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House members write EPA asking for ‘documents’ related to 2017 study of glider kit emissions James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / July 17, 2018 Seven members of the U.S. House have asked the Environmental Protection Agency to provide them with “all documents and communication” related to a late 2017 study used to promote regulating emissions of glider kit trucks. The request appears to be the beginning of a probe by Congress into alleged improper contact between EPA staffers and employees at Volvo Trucks. Volvo, which owns Mack, has lobbied against the repeal of the glider emissions restrictions, as have Cummins and Daimler. The July 12 letter from the lawmakers is the latest in a saga over whether the EPA should cap the number of trucks glider kit builders can make and sell annually. The glider industry, led by Fitzgerald Glider Kits, says the emissions regulations could severely harm their businesses. The glider kit segment has seen burgeoning sales, especially among smaller fleets and owner-operators, since the 2008 round of tighter emissions regulations for manufacturers of new trucks and engines. Glider kits, in contrast, were exempt from major emissions regulations enacted in 2008 and 2014, as those rules applied only to new engines. Glider kits are new truck bodies and chassis equipped with older, remanufactured engines and transmissions. 2016’s Phase 2 rule sought to stamp out the growth of the glider kit segment. EPA officials said in 2016 that glider increasingly accounted for a major share of emissions from new truck sales. The issue is settled short-term, as the EPA said that it will, at least through the end of 2019, not enforce the Obama-era regulations, which capped glider makers at building 300 trucks a year. The EPA also has a rule in the works to more permanently exempt glider builders from the Obama-era Phase 2 emissions regulations. That rule has not yet been made final. At the same time the agency was working on the proposal to rescind the 2016 glider kit regulations, the EPA also was conducting a study to compare emissions output from glider kit trucks to new vehicles operating under 2014 emissions standards. The study concluded glider kits did produce greater emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter. Concerns were later raised about the study and its conclusions, due to alleged contact between EPA staffers and Volvo employees. Five members of the House in June wrote the EPA asking the agency’s Inspector General to investigate the claims. Two others also signed the July 12 letter asking for the EPA to submit the requested documents and communication. Signatories of the July 12 letter are Reps. Brian Babin (R-Texas), Gary Palmer (R-Alabama), Andy Biggs (R-Arizona), Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Bill Posey (R-Florida), Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) and Ralph Abraham (R-Louisiana). A separate ethical cloud hangs over the matter following a competing study on glider kits, commissioned by Fitzgerald and performed by Tennessee Tech University. That study found that glider kits do not produce greater emissions than new trucks. TTU told EPA to disregard its study while the school investigates questions regarding its efficacy. Volvo in June told Overdrive that the company did nothing unethical or illegal regarding the EPA study. “Like most of the trucking industry, the Volvo Group for several years now has argued that the improper use of glider kits [???] is bad for the environment and unfair to manufacturers who have invested in the latest environmental controls. All our communication and cooperation with the EPA on this issue has been an entirely appropriate part of a broad trucking industry advocacy effort – we did nothing improper,” Volvo said in a statement. Volvo and Mack do not offer truck bodies for use as gliders. Most gliders are Paccar brands, Peterbilt and Kenworth, or Daimler brands, Freightliner and Western Star.

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / July 17, 2018 The proprietary Kenworth AG400L tandem rear suspension is now standard equipment on the OEM's T680 on-highway flagship truck. The AG400L is rated at 40,000 pounds and is compatible with disc brakes. The four-bag suspension is designed to be a cost-effective solution for over-the-road and delivery applications. A trailer arm design can result in a smooth ride and the suspension is also easy to service, according to Kenworth. “The Kenworth AG400L provides the T680 driver with a comfortable and smooth ride,” said Kurt Swihart, Kenworth marketing director. “The suspension is also virtually maintenance free with few moving parts, and there are no periodic adjustments or lubrication required.” Kenworth’s family of proprietary suspensions also includes the Kenworth AG130 front air ride suspension, and the AG210, AG380, AG400, AG460 and AG690 rear suspensions. .

James Menzies, Truck News / July 17, 2018 David Carson, the newly installed president of Western Star, says the company is positioned for growth in the vocational segment and poised to take advantage of a strengthening market. Speaking to the truck press for the first time since he took over as president in January, Carson noted residential and non-residential construction spending has finally recovered to pre-recession levels. He said up to $4.5 trillion must be spent to repair deteriorating U.S. infrastructure, and some major projects can’t be planned for. “If a bridge goes, it has to be fixed,” Carson said. “If a critical highway has some sort of erosion or surface issue, investments have to be made. Brands like Western Star have to have the right products with the right body builders, and new solutions available for when those projects come around.” Carson said Western Star is making significant investments in the vocational segment. “We are vocationally oriented, and that marketplace is extremely important to us,” he said. “We understand they are very different markets. You might be doing one or two truck deals in a vocational transaction rather than hundreds or thousands of trucks in on-highway.” Carson vowed parent company Daimler Trucks North America is committed to the brand. “Western Star is here to stay,” he said. “And we are really working to grow and develop the business, and I look forward to doing that.” Samantha Parlier, vice-president, marketing and product strategy, is also new in that role, taking over in January. She said Western Star has strived to clearly define what a vocational truck is. “A vocational truck is designed in such a way, it’s going to do a job or a series of jobs that couldn’t be substituted by rental, linehaul or P&D trucks,” she explained. “People are buying these trucks because they have a job to do.” Dump trucks represent the largest vocational segment, at about 15,000 units a year. But Parlier said there’s no reliable data that breaks down the vocational truck market. Even dump trucks can vary greatly, with tandems, tri-drives, and lift axles commonly being spec’d. “There are more than 3,000 counties and all have their own laws,” Parlier said. “Customers and dealers need to understand the laws and regulations in their specific areas. Bodies change dramatically.” Bulk haul, heavy haul, crane, snow plow, mixer and vac trucks make up the other popular vocational segments. Not to mention logging, which was how Western Star got its start. “It was started in Kelowna for one reason. There were lots of logs and trees to be cut down and we built the trucks to do it,” she said. “We still retain our dominance in the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest and other areas.” To be successful selling vocational trucks, Parlier noted, “we need to understand the needs of our vocational customers. It’s complicated, not straightforward, and everyone has different needs.” One segment that’s finally showing some signs of life is the Canadian oilpatch. “We are seeing some activity being driven by it,” Carson said. “I wouldn’t say it has rebounded necessarily. Customers and dealers haven’t seen that, but clearly as oil price goes up all those opportunities north of the border become more viable from an economic standpoint.”

Given Ford's continuously escalating investment in it's Turkish operation (Otosan) and likewise rewards, and Bill Ford's passionate personal connection with the Koc family (since 1928), I don't see any possibility of Ford bailing there. Brazil is a struggle, and always has been. VW is king. Ford, Iveco, Scania and Volvo do well.....all things considered. They've all enjoyed some great years, but the market and profits are currently down. The governments of both Brazil and South Africa are clueless about how to jump-start their faltering economies.

http://www.wattstruckcenter.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=260&search=shell

Ford to Pay $299.1 Million to Settle Takata Consumer Lawsuit Bloomberg / July 16, 2018 Ford Motor Co. has agreed to pay $299.1 million to settle consumers’ economic-loss claims connected to Takata Corp. air-bag recalls. The settlement, filed in federal court in Miami Monday, reimburses consumers for out-of-pocket expenses and provides free loaners for owners or lessees of Ford vehicles who are waiting for their air bags to be fixed, according to the pact. The settlement will also increase outreach efforts to find consumers whose vehicles still have defective air bags. Ford is the latest automaker to settle the economic loss claims, following a $533 million agreement last year by Toyota Motor Corp., Subaru Corp., Mazda Motor Corp. and BMW AG and a separate pact by Nissan Motor Co. for $98 million. General Motors Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz continue to litigate these claims, plaintiffs’ lawyers said in a statement Monday. The massive Takata air-bag recalls, the largest in history, led to the company filing for bankruptcy in 2017 and spurred lawsuits by consumers and accident victims. The air bags can malfunction and send shards of metal at drivers and passengers. Monday’s settlement doesn’t cover personal injury or wrongful death claims. The consumers sued the automakers and Takata claiming they incurred economic losses, including costs of renting vehicles, while waiting for air bags to be replaced. The Ford settlement will cover about 6 million vehicles and requires court approval. “These settlements are proving to be vital in protecting consumers from dangerous Takata airbags,” Peter Prieto, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We remain focused on working with our customers to get their vehicles repaired,” Elizabeth Weigandt, a Ford spokeswoman, said in an email Monday. “Parts are available for all of the Ford vehicles in priority groups one through three, and we urge customers to contact their dealer immediately for free repairs.” The case is In re: Takata Airbag Product Liability Litigation, 15-md-02599, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami).

GM discontinues Chevrolet City Express small van Michael Wayland, Automotive News / July 16, 2018 DETROIT -- General Motors has discontinued the Chevrolet City Express, a small work van which the automaker has marketed under a partnership with Nissan Motor Co. since 2014. Dealers, according to a GM spokesman, were told of plans to drop the small van last summer. Final orders were taken in September 2017 and production of the last 2018 Chevy City Express vans -- a derivative of the Nissan NV200 -- ended at Nissan's assembly plant in Cuernavac, Mexico, in February. The GM-Nissan pact was a quick, cost-effective way for Chevrolet to enter the small-van segment, which Ford Motor Co. has dominated since essentially creating the domestic market with the Transit Connect in 2009. When unveiling the City Express in February 2014, Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of GM fleet and commercial sales, said the company saw "tons of opportunity" in the small commercial van market. But Chevrolet gained little traction in the emerging segment. Less than 30,000 City Express units have been sold in the U.S. since it went on sale in November 2014. That's less than one year of Ford Transit Connect sales, which have averaged more than 42,500 annually since 2013. City Express sales peaked at 10,283 in 2015 -- its first full year on the market. That same year, Ford sold more than 52,200 Transit Connects and Nissan sold more than 17,300 NV200s. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sold more than 11,000 Ram ProMaster City vans that year -- its first year of sales. A GM spokesman declined to comment on reasons for the move or if the vehicle is expected to be replaced. The supply agreement, according to a Nissan spokeswoman, was on an annual basis. She said Nissan "remains committed to the compact van segment." Nissan controls about 25 percent of the U.S. compact van segment, which dropped 9.5 percent in 2017 and has shrunk another 7.1 percent this year. The discontinuation of the small van will not impact the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana, which remain the only major body-on-frame offerings in the full-size van segment. .

Chevy underestimated the overachieving Blazer Automotive News / July 16, 2018 New Roads, Chevrolet's owners magazine, profiled 101-year-old former chief truck engineer Paul Hitch in its latest issue and turned up a choice anecdote about the origins of the Blazer, the nameplate the brand has announced it is bringing back. Hitch, who retired in 1978, began working for General Motors in 1935 and was Chevy's truck engineering boss from 1965 to 1976. He oversaw development of the first Blazer in 1969. "We were trying to compete with the Ford Bronco, so we discussed it," Hitch recalled. "I said, 'Why don't we just take a Chevrolet pickup, cut the wheel base to 104 inches, marry the pickup box to it, and see what that does?' "We put it out to the sales department. They estimated they could sell 300 a year. Pete [Estes, then Chevrolet's general manager and GM's future president] said, 'Well, go ahead and do it anyway.' And that year, we sold 5,000 and we didn't have enough tooling capacity to make any more. That was one funny, unusual situation." Chevy stopped producing the Blazer in 2005 but last month unveiled a 2019 version as a midsize crossover. .

I'm guessing the E7 spec was the problem.

My favorite light truck, the classic original Bronco.

A bubble by the rich, for the rich Keris Lahiff, CNBC / July 16, 2018 Look to the stock market and you’d assume Wall Street was doing just fine. The S&P 500 has come back to March highs, the Dow is back to positive for 2018, and the Nasdaq is at fresh records. It’s all built on shaky foundations, said longtime market bear and former Republican Congressman Ron Paul. This market is in the “biggest bubble in the history of mankind,” and when it bursts, it could cut the stock market in half, he told CNBC’s “Futures Now” Thursday. “I see trouble ahead, and it originates with too much debt, too much spending,” Paul said. This isn’t the first time Paul has made such dire warnings. During a “Futures Now” appearance in August 2017, he predicted a 50 percent drop in the market, a call he has doubled down on a number of times since. Since that appearance, the S&P 500 has rallied 15 percent. Paul belongs to the Libertarian Party, a faction that emphasizes constrained government spending. He sees federal spending and monetary policy as dual forces inflating a market bubble. “The Congress spending and the Federal Reserve manipulation of monetary policy and interest rates — debt is too big, the current account is in bad shape, foreign debt is bad and it’s not going to change,” he said. Paul isn’t alone in his critique. A number of politicians have voiced concern over ballooning deficits, including current House Speaker Paul Ryan, who raised a warning on the nation’s debt in 2012. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that federal deficits will average $1.2 trillion a year from 2019 to 2028, according to its April economic outlook. Its 2018 deficit estimates rose by $242 billion over previous forecasts made in June 2017. The federal agency said the revision was mainly owing to lower projected revenues tied to tax reform. To Paul the decision-making arm of the Fed is equally at fault in creating a market bubble. “The Fed will keep inflating, and that distorts things,” Paul continued. “Now they’re trying to unwind their balance sheet. I don’t think they’re going to get real far on that.” The Fed is more than two years into its rate-hiking cycle. In conjunction with rate hikes, the Fed is also unloading assets from its balance sheet, which expanded to $4.5 trillion during its post-financial crisis quantitative-easing program. Paul is not confident much will change to divert from the disaster he predicts. “The government will keep spending, and the Fed will keep inflating, and that distorts things,” said Paul. “When you get into a situation like this, the debt has to be eliminated. You have to liquidate the debt and the malinvestment.” Paul reiterated his call on Thursday for a potential 50 percent sell-off on the stock market.

Just the opposite Bob, LNG tanks are lighter. Agreed, the Stralis is a sharp looking COE. LNG example - http://www.360che.com/tech/170706/81278_all.html CNG example - http://www.360che.com/tech/170719/81599.html

Recall how the Mack Eastern R-Model had a tapered frame, while the Mack Western variant, the RL/RS Value-Liner, had straight rails. If one can get away with straight rails, there are cost savings. Generally today, it's impossible due to, for example, the width requirements of the cooling package (radiator) and the vastly increased amount of external engine accessories..

For local operaton, e.g. city buses, CNG is popular. But in long-haul, most operators and countries prefer LNG. http://www.360che.com/tech/170706/81278_all.html http://www.360che.com/tech/170719/81599.html

T-Line/Whitman Custom Chassis Press Release We’ve started building our first new medium-duty gasoline powered truck – 19,500 Lbs. GVWR powered by a 370 HP Chrysler 6.4L Hemi V8 engine. The first production run of the new “Classic” cab will arrive August 10th. .

Pretty sad summary of the present when not a single US company can present our military with a class-leading design.

Defense Update / June 20, 2018 The U.S. Marine Corps has selected a new wheeled, amphibious combat vehicle (ACV) for the service. Following a successful Milestone C decision by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, the contract options worth $198 million will allow BAE Systems to build 30 low rate production vehicles, which will start delivering in the fall of next year. These vehicles will begin the transition of a portion of the Assault Amphibious Vehicle fleet. The new vehicle designated ACV 1.1 by the Corps is an advanced 8×8 open ocean-capable vehicle that is equipped with a new 6-cylinder, 700HP engine, which provides a significant power increase over the tracked LTVP-7A Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV), which is currently in service and has been in operation for decades. Based on the Italian SuperAV design introduced by Iveco Defense Vehicles, ACV provides exceptional mobility in all terrains, a suspended interior seat structure for 13 embarked Marines, blast-mitigating positions for a crew of three, and improved survivability and force protection over currently fielded systems. The team has conducted extensive risk mitigation testing and evaluation for water operations, land mobility, and survivability that have proven the solution’s capabilities. The design is adaptable to accommodate growth for future technologies or requirements. Iveco Defence Vehicles and BAE Systems teamed together in the very early phases of this program to offer a superior solution to the US Marines for their ACV requirement. The team has already built 16 prototypes of the vehicle, as part of the Marine Corps competition for the next generation of vehicles to get the Marines from ship to shore to engage in land combat operations. BAE Systems will be the prime contractor for the program with CNH Industrial subsidiary Iveco Defence Vehicles providing the 8×8 amphibious armored platform design, core components, and services. Work on the program will be performed at the company’s facilities in Aiken, South Carolina; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Minneapolis; Stafford; San Jose, California; and York, Pennsylvania. The BAE Systems team conducted its own extensive risk mitigation testing and evaluation for land mobility, survivability, and swim capabilities that proved its vehicle’s performance prior to delivering the first 16 prototypes to the Marine Corps in 2017. this delivery was part of service’s evaluation process, where BAE and SAIC built 16 prototypes each for extensive testing before the final award that was announced yesterday. Over the past 15 months, the company supported the Marine Corps’ rigorous Developmental Testing and Operational Assessment of the vehicles, which performed superbly in water and land operations, payload, and survivability. .

Transport Engineer / July 5, 2018 Dunstable-based vehicle recovery operator Statham’s Motor Engineers has taken delivery of a DAF New CF 530 FA chassis with NRC recovery bodywork, which also features a detachable tag-axle. Featuring two-axle and three-axle options, the 80-tonne GTW [176,370lb Gross Train Weight] New CF operates primarily as a 4x2 rigid, although the tag-axle conversion gives greater operational flexibility. Fitting takes around 30 minutes and allows Statham’s to recover heavier vehicles, typically eight-wheelers. “The NRC crane and winches mean we can recover almost any car and light commercial vehicle, but it is the versatility of the interchangeable axle which allows us to lift heavier vehicles above 14 tonnes and up to 44 tonnes,” says owner John Statham. “We now have one vehicle fulfilling the role of two.” In addition, the vehicle’s 13-litre 530bhp engine is already notching up 9.5mpg – “an extremely welcome bonus”, adds Statham. The NRC plastic-composite recovery body includes a 25-tonne sliding crane, under-lift equipment and dual winches. VDZ equipment provides a towing option where dual tow-jaws are fitted on the casualty vehicle, giving an alternative to front-end lifting. DAF dealer North West Trucks supplied the New CF; aftersales support is provided through DAF’s local service point HTC Hemel. .

Transport Engineer / July 10, 2018 Kent-based Ovenden Tipper Services has taken delivery of the first of its order of new tippers from Charlton, citing the bodybuilder’s ability to source and install every part of the high bodywork specification. Carried by Scania Next Generation XT chassis with G cabs and 13-litre 405bhp engines, Ovenden chose lightweight all-steel curved floor Charlton SuperLite bodies fitted with air-operated automatic tailgates. Each truck also features Edbro TS32 underfloor tipping gear, a weather-sealed Shurco front to back sliding sheeting system with full remote control, a rearward facing ‘traffic light’ load weighing display mounted at the front of the body and a Brigade 360-degree ‘birds eye’ camera system. All equipment was supplied and fitted by Charlton. “As a complete package, our latest tippers are pretty much unbeatable,” says company director Alex Ovenden. “We’ve gone for a higher spec than ever this time around, with the really big bonus being that Charlton supplies and fits everything we ask for... And everything was delivered on budget, on time.” He adds: “Our tipper work is changing, with higher demand for both recycled concrete and on-site earthworks projects, and the new trucks have been designed and specified to reflect that. We continue to run some alloy bodies, but what you gain in extra payload you lose in durability. “We need trucks that can handle any job that comes along, and these lightweight steel SuperLites give us exactly that capability.” Driver Paul Bradford is also impressed: “I much prefer the underfloor tipping gear, both for its extra stability and higher angle of tip. The sheeting system is also great because I can open and close it by full remote control whether I’m inside or outside of the cab. “Overloading is now a thing of the past, too, because the body-mounted traffic light display system immediately tells the excavator driver when the maximum limit’s been reached. All small things perhaps, but taken together they speed up the job and make the truck that bit more efficient.” .

The US needs to catch up with the world in trucking efficiency and allow 97,000 pound (44 metric ton) artics.

Transport Engineer / July 11, 2018 IVECO has unveiled the Stralis NP 460, the first pure gas-powered 6x2 tractor for 44-tonne [97,003lb] operation. Launched yesterday (10 July) at an event for customers and dealers at Gasrec’s refuelling site at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, the vehicle is the first three-axle tractor to operate on 100% liquefied natural gas (LNG). It has been engineered in both right-hand and left-hand drive variants and, says IVECO’s Stuart Webster, its launch “marks the moment natural gas moves into mainstream UK volume in a big way”. He adds: “Bringing this new vehicle to market is the culmination of our more than 20 years’ development of natural gas technology – packaged into a 6x2 tractor which can deliver a true competitive advantage for UK fleets on both regional and long-distance missions.” Vehicle range has been a key factor, and the Stralis NP 460 6x2 runs for around 750km – ideal for operators whose vehicles go out and back on the same day, says the manufacturer. The LNG tanks, mounted either side of the chassis, are designed to be the largest possible to still allow 22.5in wheels across all three axles. The vehicle is powered by the 12.9-litre IVECO Cursor 13 NP single-fuel engine and the latest generation 12-speed Hi-Tronix automated transmission, with new functions such as the GPS-based Hi-Cruise predictive cruise control and gear-shifting. Natural gas delivers a 99% reduction of PM and 60% in NOx compared to Euro VI limits, while CO2 emissions can be cut by up to 95% when running on liquefied biomethane. The Cursor 13 NP engine records less than 71dB on the PIEK quiet truck test. Other features include IVECO’s fuel-saving Driving Style Evaluation system to monitor and improve driver behaviour, an Ecoswitch speed and torque limiter, Ecofleet for the most efficient shifting strategy, an optimised rear axle ratio, low-rolling resistance tyres and access to IVECO’s Fuel Consultancy Services. The Stralis NP has service intervals of 90,000 km and it is available with a range of IVECO Elements R&M contracts. Using telematics, each vehicle will be monitored by IVECO’s gas technology team to ensure any potential issues are quickly identified, so boosting vehicle uptime. The Stralis NP 460 6x2 is available to order from dealers now; the first demonstrators are expected to be on the road in October 2018. .