kscarbel2

Once again, extremely impressed. Nice layout. .

Seth Clevenger, Transport Topics / May 17, 2019 An unmanned, self-driving truck now is hauling cargo on a short stretch of public road in Sweden. The cabless, battery-electric “T-pod” vehicle, designed by technology startup Einride, began operating on the new route on May 15 as part of a pilot program with transportation firm DB Schenker. The 23-foot cargo vehicle, which has no driver’s seat, pedals or steering wheel, will navigate traffic as it conducts daily freight runs at very low speeds along a 300-meter course between a warehouse and a truck terminal at DB Schenker’s facility in Jönköping. The route is in an industrial area, but includes a 100-meter section of road that also is used by other vehicles, Einride said. “Autonomous trucks will become increasingly important for the logistics sector,” DB Schenker CEO Jochen Thewes said in a statement. “Together with Einride, we have now introduced autonomous, fully electric trucks to a continuous flow on a public road — a milestone in the transition to the transport system of tomorrow.” The Swedish Transport Agency in March approved a permit that allows the T-pod to travel on the public road through the end of 2020. The permit limits the vehicle’s speed to 5 kilometers per hour, or about 3 mph. Robert Falck, Einride’s founder and CEO, also hailed the T-pod’s debut on the new route as a landmark moment in his company’s “movement to create a safe, efficient and sustainable transport solution, based on autonomous, electric vehicles.” The T-pod can carry up to 15 pallets and uses onboard sensors and machine vision to track its surroundings. Although Einride’s T-pods are unmanned, remote drivers monitor the self-driving vehicles and can take control if necessary. Einride’s partnership with DB Schenker, formed in April 2018, includes the operation in Jönköping as well as an option for additional pilots internationally. More than a year ago, Einride showcased its T-pod at the Transportation Research Board’s 2018 annual meeting in Washington. The Stockholm-based company also has interest in potentially bringing its autonomous transport system to the North American market. .

U.S. to lift steel, aluminum duties on Canada and Mexico Bloomberg / May 17, 2019 The U.S. will lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico in favor of stronger enforcement actions, in a move that will help clear the way for ratification of the new NAFTA. In a joint statement on Friday, the U.S. said it removed metals tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports in exchange for Canada scrapping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. The deal will take effect within two days. The move would lift the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs the U.S. placed on the two trading neighbors almost a year ago in the name of national security. The decision sparked retaliatory duties from Canada and Mexico on U.S. farming goods and other products, and became an obstacle for lawmakers in all three nations to ratifying the deal. As part of the agreement to scrap the levies, the U.S. will be able to re-impose the tariffs on metals imports if not enough is done to prevent a surge of imports beyond historical levels. The nations have also agreed to ramp up efforts to trace where the metals have come from originally, to stop the diversion of shipments from other nations to dodge tariffs. The enforcement system will aim to advantage primary steel and aluminum producers in the three-nation trading bloc to ensure that the metal is melted, poured or smelted regionally.

Julian Borger, The Guardian / May 17, 2019 The US is now engaged in three major confrontations around the world that have the potential to degrade into war. And in the driving seat on all three fronts is John Bolton, one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House. Donald Trump’s 70-year-old national security adviser has been a fixture in US foreign policy over the past four decades, and has spent that time, whether in or out of government, mostly arguing for the most hawkish position on any issue put in front of him. In the Obama era, Bolton’s bristling walrus mustache was a near constant presence on television, almost always Fox News, from where he would vent scorn and spleen on the Democratic administration. These days, Bolton looks considerably more cheerful, having reached the peak of the policymaking establishment that had once seemed out of his reach. Bolton seems to have played a key role in the collapse of the second Trump summit with Kim Jong-un in February, when he appeared to have drafted a maximalist list of demands for all-or-nothing disarmament that was presented to the North Korean dictator in Hanoi. A year of diplomacy ground to a halt, and Kim, who had been expecting a more gradualist approach, has now started goading the US with a return to missile tests. In the standoff in Venezuela, Bolton was again centre stage, making himself the lead US voice for a failed effort at regime change in Venezuela in late April, producing a personal video appeal calling – in vain – on Nicolás Maduro’s top aides to defect. Behind the scenes he has urged a reluctant US Southern Command to come up with ever more aggressive solutions to Maduro’s hold on power. And in the fast-moving escalation of tensions with Iran, it is Bolton who has seized the initiative, spun military deployments in the Gulf that were already in the pipeline as confrontational steps against Tehran, and reportedly irritated some in the Pentagon and intelligence agencies by putting a sensationalist spin on intelligence about Iranian military movements. Bolton is reported to have convened a deeply unusual meeting on Iran on 29 April, not in the White House, but at CIA headquarters. It was an echo of the buildup to the Iraq war, when Dick Cheney, George W Bush’s vice-president, did the same thing. It now appears likely that Iranian military preparations that the intelligence appeared to suggest, may have been contingencies in anticipation of a US attack – not an unrealistic expectation in view of Bolton’s record. In 2015, he savaged Obama’s diplomatic efforts and penned a now infamous commentary titled To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran. Bolton grew up in a working-class Republican family in Baltimore, and his first political experience was as a volunteer in the doomed 1964 campaign of Barry Goldwater, a staunch conservative from Arizona. Bolton, who saw Goldwater as having been caricatured by the mainstream media, deepened his dislike of liberal eastern elites at Yale University, where he arrived in 1966 on a scholarship. Unlike many of his fellow students, he fiercely supported the war effort in Vietnam, but not to the point of taking part himself. He avoided the draft by joining the Maryland national guard. He put his law degree to use as a counsel in the Reagan administration, and in 2000 Bolton was one of the Republican lawyers flown into Florida to help tilt the deadlocked election in Bush’s favour. In Bush’s state department, Bolton went to work dismantling US diplomatic efforts. He gleefully described taking a “hammer” to the 1994 Agreed Framework deal with North Korea. It was already fraying but it had at least kept Pyongyang’s plutonium production in check for seven years. The Bush team ruled out talks with the rogue regime, but, argued Christopher Hill, a former US lead negotiator, it had no workable alternative. “You would think John Bolton wanted to invade North Korea,” Hill said. “I never saw him put on a helmet, pick up a gun, so I’m not sure what he had in mind with that. It wasn’t as if these people had any thoughts on how to go forward on this.” In the run-up to the Iraq invasion, Bolton was serving as under-secretary for arms control in the state department. He was not making the policy, but he was enforcing it. In one telling episode, he was dispatched to The Hague to get rid of the director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a Brazilian diplomat called José Bustani, who had convinced Libya and Iraq to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention. That would have undermined the case for war with Saddam Hussein, and Washington was furious, insisting Bustani had exceeded his mandate. Bolton arrived in the Netherlands in February 2002 with an ultimatum. “He came to my office and said: ‘You have 24 hours to quit, and this is the instruction from Mr Dick Cheney,’” Bustani recalls. Bustani refused, pointing out he had only recently been elected for a second term with US support. “And then Bolton said: you better think it over, because we know where your kids are.” Bustani’s two sons were working in New York at the time. Bustani was stunned and held his ground, but to no avail. The Bush administration convened a special conference of member states and ultimately forced Bustani out. “It was a very unhappy experience,” Bustani said. “This man is different from anyone I have met in my life. He doesn’t allow for a dialogue. You don’t discuss anything with him. It’s just brute force, that’s all.” Bolton’s management style came back to haunt him when he applied for his next job, as US ambassador to the UN, in 2005. The Senate refused to confirm him, and Bush had to bypass Congress altogether, putting him in the post with a temporary appointment that ended in 2006. He spent his years outside government in high-paying jobs at the American Enterprise Institute, the premier conservative intellectual hub in Washington, as a Fox News pundit, and most notably a paid speaker for the cult-like Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation (MeK), which was for many years categorised as a terrorist group by the US and EU. It is that background that has convinced Tehran that Bolton is implacably set on forcible regime change. If there is to be an off-ramp on the road to war, and a return to dialogue it may require Trump to fire Bolton. Trump has joked with other officials and foreign leaders that Bolton wanted to get him into a war. “I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing,” the president told reporters last Thursday. But there have been reports that the joke may be wearing thin and that Trump is growing concerned about the direction Bolton is leading him. “John played Trump like a Stradivarius,” Groombridge, Bolton’s former aide, said. “John understands and knows the president very well … He knows to keep it very simple. “[But] I think his influence has waned in the last month or so because he was, unfortunately, in my opinion, factually wrong about the strength of opposition in Venezuela. And now you’ve got a number of people squabbling … about what’s going on with respect to Iran.” .

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this now. Speaking of Western Star's 2.4 percent market share, I can easily imagine Autocar scarfing up the majority of that with its new conventional (bonneted) cab line-up.

Ford debuts new transmission system to power next-gen hybrids Michael Martinez, Automotive News / May 17, 2019 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is looking to add muscle to its next generation of hybrid vehicles. Over the next few years, the automaker plans hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup, Bronco SUV and Explorer crossover, among other vehicles. It promises they'll be able to venture off road, tow boats and haul around multiple golfbags or suit cases. To deliver on those capability claims, engineers developed a new transmission system, dubbed "modular hybrid technology," that debuts later this year on the 2020 Explorer. The system, featuring an electric motor, clutch and torque converter, not only improve fuel economy on Ford's larger vehicles, but also provides more power. "Hybrids are more than just fuel efficiency," Dave Filipe, Ford's vice president of powertrain engineering, told media at a presentation this week. "Whatever solutions we provide have to be no-compromise, especially as we get into the larger vehicles. We need to create something different to get the right answer for this customer segment." The modular hybrid technology was designed to fit with rear-wheel-drive vehicles that contain Ford's 10-speed transmission. Officials say the new system uses roughly 90 percent common parts as the standard 10-speed, but inserts an electric motor that provides low-speed torque and an extra boost of power. On the upcoming Explorer hybrid, for example, the electric motor will put out 44 horsepower. When coupled with the vehicle's 3.3-liter V-6 engine, it will generate 318 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque. It will also be able to tow up to 5,000 pounds and have a 500-mile range. The fourth-generation lithium ion battery that powers the hybrids is roughly 33 percent smaller than the first generation that debuted on Ford's 2005 Escape hybrid, and is packaged underneath both the Explorer's second row seats to prevent it from taking up cargo space. The modular hybrid technology also features a new exhaust gas heat recovery system that takes heat traveling down the exhaust pipe and recirculates it back to the engine and transmission system to help it warm up faster. Smaller, front-wheel-drive vehicles, like the 2020 Escape hybrid and plug-in hybrid, will feature an electronic continuously variable transmission [CVT] that can achieve a top speed of 85 mph on battery power. It will come in four modes, including an "EV charge" mode that directs the powertrain to charge the battery pack while the vehicle is being driven so that electric only range can be used later. The new hybrid systems come as Ford invests $11 billion in electrification through 2022. It is planning 40 electrified vehicles, including 16 battery-electrics. While the automaker plans pure EVs, like a Mustang-inspired crossover and a future electric F-150, Filipe said it was important to offer multiple forms of electrification to help drive down costs. "It's a much more affordable alternative to all electric vehicles," Filipe said. "Our competitors don't have a story in this space. We're going to be aggressively chasing hybrids and making it work for customers."

https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/48404-when-cummins-went-adiabatic/?tab=comments#comment-358725

Because James, Volvo doesn't think like Americans do.

Not two variants of the same theme. They were related in name only.

Autocar Trucks / May 15, 2019 “ Miss Lisa “ - Pumpkin Center Super Tanker Project The old ‘64 Autocar had ran a good race. She was getting kinda tired and slowing her pace. Put out to pasture for many years, her paint was a fading, weeds growing round her gears. Then along came a man who could see her potential. He didn't ask for logs or to see her credentials. All she needed was a little bit of love, some diesel, a filter, and a big strong shove. Just a few parts; some old some new. Soon she'd be rolling with a tanker from ‘52. New Flaps and Stacks made the old Autocar start to grin. A 250 Cummins will make her fly again. She'll never complain when she's out on the road, that you're standing on the throttle and she's pulling a heavy load. Just service her engine and patch up her wounds, and that NH 250 will keep hummin' it's tune. . .

Going back to 2007, the original big engine in the Constellations was the Navistar 9.3-litre HT570 produced by MWM in Brazil with a Volkswagen-branded valve cover. .

Engine: Cummins ISL 420hp / 1,850N.m Engine Brake: Cummins C Brake Emissions Reduction Technology: Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Clutch: ZF Sachs 430mm Transmission: 16-speed ZF 16AS 2230 TD Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) Steer Axle: Dana 13K Drive Axles: Meritor MT-50-168 Wheels: Alcoa 8.25 x 22.5 Tires: 295/80R22.5 Spec Sheet (Especificações Técnicas😞 https://www.vwco.com.br/produtos-volkswagen/modelo/constellation-7/26-420-6x4-tractor-v-tronic-35 .

A "real" Mack truck.........a truck model they should still be producing. What a concept.

Todd Dills, Overdrive / May 15, 2019 For the fourth year running, Mack Trucks has opened up a contest for six of the spots in its next-year calendar to customer photos. The contest opened April 2 via this link to a special website set up for the purpose, where customers can both enter a worthy picture of their truck as well as vote for favorites already entered. The contest, open through May 31, accepts nominated pictures in categories corresponding to current models — including the Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite and its MHD version, the LR and TerraPro — and with an additional category for models no longer in production. All nominated trucks must be in revenue-producing service: the truck must be in routine actual use and not kept as a show truck or antique. Mack’s fans and followers will vote on which truck they like best in each category and are allowed to cast one vote per day, per category for the duration of the contest. Contest entrants are urged to get out the vote through their own social media channels to increase their chances of winning. Winning trucks will receive a professional photo shoot, courtesy of Mack Trucks, and will be featured in the 2020 Mack Calendar. .

I have yet to see a single Chevrolet 4500HD/5500HD/6500HD Silverado on the road, or the equivalent Navistar CV (the unattractive Chevrolet version would be hard to miss). We know these trucks entered production in December 2018, and body builders reported getting some in January. Where are the trucks? https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/51205-chevrolet-class-456-silverado/?page=4 https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/54774-international-extends-commercial-truck-lineup-with-class-4-6-cv-series/?tab=comments#comment-409083

With a market share floating between 36% and 40%, foreign aggressor Daimler's Freightliner brand has come to dominate America's on-highway and medium-duty truck segments. (With the combined sales of its Freightliner and Western Star brands, Daimler has a 48% Class 8 market share in the US. Throw in Volvo and Mack brand market share of 8% and 5% respectively, we sadly see that foreign truckmakers control 61% of the US truck market.) And yet, try as they might, the brand has failed to get anywhere in vocational. The premium 122SD is a rare sight on the roads, and sales of the cheap 114SD are limited to such entities as municipalities and power companies who are buying purely on price. Realizing their inability to find sales success with Freightliner-branded Class 8 vocational, the Germans have put more emphasis on their Western Star brand in recent years. However, though we are seeing greater sales, that success remains limited with a very small market share around 2.4%. I don't think Western Star in the states will ever be a large player. Daimler needs to "finally" find a successful formula for Western Star, or pull the plug. .

Ottawa was acquired by foreign aggressor Sisu in 1993 (now called Cargotec).

Autocar Trucks / April 18, 2019

Autocar Trucks / April 13, 2019  The Capone family of All American Waste in New Mexico runs this 1990 #Autocar ACLB rolloff truck. At 29 years old she gets as much work done as ever and, of course, she’s a still a beauty. But maybe it’s time for a #BadtotheBone new one? # AlwaysUp #RollOff .

Autocar Trucks / April 17, 2019 Autocar #concrete #mixers have roamed the ends of the earth. Just like this classic transit mixer down in New Zealand, shared by Ed Mansell. No cookie-cutter truck here: Look underneath and - like every Autocar - it will be custom-engineered for its specific tough job. #AlwaysUp. .

Volvo Trucks Press Release / May 9, 2019 Our new safety function Distance Alert makes it easier for drivers to maintain a safer distance from the vehicle in front by alerting them when they get too close. It’s designed to prevent collisions – in particular trailer back accidents – and is yet another step towards our vision of zero accidents. .

Scania Group Press Release / May 8, 2019 The town of Åhus in southern Sweden is home to the Absolut Company, the maker of a world-famous brand of vodka. Founded in 1879, it is, like Scania, a prominent part of Sweden’s industrial heritage. The two companies also share a strong commitment to sustainability. In Åhus, you can also view Scania’s extremely limited P 320 hybrid-electric truck. Sighted, but barely heard, since the technology makes it silent. But the black cab is hard to miss when used by local haulage company Åhus Åkeri to transport Absolut’s renowned product in a white trailer with Absolut’s unmistakable logotype in blue. Climate first for hybrid owner The hybrid can operate ten kilometres on electricity with a total weight of 32 tonnes. It makes the truck a rare example of a fully sustainable solution, something proud owner Andreas Jönsson at Åhus Åkeri is well aware of. For him, efficiency and functionality come first. With the hybrid and his fleet of biodiesel trucks, the haulage company fulfils the high demands Absolut has on its suppliers by being sustainable in its business operations. Absolut produces 120 million bottles each year. It’s Jönsson and his drivers job to transport pallets of vodka from Absolut’s factory to their warehouses many times each day. And the truck never leaves with an empty load, bringing used pallets back to the factory on its return trip. “I’ve bought this hybrid because we put the climate action first and we’d like to be at the forefront. It’s an improvement in emissions, but also a way to reduce the noise level when driving on city streets,” Jönsson says. Local transport for local products It comes as no surprise that Åhus Åkeri is recognised for its work and dedication to quality, environment, and safety & health. Jönsson’s business continuously decreases emissions and with that engagement, he seeks to be a role model for the industry. But it’s also essential for retaining the Absolut assignment. “We are a local company, transporting local products. From the fields of wheat to the glass in the bottle, everything can be traced back to its origin,” says Jönsson, who feels that if we could visualise emissions people might better understand what is happening to our planet. Absolut commitment Absolut works hard to minimise its impact on the climate, involving suppliers such as Åhus Åkeri. Peter Neiderud, Director Supply Chain, Quality and Environment at Absolut says: “Our distillation process is climate neutral. Now we’re working on transport to and from our facilities.” In 2018, the company celebrated reaching its 2020 goal two years ahead of plan. The goal was to ensure that 80 per cent of its ingoing transport are fossil-free. Now, the focus is on continuing to be as efficient and climate friendly as possible. Efficiency and climate friendly are also concepts that resonate well with Jönsson. “It would be impossible to invest in new trucks in 2028 and be climate neutral already by 2030. It takes so much more advance planning and a strong will to make a difference.” What kind of environmental impact the new hybrid will have on the overall emissions for Åhus Åkeri is too soon to tell. Both Absolut and Jönsson will monitor how well the hybrid is doing, the same way his drivers receive a monthly score on their overall performance. No matter what happens, Jönsson will keep raising the bar. “This hybrid is one step closer to a fossil-free future.” Facts The Absolut Company was founded by Lars Olsson Smith in 1879. Quality and great terms for employees are values that still hold true today. The distillation process is extremely sustainable, and the bi-product feeds more than 250,000 pigs every day. To learn more, click here. The hybrid is a Scania P 320. – It runs 10 kilometres with a total weight of 32 tonnes. – It can carry a load of 14 tonnes. – It also runs on the renewable biodiesel HVO100. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 9, 2019 The transport service FAN Courier processes more than 180.000 parcels every day. This amount can only be managed with the help of a reliable, perfectly equipped truck fleet. Together with MAN Truck & Bus, FAN Courier designed a special truck which is based on their needs – from the turning angle of the wheel to aerodynamic elements: The MAN fleet fully meets their daily demands! .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / May 8, 2019 The system lane departure warning (LGS) is combined with a lane return assistant (LRA). While the LGS warns the driver when leaving the lane, the LRA steers the vehicle back into the lane by actively intervening. .