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Detroit to offer integrated powertrain in 2015 Fleet Owner / May 22, 2014 A new integrated powertrain package – linking together a proprietary engine, automated transmission and axles – will be rolled out by the Detroit division of Daimler Trucks North America starting in January next year. Initially available only for the Freightliner Cascadia Evolution Class 8 tractor and then later in 2015 for the Western Star 5700, Detroit’s new integrated powertrain combines a DD15 engine with a new “downspeed” rating of 400 hp and 1750 lb.-ft. of torque with the company’s DT12 automated transmission and axle products. Brad Williamson, DTNA’s manager of engine and component marketing, told Fleet Owner by phone that two rear axle options will be offered with Detroit’s new integrated powertrain: a 6x2 rear axle configuration with a 2.28 ratio and a non-driven tag axle on the tandem, reducing total weight by almost 400 lbs., along with a new 2.41 ratio 6x4 rear axle set up. “To this point, we’ve offered each piece of powertrain separately; now we’re combining them into one package to maximize fuel economy, along with other benefits,” he said. For example, Williamson pointed that by “tuning” transmission electronics and axle ratios precisely to the DD15 engine calibrations “downspeeding” can now occur efficiently – meaning more engine torque can be made available at slower engine speeds of roughly 975 revolutions per minute (rpm) versus 1,050 rpm. “This is something (downspeeding) that our competitors have offered for a while and now we’re able to offer it,” he said. “Basically, it is the ability to provide more torque at slower engine speeds and that helps save on fuel without compromising performance.” Detroit’s DT12 transmission – equipped with what the company calls Intelligent Powertrain Management (IPM) – is what really will help drive further fuel economy savings, Williamson noted. By using pre-loaded terrain maps and global positioning system [GPS] location data to literally “see” the route ahead, the DT12 on cruise control can automatically adjust transmission and engine functions to save fuel while ensuring a smoother ride. “This is something a driver simply cannot do, because they can’t see over the crest of a hill,” Williamson added. “By using pre-loaded maps and GPS, however, the DT12 can – so it will literally ‘know’ it can stay in 11th or 12th gear on a hill because it knows where the top is and how steep the grade is on the other side.” In his view, the DT12 transmission is the "critical link" between the engine and the axles, and with the addition of the IPM feature, it provides a "seamless solution" that has a direct impact on fuel savings. Williamson stressed that the other big benefit to DTNA customers from an integrated powertrain is that since all the components – engine, transmission, and axles – are built by one company, in this case Detroit, more detailed information can be shared between them and they can all be serviced at one location. “That’s the ‘secret sauce’ if you will: we share all the available information between the components because, as I like to say, ‘they all speak Detroit,’” he explained. “We can also offer ‘one stop shop’ service as everything – the truck, engine, transmission, and axles – is ours. No more going over here to deal with an engine issue, over there for transmission service, with separate stops for axle work and truck maintenance thrown in as well.” “We know exactly what our customers want: Leading technologies integrated from one source that allows the customer to easily implement into their business model and improve uptime, safety and efficiency,” noted David Hames, DTNA’s general manager of marketing and strategy, in a statement. “We’re able accomplish the level of performance and efficiency the [new] integrated powertrain provides by designing, engineering, testing and manufacturing everything under one roof,” he added. “Every individual product was studied to make certain they were specifically tuned to work together to deliver maximum efficiency.” Williamson also pointed out that Detroit is going to forgo the traditional “printed brochure” route and instead provide details on its new integrated powertrain through a new “Demand Detroit App” for both Android and iOS devices, which will be activated sometime in early June.

Transport Topics / May 22, 2014 Daimler Trucks North America has unveiled a new Detroit-branded powertrain package, leveraging greater integration and a series of new technologies to offer what the company called its most fuel-efficient package yet. The powertrain from Detroit Diesel Corp. features the DD15 engine, DT12 transmission and new axle offerings. It will be available for the Freightliner Cascadia Evolution in January and for the soon-to-be-offered Western Star 5700 later in 2015. “If customers are looking for optimal fuel efficiency, this is the vehicle,” said David Hames, DTNA’s general manager of marketing and strategy. He said the powertrain can increase fuel economy 5- 7% above the existing Evolution. During 2012, the company said it had achieved greater than 9 mpg during road trials.

May 5, 2014 The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering US$191 million (Euro 140 million) long-term loan to Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.S. (Ford Otosan) to finance the development of new Ford Ecotorq commercial truck engines, modernization of manufacturing processes, modernization of the company’s Ford Cargo commercial truck range, development of a new Ford Cargo model truck and the increase of Ford truck production capacity at its Inonu plant in Eskişehir, Turkey. Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.S. (Ford Otosan) is incorporated in Turkey and operates as a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding. Ford and Koc each hold a 41 percent equity stake, and the remaining shares are listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Koç Holding is the leading industrial conglomerate in Turkey engaged in the automotive, energy, durable goods and banking sectors. .

Scania Retarder interacts with the cruise control, exhaust brake and wheel brakes to provide total speed control at the touch of a button or a dab on the brake pedal. Completely integrated with the cruise control, as well as with the service brakes and exhaust brake when cruising, a vehicle with the Scania Retarder provides automatic speed control up and down the hills. Retarder braking is either initiated with a dab on the brake pedal or controlled manually with the lever on the steering column.The gap between cruising speed and downhill speed can be set in small steps using a button on the steering wheel. When set to work automatically with the exhaust brake and the service brakes, service brake applications are reduced by up to 75 percent and brake wear minimised. .

Press Release / May 12, 2014 Waste, sanitation and energy recovery operator Solvi Group has begun operation of Volkswagen Constellation 17.280 6x2 refuse truck chassis equipped with Bosch Rexroth-developed HRB (hydrostatic regenerative braking) hydraulic hybrid drive. The technology transforms the kinetic energy released during braking into hydraulic energy by pumping hydraulic fluid into a hydraulic accumulator which is later released to assist acceleration. The technology is particularly suitable for stop-and-go operations. A sustainable and economical system, hydraulic hybrid drive reduces fuel consumption while improving acceleration. In garbage collection operation in the city of Rio de Janeiro, a 25 percent reduction in fuel consumption has been realized. Simple in operation and low maintenance, hydraulic hybrid drive offers a lower purchase costs over electric hybrids. The hydraulic accumulator is more responsive, without the weight and costs of batteries. In application, a savings of roughly 745 liters (197 U.S. gallons) of diesel per month was realized in two shift operations averaging 160 miles. In financial terms, approximately US$1500 was saved per month. Environmentally, the hydraulic hybrid technology utilized in the Volkswagen 17.280 reduced CO2 emissions by nearly 2 tons per month, which adds up to 23.5 tons annually. Solví has a fleet of over 800 trucks of which 95% of Volkswagen trucks. Over the 17 years that Solvi has partnered with Volkswagen Trucks, Solvi have developed seven prototype trucks in conjunction with the Resende, Brazil-based truckmaker. The relationship began in 1995 with the purchase of Volkswagen 16.170 medium trucks. From 2011, Solvi began ordering Volkswagen’s purpose-designed 17.250 refuse chassis. http://www.boschrexroth-us.com/country_units/america/united_states/sub_websites/brus_brh_m/en/markets_applications_jg/a_downloads/ra98310_2010-08.pdf http://www.boschrexroth.ru/country_units/america/united_states/sub_websites/brus_brh_m/en/products_mobile_hydraulics/12_systems/a_downloads/re94580_2012-10.pdf http://www.iswa.org/uploads/tx_iswaknowledgebase/Lindzus.pdf

Carga Pesada / May 16, 2014 MAN Latin America presented a wide range of new models at the 9th annual Fenetran commercial transport exhibition in Santiago, Chile (May 14-18). MAN introduced their Volkswagen Constellation heavy truck range’s new model 31.390 8x4 for the mining segment for both South America and global markets The 8x4 31.390 follows last year’s launch of 10x4 (steerable tag) 139,000 pound GVW variants of Volkswagen's 31.330 and 31.390 vocational chassis. The company’s Volksbus brand displayed their new model 17.230 bus chassis. Under the MAN brand, the company showed the vocational TGS 33.540 6x4 and the on-highway TGX 18.480 4x2. The new MAN 26.480 two-level motorcoach also made its market debut. "It's a great opportunity for us to present at one of the largest transport events in Latin America. Volkswagen trucks have a significant market share in Chile, which is one of our largest markets in Latin America," said Ricardo Albuquerque , International Sales manager at MAN Latin America. Constellation 31.370 8x4 vocational chassis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-4VvymtCI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50HJNpliB4

The stainless steel permanetly attached filter screen will catch solids down to .005 and any water. Racor RFF filter funnels are available in 2.7 gpm, 3.9gpm, 5 gpm or 15 gpm models. http://www.parker.com/literature/Racor/Racor_Fuel_Filtration_-_Fuel_Filter_Funnels_-_7568.pdf http://www.parker.com/portal/site/PARKER/menuitem.de7b26ee6a659c147cf26710237ad1ca/?vgnextoid=fcc9b5bbec622110VgnVCM10000032a71dacRCRD&vgnextfmt=EN&vgnextdiv=687630&vgnextcatid=2755820&vgnextcat=RFF - FILTER FUNNELS https://www.tdswarehouse.com/products/83-Racor-Filter-Funnels/

Transporta Brasil / May 12, 2014 Ford Brazil’s light truck sales rose 24.3 percent between January and April. Production increased 3.6 percent compared to the same period last year The light truck segment the automaker Ford Trucks reacted positively between January and April this year. The light truck segment represents 20.2% of the trucking industry. "We have a long tradition in this truck category . A demonstration of this operational advantage is the Ford Cargo 816, the segment leader, which saw 1,588 sales during the period," said Antonio Baltar Jr., Ford Brazil’s National Manager of Sales and Marketing. Ford’s light truck offerings have recently been expanded with the new Cargo 1119 for urban and short-distance road applications. The model now holds a 4.8 percent market share. Ford says the F-4000 will return in the second half of 2014 with a Euro 5 powertrain for both urban and rural use. In the first quarter, the Ford Cargo 1519 was the sales leader in 15 ton segment. Intended for urban transport, the Cargo 1519 took a 41.2 percent market share, making it the best-selling in its category. In the 15 ton segment, Ford’s market share rose 11 percent over the same period last year. .

Bloomberg / May 13, 2014 Volkswagen AG secured enough backing to move forward with a 6.7 billion-euro ($9.2 billion) bid for Scania AB, removing the last major obstacle to a nearly decade-long effort to forge an integrated heavy-trucks unit. VW, which already controls two-thirds of Scania, now has shareholder support giving it 90.47 percent of the Swedish company, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker said today. That pushes VW past the 90 percent threshold needed under Swedish law to force out remaining owners and delist Scania. VW, Europe’s largest automaker, has been working to fully integrate Scania to deepen three-way cooperation between the Swedish company, Munich-based MAN SE, which VW also controls, and its own commercial-vehicles marque. The Scania purchase caps an effort that began in 2006 to create a global trucks division that can compete with leaders Daimler AG and Volvo AB. “The commercial-vehicle business is increasingly becoming the second strong pillar for the group,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said today at the automaker’s annual meeting in Hanover, Germany. “We can now take the next logical and consistent step in our strategy to strengthen the operational integration.” Scania gained as much as 0.2 percent to 199.90 kronor -- just below the offer price of 200 kronor per share -- and traded at that level as of 1:31 p.m. in Stockholm. VW was 0.4 percent lower in Frankfurt. Limited Rewards The German manufacturer has thus far reaped limited financial rewards for the billions of euros invested in buying control of Scania and MAN as minority investors resisted efforts to share technology that would boost overall profit. The combined businesses would overtake Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler and Gothenburg, Sweden-based Volvo as the biggest truck producer in Europe. VW has achieved only 200 million euros in savings from joint work among its light commercial-van unit, Scania and MAN. VW’s goal is to deepen cooperation among the three businesses in areas such as drivetrains, chassis, cabins and electronics to reach annual operating-profit synergies of 650 million euros. “The development of the trucks business has been a fiasco because it’s taken far too long,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. “The progress has been at a snail’s pace,” and even with the deal, “one has to think long term -- 10 to 15 years.” Reversing Course VW, which extended the offer period on April 30 after attaining shareholder support totaling 88.25 percent, had declined to raise its offer, which is 36 percent more than Scania’s closing price prior to the Feb. 21 proposal. Alecta, a Swedish pension fund that holds 2.04 percent of the share capital, pushed VW over the 90 percent threshold today after deciding to accept the offer, which Alecta had earlier rejected as too low. “After renewed talks with Volkswagen, it is our conclusion that a higher bid price cannot be achieved,” Alecta said in a statement on its website today. “Even though the bid still does not fully reflect Scania’s long-term value, we believe it is acceptable.” VW at its annual meeting today withdrew a motion seeking renewed shareholder approval to sell convertible bonds for as much as 10 billion euros and create authorized capital. To finance the Scania takeover, VW plans to sell new preferred shares to raise 2 billion euros, issue hybrid capital worth as much as 3 billion euros and spend 2 billion euros from reserves. VW had net liquidity at the end of March of 17.7 billion euros. Investor Concerns “We assume that VW is reacting to growing investor concerns regarding ongoing dilution and shareholders provisionally providing the funding for deals,” Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst at ISI Group, said in a note to clients. For future acquisitions requiring additional equity, the manufacturer “would most likely issue preference shares directly in order to fund a deal in our view.” VW is also working to move forward its truck operations by hiring former Daimler trucks chief Andreas Renschler, 56, to succeed Leif Oestling, who was previously the Scania CEO, in overseeing the commercial-vehicles business. Renschler will assume the post in February. At Daimler, he spent almost a decade running the truckmaking operations, the world’s biggest by revenue. His efforts included restructuring projects in the U.S., Japan and Brazil as well as expanding in emerging markets including China, Russia and India. Strategic Move “Renschler is definitely the best man for this challenge with his global industry experience and a neutral approach toward the brands,” said Roman Mathyssek, a Munich-based analyst at consultancy Strategy Engineers GmbH. VW already has a domination agreement with MAN, which means the two can legally work more closely. That left Scania as the last unit preventing VW from creating an integrated heavy-truck division. “It’s a good strategic move for them,” said Mike Dean, a London-based analyst with Credit Suisse. “VW’s got a good track record of integrating companies, and now that they take away the arm’s length hurdle, they should be able to accelerate integration and synergies.”

Wall Street Journal / May 12, 2014 Commercial Truck Maker Has Big Hole to Patch in Medium Truck Sales What happens when one of a company's biggest customers becomes one of its biggest rivals? Navistar International Corp., a Lisle, Ill., commercial truck maker, is about to find out. For the past 13 years, Navistar built Ford Motor Co.'s F-650 and F-750 commercial trucks, an approximately $400 million-a-year business. Beginning next year, Ford plans to start making the $55,600-and-up vehicles itself, cutting out Navistar. Chief Executive Troy Clarke plans to patch the hole in production and revenue by chasing high-volume, medium-truck buyers such as big rental companies, municipalities and distributors. His idea: offer customers a wider variety of engine brands and transmissions, allowing them to customize trucks to their specific needs. He is pressing Navistar's dealers to emphasize the $10.5 billion company's single focus on commercial trucks. Trying to hold on to customers in the medium-size truck business is one more hurdle for Mr. Clarke, who became CEO after his predecessor's costly detour into building pollution-control systems for the firm's truck engines collapsed and Navistar was forced to abandon the effort. To win customers back, Navistar is offering engines made by Cummins Inc. and the same exhaust treatment system the rest of the industry uses. Navistar previously had offered only its own engines in its trucks. "We are recovering our share, but we have more work to do," said Mr. Clarke, a former General Motors Co. executive who was appointed CEO in March 2013. The company has been losing money for more than a year, and posted a $248 million loss for its fiscal first quarter on $2.2 billion in sales. Besides the troubles with its heavy-duty trucks, Navistar also has been losing market share for medium-duty trucks, or those that can carry up to 33,000 pounds. Its DuraStar and WorkStar trucks now account for about 26% of the North American medium-duty market, but that share is down from nearly 36% in 2011. Medium-duty trucks are used as the underpinnings for many delivery vehicles, dump trucks, recreational vehicles and school buses. Market forecaster John Stark in Chicago called Ford's March decision to build its own vehicles a "real threat" to Navistar. "Ford has made all the investments to be a serious player in the market," he said. Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford's coming trucks would share engines, transmissions and cab components with its other F-series vehicles to build economies of scale. Ford had been selling trucks built in Mexico by the two companies' joint venture, known as Blue Diamond Truck, since 2001. In 2015, Ford will start making new versions of the F-650 and F-750 at an existing E-series van factory in Avon Lake, Ohio. "We're going to be everywhere in the market," said Todd Kaufman, director of F-series truck marketing at Ford. "We're not going to take a back seat to anybody" in the truck market. He said the company intends to market its new trucks to the same truck and rental fleet operators courted by Navistar and others. To ease apprehension about trying the new designs, Ford plans to offer a five-year, 250,000-mile warranty on engines and transmissions, about double the industry's standard warranty. Ford intends to control costs by sharing cab components from its F-350 and F-450 pickup trucks. Ford also will leverage its dealership network to support the new vehicles. About 600 of Ford's 3,000 U.S. dealers sell its commercial truck brands, and all of its dealers will be capable of repairing the F-650 and F-750 vehicles. "They'll be a big drawing card," said Charlie Gilchrist, president of Southwest Ford near Fort Worth, Texas. Lee Dill, president of Circle D Truck Sales in Abilene, Texas, expects the coming Ford trucks to cost about $5,000 less than rivals because Ford is using in-house components and assembly. A Ford spokesman declined to comment on the pricing. "After we found out they're going to be offering a purely Ford product, we're going to buy quite a few of them," said Mr. Dill. He said Ford's five-year powertrain warranty takes away much of buyers' uncertainty about the new models. Navistar said it has no plans to increase its warranty incentives to drive medium-truck sales and is counting on the wider range of engine, drivetrain and other options to increase its share in heavy- and medium-duty trucks. "The real advantage we have is purposely built commercial trucks, and we have dealers who are solely focused on commercial trucks," said Jack Allen, chief operating officer. "Those are inherent advantages over an auto-based truck dealer." Navistar loyalists such as Daniel Murphy, president of Idealease Inc. in North Barrington, Ill., said orders for Navistar's medium-duty trucks are up 21% since the company began offering Cummins' 6.7-liter engines in the trucks in September. "We came through a bad patch, but we've learned," agreed dealer Drew Linn, owner of Southland International in Alabama. "Having the Cummins engines has opened some doors with new customers for us and calmed some fears with existing customers."

Heavy Duty Trucking / May 6, 2014 Could Congress save the Highway Trust Fund by getting rid of the federal fuel tax? Two members of the Senate Finance Committee expressed strong interest in how Virginia solved its infrastructure funding crisis by replacing its per-gallon tax with a wholesale levy on fuel. Virginia’s solution was one of several the Committee discussed at a Tuesday hearing on how to pay for a long-term highway program. Suggestions ranged from raising the fuel tax, keeping spending where it is or getting the federal government out of the highway business altogether. The only point on which there was general agreement among Senators and witnesses was that highways are important and that Congress needs to provide a multi-year program. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said that the Environment and Public Works Committee, which she chairs, is drafting a multiyear highway policy bill that calls for maintaining current funding levels, plus inflation. The program needs more but EPW is going for the bare minimum of $18 billion to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent in 2015, Boxer told the Finance Committee. She warned that a short-term extension will create major problems for state transportation departments. With the Highway Trust Fund teetering toward the red by late August, the states already are cancelling long-term projects, she said. The official word on the issue came from Joseph Kile, assistant director for microeconomic studies at the Congressional Budget Office. CBO estimates that by October the balance in the Fund will fall to $3 billion for highways and transit. Spending for both will be $53 billion while income will be $38 billion. “If nothing changes, the trust fund’s balance will be insufficient to meet all of its obligations in fiscal year 2015, and it will incur steadily accumulating shortfalls in subsequent years,” Kile said. Absent any changes, the $18 billion in 2015 will have to be followed by $13 and $18 billion each year through 2024 to maintain spending averages, Kile said. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., questioned Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne about that state’s funding solution. The key element of Virginia’s solution was to replace its 17.5-cent gas and diesel tax with a 3.5% wholesale tax on gas and a 6% wholesale tax on diesel. Revenues from the tax move up with economic activity, although there is a floor to protect against falling revenues. “It really solves some big problems,” Isakson said. “It was a good solution.” Nelson said he is “quite intrigued” by this approach. He asked the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation to find the percentage sales tax that would be needed to replace the current federal fuel taxes. “Anything that has anything to do with taxes [makes] people apoplectic around here,” he said. “It’s very interesting that the commonwealth of Virginia decided to get visionary.” An additional nod to the Virginia approach came from Boxer, who described it as “an easy solution” in light of the resistance in Congress to increasing the fuel tax. The other options discussed at the hearing included bonding, public private partnerships and devolving the responsibility for highway funding and management to the states. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the Finance Committee, asked the witnesses for their best near-term and long-term solutions. Layne of Virginia said public-private partnerships are helpful but not a complete solution. The immediate solution is to find a sustainable revenue source for the Highway Trust Fund. Longer-term, the highway program needs to emphasize multimodal programs. Jayha Dhru, senior managing director for Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, said the most important thing is to come up with a long-term solution, period. Samara Barend, senior vice president of AECOM Capital, urged the committee to include tax-exempt private activity bonds. Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the near-term answer is to use general funds to float the Highway Trust Fund, but in the long term to let the states take over highway funding. Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., blamed the situation on a lack of will in Congress. “It’s an American characteristic that you don’t do anything which displeases the voters because you always have to get re-elected here,” he said. Rockefeller is retiring from Congress at the end of this year and spoke openly about his frustration. “It has to do with, for some, we don’t want anything good to happen under this president because he’s the wrong color, for some it’s Tea Party, for some it’s fear of their reelection prospects.” Congress will misrepresent its constituents if it allows the Highway Trust Fund to run out of money, he said. “It infuriates me that I have not been more upfront.” Senate activity on highway issues will continue tomorrow with a Commerce Committee hearing on safety. Boxer plans to introduce the Environment and Public Works Committee bill shortly and mark it up next week.

Trailer/Body Builders / April 24, 2014 Navistar International Corp. is boosting truck and bus production at its Escobedo, Mexico, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, assembly plants. The company said that it would boost production at its Tulsa bus plant by 17% and its Escobedo truck plant by 24%. “Clearly, we’re seeing some positive trends in the industry, but more importantly, we’re seeing good customer response to our product offerings in the market,” said Jack Allen, Navistar chief operating officer. “As a result, we’re increasing our second-half production rates at two of our vehicle manufacturing operations.” The company's truck assembly plant in Springfield, Ohio, will maintain its current production rate. “In the Class 8 market, we have a complete portfolio of products that deliver the uptime, fuel economy and driver satisfaction our customers demand,” Allen said. “We’re seeing strong interest from customers for the Cummins ISB engine in our medium-duty trucks and school buses. And, there’s great anticipation for our vocational truck products powered by our 9L and 10L engines that will launch this summer with SCR emissions technology. With these product offerings, we’re seeing some positive momentum in our truck and bus orders and have an order backlog 80% higher than this time last year.”

Australasian Transport News / May 5, 2014 Navistar has refreshed its brand in the region, with NC2 Global Australia, which sells International and Cat branded trucks in Australia, New Zealand and Pacific markets, Navistar Auspac – standing for Australia Pacific. Navistar Auspac remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar, Inc. and its executives and staff will maintain their existing roles. "This is an extremely positive and timely change," Navistar Auspac Managing Director Kevin Dennis states. "Navistar sees growth opportunities in the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific markets, and we are committed to realising the potential. "To have a major company like Navistar put its name to this region creates assurance for our current and future customers that they are dealing with a company that is totally dedicated to the truck business. "It’s certainly refreshing to now be officially operating under one powerful and widely respected brand name." .

Apparently Volvo cooperated with Chinese engine maker Weichai and installed at least one of the Chinese engines in a Mack MRU. This particular engine is a 10-liter (9.726L) natural gas model WP10NG. Now I've seen it all. .

Heavy Cargo / April 16, 2014 Ford Trucks Brazil has launched two new purpose-designed chassis for refuse collection, the Cargo 1723 6x2 and lighter Cargo 1119 4x2. Waste collection is one of the most demanding for commercial vehicles. The new Cargo 1723 and 1119 waste collectors are spec’d for refuse operations, delivering greater durability, performance and economy. The 4x2 Cargo 1723 has a 16,800kg (37,038lb) GVW, while the 6x2 version is rated at 23,000kg (50,706lb). The Cargo 1723 features a robust low-maintenance rear suspension from HBZ Suspension Systems. The Cargo 1119 is now the only medium truck with a gross weight of 11 tons (24,251lb) for refuse operations. With the most power in its class, the Cargo 1119 negotiates narrow streets with ease. The goal of Ford Trucks is seeking leadership in this segment that Ford has always had a strong presence in. Both the Cargo 1723 and 1119 represent Ford’s investment in the waste industry to bring to market the best performing truck possible. Ford Trucks introduced the two vehicles at an event held at Ford’s São Bernardo do Campo assembly plant.

I don't disagree with you. Speaking of the MAN D20 and D26 (MaxxForce 11 & 13), while MAN could only take EGR to Euro-5, former Navistar CEO Dan Ustian arrogantly thought his people could reach Euro-6 (EPA2010). I'm simply pointing out the role that the EPA played in Navistar's EGR technology, as many don't know.

Stuttgart/Chennai / April 10, 2014 Sales up by 67% in the first quarter of 20141,000 units in a month crossed for the first time in MarchMarket share expanded to more than 5%Just one month after beginning construction on a new bus plant, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG, has crossed another milestone having sold 10,000 BharatBenz commercial trucks since the market launch in September 2012. Selling roughly 2,200 vehicles in the first quarter of 2014, the youngest brand in Daimler Trucks’ portfolio also achieved a growth of 67% as compared to the same period in 2013. BharatBenz’ sales success is impressive considering the Indian truck segment over 6 tons decreased by 20% in the first three months of the year. “It is a tremendous success for us that we have already sold 10,000 BharatBenz trucks within just 18 months”, says Marc Llistosella, Managing Director & CEO of DICV. “Despite a challenging market environment, we rely on high-quality products and transparent pricing without any discount. This is how we have gained the trust of our customers in a quite apparent way.” In September 2012, DICV entered the Indian market with an all-new range of heavy truck models. The product portfolio grew by several variants and medium-duty trucks in the months that followed. BharatBenz now offers a full range of trucks from 9 to 49 ton GVW (gross vehicle weight). In the 9+ ton segment, the company has achieved a market share of 5.3% on the Indian commercial vehicle market. Since May 2013, DICV has added FUSO trucks to its production portfolio at its plant in Chennai, India. Operating under Daimler Trucks Asia, BharatBenz works closely with the Japanese subsidiary of Daimler, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC). Following an additional investment of US$69.2 million, BharatBenz and Mercedes-Benz branded buses will begin rolling off the assembly line in Chennai starting in the second quarter of 2015. .

Forbes / April 16, 2014 The Indiana enginemaker believes deeply in the anachronistic idea that investing in its community is smart business. Could it be on to something? Just past the factory’s lobby, with its worn, gray chairs and a safety video droning on a flat-screen TV, through thick plastic curtains clouded by age and grime, there’s a whirr of air tools. Cummins Diesel workers are hunched around stocky engine blocks, adding crankshafts, pistons and piping. Every once in a while they look up, distracted by construction noise at the other end of the building. There, bright light bounces off brilliant white walls. Construction workers in clean orange vests and hard hats are bustling, laying new rail tracks and setting giant turntables into freshly poured concrete floors. The newest section of Cummins’ Seymour, Ind. engine plant is like another planet. The expansion is making room for the Hedgehog: the company’s new high-horsepower engine, one of the most powerful and efficient diesel engines in the world. With a price tag of a quarter of a million dollars, it’s a behemoth–16 cylinders, 4,000hp and the size of a trailer home–but it needs to be to power the locomotives, oil rigs and mining equipment that will depend on it. The Hedgehog is propelling a lot more than machinery, though. With its $100 million investment and 200 new jobs, Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger is making a long-term bet that he can transform Seymour (pop. 18,000), where it’s difficult to find employees with high school diplomas, much less attract engineers from the nation’s best universities, in the same way the company helped Columbus, Ind., Cummins’ hometown, 20 miles up the road. While many of the schools around Seymour are struggling and literacy levels are low even among adults, Columbus is a pocket of mid-western prosperity, with the highest concentration of mechanical engineers per capita in the country (31 per 1,000) and the lowest unemployment rate in Indiana (5.2%)–not to mention a stunning collection of world-class architecture that draws some 50,000 visitors a year. It has new pre-schools, a college campus offering joint degrees from three Indiana universities and a training center for advanced manufacturing. Cummins was instrumental in all of it, creating an education partnership that has become a model for tackling the U.S. skills gap. And it aims to have a similar impact in every one of the 190 places where it does business around the world. None of which is new for Cummins. In the 1950s longtime chief executive J. Irwin Miller embraced the trendy postwar notion that a healthy company can’t exist without a healthy community. Miller created a stakeholder model that balanced the interests of employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, regulators and the community in every decision. Unlike most other companies, Cummins stuck with it for the next 60 years. The result: Cummins, Columbus and Seymour are living laboratories for how business and community can work together at a time when that idea is once again very much in vogue. Attracting, retaining and cultivating scarce engineering talent is now a core business concern for many technology companies, and that anxiety is propelling the resurgence of the altruistic “company town.” Quicken Loans’ billionaire owner Dan Gilbert is buying up downtown Detroit in an effort to renovate and revitalize the bankrupt city–and attract young tech workers there. In Brooklyn, N.Y. IBM cofounded P-TECH, a public school aimed at turning students into IT workers–and plans to back 27 more. “What they’re doing is just taking an intelligent self-interest in their community rather than a selfish interest,” says Harvard Business School professor Joseph L. Bower, who has studied Cummins. Linebarger agrees. “Is it self-interest? Yes,” he says. “But it’s easier to attract people to your company if you’re in an area that has good schools, a clean environment and opportunity for all.” This idea that the role of a corporation extends to the care of the community around it and that the company has a responsibility to help guide the community–is, of course, hardly new. With distant roots in feudal preindustrial Europe, the “company town” flowered at the turn of the 20th century as industrial titans like Henry Ford and Milton Hershey decided they not only knew what was best for employees on the factory floor but off of it as well. From Hershey, Pennsylvania to Kohler, Wisconsin, the company–and company town–remained the center of life for millions of postwar American workers. “In the Fifties corporations were supposed to take care of society. That was the managerial perspective,” says Aneel G. Karnani, associate professor of strategy at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. “In the last few decades there’s been a shift to more of a shareholder perspective. Managers are agents of the shareholders. Government is supposed to take care of the rest.” Cummins has been at the center of life in Columbus since its founding in 1919 by a mechanic named Clessie Cummins and a financier named William Glanton “W. G.” Irwin, scion of a prominent banking family and the great-uncle of Irwin Miller. A tinkerer, Clessie Cummins was among the first to see the commercial potential of an unproved engine technology invented two decades earlier by Rudolf Diesel, and in 1929 he created America’s first diesel-powered automobile– a used Packard limo he’d adapted. Almost a century later Cummins is the world’s largest supplier of diesel engines and components to the trucking industry, with $17 billion in revenues and $1.5 billion in net income in 2013. More than half its sales are generated outside the U.S., especially in China and India, where it is the market leader. Miller’s vision was hatched in the 1950s. To keep up with the baby boom Columbus figured it would have to build a new school every two years. Miller, whose company was also growing, wanted to make sure it was done right. He fretted that Cummins wouldn’t be able to attract top engineers and their families to a small town in southern Indiana if the schools were built on the cheap. He took it upon himself to guide the development needed to attract them. “Mediocrity is expensive,” he often said, according to his son, Will, president of the Wallace Foundation in New York and a member of Cummins’ board of directors. Rather than just move the company, Miller changed the town, indulging his architectural tastes by using the company to subsidize public school construction. The Cummins Foundation would pay the design portion of each project but only if the city used world-class architects recommended by Miller. Later that was expanded to include all public buildings, including the fire station, courthouse, city hall and even the jail. Private developers followed. Today, Columbus boasts more than 60 modernist buildings designed by masters such as I.M. Pei, Eero and Eliel Saarinen, and Cesar Pelli. Six of the buildings were designated National Historic Landmarks in 2000. Since 1957 Cummins has spent $19.2 million on architectural fees for Columbus. Born into a family of preachers, Miller’s personal beliefs on social justice and service to others guided many of his business decisions. As the first lay leader of the National Council of Churches, Miller worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young to organize the historic civil rights march on Washington in 1963. In the 1970s the company took a substantial financial hit when it pulled out of South Africa, abandoning a 20% market share for diesel engines because the apartheid government wouldn’t let Cummins desegregate its factories. It has offered domestic partner benefits to employees since 1999, and in the last few years the company and its executives have been lobbying to legalize gay marriage. “Whatever you do in this world, you’ve got a responsibility and a privilege of doing it the very best way you can,” Miller, who died in 2004, said in a company film clip. “And whether it is architecture or cooking or drama or music, the best is none too good for any of us.” By the late 1980s, of course, the idea that the “CEO knows best” seemed anachronistic, at best. The long bull market and the emerging culture of equity-incented employees made the idea that companies are run purely for shareholders–not managers and certainly not employees–mainstream. Conventional economic wisdom remains that maximizing profits is the only acceptable corporate mission. The idea of a company town with diverse stakeholders was beyond pass?–it felt like a throwback to Henry Ford’s paternalism, or even to the 19th-century utopian communities of Oneida, N.Y. and Amana, Iowa (in both cases, the businesses they spawned–silverware and appliances–outlived the utopias). But Cummins stuck with it. As the company’s operations spread across the globe, so did Miller’s ideas. In India, for example, the company opened the Cummins College of Engineering for Women to train more female engineers with degrees in mechanical engineering. Of the first class of 65 graduates, 40 received job offers from Cummins. Linebarger says the entire institution cost less than endowing a chair at a U.S. university and it fulfilled a critical need: a well-trained, diverse workforce. In Columbus the company partnered with schools, universities, city leaders and other businesses to increase graduation rates and promote economic growth. It convinced three local colleges to open Columbus branches and then added an Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, where local high schools and colleges could train students for careers in manufacturing. In 2008 Columbus’ high school graduation rate hovered around 80%–just above the national average of 75%. So Cummins coordinated an army of volunteers to mentor at-risk students. By 2012 the graduation rate had improved to 88%. (Cummins says 73% of its 48,000 workers worldwide volunteer in their communities.) How much does all this do-gooderism cost? In 2012 Cummins invested approximately $31 million in corporate responsibility efforts, including $14 million to the Cummins Foundation, which in turn doled out $8 million in grants. While it’s impossible to precisely quantify the benefits, the costs are hardly a drag. Through most of the 2000s the company enjoyed strong growth, despite being hit hard by the recession. Sales fell almost 25% from 2007, to $10.8 billion, but rebounded by 2010 to $18 billion. The last three years have been softer, with sales of $17.3 billion on weak demand in key international markets. Despite those headwinds Cummins generated record cash flow from operations in 2013 that allowed it to continue to invest in its business (and its social projects) and still increase the cash returned to shareholders by 34% in 2013. This year the company expects revenues to grow between 4% and 8%, with earnings expected to grow faster due to cost controls and other initiatives. Linebarger says the company expects to return about half its cash from operations to shareholders. The stock is up 400% since 2009, or four times the S&P 500, to a recent $145 per share. Its market capitalization now stands at $27 billion. Cummins’ story of better schools, nice towns and solid profits makes it easy to forget the compelling counterargument that the best way for companies to benefit society is for companies to simply stick to their knitting: maximizing profits for their owners. “Why are you taking my money to do good things for society?” asks Karnani, who supports what Cummins does but still questions the universality of its philosophy. “A manager is in no position to make these tradeoffs on what is good for society. Companies should stick to making profits.” Cummins managers wave off these kinds of philosophical arguments. In an era of cash-strapped governments and increasing need for well-educated workers at every level, what they’re doing is pragmatic, not just altruistic. “We don’t think we have the perfect answer,” says Linebarger. “Nor do we sit back and think, ‘Let the government do it.’ We think companies can help. And we can help because we know what skills people are looking for. … We have skills, thoughts, knowledge, energy, all things that can be positive. In partnership we can be useful. We try to find those areas where Cummins has good things to offer, and the community needs it.” The decision to expand in Seymour wasn’t easy for Cummins. The likely choice was Pune, India, where costs are cheaper and where Cummins already has a huge manufacturing base. But for a brand-new product–especially one as sophisticated as the Hedgehog–there was a clear advantage to manufacturing it close to the engineers who designed it. Still, it was hard to justify further investment in Seymour. The existing plant had been targeted for closure at least ten times in the past 15 years because Cummins has had a hard time finding qualified employees. So the company decided to do what it always has done: Fix the problems. As in Columbus it teamed up with Seymour educators to begin drafting a school-improvement plan that would promote growth. (It’s doing the same thing in Jamestown, N.Y. and Rocky Mount, N.C., where it has plants.) Meanwhile the Lilly Endowment, a private philanthropic fund that liked what Cummins was doing in Columbus, gave $50 million to fund a broader initiative to create a “regional lifelong learning system” for a ten-county area of southeast Indiana. The goal is to assist each person in the area to move up at least one level from an education or career standpoint, particularly in the fields of manufacturing and health care. It may not be everyone’s cup of capitalism, and it may take years to see results, but to Darren Wildman, manager of the Seymour plant, it makes perfect sense. “Higher graduation rates mean more pull for industries, more jobs, better jobs, more taxes,” he says. “And better communities.”

When we talk about Navistar and their failed EGR strategy for EPA2010, there is much more to the story that needs to be said. Navistar didn't pull anything on the EPA. In fact, they were working together. Let's start at the beginning, about 15 years ago, at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA’s engineers were developing a Heavy to Massive EGR strategy which they named “Clean Diesel Combustion” (CDC). http://www.epa.gov/otaq/technology/420f04023.pdf The EPA first mentioned CDC in 2000. FEV Engine Technology (www.fev.com) was behind the scenes under contract to the EPA doing the actual development. Of course the EPA didn’t invent EGR. European truckmakers introduced EGR on Euro-4 engines in 2004. Both MAN and Scania went on to offer EGR in their Euro-5 (EPA2007) engines without any issues (they also offered SCR – giving customers a choice). Why is the EPA involved in the design of emissions technology? This is the business of the private sector engine manufacturers and companies like Eberspaecher and Johnson Matthey that engaged in the development and production of emissions reducing components. Clean Diesel Combustion (CDC) technology began to take form and be appreciated as we were looking for alternative paths to support the EPA’s heavy duty 2007 rules. We were looking for combustion approaches that enabled the engine to exhaust the combustion products with engine-out NOx emissions at or below a 0.2 g/bhp/hr level at every point where the engine was required to operate. This NOx emissions target is the ultimate level of the HD 2007 standard, and will be required for HD engines sold after 2010. —David Haugen, EPA Advanced Technology Division, at DEER 2004 The EPA team (thru FEV Engine Technology) discovered that it could handle NOx in-cylinder to a sufficient extent, without relying on aftertreatments, by reducing oxygen concentration to manage the oxidation (combustion) of the fuel in the diffusion flame region of the cylinder. Since NOx is formed at high temperatures as a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion, the EPA sought to keep the local temperature below critical NOx formation threshold—around 2,100°K (1,827°C or 3,320°F), thus largely preventing NOx formation. A few months after announcing their EGR technology (“Clean Diesel Combustion”), the EPA and Navistar formed a “partnership” in 2004 in which Navistar would get to test the CDC (EGR) technology on their engines. Navistar went on to license the EPA’s EGR technology and put it into production. But while the EPA’s EGR solution worked for EPA2007 (as did everyone else’s although some clearly better than others), Navistar’s endeavor to further refine CDC to meet EPA2010 was a failure. http://www.epa.gov/oms/technology/420f04036.pdf The EPA gave Navistar prejudiced support all the way to the end when they got in trouble for it when in June 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled there wasn't sufficient justification for the EPA to disregard its normal rules and allow Navistar to pay $2,000 for every heavy truck engine that failed to comply with EPA2010 emissions.

Diesel News (Australia) / April 16, 2014 Last Saturday, the Australian chapter of the American Historical Truck Society ran an event they call “Crawlin’ the Hume”, a collection of classic trucks making the journey from Melbourne to Albury. The idea was to use as much of the old Hume Highway as possible. To enter a truck in the event, it had to be over 25 years old. Here they are seen climbing along a misty Hume four lane section. . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-JNXmU0Dyo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPjsoVLX1Kw

Scania Press Release / April 15, 2014 For a number of years, the trucking industry has struggled to fulfill the exacting emission legislation that came into force at the end of last year. Scania is the truckmaker that has been able to present competitive solutions sooner and better than anyone else. Scania now offers its customers no less than 18 Euro-6 (EPA2010) engines for all types of applications – and is setting international records in low fuel consumption with their latest Euro-6 diesel engine. “Euro 6 has been a challenge for the entire industry,” says Joel Granath, Head of Product Management for Scania trucks. “Many predicted increased fuel consumption with increased complexity. Now the jury is in – at the end of last year, for example, a Scania Streamline G 410 set two undisputed records for 40-tonne (88,185lb) trailer combina­tions when German and French trade press journalist’s tested it on well-established and de­manding test tracks. According to the media, no equivalent rig, regardless of emission class, had previously passed the demanding route* north of Munich in just over 24 litres/100 km (9.8 miles per gallon).” Former concerns about Euro-6 have proved unfounded. Despite this, it seems as if both Scania and other truckmakers had a strong influx of customers during the autumn of 2013, many customers wanting to lock in a Euro 5 truck order before the new year. “Our customers are living with tough competition and I understand that some chose security over the unknown. But whoever chooses Scania also chooses proven tech­nology with Euro-6,” emphasizes Joel Granath. “Three years have passed since Scania delivered the first-generation Euro-6 engines. Today, there is indisputable evidence in the form of operating data from our customers that Scania made the right choices in development.” Joel Granath declines to go into the extent of the resources Scania has invested in its Euro-6 programs but emphasizes instead the achievements in terms of, for example, the breadth of the engine range using alternative fuels: “Scania has presently eleven diesel engines, two gas engines and five engines for 100 percent biodiesel in the Euro-6 engine range. We can offer solutions for all applications and needs. I am especially proud of the low consumption figures we reach with Scania Streamline. Our 13-litre, inline six with 410 horsepower and SCR only, was developed with European long-haulage operators in mind and has exceeded all expec­tations. It is a typical example of Scania’s main focus, to reduce our customers total operating costs.” http://mb.cision.com/Main/209/9569874/233816.pdf A 40-tonne (88,185lb) truck with Scania’s Euro-6, inline 13-litre six cylinder engine, producing 410 horsepower, can in theory drive nearly 3,700 kilometres (2,299 miles) on a single 900-litre (237.8 gallon) fuel tank as shown below.

My friend, she is talking about the U.S. market. Some interesting facts here. Freightliner has a 38% market share in U.S. Class 8, while Volvo's Mack brand has a mere 6%. And the Volvo brand, holding a 10% market share, is 4% ahead of Volvo's Mack brand. And note the credit she gave to Detroit Diesel for their success. ___________________ She was just off the plane from America, citing an impressive market share figure for Freightliner in US Class 8 (heavy-duty) trucks: a whopping 38 percent. Following way behind are International (16%); Peterbilt (14%); Kenworth (12%); Volvo (10%); Mack (6%); and Daimler stablemate Western Star (2%). Walker says Freightliner’s share is even better for Class 6/7 (medium-duty) trucks: 50 percent of the market. Then there are International (20%); Ford (19%); Hino (6%); and the Paccar brands Peterbilt and Kenworth (4% each).

The Trucker / April 4, 2014 The National Transportation Safety Board Thursday issued seven recommendations urging the National Highway Safety Administration to take action to improve the safety of tractor-trailers. These recommendations stem from a 2013 NTSB safety study on single-unit trucks and other research, which identified issues that apply to tractor-trailers as well. "Millions of large trucks travel our roadways every day, transporting goods and keeping the American economy moving," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "But research shows that eliminating blind spots and underride events would reduce fatalities and injuries involving other road users." Like large single-unit trucks, tractor-trailers may have blind spots that can reduce the ability of drivers to see other vehicles and road users, Hersman said, adding that researchers found that limited field of view can increase the risk of death or injury among passenger vehicle occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists when drivers of tractor-trailers change lanes, make turns, go straight, or back up. Collisions with the sides of tractor-trailers resulted in about 500 deaths each year and that many of these deaths involved side underride. Researchers also found that current trailer rear underride guard standards are outdated. The recommendations call on NHTSA to require that both newly manufactured truck-tractors and trailers be equipped with side underride protection systems, and that revisions be made to improve trailer rear underride guard standards to better protect passenger vehicle occupants from fatalities and serious injuries. Finally, the NTSB asked NHTSA to address the issue of data collection on trailers. When a tractor-trailer gets into an accident, police officers routinely record basic information about the truck-tractor component of the tractor-trailer, including the model year and vehicle identification number. However, information about the trailer component is usually missing from federal and state databases. Having this information could help with evaluation of safety standards and determine whether certain trailer designs and equipment should be altered to reduce injury risks to passenger vehicle occupants. Therefore, the NTSB recommended that NHTSA add information on trailer model year and trailer vehicle identification numbers to its national database of fatal crashes and encourage states to add trailer information to their crash databases. The complete safety recommendation letter to NHTSA is available at: http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2014/H-14-001-007.pdf

Overdrive / April 15, 2014 The Federal Highway Administration will be holding an open-to-the-public webinar May 6 to provide an update on the MAP-21 required study on truck size and weight limits, the agency announced April 15 in the Federal Register. FHWA says the update will “include an update on the technical analysis and project schedule” of the Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study. The study, required by Congress in MAP-21, seeks to find the impacts on safety, infrastructure and enforcement of increasing the size and weight limits of trucks, along with the effects on freight movement. The webinar will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern May 6, and those interested in tuning in can register on FHWA’s site. Click here to register or see more details. This is the third public session FHWA has held on the size and weight study. There are currently two bills in Congress dealing with size and weight increases — one that would freeze current limits and one that would let states raise weight limits to 97,000 pounds. And with work on the next highway bill heating up, a coalition of trucking, safety and enforcement groups took to Capitol Hill last week to voice their opposition to any size and weight limit increases. Click here to see Overdrive’s coverage of the event. A study released last week by Marshall University also added fuel to the opposition fire, pointing toward higher fatality rates for larger and heavier trucks when involved in crashes, along with strong opposition from drivers and enforcers. Click here for more on the study.

Fleet Owner / April 15, 2014 As more engine makers aim to push the use of low viscosity oils for their products, mainly in a bid to comply with ever-tighter heavy truck fuel economy mandates, fleets are voicing concerns about the long-term protective capability of such “thinner” oil – a concern lubricant makers are trying to dispel via a variety of outreach efforts. Chevron served up the most recent iteration of such “outreach” during a series of engine teardowns conducted at the Mid America Trucking Show last month. “The big concern for a lot of fleets is protection,” Jim Gambill, Chevron’s North America Commercial and Industrial brands manager, told Fleet Owner. “Even though about a third of the trucking market has converted to low viscosity oils, most fleets don’t have the luxury to try something out to see if it works. They want more concrete proof that it works, which is why we’ve been conducting such ‘live’ engine teardowns in the market.” Gambill explained that, from the fleet perspective, any fuel economy savings generated from using low viscosity oils won’t be worth it if the protective capability of the oil is compromised. “Simply put, the dollars gained just aren’t worth it if the [low viscosity] oil can’t protect the engine like today’s thicker oils can,” he stressed. That’s the reason why Chevron took its engine teardown on the road, he noted – to show that a lighter 10W-30 oil blend offered protection comparable to a thicker 15W-40 blend in a DD15 engine with over 400,000 mi. of service on it. “We made sure via the teardown exercise that fleets and truck operators could see all the vital parts vulnerable to excessive wear – particularly the cam, cam shaft, and piston linings – were in the same if not better condition when using 10W-30,” Gambill said. “Having that protection is critical to obtaining the full fuel economy savings of the low viscosity oil.” He added that the price differential between 10W-30 and thicker 15W-40 blends is not large, with the 10W-30 blends typically costing 10% more and sometimes only 5% more based on volume discounts, with the lower viscosity formula able to deliver about a 1% to 2% fuel economy savings based on Chevron customer fleet tests. “When we isolate the engine oil performance in the lab, we see savings of about up to 1% – but even a half percent gain in fuel economy can save significant money over time when diesel is costing near the $4 per gallon mark,” Gambill explained. “Not only that, we’re seeing reduced use of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and longer oil filter life as well so there are ‘ripple effect’ savings to be gained as well by switching to lower viscosity engine oils.” He added, too, that the trend towards smaller displacement engines – downsizing from 15 liter to 13 liter models to help save on weight – adds another dimension of savings potential for lower viscosity oil blends. “You tend to generate more fuel savings from low viscosity oils when engine RPMs increase, simply because the engine isn’t working as hard with the thinner oil at that those higher RPMs,” Gambill said. “Thus is the engine works less at higher RPMs, the bigger the fuel savings. That’s the key trend here.”