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UPS Adds 700+ Natural Gas Vehicles to Fleet Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / June 19, 2018 UPS announced plans to build an additional five compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations and add more than 700 new CNG vehicles including 400 semi-tractors and 330 terminal trucks. This $130 million dollar investment in CNG capacity for 2018 builds on previous UPS investments of $100 million dollars in 2016 and $90 million dollars in 2017. UPS will have invested more than $1 billion in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and fueling stations from 2008 through 2018. Building CNG and LNG capacity is an important enabler for increasing UPS’s use of renewable natural gas (RNG). RNG yields up to a 90 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional diesel. Last year, UPS used 15 million gallon equivalents of RNG. The company is the largest consumer of RNG in the transportation sector. The five new CNG stations will be in Goodyear, Ariz., Plainfield, Ind., Edgerton, Kan., Fort Worth, Texas, and Arlington, Texas. Four hundred semi-tractors will be supplied by Freightliner and Kenworth and 330 terminal trucks by TICO. UPS will deploy the new CNG vehicles on routes to utilize the new CNG stations as well as adding to existing natural gas fleets in other UPS locations including Atlanta, Ga., and, Salt Lake City, Utah. UPS currently operates more than 50 natural gas fueling stations in the U.S. and several outside the U.S. in Vancouver, Canada, and Tamworth, United Kingdom. The initiative will help UPS reach its 2020 goal of one in four new vehicles purchased being an alternative fuel or advanced technology vehicle. The company has also set a goal of replacing 40 percent of all ground fuel with sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel. These goals support UPS’s commitment to reduce its GHG emissions from global ground operations 12 percent by 2025. Using its Rolling Laboratory approach, UPS deploys approximately 9,100 low-emission vehicles to determine which technology works best in each route configuration. This includes battery-electric, gasoline-electric hybrids, hydraulic hybrid, ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane autogas. .

Transport Topics / June 19, 2018 UPS Inc. announced an additional $130 million investment in compressed natural gas vehicles, including 400 semi-tractors and 330 terminal trucks and five more fueling stations — underscoring the company’s role as a major catalyst for wide-scale adoption of natural gas vehicles. Previous CNG investments by UPS included $100 million in 2016 and $90 million in 2017. “We strongly believe further investment in our natural gas fleet is a key element to help us achieve our long-term goals for reducing our CO2 emissions,” Carlton Rose, UPS president of global fleet maintenance and engineering, said in a statement. “We demonstrated the effectiveness of natural gas vehicles and fuel in 2017 by using 77 million total gallon equivalents in our ground fleet.” The 400 semi-tractors will be supplied by Freightliner and Kenworth Truck Co. and 330 terminal trucks by Terminal Investment Corp. The new CNG stations will be in Goodyear, Ariz., Plainfield, Ind., Edgerton, Kan., Fort Worth, Texas, and Arlington, Texas. UPS operates more than 50 natural gas fueling stations nationwide. It also has stations in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Tamworth, United Kingdom. Building CNG and liquefied natural gas capacity is an important enabler for increasing UPS’ use of renewable natural gas. RNG yields up to a 90% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions when compared with conventional diesel. Last year, UPS used 15 million gallon-equivalents of RNG. UPS is the largest consumer of RNG in the transportation sector, according to the Atlanta-based parcel delivery company. Meanwhile, the latest initiative will help UPS reach its 2020 goal of one in four new vehicles purchased being an alternative-fuel or advanced-technology vehicle. The company also has set a goal of replacing 40% of all ground fuel with sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel. These goals support UPS’ commitment to reduce its GHG emissions from global ground operations 12% by 2025. Using its “Rolling Laboratory” approach, UPS deploys 9,100 low-emission vehicles to determine which technology works best in each route configuration. This includes all-electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, ethanol, CNG, LNG and propane.

The Washington Post / June 19, 2018 DENVER — Colorado’s governor on Tuesday ordered his state to adopt vehicle pollution rules enforced in California, joining other states in resisting the Trump administration’s plans to ease emission standards. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper told state regulators to begin writing rules that incorporate California’s low-emission standards with a goal of putting them in place by the end of the year. Hickenlooper said the strict standards are important to Colorado, citing climate change and noting the state’s elevation makes pollution worse. “Our communities, farms and wilderness areas are susceptible to air pollution and a changing climate,” his order said. “It’s critical for Coloradans’ health and Colorado’s future that we meet these challenges head-on.” Hickenlooper’s order came about three months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would not implement stricter emissions rules adopted by the Obama administration. Those rules would have started with the 2022 model year. California has a waiver under federal Clean Air Act allowing it to impose tougher standards than the U.S. rules. Currently, California’s standards are the same as the federal standards. But if the Trump administration foregoes the stricter Obama-era rules, California could still impose them or others. The law allows other states to apply California’s standards. Colorado would be the 13th state, excluding California, to do so, said Luke Tonachel, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s clean vehicles project. The District of Columbia has also adopted the rules. The states that currently apply California’s rules are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. “Colorado is recognizing along with other states that the federal rollback is both unjustified and harmful, so the governor is joining others in protecting his state’s citizens,” Tonachel said. The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association said California standards might not be a good fit for Colorado because a higher percentage of Coloradans buys pickups, SUVS, vans and all-wheel-drive vehicles, which burn more gas. “We’re disappointed that the state of Colorado, the governor, or regulatory board or anybody else would cede air quality control regulation to an out-of-state, unelected board in Sacramento (California),” said Tim Jackson, president of the association. The Obama rules would have required the nationwide fleet of new vehicles to get 36 miles per gallon (15 kilometers per liter) in real-world driving by 2025. That’s about 10 mpg (4 kilometers per liter) over the existing standard. The EPA announced in April it would scrap the Obama-era rules, questioning whether they were technically feasible and citing concerns about how much they would add to the cost of vehicles. The EPA said it would come up with different rules. California and 16 other states sued the Trump administration over the plan to drop the tougher rules. All the states that joined the lawsuit have Democratic attorneys general. Colorado, which has a Republican attorney general, did not join.

The Ford family is getting in bed with the Nazis.....again. Or, is the question, did Ford ever get out?

VW, Ford eye alliance to develop 'potential products across a number of areas' Automotive News/Reuters/Bloomberg / June 19, 2018 DETROIT/FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen and Ford are exploring a development and production alliance for commercial vehicles, including vans, and possibly other projects that could strengthen both companies' competitiveness. Ford, in a statement, said the two automakers have signed a memorandum of understanding allowing them to explore "potential products across a number of areas -- including developing a range of commercial vehicles together to better serve the evolving needs of customers." The statement said the potential alliance "would not involve equity arrangements, including cross ownership stakes." Some preliminary talks have already been held, one source told Reuters earlier on Tuesday. Word of the preliminary talks leaked out of Germany earlier in the day. “Ford is committed to improving our fitness as a business and leveraging adaptive business models – which include working with partners to improve our effectiveness and efficiency,” Jim Farley, Ford’s president of Global Markets, said in the statement. “This potential alliance with the Volkswagen Group is another example of how we can become more fit as a business, while creating a winning global product portfolio and extending our capabilities." Ford is a leader in medium-duty trucks in the United States, and its F-series pickup has been the best-selling U.S. vehicle for decades. The Ford Transit Connect small van and Ford Transit large van also dominate the U.S. market for commercial vans. VW, which owns the MAN and Scania truck brands in Europe, earlier this year formed a commercial vehicle alliance with Japanese truckmaker Hino Motors Ltd., a Toyota affiliate. VW and Hino said they would consider cooperating in areas such as diesel and gasoline-electric hybrid engines, connectivity and self-driving technologies. VW also has an alliance with Navistar International Corp. and has said it is open to buying a majority stake in the U.S. truckmaker. Thomas Sedran, head of strategy at Volkswagen AG, said in the statement: “Markets and customer demand are changing at an incredible speed. Both companies have strong and complementary positions in different commercial vehicle segments already. To adapt to the challenging environment, it is of utmost importance to gain flexibility through alliances. This is a core element of our Volkswagen Group Strategy 2025. The potential industrial cooperation with Ford is seen as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of both companies globally.” Automakers across the globe are exploring ways to share expenses for developing light commercial vehicles, including electrified models, as cities from Paris to London to Shanghai push for models that will help them improve air quality. The tightening restrictions come at the same time that demand is rising for delivery of goods rising due to increasing popularity of online shopping. VW had cooperated for years with Daimler AG to produce vans, but the German peer ended the joint project several years ago. Eckhard Scholz, the head of VW’s light-commercial vehicle division, told Bloomberg News in October that the company was exploring ways to work together with other manufacturers. Evolving emissions rules were one factor prompting the talks, he said then.

IEPIELEAKS / June 15, 2018 MAN is presenting the new D15 engine platform later this year. The nine liter 400 Hp engine is replacing the current D20. The new D15 is smaller, lighter and has less swept volume. That seems like another step towards less CO2 emissions. The D15 engine is already on the market in MAN busses and coaches. Other, non-confirmed news is that MAN is testing the Scania 16 litre V8 with 730 Hp for heavy transport purposes. It could well be that MAN is going to sell the famous V8 in the heavy transport trucks. That would make sense, because for normal road transport the 16 litres V8 is a bit oversized. News about the new cab of MAN keeps dripping. The new dashboard should look like the previous Scania models. It is a bit ‘cockpit shaped’ in stead of the straight dashboard of MAN that we know. Also the roof is new. This is the high-roof version in combination with the low windscreen. .

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / June 15, 2018 Navistar recently made the Cummins X15 engine available with the Allison TC10 transmission in its International LT Series of heavy-duty, long-haul trucks, and the Allison 3000 Highway Series in its RH Series of Class 8 regional-haul tractors. The LT Series previously only offered the Allison with the International A26 engine. “By offering Allison transmissions with the International LT Series and RH Series, drivers will enjoy a premium environment with incredibly smooth shifting in stop-and-go situations and over the road,” said Jim Nachtman, heavy-duty product marketing director with International. Allison transmissions combine enhanced performance, greater operational flexibility and improved driver comfort and control with industry-leading uptime and reliability. Unlike manual or automated manual transmissions (AMTs), Allison transmissions use a torque converter for Continuous Power Technology to enable smoother, faster and more efficient acceleration. Additionally, there is no dry mechanical clutch prone to wear. “We are pleased Navistar continues to expand the range of Allison products available for their customers,” said Heidi Schutte, vice president of marketing and sales for the Americas with Allison Transmission. “Navistar and Allison have worked closely to provide optimal integration and improve the way our customers work.” The fully automatic Allison TC10 and 3000 Highway Series transmissions are engineered specifically for Class 8 tractor applications. They maximize powertrain efficiency while achieving and maintaining highway cruising speeds. “With the TC10 and 3000 Highway Series, Class 8 tractor fleets no longer have to compromise overall vehicle drivability, transmission reliability or performance,” Schutte said. .

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / June 14, 2018 Mack Trucks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweden-based Volvo Group, has introduced its MP 8HE 13L engine and HE+ fuel-efficiency package for on-highway Anthem models. The OEM said Anthem trucks spec’d with the new engine and package will provide up to a 9.5% boost in fuel efficiency and achieve the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay designation. The MP8HE engine leverages Mack Energy Recovery Technology, which captures waste energy from the engine’s exhaust and converts it to mechanical energy that is delivered back to the engine crankshaft as additional torque. The HE+ package consists of a number of fuel efficiency-enhancing features, including additional aerodynamic components that “take the superior aerodynamic advantage of the Mack Anthem a step further,” according to the truck and engine maker. The Anthem, rolled out in September, boasts an all-new exterior design and optimized aerodynamics. “Customers continue to place a heavy emphasis on improving fuel efficiency, particularly now, as we see fuel prices steadily climbing,” said Jonathan Randall, senior vice president, North American sales and marketing. “Combining our advanced, yet reliable Energy Recovery Technology with additional aerodynamic features, we’re able to achieve significant fuel savings without compromising performance.” Roy Horton, director of product strategy, said that by “capturing and using waste energy from the exhaust, Mack’s Energy Recovery Technology allows the engine to run at lower RPM for less stress on components. This not only improves fuel efficiency, but also helps improve durability and reliability.” The MP8HE is available exclusively with the Mack mDrive automated manual transmission. Fully integrated with the engine, the transmission contributes to overall efficiency by constantly monitoring speed, grade, and load to identify ideal shift points and help ensure the truck is always in the right gear, said the OEM. It also enables the lower, downsped cruise RPM to take advantage of the extra torque provided by the Energy Recovery Technology. The HE+ package adds Mack’s Predictive Cruise, an intelligent system that memorizes a route when cruise control is on, storing up to 4,500 hills in its memory. The next time a driver travels the same route, the OEM said, Predictive Cruise engages the ideal shift strategy for maximum fuel efficiency. In developing the Anthem, Mack noted that “engineers pored over data to design a truck that more easily cuts through the wind. Despite its bold, muscular looks, the Anthem includes a number of aerodynamic enhancements for improved fuel efficiency. Mack’s HE+ package builds on these to deliver the ultimate in efficiency.” Horton said the additional features of the HE+ package include a roof fairing with trim tab, side fairings with extensions, chassis fairings with ground effects, and an aero bumper with spoiler. “Together with the MP8HE, these deliver a fuel efficiency improvement of up to 9.5% compared to a base MP8-equipped Anthem model.” .

https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/45925-mack-trucks-presents-bulldog-convoy-in-the-arctic/?tab=comments#comment-338484

Historical Brochures: https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/historical-brochures.html#ChevyTrucks

The CX was not designed to install the EE9 V-8. Not enough clearance. CX не был конструирован для того чтобы установить и9 V-8. Не хватает зазора.

Hackett vows closer ties with Ford dealers Michael Martinez, Automotive News / June 18, 2018 Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett has promised to be more visible and accessible to dealers after spending much of his first year consumed with getting the automaker in better shape. He made the comments to about 130 of Ford's top U.S. dealers during a meeting in Orlando that largely focused on the company's plan to remove all sedans from its lineup — a decision that caught many of them off guard when it was revealed in April. Hackett said he wished he could have met with more dealers sooner and explained that his time since being named CEO in May 2017 was focused on developing a plan to improve Ford's operational fitness, according to people who were in the room. He promised to attend an October dealer gathering in Las Vegas and in recent weeks has met with dealers in Houston, California and other areas of the country. The Orlando meeting, which dealers and company officials say was positive, included significant discussion about the plan to eliminate sedans in favor of more lucrative utility vehicles. Ford has said it's aiming for the industry's freshest lineup by 2020, with pickups, vans and utilities representing roughly 90 percent of its volume. The only cars remaining are the Mustang and upcoming Focus Active wagon. Ford showed dealers the new products that will replace those sedans. They saw video renderings of a small off-road SUV as well as a battery electric crossover tentatively called the Mach 1, as well as physical prototypes of the next-generation Escape, Explorer, Lincoln Corsair and a Continental with suicide doors, according to those in the room. "When you have a decision this big, there's going to be some concern," Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, told Automotive News. "We understand that, but we're working real hard and the vast, vast majority of dealers are solidly behind what we're doing." How Ford announced the sedan decision — as part of its first-quarter earnings call with no prior input from its dealer council — was a point of contention for some. Ford kept dealers in the dark, LaNeve said, because it enters a quiet period before its earnings when it doesn't discuss decisions that could impact the stock price. Some asked Ford to consider keeping the Fusion name, an idea they said the company seemed receptive to, potentially as a crossover-styled vehicle after 2021. Still others asked for assurances that they wouldn't cede entry-level vehicle sales to rival brands. "Any brand that you've spent hundreds of millions of development, you've got to keep it," said Rhett Ricart, CEO of Ricart Automotive Group in Groveport, Ohio, and a Ford dealer council member. "It's a pretty damn great car. Maybe that's what's so frustrating. But they might surprise you — have a Fusion that's more competitive or is maybe a different type of layout." Since the April 25 sedan announcement, Ford has worked to address concerns. LaNeve said he hosted roughly 20 conference calls on April 26 with dealers from all of Ford's U.S. regions. Jim Farley, Ford's vice president of global markets, gave media interviews explaining Ford intended to reinvent sedans with a different silhouette, not kill them. The Orlando meeting in late May was an annual gathering of high-volume and award-winning retailers known as One Ford Elite. Hackett, Farley and LaNeve were joined by Joe Hinrichs, Ford's vice president of global operations, and Lincoln President Joy Falotico. Ricart said Hackett spoke "deeply and emotionally" and was right to focus on larger corporate issues before turning his attention to Ford's retail network. Ricart said there are always opportunities to communicate better but noted that it's an area where Ford traditionally receives leading scores on an annual survey by the National Automobile Dealers Association.

How aerospace could be a key to GM's future in fuel cells Michael Wayland, Automotive News / June 18, 2018 GM has entered an exclusive deal with Liebherr-Aerospace to develop a hydrogen fuel cell-powered auxiliary power unit for aircraft applications. DETROIT — How does an automaker cover the cost of developing next-generation hydrogen fuel cell technology without piling hundreds or thousands of dollars onto the cost of today's cars and trucks? For General Motors, the answer is to pursue nonautomotive partnerships and commercial revenue opportunities ahead of offering the long-promised technology to consumers. The latest example: an exclusive deal with Liebherr-Aerospace of France to develop a hydrogen fuel cell-powered auxiliary power unit for aircraft applications. An auxiliary power unit typically powers an aircraft's lighting, air conditioning, backup systems and other auxiliary functions. The deal marks what's expected to be the automaker's first major foray into aerospace since it sold its Hughes Aircraft operation two decades ago. It calls for the companies to mutually explore opportunities to leverage Liebherr's strong position as a supplier of on-board aircraft systems with GM's fuel cell technology. "It's all part of our strategy to evolve the technology rapidly to get it reduced in costs so it can be more suitable for a range of applications in the automotive space," Charlie Freese, executive director of GM global fuel cell business, told Automotive News. The aircraft APUs, which are currently powered by gas-turbine engines, are an "introduction point" to other fuel cell applications in aerospace and related fields, Freese said. He said GM "has started some discussions" with aircraft manufacturers, but declined to discuss the talks or details of the company's agreement with Liebherr, citing a nondisclosure agreement. Affordability question The aerospace work at GM represents a potential, if partial, answer to the quandary facing all automakers as they push forward on costly r&d work that could take years to pay off in the consumer marketplace. Emissions controls, fuel-saving systems, safety components and complex infotainment systems are already testing the limits of vehicle affordability, making it harder for automakers to shift costs of alternative powertrain development to new-car buyers. Such initiatives are especially important as GM and other automakers face the prospect of having to pass tariff costs down to their customers as relations with key trading partners fray. "Clearly, we want to make sure that we maintain affordability in vehicles," GM CEO Mary Barra said last week ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting in Detroit, speaking on the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The moves also reflect GM's vigorous defense of its "fortress" balance sheet, a hallmark of the company's strategy after its 2009 emergence from bankruptcy. The financial discipline enforced since then by leaders of the finance team has led GM to quit many unprofitable operations and is expected to continue under the leadership of Dhivya Suryadevara, who takes over as CFO Sept. 1, succeeding Chuck Stevens, who is retiring after 40 years at GM. 'Nice revenue path' GM sees the institutional market and partnerships as a particularly attractive route to commercializing fuel cells. The Liebherr deal follows GM's launch of a defense unit focused on military applications for fuel cells, and its agreement last year to produce fuel cell systems for automotive use through a 50-50 joint venture with Honda Motor Co. around 2020. Such tie-ups and revenue opportunities allow GM to cut costs and scale up volume more rapidly than relying on consumers to embrace, and pay for, the new technology. "I think it's a great idea," said Morningstar analyst David Whiston. "There's no reason they can't do something like that. The military can be a nice revenue path … which is very small today." GM is taking similar approaches with its aggressive plans for all-electric and autonomous vehicles. This month, GM built on its alliance with Honda by announcing a new battery partnership that's expected to call for Honda to buy battery modules based on the next generation of GM's battery system. Building up economies of scale will be critical as GM plans to launch at least 20 EVs and fuel cell vehicles globally by 2023. For the development of self-driving vehicles, including an expected ride-hailing fleet in 2019, GM on May 31 announced a $2.25 billion investment from prominent tech investment firm SoftBank Vision Fund in its autonomous vehicle operations. 'All feasible' GM has been a major proponent of fuel cell technologies since the 1960s. For more than a decade, Freese said, the company has been developing fuel cell technology for aerospace, which is how the partnership with Liebherr-Aerospace began. Like battery EVs, fuel cell-powered vehicles operate on electricity and don't emit pollutants. But rather than storing electricity in a battery, they generate power through a chemical process involving hydrogen fuel, which emits only water vapor. Fuel cells also typically offer refueling times that are comparable to conventional fuels, though they face more serious infrastructure and cost challenges than battery EVs. "We saw a great opportunity here to exploit the advantages of a fuel cell," Freese said. Fuel cell systems can operate either in-flight or on the ground much more quietly and efficiently than current auxiliary power unit systems, he added. He said GM doesn't expect any technical roadblocks in implementing fuel cell auxiliary power units for airlines, but the two companies still need to co-develop the system to aerospace specifications and certification. He declined to discuss the time frame for deployment. "We've developed systems that have been tested in environments like this," Freese said. "We think that's all feasible. There is a lot of work that needs to be done." GM, according to Freese, sees adjacent opportunities even in the water produced by fuel cells — from humidifying the plane to assisting in flushing toilets and water supply.

A lot of people being thrown under the bus to protect one "untouchable" man.......Herr Piech.

Audi CEO Stadler arrested Reuters / June 18, 2018 FRANKFURT -- Munich prosecutors said that Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested on Monday because investigators saw the risk that he might seek to suppress evidence in connection with a diesel emissions probe. Volkswagen's supervisory board has nominated sales and marketing head Bram Schot, 56, as interim CEO at Audi. VW’s supervisory board plans to suspend Stadler. "As part of an investigation into diesel affairs and Audi engines, the Munich prosecutor's office executed an arrest warrant against Professor Rupert Stadler on June 18, 2018," the Munich prosecutor's office said. A judge in Germany has ordered that Stadler, 55, be remanded in custody, it said, to prevent him from obstructing or hindering the diesel investigation. The prosecutors' office last week widened its emissions-cheating probe against Audi to include Stadler among the suspects accused of fraud and false advertising. Volkswagen Group and Audi confirmed Stadler's arrest this morning, adding that the presumption of innocence applied to Stadler's case. Munich prosecutors and Stadler himself were not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for Porsche SE, the company that controls VW and Audi, said Stadler's arrest would be discussed at Monday's board meeting. VW admitted in September 2015 to using illegal software to cheat U.S. emissions tests on diesel engines, sparking the biggest crisis in the company's history and leading to a regulatory crackdown across the auto industry. The U.S. filed criminal charges against former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn in May, but he is unlikely to face U.S. authorities because Germany does not extradite its nationals to countries outside the European Union. The Munich prosecutors said Stadler's arrest was not made at the behest of U.S. authorities. The executive was arrested at his home in Ingolstadt, in the early hours on Monday. The Munich public prosecutor's office said last week it was investigating 20 suspects, and that it had searched the apartment of Stadler and one other current board member. The second suspect is Bernd Martens, Audi's head of purchasing. Martens led a diesel task force at Audi, which was set up to coordinate the handling of the crisis with the parent company. In the U.S., Audi sales have been on a hot streak for more than eight years under the watch of Stadler, who became brand head in 2007. In May, the brand recorded its 103rd straight month of year-over-year sales increases.

Seriously, Detroit is an extremely dangerous city. It's speaks volumes about the state of the United States that such a dangerous place can exist within it.

Ford plots future in a relic of Detroit's past Michael Martinez, Automotive News / June 17, 2018 DETROIT — Bill Ford was a child the first time he stepped through a bronze door into the marble-floored concourse of Michigan Central Station. The Fords were catching a train to California, and Bill was awestruck by the sea of travelers passing under the cavernous lobby's high arches and ornate chandeliers. "I remember walking in, just taking a look and going, "Wow," he said. Decades later, as the towering depot sat derelict and crumbling, it evoked a much different emotion. "I've seen Detroit at its best and at its worst," Ford, 61, said, "and one thing I hated was when the national media was writing about the decay of Detroit, the poster child for that was always the train station. That always really bothered me, because I remembered as a young boy when it was amazing. They kept using that as a metaphor for what happened in Detroit." Now, he's making Michigan Central a metaphor for what his company, and the city where his great-grandfather started it, could become. The automaker last week confirmed its purchase of the 1913 depot, which has marred Detroit's skyline since even before the first Ford Explorer arrived almost 30 years ago. Ford Motor plans to use the 18-story building to anchor a one-of-a-kind research and engineering campus in Detroit, where it envisions having thousands of workers developing autonomous and electric vehicles. It's paying for the project using money earmarked to overhaul its offices, and with the help of substantial tax incentives. Renovating the depot is estimated to take about four years. Ford plans to put around 2,500 employees into the depot and surrounding properties — it's amassing space for up to 5,000 people — and envisions using autonomous shuttles to ferry workers between the campus in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood and nearby cities such as Dearborn, the home of Ford's headquarters. "We're in a war for talent," Bill Ford said in an interview with Automotive News and affiliate Crain's Detroit Business. "And there will be no place in the country that anybody will be able to work that's a place like that. It's a very important branding thing for Ford. It's also important in terms of our intent. We wouldn't have done it if the cost didn't make sense." Community destination Ford Motor hopes the train station will be more attractive to in-demand talent than the cookie-cutter campuses of Silicon Valley or isolated suburban office parks. The company intends to rehabilitate the decrepit concourse into a community gathering spot that's open to the public — akin to San Francisco's Ferry Building, complete with restaurants and retail. Ford workers could be joined by supplier partners or software startups in the office space. And the company said it's considering residential space, potentially putting condos on the top floors. "I want this to be, and believe it will be, a really fun destination for people — both Detroiters and people coming in from outside of Detroit," Ford said. "It would be great if this was one of their first stops. It would be a great place to meet friends and family and then go from there." In addition to the train station, Ford bought a nearby low-rise building and plans to acquire other properties to create a campus totaling roughly 1.2 million square feet. Of that, Ford said three-quarters will be split equally among Ford and its partners, with the rest a mix of retail and residential space. Crain's Detroit Business has reported Ford is working to buy nearly 50 total properties in Corktown, many of which are empty lots and abandoned buildings. Bill Ford declined to divulge a price for the train station or how much it will cost to repair. (Its previous owner spent $8 million to replace its 1,100 broken windows and put in a freight elevator.) He said the project is being absorbed by an undisclosed amount of money the automaker set aside in 2016 to transform its Dearborn campus. Ford said the Dearborn renovation, which outside experts have estimated to cost $1.2 billion, will continue and the company's headquarters will remain in Dearborn, seven miles west. "We're spending no extra money than we already had in our forward budget," he said. Business case Some, including Ford shareholders, have questioned the business case for such a costly project while CEO Jim Hackett orders billions of dollars in cuts to improve the company's "operational fitness." Bill Ford said he thinks the effort will be well worth it. "We are again reinventing the future of transportation, just as we did 115 years ago," he said at his office in the automaker's 1950s-era headquarters known as the Glass House. "And that, to me, is going to be the power of this building. It won't just be a stand-alone, very beautiful building. It will very much be part of the fabric of the new transportation model. And our future at Ford will be largely invented there." 'What if?' Bill Ford first thought of buying the train station in 2017 as he was driving scouting out the Factory — a newly renovated brick building near the depot that now houses about 200 workers on Ford's electrified and autonomous vehicle teams. "I'd always had this vision that we would build the future of Ford Motor Co., particularly as it pertained to autonomy, in a city setting — because that's where these vehicles will be deployed and that's where we need to really try them out," he said. "And so, I would drive by the train station and I started asking myself: 'What if? Is this fantasy?' " It wasn't. Negotiations between Ford's real-estate arm and the depot's owner began in October and went smoothly, he said. The train station marks Bill Ford's third high-profile real-estate project in the region, following extensive renovations of Ford's historic Rouge complex and construction of Ford Field, a football stadium that brought the Detroit Lions back downtown after 27 years in suburban Pontiac. "This dwarfs them all, in my opinion, because of what it means for the future," Bill Ford said. "The future of mobility should be created in Detroit — and I believe it will be." .

Bob, this is the China market variant of the H62X, the JH62X. http://www.360che.com/news/180616/96799.html

There's no such thing as Bosch/Cummins common rail. The superb "XPI" high pressure common rail fuel injection system on ISG and ISX engines, and the entire Scania engine range, is design and produced by a joint venture between Cummins and Scania. The high pressure common rail fuel injection system used on Mercedes-Benz/Detroit Diesel engines is Bosch, and it's quite good. The medium duty ISB and ISC use Bosch-sourced common rail.

Ford's train depot purchase has ties to founding family's heritage Alexa St. John, Automotive News / June 14, 2018 DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s purchase of a blighted former train depot in Detroit as the centerpiece of an urban technology campus carries symbolism that likely factored into the automaker's decision to undertake such an ambitious rehabilitation project. The depot, abandoned 30 years ago, is in a part of Detroit known as Corktown, which has ties to company founder Henry Ford's Irish heritage. Corktown is Detroit's oldest surviving Irish neighborhood, and thus a natural place for Ford Motor to play a role in the city's revitalization. Ford ancestry Most of Henry Ford's ancestors left Ireland in the early 1800s. Ford's grandfather, John Ford, and father, William Ford, were among the 1 million U.S. immigrants from Cork, Ireland, in 1847. Henry Ford, born in 1863 in what is now Dearborn, Mich., grew up with a curiosity for machines amid Detroit's industrial boom. Henry Ford's heritage influenced even his early automobile business decisions. He selected Cork as the site for the first purpose-built Ford factory outside the U.S. in 1917. Much of the Cork factory was dedicated to Ford tractor production. The last Model T ever built, Ford's most iconic contribution to the auto industry, came from the Cork factory's production line in the 1920s, along with the Model A, Model BF, Model Y, Prefect, Anglia, Escort, Cortina and Sierra. Though the company name has since officially changed from Henry Ford & Son, it still uses that moniker in Ireland — the only place in the world it does so. Ford also has the biggest network of dealers of any automotive manufacturer in Ireland, the company said in a statement, with 52 dealerships across the country. Bill Ford, Ford Motor executive chairman and a great-grandson of Henry Ford, celebrated the company's centennial in Ireland last year. "Ford has deep roots in Cork, not only through my family's historical connection, but also through the impact that the Ford factory has had as an engine for prosperity for the area over many decades," Bill Ford said in a statement during the family's travels to Ireland last April. Neighborhood Bill Ford spoke nostalgically of that connection last year, when Ford Motor revealed plans to put about 200 employees into a former hosiery factory in Corktown that it bought and renovated. More than 30 years after Ford closed its Cork factory in 1984, the company is re-emphasizing its cultural heritage, but this time in Detroit. "Henry Ford is synonymous with Detroit," former Detroit mayor Roman Gribbs once said. The train depot Ford bought, known as Michigan Central Station, opened in 1914, 11 years after Henry Ford started his automobile company. Both entities thrived in parallel for much of the 20th century, though Ford's success in making cars more accessible to people contributed to the eventual decline of rail travel and the station's closure. The train station isn't the only Corktown property in which Ford has expressed interest. It has promised to reveal its plans for the area in more detail next week. The family that had owned the depot since 1995 said on Monday that it began having discussions with Ford in October. Ford, whose headquarters in Dearborn are seven miles west of the depot, has many ties to Detroit that go far beyond Corktown. Henry Ford's Piquette Avenue Plant, known as the birthplace of the Model T, is on the city's east side. Detroit's Renaissance Center, a series of 1970s office towers fronting the Detroit River that now house General Motors' headquarters, was conceived by Henry Ford's grandson, Henry Ford II, and financed largely by Ford Motor.

Senate Bill Aims to Repeal Federal Excise Tax on Heavy-Duty Trucks and Trailers David Cullen, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / June 13, 2018 A bill introduced in the Senate on June 12 is the latest attempt to repeal the12% federal excise tax (FET) on the sale of heavy-duty trucks and trailers. The FET-- originally imposed in 1917 to help finance U.S. military operations in World War I-- has grown steadily over the years. It currently tacks $12,000 to $22,000 onto the price of a new heavy-duty truck, according to the American Truck Dealers division of the National Automobile Dealers Association. “This burdensome tax creates excessive costs that are passed on to truckers, who play an essential role in maintaining our nation’s economy,” said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), who is the sponsor of the new bill (designated S. 3052), which seeks to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. “I was happy to introduce legislation to repeal it.” ATD noted in a statement supporting the Senate bill that it is similar in scope to the Heavy Truck, Tractor and Trailer Retail Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 2946), introduced by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) in June 2017, which ATD also supports. The House bill currently has 17 bipartisan cosponsors. The dealer association said that from June 20-21, it will host its annual ATD Legislative Fly-In to Capitol Hill to rally bipartisan support for S. 3052 and H.R. 2946. “It is the highest excise tax Congress levies on a percentage basis on any product, including alcohol and tobacco,” said ATD Chairwoman Jodie Teuton, vice president of Kenworth of Louisiana and Hino of Baton Rouge. “It’s time for Congress to repeal this tax, and we thank Sen. Gardner for his leadership on this important issue.” ATD noted that other supporter of FET repeal include Bendix Commercial Vehicles, Daimler Trucks North America, Mack Trucks, National Trailer Dealers Association, Navistar, NTEA, Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association, Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association, and Volvo Trucks North America.

Ford says fuel cell venture with Daimler will close Reuters / June 13, 2018 DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. and Daimler AG are winding down a joint venture formed to develop automotive fuel cell technology, Ford said on Wednesday, as both companies plan to take their respective fuel cell technology development in-house. The Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp venture, based in Burnaby, British Columbia, will close this summer, Ford said in response to an inquiry by Reuters. Despite years of research and investment by major automakers and startups, vehicles powered by fuel cells remain a tiny niche in the global vehicle market. Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are collaborating on fuel cell development, and Toyota Motor Corp. is ramping up efforts to mass-produce fuel cell stacks. Earlier this week, Ballard Power Systems Inc. extended a contract with Volkswagen AG's Audi unit to work on fuel cell development. Ford "will take fuel cell stack development in-house, as well as leverage the supply base, and close Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp. by summer 2018," the company said. "Both companies will continue to explore ways to cooperate on developing fuel cell stack modules." Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche earlier this year indicated that the German automaker was shifting its focus toward battery-electric vehicles. The venture employed about 200 people, according to its website.

Germany orders Daimler to recall 774,000 diesels in Europe Bloomberg / June 11, 2018 Daimler AG was ordered to recall 774,000 vehicles in Europe after two meetings with Germany’s top regulator failed to allay concerns about irregularities in the Mercedes-Benz maker’s diesel emissions. The carmaker will upgrade engine software in Vito vans as well as the GLC SUV and C-Class sedan, Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said Monday in a statement from Berlin, after meeting with Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche for a second time in two weeks. The government is ordering “an immediate formal recall because of prohibited shutoff devices,” Scheuer said. While a setback for a company that’s steadfastly denied cheating on diesel emissions, the software-focused recall means Daimler escaped more costly measures such as fines or a hardware fix. Speaking with reporters after the announcement, Zetsche said talks with the government had been “constructive.” Government pressure Germany has ratcheted up pressure on Daimler to specify models and the number of vehicles that needed recalling to adjust their exhaust systems, criticizing the company’s piecemeal response to concerns about excessive pollution from its diesel vehicles. The recall comes nearly three years after Volkswagen AG’s sweeping emissions violations. Unlike VW, which admitted duping official emissions tests and faces costs of some 26 billion euros ($31 billion) in fines, buybacks and recalls globally, Daimler has rejected wrongdoing. As the diesel fallout rumbles on, German prosecutors also on Monday named Rupert Stadler, head of VW’s Audi unit, a suspect in the cheating scandal. Unapproved functions Germany’s automotive regulator KBA found five unapproved software functions in Daimler’s Euro 6 diesel engines, affecting as many as 1 million vehicles in Germany, Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday. This follows the KBA instructing the carmaker in May to recall 4,923 Vito vans worldwide that don’t comply with regulations. Daimler at the time said it would go to court if necessary to overturn the order. The company said Monday it’s considering an appeal. The models aren’t currently available in the U.S., according to the brand’s U.S. site. “We don’t see any evidence that Daimler was designing software to deliberately cheat on emission testing,” said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst with Evercore ISI in London, who estimated the cost to be less than 100 million euros. “With this recall, fines are off the table.” Daimler already voluntarily recalled some 3 million vehicles in the EU last year, alongside similar moves by VW and BMW, for software updates to improve emissions performance. Liberal interpretations of loose European Union rules on car emissions, ultimately resulting in many cities failing EU pollution limits, have led to a number of spats between authorities and carmakers. Daimler relies on diesel vehicles for profit and to lower the carbon-dioxide output of its vehicles to meet environmental regulations. Threat of fine Scheuer had threatened the carmaker with as much as 3.75 billion euros in penalties related to diesel-engine emissions irregularities, Spiegel magazine reported following Zetsche’s earlier meeting. For context, during previous standoffs on diesel practices, the ministry failed to make much headway on holding carmakers accountable. In 2016, Opel, then owned by General Motors Co., didn’t end up facing sanctions after then-Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt raised doubts about the legality of devices used in its engine software. The same year, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV snubbed Dobrindt’s request for a meeting to discuss emissions. The country’s automotive industry has been under intense scrutiny since Volkswagen revealed in September 2015 it had rigged as many as 11 million diesel-powered cars to cheat on official emissions tests. Municipalities, battling excessive levels of smog-inducing nitrogen oxide mainly produced by diesel vehicles, have been considering bans. Hamburg made the first move last month with restrictions on two streets. Mercedes recalled more than 3 million cars across Europe almost a year ago for a software patch for their emissions systems.

When you asked your local Mack brand distributor for the name of their regional sales, service or parts representative (whoever you seek), what was their response?