Maxidyne

Ford's heading off in so many directions one suspects they don't even know where they're headed. For example, while they talk hybrids and electrics they're adding diesel options to the Transit Connect and F150. While they talk of just one body on frame truck platform the pilot builds of the Ranger have already begun with the Bronco to follow. While they talk of the Mustang being the sole remaining front longitudinal engine/rear drive unit body platform, they just 'fessed up that the new 2020 Explorer will be rear drive by default with a 4WD option. And that's just Ford's confused vehicle business... They're buying more real estate while they still haven't sold the St.Paul Ford plant site. Is anybody actually running Ford?

Sadly true- Ford isn't the only manufacturer dumb enough to spend a few hundred million $$$ to tool up SUVs thinking they'd be profitable then getting into price wars that make them no more profitable than the sedans they want to dump.

And from the trends I've noticed in pricing, those "high profit" SUVs like the Ecosport and Escape are getting their prices cut below $20k with incentives. Maybe if Ford cut back the incentives on SUVs they'd sell some more cars...

Sounds like the alliance has begun already- Ford top management must be sharing their drugs with VW's top management! Seriously, what does Ford bring to the party? A VW badged F150 ain't worth the bother, and Ford has nothing competitive with a conventional cab above the F550 or so. So much for the "One Ford" strategy...

VW group is featuring "mild hybrid" technology with a combined starter/alternator on a lot of their upcoming models, wouldn't be surprised to see this tech used in their big trucks too...

Hmmm... Wonder what the big stator on outside of the flywheel housing is for... Electrickery?

Crime has dropped some in Detroit but there's still too much crime there. And I suspect a lot of that drop in crime is simply due to there not being a whole lot left in Detroit to steal and less people to kill. Financially the city is probably in worse shape before the bankruptcy thanks to the selling off of a lot of maintenance equipment needed to maintain the city's infrastructure. The tax revenue from Ford will help Detroit, but will probably just set off a tax giveaway battle between Detroit and Dearborn that will hurt both cities.

Google "GREET model"... It's an actual computer model that predicts the manufacture to scrapping energy use of a vehicle. In the model runs I've seen a new more fuel efficient vehicle takes tens of thousands of miles to make up for the energy spent to make it. For example, if you replace a 30 MPG Corolla with a 40 MPG Prius, it takes most of the life of the Prius before it shows any benefit. GREET also shows that electric cars have no benefit unless there's renewable fuel produced electricity available to charge them. And in defense of the diesel, GREET shows that a diesel running on renewable fuels like biodiesel reduces greenhouse gasses as much as an electric car running on renewables electricity. Problem is, the new injection systems built to meet Euro6 and EPA2010 standards can't handle more than 20% biodiesel. Given that all but a few big metro areas were already in compliance with EPA air pollution standards before the EPA2007 standards took effect, it would actually be better for the environment if we dropped the standards back to pre-EPA2007 as those fuel injection systems could handle higher percentages of biodiesel.

The design is dictated by the overall length limits- In the EU they're generally allowed a 13.6 meter trailer in a 16.5 meter overall length. Add in the swing radius and they've only got about 2.5 meters length to fit a cab into. The setback axle is dictated by the weight limits and need for maneuverability. EU hours of service are so much tighter than ours that a sleeper is needed for any truck that runs between cities and double bunk sleepers are common.

There have been diesel emissions standards since the 1980s and every truck diesel sold in the U.S. had to meet them.

Well, pre 2004 and later emissions...

Legend has it those guaranteed buyback deals cost Freightliner more than the company had made in it's entire history.

Never got to drive one after driving every variation of the previous Freightliner cabover from the 60s through the 80s. I left Hostess who had the biggest fleet of 'em in America before they got any and then retired, could have worked summer vacation relief and gotten to drive one but by then they'd closed all their bakeries near me. Maybe I should watch for a decent used one I can afford?

You're talking at least a megawatt hour of capacity, so the weight would easily be several tons. More stifling would be the cost of all those batteries- A megawatt hour is about ten times the capacity of the biggest Tesla car battery, that car sells for over $100k, and most of the cars cost is the battery...

Given that most old Macks rust out before the power train wears out, they could sell a lot of R cabs alone.

Only about a hundred miles from me= Damn tempting!

A lot of that 1 MPG advantage you're seeing is the cumulative effect of Mack's little advantages- Less parasitic drag from the smaller 12 liter Mack engine, lower drivetrain losses due to the Mack's better driveshaft angles, better aerodynamics due to the Mack's more rounded cab and sloping hood, etc..

Yup, seen that scam before.

D.I.R.T. claims to be a minority female owned business. How then does the owner manage to be a "he"?

Unless it's just a few wires to be replaced, it'd probably be easier just to buy a new harness.

Given the less than warm reception the vertically integrated truck makers here are giving Cummins new G series engine, Cummins has no choice but to collaborate in new markets.

Again, the media blames the diesel maker when the real problem is the U.S.' odd ball and excessive emissions standards- We should adopt the Euro standards like the rest of the world. And given that all of the U.S. was in compliance with particulate and other diesel emissions levels except for a few metro areas, we could probably revert to Euro 4 in most of the country. That would be better for the environment, because the older emmission standards allow diesels to run on higher concentrations of biodiesel which reduces Green House Gasses.

TS7, By the time you'd modified an E7 to meet current emmission standards you'd have built a whole new engine, so that option is out. Timmyb, Australian truckers have some extreme requirements like 85 ton and heavier gross train weights in 40+ degree C temps, and they're willing to pay premium prices for a truck up to that can survive in that environment.

I agree- There's a market for custom built trucks, and Paccar knows how to win over that market. Even Daimler gets it, look at the long list of options like SCBA ready seats they offer on the M2 and reasonably priced twin steer axles on Western Star. As long as the North American market remains an oddball and truck sales may actually shrink as more long hauls go to the railroads, there's no point in trying to crank out Class 8 trucks like F150s. The best strategy for Volvo would be to dedicate the New River plant to mass producing cheap Volvo trucks for the big fleets and Macungie to custom building Mack trucks for discriminating buyers. Problem is, Volvo sees their own as the premium truck and Mack as the in house competitor that must be muzzled.

Once you go beyond around 10 horsepower/Ton additional horsepower doesn't result in improved performance, unless you run 8% grades all day. Thus 500 HP is enough for better than 90% of the loads hauled in the U.S. today and will usually give acceptable performance up to around 50 Tons metric (110k pounds) which is higher than most states allow for divisible loads anyways. Where the bigger 15/16 liter 600 HP engines are needed is for permit loads, Canadian B-Trains and a few states with higher limits like Michigan, Montana, South Dakota, etc..