prevents driving into the obstacle, even from full speed at 80 km/h. Emergency Stop Signal (ESS) In the event of emergency braking, the Emergency Stop Signal (ESS) activates not only the brake lights but also the hazard warning lights which flash rapidly (emergency braking flashing) and thus signal an emergency situation to vehicles behind. Trials have demonstrated that timely warning helps prevent rear-end shunts. The new Lane Guard System (LGS) The new Lane Guard System (LGS) uses the latest camera technology. This makes for greater accuracy in lane detection and a minimum of unjustified warnings. At speeds above 60 km/h the LGS monitors the vehicle's position with respect to the lane and warns the driver should he accidentally cross the lane markings. Additional functions improve the driver's comfort. The new system detects autonomously when lane conditions change: a reliable warning is only possible when right-hand and left-hand lane markings are present and the lane exceeds a minimum width. The new LGS also takes into account the fact that many drivers for the sake of safety like to drive on the outside of the lane - that is, at the right edge in countries which drive on the right - and for this side of the lane gives a warning later. The system also adjusts automatically to whether the country drives on the left or on the right. The driver can thus enjoy the pleasure of an adaptive warning philosophy. .

First 2016 F-650/750 Built at Ohio Plant Heavy Duty Trucking / August 12, 2015 Ford and United Auto Workers officials Wednesday morning drove the symbolic first unit of its new F-650/750 series off the line at its Ohio Assembly Plant near Avon Lake amid cheers that followed congratulatory speeches. The first truck, a bright red F-650 with a Triton gasoline V-10 engine, represents the “toughest, smartest and best value” available among 2016 medium-duty trucks, Ford's marketing line says. “These trucks were designed and tested by Ford engineers,” said John Ruppert, general manager of commercial vehicle sales and marketing, in a briefing for reporters prior to the ceremony. “It underwent harsh testing, testing so hard that people didn’t want to drive them, so we migrated to robot drivers. “It’s very upfit friendly with a clean back of cab to rear of frame. And we’re back to having a Class 7 tractor, and we didn’t have one for several years.” Announced last year and featured at truck shows since then, the series has a new chassis, nose and all-Ford powertrain featuring an upgraded 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel and TorqShift 6-speed automatic transmission. No manual transmissions are offered because “there’s little demand for them,” Ruppert said. As before, the gasoline V-10 is available in the F-650 and now in the F-750. Dropping the Cummins ISB6.7 diesel and Allison automatic transmission saves customers money and allows engineers to concentrate on and perfect their own components so that they can be backed by a 5-year, 250,000-mile warranty, he said. Cabs and their interiors, with some freshening, are carried over from the previous models. As with most Ford conventionals, they’re available in two-door Regular and four-door SuperCab and CrewCab versions. Work on the medium-duty project at the plant began earlier this summer with training for workers. About 450 of the 1,400 workers at the plant are involved in F-650/750 production and additional hiring is expected late this year, a UAW official said. Until June, the F-650 and F-750 were assembled at a Navistar plant in Mexico under the now-ended Blue Diamond joint venture. Bringing assembly of the products to the United States is important to the company, the UAW’s members, and the regional economy, speakers at the event said. Ford and UAW officials negotiated the move back in 2011, when plans for dropping of the E-series vans were announced and the end of the Blue Diamond agreement with Navistar was in sight. Production efficiencies were needed and tax incentives secured to make the switch financially feasible. Workers' ability to build quality products was among the key considerations, officials said. The E-series cargo van has been discontinued and replaced by the Transit van, made in Kansas City, but workers at the Ohio plant still assemble E-series cutaways and stripped chassis. “The workers at this plant – you’ve earned this,” declared U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio). “You’ve earned it through your hard work.” “You workers,” said Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, “you deserve a round of applause,” and she then led it. “You work hard every day. You make us proud.” “I want to point out the National Championship college football team (Ohio State)," said Greg Drudi, a UAW official and Ohio native, with a smile. “And this," he said, gesturing toward a nearby F-750, "is the National Championship truck.” The F-650 and F-750 are Ford’s heaviest models. Its line of trucks stretches down to its Class 1 F-150 pickup, for the widest range of commercial trucks in the industry, Ruppert said. Ford’s market share in those classes is the highest in the U.S. at 46.5%, up 1.6 points from last year, he noted, and “We outsell and out register our four nearest competitors combined.”

I say that, with respect to the second best looking Mack conventional of all time, the Australian market Value-Liner. .

Ford begins medium-duty production in Ohio Fleet Owner / August 12, 2015 The revamped F-650 and F-750 medium-duty truck models unveiled by Ford Motor Co. in March last year are now rolling of the production line at the OEM’s Ohio Assembly Plant. Previously built in Mexico, Ford said shifting the production of its medium-duty truck line to Ohio last year helped secure more than 1,000 hourly jobs. The OEM added it also invested $168 million in its Ohio plant to build its redesigned medium-duty models. “Our investment in Ohio Assembly Plant reinforces our commitment to building vehicles in America and to delivering best-in-class commercial trucks,” noted Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president for the Americas, said in a statement. “Working with our partners in the UAW, we found a way to make the costs competitive enough to bring production of a whole new generation of work trucks to Ohio.” Opened in 1974, Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant now employs nearly 1,400 people. In addition to now producing all Ford F-650 and F-750 models and configurations, the plant also produces Ford E-Series cutaway vans and stripped chassis. More information regarding the all-new 2016 Ford F-650 and F-750 model lineup can be found here.

Value-Liner, the most beautiful Mack conventional of all time. .

At any given moment, for every one man working, I see one to five men just standing around. The union fostered environment. The employees appear as though they're more accustomed to assembling compact cars..........and they probably are.

The "fine young man" shot by police in self-defense this week after he attacked them with a stolen handgun. (did he ever work a day in his life so as to pay for something?) Tyrone Harris Jr. called himself 'Glocks' after the gun maker, and was part of a group called the 'Pistol Gang'. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3195156/Armed-teenager-shot-police-Ferguson-anniversary-Michael-Brown-s-death-called-Glocks-posed-guns-boasted-gangster.html

Or, rather then go thru the expense of rebuilding a 12+ year old truck (not knocking the idea), you can buy a new Fitzgerald glider kit with a pre-emissions proven and reliable Series 60 Detroit, and choose from Kenworth, Peterbilt and Freightliner. https://www.fitzgeraldgliderkits.com/detroit-60-series/

Sorry to hear today that Carter has cancer. As for as I am concerned, Carter is a great human being, one of the few in leadership during my lifetime. Sub drivers make good presidents. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-us-president-jimmy-carter-says-he-has-cancer/ar-BBlGLk4

By intention, the 300 Plus was designed for a multi-speed transmission (9 or more speeds). But having said that, we had customers pair them with Maxitorque 5-speeds and drive them thousands of miles, completely satisfied with performance, fuel economy, ect. Operators do need to watch their pyrometers in "extreme" operating conditions.

Reuters / August 12, 2015 Ford Motor Co. today will start building its medium-duty F-650 and F-750 commercial trucks at its Avon Lake plant outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The shift to the 41-year-old plant here means that about 1,000 workers represented by the UAW will keep their jobs, Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president, said in a statement issued by the company. There are about 1,400 workers at the Avon Lake complex. Ford is currently in negotiations with the UAW for a new national contract affecting about 52,300 workers. Just before those talks began last month, Ford announced it would move production of small cars Focus and C-Max from a plant in Wayne, Mich. Ford has not confirmed UAW comments that the production is shifting to Mexico. "Working with our partners in the UAW, we found a way to make the costs competitive enough to bring production of a whole new generation of work trucks to Ohio," said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of North America and South America. From 2000 until earlier this year, the commercial trucks were built by a joint venture of Ford and Navistar International Corp. called Blue Diamond in Escobedo, Mexico. The trucks are often sold as cab-and-chassis skeletons and customized by purchasers to serve a wide range of uses from beverage delivery to ambulances to oilfield services. The 2016 model year trucks go on sale later this summer, which is a few months later than Ford had announced when it first announced the shift of production to Ohio in March 2014. For every F-650 or F-750 truck sold to a fleet buyer, another six Ford trucks are also sold to the same customer, said Mike Levine, Ford truck spokesman. He said that in 2014, the company sold 9,627 F-650 and F-750 models, which was 11 percent more than the previous year. The trucks will sell from $56,705 for a gasoline-powered regular cab F-650 to $76,690 for a diesel-powered tractor crew cab. Prices include delivery charges. The Avon Lake plant was where Ford for years built Econoline vans. In recent years, the name was changed to E-Series vans, which are no longer produced. Now, Ford builds its Transit vans in Kansas City, Mo.

I apologize to all for not at first including this related reading: http://www.kenworth.com.au/trucks/C509/ http://www.kenworth.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/C509_web.pdf

Report: F-35 Inferior to Older US, Foreign Fighters Stars & Stripes / August 11, 2015 The F-35 Lightning II passed a major milestone last month when the Marine Corps declared it operational, but the accomplishment has not silenced critics. A Washington think tank released a report Tuesday that found the 5th-generation jet – billed as the world's most advanced fighter – will be outmaneuvered in dogfights with current Russian and Chinese jets as well as the U.S. aircraft it is slated to replace. The report comes after details were leaked last month on a test flight where the F-35 was bested in most aerial maneuvering by an F-16. "The F-35 will find itself outmaneuvered, outgunned, out of range, and visible to enemy sensors," according to Bill French, a policy analyst with the National Security Network, a progressive think tank that claims to challenge overly militarized conservative defense policies. "Staying the present course [on the aircraft program] may needlessly gamble away a sizable margin of American airpower at great expense and unnecessary risk to American lives." The think tank has an advisory board that includes Sandy Berger, the national security advisor to President Bill Clinton, and Richard Clarke, a senior White House advisor to several administrations. A call and email request for comment were not immediately answered. Related Video After 14 years and over $390 billion invested, the first F-35s entered service just two weeks ago when the Marines completed a battery of tests on a squadron of Harrier variants in Yuma, Ariz., and declared it ready for deployment around the world. Navy and Air Force variants are still being developed, and U.S. weapons contractor Lockheed Martin is working to overcome software and engine difficulties. The Defense Department says the joint strike fighter will bring cutting-edge technology to the battlefield and become the backbone of United States air power over the next five decades. Congress has backed the program as a costly but necessary upgrade following years of delays, massive cost overruns and a final price tag estimated at $1.4 trillion. But the F-35 has become a magnet for criticism and doubt. The blog War is Boring published a leaked report by a test pilot who flew an F-35 against an F-16 in a mock dogfight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in January. The pilot wrote that the joint strike fighter performed sluggishly against the older jet and was mostly inferior in testing that consisted of "traditional basic fighter maneuvers in offensive, defensive and neutral setups at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 feet." French compared the power, maneuverability and maximum payloads of the F-35 against the Russian-made MiG-29 Fulcrum and the Su-27 Flanker, which is made by Russia and flown by China. The U.S.'s next generation fighter is "grossly inferior in terms of wing loading [except for the Navy variant], transonic acceleration and thrust-to-weight," French wrote in his report, "F-35, Thunder without Lightning." "These are the kinds of aircraft the F-35 would most likely face in air-to-air engagements against a high-end opponent," he wrote. The F-35 fared little better against the F-16, F-18 and AV-8B Harrier, which it is expected to replace in the current fleet due to its planned versatility. It was weaker in thrust, acceleration and wing loading, according to French. "These performance factors are critical to building up speed and gaining or retaining energy that enables the aircraft to maneuver and gain advantages in firing position against other aircraft or defeating incoming missiles," he wrote. The aircraft also has its defenders inside the Washington beltway. "Compared with an F-15 or F-16, this is the most survivable tactical aircraft we've ever fielded," said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute who has worked as a consultant for Lockheed. Thompson has authored recent articles cheering the program as a success and said it is typical for newly developed military aircraft – especially very expensive ones – to be heavily scrutinized. He called the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which killed 19 Marines during development and raised safety concerns before being integrated into the fleet a few years ago, a perfect metaphor for the joint strike fighter. Thompson said he had not seen the National Security Network report Tuesday morning but that the earlier leaked test documents on the F-16 dogfight in California provided only a partial picture because it involved an F-35 that was not completely operational. For example, the pilot was not equipped with the F-35's much-heralded advanced helmet, a key feature in dogfights that provides a 360-degree view through the surrounding aircraft. "It's naïve to think that three presidents and three U.S. military services would have spent so many billions of dollars on a program that doesn't work," he said.

http://www.scania.com/products-services/services/fleet-management/

Scania Press Release / August 11, 2015 From cow udders to your breakfast table. Yes, we’re talking milk. But how does it end up at your place? One thing’s for sure. Meticulous logistics are involved. “Our ten vehicles pick up milk and milk products from farms and factories both in South Australia and other Australian states, and transport the produce within South Australia and around the country. Each truck runs 23 hours per day and can carry up to 41,000 litres (10,831 U.S. gallons) of milk,” says Mathew Williamson, Fleet Manager at Milkflow. Mathew is a guy with many strings to his bow. He’s a dad, a self-confessed car and truck fan and has two challenging jobs that he couldn’t live without. And aside from heading up the fleet operation of one of South Australia’s largest and ‘greenest’ raw milk logistic service providers, he also fights fires at SA Metropolitan Fire Service. In 2009 Mathew and his colleagues at Milkflow decided to take another step in the green direction and introduced Scania Fleet Management. “The system tells us where our vehicles are at any time and can monitor driver behavior, such as speeding and fuel consumption. We can also do vehicle odometer readings for servicing or operational requirements and see if the vehicles are on or off legitimate routes.” Based on this information, the drivers are coached in how to improve their driving to achieve better fuel economy and reduced environmental impact. Mathew, who’s no technophobe, was keen to implement the new system. The drivers, though, were a bit skeptical about being so closely monitored. “When it was first installed they weren’t keen. Now they see the system as an incentive to excel at driving. And when we published the fuel consumption for each driver, they started competing with each other to get better results,” says Mathew. Facts at a glance - Scania Fleet Management helps you identify key data for increasing your fleet productivity - The system provides options for monitoring, analyzing and controlling the fleet with the aid of a number of customized services, all aimed at maximized uptime and improved safety. - You can monitor where your vehicles are, their fuel consumption, how they are driven and when servicing will be needed. - You can also use the information to analyze driver performance and thereby improve traffic safety and reduce the environmental impact of your operations. Read more about Scania Fleet Management here. .

Where are you based, Greensboro ?

As the truckmaker has already done with its vocational truck range, GAZ designer Sergei Barinov is purportedly making use of the company's new corporate cab first seen on the GAZelle Next and GAZon Next to create an all-new North American style long haul Ural brand truck. The cab architecture originates from the LDV Maxus commercial van. GAZ purchased the assets of troubled LDV in 2006, a UK-based commercial van manufacturer. The new conventional heavy truck is born of the believe that the market is demanding fresh new designs, according to Ural, the heavy truck subsidiary of GAZ Group. At a press conference, GAZ Group Trucks director Victor Kadylkin said the new truck is expected to launch in 2017 or 2018. Like Australia, Russia has long distance North American driving conditions, and a sizable customer base that likes conventional cab trucks. Related reading: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/40317-gaz-introduces-next-generation-ural-truck-range/?hl=gaz http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/37160-russian-vehicle-maker-gaz-launches-new-gazon-next-medium-truck/?hl=gaz .

Australasian Transport News / August 11, 2015 KordaMentha Restructuring has been appointed the administrator of trailer manufacturer Tieman Industries (http://www.tieman.com.au/) as the 60-year-old family business seeks a buyer. Tieman, which designs and manufacturers bulk road tankers in Campbellfield in Victoria, is presently under the full control of its administrators but will continue to trade as expressions of interest are received. The other two arms of the company, its tail lift business and its repairs and maintenance business, are also up for sale and seeking interested parties. KordaMentha spokesman Michael Smith says the first step of the administrative process has been completed, with the company and KordaMentha formalising a strategy for the business, and a creditors meeting has been organised for Thursday August 20 in Melbourne. Though the company directed inquiries to administrators today, joint-managing director Dale Tieman has told the Herald-Sun his firm hoped to recapitalise around the profitable tanker division. One of three KordaMentha Restructuring executives overseeing the changes, Rahul Goyal, says current schedules will be adhered to across all three businesses and customers will receive their products on time and to the same standards. Tieman suffered a significant loss in 2014 as a result of market conditions, very large overheads and overstaffing, Smith says. "The company has been on a restructure plan but was unable to execute due to lack of funds," he says. "They need to reduce costs which included consolidating sites and reducing labour." The high-cost subsidiary businesses yielded low margins for Tieman, he says, but may be more profitable for larger companies. "Repairs and maintenance has more than 20,000 customers and provided service to anyone who has material handling equipment including both large supermarket chains." The company’s approximate 250 employees are being advised of developments as the business is assessed. In the wake of the August 20 meeting, a second meeting will be held where the administrators will hand over a report on the state of affairs.

Transport Topics / August 11, 2015 Peterbilt is now offering Maxwell Technologies’ ultracapacitor-powered engine start module (http://www.maxwell.com/esm/) as a factory-installed option on its Model 579 and 567 trucks. The module replaces a traditional battery and is dedicated to starting the truck. It reduces weight by 60 pounds, according to Maxwell Technologies. The engine start module is not affected by hotel loads, lights, television and other in-cab or sleeper-powered devices, which can drain power during extended use. "Superior uptime and reliability are two advantages our customers expect from Peterbilt, and this new technology is one way to help bring those to even greater levels," says Anthony Gansle, Peterbilt marketing manager of on-highway products. "Our aerodynamic Model 579 and vocational Model 567 equipped with the Maxwell ESM will provide customers with greater confidence that their vehicles will be ready to move when they need to move," Gansle said. The engine start module helps heavy-duty engines start in temperatures from minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit to almost 150 degrees. "Expanding our Engine Start Module's availability in North America is an ongoing goal, and our relationship with Peterbilt is the next step in meeting the demands of our customers in the United States and Canada," says Maxwell CEO Franz Fink. "Now, more fleet owners and operators will be able to benefit from the reliable performance of the ESM in providing starting assurance for on-time deliveries and improved uptime." Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/41308-ultracapacitors-on-the-way/

My understanding is they will share a common Volvo global cab platform with differentiating trim. Mack salesmen across the country have been frustrated for a long time now over Volvo's foot-dragging the introduction of the new Mack-brand cab. (Volvo dragged their feet for years on the LE upgrade as well - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/40316-mack-introduces-new-lr-refuse-chassis/) In long-haul, a vast swathe of customers are turned off by the 27-year-old CH cab's lack of integration with the sleeper area. The dual-brand Volvo/Mack dealers are, as a result, becoming accustomed to putting these operators behind the wheel of a Volvo. And there's a very good possibility that this is a Volvo strategy, a between-the-lines way of migrating Mack customers over to the Volvo brand. Crunching the numbers, Volvo Group doesn't subscribe to the General Motors method of building duplicate truck products under two brands (ie. Chevrolet/GMC). Why compete with yourself? The unnecessary added expense of two plants producing overlapping products........... As you can see from the sales numbers, Volvo Group is successfully making its self-named brand their long-haul product for the North American market. The Mack brand will in all likelihood be reduced to being their vocational brand.

The intention of the Oath of Enlistment is for armed forces members to adhere to it during the contractual period of their enlistment. After one is discharged, one's obligation to the Oath of Enlistment ends, and one rejoins civilian life.

This woman should be escorted to our border with Mexico, and her United States citizenship cancelled. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3194101/A-brother-carried-attack-against-marines-TN-Thanks-God-teen-girl-ISIS-wannabe-Mississippi-praised-Chattanooga-shooting.html