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That's a shame. No problem with the globally proven MAN engine, but rather one bad supplier. Navistar will make it right.

Jason Cannon, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / May 14, 2020 Navistar late last week filed notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning a defective or noncompliant component on its A26 engine, which could result in complete engine failure in nearly 4,500 affected trucks in the United States. Navistar has pledged to outright replace any engines that exhibit the signs of the potential defect, which the company estimates will number about 600 units. The 12.4 liter A26 engine was introduced three years ago and marked a new beginning for International as it retired its 12.4 liter N13 Series. In the years since, nearly 23,500 A26 engines have been built in Huntsville, Alabama. The failure notice, which was officially posted by NHTSA Thursday and assigned campaign No. 20V255000, affects 1,814 model year 2019-2020 RH Series and 2,685 model year 2018-2020 LT Series equipped with A26 engines. Affected engines were built between Feb. 12, 2018, and June 10, 2019, for LT Series, and Feb. 10, 2018, through June 6, 2019, for RH Series. According to the recall report, the bushing material in the small end bore (wrist pin of rod) of the connecting rod may over time develop cracks or lose chunks of bushing material and could lead to connecting rod engine failure. Navistar’s Vice President of Service Mark Reiter said the company began to see premature failures with the engine late last year and found the root cause to be related to supplier quality in a rod that connects the piston to crankshaft. The investigation was prompted in September 2019 by a carrier who suffered five A26 engine failures over a two month period. The wrist pin bore of the connecting rod on affected engines was machined outside the design tolerance for straightness. Reiter said the company was already in the process of changing connecting rod suppliers before the reported failures started and transitioned that work to a new company last year. There have not been any injures reported as a result of the defect. Reiter said in an effort to learn more about the defective part prior to engine failure, the company worked with its customers via the International Truck dealer network to determine what symptoms drivers were experiencing as breakdowns occurred. Some drivers said the engine began to knock. Others reported the truck showed visible signs of distress, including rough idle. Most were able to limp to a dealer while others needed a tow after pulling the truck off the road. Three drivers reported sudden failure that left them stalled in traffic. “We were really concerned about what the driver would experience when the connecting rod failed in an engine,” Reiter said. “When we get cases where something happens and you get stalled in traffic, we really wanted to protect the drivers so we declared the safety defect.” Navistar is in the process of notifying affected carriers but Reiter said part of the fix will be providing advance notice to the driver of when a failure is about to occur via the truck’s instrument cluster. With an expected failure rate of only about 13% across the 4,499 potentially affected trucks – about 600 units – Reiter said a sweeping fix would “create a lot of unnecessary down time.” “The supplier had two machines [producing connecting rods],” he added. “One made them fine. One produced rods that floated in and out of spec.” Navistar’s proposed remedy is two-fold given that 87% of affected units are unlikely to suffer connecting rod failure. Phase one includes the installation of knock detection capability that relies on the data feed coming from existing sensors on the engine. When the system deems a connecting rod failure is imminent, it will trigger a red “stop vehicle now” light on the instrument cluster, which should allow the driver to get safely to a dealer before the truck loses power. If the truck is equipped with Navistar’s OnCommand Connection platform, the pending failure will report through there as well, notifying both the fleet and the Navistar network. “We’re in the process of finalizing the development and validation of a solution. Our primary path forward would be to install a new ECM calibration on the engine,” Reiter said. “This could be accomplished at a dealer location, via mobile maintenance with a service tool, at a fleet terminal location or even over-the-air for vehicles that have that capability. The solution of flashing the engine would provide drivers with a notification allowing them to seek a safe location before the engine could fail.” Phase two would be the actual engine replacement. Reiter said once a truck has been diagnosed with a connecting rod failure, Navistar will replace the engine with a new one equipped with a connecting rod from Navistar’s current supplier – a process Reiter expects to take five days or less. Given the complexity of the engine’s internal parts, he said it was best for all parties to outfit the truck with a new engine rather than try to repair the damaged one. “The less you can disturb the inside of the engine, the better off you are,” he said. Engines found with a suspect connecting rod will be repaired under warranty. Letters will be sent to affected carriers within 60 days but Reiter said the company is already talking with customers. The previous vendor is no longer supplying any components for the A26 and Reiter doesn’t foresee any further issues tied to supplier quality. “This engine is performing really well,” he said. “This is an isolated incident. In terms of a component that’s leading to a high failure rate, this is the one. Changing the vendor really solved this problem.” The recall is expected to begin July 8. Owners may contact Navistar customer service at 1-800-448-7825. Navistar’s number for this recall is 20504.

International Trucks Press Release / May 14, 2020 From quality products to superior service and the industry's largest dealer network – you get everything with International Truck! .

That's a good question. I don't recall the E9 being fitted to R-700s. By that time, the R-700 was primarily for Cummins fitment to customers like Ryder, plus the rare CAT order. They did see the ETAZ1000 (multi-speed Eaton trannies) and ETAZ1005A (5-speed Maxidyne spec).

Henry Ford III is rising to the top of a dynasty facing crisis Keith Naughton, Bloomberg / May 14, 2020 When Wall Street analysts call Ford’s investor relations department these days, they’re likely to be greeted by Henry Ford himself. It’s not the founder, of course, and it’s not a recording of him either. It’s Henry Ford III, the patriarch’s great-great grandson, who at age 39 has been thrust into the crucial role of liaison between the struggling automaker and its investors. The III’s ascent -- along with that of his cousin, the 32-year-old Alexandra Ford English, just named to the board of electric-truck maker Rivian Automotive Inc. -- marks a coming of age for the fifth generation of the Ford dynasty. For all but 20 of its almost 117 years of existence, Ford has been led by a family member. And while critics lay much of the blame for the company’s current struggles on the Fords, the family sees Henry and Alexandra as their best hope of maintaining control for years to come. “They’ve moving above the radar line now,” Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean at the Yale School of Management, said of the automotive heirs. “This is what they were destined for when they entered the company. When we look at their dads, they’re on the same trajectory, with at least one, if not both, ending up on the board.” The changes come as the company endures another crisis, with losses mounting and North American factories idled in the face of coronavirus shutdowns. But as Ford shareholders gather for a virtual annual meeting Thursday, the founding family remains firmly in control, aided by a special class of stock that gives them 40 percent voting power. That arrangement will once again come under scrutiny at the annual meeting. A shareholder proposal would strip the family of its special class of stock and go to a one-share, one-vote arrangement. A similar motion garnered 34 percent support of Ford shareholders last year. Some investors have long complained that super-power voting weighs down the value of publicly traded companies, while giving founding families sometimes unwarranted control. Since Bill Ford became chairman in 1999, the automaker’s shares are down 91 percent, while the S&P 500 index is up 129 percent. Unlike General Motors and Chrysler, however, Ford avoided bankruptcy in 2009. And for all their problems, the Fords have earned a reputation for not meddling in the corporate decision-making process. “The Fords, in general, have a pretty good history of letting the executives run the company,” said Rob Du Boff, corporate governance analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. Henry Ford III and Ford English are likely years away, if ever, from assuming the uppermost leadership roles. Jim Farley, promoted March 1 to chief operating officer, is the clear heir apparent to current CEO Jim Hackett. But each is now moving through a variety of jobs at the company. Henry, known as “Sonny” among friends and family, was director of corporate strategy before taking the investor relations job. He is the son of Edsel Ford II, a board member and now a company consultant. Ford English, the daughter of Bill Ford, assumed a corporate strategy position similar to the one previously held by her cousin, while also being named to the board of Rivian Automotive, the electric-truck maker in which Ford has taken a significant ownership stake. Their seasoning is similar to what their fathers received while rising in the ranks in the 1980s and ’90s. Bill and Edsel Ford landed on the company’s board of directors in 1988 while still in their 30s and agitated successfully for more prominent roles as directors. Edsel eventually rose to president of Ford’s highly profitable credit unit before retiring in 1998, and Bill became company chairman in January 1999 and served as CEO from 2001 to 2006. For Henry and Ford English, working in the family business may not have been preordained, but close to it. After graduating from Dartmouth in 2002 with a degree in history, Ford III taught middle and high school math and history. Then in 2006, at the age of 25, he joined Ford in labor relations. He helped to negotiate a contract with the UAW, similar to Bill Ford’s first job at the company in 1979. Henry III went on to work in purchasing, dealer relations, as a vehicle program analyst and as global marketing manager for Ford’s high-performance sports cars, drawing on the company’s racing heritage highlighted in last year’s Academy Award-winning “Ford v Ferrari.” “In the back of my mind, I knew I always wanted to work for Ford,” Henry Ford III told Automotive News in 2014. “Our family’s legacy and heritage are very important to me and I knew it was something I wanted to carry on.” In investor relations, the young scion will face tough questions about Ford’s falling stock and growing losses. “Investor relations is the best place that you can put somebody that you’re trying to groom for leadership because they are going to be dealing with complaints all the time,” Minow said. “It will give him a real reality check.” Unlike some children of famous people, he has no qualms about using his name in business, recalled Los Angeles Ford dealer Beau Boeckmann. Ford III worked at his store selling cars during the summer of 2009 while getting an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “When he walked through the door, he said I want to be called Henry Ford and have it on my nametag,” Boeckmann said. “Customers would say, ‘Wait a minute, your name’s Henry Ford, are you any relation?’ And he’d laugh and say, ‘Yeah, I’m Henry Ford III.’” Ford English also tried out another industry after she earned a bachelor’s in human biology, physiology and neuroscience at Stanford and an MBA at Harvard. She worked in retailing in the merchandising divisions of Tory Burch in New York and Gap Inc. in San Francisco. Her first job at Ford, in 2017 at the age of 29, was in a department helping to find new mobility solutions for crowded cities, and then she moved on to Ford’s self-driving vehicle unit. “I was originally hesitant to join Ford because I don’t have a technical background and it’s a company built upon engineering,” Ford English said in a 2018 company-sponsored video. “But I knew what I could bring to the company and I was very aware of those skills.” Joining the company and rising to the top are two different things, of course. Henry Ford II, the outsized and colorful leader of the company for 35 years until his 1981 retirement, once famously declared “there are no crown princes at Ford.” The latest Henry has said he works hard not to appear “to have any sense of entitlement.” That may be what drove him to turn down an invitation to a Fourth of July party from dealer Boeckmann back in the summer of 2009. Instead, Henry III remained in the showroom all day, selling cars in the California heat. “I said, ‘Hey Henry, why don’t you come join us for the family picnic?’ But he said, ‘Thank you, but I’m here selling cars,’” Boeckmann said. “He’s extremely humble and he is aware that he needs to work harder because of his name.”

With the RWI Super-Liner in production at Macungie for 1985, we felt that continued production of the R-700 was redundant.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell gave a dire warning today (Wednesday, May 13) that the U.S. economy could become stuck in a painful multi-year recession if Congress and the White House do not authorize more aid to address the coronavirus pandemic’s economic fallout. “The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent, significantly worse than any recession since the second world war. Additional fiscal support could be costly but worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery,” he said. Powell’s statement was a sharp departure from the economic optimism President Trump and some senior administration officials have touted in recent days. Powell sounded a much more urgent tone, describing the United States as in the midst of the “biggest shock our economy has felt in modern times” and is likely to face an “extended period” of weakness. “The record shows that deeper and longer recessions can leave behind lasting damage to the productive capacity of the economy,” Powell said. “Avoidable household and business insolvencies can weigh on growth for years to come.” Powell is concerned about a domino effect, where consumers lose jobs and sharply cut spending. That, in turn, can cause more restaurants, gyms and other businesses to close, hurting more jobs. Companies that go out of business also stop paying their suppliers, which can drag down other firms. Negative Rates Powell pushed back against the prospect the central bank would deploy negative interest rates in the U.S., though he didn’t fully rule out the option as a potential tool in the future. “The evidence on negative rates is mixed. For now, it’s not something we’re considering,” he said. Powell noted Fed officials had debated whether to follow other central banks in that direction and opted to use other tools.

Very cool Paul ! Nothing compares with the sound of a V-8. Thank you !!

So brilliantly designed, the small size (dis-proportionally small) cab is virtually hidden in the overall scope of things. Recall, the amazing and much loved Zenon C.R. Hansen joined Diamond T in 1953 as vice president of sales, at the request of Diamond T founder and President C.A. Tilt. Mr. Hansen was quickly promoted to executive vice president in 1954 and president in 1956. "All of us at Diamond T felt that we had the finest trucks in the industry," Zenon said. In his first year as president of Diamond T, sales shot up 20 percent while profits skyrocketed 800 percent.

Ford Trucks Spain / May 13, 2020 Although it feels as though its been years, it was just a few weeks ago that Spanish haulier Trans-Sev was encouraged by our dealer Grupo Castejón to try the Ford F-MAX and was delighted by its performance and fuel economy. We're happy you liked it so much! .

CAS62 (sleeper version) cabs with the optional rear window are rare.

My opinion of Vice President Pence just fell to zero.

Quad Cities / May 11, 2020 The same day his press secretary tested positive for COVID-19, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Iowa without a mask, and a video shows the CEOs he met with at a public roundtable were asked to remove theirs. The video below clearly shows Ron Cameron of Mountaire Farms, Ken Sullivan of Smithfield Foods, Rodney McMullen of Kroger, Noel White of Tyson Foods and Zippy Duvall, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, being asked to remove their masks before Pence and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds arrive — maskless — at the roundtable hosted at HyVee headquarters in West Des Moines. All five complied. .

Though I may sometimes fall short of the mark, I do aim to please.

https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/15604-mack-military-truck/

As always, your Kubota somehow gets into the picture to steal the limelight. Never fails. It probably has its own BMT membership too.

The part number for a B-81 radiator cap is 16MF24P2. The part number for the rubber gasket (not included with the cap) is 104AX63.

He influenced the Beatles and Rolling Stones, who I did/do listen to.

Freight Waves / May 8, 2020 Board keeps Troy Clarke in the driver’s seat as coronavirus pandemic plays out Navistar International Corp. CEO Troy Clarke will lead the company until at least July 1 as the coronavirus pandemic delays action on a $2.9 billion buyout offer by Volkswagen AG’s trucking subsidiary TRATON Group. Clarke’s contract was extended on April 11 beyond its scheduled expiration on April 22, according to a Navistar filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is the third time his contract has been pushed out following extensions in 2018 and 2019. The global health crisis is spurring truck manufacturers to conserve cash as they try to figure out how deeply they will be impacted by the inability to build new trucks and generate revenue. Navistar plans to restart production at its Springfield, Ohio, plant on Monday. Operations at its plant in Escobedo, Mexico, have been running day to day based on parts availability. Navistar, which makes International-branded heavy- and medium-duty trucks and buses, has cut capital spending by 30%, deferred 10% to 30% of pay for salaried employees depending on job level, and deferred $162 million in pension contributions to save $300 million. The company also borrowed $600 million in a private placement of senior debt. Likewise, TRATON, which purchased 16.6% of Navistar for $256 million in September 2016, “is reconsidering investment priorities and research and development projects,” Christian Schulz, TRATON chief financial officer, said earlier this week. TRATON did not specifically mention its Jan. 30 offer of $35 a share in cash for the 83% of Navistar it did not already own. Traders bid up Navistar shares as high as $38.27 in mid-February before the coronavirus hammered the shares, which fell to a low of $14.68 on March 23. Shares had recovered to $24.39 in NYSE trading on Friday, close to the $23.89 where they traded on the day of TRATON’s unsolicited offer. Publicly, Navistar has said only that it is reviewing the proposal. TRATON is the holding company for the MAN and Scania brands and Brazilian truck and bus maker Caminhões e Ônibus. With most of its sales in Europe and South America, TRATON eyes Navistar and its dealer network as a way to compete with global truck makers Daimler AG and Volvo AB, both of which are well established in the United States. In 2019 Navistar opened the door for Traton with a limited opportunity for the sale of Scania off-highway mining equipment in Canada. Navistar and TRATON also collaborate on engines and purchasing. Traton has significant input into a new plant Navistar is planning in San Antonio. Clarke’s $1,050,000 annual salary remains the same during his contract extension. As part of Navistar’s cost cutting, 35% of his salary beginning April 20 was deferred and will be repaid in a lump sum with 6% interest no later than March 15, 2021. His 2020 fiscal year bonus target is $5.5 million. Clarke, 64, has agreed to remain Navistar’s non-executive chairman for two years after his CEO term ends July 1.

CNN / May 9, 2020 Little Richard, the screaming, preening, scene-stealing wild man of early rock 'n' roll with hits like "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally," died Saturday at 87, Dick Alen, his former agent says. Alen said Little Richard died in Nashville with his brother and son by his side, and the cause of death is related to bone cancer. He called the star "one of the legends, the originators" and said Little Richard had "been ill for a good while." The pioneer would have stood out in any era. But in the 1950s, when Little Richard came to prominence, he was like no other: a flamboyant, makeup-wearing, piano-playing black man who personified the "devil's music" to establishment guardians. Elvis Presley was one thing, but for all his pelvic thrusts and slicked-back, juvenile-delinquent hair, he was at heart a polite Southern boy who loved his daddy. Little Richard, though ... well, he may have come from a big Southern family himself, but he represented something else. "Richard opened the door. He brought the races together," said arranger H.B. Barnum in Charles White's 1984 biography "The Life and Times of Little Richard." "When I first went on the road, there were many segregated audiences. With Richard, although they still had the audiences segregated in the building, they were there TOGETHER. And most times before the end of the night, they would all be mixed together." Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, no onstage slouch, was an admirer as well. "There's no single phrase to describe his hold on the audience. I couldn't believe the power of Little Richard on stage. He was amazing," Jagger said, according to White's book. Little Richard knew his power. "They saw me as something like a deliverer, a way out," he once said. "My means of expression, my music, was a way in which a lot of people wished they could express themselves and couldn't." He also made no bones about his status. LIttle Richard bristled when he was overlooked in favor of other early rock figures, telling SFGate.com in 2003, "I created rock 'n' roll! I'm the innovator! I'm the emancipator! I'm the architect! I am the originator! I'm the one that started it!" He had made those boasts 15 years earlier, going off script while giving out the best new artist award at the 1988 Grammys. Five years later the Grammys finally recognized him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. It's hard to argue with Little Richard's stance. "Rock 'n' roll" was originally a euphemism for sex, and in his energy, his falsetto "woohs!" and pounding piano, Little Richard personified the life force. A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom, OK? His songs were about many things -- ripping it up, ready teddies, girls who couldn't help it -- but above all, they were about "rocking and rolling" in its original, unexpurgated form. "Long Tall Sally, she's built for speed / She got everything that Uncle John need," he belted in "Long Tall Sally," a song rife with such obvious innuendo there was barely a need to read between the lines. "Good golly, Miss Molly / Sure like to ball," went "Good Golly, Miss Molly," leaving even less to the imagination. "Spinnin', spinnin', spinnin', spinnin' like a spinnin' top / Crazy little partner, you ought to see us reel and rock," he sang in "Jenny, Jenny." The songs -- thanks to Little Richard's raucous performances -- created fearsome visions of teenage abandon in the minds of parents and censors. "With Little Richard, the rock 'n' roll audience got the aggressive extrovert to enact their wilder fantasies, and his stage performances set precedents for anyone who followed him," Charlie Gillett wrote in his classic, "The Sound of the City." Sometimes that wildness kept Little Richard one step removed from the mainstream: "Tutti Frutti," his breakthrough hit, was originally supposed to feature such lines as "Tutti Frutti, good booty," but producer Bumps Blackwell suggested changes. Even the refined version didn't make it on many pop radio stations, which looked past Little Richard's R&B hit in favor of pop singer Pat Boone's more tepid rendition. But other times, even the bluenoses had to throw up their hands at the sheer audacity of it all. In 1956, an NBC censor let "Long Tall Sally" pass because he couldn't understand the words and therefore couldn't judge their propriety, according to Brian Ward's rhythm-and-blues history, "Just My Soul Responding." The kids, of course, loved it. Many grew up to be rock 'n' rollers themselves, and they never forgot the man who helped plant the seed. "Thank you all very much, especially the rock 'n' rollers," George Harrison said at The Beatles' induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He pointed to Little Richard in the audience. "And Little Richard there -- it was all his fault, really." Richard Wayne Penniman was born on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia. The third of 12 children, he clashed with his moonshine-selling father and was ordered out of the family home as a teenager. A white family named Johnson took him in, and Penniman -- who had honed his musical ability in church -- started performing in their club. Depending on the story, he was called "Little Richard" either as a childhood nickname or because he was underage. Either way, the name stuck. A link with an Atlanta DJ led to a signing by RCA, but Little Richard's recordings -- in a Louis Jordan jump-blues style -- failed to catch fire. For a time, Little Richard was a dishwasher at a Greyhound bus station. He kept playing music, however, and in 1955 sent a demo recording to Specialty Records. Specialty's founder, Art Rupe, liked what he heard and asked Little Richard to go to New Orleans to record with members of Fats Domino's backing band. Producer Blackwell recalled him in a memoir as "this cat in a loud shirt, with hair waved up six inches above his head." During a break in what had been a lackluster session, Little Richard let loose with "Tutti Frutti." The rest -- with a polish from Blackwell -- is, as they say, history: "Tutti Frutti" hit No. 2 on the R&B charts and the Top 20 on Billboard's pop charts, selling a million copies. Little Richard was off and running. More hits followed: "Long Tall Sally," "Slippin' and Slidin'," "Rip It Up," "Lucille," "Keep a-Knockin' " -- 17 songs through 1958, including three R&B No. 1s. His live shows were electrifying, and even Hollywood noticed, with director Frank Tashlin featuring him in 1956's Jayne Mansfield vehicle "The Girl Can't Help It." Tashlin, for one, knew exactly how to exploit Little Richard's energy, accompanying a sashaying Mansfield with Little Richard's "Girl Can't Help It" song. As she walks and Little Richard wails on the soundtrack, an iceman's cargo melts, a milkman's bottle erupts, and a lobby voyeur's glasses crack. But he wasn't as wild as his fainting-couch critics claimed. As Dave Marsh observed in "The Heart of Rock & Soul," Little Richard's records "featured an intensely swinging rhythm band and the music was anything but an amateurish hash, no matter what critics committed to the noble savage theory believe." In 1957, however, Little Richard lost faith in rock 'n' roll -- and gained it on a different plane. The plane, in this case, was not just heavenly; it was also the form of transportation he took after a tour of Australia. Believing the engines to be on fire, Little Richard struck a deal with God: If the plane landed safely, he would abandon the devil's music. It did, and he upheld his agreement, enrolling in an Alabama college and becoming a Seventh-day Adventist minister. A 1965 album title says it all: It was called "King of Gospel Songs." In the interim, though, Little Richard had become a hero to a new generation of rock 'n' rollers. The Beatles' Paul McCartney was a huge fan; the band covered "Long Tall Sally" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey," and the Lennon/McCartney song "I'm Down" was an obvious homage. The group also toured with Little Richard when he came back to rock 'n' roll in the early '60s. Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty and Bob Seger were also deeply influenced by the singer, often reflected in their singing styles. Jimi Hendrix served as his guitarist for a time. Recognizing new fans to be converted, Little Richard resumed touring and recording in the '60s and '70s. He added "actor" to his resume with his performance in the 1985 film "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" as well as a variety of TV guest appearances. But he didn't leave preaching behind. He used his pulpit to attack drug use -- he'd been an admitted addict, telling British GQ, "I had powder on me all the time, and I wasn't putting it on my face"-- and sometimes (once again) he would condemn rock 'n' roll. He was a man of angels and fire. "When I had all these orgies going on," he said (yes, there were orgies, too), "I would get up and go and pick up my Bible. Sometimes I had my Bible right by me." Aside from music, Little Richard's most noted ambivalence was in his attitude toward his sexuality. In the early days, he covered by "exaggerating his freakishness," writes Jim Miller in the rock history "Flowers in the Dustbin." He later called homosexuality "unnatural." He told Charles White he was "omnisexual." A decade later, he told Penthouse magazine he always knew he was gay. "I've been gay all my life and I know God is a God of love, not of hate," he told the magazine in 1995. "How can I (put) down the fisherman when I've been fishing all my life?" There were honors, of course. He was among the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His hometown of Macon named a street after him. He received a passel of honorary degrees, including one from Macon's Mercer University. He even kept on ministering, conducting a wedding ceremony for 20 couples in Vinton, Louisiana, in 2006. Little Richard was married to Ernestine Campbell from 1959 to 1961. He is survived by an adopted son, Danny Jones. To the end, he was always outrageous. He used makeup liberally, dressed colorfully, could be obstinate and vain, giving and shy. Being Little Richard must have been exhausting and joyful. There was only one. A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom! . . .

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / March 19, 2020 Azneftemash JSC (Azerbaijan) is a long-term partner of KrAZ Trucks, which uses KrAZ vehicles as a carrier for heavy hoisting drilling units. This company is a manufacturer of various oil and gas equipment, hoisting units, special equipment and tools for the oil and gas industry. The KrAZ model 7140H6 vehicle chassis with 8x6 wheel arrangement is intended for industrial and special equipment to be installed on it and operation on all kinds of roads and off-road. The chassis is equipped with a 375 horsepower Euro-5 diesel engine; 9-speed gearbox, two-range transfer case; single-disc clutch and ABS. An integral type power steering gear and the conventional three-seat cab. The KrAZ 7140H6 has the increased load carrying capacity (more than 30 tons), which became the decisive factor in the oilmen’ choice to get it as a base chassis for the UP-100/125 drilling rig, intended for gas and oil wells servicing. The test of the first supplied batch of KrAZ 7140H6 vehicle chassis was successful and showed positive results. Therefore, it was decided by Azneftemash to continue cooperation and order another batch of the unique eight-wheeled KrAZ vehicles. KrAZ trucks are valued by Azerbaijani partners for their high carrying capacity, reliable design, easy servicing and maintainability. .

FCA files to trademark Dakota Greg Layson, Automotive News / May 7, 2020 FCA US appears to be moving forward with plans to introduce a new mid-size pickup truck to complement the Jeep Gladiator. And there is an early, familiar contender for the name of the truck. The company on April 29 filed a trademark application for the name "Dakota," related to "parts for vehicles, namely, automotive exterior decorative trim," according to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office posting. Ram dropped the mid-size Dakota pickup in 2011 after a 25-year run. For years, the Dakota was a mainstay of the Dodge lineup. General Motors and Ford have resurrected mid-size trucks in recent years, in part to offer consumers a lower-priced alternative to full-size pickups, which are among the industry's most profitable light vehicles. U.S. sales of mid-size pickups rose 22 percent to nearly 640,000 in 2019. First-quarter demand slipped 0.9 percent. FCA CEO Mike Manley said a year ago that Ram product planners and engineers are "focused on solving a metric ton midsize truck solution for us because it's a big part of the portfolio and growth we want to achieve." At that time, it sounded as if the decision was coming down to how best to execute a platform for a mid-size Ram pickup. "Being able to find a cost-effective platform in a region where we can build it with low cost and it still being applicable in the market is what they're struggling with at the moment," Manley said. "I want that problem solved, frankly, because it's a clear hole in our portfolio. It will not be filled by Gladiator because Gladiator is a very, very different mission. Trust me, they're focused on it. We need to get it fixed soon." Suppliers told Automotive News last year that the mid-size Ram pickup would be built in Toledo, Ohio, at the same plant where the all-new Gladiator is produced. A release timeline is still uncertain. Automotive News previously forecasted the vehicle would be “new in 2022” while Motor Trend, in a story this week, said a new Dakota could arrive as early as the 2021 model year. FCA, citing the coronavirus outbreak, has been forced to delay the introduction of several key models, such as a redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee and an all-new Jeep Grand Wagoneer. In Canada, the Dakota trademark application prompted Unifor is begin lobbying FCA to build the truck in Windsor, Ontario, where the company builds mini-vans. In an early-morning Facebook post Thursday, Unifor Local 444, which represents about 5,000 workers at FCA’s mini-van plant, called on the automaker to build a mid-size pickup at the factory. “To be clear, Ram has *not officially announced its intention to launch a new Dakota just yet. However, while FCA *may have applied for a Dakota trademark to protect itself from others using the name, it does signal that the company may actually use the name in the coming years,” Unifor Local 444 posted on its Facebook page Thursday at about 1 a.m. ET. “If you want it built right, build it Windsor! It’s what we do!!” The Unifor post comes just months before the union and automaker are scheduled to engage in contract talks, beginning in the fall. FCA intends to cut one of three shifts at the Windsor plant, which builds the Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Pacifica and Chrysler Voyager, another badge resurrected by Chrysler. Unifor has made it clear that new product is priority No. 1 during the next round of bargaining.

Transport Engineer / May 7, 2020 The Volvo FH500 GT 8x2 unit incorporates a Hiab 1058 crane featuring ten hydraulic extensions, giving the vehicle a lifting capability of 2.5 [metric] tonnes at a reach of almost 24 meters. Built at MV Commercial’s Airdrie site, the new truck will support JA Mackenzie Haulage’s specialist transport operations for works of art and public sculptures. Jimmy Mackenzie, managing director of the company, says: “Our work often includes very unusual lifts such as loading priceless paintings through gallery windows, where precision and control are essential. We required something very special – and MV Commercial’s design team stepped up to the challenge, and were able to deliver a truck that matched our precise specifications.” The new vehicle replaces an older asset and includes a range of tailored features designed to make lifting irreplaceable artwork quick, easy and safe. The detailed specification of the cab includes NATO-spec legs for increased stability, and food cooking and storage facilities for overnight travel. Meeting the requirements of FORS Gold, the truck also incorporates a 50mm air-operated drawbar coupling and remote control of the rear extender, while the hydraulic tank has been moved on to the crane itself to create more space on the chassis. .

Transport Engineer / May 4, 2020 Colchester, Essex-based EWD Recycling has bought an order for four new Volvo FMX 8x4 rigids from Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia for its waste disposal and waste recycling services for industrial and domestic users across the east of England. It operates a predominantly Volvo fleet of 30 HGVs in a demanding on/off-road application. The order includes two FMXs with Boweld steel tipping bodies and a second pair with Hyva hookloader bodywork and drawbar couplings. All four 32-tonners use the Volvo D11K Euro 6, Step D, diesel engine which produces up to 424bhp and 2,050 Nm of torque over a wide maximum torque range from 1,000 to 1,400 rpm. EWD Recycling has specified each vehicle’s day cab with a programmable night heater, enabling its drivers to arrive at work and step into a pre-warmed cab when their shifts begin at 6am. This also allows them to stay warm on colder days when waiting to load or unload, without needing to keep the engine running – saving fuel and reducing emissions. Purchased outright, the trucks have been supplied with a three-year Volvo Silver Contract which covers all preventive maintenance and driveline repairs within the Volvo Trucks dealer network for a fixed monthly amount. This helps to protect the firm’s operator’s licence and minimises the risk of unscheduled downtime. All routine maintenance will take place at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia’s Ipswich site, which offers late night and Saturday opening. Danny Cook, manager at EWD Recycling, says: “Our drivers absolutely love the Volvos. We need vehicles which can cope being worked hard in this kind of environment and we get very good uptime from our FMXs. “On the rare occasion something needs looking at, we can drop a vehicle off at our local dealership at the end of the day, and know it will be sorted by morning. We can’t afford a truck off the road; and it’s this level of service which keeps us coming back.” .