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One of the car industry's best kept secrets, the high performance V-8 / 6-speed manual Holden Commodore SS will cheer you up on those challenging days. http://m.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-chevrolet-ss-manual-instrumented-test-review http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/27/2015-chevrolet-ss-review-video/

July 26, 2015

The Detroit News / July 26, 2015 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will face at least three years of oversight by an independent monitor into its auto safety efforts as part of a sweeping, record-setting $105 million settlement in the government’s investigation of nearly two dozen recalls covering 11 million vehicles. The Italian-American automaker admitted it broke the law in failing to quickly repair vehicles in three separate recall campaigns and agreed to buy back as many as 578,000 older Ram pickups for steering issues after some owners said they have waited 18 months or longer for repairs because of parts shortages. “Today’s action holds Fiat Chrysler accountable for its past failures, pushes them to get unsafe vehicles repaired or off the roads and takes concrete steps to keep Americans safer going forward,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Sunday. “This civil penalty puts manufacturers on notice that the department will act when they do not take their obligations to repair safety defects seriously.” The penalty includes a $70 million payment by Fiat Chrysler, plus $20 million that the automaker will spend on safety efforts and $15 million in additional penalties if the automaker fails to perform properly. The automaker can include rebates and recall incentives as part of the $20 million it must spend on safety over three years. The settlement is significant for Fiat Chrysler. It is equal to about as much as the company’s reported net income of $101 million in the first three months of the year. But it is a fraction of the $700 million or more in fines Fiat Chrysler could have faced. The National Highway Traffic Administration could have fined Fiat Chrysler $35 million in each of 23 recalls under investigation if the agency had determined it failed to meet legal requirements in each of the campaigns. NHTSA said in the 23 recall campaigns Fiat Chrysler failed in a timely fashion to fix vehicles, notify owners of defects or notify NHTSA of recalls or safety related communications in a timely fashion. The agency earlier this year accused the automaker of misleading it. Vehicles in the buyback program include 265,000 2008-12 Ram trucks for a tie-rod assembly steering problem; 35,942 2008-12 Ram 4500 and 5,500 trucks recalled for similar steering problems; and 278,000 2009-12 Ram pickups, 2009-11 Dodge Dakotas, 2009 Dodge Durangos and Chrysler Aspens for a rear axle pinion nut problem that can cause the axle to lock up. FCA must pay the purchase price minus “a reasonable allowance for depreciation,” and will give a 10 percent bonus to owners who haven’t gotten the recalls completed. The automaker will be able to fix the vehicles and resell them. Further, owners of more than 1.5 million Jeep Liberty and Grand Cherokees at heightened risk for lethal fires are eligible to trade in their vehicles at above market value or, alternately, get a gift certificate if they prefer to have repairs made. Owners of Jeep Grand Cherokees in the 1993 to 1998 model years and 2002 to 2007 Jeep Liberties can either trade in their vehicle and receive $1,000 over the fair market value of the car – the combined total of which can be applied toward the purchase of another Chrysler car, parts or service, or, alternately, car owners can have the cars repaired and receive a $100 unrestricted gift card. Federal officials added that step as a means to encourage drivers to get their cars either fixed or off the road. NHTSA has a report of one death and 32 reported crashes related to the steering defects since the recalls were announced. Fiat Chrysler admitted it violated the law in all three recall campaigns by failing to fix those vehicles in a timely fashion. NHTSA said it received complaints that some owners have waited two years for replacement parts In addition, Fiat Chrysler will give owners $100 gift cards for getting recalls completed on more than 1 million Jeeps recalled for gas tank fire risks when hit from behind. It will offer a $1,000 bonuses on trade-ins for new vehicles for owners of 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokees. They also can use the $1,000 toward service on another Fiat Chrysler vehicle. Sweeping agreement The sweeping agreement requires FCA to revise training and recall procedures that include dealers, hire an independent monitor to reform and oversee safety efforts, lead industrywide safety and research efforts and hold regular meetings with NHTSA on safety issue. The monitor will write regular reports, be able to interview any employees and have office space at the company’s Auburn Hills’ facilities. The settlement will last at least three years and could be extended for a fourth year at NHTSA’s request. Fiat Chrysler said in a statement it accepts “the resulting consequences with renewed resolve to improve our handling of recalls and re-establish the trust our customers place in us. We are intent on rebuilding our relationship with NHTSA and we embrace the role of public safety advocate.” That comes just months after Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne publicly sparred with the agency. The settlement suggests that NHTSA, under new leadership since December, is taking a far tougher line with automakers. Administrator Mark Rosekind has repeatedly vowed to use every tool available to prod automakers into behaving better. He has directly called automakers and demanded they recall vehicles. At the same time, the Obama administration has asked for sweeping new authority from Congress to order recalls and to hike maximum fines for delayed recalls to $300 million per campaign, up from $35 million. “Fiat Chrysler’s pattern of poor performance put millions of its customers, and the driving public, at risk,” Rosekind said. “This action will provide relief to owners of defective vehicles, will help improve recall performance throughout the auto industry, and gives Fiat Chrysler the opportunity to embrace a proactive safety culture.” Fiat Chrysler has been recalling vehicles rapidly in recent weeks. On Friday, it agreed to recall 1.4 million cars and trucks because of concern that their onboard computers can be hacked and allow functions such as braking and steering to be controlled remotely. That callback that came under government pressure. NHTSA is investigating whether the fix works and ensuring all vehicles are covered. On Saturday, the automaker agreed to recall 2.2 million trucks in two separate recalls for inadvertent air-bag deployments. NHTSA and Fiat Chrysler began to clash more than two years ago, when the agency demanded the recall of 2.7 million Jeeps linked to more than 60 deaths because of gas tank fires that have occurred when the SUVs are hit from behind. Under government pressure, the automaker recalled an estimated 1.56 million 2002-07 Jeep Libertys and 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokees for the problem in June 2013. As a fix, it agreed to install trailer hitch assemblies to protect the gas tanks, which are vulnerable because of their location between the rear axle and the bumper. Over the last year, the agency has questioned a growing number of Fiat Chrysler actions, including its handling of vehicles with potentially defective Takata air bags. Latest in a series The Fiat Chrysler settlement is the latest in a series of consent orders NHTSA has filed against big and small manufacturers since 2014 including General Motors Co., Honda Motor Co., child seat manufacturer Graco Children’s Products and heavy-duty truck manufacturers Forest River Inc. and Spartan Motors Inc. The previous record penalty was set in January when Honda paid $70 million after it admitted it failed to follow early warning reporting requirements. The settlement is similar to the three-year consent order reached with GM last year over its ignition switch defect that is now tied to nearly 125 deaths and more than 265 injuries. NHTSA initially sought a $70 million fine by GM and an independent monitor, but agreed to settle for just $35 million — then a record fine — and no independent monitor, a person involved in the talks told The Detroit News. Earlier this year, NHTSA exercised its right to extend the agreement through at least May 2016. The agency is still reviewing Fiat Chrysler on other fronts. In June, it opened an investigation into 630,000 Jeep Wranglers for an electrical problem that may cause air bags to not work properly. It launched a probe into 121,000 2013 Dodge Darts after it received 18 complaints that the brake pedal can suddenly become hard to depress and lengthen braking, It opened a separate investigation into 20,000 model-year 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokees for problems with automatic braking systems. And it’s reviewing whether Fiat Chrysler’s recall fix of nearly 900,000 SUVs worldwide for sun visor fires were enough after reports of eight incidents in repaired vehicles. The penalty is the largest ever imposed by NHTSA against an automaker but a fraction of the $1.2 billion fine won by the Justice Department against Toyota Motor Corp. after the automaker was charged with wire fraud stemming from the government’s four-year investigation into the company’s concealment of sudden-acceleration problems.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3176630/Video-shows-Hillary-Clinton-boarding-private-jet-just-hours-launching-global-warming-push-s-using-FRENCH-aircraft-burns-347-gallons-fuel-hour.html

Not to rub salt in your wound, but with frequent opportunities to drive the global Ford Ranger in Thailand and South Africa, I can tell you that it's the finest bakkie in the world today........better than the new-for-2015 Toyota Hilux and outdated U.S. market Tacoma.

The Local DE / July 27, 2015 Farmers set up checkpoints on six roads between Germany and France late on Sunday night and said they would continue their action until later Monday. "We've already held back between 200 and 300 lorries transporting products that are distorting competition for us," said Franck Sander, local head of the FNSEA farming union. "For example, we made a lorry carrying Babybel (cheese) turn back. Consumers think this is French but the cheese comes from Slovakia," he said. Sander said there were around 1,000 farmers taking part in the protest and had also turned back several lorries laden with fruit and vegetables on their way from Germany. Farmers' representatives will be holding talks with officials at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT), after which they will decide whether to extend their blockade. Other farmers have carried out similar actions stopping produce getting into France from Spain. Around 100 farmers ransacked dozens of trucks from Spain on a highway in the southwestern Haute-Garonne region, threatening to unload any meat or fruit bound for the French market. They used some 10 tractors to block the motorway not far from the Spanish border, causing traffic jams that stretched up to four kilometres (2.5 miles), Guillaume Darrouy, secretary general of the Young Farmers of Haute-Garonne, told AFP. The action comes after a week that has seen farmers block cities, roads and tourist sites across France in protest at falling food prices, which they blame on foreign competition, as well as supermarkets and distributors. Farmers have dumped manure in cities, blocked access roads and motorways and hindered tourists from reaching Mont St-Michel in northern France, one of the country's most visited sites. Fearful of France's powerful agricultural lobby, the government on Wednesday unveiled an emergency package worth €600 million in tax relief and loan guarantees, but the aid has done little to stop the unrest. "The measures announced by the government ... none of them deal with the distortion of competition" with farmers from other countries, said Sander, saying French farmers face higher labour costs and quality standards. A combination of factors, including changing dietary habits, slowing Chinese demand and a Russian embargo on Western products over Ukraine, has pushed down prices for staples like beef, pork and milk. Paris has estimated that around 10 percent of farms in France – approximately 22,000 operations -- are on the brink of bankruptcy with a combined debt of 1.0 billion euros. Speaking early Monday morning, President Francois Hollande threw his weight behind the farmers, saying: "they should know that, protests or no protests, we are by their side." .

Bloomberg / July 28, 2015 Daimler, BMW and Audi said they separate different vehicle domains -- walling off the radio from the brakes, so to speak -- with firewalls and additional features such as public-key-cryptography and virus scanners. “Absolute, 100 percent safety isn’t possible,” said Benjamin Oberkersch, a spokesman for Mercedes’s Stuttgart, Germany-based parent Daimler AG. “But we develop our systems, tested by internal and external experts, so they’re up to date.” While hacks of German cars have fallen short of the stunt to which the Jeep was exposed, BMW, the maker of the carbon-bodied, electric-engined i8 sports car, had to fix a security flaw in one of its digital-services systems this year. A study by German auto club ADAC found hackers could wirelessly open BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in minutes. About 2.2 million vehicles equipped with BMW’s ConnectedDrive service were vulnerable. The Munich-based company closed the security gap with an automatic system upgrade that took place when vehicles connected to BMW’s server.

Hack attack vs. FCA shows flaws with rush to connectivity Automotive News / July 27, 2015 As a Jeep Cherokee rolled down a highway near St. Louis, a pair of professional computer hackers sat on a couch 10 miles away, slowly taking over some of the SUV's basic functions from a suddenly panicked driver. They set the air conditioning to cold, and the fan to high. They obscured the windshield with a torrent of washer fluid. They set the radio to play ear-splitting hip-hop. Then, in a move that petrified the driver -- a Wired magazine reporter who had agreed to play guinea pig for the demonstration, captured on video -- they abruptly cut power to the engine, letting the vehicle coast to a crawl in traffic on a narrow portion of interstate. The hackers' demonstration did one other thing: It flipped the high beams on an industry still unprepared for its headlong rush toward Internet connectivity. By the time the hackers' exploits were publicized last week, Fiat Chrysler had posted an urgent security patch on its website and was scrambling to further lock down the system. On Friday, July 24, the company issued a formal recall for 1.4 million 2013-15 vehicles to install the protective software. Consumers seeking to protect their vehicles can download the patch on a computer and install it themselves or have a dealer do it. The recall and software patch addressed the security hole, but they didnot allay fears about the prospect of malicious hackers exploiting connectivity technology to gain access to sensitive components and systems. Those fears have been percolating for some time. In Washington, lawmakers have been pressing automakers to spell out their strategies for counteracting cyberattacks, and two senators introduced a bill on the issue last week. But the industry's response is only now ramping up, as automakers come to terms with the implications of building devices that increasingly function as networked computers on wheels. Since last year, the auto industry's two main trade associations have been working to establish an information sharing and analysis center for the industry, a clearinghouse for information about digital threats and vulnerabilities. Such centers are in place in other sensitive industries, such as oil and gas and financial services. Robert Strassburger, vice president of vehicle safety at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said July 14 that the automotive information sharing and analysis center was on track to begin operations by year end. IHS Automotive forecasts that more than 82.5 million vehicles worldwide will be connected to the Internet by 2022, more than triple the current number. Automakers have heavily marketed these connections as a consumer benefit that allows for more entertaining or productive rides, as well as remote improvements. But as last week's report makes clear, there's more to connectivity than streaming movies. "As cars get more connected than ever, they become more exploitable to technology vulnerabilities," said Akshay Anand, an analyst with Kelley Blue Book. Automakers have traditionally sought to keep tight control over the way their vehicles interface with technology, such as cell phones and related applications -- and with good reason, given the safety concerns involved. In practice, that has meant long delays to test products and search for vulnerabilities internally before new technology is released to the public. In that model, hackers are largely viewed as outside nuisances or ne'er-do-wells. Technology companies, by contrast, keep their enemies closer. For example, Google now advertises bounties ranging from $100 to $20,000 for hackers who identify vulnerabilities in the company's many websites and businesses. The auto industry may have to learn to work that way. "We see the value of software and software content in the average car rising to around 60 percent over the next 15 years from less than 10 percent today," said Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas. "Who has greater expertise and experience in protecting connected assets and systems from the perils of hacking? Detroit or Silicon Valley?" Fortunately for FCA, the recent attack came from Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, a pair of so-called benign hackers who use such demonstrations to try to help companies understand their vulnerabilities rather than to make mischief. They're known for a similar hack into a Toyota Prius, but that time, they were in the back seat. The open doorway they used on the Jeep was Uconnect, the infotainment system that's used widely across FCA brands and includes an optional Internet connection through Sprint's cellular data network called Uconnect Access. Uconnect, in turn, offered the hackers a gateway into the vehicle's network that coordinates various electronic functions. Yet, unlike some other automakers, FCA cannot use that connection to "push" important software updates to its vehicles automatically. A source within the company indicated that may soon change. Security experts say that ability to push patches "over the air" is a crucial complement to any system with an open Internet gateway, because it allows automakers to better keep pace with potential hackers. According to a Twitter message from Miller, the patch FCA posted on July 16 blocks the vulnerability he and Valasek exploited. But FCA and Sprint were still scrambling to block the broader network door through which the hackers had gained access to the vehicle. A spokesman for FCA wrote in an email to Automotive News that the companies were working to block remote access to hundreds of thousands of potentially vulnerable 2013-15 Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep vehicles equipped with the newer 8.4-inch Uconnect system. Fiat and Alfa Romeo vehicles are unaffected. A source within FCA said the automaker tried to work with the hackers to close the vulnerabilities before they went public, but was rebuffed.

MAN Press Release / July 24, 2015 MAN is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the opening of its Munich plant by holding a big family open day for its employees and their families on Saturday 25 July 2015. Approximately 30,000 guests are expected to attend. The anniversary is also being marked with a parade of historic trucks for truckers and vintage vehicle enthusiasts. From 8:00 on Saturday, the sound of vintage engines will fill the air as the parade of ten trucks makes its way from the MAN plant in Dachauer Straße, along Gabelsbergerstraße and the Altstadtring to the Isartorplatz, where the parade is due to arrive around 9:00. The vintage vehicles are testament to the years of the economic miracle in Germany and the early days of long-haul transportation. The oldest truck, a MAN 620 L1 tipper, dates back to 1957 and boasts an 120 hp, 8.3 litre engine – impressive for the time. It will be joined by the 115 hp MAN 415 F, known as the 'Pausbacke' [chubby cheeks], from 1968, which is a nostalgic reminder of long-haul transportation from days gone by. Another impressive sight will be the cement silo semitrailer combination from 1960, featuring a MAN 750 towing vehicle and boasting 145 hp. And finally, the MAN 19.361 cab over engine with 360 hp and 12 litre engine will showcase the latest in low fuel consumption standards from 1985. Opening of the MAN plant in Munich Production of MAN trucks and buses dates back 100 years, but for the first few decades the vehicles were only produced in Nuremberg. In the first half of the 1950s, production and sales of the Nuremberg trucks continually increased until the plant reached capacity. The company management began looking for an alternative production site and ultimately decided on the site of the former BMW aircraft engine plant in Allach, Munich. (The BMW twin-row 801 radial engine was produced at Allach for the legendary Focke-Wulf Fw-190 A, B, C, and F model fighters.........the Fw190D and Ta152 used the in-line Junkers Jumo 213 although they resembled radial engine aircraft.). MAN's senior management, including Otto Meyer, saw the new plant in Munich as a fantastic opportunity to expand the company's commercial vehicle production and set up improved and more independent development facilities for this area. In the space of a few months, the production facilities for trucks, buses and agricultural tractors were relocated from Nuremberg to Munich. The first MAN tractor from Munich, a B18 A, was completed on 6 September 1955, followed by the first truck, a 515 L, which rolled off the production line on 15 November 1955. Just one year later, 3000 vehicles had been produced at the new plant. For the last sixty years, the plant, which today covers around 1 million square metres, has been the headquarters of MAN Truck & Bus. The site employs around 8500 staff, who develop and produce heavy trucks as well as axles and cabs for other MAN plants. From 1955 to today, the Munich plant has produced more than a million trucks, 2.3 million axles and 1.5 million cabs. You can view some past photographs of the Munich plant by clicking the link below: Image Database "60 Years MAN Munich Plant". A special picture of the vintage truck parade will also be available here from 13:00 on Saturday 25. #MAN100Years – Share your own MAN story with us! To immerse yourself in the 100-year history of MAN trucks and buses, go to www.100years.man.eu .

That's an Australia problem that troubles me. Prices are FAR to high there. The Sony flat screen TV that Americans can buy all day long for US$600-$700 costs more than double down under. The high price of......everything......is unfair to Australians. And this is of course is the main reason that Australia's car industry is shutting down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3B4z179rqU

Transport Topics / July 24, 2015 Navistar said it invited each of its Class 8 competitors to participate in a performance test comparing fuel economy of their best performing truck against its International. The showdown would take place at the company’s new proving grounds in New Carlisle, Indiana during the week of Aug. 31. “We have worked hard to ensure our heavy-duty products lead the way in fuel economy, driver appeal and uptime performance, and we want to prove it,” Navistar Senior Vice President Jeff Sass said in a statement. “The heavy-duty products we are building today are the highest quality, most fuel-efficient trucks we have built in decades,” he added. The company said the testing will follow Society of Automotive Engineers protocols with vehicles driven at typical highway speeds with a gross combination weight of about 65,000 pounds. The test will be for Class 8, on-highway sleeper model-year 2016 trucks. Only factory installed options will be allowed, including hardware, software and fluids. Also, the truck must meet compliance and be capable of delivery. “We’re all proud of our trucks, and I believe that running our vehicles in an open and transparent forum, side by side, will not only raise the watermark but will also benefit each of our customers in this industry,” Sass said. Tires will be standardized and provided by Navistar with sets randomly assigned for each vehicle as well as trailers. To maintain consistent break-in levels, all the trucks will have mileage of 2,500 to 15,000 miles, Navistar said.

Transport Engineer / July 27, 2015 Shetland Transport has taken delivery of two more Gray & Adams curtainsider semi-trailers, with another four on order, after its first two units delivered last year performed “flawlessly”. The 13.6m units are equipped with low-emission Thermo King SLX-e 400 refrigeration units. Heavy-duty insulated curtains ensure temperature integrity, as well as providing side access loading capability that Shetland Transport founder and managing director Hamish Balfour values so highly. "The first two have performed flawlessly in terms of their strength and component reliability, while we've had no issues with regards to temperature control either," confirms Balfour. "Most of our outbound loads are of salmon, and other fish, but we also carry a certain amount of what I call 'ugly' freight, by which I mean products which are particularly long or big and bulky," adds Balfour. "Easy access side-loading capability makes the curtainsider particularly well suited to this type of work." Shetland's trailers have specially strengthened chassis to prevent buckling and bending in rough seas during 12-hour ferry crossings. .

Navistar Trail Magazine

Rather, it indicates that Volvo Group wants to promote/sell Volvo brand on-highway trucks more than Mack brand. Currently, Volvo identifies the Mack brand as having primary value in vocational (though the Mack brand's grip on vocational is far less than decades past). Remember, Volvo and Mack-branded trucks share the same platform and drivetrain. The hood and cab is virtually the only difference.

The short answer is that Scania has earned global respect around the world (not just the EU), because it is successfully brings a lower total cost-of-ownership o the customer. Scania believes in life-time relationships, a partnership between Scania and the customer. Once you have the opportunity to drive a Scania...........you'll understand.

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/40823-hackers-give-orders-to-german-patriot-missile-battery/?hl=missile You already know why the vehicle hacking issue is in the news but the hacking of a Patriot missile battery isn't.

Acknowledging the escalating air pollution problem in the United States and around the world, General Motors showcases low emission, alternative fuel powerplants including electric, steam, fuel cell technology and the Stirling engine at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. The Detroit Diesel Allison GT-404 gas turbine-powered GMC Astro 95 is introduced mid-way through the presentation, as well as the gas-turbine powered RTX municipal transit bus. Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/31951-the-gmc-astro-95-and-astro-ss-gas-turbine-tractors/?hl=gt-309

HQ, R&D, truck and bus chassis assembly, engine and other component production Södertälje, Sweden Truck assembly Zwolle, The Netherlands Angers, France Sao Paulo, Brazil Truck and Bus assembly Kolar, India Cab production Oskarshamn, Sweden Cab and chassis components Meppel, The Netherlands Transmissions and rear drive axles Tucuman, Argentina Frames and rear drive axles Lulea, Sweden Bus body production Lahti, Finland Slupsk, Poland

About Freightliner and the fantastic Daimler/Detroit Diesel engines, you should talk with Ernie Delli Santi (aka. Bullhusk). I can't speak for the Freightliner dealers in Florida, but ones like Horwith in Northampton (Allentown), Pennsylvania will bend over backward for you. If you go with Cummins, you're getting a superb Scania high pressure fuel injection system (Scania XPI).

Thanks for posting. I'd like the Z50, CT70s and XL250 if good condition (justification for a long distance purchase), but I doubt I can be there.

Hillary Clinton's lawyers and the Republican-led committee are negotiating over the terms under which she “might” appear before the House committee investigating the deaths of four Americans in the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. A committee spokesman says Hillary Clinton is demanding limitations on the questioning. Can an ordinary American, one of the commoners rather than the governing aristocracy, get away with that? Of course not. “Well, I might come in to be questioned, but gee, you will certainly have to limit the questioning to subject matter that will not implicate me, and not cast me in a worse light than is already on me….what with the upcoming election in mind.” Today’s touch of humor: During a speech in Philadelphia in 2008, Hillary Clinton said that she was “probably the most transparent person in public life”.