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Bloomberg / September 4, 2020 Volkswagen Group's heavy-truck business plans to make a fresh push to acquire Navistar International Corp. after talks were put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic. VW’s Traton is seeking to restart negotiations this month to win over Navistar’s management and the main shareholders, including billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The German company’s truck unit in January offered to buy the rest of Navistar for $35 a share in cash, or $2.9 billion, to secure a bridgehead in the U.S. heavy-truck market and step up its challenge to Daimler and Volvo AB. VW already owns 16.7 percent, the second-biggest stake. VW and Traton executives earlier this year stoked doubts among investors about whether the deal would move ahead after acknowledging that talks were on hold due to the pandemic, despite reiterating that the strategic rationale remained. Navistar, which builds International-brand trucks, school buses, defense vehicles and engines, still hasn’t accepted nor rejected the offer. Chairman Troy Clarke said in June that the offer “remains on the table” while adding that the pandemic “slowed the process.” It remains unclear whether the $35-a-share offer will satisfy Icahn, the No. 1 shareholder with 16.8 percent, and Mark Rachesky, the founder and chief investment officer of MHR Fund Management, which is Navistar’s third-largest shareholder with a 16.3 percent stake. VW has the firepower to bump if needed. Shares of Navistar have gained 15 percent this year to $33.17 a share, valuing the company at $3.3 billion, eating away at the original premium in the bid. VW’s heavy-truck division was created from acquisitions of Germany’s MAN and Sweden’s Scania. The unit had for years struggled to combine the operations before hiring former Daimler executive Andreas Renschler, who spearheaded a partial listing of Traton last year. Renschler left in July amid a series of executive shakeups at VW. VW purchased its stake in Navistar in 2017, laying the groundwork for a footprint in North America.

That pickup truck cab was cramped, particularly with the large steering wheel.

#ThrowbackThursday - Check out this #Autocar Truck classic! #VintageTrucks .

Scania Group Press Release / August 12, 2020 PepsiCo in Brazil has acquired 18 compressed gas vehicles from Scania, the largest order to date of gas trucks in the country. The trucks – ten Scania G 340 4x2 and eight Scania R 410 6x2 – will be deployed for PepsiCo’s product deliveries throughout Brazil. Among PepsiCo’s brands, one of the world's leading food and beverage companies, is Pepsi, 7UP, Lay’s, Doritos, Tropicana and Gatorade. The goal is to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions across PepsiCo’s value chain by 20 percent by 2030. “We needed to see substantially reduced emissions” “PepsiCo was the first in the industry to carry out tests with gas-powered trucks and one of the first to test electric vehicles,” says Eduardo Sacchi, Senior Supply Chain Director at PepsiCo Brasil “This demonstrates our commitment in leading the transition to increasingly sustainable transport alternatives.” Before purchasing the 18 Scania trucks, PepsiCo Brasil received a demonstration gas truck in November 2019 for trials. “The testing period was crucial for assessing performance before making a purchase decision,” says Sacchi. “We needed to see substantially reduced emissions, reduced noise as well as if we could favourably operate the trucks considering our routes and fuel availability.” .

Scania Group Press Release / August 19, 2020 When this season ends in November, captain Reino Nurmi will have transported some 450,000 cubic metres of wood in Finland’s Lake Saimaa with his faithful tugboat M/A Olli. That equals some 8,000 truckloads. During Nurmi’s 46th season, Olli’s Scania 16-litre V8 DI16 engine will accumulate more than 3,000 operational hours. “M/A Olli is quite agile and tows well. It’s also good in shallow places when vessels cannot have much draft,” says Nurmi. Timber rafting was the principle mode of transporting logs in Finland until the 1960s, when its popularity waned and nowadays it is only practiced on Lake Saimaa. But rafting still makes good sense as the cheapest and by far the most environmentally sound mode of moving timber. Besides the transport itself, the logs are less subject to harmful insects in water. Timber rafting is very much the antithesis of modern-day transport, moving at a slow and unhurried pace of 2 km/h. The logs are usually picked up in North Karelia and North Savo and transported as far as 450 kilometres, taking many days. The largest towed batches are over 30,000 cubic meters, with a floating load of more than one kilometre in length. “We aim to have over a thousand bundles per trip. In comparison a truck normally takes about three bundles of logs.”. Towed by Olli, the logs are bundled with nine bundles always moving in parallel. There is also an auxiliary vessel that pushes the float in narrow places and helps keep the load together. “We've got to anticipate everything,” says Nurmi. “We monitor the weather forecast for strong winds. We have certain safe spots to stop and wait long enough to the weather to calm.” Back in 1974, Nurmi worked at a paper mill, a job he did not really enjoy. “The district manager for timber rafting worked next door and I went to see if I could get a job from him. He said that he could promise work for one summer, but not any longer. That summer has lasted quite long now.” .

International Trucks Press Release / August 26, 2020 Uptime is more than a word in the development of the LT Series, it’s an unwavering commitment to deliver a truck that is as reliable and easy to service as the road is long. .

Sailor under investigation for arson in USS Bonhomme Richard ship fire Jennifer Kastner, ABC10 News / August 26, 2020 SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A Navy sailor is under investigation in connection with the fire that caused extensive damage to the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego. Multiple sources with close ties to Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) say investigators determined the July 12 fire may have been set intentionally. Investigators identified a sailor as an arson suspect in their probe. Multiple search warrants were executed at the sailor’s home and property. The sailor’s name and rank were not disclosed.

Garrett Motion Exploring Options to Restructure Balance Sheet Dow Jones Newswires / August 26, 2020 Garrett Motion Inc. (Symbol GTX) on Wednesday said it is working with its financial and legal advisers to explore options for a restructuring of its balance sheet, a move it warned could wipe out current shareholders. The Switzerland-based transportation-systems company warned that any actions it might take could materially reduce the value of its common shares, dilute existing holders or result in the cancellation of its existing common stock. (Note that Garrett domiciled itself outside of the U.S. in Switzerland) The former Honeywell unit said it is moving to address its balance-sheet concerns while its core business remains strong. Garrett said its high leverage poses significant challenges to its overall strategic and financial flexibility, a situation made worse by a burdensome agreement with its former parent related to asbestos liabilities. Garrett late last year sued Honeywell, alleging the conglomerate unilaterally imposed the "oppressive and unconscionable" 30-year indemnification agreement before its October 2018 spinoff. Garrett said it has ample liquidity to support its current and future commitments [so why then explore options for a restructuring?], noting that it had $482 million in available cash and undrawn revolver capacity as of June 30.

With a mere 2-3 percent U.S. market share, they wouldn't invest in a Western Star-specific cab.

Per ReelNostalgia, the Duplex Truck Company was a prominent builder and supplier of trucks to private companies as well as government agencies during the years between 1916 and 1955. In 1955, Warner and Swasey Company purchased the Duplex Truck Company, and the Duplex division closed in 1975. According to Fire Wiki, Duplex was purchased by the Simon Group of the UK in 1986 and renamed Simon-Duplex Inc. This was around the same time that Simon also purchased LTI, creating Simon-LTI. Simon-Duplex LTI built complete pumper and aerial apparatus using the Olympian chassis. The Simon Group sold LTI to Aerial Innovations Inc. in 1998 and closed the Duplex operation the same year. A successor company that sprung from the remnants of the Duplex operation in Ohio continued on as Sabel Incorporated until 2003, when it was purchased by Kimble Custom Chassis, now a division of Crane Carrier Company. .

The one WW2 submarine still in active service, the former USS Cutlass (SS-478, Tench Class). Portsmouth Navy Yard - "Built to Last" Keel laid on July 10, 1944......launched four months later on November 5, 1944. .

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Peterbilt Motors Press Release / August 25, 2020 Vocational Marketing Manager Tony Sablar Walks around the Features and Benefits of the Peterbilt Model 520. .

International Trucks Press Release / August 25, 2020 Looking for a new desktop background? This is it! International's HX Series.

Do you have the Monday Blues? Here is a fresh off the line Autocar Model DC64 heavy vocational conventional to brighten your day! Always Up - Autocar Trucks .

An Autocar Model ACX Highway Striper! You could say it's a work of art. Always Up - Autocar Trucks .