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Market Watch / November 7, 2018 Jeff Sessions is resigning as attorney general and will be replaced by his chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. The departure of Sessions after the midterms was widely expected. Trump had repeatedly expressed anger with Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian election meddling. Sessions is resigning at Trump's request, he said in a letter.

Outfitted Kenworth W990 to Set Off With Capitol Christmas Tree Transport Topics / November 6, 2018 A new Kenworth W990 has the honor of hauling the 54th U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. The approximately 3,000-mile journey to Washington will start Nov. 9. Central Oregon Truck Co., is this year’s designated hauler of the tree. CEO Rick Williams watched as the tree was lifted by crane and set on the 80-foot-long trailer. Williams and other executives will be driving the truck and its special load as a part of a company effort that will involve other driving team members. Central Oregon Truck transports freight across the 48 continental states and Canada, and purchases its Kenworth trucks from The Papé Group, a major sponsor of this year’s tour. “It was a great sight. You don’t see an 80-foot tree loaded on a trailer every day, and they had to take great care to secure the branches,” Williams said. The Kenworth W990 transporting the tree is adorned with a distinctive and festive graphics package. Featuring a 76-inch midroof sleeper, the W990 was spec’d with the Paccar Powertrain — a Paccar MX-13 engine rated at 455 horsepower and 1,650 pound-feet of torque, 12-speed automated transmission and 40K tandem rear axle. Once the tree was set on the trailer, securing of the branches began. Phil Taylor, vice president of maintenance drove the truck and traversed the 8 miles of logging roads before hitting U.S. Route 20 and Forest Service Road 2044. “The looks we received from other drivers were something else,” he said. “We had so much pride in hauling the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It was inspiring.” Once in Sweet Home, Ore., the tree was fitted with a special 200-gallon water bladder to keep it hydrated, carefully wrapped and boxed. The tour will stop for 25 community events, including the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Oregon Trail and the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act. Tour stops begin Nov. 9, at Sweet Home High School, where the tree will be the featured attraction for a parade and street fair. The tour will end Nov. 25 at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before being delivered to the U.S. Capitol in late November. A tree-lighting ceremony Dec. 5 will be hosted by the architect of the Capitol in conjunction with the U.S. speaker of the House. .

A Four-Door Ford Mustang Is Not as Crazy as It Sounds Joseph Capparella, Car & Driver / November 6, 2018 The rumors are swirling about a new V-8–powered sedan pony car. The latest and greatest rumor about the Ford Mustang speculates that the iconic pony car could soon gain a four-door-sedan variant. According to a post on the Mustang forum Mustang6G.com, Ford shared vague plans for this new model at a dealer event last month. Although it's still entirely unsubstantiated by Ford at this point, this idea might not be quite as wild as it might seem—and we've illustrated what the car could look like (above). The thinking is that a longer-wheelbase version of the Mustang with four doors and a fastback-like shape could move upmarket to compete with the likes of the Audi A7 and the Porsche Panamera. While this sounds more like Lincoln territory, the Mustang brand might be strong enough on its own to support such premium aspirations—current versions already range well into the $50,000 to $60,000 range. The forum post states that a turbocharged V-8 engine will be offered, although we're not sure which engine that might be, given that no such configuration currently exists within the Ford lineup. A turbo version of the current Mustang's 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 is possible, but we haven't heard any rumblings about that otherwise. If such a vehicle were to come to fruition, the forum speculates, it would be distinct from a new Ford crossover, previously referred to as the Mach 1 but now expected to carry a different name, that's said to be inspired by the Mustang. That new model will be all electric and will have a taller profile. Other future additions to the Mustang lineup include a hybrid version for sometime in the near future and the high-performance GT500, which is expected to make its debut within the next few months. Ford spokesperson Jiyan Cadiz did not confirm or deny the rumor, but did say that "we are always on our game to keep Mustang exciting every year," which seems to stoke the fire. We'll update this story when we have more information to share. .

Diesel News Australia / November 2018 Instead of sitting on its hands, Cummins has decided to go on the front foot with specific developmental work on the new X15 engine to enable not only meeting the forthcoming regulations but also driving down fuel consumption. It’s a fact that the vast majority of Cummins powered on-highway trucks in this country are hauling B-doubles up and down the eastern seaboard. Quite logically, this corridor linking the three eastern state capitals that collectively contain the vast majority of this country’s people is a well-trodden path for road transport. Horses for courses Mike Fowler, Director of Cummins On-Highway Engine Business, reveals that an important part of Cummins’ strategy for Euro 6 development has been to recognise and cater for two distinctly different sub-sectors at the heavy end of the heavy-duty truck market. “Firstly, there is the vocational sector largely encompassing tipper and dog and other short-haul single-trailer applications,” says Mike. “On the other side of the coin is the multi-trailer line-haul sector predominantly consisting of B-doubles but also including other configurations like Road Trains and various PBS (Performance Based Standards) combinations that demand really good performance as well as good fuel economy. “The vast array of different combinations and PBS combinations makes it very difficult to optimise the engine parameters to give the best fuel economy for each application .Therefore, to this end our goal has been to concurrently develop two distinctly different iterations of the X15 architecture for Euro 6. “When we further studied the breakdown of our market we realised the vast majority of our 15-litre product was in the B-double sector with much of it running up and down the east coast of Australia. So as we went through our Euro 6 plans we looked at how we could effectively optimise the X15 for fuel economy in that specific application.” The consequential development of both 15-litre engine variants for Euro 6 is now at the stage of field testing, with a number of units placed in fleets around the country. The one that’s optimised for B-double line-haul work is for AMT (automated-manual transmission) powertrain only, the other is dedicated to vocational applications where an 18-speed manual RoadRanger is usually preferred. “To optimise the fuel economy for the efficiency series we have ‘down-sped’ (reduced the cruise rpm of) the engine by running taller final drive ratios,” says Mike. “Due to our much higher gross vehicle weight limits this is a lot harder to do in Australia than in Europe or North America. In fact, the only way to achieve this is by increasing the torque output of the engine at lower rpm. So what we now have is power ratings of 550 to 570 hp (410 to 425 kW) and peak torque of 2050 ft lb (2779 Nm) arriving below 1000 rpm. “We’re also field testing with rear axle ratios as tall as 3.21:1 which is a massive departure from the traditional Cummins powered B-double ratios of 4.1, 4.3 and occasionally as tall as 3.9:1.” Having said that, Mike goes on to say the 3.21 ratio is probably too tall for most ‘real world’ B-double prime movers in Euro 5 guise and a 3.73:1 ratio will be most likely the ideal solution for the application at this stage. .

That's a Mack model NB-1 searchlight truck (basically a modified civilian EEU). The US Army purchased 368 units. It was rated at 2.5 tons cross-country and 5.0 tons on-road. They were built in 1939 with 253-cubic inch 77-horsepower Continental "FO" L-head engines. They had a 50mph top speed, 24' 10" overall length , 172" wheelbase, 15,630lb weight fully loaded and rode on 7.00x20 tires. The other two members of the US Army's searchlight trio of the 1939-1940 period were the Federal model 75K131 and GMC model AFWX 354-10A.

DAF Trucks Press Release / November 6, 2018 Stalkers Transport report 'uplift in fuel economy' following the delivery of six DAF XF tractor units. Over 12-months this represents an increase of 8.6%. .

DAF Trucks Press Release / November 5, 2018 At the beginning of the fifties a large part of our production is devoted to military vehicles. .

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / September 18, 2018 Firefighters in Ukraine's Sumy Oblast have taken delivery of a new АC-4-60(5401НЕ) fire tank truck jointly produced by KrAZ Trucks and body builder Pozhmashina. The 9.5 tonne KrAZ model 5401НЕ 4x4 off-road cab & chassis is specifically engineered to the requirements of the State Service for Emergency Situations (SSES). This two-axle cab & chassis cab built to customer’s requirements is unique due to use of two-row four-door six-seat "crew cab". KrAZ engineers adapted this cab for installation on the KrAZ-5401НЕ. Wide tires complimented with a central tire inflation system make it possible to use this vehicle on and off road. An operating range of 600 km is made possible with the fitment of two 165 litre fuel tanks. The АC-4-60 (5401НЕ) tank truck features a 4000 litre water tank and 400 litre foam agent tank. The НВЕ-24 vacuum suction system is independent, semi-automatic. The truck is equipped with the PN-60Б-RR fire centrifugal pump with output of 60 l/s and head of 100 m. Maximum suction head: 7,5 m. Gross vehicle weight is 19 tonnes. A similar truck was delievered to to the Konotop SSES. .

Cummins Press Release / November 2, 2018 Cummins showcases its new structural engine in Italy for the first time at EIMA 2018. Displayed in Hall 15 on Stand A/5, visitors will see the Cummins Stage V B6.7 engine integrated into a structural driveline designed for agricultural tractor use. Fabio Vaiani, Regional Sales Manager, Off-Highway at Cummins, said: “Cummins has been a successful supplier to the agriculture sector since 1919 when our first single cylinder engine was manufactured for farm pumps. However, it has been some years since we have had a structural engine in our power portfolio. Italy is an important market for our business, so EIMA is an ideal location to showcase the engine in the country for the first time.” The structural capability has been designed into the B6.7 engine, the latest version of the renowned Cummins B Series engine. With over 13 million B Series units sold around the world it is proven to deliver high availability in challenging duty cycles. For Stage V it moves up to 326 hp (243 kW) with a peak torque of 1375 Nm - a 30 percent increase over that of Stage IV. Cummins has the capability to tailor engine performance for farm work, with the power bulge and torque back up available ideal for agricultural tractor operation. For Stage V, Cummins has integrated key in-house technologies into the engine to achieve the operational benefits. The B6.7 uses proven variable-geometry turbocharger technology, with the single Holset VGT® achieving exceptional power density and responsiveness with fuel-efficient performance. The B6.7 uses Cummins latest Single ModuleTM aftertreatment technology, which is smaller and lighter than its predecessor at Stage IV. The savings are up to 40% in envelope size and up to 20% in weight. The higher NOx conversion efficiency enables the required level to be met without the use of EGR. The system also removes 99.9% of all PM by weight and count. For an agricultural tractor this technology will be adapted to suit the space requirements without impacting lines of visibility from the cab. The Stage V engines including the B6.7 are designed as global platforms, with a shared installation for domestic and export business. Manufacturers can have increased production flexibility, with common hook-up points wherever the equipment will be sold. The exhaust aftertreatment would be the only key difference between specifications. .

Rebuild Jost. Replace Fontaine and Holland with Jost.

Matt Cole, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / November 5, 2018 More than 5,500 Freightliner and Western Star tractors are being recalled by Daimler Trucks North America for a brake caliper issue, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Daimler’s recall affects 5,534 model year 2018-2019 Freightliner Custom Chassis, Freightliner and Western Star trucks that have brake caliper mounting bolts that may have been insufficiently tightened at the factory, which could cause reduced brake effectiveness. Affected Freightliner Custom Chassis units include: S2C 106CAB, S2G, XBS, XCL, XCM, XCP and XCR. Other trucks included in the recall are: 2018-2019 Freightliner 108SD 2018-2019 Freightliner 114SD 2018-2019 Freightliner Business Class M2 2018-2019 Freightliner Cascadia 2018-2019 Western Star 4700 2018-2019 Western Star 4900 2018-2019 Western Star 5700 DTNA will notify affected truck owners beginning Dec. 3, and dealers will check and tighten brake caliper mounting bolts for free. Owners can contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 with recall number FL-794. NHTSA’s recall number is 18V-703.

Jim Park, Today's Trucking / November 5, 2018 .

Today's Trucking / November 5, 2018 .

Nikola "Tre" website - https://nikolamotor.com/tre

Nikola to Expand Into Europe With Hydrogen-Electric “Tre” Transport Topics / November 5, 2018 “Tre” Slated for Production in 2022 to 2023; Will Be Previewed in April in Phoenix Nikola Motor Co. announced it would begin production within five years in Europe of a heavy-duty, hydrogen-electric truck designed to be compatible with full autonomy as it expands its business beyond North America. The Phoenix-based company has begun taking reservations for the vehicle — to be called the Tre, which is Norwegian for three. Tre is slated for production in 2022 to 2023. Nikola will preview the truck April 16-17 in Phoenix alongside its Nikola Two model, which is scheduled for fleet tests in 2019. Tre will be the first European zero-emissions commercial truck to be delivered with redundant braking, redundant steering, redundant 800V DC batteries and a redundant 120 kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell — “all necessary for true Level 5 autonomy,” Nikola founder and CEO Trevor Milton said in a statement. “Redundant means the truck has been designed from the ground up to allow for failure in any one of the systems and still operate safely,” Milton told Transport Topics. “This is especially important with autonomy compatibility.” Level 5 typically is defined as full automation capable of handling any road with no driver needed — or as Milton said, “No driver. Completely autonomous-compatible.” He added: “For instance, the power steering could go out, and the truck would be able to pull itself over, steer itself to the side of the road and safely exit the freeway. It is the only truck ever built that we know of that has the ability to have any one of the main systems or subsystems fail and still continue safely until it can pull over and be serviced,” he said. Model Two will feature the same level of redundancy, according to the company. The Tre will come with 500 to 1,000 horsepower, 6×4 or 6×2 configurations and a range of 500 to 1,200 kilometers (310 to 745 miles) depending on options. The Tre will fit within the current size and length restrictions for Europe. European testing is projected to begin in Norway around 2020. Nikola also is in the preliminary planning stages to identify the proper location for its European manufacturing facility, according to the company. Nikola is working with Oslo, Norway-based Nel Hydrogen to provide hydrogen stations in the United States. “We will work with Nel to secure resources for our European growth strategy. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but with the right partners, we can accomplish it,” Nikola Chief Financial Officer Kim Brady said. By 2028, Nikola plans to have more than 700 hydrogen stations across the United States and Canada. Each station is capable of 2,000 to 8,000 kilograms of daily hydrogen production. Nikola’s European stations are planned to come online around 2022 and projected to cover most of the European market by 2030. Meanwhile, at the Nikola World event in Phoenix, attendees will witness the Nikola Two model pulling loaded trailers, along with a prototype display of the Nikola Tre. Hydrogen filling also will be shown at the event at 700 bar or 10,000 pounds per square inch. Nikola’s power sports division will provide customer rides throughout the day and show off pre-production units of the Nikola Nzt off-road 4×4.

Nikola Plans Electric Road Tractor for Europe Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / November 5, 2018 Nikola Motor Company announced it is developing the Nikola Tre, a fully electric hydrogen-powered day cab tractor aimed at markets in Europe. The Tre (“tre” is Norwegian for “three”) was designed “in response to widespread interest from European customers,” but the truck maker noted that this high-cabover model will also be made available in Asia and Australia. “This truck is a real stunner and long overdue for Europe,” said Nikola Motor Company CEO Trevor Milton. “It will be the first European zero-emission commercial truck to be delivered with redundant braking, redundant steering, redundant 800Vdc batteries, and a redundant 120 kW hydrogen fuel cell, all necessary for true Level 5 autonomy. “Expect our production to begin around the same time as our U.S.A version in 2022-2023,” he added. According to the company, the Nikola Tre will offer 500 to 1,000 hp, a 6x4 or 6x2 configuration, and a range of 500 to 1,200 kilometers, depending on options. The Tre will fit within current size and length restrictions for Europe. European testing is projected to begin in Norway around 2020. Nikola also said it is in the preliminary planning stages to identify the “proper” location for its European manufacturing facility. The company said attendees of its Nikola World event, to be held April 16 to 17 in Phoenix, will get to view a prototype display of the Nikola Tre, along with other new zero-emission products from Nikola, “including the production intent Nikola Two.” And just as with the already introduced North American-oriented Nikola One sleeper and Nikola Two day cab tractors, order reservations can be made online for the Nikola Tre. In addition, Nikola said it is currently working with Nel Hydrogen of Oslo to provide hydrogen stations for the United States market. “Nel has been good to work with for our U.S.A. station design and rollout, said Kim Brady, Nikola Motor Company CFO. “We will work with Nel to secure resources for our European growth strategy,” Brady added. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but with the right partners, we can accomplish it.” By 2028, Nikola said it is planning on having more than 700 hydrogen stations across the U.S. and Canada. The company said each station will be capable of 2,000 to 8,000 kgs of daily hydrogen production. Nikola’s European stations are planned to come online around 2022 and are projected to cover most of the European market by 2030. Registration for next spring’s Nikola World event in Phoenix will open on December 3 at www.nikolamotor.com. .

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / November 5, 2018 Peterbilt announced a new warranty option for Red Oval Certified Pre-Owned truck customers. The new warranty option provides customers the ability to extend Peterbilt’s factory-backed comprehensive pre-owned warranty to two years/250,000 miles. This warranty is offered and administered through Peterbilt’s more than 370 dealers and Paccar Financial Used Truck Centers. Peterbilt currently provides a standard one-year/125,000 mile Paccar Engine Pre-Owned Warranty for the MX engine and aftertreatment system with the purchase of a Peterbilt Red Oval Certified vehicle. Peterbilt Red Oval Certified vehicles pass a 150-point factory certified inspection performed by factory-trained service technicians. All Red Oval certified trucks are reconditioned and serviced, including DPF cleaning and an oil and filter change. Additionally, every Red Oval truck is DOT certified. All Peterbilt Red Oval certified vehicles come with a 90-day buyer assurance plan covering major chassis components.

VW wants more U.S. production capacity; could trade platforms with Ford Larry Vellequette, Automotive News / November 5, 2018 HERNDON, Va. — The global head of Volkswagen Group says the German automaker is actively looking to add U.S. manufacturing capacity — by enlarging its sole U.S. assembly plant in Tennessee or building new — to make electric vehicles and otherwise expand its offerings to American consumers. In an expansive, hourlong exclusive interview, Herbert Diess, who took over as CEO of Volkswagen Group in April, also said his company's ongoing discussions with Ford Motor Co. center on small commercial vehicles for Europe. But Diess said the talks between the two on-again, off-again global partners could go much further, including the possible sharing of VW's flexible EV platform and the potential use of Ford's midsize Ranger platform to replace the aging VW Amarok pickup sold outside the U.S. Diess visited Volkswagen Group of America headquarters last week, in part for a town hall meeting with employees to welcome longtime Audi boss Scott Keogh to his new role as VW's North American CEO. Keogh succeeded Hinrich Woebcken on Nov. 1. During the interview, Diess, 60, repeatedly stressed Keogh's autonomy and decision-making power. That authority includes deciding how best to increase VW's U.S. manufacturing footprint, Diess said, as well as how to improve U.S. dealer profitability and expand VW sales in the market, as he did during his 12 years with Audi of America. "We set up the plant in Chattanooga always with the idea to be able to grow it, to mirror it," Diess told Automotive News. "The plant is still too small, and we are considering different options — it might be electric cars, it might be a different derivative of the Atlas — it's still open. Scott will decide. We have opportunities there, and also economies of scale because it is still a bit underutilized as a facility." VW opened its 3.4 million square-foot Tennessee plant in 2011 to initially build the Passat, then expanded it when adding production of the Atlas three-row crossover. The plant has about 3,500 workers today. VW plans to start making a two-row version of the Atlas — the Atlas Cross Sport — there in 2019. Ford talks Diess confirmed discussions with Ford, which has been an occasional partner in past decades, and spoke glowingly of strategies on which the automakers could collaborate, but he dismissed any notion of VW growing bigger through consolidations or mergers. The VW board of supervisors will consider its strategic relationship with Ford on Nov. 16, Reuters reported. "There's nothing signed yet with Ford. We are in talks," Diess said. "Most of the talks have been centered around our light-duty vehicles — our small commercial vehicles business in Europe, where we found huge synergies. We are both relatively small in size against our peers, so what we're talking about is sharing a few platforms and manufacturing sites there, which makes sense. And within the dialogue, we are also touching other options, but this will be the main focus if we come to a conclusion." Ford is "a strong American company," Diess said. "We have been working together already many years, in Europe and Latin America. It was a good experience for both companies when we worked together. We split up afterwards, and now there is another new business case in Europe, which makes sense for both companies. It feels good, and I hope we can conclude a case." Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne, convinced that industry consolidation was necessary to make more efficient use of capital, had aggressively pursued a tie-up with VW well into 2017, only to be rebuffed. Ford officials have made clear that they are not looking at any alliance with VW that would involve equity stakes. "I wouldn't agree with Marchionne that the right step forward is to have the biggest company," Diess said, "because in such kind of uncertainty, you have to be profitable, you have to be fast, and the new scales are different from the old scales. It doesn't help you if you have as many as possible gearboxes, etc. ... It doesn't help you." The former BMW executive, who joined VW in 2015, said VW is "open" to licensing its modular EV platform, known as MEB, to other global automakers, including Ford. Diess said VW plans to build 50 million EVs globally across its brands, beginning in 2020, and has battery sourcing agreements for them. He said licensing MEB to other automakers would lead to further economies of scale. "Today we have hundreds of different drivetrains in our industry, and there's a lot of differentiation in the drivetrain. I think this will become less, because the battery cells will become very similar on the basis of the same chemistry inside," Diess said. "It will be more about the economies of scale. Still, the battery pack, for the foreseeable future, will be more expensive than a combustion powertrain, so I think it makes a lot of sense to make more volume and generate economies of scale." Coming pickup Diess said Ford could provide VW with a global successor to its Amarok pickup, the only body-on-frame light vehicle left among the German automaker's 300-plus nameplates. But he said it would be up to Keogh to decide whether to give U.S. dealerships a small body-on-frame pickup based on the Ford Ranger or a unibody pickup that would closely follow the Tanoak concept VW unveiled in March at the New York auto show. "It's up to Scott," Diess said. "If the Ford relationship works out well, we would have an Amarok successor, which would be then appropriate for sales worldwide — potentially as well for the United States. The other option is a unibody pickup, which is something for America, which is probably still a bit risky. On the other hand, you have to see that most of the SUVs have been transitioned in the last 20 years" to unibody construction. "I think, at some stage in the [midsize] pickups, the same thing will happen. ... I think unibody might make sense." .

Beautiful mezzanine parts department in the video. Bob, I'm not sure what percentage of Iveco stores are factory-owned.

Bharat-Benz Press Release / November 1, 2018