Maxidyne

Drove a CS conventional tractor with that overdrive transmission with top gear in the forward left position, plus it had a 2 speed splitter that worked like the old "short 4th" 5 speed and 2 speed axles where you split gears 1, 2, and 3 and then shifted 4 and 5 like a range box... I didn't complain when I didn't get it back again.

Meh... VW gets outa having to develop a next generation Amorak and Crafter, and maybe Ford gets the next generation Transporter. No wonder the stock market is underwhelmed...

The dual clutch automated manuals are so good that European drivers are giving up their manuals for them. They offer performance advantages too- For example, the VW Golf R has over 50 less horses than a Ford Focus RS, but with the twin clutch automated manual VW offers but ford doesn't have the VW can match the Ford in acceleration. Ford seems to have taken notice, as the upcoming 700 HP Mustang will only be available with a 7 speed Tremec automated manual.

Exclusive: Ford-VW Deal Kicking Off With Commercial Vehicle JV, VW CEO Diess Reveals “We are looking at other things,” VW’s Diess tells TheDetroitBureau.com. by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jan.14, 2019 Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett, left, and Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert Diess talk on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show today. Ford and Volkswagen will formally announce on Tuesday the first of what is expected to become a broad range of joint ventures and other partnerships, the head of the German automaker told TheDetroitBureau.com during an impromptu interview at the North American International Auto Show. The tie-up will begin with a partnership involving commercial vehicles that should help VW expand its marginal presence in the pickup segment, with Ford gaining access to product in other commercial sectors. But there are other projects that have been approved by both companies’ boards that will be revealed on Tuesday, said Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess. Breaking News! Not everything will be announced this week, Diess said, confirming that the relationship is a work in progress. He noted that beyond what either has already been set in motion, “We are looking at other things.” The two automakers signaled their interest in working together last June when the signed a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, focused on commercial vehicles. But they quickly began exploring other opportunities, Diess acknowledged, confirming months of rumors. (Ford, VW could roll out a series of deals over “coming weeks and months.” Click Here for the story.) “We are very complementary,” he said, explaining that in markets like Europe and China, where VW is strong, Ford is struggling. The reverse is true in the United States. And the CEO said that is something the two companies now hope to take advantage of. Hackett, left, and Diess compare notes during a discussion at the NAIAS 2019 With commercial vehicles, Diess explained, Volkswagen “does not have the economies of scale (so) combining makes a lot of sense.” While it was widely expected that the two carmakers would have something to announce early this year, the precise timing was anything but certain. As recently as last Wednesday, company sources cautioned that any initial deals would need formal board level approval. That has since happened and, Diess noted, he made the decision to come to the U.S. only last Friday. “Tomorrow we will announce a few things with Ford,” he said after wrapping up a walk with Ford CEO Jim Hackett through the Detroit Auto Show that wrapped up at the Volkswagen stand. The “question” the German executive said, is “how big” the relationship with Ford will grow. (Click Here to see more about Ford’s discussions with Volkswagen.) Diess noted that the two carmakers have had on-and-off relations dating back “decades.” In fact, Ford’s then chairman and CEO Henry Ford II turned down the opportunity to buy the damaged assets of Volkswagen immediately after the Second World War. In the 1980s, the two makers combined operations in Brazil and Argentina. The joint venture, dubbed AutoLatina, eventually ended badly for Ford which exited the alliance in a weak position building products that didn’t click well in the market. Volkswagen of America chief Scott Keogh, left, and VW AG CEO Herbert Diess share a laugh during the Detroit Auto Show. Ford has “a lot of institutional memory,” and will make sure that any new deals avoid the same traps and pitfalls of the past, Jim Farley, the head of Ford’s global operations, told TheDetroitBureau.com last week. Key will be finding “the right products,” he stressed, adding that Ford will “have to protect its brands. Balance,” he added, “is really very important.” Among the other areas Ford and VW are exploring are electrified and autonomous vehicles. And it appears likely that one or the other could assume lead in various markets. Joint manufacturing operations are also expected to be in the eventual package of joint ventures.

I suspect they went quiet when the EPA issued their fuel economy standards that would grandfather gliders to the number built before the standards by a glider assembler, and T-Line had made no gliders to base an exemption for future gliders on. With those regulations in question, T-Line may be viable again... But the regulations will probably be decided by the courts after years of appeals, etc..

If you've got the Henderson air ride suspension, it's notorious for that. I drove a '99 CH tandem tractor for a while that would light up the "traction control" idiot light anytime you took a corner halfway fast when running light.

Both are public companies and the government share of VW Group is in no way a majority. Both companies are set up to give one family the majority of votes even though they own a minority of shares, those families being the Fords and the Porsches in the case of the VW Group. I can see some problems like making Ford and International play well together while honoring existing deals with GM and others. But there are huge synergies here with Ford able to help VW out with vans and pickups while VW can help Ford with cars. Then again, Volvo's acquisition of Renault and Mack looked like a good idea at the time...

Other than Ford under Mulally's "one Ford" regime when Volvo, Rover, Jaguar, and Mazda were cut loose the automakers have been "sleeping around" for decades. Look at GM- the small cars have been sold to PSA, Isuzu provides diesels and the compact pickups, Nissan/Renault provides vans, the 4 cylinder diesels came from a deal with FIAT, and now International has hopped in bed with them to produce medium trucks. I feel sorry for folks who work in GM parts departments...

Did they clear this with VW Group?

J Hancock, thanks for correcting me. Although the distinctions between the 686 and 690 are kinda vague, your explanation makes the most sense.

'Cept a V8 Maxidyne with straight pipes!

There's a guy running one of the new Anthems with the 445SE 13 liter engine hauling milk at 80k pounds around the midwest, loaded over 60% of miles, and he's getting 9 MPG.

686 has the engine mounted intercooler, 690 has the chassis mounted intercooler in front of the radiator.

The whole truck.

It can get more complicated than that... Several years back I researched upgrading from the 12k# front axle on an MR. Turned out the next rating up, 12.6k# IIRC, looked the same but had a more thorough heat treating.

Western Star has some impressive extended cab offerings: https://www.trailer-bodybuilders.com/chassis/sneak-peek-western-star-vocational-cab-back-pack-extension International and Freightliner on the M2 series offers 24" or so extended cabs with the option of either a bench seat or a sleeper berth. Kenworth offered a very neatly packaged short sleeper on the T800 that improved the trucks aerodynamics a bit too. And just about every other U.S. Class 8 truck offers a short sleeper option in the 36" to 42" range, it's just that not much of anybody buys them.

Actually White just revived an old concept that hadn't been dead all that long, for example International offered an integral sleeper on the Emeryville conventionals in the 60s.

Good points there, here in rural Minnesota I'm hearing a lot of talk that grass fed beef is both more nutritious and better for the environment.

GM seems to be pushing the story that these trucks are available, probably fishing for some Chapter 179 tax write-off sales that have to be made by year end.

CARB has a half billion $ a year budget. But in a state with a couple trillion a year of GDP that would be the world's 4th or 5th largest economy all by itself, that's practically a rounding error. California is an expensive place to do business, but it's so big and profitable a market that few businesses can resist it.

Not even figuring for increased aerodynamic resistance with speed, You'll need 2.75 to 3 times as much power to move the same load uphill at 55-60 vs. 20 MPH. TJC Transport, do you really expect us to believe that those trucks have 1017.5 to 1110 horsepower?

IIRC, Isn't the U.S. part of the TIR system, although it's rarely used here?

That Granite would have to be just about a gift to be worth reframing... If the previous operators managed to crack a double frame, they probably overstressed the rest of the truck too!

The science is the same on both sides of the ocean(s).

Here's a good example of a proper road test by Commercial Motor: https://www.commercialmotor.com/sites/default/files/2010_heavy_haulage_tractors.pdf This is a classic- a 5 way comparison test of not just garden variety heavy trucks, but heavy haulage tractors running at over 100 tons loaded!