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The Washington Post / October 4, 2018 The Trump administration on Thursday wrapped trucks into its updated driverless vehicle policy, saying it will “no longer assume” that a commercial motor vehicle driver has to be a human or that a trucker — or anyone else — necessarily needs to be in the cab. The administration said it would work to ease the federal process for exempting trucks and other vehicles from existing safety standards that might inhibit the use of automation, as long as companies can make the case that their vehicles are likely to achieve “an equivalent level of safety.” Federal officials also announced a joint research effort, by the departments of Transportation, Labor, Commerce and Health and Human Services, to study the “workforce impacts” of driverless vehicles. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said she remains “extremely concerned” about the impact increased automation will have on the nation’s workforce. And transportation officials said they would seek ways to eliminate federal, state and local impediments to the deployment of driverless vehicles more broadly, which they said will bring economic and safety benefits. The moves comes as Waymo, a leading self-driving firm, has been working to open a driverless service to the public in Arizona by year’s end. The federal guidelines also come after a self-driving Uber SUV misidentified and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz. in March. Uber had turned off the Volvo’s automatic emergency braking system as part of its testing program, and the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The updated federal “guidance” now covers buses, transit and trucks in addition to cars, and it remains voluntary, putting the onus for safety on the companies developing the technologies rather than government regulation. The guidance, dubbed Automated Vehicles 3.0, continues to call for companies to voluntarily describe why their vehicles are safe enough to be on public roads, though so far only four of the scores of companies active in the field have made those assessments public. The Department of Transportation’s updated approach does make a nod to recent high-profile crashes and what officials acknowledged is skepticism about autonomous vehicles among a broad swath of the population. The safety driver who was supposed to be closely monitoring the behavior of the self-driving Uber in Tempe was streaming NBC’s “The Voice” in the run-up to the deadly crash, according to Tempe police investigators. A top federal transportation official said the government hopes companies will give “consideration” to providing information on how they train and monitor their safety drivers. The administration plans to launch new pilot programs to work with states and industry, and federal officials said one such effort by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could eventually lay the groundwork for possible new regulations. Legislation on self-driving cars has been stalled in the Senate, and states have taken different tacks. Arizona has taken a more laissez-faire approach, and California has required tighter oversight of driverless testing and operations in the state. A key holdup has been skepticism among some senators and others about whether states would be excluded from their traditional roles overseeing drivers, now that drivers don’t have to be human. “There’s wariness about the federal government’s regulatory commitment [and] willingness to police the companies,” said Bryant Walker Smith, an assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina and a driverless policy expert. “Even more than the distrust in the technology, it’s distrust in the companies . . . And it’s even a distrust in the administrative ability of government to regulate, to act as a check." The updated automated vehicle policy says the Department of Transportation “will modernize or eliminate outdated regulations that unnecessarily impede the development of automated vehicles” and argues that “conflicting State and local laws and regulations surrounding automated vehicles create confusion, introduce barriers, and present compliance challenges." The 80-page policy document does not catalogue all the specific regulations officials seek to eliminate or the local regulations said to create problems. But Smith said he was struck by the Transportation Department’s effort to “give a green light to truck automation.” The issue was such a “political hot potato” that it was largely avoided in the Senate bill, he said. And it could become a flash point in relations with states. “Truck automation could be an area where there is some active preemption of state and local laws, especially if there are some states that are more resistant to truck automation. I can see something of a showdown,” Smith said. Driverless industry advocates say there are numerous common-sense changes that could be made in the field overall, such as getting rid of a requirement that vehicles have a steering wheel, even when being driven by computers using cameras and lasers. Such changes would allow ambitious redesigns of vehicles, and could spur a radical rethinking of what cars look like and what people do in them. Automakers and tech firms have proposed building rolling motels, restaurants and workspaces, or making vehicles that can move more people more efficiently and safely and help ease clogged roads. But industry advocates say those efforts will be stymied by antiquated rules. But some safety groups say the federal policy, and the regulatory changes that may result from them, could introduce new dangers. The policy “will not assure the public that unproven, unreliable and unsafe” autonomous vehicles are kept off the roads, according to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which represents consumer and safety groups and insurance companies. Without “real oversight” from the U.S. Department of Transportation and “minimum performance standards” for autonomous vehicles " the public will be left defenseless . . . Unfortunately, today’s unenforceable guidelines do little to prevent more deaths and injuries from happening." Uber said it will soon join Waymo, General Motors, Ford and Nuro, which makes a self-driving vehicle for delivering goods, in offering a voluntary safety assessment. Uber spokeswoman Sarah Abboud said the firm is still reviewing the updated guidance, but “we appreciate the Department’s commitment to aligning government, industry, and other stakeholders toward the safe development of this technology.” The assessment will be released “in the coming weeks,” she said.

Volvo fuel injection system supplier Delphi set a new 52-week low yesterday of $29.53. Today, the CEO resigned after just 10 months on the job. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters / October 5, 2018 Auto supplier Delphi Technologies Plc said on Friday Chief Executive Officer Liam Butterworth was stepping down, more than ten months after taking the post. The company, which also cut its full-year revenue forecast, said director Hari Nair would be the interim chief and its board has commenced a comprehensive search to identify a permanent CEO. Delphi said Butterworth was stepping down "to pursue other interests." Butterworth had taken the top job in December after Delphi was spun off from Delphi Automotive, now known as Aptiv Plc. Nair has been a director at Delphi since the spin-off. Nair has previously worked with Tenneco Inc. and General Motors. The company said it expects full-year revenue growth to be about flat, compared with its previous forecast of up 2 percent to 4 percent. Delphi, citing challenging industry dynamics, also cut its full-year adjusted operating margin forecast range to 11.3 percent to 11.5 percent, from 12.1 percent to 12.3 percent. Up to Thursday's close, Delphi's shares had fallen about 41 percent since their listing on the New York Stock Exchange in late November. Delphi ranks No. 58 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $3.9 billion in 2017.

Scania Group Press Release / October 3, 2018 Scania provides country’s first-ever six LNG trucks to Transportes Andreu, with help of ENARGAS. Argentina has just reached a milestone on the road to sustainable transport with the introduction of the country’s first-ever liquid natural gas-powered trucks. In mid-September, Scania Argentina presented a fleet of six LNG trucks to Transportes Andreu, a haulier from Mendoza, in a ceremony in Buenos Aires that was attended by officials from ENARGAS, the country’s national gas regulator. Leonardo Andreu, Director of Transportes Andreu, certainly believes that the trucks’ blend of efficiency and clean technology will help his company. “We are always looking to meet our customers’ needs in an innovative way, with the best technology and the least impact on the environment, and that is why we have acquired these LNG trucks. With these vehicles we will be more efficient in providing our services.” A track record of sustainable transport Scania and ENARGAS have been working together for some time to import gas-powered vehicles to Argentina, and the pioneering deal with Transportes Andreu adds to the already impressive progress the truck maker has made towards sustainable transport in Europe. “For the first time, the country is going to have vehicles that runs completely on gas, and more specifically on LNG,” says Julián Rosso, Head of Sales Engineering at Scania Argentina. “It is a proven technology and there are already more than 2,500 Scania trucks operating in Europe, which means that from a technological point of view, the product is an efficient, safe and aligned solution with Argentina’s energy matrix.” Lower emissions, and less noisy too In a neat twist that amounts to a ‘virtual pipeline’, Transportes Andreu will use the LNG-powered trucks to transport liquid natural gas. The six trucks are equipped with nine-litre, five-cylinder engines, and are capable of delivering 340hp with a torque of 1600Nm. And the trucks are not only impressive in their carbon reduction and power capabilities. “In addition to the trucks’ reduction in emissions, it is also important to note that their engines are much quieter. So from the operational point of view the customer will have an extremely powerful and efficient engine that also has a low environmental impact in terms of emissions and noise,” says Rosso. How LNG works LNG is a technology with great potential for efficiency and emission reductions, according to Guillermo Hughes, Senior Advisor for Scania Latin America. “Liquefied natural gas is stored in two cryogenic tanks at a temperature of minus 163°C. With both tanks, you can achieve a range of more than 1,200km – equal to any vehicle with a diesel engine. As well as the efficiency and performance that characterises any Scania engine, these trucks’ exhaust gases are clean and mainly consist of water vapour, and they actually far exceed the Euro 6 emission standard in force in Europe.” New truck generation soon on the way Like the rest of Latin America, Argentina will soon be launching Scania’s new truck generation, as part of the last stage of the global rollout. New technology and alternative fuels such as LNG will continue to become a key part of Scania’s offer in the years ahead. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / September 24, 2018 Die zweite Generation der Renault Trucks Elektrofahrzeuge sowie das limitierte Sondermodell Renault Trucks T High Renault Sport Racing standen im Mittelpunkt des Auftrittes von Renault Trucks bei der IAA 2018. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / September 27, 2018 Be in control of the traffic when turning and manoeuvring with the innovative MAN Video-Turning-System (VAS). Put an end to safety risks by eliminating blind spots and unseen areas: https://go.man/OZQwqeDI .

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Great presentation.

DAF Trucks Press Release / October 3, 2018 Take a closer look at DAF. To be a successful truck manufacturer, we have to be the best on all fronts. Build the best trucks, provide the best services, have the best dealers and of course, the best people. All with only one thing in mind: achieving the best for you. .

DAF Trucks Press Release / September 26, 2018 Introducing our DAF collection, featuring official DAF clothing, accessories and merchandise. Stylish and modern clothing for all the family; tough work and construction wear; luxury leather laptop cases, bags and more; plus, DAF branded kids items they’ll love. All beautifully crafted and demonstrating the Pure Excellence you’d expect from DAF: https://dafshop.com .

DAF Trucks Press Release / October 5, 2018 The DAF XF has been named as ‘Truck of the Year’ at Northern Ireland’s premier transport industry event – the Export & Freight Transport & Logistics Awards 2018. It is the fourth time the DAF XF has received a top accolade in markets across Europe, since DAF Trucks’ premium duty truck range – alongside the versatile CF series – was voted ‘International Truck of the Year 2018’ by a jury of 23 international journalists. Subsequently the DAF XF for long and heavy haulage also received national Truck of the Year awards in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Northern Ireland’s top honor was awarded to the XF after being assessed by a jury panel made up of operators and industry experts from Northern Ireland’s transport industry. They named DAF’s flagship “a clear winner with top marks for performance and reliability, driver safety and comfort, fuel efficiency and aftersales support from the dealership network. The DAF XF comes with a raft of innovative features as standard, adding to class leading transport efficiency.” .

Industry consolidation.

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 4, 2018 Cummins and Isuzu Motors have signed a letter of intent to jointly evaluate opportunities to develop new powertrains globally. The deal is in the early stages and the two companies offered few concrete details, but it is seen as a way to grow both companies in global markets. Each company has committed to assigning a team to explore potential opportunities in product technology development, service, and other areas of collaboration with the potential for a longer-term partnership on diesel and natural gas powertrains, as well as on electric powertrains. With more stringent emissions regulations around the world, power sources are becoming more diverse. As a result, Cummins and Isuzu believe that more significant investment will be required to deliver next generation diesel and natural gas powertrain solutions as well as alternative powertrains, connectivity and other innovations. Collaboration and strategic partnerships are seen as essential in order to share the needed increased investment cost to be competitive in these markets. “Isuzu is a leading global company with a reputation for excellence in trucks, powertrains and customer service,” said Tom Linebarger, chairman and CEO of Cummins. “Our companies share a commitment to technology leadership, quality and dependability for our customers, and global reach. Cummins is honored to be working with Isuzu and to explore how to leverage our respective strengths to create new opportunities for both companies.”

Meanwhile, Ford-Otosan, Sollers-Ford and JMC (Ford minority owned) keep cranking out Transits.

Ford to idle Transit van output for 2 weeks Michael Martinez, Automotive News / October 4, 2018 Ford Motor Co. will suspend output of the [full-size] Transit van at a Kansas City assembly plant for two weeks this month because of a slump in commercial orders for the top-selling large van. Roughly 2,000 workers on two shifts at the factory will be temporarily laid off. In a note to employees Wednesday, the plant's labor relations office said workers will be laid off for two weeks starting Oct. 22. Workers on temporary layoff receive roughly 80 percent of their take-home pay. "We are matching production with demand, as we always do," Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said in a statement. U.S. sales of the Transit rose 14 percent to 106,463 through the first nine months of the year, outpacing the overall large van segment, but deliveries fell 15 percent in September. A majority of Transit sales are to commercial fleets, and order timing varies throughout the year, Felker said. Workers who also build the F-150 pickup at Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant are unaffected by the plans to suspend Transit output. The plant's F-150 production lines were idled earlier this year after a fire at a Michigan supplier halted output. .

We all knew this was coming.

Reuters / October 3, 2018 WASHINGTON — AM General has put itself up for sale and has hired investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd to seek potential bidders in a deal that could value the builder of Humvee military vehicles at more than $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said this week. Potential bidders include competitors in the military ground vehicle market, such as General Dynamics, Oshkosh Corp and BAE Systems, according to two people familiar with the matter. Automakers like Fiat Chrysler and General Motors may also be potential buyers. GM licensed Hummer from AM General in 1998 to build civilian SUVs. None of the companies would comment or reply to a request for comment. The South Bend, Indiana-based AM General is currently owned by private equity firms. A possible sale of AM General follows a rash of deals over the past 18 months among defense contractors. But relatively fewer makers of defense equipment have gone on the auction block. Last year, United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins for $30 billion, and in March, TransDigm Group continued its acquisition spree with a $525 million deal for Extant Components Group. AM General could fetch about 10 times its annual earnings of $160 million, one of the people said. The company's favorable tax treatment because of its current status as an limited liability corporation, would allow a buyer to reduce the company's taxable earnings for 15 years. That coupled with recent contract awards could push the ultimate value of the company to over $2 billion in a sale. The sale, should it happen, comes as the U.S. Army is gearing up for a broad effort to modernize its forces, including seeking prototypes of its Next-Generation Combat Vehicle in fiscal year 2022. Last month, AM General was awarded an Army contract for as many as 2,800 new M997A3 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) ambulances. The contract could be worth as much as $800 million if all options were exercised, AM General said at the time. Last year, the Pentagon awarded AM General a $550 million contract to deliver HMMWVs for use as protected weapons carriers, cargo transporters and ambulances to Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Jordan, Slovenia, Bahrain, Columbia, Bosnia and Kenya as a part of a larger Foreign Military Sales agreement. The sale of AM General offers an opportunity to purchase a prime contractor that delivers a finished product to the Pentagon, and not just an add-on system or service.

Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) Press Release / October 2, 2018 Making Volvo Active Driver Assist standard not only makes our roads safer for professional drivers, but for everyone else who shares the road with us. .

Cummins Westport ISX12N Engine Tested for Performance Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / October 3, 2018 An independent, third-party study on the Cummins Westport ISX12N 400 hp natural gas engine recently demonstrated that the engine meets and exceeds California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) optional Low NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr. The study was carried out by The University of California, Riverside College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology, with funding provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the California Energy Commission, and Southern California Gas Co. It confirms that natural gas engine technology provides one of the cleanest available options for on-highway transportation, according to Cummins. Engine testing was performed on a chassis dynamometer, with test cycles representative of operation in California’s South Coast Air Basin. Results showed that the ISX12N 400 hp engine met and exceeded the target NOx emissions throughout a range of duty cycles. When the engine operates on renewable natural gas, there are significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to providing air quality and greenhouse gas benefits, the ISX12N can also take advantage of low natural gas prices and available incentive funds. In production since February 2018, the ISX12N was the first Class 8 truck engine for larger heavy-duty vehicles to certify to CARB’s optional Low NOx standard. Currently, more than 1,000 ISX12N engines have been produced for North American customers. The ISX12N is produced at the Cummins Jamestown, N.Y., engine plant, and is available from a wide variety of vehicle manufacturers. It’s designed for regional haul, refuse, and vocational trucks, as well as motorcoach and commuter buses. Cummins Westport natural gas engines can operate on compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, or renewable natural gas.

Honda to invest $2.75 billion in GM's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit Michael Wayland, Automotive News / October 3, 2018 DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co. will invest $2.75 billion in General Motors' autonomous vehicle operations, including plans to develop and deploy a purpose-built self-driving vehicle. The Japanese automaker will receive a 5.7 percent stake in GM Cruise LLC for the investment, which includes an immediate $750 million and another $2 billion for development and deployment of self-driving vehicles over the next 12 years, GM and Honda executives said Wednesday. Click here for the press release. Honda, according to GM CEO Mary Barra, will provide Cruise with additional engineering, design and technology expertise and assist in the company’s “global reach and the ability to deploy at-scale.” “It will really expand Cruise’s leadership in the development and deployment of autonomous technology,” Barra told reporters Wednesday at the company’s technical center in suburban Detroit. The investment values Cruise at $14.6 billion -- $3.1 billion more than when SoftBank Vision Fund, a prominent technology investment firm, announced plans to invest $2.25 billion in the operations in May. That deal gave SoftBank a 19.6 percent stake in GM Cruise, which includes Cruise and Strobe Inc., a lidar company GM acquired in October 2017. The announced partnership sent GM shares up 2.1 percent to $33.99 as of 10:27 a.m. The investment from Honda comes roughly nine months after GM announced plans to launch public ride-hailing services with self-driving vehicles that don't have manual controls such as steering wheels and pedals, starting in 2019. GM President Dan Ammann said next year “remains the objective,” however he stressed that safety will be the determining factor on when the vehicles launch. New AV Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt, in a post on Medium, said the company has already started “quietly prototyping a ground-breaking new vehicle over the past two years that is fully released from the constraints of having a driver behind the wheel.” “Building a new vehicle that has an incredible user experience, optimal operational parameters, and efficient use of space is the ultimate engineering challenge,” he wrote. “We’re going to do this right, and by joining forces with Honda we’ve found the perfect partner to help make it happen.” Ammann, who oversees Cruise, on Wednesday said the vehicle will be the first purpose-built vehicle at-scale that’s “free from the constraints of having to think about vehicle design and having a driver at the wheel, and all the traditional approaches to that.” “This takes us into the true future of mobility,” he said, later declining to provide a timeline for production or deployment of such a vehicle. Cruise’s current self-driving fleet is based on the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The newest iteration of the car took out the manual controls such as pedals and steering wheels, however still has the traditional interior of the car. Vogt, in the post, questioned why shouldn’t the “car of the future” include “giant TV screens, a minibar and lay-flat seats? Maybe it should,” he wrote. A teaser photo of the front end of the vehicle released Wednesday shows a rectangular, pod-like vehicle with large vertical illuminated headlights. Ammann, on a call with investors Wednesday, said the plan is for GM, not Honda, to manufacturer the vehicle. GM was expected to begin testing its autonomous vehicles this year in New York. However, Barra on Wednesday said the company is focusing its current efforts in San Francisco. “We’ve really refocused the efforts to make sure that we are as efficient as possible to be able to deploy safely,” said Barra, adding the company continues “early work” in the Big Apple. A company spokesman confirmed Cruise has completed mapping streets in the city. ‘Running start’ Ammann described the Honda partnership as having “a running start,” as the automakers have previously teamed up on the development of other advanced technologies. He called the relationship between the two companies “longstanding and deeply trustful.” Honda’s investment in GM’s Cruise comes four months after the two companies announced plans to develop a new generation of batteries aimed at cutting costs and accelerating the companies’ rollout of electric vehicles. The companies also previously formed an advanced-technology alliance announced last year between GM and Honda, which have been working on advanced hydrogen fuel cells for deployment in 2020. Honda Executive Vice President and Representative Director COO Seiji Kuraishi, via teleconference Wednesday, said Honda hopes the collaboration “will further strengthen” the company’s efforts and partnerships with GM. When asked about reported conversations between Honda and Google’s self-driving affiliate, Waymo, Kuraishi declined to directly comment on those talks. “As we’ve announced today, we decided to announce an exclusive collaboration with GM and Cruise,” he said through a translator. While the tie-up is exclusive on Honda’s end, GM is not ruling out adding other partners to Cruise. “In terms of other partnerships and opportunities, we will evaluate things as they come along but we have an incredibly well-resourced plan and a huge pool of talent behind this effort now that’s going to enable us to go as quickly as we possibly can,” said Ammann, adding the company has been “extremely selective” in taking on partners.