RoadwayR

Saw that coming. VW is next.

O.K., thanks. Pretty sure that's not coming here. Ford is rumored to be divesting out of some regions by the end of the year, South America has been mentioned. I wouldn't be surprised if the JV in Turkey is included as well.

I think the whole point of the current F-650/750 was to offer a low cost limited option medium duty with an 'in house' powertrain. I think that Ford has been quite successful with this plan, they may not have the best medium duty truck but they have a good cost advantage over the competition. The 7X engine should be a welcome replacement for the old V-10. What is this 'H' cab?

The City Express was not much more than a limited market testing exercise, if it would have sold GM would have built their own small van. It's a small price sensitive market in the U.S. that Ford practically owns, and it isn't real profitable anyway. Not sure VW will ever end up owning all of Navistar. My best guess is some sort of merger could be a possibility in the distant future after VW spins their truck unit off, but probably not before that. Not sure Navistar would want to kick GM out of their plants either. Navistar is doing good business assembling GM's cut-away van chassis (and probably wouldn't mind more of GM's van work). The JV medium will provide International a class 4/5 truck to replace the discontinued TerraStar, and GM will likely become an engine (small diesel and gasoline) and cab component supplier to Navistar. In addition, I think there will be more JV's between GM and Navistar going forward. No doubt MAN/Scania will also be very important partners as well, if not more so than GM. You know, with GM's Duramax, MAN, and Scania diesels, International could drop Cummins eventually.

A glider set up for a Detroit 60 series would make for a nice truck! BTW- I thought they were going to offer that PSI 8.8L V-8.

Most fire apparatus in Los Angeles was Hall-Scott powered up into the mid-70's. They had a sound all their own.

BTW, I am hearing rumors that there will be a Chevy class 7/8 in a few years. My guess is another JV with Navistar.

The Chevy 6500 is definitely a niche truck for the customer that needs something between 19,500 and 23,000 GVW at a low price without the bulk of a traditional class 6. I understand completely the advantages of a cabover, we just added some Isuzu NRR's to our fleet. Not only is the package more efficient than say a Ford F-550, but the 4HK1 engine is more than enough for a truck this size. Cab notwithstanding, I think the biggest problem with these domestic class 4/5/6 conventionals is their diesel engines are far too large and powerful for most commercial applications.

GM is playing this smart (for a change). They didn't price it out of the market (looks like it will be a bit less than comparable Ford trucks) and they went out of their way to make it very easy to upfit. With a lot of fleets buying trucks 'turn-key' from the upfitter and not specifying a particular chassis make, I see upfitters going for these trucks. Lower chassis price + less labor = more competitive bid.

I believe the photo in your June 23rd., 2017 post is of the Navistar version. You can see where the diamond goes in the grille.

No, don't think so. I hear the International version will use the Silverado cab like the Chevy version. Note both of those trucks in the pictures are sporting "MaxxForce' hood badges.

It looks to me like VW wants to cooperate with Ford on Commercial vans for Europe, nothing more. If it's anything beyond that the only scenarios I see are VW taking over Ford's South American truck operations and maybe Otosan. With VW's strength in South America Ford's truck operation there is a natural fit, and a way for Ford to begin pulling out of a money-losing operation. As for Otosan that might make VW's truck operations in Eastern Europe/Western Asia stronger. Such a move could be more beneficial to Otosan than VW, figuring VW could supply components to Otosan. I can't see any scenario in which VW would be interested in Ford's U.S. truck operations, particularly given VW's relationship with NAV.. I looks like a win-win for Ford and VW in European commercial vans. VW gets back into the business with a new partner to share costs with, Ford's van operation becomes more profitable, very important in the wake of Brexit.

Key points: "Not involving equity arrangements, including cross ownership stakes" "Flexibility through alliances" Anyone think Ford will sell their Brazilian truck operation or stake in Otosan to 'Traton' eventually?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-trucks/volkswagen-truck-bus-to-be-renamed-traton-idUSKBN1JG1E9 I'll bet a spin-off is coming.

A good real estate deal, but nothing more.

Once upon a time there was this guy named James Hebe, and........... Let's just say he had a LOT of used Freightliners for sale.

First I have heard that Tesla is dropping their 'Semi'. No surprise, but a lot of information that I have seen points to energy supply and infrastructure as the biggest hurdles to widespread EV truck implementation. This is on top of what Maxidyne has pointed out. EV cars, yes no question. Commercial trucks, big question.

I think large (2.5-3L) 4 cylinder turbo engines will be the norm for 1/2 ton full size pickups within a few years. I also hear GM may be working on a large gasoline engine for HD pickups and medium duty trucks.

I am hearing rumblings that Ford may exit South America soon. If true I wonder what will become of the Cargo.

Wasn't there a couple of attempts at reviving Diamond T here? Don't know what happened to the last one.

For some reason, Toyota/Hino seems to be COMPLETELY uninterested in class 2/3/4 conventional/heavy duty pickups. They have dropped all regular cab Tundra's and Tacoma's. In addition to not offering any 3/4 or 1 ton pickups, Toyota markets their trucks exclusively to personal use buyers. Fleet/commercial sales are all but non-existent. One would think this is an area Hino would move into.

Following FCA........ I wonder how much the are making/losing on the F-650/750. Sales of those trucks are not what I thought they would be.

Cab looks too large for a front-loader, but I suppose the upfitters will come up with something that works. Side loader would appear to be no problem, but who uses rear load packers anymore?

Well......... Not surprised VW wants Navistar, and I fully expect them to raise their stake, but the timing of this statement is a bit of a shock. Some say this guy Diess has been scheming to be CEO and used the diesel emissions debacle as leverage to get Muller thrown out, promising the board bold moves if he got the top spot. If true I suppose this could be considered bold. But, VW is possibly the most inefficient major automaker on the planet, and would it make sense for VW to assume NAV's substantial pension liabilities right now? I guess if Lower Saxony doesn't care, why should anyone else? My fear is I think VW is a house of cards, and I would hate to see them swallow NAV and then crash and burn, taking NAV with them. If this buyout happens, I say the VW Truck spin-off can't come soon enough.

Starting to see these in the wild.