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Taro and pineapple.

Reuters / July 31, 2018 United Parcel Service said it would partner with a Los Angeles-based company to develop an electric medium-duty delivery truck, as the package delivery company expands its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles. The truck, developed jointly with electric commercial vehicle startup Thor* Trucks Inc, is expected to be deployed later this year, UPS said on Tuesday. The truck will have a driving range of about 100 miles, with lightweight battery designed and built by Thor. UPS will test the class-6 delivery truck for the first six months, including its battery capacity and technical integration, after which UPS may buy more of these trucks. This will be a part of UPS’s plan of about 9,300 low-emission vehicles, including all-electric, hybrid electric and CNG, to understand which technology works best for some routes. UPS has partnered with Workhorse Group to build an all-new electric delivery van, and also has pre-ordered 125 electric semi-trucks from Tesla Inc. * https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/51984-another-all-electric-class-8-prepares-for-production/?tab=comments#comment-387733

Navistar brought a restored unit to the Beijing Auto China Show in 2012. That one was nice. http://m.efu.com.cn/news/newsview-212539-1.html The AeroStar, already shown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was also featured at the Beijing show. http://www.360che.com/tech/120425/20446_all.html .

My guess is that a group of truckmakers in the US market paid Uber an amount to walk away from autonomous truck development (for a certain number of years). Happens behind closed doors all the time. Remember, Volvo and Daimler have already spent serious money developing their own autonomous truck technology, and they're not about to have its future in North America derailed by Uber.

The apple pies used to be rather good when they were deep-fried. The baked ones today are terrible.

Uber to stop developing self-driving trucks Reuters / July 30. 2018 Uber will stop developing self-driving trucks that have been hauling cargo on U.S. highways, the ride-hailing company said on Monday, seeking to focus its autonomous-vehicle technology solely on cars. Through its acquisition of Otto in 2016, Uber had sought to disrupt freight hauling with self-driving trucks and Uber Freight, its smartphone app that connects truck drivers and shippers. Uber Freight, which has seen "rapid" growth, is unaffected by the decision, the company said. Trucking has been viewed by transportation experts as a natural application for self-driving technology because of the relative predictability of highways compared with busy city streets. Uber had unveiled plans earlier this year to integrate manual trucking with self-driving trucks by deploying the former for short hauls and the latter for longer distances. "We believe having our entire team's energy and expertise focused on (self-driving cars) is the best path forward," Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, said in an emailed statement. San Francisco-based Uber faces competition from Silicon Valley companies including Tesla Inc and Alphabet Inc's Waymo as well as traditional automakers such as Ford and General Motors in the race to bring self-driving cars to the market. Uber said it will move employees working on self-driving trucks to other internal roles within autonomous vehicle development. .

One good thing leads to another......... .

Looking at them from a distance, not in person, I like what I see. If this was a factory effort, there would be no lack of refinement. At the rate in which dealers in the US and Canada are ordering these, one can expect GM to soon grab the reins.

Hyliion Acquires Gentherm’s Battery Division Transport Topics / July 30, 2018 Heavy-duty vehicle supplier Hyliion has acquired the battery division of Gentherm Inc., a move intended to consolidate control of its battery technology supply chain that underpins its 6X4HE hybrid-electric axle. Hyliion was the division’s primary customer prior to the acquisition. Terms were not immediately disclosed. Having proprietary technology is crucial to succeeding in the heavy-duty truck electrified space, Thomas Healy, CEO and founder of the Austin, Texas-based company, told Transport Topics. “It is a battery packaging and software play for us,” he said of the acquisition. “The amount of energy we are trying to store in these batteries and then discharge when you go to accelerate is unbelievable. We can capture over five kilowatt hours of power on some downhills, which is about 20% of the power used in a home per day.” In the Hyliion system — available primarily as an aftermarket item for Classes 7-8 trucks — regenerative braking captures power when the truck is slowing down, then electric power is applied when necessary to keep a diesel engine at its most efficient revolutions per minute. Healy said the hybrid-electric approach for commercial vehicles was not new but now it is “being revitalized.” At the same time, with a hybrid-electric truck it is difficult to figure out how the diesel is performing, Healy said — is it in its efficiency band, is it outside — and then have the system software respond accordingly to supply or capture energy. “We have been able to see over 40,000 charge-discharge cycles out of our system. That is about a 7- to 10-year life out of the product, which is much higher than what we are going to see out of fully electric trucks,” he said. Hyliion has partnered with Toshiba Corp. for its battery cell technology and with Dana Inc. for cooling technology to improve the thermal management of the batteries. “I can guarantee you there is no one else out there who can charge and discharge batteries at the rate we are and have a stable solution. It is pretty remarkable, actually, what the team has been able to accomplish,” Healy said. Meanwhile, there was a strong response to the company’s recent offer to allow fleets to use a Hyliion truck equipped with the 6X4HE, an electric auxiliary power unit and aerodynamic package from FlowBelow Aero Inc. — 70 fleets signed up, he said. “Honestly, that was too many for us to be able to handle. So we shortlisted a group of fleets we have been working with, and we are just at the point of shipping out revenue units now,” Healy said July 27. The hybrid axle can boost fuel efficiency by 15%, the electric APU by 12% and the aerodynamic components by 3%, according to Hyliion. The cost of the system is $25,000, and the payback period is two years for over-the-road trucks, Healy said. On a hybrid-electric longhaul truck, the batteries can weigh 400 to 500 pounds, according to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. Formula One race cars use regenerative braking as do numerous models of electric and hybrid passenger cars, NACFE reported in its confidence report on hybrid technology. Hyliion in 2015 started with a focus on trailers. Although it has shifted its attention to the tractor, Hyliion sees the trailer application as eventually more suited for international use and some segments in the United States, Healy said. Also, the company has test units with more industrial designs in the hands of operators of tugboats and commercial off-road applications, and high-voltage systems operators, he said. .

Toyota Reveals Latest Version of its Hydrogen Fuel Cell Class 8 Truck Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / July 30, 2018 Toyota unveiled the latest version of its Project Portal hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck, which it said boasts greater range and improvements to versatility and maneuverability. The truck was shown during a media briefing on July 30 at a Center for Automotive Research meeting in Traverse City. Michigan. This Beta iteration of Project Portal expands on the original Alpha version by increasing range from 200 to 300 miles, adding on a sleeper cab, and engineering a unique "fuel cabinet combination" that increases cab space without increasing wheelbase. Power numbers remain the same, with an output of over 670 horsepower and 1,325 lbs.-ft. of torque. “Our goal with the first truck was to see if it could be accomplished, and we did that," said Craig Scott senior manager for Toyota's North American electrified vehicle & technologies office. "This time we're looking at commercial viability.” The Project Portal Alpha vehicle has been operating at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in Southern California since April 2017, so far logging 10,000 miles of testing and real-world drayage operations. The improved Beta version will begin operating at the same ports in the fall. The truck was developed as a learning exercise for both Toyota and the ports to help develop the zero-emissions Class 8 vehicle for short-range, drayage duty cycles. The truck’s powertrain is based on that of the company’s Mirai fuel cell electric car, which is soldd in limited quantities in the U.S. Toyota noted that it is one of the first hydrogen fuel cell sedans sold commercially. In fact, the Project Portal truck combines two Mirai fuel cell stacks and a 12 kWh battery to power the vehicle. "By evaluating the first truck in our test facilities and on the actual roads in the Los Angeles area, we made a list of improvements for the Beta truck build process and performance enhancements," said Andrew Lund, chief engineer for the project. "We needed to move beyond a proof of concept, which the first truck accomplished, to something that is not only better than the original,but is also more commercially viable." This doubling-down for Toyota on a hydrogen fuel-cell Class 8 truck is part of the company's Environmental Challenge 2050 to eliminate CO2 emissions from its Toyota Logistics facility at the Port of Long Beach. Toyota previously announced the construction of the Tri-Gen facility which will be the first megawatt-sized carbonate fuel cell power generation plant with hydrogen fueling in the world. . The renewable plant will use agricultural waste to generate water, electricity, and hydrogen that will support Toyota Logistics Services' operations at the Port of Long Beach. “We want to help make a difference… a significant difference when it comes to the air quality not only in the LA area but across the U.S. and around the globe,” said Scott. .

50 years on, McDonald's isn't messing with its Big Mac Associated Press / July 30, 2018 McDonald’s is fighting to hold onto customers as the Big Mac turns 50, but it's not messing with the makings of its most famous burger. The company is celebrating the 1968 national launch of the double-decker sandwich whose ingredients of "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun" were seared into American memories by a TV jingle. But the milestone comes as the company reduces its number of U.S. stores. McDonald's said Thursday that customers are visiting less often. Other more trendy burger options are reaching into the heartland. The "Golden Arches" still have a massive global reach, and the McDonald's brand of cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and french fries remains recognizable around the world. But on its critical home turf, the company is toiling to stay relevant. Kale now appears in salads, fresh has replaced frozen beef patties in Quarter Pounders, and some stores now offer ordering kiosks, food delivery and barista-style cafes. The Big Mac remains unchanged, showing just how much McDonald's and the rest of fast-food have evolved. "Clearly, we've gotten a little more sophisticated in our menu development," McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a phone interview. As with many of its popular and long-lasting menu items, the idea for the Big Mac came from a franchisee. In 1967, Michael James "Jim" Delligatti lobbied the company to let him test the burger at his Pittsburgh restaurants. Later, he acknowledged the Big Mac's similarity to a popular sandwich sold by the Big Boy chain. "This wasn't like discovering the light bulb. The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket," Delligatti said, according to "Behind the Arches." McDonald's agreed to let Delligatti sell the sandwich at a single location, on the condition that he use the company's standard bun. It didn't work. Delligatti tried a bigger sesame seed bun, and the burger soon lifted sales by more than 12 percent. After similar results at more stores, the Big Mac was added to the national menu in 1968. Other ideas from franchisees that hit the big time include the Filet-O-Fish, Egg McMuffin, Apple Pie (once deep-fried but now baked), and the Shamrock Shake. "The company has benefited from the ingenuity of its small business men," wrote Ray Kroc, who transformed the McDonald's into a global franchise, in his book, "Grinding It Out." Franchisees still play an important role, driving the recent switch to fresh from frozen for the beef in Quarter Pounders, Easterbrook says. They also participate in menu development, which in the U.S. has included a series of cooking tweaks intended to improve taste. Messing with a signature menu item can be taboo, but keeping the Big Mac unchanged comes with its own risks. Newer chains such as Shake Shack and Five Guys offer burgers that can make the Big Mac seem outdated. Even White Castle is modernizing, recently adding plant-based "Impossible Burger" sliders at some locations. A McDonald's franchisee fretted in 2016 that only one out of five millennials has tried the Big Mac. The Big Mac had "gotten less relevant," the franchisee wrote in a memo, according to the Wall Street Journal. McDonald's then ran promotions designed to introduce the Big Mac to more people. Those kind of periodic campaigns should help keep the Big Mac relevant for years to come, says Mike Delligatti, the son of the Big Mac inventor, who died last year. "What iconic sandwich do you know that can beat the Big Mac as far as longevity?" said Delligatti, himself a McDonald's franchisee.

It would be so easy for Ford to create a conventional cab variant of the H62X. https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44824-chinese-truckmaker-launches-new-high-end-conventional-us-market-next/?tab=comments#comment-330351 https://product.360che.com/img/c1_s66_b30_s7127_m54990_t0.html

If you have time to attend the IAA commercial vehicle show in September and get "hands on", and it really should be on your "bucket list", you'll see just how different each European COE's styling and engineering is.

Here's that downward sloped side cab architecture again. .

No, it's not a Volvo cab. No connection with Volvo. It's an all-new cab, proprietary to Ford. Perhaps the sloped side styling is tricking you. That's actually the norm in side cab architecture nowadays. For one thing, side window visibility is much better. In exchange for having their own variant, Jiangling (JMC) helped pay for its development.

Mark, the perfect truck, including the ultimate aerodynamic envelope, would be a cross between a conventional and a COE, and the world's truckmakers including China are converging in their design toward that end. I always preferred COEs owing to the visibility, space and maintenance ease. In other words, I preferred an F-model, Cruise-Liner and certainly Ultra-Liner to an R-model, U-model or Super-Liner. The exceptions were the US and Australian market Value-Liners.....they were special. Had the Ultra-Liner been evolved forward, had Volvo not killed the E9 V-8, well.......then you'd really have something, the North American equivalent of the Scania V-8. The Mack brand, with the E9, would have an entire market segment all to themselves in North America, as Scania now does in the global market.

There was a time when Ford Brasil and Ford Otosan (Turkey) were each doing their own thing. But apparently Mulally wanted a more tidy approach. Ford-Otosan, clearly the stronger of the two, was designated the hub for Ford Truck global design. Brazil does sell some small Cargo models unique to their market (the C816 and C1119 use the old cab to reduce cost in that price-sensitive market.....https://www.fordcaminhoes.com.br/cargo/?_ga=1.240094019.1964630396.1468551166). The Brazilian economy is stuck, with no light at the end of the tunnel. Turkey is booming and they're signing up distributors from Morocco to Moscow. And, they scored a big and lucrative technology sale in China with Jiangling (aka JMC). Passionate truck people who work tirelessly are rewarded.

I'm always shocked at the negative comments here about the appearance of European COEs, given that the US market was 50 percent COE not that long ago, and none of the COEs of that era were any better looking. As in the US with conventionals, the demand for better and better aerodynamics has dictated exterior European COE design cues to a great degree. But that said, just as I feel the new Ford Cargo has a sharp looking grille and side appearance, Scania, M-B, and MAN all have sharp looking trucks in my book. And Kenworth's K200 is cutting edge Australian design. Yes, as an American, I still like the Argosy and 9800i....love seeing them in South Africa. And the MH Ultra-Liner is written down in my book as the best US COE of all time. But again, I think Ford has a winner. My hat's off to the Ford-Otosan team. If I had a choice between any US conventional sold today and Ford's new COE Cargo, I would climb into the Ford.

Tornado is a classic Brazilian pickup (i.e. ute, bakkie), and the only GM Brazil product sold in Mexico. http://www.chevrolet.com.mx/tornado-2018-camioneta-pick-up.html

The new "premium" global market heavy tractor.....from Ford Trucks Ford Trucks and You – "Sharing the Load" At Ford Trucks, we’re serious about trucking. It's why we designed the all-new 2019 Cargo heavy truck range from the ground up to meet your needs and expectations. See your authorized Ford heavy truck dealer for details. . .

Avon is my favorite town on the Outer Banks (Ocracoke is wonderful but coming and going is too much hassle). If you'd told me years ago that a Food Lion would open in Avon, I wouldn't have believed it. The Albatross fleet of charter fishing boats is legendary.

If this was a factory option beginning tomorrow, Chevy truck sales would rise 15-20 percent, AND the jolt would be so much that Ford would have to make a sales marketing response.

New Zealand Trucking / July 2018 The Port of Rotterdam is the gateway to continental Europe. From old it has been of great importance to the economy, but the more so since the first container shipments began in the mid-1960s. The method of packing goods in a steel box conquered the world and in 1966 this led to the start of the Europe Container Terminals (ECT) in Rotterdam. In the first year just under 10,000 containers were handled, but three years later that number was already over 100,000. After signing an important contract with Sea-Land in 1988, the huge Delta Terminal was constructed directly on the North Sea shore. By this time a new in-port transportation system was commissioned that consisted of a heavy-duty truck-tractor that pulled a nearly 100-metre long rubber tyred train. ECT called it the Multi Trailer System (MTS) or Trolley System. Because a customary terminal tractor could not handle the 250 to 300 tonnes gross loads, ECT drew up a tender for a custom-built truck-tractor with 6x4 drive and at least a 298kW (400hp) diesel engine coupled to an automatic transmission. In 1979 ECT asked DAF, Mercedes/Titan, and truck and trailer manufacturer Floor to each build a prototype that could be tested in real working conditions as part of their bids for the lucrative order. At the time, the Floor Truck Company had just introduced the Second Generation Motor Panels cab on their FTF chassis. A large number of drawbar skeletal trailers were also needed and the first 4-wheel steer units were developed and built by DAF. Subsequent orders, however, went to Dutch machinery manufacturer Buiscar of Apeldoorn. This firm had a great tradition in the building of carts and trolleys for internal transport. The system that initially was developed for ECT but later also became commercially available, consisted of a train with seven to 10 coupled trailers pulled by a heavy-duty prime mover. All trailers were self-tracking and braking and could be coupled automatically without the driver leaving the cab. The set up was developed primarily to save time, an important focus in container handling. In 1980 Floor received the order to build two trucks to be tested in real working conditions. The 6x4 drive model FD-8.20D1 tractor was equipped with a two-stroke 8V92TA Detroit Diesel with blower and turbo that transferred the power via a 4-stage Allison HT750DRD automatic transmission to a GKN-Kirkstall rear tandem. According to the specification sheet the V8 Detroit turned out 343kW (461hp), but in the case of the ECT tractors this was turned back to 308kW (414 hp), which was done to prevent the FTF losing grip when moving off loaded in wet conditions. Empty the rig was limited to 30kph, and at weights over 150 tonnes to 20kph. Test drives with the very first Multi Trailer Train were staged at Rotterdam Airport. After these trials had proved successful a deal was closed with Floor in 1985 to supply 15 new model FD-8.20D1 truck-tractors for operation at the just-opened Delta Terminal. The FTFs performed so well that three years later a follow-up order was placed for five more vehicles. These did not feature Kirkstall axles at the rear, but Kessler products. Because worldwide containerisation was on the up, between 1991 and 1994 another batch of FTF tractors joined the port fleet. These tractors sported some cosmetic changes such as a new grille. Including the original prototypes, Floor built 40 units for the ECT. All vehicles were fitted with a sturdy ballast box that held two blocks of concrete weighing 14 tonnes total. They also sported a heavy-duty front bumper, a special drawbar coupling, and a strong steel cage above and behind the cab for protection. The word goes that at least one FTF tractor was completely written off when a loaded container fell from a quay crane. Only four of the famous FTFs survived. One is sitting idle in the Port of Abu Dhabi, a second is in the hands of a Belgian truck collector, and the other two form part of the FTF Museum owned by Ton Spaansen in ‘t Zand, the Netherlands. Ton’s interest in the Floor products goes back to 1973 when the family firm bought an FTF truck and trailer to transport sand, bricks, shells and building materials. “At the age of 25 I drove the rig each day to Belgium on a 1000-kilometre return trip hauling mine stone,” says 71-yearold Ton. “I just loved it! Notably the sound of the screaming V8 Detroit when it had to tackle a hill made a big impression on me. Three years later we bought another FTF tandem truck, but because I was asked to fill a different role in the business my family not long after decided to sell it again. Some 19 years later I ran by chance into this very truck and I bought it right back. This was also the start of my hobby, restoring old commercial vehicles. Some years later my wife Ans and I founded the FTF Club, and in 2006 the FTF Museum.’’ The real eye-catchers in the museum are the two ex-ECT tractors and a huge FTF off-highway dump truck that once operated at a nearby steel mill. “It was not easy to obtain these rare beasts,’’ says Ton. “Both companies are world players and all communications with them go over many desks. And you need some luck too. In 2003 we heard that the ECT wanted to do away with nearly all their container tractors and we were lucky to get unit number 940. This was not only the last tractor that the ECT had purchased from Floor, but also the last FTF built before the truck maker shut its doors for good in 1994.’’ This truck is shown in the museum ‘as found’. W hen ECT’s last working FTF (unit number 936) was put out of service in 2008, the museum managed to obtain this too. In recent years it was refurbished in part by Ton with the help of mechanic Klaas Poutsma, although some panel work to the ballast box, as well as sandblasting and spraying the complete vehicle, was contracted to a professional body shop. The intention is to take the rare FTF also out to classic truck meets, but this is easier said than done with a top speed of only 30 kph. After the FTF era ECT turned to Belgian specialist truck and trailer manufacturer MOL Cy in Hooglede. MOL was well known as a producer of terminal and ro-ro (roll-on roll-off ) tractors. When the ECT asked them to develop a completely new multi-trailer tractor they came up with the 4x4 drive TG280. This purpose-built vehicle was equipped with a (320kW) 430hp 6-cylinder 12.6-litre DAF diesel engine that was coupled to an Allison HD4060 automatic transmission and a Steyr VG 2001 transfer box. Axles were Kessler with front and rear capacities of 16 and 25 tonnes respectively. The F230 cab was also sourced from DAF. Later versions of this sturdy compact worker have a Renault or Iveco cab fitted and engine options are now Cummins, Iveco, and Volvo diesels. The full automatic trailer coupling is retained in the MOL TG280 tractors. ECT bought several dozen of these terminal tractors that can pull container trains of up to seven trailers with a maximum gross weight of 350 tonnes. But no matter how good they are, the MOL tractors cannot match the sound that a screaming V8 Detroit makes under full power! .