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Owner/Driver / April 4, 2017 A record 38 trailer manufacturers will feature at the 2017 Brisbane Truck Show, a feat attributed in part to the success of Australia’s PBS scheme. Despite the last of the automakers packing up shop, Australian truck and trailer manufacturing industries are burgeoning as our need for higher-productivity vehicles evolves. This year’s Brisbane Truck Show highlights a distinct uplift in trailer manufacturing in Australia, resulting in a record number of exhibitors. The show will host 38 innovative trailer manufacturers, all of whom are finding great success locally despite the presence of low-cost imported trailer options. Show organiser Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) attributes a lot of this success to the maturation of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s (NHVR) Performance-Based Standards (PBS) scheme. HVIA chief executive Brett Wright says PBS offers a specialty area of manufacturing that many trailer builders are taking advantage of. "PBS is an enabler of innovation and productivity," Wright says. "Because PBS applications are by their very nature bespoke, it makes it possible for hundreds of trailer and body builders to succeed creating niche products, where the supply of more generic products becomes a challenge of staying cost-competitive. "Australian trailer productivity is the envy of the world over, with the safety record of our B-double’s to the amazing capacity of our road trains and B-triples. "Our Performance Based Standards scheme allows innovative engineering to achieve much greater productivity from trailers with even greater safety benchmarks." One of a kind Wright points out that Australia is home to a burgeoning truck and trailer industry, in part due to the unique requirements of trucks in service down under. "Australia is home to three major truck manufacturing plants and hundreds of the world’s most innovative trailer, body, component and equipment manufacturers," he says. "You couldn’t have a more professional heavy vehicle industry than we have in Australia, delivering innovative solutions with world-class design, engineering and manufacturing." A competitive hurdle for manufacturers in Australia is the challenge of competing with low-cost imported trailers; however the PBS scheme creates niche opportunities. The NHVR’s chief engineer, Les Bruzsa, notes that not only do PBS-approved combinations provide opportunities for local trailer manufacturers, they also reduce the number of trucks on the road. "PBS vehicles deliver improved productivity and safety through innovative vehicle design," Bruzsa says. "Simply, this means fewer trucks on the road and overall safer vehicles to transport more than two billion tonnes of freight around Australia each year." Pay-off Custom trailer builders, like WA-based Bruce Rock Engineering, are investing in the research and development of high-productivity trailer options and it’s becoming a large component of their business. Director Damion Verghoot explains that the decision to invest in PBS-approved trailers has paid off despite the lengthy process. "We put a lot of work into the PBS trailers probably three years ago now," Verghoot says. "With the super quads, super triples, research and development is important. "But that’s really come to fruition and paid off in the last 12 months. "We do everything in house and the amount of effort we put in was huge, so the wheels were slow to turn but it's kicked off now." As the PBS scheme evolves, it should allow for even more local manufacturing options, despite concerns about overseas manufacturers taking aim at the custom side of the market. "It’s probably a hard thing, because if PBS becomes more of a norm, that’ll lead itself to more numbers and possibly more overseas manufacturing," Verghoot says. "But we’ve put well over 200 PBS trailers on the road so far, and I think Australia’s trailer industry is innovative enough that there will always be a market for locally manufactured PBS gear." The NHVR’s PBS data confirms the outlook of trailer manufacturers, with an impressive 1397 combinations approved last year as well as the relative monopolisation of the dog trailer market. "PBS has been growing at a rate significantly higher than predicted and the number of PBS combinations almost quadrupled since 2013 when the NHVR took over the management of the scheme," Bruzsa says. "In respect to PBS within the domestic trailer manufacturing sector, we saw a significant growth in the dog trailer segment with more than 90 percent of all new 4-axle and 5-axle dog trailers being PBS approved in 2016." Burden While the regulator has taken the PBS scheme to great heights, the process still involves access issues according to the HVIA, which, if ironed out, could lead to further spikes in trailer manufacturing. "The regulator has a challenge working with road managers to allow these combinations on their local networks, however, the selling point is that higher productivity combinations reduce truck movements and they are putting an even greater onus on safety," Wright says. On top of access concerns, the HVIA has called on the regulator to address PBS-related safety concerns. "It is in everyone’s best interests that the PBS scheme continues to grow," Wright says. "It allows the transport industry to move freight far more efficiently. "The payback, however, has to be adhering to benchmark safety requirements. "HVIA has identified that the PBS scheme is at risk given the age loophole and low, outdated braking standards required for approval. "Should at any point we witness a serious accident involving one of the poorer performing PBS vehicles there is a high risk that the scheme could be negatively impacted." For Queensland-based tanker manufacturer, Holmwood Highgate, PBS trailers account for a third of their business. Sales manager Ian Williamson says the quality of locally manufactured custom trailers is a big draw card for buyers. "We’re local and we’ve been around since 1950, so quality is a big factor for us," he says. "The Australian trailer manufacturing industry is always going to be there because a lot of people out there want quality and they don’t want the low-quality issues." While a large portion of Holmwood Highgate’s work is already PBS related, Williamson says it expects it’ll increase further as the process is simplified. "At the present time PBS accounts for probably about 25 to 30 per cent of our work," he says. "We expect that to improve but the biggest problem with the PBS scheme at the present moment is there is a lot of red tape that comes with it. "A lot of people are starting to look at PBS combinations in the 26-metre B-double and 30-metre A-double space, as well as with rigids and dogs. "That requires a lot of development, but we’ve got the approvals." The NHVR is optimistic the PBS scheme will continue to improve manufacturing prospects, safety, and productivity, benchmarking Australian road transport against the rest of the world. "It has now been acknowledged by most of the manufacturers that PBS is the most progressive heavy vehicle design scheme in the world," Bruzsa says. "In terms of trailer design and component selection PBS sets a higher benchmark for manufacturers and opened up new opportunities for designers. "It is likely that the scheme will continue to grow at a strong rate. "It will be exciting to see how far the boundaries of vehicle innovation can be pushed to boost vehicle productivity without experiencing a reduction in safety. Breakdown by state of PBS applications, amendments and variations approved in 2016 Victoria 60% Queensland 19% New South Wales 15% South Australia 4% Tasmania 1% Big productivity: Less trips, bigger loads Sydney-based Bedrock Quarry Products & Bulk Transport has made the move to PBS-approved truck and trailer combinations, with the aim of rolling over its entire fleet to PBS rigs. Director Mick Colley put his 25 years of transport industry experience to use when finding a way to tackle an increasingly competitive industry and growing compliance and operational costs. The solution? Pull more, with fewer trucks. "The solution is less truck movements," Colley says. "When, for instance, you’re looking at a PBS quad-dog compared with a three-axle dog, you can move the same amount with five loads in a quad-dog or six trips in a three-axle dog. "An extra tonne is worth around $12,000 per year to the company, so if you carry an extra six to seven tonnes in a load then that’s a big difference." The company first started running PBS-approved trucks three years ago and since that time, Colley says the fleet of high productivity vehicles has afforded efficiency not possible with off-the-shelf setups. "In 2014, we started getting involved with PBS, and we’ve now got nine PBS vehicles," he says. "We have five quad-dogs, three five-axle setups, one Mack Super-Liner Tridem pulling a five-axle and then an A-double that will arrive sometime in April. "We’re still doing the same rates we did on three-axle dogs, but you can do more. "We’ve got other ideas and the regulators are very keen on looking at our ideas to reduce truck movements. "Within two or so years, we think we’ll be a 100-percent PBS fleet." .

California fuel taxes are headed up, way up Keith Goble, Land Line (OOIDA) / April 7, 2017 The California Legislature voted on Thursday, April 6, to approve a 10-year, $52 billion transportation funding deal. Professional drivers are pegged as major contributors for the plan via a 20-cent diesel tax increase. By a one-vote margin the Senate voted last night to approve the bill. The 27-11 vote cleared the two-thirds supermajority necessary to advance. Assembly lawmakers followed suit shortly thereafter. The chamber needed 54 favorable votes to secure passage to the governor’s desk. The final tally was 54-26 to adopt. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and leading lawmakers of his party unveiled the funding plan in the past week. The deal is estimated to raise $5.2 billion annually for state and local roads, trade corridors, and public transit. The funding package includes a mix of higher taxes and fees. It is described as a “first step” toward making roadways safer and providing a boost to the state’s economy. Assemblyman Rudy Salas Jr. of Bakersfield was the lone Democrat to vote against the bill. He cited concerns about additional tax burdens on his constituents. “The families I represent drive too far to jobs that pay too little.” Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Carson, acknowledged the bill is not perfect. However, he said it ensures the state is moving forward. “Senate Bill 1 passes the smog test,” Gipson commented following the vote. Republicans at the statehouse, including Sen. Ted Gaines of El Dorado, said funds already available to the state were a better option. “And how are the people supposed to believe that this money will actually go to transportation? This state is already diverting a billion dollars in weight fees away from our roads every year.” SB1 would raise nearly $3.8 billion annually mostly via increases in the gas and diesel tax rates. The state’s current tax rates are about 38 cents per gallon, according to the American Petroleum Institute. The excise components making up the tax rates are 27.8 cents for gas and 16 cents for diesel. The bill from Sen Jim Beall, D-San Jose, would increase the excise rate on gas by 12 cents to raise $24.4 billion. The excise rate on diesel would be increased by 20 cents to raise $7.3 billion. The diesel money would be designated for freight, trade corridors and goods movement. In exchange for collecting more in excise taxes, California’s current collection method for fuel taxes would be abandoned. No longer would the state Board of Equalization annually adjust the fuel tax rates. Instead, price-based tax rates would be restored. In addition, the 1.75 percent sales tax applied to diesel purchases would be increased by 4 percent to 5.75 percent. The increase is estimated to raise $3.5 billion. Revenue from the diesel sales tax increase, however, would not directly benefit trucking. The money would be deposited into an account for transit and intercity rail projects. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports efforts to raise revenue for transportation work in the state. However, the group opposes any plan that calls for truckers to foot more of the responsibility to help bail the state out of its funding hole. Additional components in the funding plan would increase annual vehicle registration fees up to $175 and apply an annual $100 fee for zero-emission vehicles. The fees would raise $1.3 billion. All tax and fee rates would be indexed to inflation to allow for increases in future years. In an effort to appease truckers, another provision in the bill would restrict future regulations on emissions related to commercial vehicles. Critics say that exempting trucks from clean air rules has no place in a package to fix roads and improve transit. Beall said earlier in the week at a hearing that the provision would “do no harm.” He said it is merely intended to help an industry that would be heavily taxed. Also included in the bill is reference to SCA2/ACA5 – a proposed constitutional amendment to be included on the June 2018 ballot. Voters would decide whether to ensure all revenue is spent for transportation purposes. The Legislature approved the constitutional amendment question after adding language to include truck weight fees in the protection. Since 2011, weight fees have been diverted from roads to the state’s general fund to pay down transportation-related general obligation bonds. The fees collected top out at $2,271 per truck.

Reuters / April 7, 2017 Germany's Daimler will offer workers at its Mercedes-Benz trucks business voluntary redundancy as it seeks to lower annual costs by 400 million euros (US$424 million) through a mix of budget and headcount reductions, a company spokesman said. The group agreed with labour representatives to launch the redundancy programme on May 1 to cut white-collar staff positions, the spokesman said, confirming a report by German daily Stuttgarter Zeitung. Production workers will not be affected, he said. "The decision was not easy, but considering the volatile truck market and tough competition we did not see any other choice," he said. He said the company had no target for how many jobs would go as part of the programme. The paper had said Daimler aimed to reduce its staff of 15,000 by a total of between 1,000 and 2,000 through measures including the voluntary redundancy programme, internal transfers, early retirement and attrition.

On the move again, the 200-ton railway gun that could fire a shell 13 miles Breach Loading 18inch Rail Howitzer will travel 300 miles to the Netherlands Gun will be in exhibition to mark end of Spanish War of succession in 1713 Short range weapon was last used as coastal defence in Second World War The Daily Mail / March 25, 2017 Britain's largest surviving artillery piece is due to make an historic journey to the Netherlands to mark the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht. The Breach Loading 18-inch Rail Howitzer gun serial number L1 is one of just twelve railway guns left in the world. It was manufactured by the Elswick Ordnance Company set up in 1864. The gun, which weighs 200 tons, has been on display at Larkhill, Wiltshire, since 2008 but today it began its 387-mile journey to the Dutch Railway museum. There, the gun will be displayed as part of their War and Peace exhibition to commemorate the end of the Spanish War of Succession in 1713. In preparation for the move the artillery piece, which was in service between 1920 and 1945, has undergone restoration work after a campaign to return it to good condition. Sergeant Maj Nick Shipton told the BBC it took up to five hours to get the gun off the carriageway and onto a truck. 'It's a complex beast. The size, weight and the fact that it has been together for a few years causes its own issues. But we've done a lot of pre-preparatory work to make sure it can be split,' he said. 'It's most certainly going to be an abnormal load.' Howitzer artillery pieces typically have relatively short barrels and use comparatively small propellant charges to propel missiles high into the air. The barrels were built during the First World War but were completed too late to see action. They were later used to test the accuracy of the 18-inch Howitzer in Shoeburyness, Essex. Their relatively short range of around 13 miles meant that after the First World War the five guns produced were put into storage because longer range weapons were needed. The Howitzer's range was insufficient for cross-Channel firing and hence it was never fired in action. In late 1940 one 18-inch howitzer was brought out of retirement and fitted onto its 95 ton proofing sleigh. It was deployed on the railway mounting Boche Buster which had been used in the First World War to carry a 14-inch gun. The gun was stationed at Bishopsbourne in Kent on the Elham to Canterbury Line as a coast defence gun. It remained there until 1943 as a precaution against possible German invasion. Barrel No L1 was the only one of Britain's railway guns to avoid being dismantled and scrapped in the early 1960s. It was was sent back to Shoeburyness to test fire the efficacy of 1,000lb Bunker Buster Bombs before finally being retired in November 1959. The Howitzer and proofing sleigh were moved to Woolwich, the then home of the Gunners, in June 1991, where it was gifted to the Royal Artillery Historical Trust. After 17 years it was moved to Larkhill in 2008. In the Netherlands the gun will form the centrepiece of the exhibition, to open on March 30 in a grand official opening ceremony involving many dignitaries. It will remain there until September this year, before returning to the UK to a location yet to be confirmed. BL 18-INCH HOWITZER STATISTICS The Breach Loading 18-inch Rail Howitzer gun serial number L1 was in service from 1920 to 1945. It was one of five made in Britain by the Elswick Ordnance Company. It weighs nearly 200 tonnes and its barrel measures 52ft. The gun's shells weighed nearly 180 stone. Elevation varied between 0° - 40° and its effective range was 13 miles. It takes five hours to shift the gun from its carriageway over to the truck which transports it. .

Transport Engineer / April 7, 2017 Trailer supplier Cadwallader has taken delivery of the first production Thermo King SLXi-300 refrigeration system, which has been fitted to a Bizien 13.6m refrigerated trailer in its hire fleet. Oswestry-based Cadwallader operates a 350-strong refrigerated trailer hire fleet and the 2017 spec Bizien triple-axle trailer with the Thermo King SLXi-300 refrigeration system is being used as a demonstration unit across the UK. “We were really excited about the prospect of getting the newly launched SLXi into our fleet as soon as possible,” says Mark Pritchard, Cadwallader’s operations manager. Launched last year at IAA in Hanover, Thermo King’s SLXi system can deliver up to 20% fuel savings. It is the first fully telematics-enabled transport refrigerated trailer unit to include Bluetooth connectivity as standard, delivering full visibility of the unit and load condition using Thermo King’s new TK BlueBox communication device. .

Commercial Motor / April 7, 2017 Western Commercial’s Bellshill branch has supplied Inverclyde Council with 11 Mercedes-Benz Econics refuse trucks. All are 6x2 Econic 2630 models with standard-fit Allison automatic gearboxes and straight-six engines that produce 299hp. Eight have Faun compactor bodies and Terberg bin lifts, while the remaining three are fitted with Titan bodies and CP Davidson lifters. The trucks pick up domestic refuse, dry recyclable and garden waste in wheeled bins, and make traditional collections from tenement properties in Glasgow. Inverclyde Council maintains its vehicles in-house but gets regular parts deliveries from Western Commercial. Workshop technicians at the council benefit from product training sessions delivered by the dealer’s service team. Inverclyde Council’s transport and waste collection team leader Jim Bradley said it was the experience of running four Econics, purchased five years ago, that convinced the council to place the latest order. “Those vehicles were extremely reliable and well-built with highly competitive running costs”, he said. “The support we receive from Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Western Commercial has been first-class, the dealer’s sales executive Robert Snodgrass is a municipal specialist so he understands our requirements and the tendering process.” .

Commercial Motor / April 6, 2017 Suffolk recycling specialist Indigo Waste Services has added the first rear-steer Renault Trucks Range C 8x2 into its fleet due to a pressing need for more volume. The high specification 32-tonne C430, supplied by Thompson Commercials (Boston) on a seven-year full repair and maintenance contract, is fitted with a 20-tonne Palfinger PK17001 crane. It includes an extra bottle bank attachment and Webb steel fixed side tipping body with high partition, all supplied by Webb Truck Equipment, Acton, Suffolk. The new C430 is expected to clock up to 100,000 km per year operating across East Anglia on Indigo’s new contract with Palm Paper, collecting cans, plastics, glass and mixed paper from a well-known supermarket’s recycling bins. Indigo Waste’s MD Gary Lee said: “I needed a bigger truck that could give us more capacity. We’ve been running Ts and Ds for a while and we’ve always been delighted with the trucks and the service received from Thompsons. “Paper is dense with a greater volume to weight ratio, so I opted for the Renault Trucks eight-wheeler this time. “The C430’s rear steer also gives us a better turning circle and more manoeuvrability when getting in and out of the tight recycling areas.” .

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / April 7, 2017 - New emission taxes for hauliers - Transport managers need to remain vigilant when nominated for O licence - Vosma Vervoer, the South African haulier with a parrot named Polly .

Truck & Driver / April 7, 2017 An Iveco Stralis NP (natural power) has completed the 850-mile journey from John O’Groats to Land’s End on a single fill of liquified natural gas (LNG). The 4×2 tractor, which Iveco refers to as “Europe’s first long-haul gas-powered truck”, was equipped with the 8.7-litre Iveco Cursor 9 natural gas engine, matched to a Eurotronic 12-speed transmission. It delivers 400hp and 1,700Nm, and has similar driving characteristics to an equivalent diesel-powered truck. The New Stralis NP operated with a laden tri-axle trailer for the first 808 miles, only dropping the trailer at a truckstop in Redruth as the Land’s End Visitor Centre cannot accommodate 13.6m trailers. Truck & Driver’s editor in chief, Will Shiers, who was behind the wheel of the 30-tonne artic for much of the drive, says: “Gas-powered trucks of old were about as appealing as a dose of the clap, but this is different. It performs well and drives nicely. It’s a cleaner, cheaper, viable alternative to diesel. “The red light came on the fuel gauge about 50 miles from Land’s End, so it was touch and go whether or not we were going to make it. The last 10 miles were about as stressful as Christmas with my mother-in-law.” Although the UK has Europe’s most comprehensive LNG filling station network, the closest site to John O’Groats is Carlisle, and the nearest to Land’s End is Bridgwater, meaning the truck had to be low-loaded to and from the start and finish points. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / April 7, 2017 On 6 April 2017, as part of a ceremony at the Renault Trucks manufacturing site in Bourg-en-Bresse, Thierry Pigeon, Managing Director of Groupe Pigeon, received the keys to a C430 8x4 truck from Renault Trucks President Bruno Blin. This particular vehicle was the 800,000th truck produced by the Renault Trucks assembly line in Bourg-en-Bresse, in operation since 1964. On Thursday, 6 April 2017, Renault Trucks President Bruno Blin gave Thierry Pigeon, President of Groupe Pigeon, the keys to the 800,000th truck produced by the Renault Trucks plant in Bourg-en-Bresse. This 800,000th vehicle, a C430 8x4 with a cement mixer, will join Pigeon's fleet of 500 trucks. "Groupe Pigeon owns a number of Renault Trucks vehicles. We know that we can count on their quality, reliability, and robustness, year after year," said Thierry Pigeon, President of the Groupe Pigeon. "We are very pleased with the fuel efficiency and technical innovations of the new Renault Trucks range, as well as their comfort and ease of use. These trucks provide our drivers with the best possible working environment." During the ceremony, Bruno Blin stated: "Bourg is an exceptional site. Since 1964, the plant has been making vehicles that meet the most stringent requirements from professionals such as Groupe Pigeon. And our ability to provide exactly what the market requires stems from our close relationships with our clients." During the ceremony, Bruno Blin thanked Kertrucks, Renault Trucks dealer in Brittany, which collaborates with Groupe Pigeon. The Renault Trucks manufacturing site in Bourg-en-Bresse was built in 1964. The site’s 1,400 employees produce 120 trucks each day for the company's long haul, construction, and heavy construction ranges (T, C and K). Renault Trucks also has three other manufacturing sites in France: Lyon, Limoges, and Blainville-sur-Orne. .

Volvo Trucks Press Release / April 6, 2017 Family-owned Finnish haulers Kuljetus S. Simpanen Oy must transport loads of up to 80 tonnes through thick snow and ice, and over steep, narrow roads. It is a tough assignment and it requires the toughest of trucks - in this case a Volvo Truck FH16 750 with I-Shift with Crawler Gears. “I have an almost perfect timber truck. If God made a better one, he kept it for himself,” says owner Saku Simpanen. For English subtitles, click on the "CC" icon in the lower right corner after beginning the video.

IVECO Trucks Press Release / April 7, 2017 The IVECO plant in Madrid is the first of CNH Industrial's 64 facilities located around the world to achieve the highest level in manufacturing excellence. Achieving the Gold WCM Level has required a profound transformation of production systems as well as significant environmental and safety improvements, in which the involvement of everyone at the plant has been essential. The Madrid plant manufactures the heavy line of IVECO vehicles, which consists of the New Stralis NP and XP, and Trakker ranges for the global markets. The IVECO plant in Madrid, Spain, is the first manufacturing facility of the CNH Industrial Group to reach Gold Level in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) program - one of the global manufacturing industry's highest standards for the integrated management of manufacturing plants and processes. With this achievement, the plant is now the highest ranking facility in terms of manufacturing excellence amongst the Group's 64 facilities worldwide. Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, commented: "We are very proud of the Madrid plant and its WCM Gold Level. This is a huge achievement, which has been made possible by the teamwork, commitment and determination of everyone here at the plant. We have made important investments in the facility, and through the sustained efforts of all the people involved in the production we have completely overhauled the manufacturing processes. The result is best-in-class quality for every single vehicle that leaves the assembly plant." Tom Verbaeten, CNH Industrial Chief Manufacturing Officer, added: "We started work on re-engineering all the processes at our plant 10 years ago, and it has been a relentless effort in continuous improvement. Today the plant is at the very top in terms of manufacturing quality. We have reached the very best-in-class level, but this is not the point of arrival: it is the beginning of our next era of excellence, and we will be working just as hard in this continuous improvement process to bring our customers the very best quality in their IVECO trucks." The Madrid plant has achieved the best results in its history in this WCM audit as a result of the improvements it has introduced over the years, which have translated into a continuous increase in safety, high quality in the processes and products, and a level of service of 100%. In addition, the plant's exceptional environmental improvements have resulted in a 53% reduction in CO2 emissions per manufactured vehicle and in the facility recycling 99% of its waste. The majority of these improvements have been possible thanks to the involvement of the plant's employees through a suggestions program, in which the Madrid plant is a global reference within the Group with 28 suggestions made by each employee every year. The Madrid plant: from Spain to the rest of the world The Madrid IVECO plant hosts the production lines and Research & Development centre for the brand's heavy range: the New Stralis, both in the Diesel version, the Stralis XP, and in the CNG and LNG versions, the Stralis NP, as well as the Trakker. The flexible and complex production process of the site enables it to produce up to 300,000 different versions of these vehicles. 87% of this production is destined for export, mainly to European markets, but also to Africa, Asia and South America. The plant employs over 2,500 people, with the highest percentage of female employees in the Spanish automotive sector: 21%. Last year the site received the Kaizen Institute's Excellence Award in the System of Continuous Improvement category. Madrid: a factory full of history IVECO acquired the Madrid facility in 1990, when it took over the historic Spanish truck brand Pegaso. In 2016, the facility celebrated the 70th anniversary of Pegaso and paid homage to a name that was the driving force of industrialization in Spain for many years with the presentation of a Limited Edition Stralis. Pegaso was born in 1946 as Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones (ENASA). The project for the large manufacturing plant in Madrid was started immediately and the first phase of construction was completed in 1955. Pegaso's total production in Madrid, from 1946 to 1990, reached 405,000 units. In 2008, under the name IVECO Pegaso, the manufacturing site reached the milestone of one million sold vehicles. IVECO and its commitment to Spain The second IVECO plant in Spain, located in Valladolid, is also among the very best of the 64 plants of CNH Industrial in the world, only one point away from the Gold level. In 2012, IVECO decided to concentrate all manufacturing activities of its heavy range in Spain, which meant doubling production in the country. Since then, it has invested 500 million euros in the Spanish plants and aims to continue to increase the production capacity and specialization of the two plants in Madrid and Valladolid. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / April 7, 2017 On March 14, 2017 the MAN Trucks heavy truck assembly plant in Niepołomice near Cracow, Poland, marked an extraordinary milestone. It produced its 90,000th truck since opening. The milestone vehicle was a MAN TGS 18.420 4x2 BLS - TS semitrailer truck, which was received by Marek Sachs, managing director of Polish transport company Sachs Trans. Sachs Trans already operates a fleet of some 50 vehicles with the famous lion on the front. They are mostly 460 and 500 horsepower MAN TGX EfficientLine 3 semitrailer trucks, though the company also runs MAN TGX 26.500 6x2/4 BLS tractor units for heavy-duty domestic and international transport services. The semitrailer truck handed over on March 14 is one of 80 vehicles Sachs Trans has ordered this year, and is the 90,000th truck the MAN plant has produced since it began operating in October 2007. At the facility near Cracow MAN produces trucks of the TGX and TGS model series, which are shipped all around Europe. It also produces heavy truck models for global markets. .

MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / April 6, 2017 .

First MAN TGE rolls off the line MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / April 6, 2017 A month after the sales launch, the first production MAN TGE is rolling off the line at the newly constructed plant in Wrzesnia, Poland. The teams headed by Jens Ocksen (CEO of Volkswagen Poznan) and Dennis Affeld (Senior Vice President Sales Van at MAN Truck & Bus) jointly take delivery of the first MAN TGE, a silver van with the VIN number … 01. The launch of the TGE marks the start of a new era for MAN. It is the first time MAN Truck & Bus has marketed a light commercial vehicle, and represents a response to the demand from many long-standing customers in the logistics, courier and parcel service, after-sales and trades sectors. The main reasons for the increasing use of large vans are the expansion of online shopping, harmonised driving licence regulations, the wide-ranging versatility of the vehicles and their car-like handling and performance. Increasing urbanisation, especially, is driving demand for a broad range from 3 tonnes gross vehicle weight rating upwards. Good reasons, indeed, to source such a model within the Group, utilising available synergies. "Our recently established plant in Wrzesnia is setting new quality standards. The vehicles undergo a wide range of quality checks. The dimensional stability of the body shell itself is repeatedly checked during the assembly process by automated lasers and digital cameras on multiple geometric stations. I am therefore delighted to be supplying the MAN brand with a model of such high value added as this first TGE", comments Jens Ocksen. Dennis Affeld enthusiastically agrees: "We are looking forward to combining the high-quality production standards of the TGE with MAN's professional sales and service network. We have no doubt our customers will love it. We plan to sell about 20,000 vehicles a year." The vehicle with VIN number 1 is a silver van with a short wheelbase and high roof. The high-roof MAN TGE is around six metres long with a load capacity of 10.7 cubic metres. The van – in weight rating variants up to 3.5 tonnes – is powered by a highly efficient 1968 cm3 capacity diesel engine developing 103 kW/140 hp. There is already one site where the vehicle will be in use: the MAN plant in Munich. .

Kenworth Truck Co. Press Release / April 7, 2017 .

Transport Topics / April 7, 2017 A few months ago, the letters “O-N-D” – each maybe a foot high or so – hung high up on the front wall of a warehouse building at Richmond Marine Terminal. Maybe there was a freight company operating at the site with that name – OND Inc.? Nah. A closer look showed the stubby remains of 11 letters, apparently lost over time, that once preceded the three left standing. Any “Wheel of Fortune” watcher could put it together: “PORT OF RICHMOND.” The Richmond Deepwater Terminal, as it was known before being dubbed the Port of Richmond, has seen its share of hard times, perhaps reflected in those 11 missing letters in the signage. Within the past year or so, though, there’s a fresh breeze of sorts blowing through the place. After signing a five-year lease of the facility in late 2010, the Virginia Port Authority signed another one early last year, enabling it to invest in and operate the facility – rebranded as Richmond Marine Terminal – for 40 years, through 2056. The signing of the longer lease was also marked by the unveiling of a big new piece of equipment – a $4.2 million, 350-ton crane, bought with money from a federal grant, that will speed up container handling. Also, a dozen ocean carriers now offer bills of lading directly to Richmond, maybe the maritime freight equivalent of having an airline boarding pass right through to one’s destination. Pieces are slowly beginning to drop into place. “We know the Richmond Marine Terminal has not had any capital expenditures for a long, long time,” John Reinhart, the port authority’s executive director and CEO, said in the first State of the Port address held in Richmond last year, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch report. “It was getting by, but it wasn’t thriving,” The Times-Dispatch quoted him as saying. “The men and women that worked there were doing the best they could with what they had. What we’re trying to do is energize the facility.” A lifeline connecting the Port of Virginia and the Richmond operation, however, had actually been thrown in 2008, with the startup of the James River Barge Line’s 64 Express, a service linking the Port of Virginia’s container terminals to the facility, recently enhanced with the addition of a new barge that can carry 125 of those 40-foot-long containers hauled by trucks and trains in and out of the port. Custom-built to make three round trips a week, the vessel is helping position the Richmond operation as a kind of safety valve for the port, which is preparing to expand its two largest terminals. The port’s investment in the Richmond terminal is a way for it “to extend itself westward as far as deep water will allow,” said Ed Whitmore, owner and president of Norfolk Tug Co., which owns the James River Barge Line. “The timing of this is critical,” said Joe Harris, a port spokesman. “This is a very important piece of the puzzle, keeping cargo moving during our expansion.” The facility has the capacity to handle 50,000 to 60,000 TEUs – containers measured in 20-foot units – which may seem like a drop in the bucket compared with the port’s total volume of 2.6 million TEUs last year. Add that to the 78,000-TEU capacity of the VirginiaInlandPort in Front Royal and there’s the promise of at least a little relief. “This allows us to push our operation in, 100 miles,” Harris said about the barge link. Last year, the Richmond terminal moved more than 34,000 TEUs, a 32.8 percent increase from 2015. While the operation is preparing to move more cargo, there’s one thing it already has in abundance: history. Owned by the city of Richmond, the terminal opened in 1940 as a general marine-cargo facility on the west bank of the James River, roughly 5 miles from downtown Richmond. It was built on land that once had been part of the unincorporated town and port of Warwick, burned by British troops in 1781, according to city records. Because of the rapids that block any ship traffic west of Richmond as well as a sandbar in the river, Warwick was about as far up the James as many vessels could get. In its heyday, the facility moved a lot of sugar, tobacco and newsprint . As markets, logistics and supply chains evolved, the Richmond terminal began to show its age. As the recession surged about 10 years ago, the facility’s business dried up and waterborne cargo moving through the complex fell by 78 percent, according to the city. It was at about that point that the Virginia Port Authority came to the rescue, though more than a century earlier, Richmond seemed to have a future as a port on its own. The now-defunct Chesapeake & Ohio Railway once envisioned Richmond as a coal-export center, so much so that it built a tunnel through the Church Hill section of the city, with the hope of linking the city’s docks to the railroad’s main lines, said Walter Griggs Jr., a retired VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity professor who has written several books about Richmond history. The tunnel opened in 1873; the last train passed through it in 1902. It collapsed in 1925 while it was being restored to service, killing several people. After that, the tunnel was sealed. Richmond’s port-city status lasted about eight years, Griggs wrote in “The Collapse of Richmond’s Church Hill Tunnel.” “Excellent docks and the Church Hill Tunnel could not make the James River deeper or straighter to accommodate the large oceangoing vessels being built at that time.” After a promised dredging project on the James River failed to materialize, railroad tycoon Collis Huntington decided to extend the C&O tracks 74 miles to Newport News and its deep-water harbor. “Now trains rolled through Richmond to the new terminal without stopping,” Griggs wrote. The city, though, got excited in the winter of 1942, when news broke that the Navy had plans to build a shipyard in Richmond. A site had been purchased at the end of 4th Street in South Richmond and there were plans to lease a site close to what’s now the Richmond Marine Terminal, according to another of Griggs’ books, “World War II: Richmond Virginia.” It didn’t take long for the plans to unspool, though: U.S. Sen. Harry Byrd of Virginia announced on April 30, 1942, that the shipyard was canceled. “Richmonders took the demise of the shipyard in stride but regretted all of the federal government funds that were used for no purpose,” Griggs wrote. With the size of oceangoing vessels today challenging ports all over the country and the world, the idea of a container ship making its way up the snaky James River seems a little ridiculous. Yet the big barge that threads its way up and down the river from the port, in water depths that range up to about 24 feet near the Richmond terminal, offers some promise of a gradual transformation. To walk the 121-acre site today is, in some ways, a journey back in time, offering a glimpse of what port facilities everywhere were like before cargo containers revolutionized the maritime industry. Like a Hollywood set for a film about life on the docks back in the day, the cavernous warehouses are a mix of empty space and breakbulk cargo – noncontainerized goods packed in or on bales, drums, crates and the like. Here are pallets of tile bound for Kentucky; there, giant bags of plastic pellets bound for Pakistan and India. What appear to be connecting rail tracks lie just outside the doors of the warehouses, though they haven’t been used in decades. There is, though, an active CSX line on the property, which runs parallel to Interstate 95, adjacent to the terminal grounds. The operations aren’t restricted to the riverside warehouses. In another area of the site, trucks wait to dump their loads of soybeans and other grains from around the region onto a conveyor belt system that whisks them into waiting containers already on the backs of trucks. It’s a work in progress and port officials say they’re in it for the long haul. Years ago, the terminal was a bustling regional hub. “Our plan is to make it that again,” Harris said. “It’s going to take some time.”

California Strikes Deal with Truckers to Hike Fuel Tax Heavy Duty Trucking / April 7, 2017 A bill to raise fuel taxes that could bring in $5.2 billion a year has advanced through the California legislature and needs only to be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) before going into effect. The base excise tax will jump 12 cents per gallon for regular gasoline and 20 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. In addition, the sales tax on diesel fuel will increase by four percentage points, according to the Los Angeles Times. The money will be used to support California’s aging transportation infrastructure. To pass the bill, the governor tried to garner support from the trucking industry because the diesel tax will mostly impact transportation companies. The diesel tax alone will generate at least $10 billion in revenue over the next ten years. Gov. Brown was able to strike a deal with lawmakers that will restrict the state from requiring owners to retire or retrofit trucks to meet new greenhouse gas regulations before they're 13 years old or reach 800,000 miles. Truck owners could keep vehicles as long as 18 years in some cases, according to the U.S. News and World Report. That move that was predictably unpopular with environmental groups, which contend the provision will delay the impact of clean air regulations and harm California residents, particularly around busy ports and in areas with heavy truck traffic. The bill also includes an increase in license and registration fees based on the value of the vehicle. The taxes and fees will increase over time with inflation. The fuel tax hikes will take effect on Nov. 1 and the vehicle fee increases will start on Jan. 1, 2018. The bill was contentious, with Republican lawmakers arguing against the increase in a state that already pays the highest fuel prices in the nation. This is the first gas tax increase in 23 years for California. It comes on the heels of a recent New Jersey bill that increased fuel taxes in that state for the first time in 28 years. Aging infrastructure is a hot topic both nationally and locally, with multiple states voting in favor of infrastructure reform during the election season late last year. President Trump has indicated that one of his priorities is to increase infrastructure funding by as much as $1 trillion through public and private investment.

NAPA offers EZ Oil Drain Valves Fleet Owner / April 7, 2017 The EZ Oil Drain Valve is now available at all participating NAPA Stores nationwide. With more than 6,000 stores across the country, NAPA noted it is one of the largest outlets for automotive replacement parts and accessories. The EZ Oil Drain Valve replaces the stock oil drain plug on any engine, making oil changes easier, cleaner, and faster. Turn the lever to drain oil, and the lever securely locks when closed.

“We cannot be the policemen of the world. We cannot protect countries all over the world" Donald Trump (Sept 26, 2016) I couldn’t agree more. Based on what we’re told, we simply can no longer afford to be. In 1941, with the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) well on their way to taking over the world, the U.S. was the last major nation capable of mounting a decisive offensive. We fell into a major global role that the United States until that time never had. The same metrics however do not apply today. Tomahawk missiles allegedly cost $832,000 each. (Do you really trust them to tell you the true cost?) Trump ordered the launch of 59 missiles, meaning the U.S. taxpayer just spent US$49 million. Note: A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said only 23 of the 59 missiles hit their target. There’s probably some truth to that, as British observers saw aircraft take off from Shayrat Airbase just hours after the strike. Now remember, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on March 2 that we must unleash private investment to fund U.S. infrastructure upgrades, because "our country can no longer take decades to build a new bridge or a new road, a new highway or airport" due to a lack of funding. If the President of the United States wants to give Israel US$38 billion in military assistance, if the Pentagon wants to reorder $49 million plus worth of replacement missiles (price increase), or if the state department wants to build maternity wards, water wells and school bathrooms in Cambodia, taxpayer funding is “always” available. However, if we need new bridges, roads, highway or airports…………..right here in the United States, we’re always told that there is an inadequate amount of funding (taxpayer money) available for said projects. What’s the truth? One side says that Assad launched an attack with chemical weapons. On the other hand, Russia might be more likely to know the truth, whatever it may be, due to its on-the-ground support of the Syrian government. Russia said Wednesday that the toxic gas that killed 83 people [including 27 children per UNICEF] and wounded 150 in northern Syria the day before was released accidentally when a Syrian air strike hit a "terrorist warehouse" containing "toxic substances." "According to the objective data of the Russian airspace control, Syrian aviation struck a large terrorist warehouse near Khan Shaykhun that housed a warehouse making bombs, with toxic substances," the Russian defense ministry said. "The arsenal of chemical weapons" was destined for fighters in Iraq, the Russian defense ministry added. Certainly, truth has long been an illusive commodity in the Middle East. In fact, the region thrives on disinformation. Note that you didn’t hear a peep in condemnation of the toxic gas attack from the Middle East’s United Nations-like body, the Arab League, nor from the powerful and wealthy members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). The Middle East is their “neighborhood”. It’s their problem. But you never see their words, if any at all, supported by actions. As Trump said, the United States cannot be the policemen of the world. We cannot protect countries all over the world. It’s a hard sell to the U.S. taxpayer in year 2017 why we need to do what other neighboring countries on the other side of the world should be doing. The event as told to us, by whoever’s hands, was a disgusting and barbaric act. But if we keep stepping in around the world, we’ll be expected to the next time……and the next time……and the next time. Pro-Bexit leader Nigel Farage said: ‘I am very surprised by this [the U.S. attack]. I think a lot of Trump voters will be waking up this morning and scratching their heads and saying “where will it all end?” ‘As a firm Trump supporter, I say, yes, the pictures were horrible, but I’m surprised. Whatever Assad’s sins, he is secular [not subject to or bound by religious rule].’ ‘Previous interventions in the Middle East have made things worse rather than better,’ said Farage. Many western countries congratulated the U.S. on its attack, including the UK, France and Germany. Given their ongoing nightmare with Syrian refugees and close proximity to Syria (versus the United States), why didn’t they one or all man up and orchestrate the attack, rather than the distant United States? Why didn’t NATO collectively attack? It’s mandate has been distorted to justify doing almost anything else. Because the UK’s military is a mere shell of its former self? (https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/46404-what-the-us-should-learn-from-britain’s-dying-navy/#comment-341940) Because Germany refuses to fulfill its NATO obligation of spending 2 percent of its GDP on military spending? Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on March 1 said: “While Germany accepts it must increase its defense spending from today's 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), 2 percent is too much (no appreciation for the U.S. letting Germany Inc.'s Volkswagen off the hook for billions). Gabriel said it is "completely unrealistic to raise expectations in Germany or among our partners that we will add 30 billion euros to our defense spending over the next eight years." Speaking on the strike, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said the UK would not be involved in any military action without parliamentary approval. Where is it written that the U.S. is always obligated to ride in and right the world’s problems?

Trailer/Body Builder / April 6, 2017 Volvo Trucks North America won a summary judgment on March 31 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia over the disputed sale of truck dealerships in Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. In an unusual case that focused on the extent and interpretation of Volvo’s right of first refusal, U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Dillon ruled that Truck Enterprises, Inc. (TEI), owner of dealerships selling several truck brands, must apprise Volvo of the value of its assets before moving forward with its proposed sale to Transport Equipment Company, Inc. In addition to Volvo, some of the TEI dealers also sell Kenworth and Isuzu vehicles. TEI argued that right of refusal didn’t require it to separate Volvo from the rest of the anticipated sale, and instead obliged Volvo to stand in the shoes of Transport Equipment Company and acquire all of TEI at the negotiated price. Volvo filed suit in 2016. TEI responded by seeking summary judgment plus damages for Volvo’s delaying the sale to Transport Equipment Company. Judge Dillon’s summary judgment ruling completely vindicated BakerHostetler’s trial team’s argument on behalf of Volvo. She wrote, “A right of first refusal does not function for the benefit of manufacturers—the holders of the right—if dealers can freely bundle encumbered property with unencumbered property and force a manufacturer to buy the whole package or waive its right.” In addition to denying TEI’s motion for summary judgment, the judge ruled that the sale proposal between TEI and Transport Equipment Company must include the price for Volvo’s assets, at which time Volvo’s period for deciding whether to exercise its right of first refusal will commence. BakerHostetler lawyers team on behalf of Volvo Trucks included David Jarrett, Elizabeth Scully, and William Geise.

Don Rickles, lightning-fast launcher of comic insults, dies at 90 The Washington Post / April 6, 2017 Don Rickles, the irrepressible master of the comic insult whose humor was a fast-paced, high-volume litany of mockery in which members of his audience were the (usually) willing victims of his verbal assaults, died April 6 at his home Los Angeles. He was 90. The cause was kidney failure, said his publicist, Paul Shefrin. When Mr. Rickles developed his stand-up act in the 1950s, his humor was considered shocking, with a raw, abrasive, deeply personal edge. If he wasn’t the first “insult comic,” he was by far the most successful and most widely imitated, becoming a fixture on television and in nightclubs for decades. Trained as a dramatic actor, Mr. Rickles appeared in films and television series and was the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the popular “Toy Story” series of animated features that debuted in 1995. But for more than 50 years, he practiced a distinctive brand of improvisational, sarcastic humor that made him one of the most original and influential comedians of his time. His brash, snappish style became a major influence on many younger performers, including comedians Louis CK, Lewis Black and Zach Galifianakis, radio shock jock Howard Stern and even the writers of the mouthy cartoon character Howard the Duck. People vied for front-row seats at nightclubs, practically begging to be skewered by Mr. Rickles, who was variously known as the Merchant of Venom, the Sultan of Insult or, as “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson dubbed him in ironic endearment, Mr. Warmth. “Don is saying the things that other people are thinking,” comedian Bob Newhart, Mr. Rickles’s best friend, told The Washington Post last year. “There’s an expectation of risk when you go and see a Rickles show.” No one was spared from his hectoring, whether celebrities, royalty, presidents or, especially, Mr. Rickles himself. His reputation was established in 1957, when he noticed the often-combative Frank Sinatra in the audience at a nightclub in Miami Beach. Mr. Rickles poked fun at a recent movie Sinatra had made, then said, “Hey, Frank, make yourself at home. Hit somebody!” Sinatra burst out laughing, became one of Mr. Rickles’s biggest supporters, and a career was launched. Mr. Rickles did not tell jokes with traditional punchlines, did not make topical comments about the news and did not use crude profanity. Every show was spontaneous, built largely around his caustic observations about members of the audience. “There’s something truly artful about his delivery,” director Martin Scorsese — who hired Mr. Rickles to play a Las Vegas casino manager in the 1995 film “Casino” — once told the New York Times. “Many other comedians who practice insult humor are either way too broad or they hide behind a character,” Scorsese added, “but Rickles keeps this balance between levity and relentlessness. And it’s all improvised, which is really the hardest thing to do, and he makes it look like the easiest, most graceful thing in the world.” Short, bald and stocky, Mr. Rickles walked on the stage “looking like a snapping turtle surfacing in a pond,” as a New Yorker profile put it in 2004. He glanced around the room at his prey. Overweight people, men accompanied by younger women, racial and ethnic minorities — all were subject to his relentless barrage of smart-aleck buckshot. [Don Rickles was politically incorrect before it was incorrect. And at 90, he’s still going.] Mr. Rickles’s chief comedic weapons were exaggeration and ridicule, deployed in a rapid, sharp-tongued style that stacked one quip on top of another until audiences were helpless with laughter. He especially delighted in tweaking the rich and mighty and became renowned for his biting performances at celebrity roasts. “The bigger a person is,” Mr. Rickles told the Newark Star-Ledger in 1993, “the more pleasure I take in knocking them down a notch.” At a tribute to Clint Eastwood, Mr. Rickles said, “Clint, I’m sorry, but I just gotta say what’s on everybody’s mind here tonight: You’re a terrible actor.” While filming “Casino,” Mr. Rickles decided to needle the film’s star, Robert De Niro, who had twice won Academy Awards. “They warned me what a serious guy De Niro is,” Mr. Rickles told the New York Daily News. “They warned me not to make jokes. So the third day of shooting, I looked him straight in the face and told him: ‘I can’t work with you. You can’t act.’ The guy fell on the floor. He didn’t stop laughing for 18 weeks. Scorsese fell on the floor too, but he’s so small we couldn’t find him.” Mr. Rickles developed a persona that was a carefully crafted combination of cocksure wiseguy, playground bully and naughty, insecure child who just pulled the dog’s tail. In the 1950s, he was working in Washington at a cramped strip club called the Wayne Room when he hit on a formula that became his stock-in-trade: He became a heckler from the stage. “The place was like a hallway,” he recalled in a 1977 Post interview. “The customers were right on top of you, always heckling, and I began giving it right back to them.” The secret of his comedy was in his delivery, which was a blizzard of mockery, raillery and mayhem. His all-purpose put-down for dolts was to call them “hockey pucks.” He often mentioned his Jewish background, his mother and his wife, Barbara, for comic effect, as one sharp-edged observation collided with another in madcap verbal detonations. During a live 1968 performance at the Sahara in Las Vegas, every element in Mr. Rickles’s comic arsenal was on display when he discovered that an audience member was Lebanese: “God put us on this earth to laugh. Am I right? He made you a Lebanese? He made me a Jew. So what? “What’s your first name? Mohammed? Habib? “I’ve met you before, haven’t I? That’s right, you hung my uncle. . . . Where’d I meet you, Habib? Lake Tahoe, that’s — Barbara was pregnant. Are you the guy that made my wife pregnant? “How do you like that? My kid’s an Arab.” Mr. Rickles seldom used language that would have to be censored on television, but many people considered his humor brazen and in poor taste, especially early in his career. As time went on, his style seemed caught in a sometimes uncomfortable time warp. Long after it was considered insensitive or worse, Mr. Rickles used outmoded stereotypes to mock women and practically every conceivable ethnic group. He continued to appear on late-night talk shows and in nightclubs into his late 80s. In 1998, Washington Post television critic Tom Shales spent a weekend attending Mr. Rickles’s performances at a nightclub in Atlantic City. “On a giant stage,” Shales wrote, he was “much more complex and poignant than the loudmouthed guy who guests on the talk shows. . . . Rickles seemed mythic, timeless, fearless — endowed by the gods with some absurd miraculous gift.” Although he disliked the term “insult comedy,” Mr. Rickles knew that insults were what his audiences came to expect. “I have this gift for saying things with a certain attitude, walking a very fine line with that attitude and staying on the right side of it,” he told the Star-Ledger in 1993. “But it’s always a gamble. Sometimes it’s tough to judge whether you’re about to cross that line.” He often turned nervously away from the butt of his jokes to address the rest of his audience in mock fear: “Is he laughing? Take a look, is he laughing?” Donald Jay Rickles was born May 8, 1926, in Queens. His father, who sold insurance, had an acerbic sense of humor, but it was his mother who encouraged him to stand up at family gatherings and poke fun at his uncles. During World War II, Mr. Rickles served with the Navy in the Philippines, which he often referred to in his comedy act. After the war, he studied for two years at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where his classmates included Anne Bancroft, Grace Kelly and Jason Robards. “Most of these people were dedicated actors,” he told The Post in 1977. “You had to do all these improvisations. The teacher would say, ‘We are two moths on a curtain.’ I was always in trouble because I was always doing the jokes. I said, ‘What do I have to do, eat the drapes?’ ” While looking for work as an actor, he sold used cars, life insurance and pots and pans. Almost out of desperation, he turned to comedy, billed in the early 1950s as Don “Glass Head” Rickles. By the late 1950s, he was appearing in Las Vegas, while still finding occasional work as a dramatic and comic actor. He was in the 1958 submarine movie “Run Silent, Run Deep” with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. He played a nightclub bouncer in “The Rat Race” (1960), alongside Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds. He was in two Annette Funicello-Frankie Avalon beach movies in the mid-1960s, and in 1970 played a supply sergeant-con artist in “Kelly’s Heroes,” starring Eastwood. Mr. Rickles appeared in dozens of sitcom episodes, from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” to “Gilligan’s Island,” and starred in several short-lived comedy shows of his own, the best-known of which was probably “C.P.O. Sharkey,” in which he played a Navy noncommissioned officer for two seasons on NBC in the 1970s. Despite his many forays into acting, Mr. Rickles was always at his best alone on stage, armed only with a microphone and his wit. For years, until he got married at 38, Mr. Rickles lived with his mother. She then moved into the adjoining apartment. Survivors include his wife of 52 years, the former Barbara Sklar, of Los Angeles; a daughter, Mindy Mann; and two grandchildren. A son, Larry Rickles, a TV comedy writer and producer, died in 2011. Mr. Rickles’s closest friend in show business was comedian Bob Newhart, whose mild, cerebral style of humor could not have been more different. “There’s a part of all comedians that remains a child, while other people get civility pounded into them,” Newhart told The Post in 2007. “But somehow comedians don’t. This is particularly evident in Don. Whatever he sees, he says. And it’s what we all think, but we’re too civilized to say.” . .

The New York Times / April 6, 2017 Don Rickles, the acidic stand-up comic who became world-famous not by telling jokes but by insulting his audience, died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 90. The cause was kidney failure, said a spokesman, Paul Shefrin. For more than half a century, on nightclub stages, in concert halls and on television, Mr. Rickles made outrageously derisive comments about people’s looks, their ethnicity, their spouses, their sexual orientation, their jobs or anything else he could think of. He didn’t discriminate: His incendiary unpleasantries were aimed at the biggest stars in show business (Frank Sinatra was a favorite target) and at ordinary paying customers. His rise to national prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s roughly coincided with the success of “All in the Family,” the groundbreaking situation comedy whose protagonist, Archie Bunker, was an outspoken bigot. Mr. Rickles’s humor was similarly transgressive. But he went further than Archie Bunker, and while Carroll O’Connor, who played Archie, was speaking words someone else had written — and was invariably the butt of the joke — Mr. Rickles, whose targets included his fellow Jews, never needed a script and was always in charge. One night, on learning that some members of his audience were German, he said, “Forty million Jews in this country, and I got four Nazis sitting here in front waiting for the rally to start.” He said that America needed Italians “to keep the cops busy” and blacks “so we can have cotton in the drugstore,” and that “Asians are nice people, but they burn a lot of shirts.” He might ask a man in the audience, “Is that your wife?” and, when the man answered yes, respond: “Oh, well. Keep your chin up.” Continue reading the main story As brutal as his remarks could be, they rarely left a mark. (“I’m not really a mean, vicious guy,” he told an interviewer in 2000.) Sidney Poitier was said to have once been offended by Mr. Rickles’s racial jokes. But in “Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project,” a 2007 documentary directed by John Landis, Mr. Poitier sang Mr. Rickles’s praises. Recalling the first time he saw Mr. Rickles perform, Mr. Poitier said: “He was explosive. He was impactful. He was funny. I mean, outrageously funny.” Mr. Rickles got his first break, the story goes, when Sinatra and some of his friends came to see him perform in 1957 — in Hollywood, according to most sources, although Mr. Rickles said it was in Miami. “Make yourself at home, Frank,” Mr. Rickles said to Sinatra, whom he had never met. “Hit somebody.” Sinatra laughed so hard, he fell out of his seat. Mr. Rickles was soon being championed by Sinatra, Dean Martin and the other members of the show business circle known as the Rat Pack. Steady work in Las Vegas followed. But he was hardly an overnight success: He spent a decade in the comedy trenches before he broke through to a national audience. In 1965, he made the first of numerous appearances on “The Tonight Show,” treating Johnny Carson with his trademark disdain to the audience’s (and Carson’s) delight. He also became a regular on Dean Martin’s televised roasts, where no celebrity was safe from his onslaughts. (“What’s Bob Hope doing here? Is the war over?”) Mr. Rickles’s wife, who he said “likes to lie in bed, signaling ships with her jewelry,” was not immune to his attacks. Neither was his mother, Etta, whom he referred to as “the Jewish Patton.” But off the stage, he didn’t hesitate to express his gratitude to his mother for unflaggingly believing in his talent, even when he himself wasn’t so sure. “She had a tremendous drive,” he recalled in “Mr. Warmth.” “Drove me crazy. But she was like the driving force for me.” He shared an apartment with his mother and did not marry until he was almost 40. After marrying Barbara Sklar in 1965, he saw to it that his mother had the apartment next door. His wife survives him, as do a daughter, Mindy Mann, and two grandchildren. Mr. Rickles’s son, Lawrence, died in 2011. Donald Jay Rickles was born in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens on May 8, 1926, to Max Rickles, an insurance salesman, and the former Etta Feldman. During World War II, he honed his comedic skills while serving in the Navy. (“On the ship that I went over to the Philippines,” he told The New York Times in 2015, “out of 300 men I was the class comedian.”) After being discharged, he followed his father into the insurance business, but when he had trouble getting his customers to sign on the dotted line, decided to try acting. He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, an experience that he later said gave him a greater sense of himself. But he found it difficult to get acting jobs and turned to stand-up comedy. For a while, he pursued acting and comedy simultaneously. He did his stand-up act at Catskills resorts and in strip clubs, and his movie career got off to an auspicious start with a small part in the 1958 submarine drama “Run Silent, Run Deep,” starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. But the bulk of his film work in the 1960s was in low-budget beach movies: “Bikini Beach,” “Muscle Beach Party” and “Pajama Party,” all in 1964, and “Beach Blanket Bingo” in 1965. By that time, his comedy career had begun gathering momentum. Focusing less on prepared material and more on interaction with his audience, he had found his voice. He was not the first insult comedian — and in fact an earlier master of the comic insult, Jack E. Leonard, was known to complain that Mr. Rickles’s act was too similar to his — but he soon became far and away the most successful. Bookings in the late 1950s at the Slate Brothers nightclub in Hollywood and the lounge of the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas spread the word. During his Slate Brothers engagement, Carl Reiner recalled in “Mr. Warmth,” the biggest names in show business felt that “if they hadn’t been insulted by Rickles, they weren’t with it.” His appearances insulting celebrities on the Dean Martin roasts and his sparring matches with Carson cemented Mr. Rickles’s reputation, but his unscripted brand of humor proved an uneasy fit for weekly television. A variety show in 1968 and a situation comedy in 1972, both called “The Don Rickles Show,” were short-lived, as was “Daddy Dearest,” a 1993 sitcom in which he and the comedian Richard Lewis played father and son. The closest thing to a hit show he had was “CPO Sharkey,” a Navy comedy, which aired from 1976 to 1978. Critics were often not sure what to make of Mr. Rickles. John J. O’Connor of The Times wrote in 1972 that for some his humor “will always remain tasteless,” while for others “it has its delicious moments of madness.” Tom Shales of The Washington Post, 26 years later, was more enthusiastic, praising him as “mythic, timeless, fearless — endowed by the gods with some absurd miraculous gift.” No critic, however thoughtful, could quite explain Mr. Rickles’s durability in show business, given that until the end of his career he was peppering his act with slurs and stereotypes long out of favor. And yet he not only got away with it, but he also flourished. His own theory was that he was being rewarded for saying things others wanted to say but couldn’t. “I’m the guy at the Christmas party,” he said more than once, “who makes fun of the boss on Friday night and still has his job on Monday morning.” Although Mr. Rickles sometimes expressed regret that he did not have more of a career as an actor, he did enjoy unexpected cinematic success late in life. In 1995, Martin Scorsese cast him in “Casino,” with Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone, and that same year he found a new audience as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in the hugely successful animated feature “Toy Story,” a role he reprised in its sequels. “Toy Story 4” is scheduled for release in 2019, but it is not known whether Mr. Rickles had done any recording for it before his death. In 2011, he was the voice of a frog in the movie “Zookeeper” and played the long-lost husband of Betty White’s character on the sitcom “Hot in Cleveland.” In 2007, Mr. Rickles published a loosely structured memoir, “Rickles’ Book,” and was the subject of Mr. Landis’s documentary, shown on HBO, which was built around a performance at the Stardust Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas shortly before it was torn down. In 2014, he was the subject of an all-star tribute (inevitably, it turned out to be more like a roast) broadcast on the Spike cable channel. That show included appearances by David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Bob Newhart, whose soft-spoken style of comedy could not be further removed from Mr. Rickles’s, but who he often said was his closest friend in show business. Health problems inevitably slowed Mr. Rickles down, but even after a leg infection in 2014 affected his ability to walk, he continued performing, making occasional concert and television appearances. In May 2015, he was one of the last guests on “Late Show With David Letterman.” As recently as 2007, the year he turned 81, Mr. Rickles had been working, by his count, about 75 nights a year. “The only way I would stop is if my health goes, God forbid, or the audience isn’t with me anymore,” he told The Times that year. “Besides, I got to keep going. My manager told me he has to put his kid through college. His kid is 10 years old.” . . .

By 1985, with the 4 valve head, it had become the EM6-250L.

Why Ford returned to Le Mans with GT and not Mustang Automotive News / April 5, 2017 Ford Motor Co. originally proposed making its racing return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Mustang, not a GT. Prior to the company's decision to secretly build the Ford GT supercar to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Blue Oval’s victory in the famed French race over Ferrari, Raj Nair, head of global product development at Ford, said company officials first conducted studies to develop a Mustang to compete in the race. Nair, who also is Ford's chief technology officer, said the Mustang racer -- code-named “Project Silver,” after the Lone Ranger’s horse -- was rejected by company executives because of the price tag -- $250,000 or more in modifications for each racer, as well as aerodynamics and concerns Le Mans did not align with Mustang’s values and heritage, among other things. “It was all good learning, but it turns out not to be the right fit. Ultimately, Mustang does not need Le Mans to be a global car,” Nair told hundreds of engineers and others in attendance at the SAE International's WCX conference on Wednesday in Detroit. “To be candid, I still wanted to do it. I was actually a little bit mad … in fact, I was really mad.” Nair said he felt the company was “underestimating the importance of the 50th anniversary” of when Henry Ford II and Carroll Shelby created a team that beat vaunted rival Ferrari and finished 1-2-3. After the Mustang proposal was rejected, Nair eventually began leading a group of fewer than 12 people in late 2013 to research and design an all-new Ford GT without the blessing of top executives in the Glass House, including current CEO Mark Fields, Executive Chairman Bill Ford and then-CEO Alan Mulally. “I was just determined that we were going to have to do it but we were going to have to do it differently,” Nair said, adding he believed the team could potentially do a “low-investment, full vehicle program” with lessons learned from the failed Mustang project, including new advancements in tooling that “could really keep investment costs low and the quality ... exceptional.” The small group, as previously reported, assigned the code name “Project Phoenix” to the GT program because the vehicle was “rising from the ashes.” However, prior to adopting the "Project Phoenix" name, Nair on Wednesday disclosed that one employee suggested the code name “Groundhog” -- after the 1993 film Groundhog Day because he and others had tried several times to resurrect the GT without any success. Nair said the GT, which was developed simultaneously as a racer and street-legal vehicle, was most importantly “singularly focused on becoming an endurance racer.” “Our plan was clear: This was going to be a test bed for our technologies for engine development that had to push the boundaries of material usage such as the lightweight carbon fiber that eventually ended up in the car, and had to stretch our understanding of what was possible with aerodynamics,” he said. Nair eventually took each of the executives who had rejected the Mustang project down to the secret room, in the corner of Ford's Dearborn product development center, where the car was being developed and convinced them that the company could not only build a new GT but create a racer that would win Le Mans. Ford unveiled the GT during the 2015 Detroit auto show, followed by its return to racing for the Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway a year later. The GT, following some early trials and tribulations during its return to racing, finished first, third and fourth at its first return to Le Mans in June 2016 -- beating Ferrari.