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Kirk Kerkorian: The Raider Who Woke Up Detroit Forbes / June 16, 2015 Kirk Kerkorian, who died Monday at 98, left an indelible mark on Detroit. No, he was not successful in actually taking over a Detroit automaker. But Kerkorian, with the help of his associates, shook Detroit’s carmakers out of the perception that they were separate from the turbulence that enveloped the pre-recession business world. Before Kerkorian made his stunning bid to buy Chrysler in 1995, shareholder value was pretty much an alien term for the Detroit automakers. Nobody bought the stocks of General Motors, Ford or Chrysler expecting a swift return (except for the period immediately after Chrysler’s originaly 1979 federal rescue plan). Detroit stocks were long-term investments, and the return shareholders could expect came in the form of dividends, not the stock price. Moreover, Detroit largely evaded the merger and acquisition mania that swept Wall Street in the 1980s and early 1990s, in part because they were too cyclical, and seemed too big to be combined with other companies. To be sure, Chrysler bought American Motors in 1987, and Ford acquired Jaguar in 1990. But those seemed logical actions that added valuable brands. For instance, imagine Chrysler today without Jeep, and the billions in revenue the AMC deal has brought the company. Kerkorian ended that island mentality, by casting a new set of eyes on the internally focused industry. He began investing in Chrysler in 1990, forging a partnership with then-CEO Lee Iacocca. But Kerkorian, and apparently Iacocca, were hoping for bigger things from the early 1990s Chrysler. So, the pair teamed up to launch a takeover bid that was announced as the carmakers were gathered for the 1995 New York Auto Show. The action was like an earthquake. And, it was a direct test of Chrysler CEO Robert Eaton, whom Iacocca had hand-picked for the job over Chrysler President Robert Lutz. (The working relationship between Eaton and Lutz is actually one of Detroit’s managerial success stories of the 1990s). Over the next two years, Chrysler was kept on its toes, especially since Kerkorian’s close advisor was Jerome B. York, who had been Chrysler’s chief financial officer. York was the closest thing to the oracle of Kerkorian, who never talked to journalists about his goals for the carmakers. He was to remain close to Kerkorian, and guide him through another shake-up effort, at General Motors, in 2005. Eventually, Kerkorian acquired about 10 percent of GM stock, and GM agreed to give York a seat on its board. Through all the maneuvering at Chrysler, and at GM, Kerkorian’s presence meant that management and board members at the two companies could never relax. When the companies’ shares lagged, Kerkorian and his lieutenants were there to ask why. Perhaps Kerkorian sent Chrysler into the arms of Germany’s Daimler-Benz, although Chrysler never turned out to be the easy acquisition that the German automaker hoped for. It’s clear that York, and by extension, Kerkorian, knew GM was in serious trouble years before its government-sponsored bankruptcy filing. In January 2006, York spoke in Detroit of the need for the company to take radical action to address its financial problems. “The time has come to go into crisis mode and act accordingly,” York said, as I wrote for The New York Times. He questioned why GM was still selling Saturn, Saab and Hummer models, later ditched by the company, and suggested GM emulate the turnaround plans carried out by Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive at Nissan of Japan and Renault of France. York left the GM board after only a short stint, deeply critical of the company’s reluctance to move more quickly. He died in 2010. Now, with Kerkorian also gone, a chapter ends, but the scrutiny continues. Other activist shareholders are prodding GM to improve its shareholder value. In March, GM said it would undertake a $5 billion share buy back program, and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is also looking for ways to get GM to merge with his company, something GM’s board has declined to do. Kerkorian may not have ever run a car company, but his shadow still looms over Detroit.

Bloomberg / June 16, 2015 Kirk Kerkorian, the eighth-grade dropout who bootstrapped his way to billionaire by buying and selling stakes in airlines, auto companies, Nevada casinos and Hollywood studios, has died. He was 98. He died on June 15 in Los Angeles, Clark Dumont, a spokesman for MGM Resorts International, said in a telephone interview. No cause was given. Like a Monopoly player, Kerkorian found it hard to quit. As an octogenarian, he controlled more than half of the Las Vegas strip’s hotel rooms after his casino company, MGM Grand Inc., acquired rival Steve Wynn’s Mirage Resorts Inc. for $6.4 billion in 2000 and the Mandalay Resort Group for $4.8 billion four years later. He was the controlling shareholder of the company, now known as MGM Resorts International, until May 2009, when he reduced his stake in the business to 37 percent from 54 percent. He bought almost 10 percent of General Motors Corp.’s depressed stock in 2005, when he was 88. Impatient with GM management at 89, Kerkorian pressed for changes and was rebuffed. He sold his stake in late 2006. “I didn’t go to school, but I went into buying and selling businesses at an early age,” Kerkorian said in a rare interview with Bloomberg News in 2011. “I got into a lot of different businesses. I had to have a lot of luck.” His deals generated a net worth of $3.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Investment Losses His fortune took a hit during the financial crisis of 2008. Among his losses: about $600 million from unwinding a stake in Ford Motor Co. that had topped 140 million shares, or about 6 percent of the company. Construction of the $8.5 billion CityCenter development in Las Vegas during the global recession drove down MGM’s stock price. For decades, Kerkorian ranked as a Hollywood mogul through his control of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Over a 30-year span, he purchased stakes in several major studios. His competitiveness extended to tennis, playing in the men’s national championships in the over-85 bracket as late as 2004. His 30-acre estate in Beverly Hills, California, had two tennis courts. Kerkorian rarely took a title other than president and sole shareholder of Tracinda Corp., the Las Vegas-based company he formed to make investments. His Lincy Foundation, created in 1989 in response to a devastating earthquake the previous year that killed about 25,000 people in Armenia, his family’s ancestral homeland, donated about $180 million to the country but he declined offers to have landmarks named in his honor. Legal Actions He was not easily crossed. He fought in court when an ex-wife, Lisa Bonder, in 2002 sought $320,000 a month in alimony and child support. Eight years later Kerkorian agreed to pay about $10 million plus $100,000 a month in child support even though Bonder admitted that Kerkorian wasn’t the biological father, according to the Associated Press. Kerkorian sued DaimlerChrysler AG in 2000, saying he’d been duped. As Chrysler Corp.’s largest shareholder, with a stake of almost 14 percent, he had initially supported the carmaker’s 1998 merger with Germany’s Daimler-Benz AG. Later he said he’d been fooled by representations that the deal was “a merger of equals.” Seeking as much as $3 billion in damages, he lost a federal trial verdict in 2005. His appeal of the ruling was unsuccessful. In 2007 Kerkorian offered $4.5 billion in cash to buy the money-losing U.S. automaker from its parent company and was outbid by Cerberus Capital Management LP. Immigrant Farmers Kerkor Kerkorian was born on June 6, 1917, in Fresno, California. His parents, Ahron and Lily Kerkorian, were Armenian immigrant farmers who lost their land in the 1920s. The family moved to Los Angeles, where the elder Kerkorian operated fruit stands, never regaining economic security. “We moved at least 20 times when I was a kid,” Kerkorian told Fortune magazine in 1969. More about his childhood emerged in “Kerkorian: An American Success Story,” a 1974 biography by Dial Torgerson. After punching the son of a schoolteacher, Kerkorian was sent to a local reform school. His formal education ended with a few auto-mechanic courses, although he later faked a letter stating he was a high school graduate when he wanted to qualify as a military flight officer. At 17, Kerkorian pretended to be older so he could join the Civilian Conservation Corps, earning $30 a month in 1934 in Sequoia National Park, according to Torgerson’s biography. He worked six months cutting fire trails in forests before returning to Los Angeles. Amateur Boxer Kerkorian followed his older brother Nishon into amateur boxing, winning most of his 33 bouts. At 22, he was installing furnaces when a colleague introduced him to the thrill of flying airplanes. He earned a pilot license, then enrolled in a California flight school for his commercial license, working as a ranch hand to pay his way. One month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Kerkorian married Hilda Schmidt. He turned down a captain’s commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps to take a risky but lucrative civilian job delivering planes overseas for Britain’s Royal Air Force. He saved much of his $1,000-a-trip salary to invest in the postwar boom in aviation. Kerkorian purchased and sold surplus planes after the war, then bought Los Angeles Air Service, an air charter business in 1947. High Rollers He flew charter flights to Las Vegas, often for high-rollers or Hollywood celebrities, and spent more time in Nevada following his 1951 divorce. In 1954, he married Jean Maree Hardy, a dancer from England. The couple had two daughters, Tracy and Linda, before divorcing. Kerkorian coined the “Tracinda” and “Lincy” monikers from his children’s names. In 1962, Kerkorian bought about 80 acres in Las Vegas that became the site of Caesars Palace in 1966. For his land purchase of $960,000, Kerkorian collected $2 million in annual rent until he sold the property to the hotel’s owners for $5 million in 1968. It was “one of the best” deals he’d ever done, he said in 2011. Kerkorian also profited from his charter air carrier, renamed Trans International Airlines in 1960. Studebaker Corp. bought the company in 1962 and sold it back to Kerkorian in 1964. Kerkorian took the airline public in 1965, then sold his stake in 1968 to Transamerica Corp. for stock valued at $148 million. Kerkorian realized a profit of about $100 million by the time he sold the last of his Transamerica shares in mid-1969. Building Vegas The late 1960s were heady times as Kerkorian stepped up his investments in Las Vegas. He bought the Flamingo Hotel for $12.5 million and built the 30-story International Hotel, which opened in July 1969. That month, Kerkorian announced his intention to acquire control of venerable film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., even though 16 percent of the MGM stock was already in the hands of Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman. By November, after borrowing from European lenders, he had acquired 32 percent of MGM for $70 million and ousted Bronfman’s hand-picked chief executive. Two years later, after he repaid his European debt, MGM announced that it would diversify by building a large resort hotel in Las Vegas. The 25-story MGM Grand Hotel, now Bally’s, opened in 1973. MGM’s box-office performance proved a perennial disappointment. In four years, MGM slashed 5,000 jobs from the payroll, leaving a workforce of 1,200. Studio Mogul Kerkorian sought to bolster MGM’s performance by acquiring another production company. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. rebuffed his proposed stock-swap in 1971. He accumulated 25 percent of Columbia Pictures Industries in 1979 and won a federal antitrust challenge before selling the stake in 1981 for an estimated $70 million profit. Kerkorian then acquired United Artists Corp. from Transamerica Corp. for $380 million. In 1984, he struck a deal with corporate raider Saul Steinberg to gain control of Walt Disney’s film studio and library if Steinberg acquired the company. Disney, however, paid Steinberg to go away. In 1985, the ever-restless Kerkorian announced that he would sell his film company -- by then called MGM/UA Entertainment Co. -- and repurchase the United Artists unit from Ted Turner, who couldn’t afford the entire company. In 1986, Kerkorian bought back the MGM name as well. In 1990, he sold the studio. Pursuing Leisure Kerkorian continued to invest in other leisure industries with the conviction -- as he told Fortune -- that prosperous Americans would seek such pursuits. He started MGM Grand Air in 1987 to provide luxury airline service between New York and Los Angeles and sold it in 1995. He built a new MGM Grand Hotel Casino in Las Vegas in 1993. He also acquired almost 10 percent of Chrysler’s stock in 1990. Kerkorian told the Los Angeles Times that he purchased the shares because he was impressed by then-chairman and Allentown-born Lee Iacocca, whom he had met at a Florida racetrack the previous year. In 1995, he teamed with Iacocca -- then retired -- to offer to buy the remaining 90 percent of the company, but Chrysler rejected the offer. Three years later Daimler-Benz agreed to buy the U.S. automaker for $43 billion in stock and assumed debt, then the largest foreign takeover of a U.S. company. Far from settling into his own retirement, Kerkorian in 1996 negotiated the repurchase of his old MGM film company, took it public and helped finance its acquisition of the Orion film company in 1997 and PolyGram film library in 1999. In April 2011, Kerkorian said he would be stepping down from the MGM board to become director emeritus. “I just didn’t care to keep going back to meetings,” he said in an interview.

The new Chevrolet low cab forward (LCF) truck website - http://www.chevrolet.com/low-cab-forward-trucks.html Picture gallery - http://www.chevrolet.com/low-cab-forward-trucks/exterior-pictures.html Chevrolet LCF to Isuzu N-series cross-reference GVWR 3500 NPR 6.0L gasoline 12,000lb (5,443kg) 3500HD NPR Eco-Max 3.0L diesel 12,000lb (5,443kg) 4500 NPR HD 6.0L gasoline 14,500lb (6,577kg) 4500HD NPR XD 5.2L diesel 16,000lb (7,257kg) 5500 NQR 5.2L diesel 17,950lb (8,142kg) 5500HD NRR 5.2L diesel 19,500lb (8,845kg) References: Isuzu America - http://www.isuzucv.com/nseries/diesel_trucks Chevrolet Chassis Cab - http://www.chevrolet.com/silverado-3500-chassis-cab.html Dodge Chassis Cab - http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/ram_chassis_cab/ Ford Chassis Cab - http://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/chassis-cab/?fmccmp=lp-truck-commercial-mid-hp-chassis-cab-comm Given the depth of GM’s capabilities, it’s very surprising that GM did not create a Chevrolet-unique front fascia for the NPR variants they plan to sell, to avoid inevitable customer confusion in the marketplace with Isuzu-branded versions, as they have the exact same front grille, corner panels and headlamps. Unless.........Isuzu plans to hand off North American distribution of their N-series light trucks to GM. Isuzu gave up car production in 2002 to focus on pickups, SUVs and commercial trucks. Pickup truck and light truck (NPR) sales remain strong, but profits are slim. Medium truck sales are moderate, and heavy truck sales few. Struggling now more than ever to make a profit, and with a minimal R&D budget, Isuzu could free itself of its North American overhead costs by handing off to GM, and at the same time multiply its sales and service locations ten-fold. It’s conceivably a win-win. In any case, GM should have given its new NPR range a distinctly Chevrolet front end following the styling cues of the Silverado 3500HD chassis cab. I will boldly say that I don’t think this is going to fly. Reason 1 – In 1999, Ford launched the game-changing Super-Duty commercial cab & chassis, raising the bar on cab interior space, comfort and appointments. GM and Dodge (aka. RAM) followed suit. Many potential customers, after climbing in a NPR, will gravitate to the more spacious American conventional cab & chassis which have the relaxed seating position they’re accustomed too. Reason 2 – Fleets are focused on reliability and operating economy, and the NPR delivers without compromise. However, being imported from Japan, the price of these trucks, and the spare parts, will be considered high. And, the maintenance regimen, for example brake jobs, is unlike the U.S. trucks. I suspect most fleets will remain with the Ford Super-Duty, Chevrolet Silverado chassis cab (3500HD), and/or Dodge chassis cab (3500, 4500, 5500) light trucks they are already satisfied with. Reason 3 – The Isuzu 3.0 and 5.2-liter 4-cylinder in-line diesel engines are fuel sippers. But many fleets and individuals have a bias towards the larger 6.7L Powerstroke, 6.6L Duramax and 6.7L Cummins ISB. In many global regions where fuel costs have always been high, operating economy has always dominated the purchase decision. But most American customers lean towards the larger engines. If Penske Leasing buys thousands of these as in years past, and later expels them into the used truck market, GM will have some traction. GM won’t make any money but they’ll gain visibility.

Larry Kahaner - The Los Angeles Times / June 15, 2015 The trucking industry is in crisis for one simple reason: It cannot find enough people to sit behind the wheel. The American Trucking Assns., a trade group, estimates that trucks carry more than 67% of the country's total freight by weight. Trucking is the nation's most important mode of commercial shipping. Currently, there are about 3.5 million people with commercial driver's licenses, and 2.6 million drivers are on the road, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That may sound like a lot, but the ATA and others estimate that we're short 35,000 to 40,000 drivers, and they believe that shortfall will expand to 240,000 drivers by 2022. Many carriers have trucks sitting idle because there's no one available to drive them; many want to buy new trucks but won't do so for the same reason. Carriers need more operators to fulfill shipper requests not only as the economy expands, but also as it stands now. The shortage is most acute in long-haul operations. However, it is now affecting short haul and regional carriers as well as drayage trucks that do short hops between, say, a railhead and a nearby port. The driver shortage also hurts other transportation modes such as ocean shipping and rail, which rely on trucks to carry their freight “the last mile.” The industry has tried to mitigate the shortage by offering drivers signing bonuses and shorter routes so they can be home more often, paying the cost for commercial driver's license training, reaching out to ex-military, women and immigrant groups, and paying more for tenure. Carriers say these incentives help only incrementally and the shortage is not abating. There are several reasons for the shortfall. First, drivers are older, on average, than the general working population, 49 versus 41.9 years, and many are retiring because they can no longer keep up with the physical demands of the job. Young people are not signing on to replace the folks who are leaving. Second, federal regulations have cut back on the number of hours that a driver may spend behind the wheel, so additional drivers are needed to pick up the slack. The most important reason, however, becomes obvious if you ask drivers directly. They'll say the problem is how they get paid. Not how much, but how. Consumers may not realize that drivers are paid by the mile and not the hour. This means that they make no money for sitting in traffic or waiting at a warehouse. It is not uncommon for a trucker to pull into a warehouse a few minutes after it closes and sleep in his truck until it opens the next day. This is time on the job but not money in his pocket. As one driver told me, “Because payment is by the mile, warehousers and others don't respect drivers' time. Any inefficiency in their operation — and even from my own carrier — is soaked up by the driver at no cost to anyone else.” Paying by the mile is both unsafe and unfair. It encourages truckers to speed in order to make money. Getting paid by the mile, moreover, means truckers never know how much they will make for any given week (they can't predict breakdowns, traffic, weather or man-made delays at warehouses). Drivers report that inconsistent pay is even more of a drawback than low pay. While the simple answer is to pay drivers by the hour instead of by the distance traveled, carriers are reluctant to do so because it would mean a dislocation of their business model, which dates to the 1930s when the trucking industry looked very different than it does today. President Franklin D. Roosevelt exempted trucking from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which mandated a minimum wage. I have found only one carrier that pays by the hour, Dupré Logistics in Lafayette, La. Started as a tank truck hauler in 1980, the company has 1,200 drivers and 600 trucks. About 15 years ago, the company realized that even though it was following the rules governing how many hours a trucker could be on the road, its drivers were fatigued, and therefore accident prone. “We were compliant, and we were legal, but we weren't safe,” Reggie Dupré, the company's chief executive, told me. To keep drivers alert, the company moved to a schedule that would allow them shorter stints on the road. And to save drivers from losing income because of the new scheme, the company decided to pay by the hour instead of by the mile. Dupré reports that the company's crash rate plummeted. Dupré also says the company has attracted experienced, reliable drivers. People want to work there, and it has no shortage of applicants. The company's driver turnover hovers around 17% in an industry where more than 90% is common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2012 that fatal crashes of large trucks and buses cost the U.S economy $40 billion that year. Fatigue and speeding are major crash factors. It's better for everyone if drivers don't have to engage in dangerous behavior just to clock more miles, in the name of simply making a living.

Chevrolet Re-Enters Low-Cab Forward Market Heavy Duty Trucking / June 15, 2015 Chevrolet will offer low-cab forward medium-duty trucks in the U.S. in calendar-year 2016, the automaker announced at its dealer meeting in Las Vegas on June 15, returning the brand to a growing segment of the commercial vehicle market and expanding choices for fleet and commercial truck customers. The six new models — Chevrolet 3500, 3500HD, 4500, 4500HD, 5500, and 5500HD — are based on the Isuzu N-Series, which General Motors will procure from Isuzu and distribute through Chevrolet dealers. The six new models will be branded as Chevrolet Low Cab Forward. According to John Schwegman, director of commercial products for GM Fleet and Commercial Operations, the Low Cab Forward models will fill a product hole in the GM lineup in the Class 3-5 truck segments. The new trucks will be offered in regular-cab and crew-cab body styles. A General Motors’ sourced 6.0L V-8 gasoline engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, or Isuzu-sourced 3.0L and 5.2L turbodiesel engines, will be available, depending on the model. The gasoline-powered models will be assembled from complete knock down (CKD) kits in the U.S. at the Spartan Motors assembly plant in Charlotte, Michigan. Along with the Isuzu-badged versions, the Chevrolet models will be the only low-cab forward trucks in the North American market to offer a gasoline-powered powertrain. Additional features include: Excellent visibility and maneuverability — especially in urban environments.Easy driver entry and exit.Chassis lengths ranging from 109 inches to 212 inches.Compatibility with a variety of body types, including refrigerated box, stake/flat bed, and service bodies.Easy-access engine compartment with 45-degree tilting cab.Additional features and specifications will be available closer to the start of production. “Bringing low-cab forward trucks back to our portfolio strengthens Chevrolet’s commitment to providing commercial customers with more choices and provides customers with a versatile lineup of trucks, vans, and crossovers,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of GM Fleet and Commercial Sales. “This addition helps our dealers satisfy their commercial customers’ needs all in one place.” In addition to the new Low-Cab Forward trucks, Chevrolet’s fleet and commercial choices include the full-size Silverado lineup, the Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD full-size chassis cab models, and the mid-size Colorado, which offers a box-delete and seat-delete option, as well as the City Express small van and Express range of full-size vans. According to Peper, key vocational markets being targeted by Chevrolet for the new Low Cab Forward models include refrigerated food delivery, distribution applications, construction industry, landscaping, government, and urban applications. The vehicle collaboration agreement in the U.S. between General Motors and Isuzu Motors is the latest in a more than 40 year strategic partnership between the two companies that has included other commercial vehicle collaborations throughout the world. According to both companies, to strengthen the product lineup, GM and Isuzu will explore the use of GM com-mercial vehicle components for Isuzu low-cab forward trucks, and GM will continue to produce and supply the 6.0L V-8 gasoline engine and 6-speed transmission for Isuzu gasoline-powered low-cab forward trucks. .

Owner/Driver / June 15, 2015 We climb behind the wheel of a Kenworth T359 to test the TC10 transmission from Allison. The Allison automatic transmission has carved out a formidable reputation for durability and performance on the Australian market. It’s the transmission of choice for the vast majority of the waste and construction sector. These days barely an agitator rolls past without that signature Allison and live drive PTO sound. However, the American release of the Allison TC10 transmission a couple of years ago showed the company was keen to expand its gear changing horizons outside of its traditional vocational and bus territory. The TC10 is a twin counter shaft 10-speed transmission with a torque converter out front that has been specifically designed for heavy duty and on-highway applications. The company is claiming a 5 per cent improvement in fuel economy in US applications. As you’d expect, the torque converter gets things rolling on take-off but locks out almost instantaneously. The TC10 then shuffles through its 10 ratios as needed much in the same way as an automated cog box (AMT). Except it isn’t an AMT and the TC10 is touted to dodge some AMT performance blackspots, namely clutch engagement, intersection clearance and indecisive shifting. This all sounds great on paper but what does it mean out in the real world? We found out recently after climbing behind the wheel of a near new Kenworth T359 recently. The Kenworth belongs to Prix Car and was retro fitted with the Allison on delivery with the old Eaton box getting the flick. The beauty of this application is that the single trailer car carrier runs at 36 tonne gross, which is exactly the same as the American on- highway weight limit. And this is the first TC10 equipped truck in the country. When we caught up with it there was a full load of cars on the back to give us a real world indication of what this cog swapper was about. Inside there’s little to give away what’s going on under the 359’s narrow floor. An Allison selector pad looks right at home. The 450hp Cummins ISM fires up and I hit D for drive. The result is quite startling and quite unlike any other truck I’ve driven to date. The torque multiplying characteristics of the torque converter give the combination a good nudge off the line which belies the fact that this truck is equipped with an incredibly tall 3.08 final drive. The TC10 also delivers full power gear shifts which really gives it a kick up the bum when rolling though urban traffic. But what really got me was the decisiveness of the transmission especially when negotiating roundabouts, for example. Even some of the best AMTs can get a little confused when rolling up to an intersection. Any decent driver will try and keep the rig rolling and anticipate traffic if they can rather than stopping unnecessarily. Trouble is some AMTs will then shuffle up and down gears when throttle is applied which means you lose vital time getting though a gap in the traffic. The longer it takes encourages the driver to plant the foot even more which then encourages a normal AMT to hold onto gears and rev out longer, which then means the truck takes even longer to get going. It can be very frustrating in heavy traffic. This Allison box, however, makes its mind up very quickly and gets you shuffling with the right cog sooner rather than later. Varying road cambers don’t seem to worry it either. Allison is looking to expand on the TC10’s potential locally and there’s already a plethora of roles that a transmission of this ilk would shine. But from behind the wheel, the TC10 is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly automated world. .

Owner/Driver / June 15, 2015 It’s Mack all the way for father and son team Jim and Barney Hair. Carting hay is busy work at the moment for Hair’s Cattle Transport and Hay Supplies, but a reliance on hard-working Mack trucks is helping the family-run operation get the job done. The father and son team of Jim and Barney Hair are diehard Mack fans. When the duo spoke to Owner//Driver recently, Jim was admiring his 1990 Titan and the 2013 Titan New Breed. Both trucks were loaded with hay in Emerald, bound for Longreach in outback Queensland. "We are Mack people…everything is Mack," Jim says. Jim, his wife Jan and their son Barney run Hair’s Cattle Transport and Hay Supplies out of the small town of Springsure, just south of Emerald. The 1990 Titan has a 575hp (410kW) Mack E9 V-8 engine under the bonnet with Camelback suspension, while the newer Titan has a 685hp (510kW) MP10 engine, a 12-speed mDrive box and overleaf suspension. Jim also has an old Super-Liner in the shed at his home that he plans to rebuild and then hire another driver to get behind the wheel of the Titan. After all, the company could do with another truck on the road. The drought in Queensland has bumped up demand for hay. "For a long time we’ve been killing ourselves. It’s tough going but it will quieten off. You need to make hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes," Barney says. "Right now, there is such a demand with the drought. "The drought’s getting worse and it’s just gone on and on." While Jim and Barney are out in the trucks, Jan takes care of the office work and oversees the operation. The time away from home for each triple ranges from a day to a week, depending on where they collect the hay and deliver it to. The operation goes right up to the Northern Territory border so it’s not uncommon for the trucks to hit the dirt. "The Titan loves the dirt," Barney says. "With its long wheelbase it rides well, and the cab rides on air so it’s very comfortable." Related photographs - http://www.ownerdriver.com.au/industry-news/1506/hairs-cattle-transport-a-tale-of-two-titans/

GM to Return to U.S. Medium-Truck Market The Wall Street Journal / June 14, 2015 General Motors is poised to re-enter the growing and potentially lucrative U.S. market for medium-duty work trucks, an area it abandoned during its restructuring last decade. The Detroit auto giant will team up with Japan’s Isuzu Motors Ltd. to procure work trucks to be sold in the U.S. under the Chevrolet brand. GM and Isuzu have worked together for decades. While Isuzu will build the vehicles, GM will rely on its own dealer network and reputation as a truck company to lay claim to a medium-duty market that has grown 3.5% in 2015. GM will begin taking the Isuzu-built N-series truck and putting a Chevrolet brand on it soon, according to dealers briefed on the plan. GM will unveil the partnership Monday in a move likely to be well-received by a U.S. dealer body clamoring for more work trucks to sell amid stronger economic conditions. The contract-manufacturing relationship with Isuzu isn’t atypical for an auto industry looking to share the cost of developing new products. GM, for instance, also purchases work vans from Nissan Motor Co., rebrands them as Chevys and sells them in the U.S. GM will supply an engine for the Isuzu-built Chevrolet medium-duty trucks, according to one person familiar with the production strategy. Financial terms of GM’s agreement with Isuzu aren’t immediately known. The move represents the latest in a series of steps taken under Chief Executive Mary Barra and her predecessors in recent years to rebuild after years of downsizing. Facing a cash crunch last decade, the company killed brands, sold off or abandoned divisions such as Allison Transmission, and exited the business of directly financing auto purchases. In 2010, it bought a finance company and earlier this year took steps to dramatically expand it, for example. It is investing $5.4 billion over the next three years to upgrade its U.S. manufacturing footprint and billions of dollars more into reviving Cadillac, growing in South America and fortifying its position in China. There have been about 75,000 Class 4 through Class 7 trucks sold in the U.S. through May, according to automotive-information provider WardsAuto.com. That is up from 53,000 sold in the first five months of 2011 and 72,000 sold in the same period in 2014. Medium-duty trucks serve a variety of roles, with highly capable cabs and chassis serving as the basis for dump trucks, garbage trucks, tow trucks and a variety of other functions. Sales of these vehicles can deliver substantial profits. The GMC Topkick and Chevrolet Kodiak, once built at GM's plants in Janesville, Wisconsin and Flint, Michigan, were once mainstays for medium-truck buyers, but the auto maker decided to abandon that market around the time it filed bankruptcy protection in 2009. GM had forged an agreement in 2008 to sell the business to Navistar International Corp., but that plan unraveled. While the Isuzu joint venture is just a small step, it represents the beginning of what is planned to be a wider foray into a market where rivals Ford and Daimler have remained active. The move should provide at least a portion of GM’s Chevrolet dealers opportunity to make additional money selling, servicing and outfitting professional-use work trucks.

Reuters / June 15, 2015 General Motors will re-enter the U.S. medium-duty truck market next year with Chevrolet-branded vehicles supplied by Isuzu Motors Ltd., people familiar with the matter said today. The companies are due to make an announcement soon, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is not yet public. The deal was reported by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. The long-time partners have in the past jointly developed trucks such as the Chevy Colorado pickup, sold as the i-Series by Isuzu. GM sold its stake in Isuzu in 2006 after a 35-year capital alliance as it faced financial difficulties, and later announced its exit from the medium-duty truck market when its problems escalated and it filed for bankruptcy in 2009. It was not immediately clear how many vehicles Isuzu would supply under the original equipment manufacturing deal. Of the total, 80 percent would be powered by diesel engines and be shipped from Japan. The rest will be assembled at a plant operated by an Isuzu partner in the U.S. with gasoline engines supplied by GM, the sources said.

Automotive News / June 15, 2015 Last Thursday morning in rural northern Virginia, a silver 2015 Ford F-150 SuperCab 4x2 slammed violently into a concrete abutment at 40 mph. It was a loud and unusual crash. But it was no accident. Rather, it was an unprecedented follow-up crash test of a lower-volume pickup model by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. According to IIHS, the test was done specifically because Automotive News alerted it to extra safety equipment that Ford installed on the top-selling SuperCrew model -- the single model that IIHS normally tests -- but not on its Regular Cab or SuperCab F-150s. Other pickup makers will be subject to new tests on their lower-volume models starting next year, an IIHS spokesman said. -------------------------------------------------------------- Ford's front-end reinforcementTo improve the crashworthiness of the F-150 SuperCrew, Ford used steel bars welded to the pickup's frame that help prevent the front wheels from intruding into the passenger area in a crash involving the front corner. The parts aren't included on the F-150's other cab configurations.-------------------------------------------------------------- The new tests show the determination of the privately funded IIHS to root out any hint of gamesmanship on the part of automakers seeking to do just enough to ace the group's difficult crash tests and earn its top ratings. Indeed, IIHS has launched what it calls a "research project" to determine the extent to which automakers might be taking shortcuts to pass the small-overlap test. (See story, above.) IIHS had planned to release a special single-vehicle safety report for the 2015 F-150 because of the pickup's popularity and its transition to an aluminum body. But that report -- based on crash-test results from just the top-selling SuperCrew version, as was the institute's established practice -- has been delayed until at least July, an IIHS spokesman said. The reason: to allow extra time to crash-test other F-150 configurations and "give consumers comprehensive information about the F-150's performance," the spokesman, Russ Rader, told Automotive News. Marketing edge Thursday's extraordinary test was on a SuperCab model that has a smaller rear passenger compartment and accounts for 25 percent of the F-150's sales, compared with 70 percent for the SuperCrew, Ford says. Regular Cab F-150s account for the remaining 5 percent. This spring, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subjected all three cab versions of the F-150 to its own battery of crash tests. All three earned five stars, the federal agency's highest rating, and the achievement features prominently in Ford's F-150 marketing. IIHS also conducts a different set of tests, including, as of 2012, a small-overlap frontal crash test that has confounded many automakers. A vehicle must get a "good" or "acceptable" rating on the small-overlap test to receive the group's coveted Top Safety Pick designation. In recent years, several automakers have scrambled to fortify their vehicles to retain or improve their ratings. (A higher rating, Top Safety Pick+, is reserved for vehicles with collision-mitigation technology, such as automated braking.) To safeguard passengers in its most important vehicle, Ford installed roughly foot-long assemblies of tubular steel, welded to the SuperCrew model's frame, in front of and behind both front wheels. In the repair information it provides to collision shops, Ford calls the parts "Frame Bracket with Crew Cab Protectors." They are priced from about $50 to $58. According to independent automotive engineers, collision experts and top IIHS testing officials, Ford's protectors on the SuperCrew model help prevent the wheels from intruding into the passenger area when the front corner of the truck strikes another vehicle or object at high speed. "There are a lot of different things OEMs are looking at to try and get the best results for this type of collision," said one collision expert. The small-overlap test "is one of the more horrific crash tests I've seen because you don't have a lot of the vehicle to stop that energy before it's into the passenger compartment." A Ford safety spokeswoman confirmed that Ford adds "supplementary material" to its SuperCrew model to "reinforce cab strength." Genuine attempt So why are the protectors absent from the other 30 percent of F-150s? "We optimize each cab structure based on many factors including cab style, mass, wheelbase, powertrain and driveline to meet regulatory requirements and achieve public domain ratings," the Ford safety spokeswoman said. The different safety configurations among models puzzled some outside experts consulted by Automotive News. Third-party engineers said it was their opinion that the protectors were added to the SuperCrew model for the sake of passing the IIHS test. That's no surprise, says Joe Nolan, senior vice president for vehicle research at IIHS and head of its crash lab. He said IIHS alerted automakers five years ago that it would begin conducting the small-overlap tests in 2012, and automakers have responded by striving to improve their test performance. "We definitely can see -- certainly for the small-overlap test -- countermeasures that automakers have put in," Nolan said. He said he was glad to see that Ford had installed the protectors for both front wheels on the SuperCrew F-150s because it indicated a genuine attempt to improve safety. "If you were just trying to beat the test, [the protectors] could only be on the driver's side," Nolan explained, because that's the side where the small-overlap test is done. Still, having safety equipment vary across the myriad configurations of the same model could be problematic for IIHS and the reliability of its safety ratings in the long run, Nolan said. "We don't know what else is different," Nolan said. "It certainly is Pandora's box if we need to start testing every cab variant, box type [and] engine type." In the IIHS small-overlap frontal crash test, begun in 2012, a vehicle travels at 40 mph toward a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier, with 25% of the total width of the vehicle striking the barrier on the driver's side. To determine the ratings, the institute's engineers look at 3 factors. Testing, testing 1. The amount of intrusion into the occupant compartment after the crash 2. The risk of injury as measured by sensors on test dummies 3. Restraint and movement of the dummies during the crash Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Related video - http://www.autonews.com/article/20150615/OEM11/306159945/equipment-disparity-on-ford-f-150-prompts-new-crash-test .

MAN Press Release / June 12, 2015 MAN was the first to bridge a gap in the market with HydroDrive In 2005 MAN was able to meet the needs of the first customers demanding traction from the front axle at the "touch of a button": With MAN HydroDrive, MAN was the first to bridge a gap in the market for those customers who drive largely on roads, but in some situations require additional traction from the front axle without having to purchase an all-wheel drive truck. MAN has been the only player in this market for virtually ten years and can therefore call on extensive technical experience. Largest vehicle range in the market Since its market launch, over 11,000 customers have been convinced by the advantages of MAN HydroDrive in terms of efficiency and safety. MAN offers the largest range of HydroDrive vehicles in the market with six wheel configurations and two bodywork heights from the two-axle vehicle to the four-axle vehicle in the TGS and TGX series. A particularly large number of MAN customers are based in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Scandinavia. Vehicles often operate as fire service vehicles, refuse collectors, construction vehicles and tankers - all of which need to respond in a timely manner even in adverse weather conditions and on mountainous terrain. They may also be working on unsurfaced forest tracks as timber transporters. If rain has softened the surface, then rear-wheel drive alone is sometimes not enough, especially if the truck is loaded and the rear axle is unable to generate full traction. An example of this is entering and leaving unsurfaced construction sites with a building delivery vehicle, tipper or truck mixer. A HydroDrive truck which can avoid getting stuck in such everyday conditions in a quarry means increased uptime. In addition to this, the driver is also spared the inconvenience of having to be towed out in bad weather. Steering on a slippery surface also becomes more difficult when a fully-laden truck pushes over the non-driven front wheels. A traditional selectable all-wheel drive is what is required here. But is it really necessary to equip all vehicles with all-wheel drive when they are operated mainly on tarmac? MAN has an easy solution to this question in the form of the HydroDrive: It provides additional traction and safety but doesn't need a transfer case, a front-axle differential or a front drive shaft. This helps to save fuel and decrease CO2 emissions day in day, out. In comparison with a traditional all-wheel drive truck, a HydroDrive truck weighs around 400 kilograms less. This also means that HydroDrive vehicles are able to transport a much greater payload. A truck with HydroDrive thus expands the operational range of on-road vehicles: for many businesses this means the acquisition of an additional all-wheel drive truck is unnecessary. Low height and outstanding turning circle MAN HydroDrive is the only all-wheel system that can get traction on to the front axle of a normal and medium-height truck. The advantage lies in the fact that this is the only possible way to implement all-wheel drive on certain vehicles: This is the case, for example, for container bodies in which standing height is necessary, e.g. for swap-body vehicles for fire-fighting and rescue services. The reason for this is that only normal-height vehicles can carry high swap bodies and still remain within the statutory height limits. Normal height also means easy access to the vehicle and a low centre of gravity, resulting in better driving stability. Another advantage is the small turning circle: A HydroDrive truck has a smaller turning circle than vehicles with a mechanical front axle drive. This is an important benefit, for example for fire-service vehicles, which are then able to turn in one attempt. The engineering explained MAN HydroDrive drives the front axles using a hydrostatic motor on each wheel. This is fed by a hydraulic pump with pressure of up to 420 bar. The drive can be engaged by simply turning a rotary switch, both while driving and under load – the driver can thus master gradients safely without having to stop. The additional traction is also available in reverse and when coasting. On the one hand, this increases the brake output of the continuous braking systems - in particular of the MAN PriTarder. On the other hand, it significantly improves the vehicle's manoeuvrability on slippery surfaces and therefore driving safety. The system also scores well on two main benefits for body manufacturers involved, for example, with setting up tipper bodies on the HydroDrive chassis. No components protrude beyond the upper edge of the frame and a large selection of power take-offs are available. MAN is launching a new web-special on MAN HydroDrive today: http://www.truck.man.eu/global/en/fascination-and-technology/technology-and-competence/technology/man-hydrodrive/man-hydrodrive-special.html?utm_source=qrcode&utm_medium=qrcode&utm_campaign=hydrodrive Related photographs - http://www.corporate.man.eu/en/press-and-media/presscenter/10-years-of-MAN-HydroDrive-A-success-story-with-extra-traction--210560.html

FBI Investigates Liebherr Stolen Truck Designs Lawsuit Construction Equipment / June 4, 2015 The FBI’s Detroit, Mich., office filed a request for 32 documents in the 2011 Liebherr copycat lawsuit. The request indicates the FBI may be exploring criminal charges, reports the Daily Press. Prior to the FBI’s request for documents, Liebherr dropped its civil lawsuit against Detroit Heavy Trucking (DHT). The lawsuit accused DHT of stealing, and then distributing truck designs to Chinese firms to imitate Liebherr’s diesel mining truck with a 400-ton payload. FBI Special Agent Aaron Steketee, who requested the court documents from the FBI's Detroit office, did not return phone calls or emails this week. Additionally, David Porter, a press spokesman with the FBI's Detroit office, also declined to explain the request.

Construction Week / June 14, 2015 Adani Mining, the company behind the A$16.5bn ($12.5bn) Carmichael coal project in Australia, has placed an order with Komatsu for 55 units of its 960E-2 and 930E-4SE super-large dump trucks, due for delivery in the second half of 2016. The Komatsu 930E is the best selling ultra-class haul truck in the world. Earlier this year, it was revealed by Adani Mining CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj that the project is being planned as the world’s first fully autonomous mining operation incorporating mine, railway and port. “We will be utilizing at least 45 360-tonne driverless trucks. All the vehicles will be capable of automation. When we ramp up the mine, everything will be autonomous from mine to port,” he noted. Komatsu first equipped its 930E-4 electric drive trucks with autonomous haulage systems in 2008 to supply to Codelco’s Gaby copper mine in Chile and later Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The deal with Komatsu is one of the last remaining pieces for the project, after Adani contracted Downer EDI to work on the mine infrastructure, and POSCO to handle the EPC for a new rail line connecting the project to existing transport links. Adani is expected to sign deals for the coal handling plant and mine construction later this year. Upon completion, the mine is expected to produce 60 million tons of coal a year, with an estimated operating life of 90 years. It is expected to deliver 10,000 jobs and $17bn in taxes and royalties by the time the project reaches its half-life. .

DAF Press Release / June 12, 2015 With a vision to further increasing transport efficiency, DAF has built a prototype distribution truck with a significantly lower kerb weight. Thanks to the application of innovative and patented chassis design innovations in combination with lightweight materials and components, the Future Truck Chassis Concept (FTCC) achieves a remarkable weight saving of no less than 500 kilograms (1,102 lb) on a 12 metric tonne (26,455lb) LF medium truck, which already offers a low kerb weight for highest payload. The FTCC is based on DAF’s popular LF-series and built by Leyland Trucks (http://www.leylandtrucksltd.co.uk/) in close cooperation with both Sapa Profiles UK (http://www.sapagroup.com/en/sapa-profiles-uk-ltd-aluminium-extrusion/) who worked extensively with DAF on the design and provided the aluminium extrusions whilst and CSA Group, who assisted with the validation of the truck by defining and conducting vehicle and rig based testing. The project was co-funded by the British Government’s Innovate UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk). Aim was to realize an increased payload at a lower fuel consumption, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions. New design concepts The FTCC research project features a number of new design concepts to further enhance transport efficiency. Extensive use is made of aluminium extrusions for an optimal ratio between weight and stiffness. Next to amongst others, side and cross members, parts of the wheel suspension, the floor of the body and even the Front Underrun Protection (FUP)) are made of aluminium. Patented innovations The Front Underrun Protection is mounted on a newly designed and patented front frame module. This module is smartly attached to the side members, as these don’t go to the very front of the vehicle, allowing optimal packaging. Another patented innovation is the body floor structure being integrated in the chassis frame design, by incorporating the body sub frame into the main chassis side members. In addition to the many weight saving measures, the project included a number of other advanced vehicle features such as independent front air suspension with rack and pinion steering, to investigate its benefits in terms of ride quality, steering precision and vehicle packaging improvements. Reduced fuel consumption Leyland Trucks Senior engineer, Rob Lawton, who led the project team, commented: ‘Light weighting is at the heart of our global efforts to reduce fuel consumption and thus emissions. Increasing payload without loss of vehicle integrity is fundamental to that process. Our FTCC project has achieved our objectives: a 30% weight saving focused on the components used in the main truck chassis frame, body under structure, front suspension and steering.’ Innovations for the future The FTCC demonstrates the potential is of innovative weight saving technologies. The truck will be displayed at a variety of international events to demonstrate the technological advances it incorporates. The FTCC is first of all a study model, which won’t be on the market on short notice. However, it shows innovations which might be considered for the future if financially feasible as well. .

Prime Mover Magazine / June 14, 2015 Airtec Corporation has announced the release of a new line of digital tyre inflation equipment and digital on-board weighing scales system to the Australian market. The range includes its new Truckie's Tyre Maintenance (TTM) Kits designed to help operators improve tyre pressure management. "The TTM Kit includes 22 DS-1 flow-through caps enabling the operator to inflate the tyre through the sealing cap, reducing labour time by 65 per cent and helping pressure tyre pressure," Airtec said. "Additionally, the kit comes with two types of valve extensions to make the inner dual tyre valve accessible for inflation and a dial gauge pressure tester to get an accurate pressure valve. The other is Airtec's Tyre Management - XTC Digital Tyre Inflator with temperature compensator. "The temperature compensating inflation technology eliminates temperature-pressure errors by measuring the actual tyre air temperature prior to the inflation process and automatically adjusting the final inflation pressure according to temperate differences," the company said. "No guess work and no need to refer to detailed compensation charts." In addition, Airtec also released the new AXL and AXM On-board Digital Truck Scales. Designed to show the vehicle's weight loads at any time, the AXL is a standalone axle load weight indicator suitable for any prime mover and trailer fitted with an air bag suspension system. "The AXM is a complete system that indicates each axle group weight through wireless communication either to a mobile phone app or to an in-cab remote display," added Airtec. Related photographs: http://www.primemovermag.com.au/news/article/airtec-launches-new-digital-product-range

Fleet Owner / June 12, 2015 Shell preps for LNG, moves to spur transport market The fall in the price of diesel may have taken the shine off of alternative fuels in U.S. trucking for the time being, but liquefied natural gas (LNG) is already used in a significant and rapidly growing number of highway trucks in China. And the technologies developed there and produced at scale are likely to gain a foothold in the North American market in the near future, Shell representatives explained in global media event at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) . Simply, for Shell, an expected doubling in energy demand in the next 50 years poses “an incredible challenge,” and natural gas “is going to be a big part of that story,” says Colin Abraham, president, Shell Lubricants Americas. Of course, Shell has been extracting gas for 50 years and owns processing facilities around the globe. Increasingly, the energy giant is investing in smaller, near-to-market LNG production facilities as well as LNG retail networks. The bottom line for transportation is that there will be good business case for LNG for a long time to come, and Shell plans “to drive adoption, particularly in trucking and shipping,” Abraham said. The advantages to LNG, along with its availability and affordability, are that the liquid form of the gas is energy dense and transportable, and that as methane, it’s the cleanest burning hydrocarbon and therefore will be more environmentally acceptable, explains Scott Hartman, downstream LNG application specialist for Shell. Compared to CNG, which is commonly moved through pipeline networks and requires additives for transport safety, LNG is much more pure. And that means fewer engine deposits. While CNG still makes sense in many applications, LNG is very good fuel for long-haul trucking, Hartman says. The proving ground for LNG trucks is China, where there are more than 330,000 medium- and heavy-duty trucks on the road, according to Shell—and that number is expected to triple in the next five years . That compares to about 23,000 in the U.S. and only 2,000 in Europe. Still, Shell has equipped a “Center of Excellence” in the truck engine testing facilities at SwRI where LNG engines are put through their paces and appropriate lubricant formulations are evaluated. The effort is all the more critical because there are no standards specifically for lubricants used in natural gas engines, so Shell has had to develop its own battery of tests. “Customers like to see the evidence before they make that investment in natural gas,” Hartman said. “We’re starting to realize some real tangible benefits from setting up these tests.” And even though the demand isn’t here yet, the market could get a boost with competition from some new players. “There are Chinese engines on the way which will meet EPA standards in the U.S. market in the next couple of years,” Abraham told Fleet Owner in a follow-up interview. Hartman anticipates these will be 13-liter, high-pressure, direct-injection engines—and, because of the scale of production already in place there, the costs likely will be more affordable. “All the OEMs offer natural gas trucks, but they all use the Cummins Westport engines. What we really would like is a lot more diversity in that space,” Hartman said. “It's business: If you create competition, people are going to have to react.” Of course, trucks need service networks, so the most likely model would be a licensing deal with North American truck makers, they suggest. Indeed, also at the research center was a Chinese-made LNG fuel tank which was undergoing durability testing. And passing. It’s a project with OEM partners that Hartman declined to name. “We want them to understand that we believe in it, we’ve tested it,” he said. “And they’ve given us fair indication that if Shell supports these technologies they would be happier to take those onto their trucks.” “I think we’re looking, potentially, at a 60 percent drop for the cost of the fuel tank,” Abraham added. Additionally, Shell and GE Capital have recently signed a commercial agreement with a view to spurring the trucking industry's adoption of LNG in Canada—a deal that, if successful, would likely expand to the U.S. as well. Under the agreement, GE Capital and Shell will work together to reduce monthly payments for truck fleets that lease natural gas vehicles. Specifically, fleets owners can sign natural gas fueling contracts with Shell and, separately, secure leases for LNG vehicles with GE Capital. The agreement covers equipment that will purchase fuel from Shell's facilities. “It’s about the risk of having no secondary market at this point, and the fleets are looking for someone to cover them for that,” Hartman said. “What it says is how much Shell believes in that market.” Indeed, just this week Abraham had signed deals to supply LNG trucks for two big fleets, he added. And Shell continues to roll out retail locations, with 5 to 10 more stations coming in the next year. “We’re in the market. We’re keeping in front of customers. It’s sort of like a test market, but we’re going to stay with it,” Abraham said. “Even at lower oil prices, there’s still a differential. Depending on the environmental considerations the customer might have, depending on the type of business—and if we can get the price of a new LNG truck down—the economics is there.”

Fleet Owner / June 12, 2015 Big-truck manufacturers in the U.S. had their best May since 2006, as medium- and heavy-duty truck sales rose 16.5% to 37,225 units, compared to 33,185 units the previous year, representing the 21st consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. Class 8 sales continued to drive the overall market – up 24.1% on sales of 21,501 units compared to 17,990 a year ago – with all companies posting gains. Daimler’s Freightliner saw a 36% sales increase, raising its U.S. market share to 38.4 percent. Paccar’s Kenworth jumped 29%, and Peterbilt rose 26.9%. Medium-duty sales were up 7.5% compared to 2014 with 15,724 units delivered in May. All weight classes saw year-over-year increases as well. Canada The sales streak continued in Canada as it saw its ninth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Class 8 sales were up slightly by 1.8%. Daimler’s Freightliner gained 24.9%. International delivering the best results among all competitors in Class 8, jumping 48.8% on volume of 374 units. Class 7 saw the highest surge – 61.4% – among all big truck groups, with all companies posting double-digit gains.

Transport Topics / June 12, 2015 Paccar Inc. is recalling more than 100,000 Kenworth model-year 2011-2016 trucks because water may leak into the windshield wiper motor, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. Wipers may stop working on the “intermittent” setting, reducing drivers’ visibility and increasing the risk of a crash. Water may cause corrosion which, over time, may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire, NHTSA said. The affected trucks include Kenworth T270, T370, T440, T470, C500, C540, C550, T680, T800, W900, and 963 trucks manufactured between Nov. 1, 2010, and April 7, 2015. Paccar still is developing and testing a remedy and has not yet provided a notification schedule, but owners may contact Kenworth customer service at 425-828-5000 and reference recall No. 15KWF.

Ford plans to offer Raptor and FX4 variants of the global Ranger in the Australian market Ford Australia has registered the Ford Ranger Raptor and Ford Ranger FX4 trademarks ahead of the revised Ford Ranger‘s local launch later this year. On June 5, 2015, Ford lodged trademarks for the Ford Ranger Raptor, Ranger Raptor and Ranger FX4. While there has never been a Ranger Raptor, the previous US market Ranger was available with an FX4 package which included all-terrain tires, a Torsen limited-slip rear differential, skid plates, Bilstein shock absorbers and a 31-spline 8.8-inch rear differential.

Bloomberg / June 13, 2015 Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford talks about the automaker's return to the Le Mans race in 2016 with the GT sports car and production of the aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup. Ford, speaking with Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Markets," also talks about business strategy and the outlook for consolidation in the auto industry. Bill Ford on the 2016 Le Mans race: "Make no mistake, we want to win" With Carroll Shelby overseeing the racing program, Ford's GT40 took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place at the 1966 Le Mans race, and took first place in 1967, 1968 and 1969. It was actually "plan B" that won for Ford. After announcing that Ford was getting back into racing in 1962, Henry Ford II's plan A was to buy Ferrari, but in the end Enzo decided not to sell. Video: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-06-12/bill-ford-racing-to-keep-up-with-demand-for-f-150

Okay, that's a valid model (RWL766LST) and Mack Western-type 5-digit serial number (39600)............a Hayward production Super-Liner 6x4 tractor with an NTC400 and an aluminum frame. There no reason for your Mack dealer to throw you the 2RU139F.............backtrack...........and then offer you the 12AX136F. That's simply not the way Mack parts is (err...was) done. Under the parts look-up system of the former Mack Trucks, the model and serial number would tell you exactly what THAT truck was built with. There was no guessing involved. And if the dealer level parts research data was incomplete, the dealer would call the specifications department of Mack Parts Operations and probably speak with Bill Tober, our parts expert knower-of-all on Hayward production vehicles. Now that all said, you're dealing with the Volvo spare parts distribution system now, so you're lucky to be able to get anything for a truck that age owing to Volvo's thought process on trucks older than 10 years. Either Volvo is supplying the wrong part under what I suspect is the right number (2RU139F), the parts man is younger and lacks experience, or the parts man resents researching older trucks.

What is your model and serial number, as shown on the vehicle identification plate attached to the driver's door?

Our government (ie. our employees) is supposed to serve the best interests of the people (a government of the people, by the people, for the people supposedly being our central theme). North Carolina is making a "knee-jerk" decision here, and losing a lot of face in the process. No rocket science here, there is a right way to go about this. Before parking on interstate highway exit ramps and on-ramps, rest areas and at weigh stations (after hours) for the purpose of rest is to be prohibited by North Carolina (IF indeed this change is the overwhelming desire of the people.....was there a referendum?), then firstly........alternative means need to be created that will replace the current means that are to be banned. Alternative means being a convenient roadside facilty free-of-charge where drivers can legally rest (ie. sleep)..........I believe most states call them rest areas. Clearly North Carolina must eradicate the term "rest area" within its boundaries (as the state's new draconian law bans resting there), and create a more applicable name.