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International Trucks Press Release / September 29, 2016 .

Freightliner Trucks Press Release / September 29, 2016 Load One is an expedite trucking company out of Taylor, Michigan. They operate 385 units, the majority of which are Freightliner models. Load One puts safety first by spec’ing their Freightliner trucks with the Detroit Assurance™ suite of safety systems. It includes Active Brake Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, and Lane Departure Warning. All in one platform. .

Survey: Speed limiter usage widespread among fleets, ELD adoption flat despite mandate Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / September 29, 2016 More than 85 percent of fleet respondents in a recent survey equip their fleet’s trucks with speed limiters, according to a survey performed this year by the American Transportation Research Institute. The survey also showed adoption of electronic logging devices in 2015 was flat compared to 2014. ATRI’s reported figure comes less than a month into the public comment period for a proposed rule from the U.S. DOT to require nearly all trucks in the U.S. to be equipped with speed limiting devices. Since 2011, ATRI has asked survey respondents in its annual Operational Costs of Trucking survey to report whether they use speed limiters (aka speed governors). This year, 85.1 percent said they utilized limiters in 2015, and 85 percent of such fleets said they use limiters on 100 percent of their fleet’s trucks. Another 7 percent, ATRI says, use speed limiters on 70 to 99 percent of their trucks. The most common speed limit was 65 mph, ATRI notes. Though ATRI considers use of 85.1 percent of survey respondents — who accounted for more than 107,000 power units — “consistently high,” the figure is the lowest since ATRI began asking the question of survey respondents for 2011. In 2014, speed limiter usage was nearly 92 percent. In 2011, speed limiter use was reported at 93.2 percent, and in 2012 and 2013, speed limiter usage was 86 percent and 86.8 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, use of electronic logging devices by surveyed fleets remained flat, at 63 percent. The DOT published in December 2015 a final rule to mandate the use of electronic logging devices to keep records of duty status, which likely had little effect on the survey results, given its late-in-the-year publication.. The rule takes effect December 2017. “It is assumed that this figure (63 percent) will increase toward 100 percent as the industry responds” to the mandate’s requirements, ATRI writes. ATRI’s Operational Costs report found that carriers’ costs fell in 2015, primarily due to cheaper fuel. Click here to read CCJ‘s coverage of the report.

Overdrive / September 29, 2016 The state of that enter the state from other states after the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association reached a $44.4 million tax refund agreement with the state. The state’s Supreme Court agreed earlier this year with OOIDA’s challenge that the registration and decal taxes in the state were unconstitutional and discriminatory against out-of-state truckers who drive mostly in other states. OOIDA established that the taxes resulted in a higher per-mile tax rate being imposed on out-of-state trucks, and therefore violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. “We fought against a number of similar taxes back in the 1980s and 1990s and the states lost in every one of those cases,” said OOIDA President Jim Johnston. “Given that history, we were shocked that New York even thought they could get away with this blatantly unconstitutional tax. The amount for the New York HUT decal is $19, which may seem insignificant, but if other states were to do the same thing, it would be huge – collectively and in administrative costs.” New York didn’t appeal the ruling and agreed to negotiate with OOIDA to develop a class-wide refund program. OOIDA said class members will receive a “virtually complete tax refund, plus interest, subject to attorneys’ fees, based upon the state’s reapportionment of the taxes in conformity with constitutional criteria.” OOIDA said it will also ask the court to require carriers who charged any registration or decal payments to owner-operators to reimburse the full amount of refunds for these taxes to the owner-operators. The refund program will become effective after class notice and final court approval. Prime Inc. (No. 15 on the CCJ Top 250) sued the state for nearly $500,000 for repayment of the two taxes ruled unconstitutional in OOIDA’s lawsuit. Another lawsuit brought against New York by the American Trucking Associations and a number of individual truckers claiming the New York State Thruway Authority charges excessive tolls is still under contention. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January froze tolls on the state’s thruway through at least 2020.

If a small business owner acted alike Stumpf and was caught, he'd be in jail. But when you lead a large company, you can avoid punishment, as the senior management at VW has done.

The Washington Post / September 29, 2016 For the second time in two weeks, John Stumpf, the long-time chief executive of Wells Fargo, entered into the halls of Congress to take a bipartisan beating from lawmakers over the bank's role in a scandal involving the creation of hundreds of thousands of sham accounts to meet aggressive sales goals. "Fraud is fraud and theft and is theft. What happened at Wells Fargo over the course of many years cannot be described any other way," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., called the case "some of the egregious fraud we have seen since the financial crisis." Wells Fargo has turned into a "school for scoundrels," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. Stumpf has repeatedly apologized for those misdeeds and agreed earlier this week to forfeit $41 million in his own personal unvested stock and go without a 2016 bonus. "I am fully accountable for all unethical sales practices in our retail banking business, and I am fully committed to fixing this issue, strengthening our culture, and taking the necessary actions to restore our customers' trust," he told the House Financial Services Committee. But the hearing quickly turned hostile as some lawmakers called for Stumpf to resign and questioned whether he should be criminally prosecuted. "Why shouldn't you be in jail?" Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., asked. "When prosecutors get hold of you, you are going to have a lot of fun." "Do you think what you did was criminal?" Rep. David Scott, D-Georgia, asked. Stumpf responded that he had led the bank with "courage," but was interrupted again. Several lawmakers raised the prospect of calling executives from other banks to testify about their sales tactics, and the practice of cross selling--an effort to persuade customers to sign up for multiple products like a checking or savings accounts. Others called for a separate hearing to hear from former Wells Fargo workers, who were either fired for setting up unauthorized accounts or were fired for not meeting the company's aggressive sales goals. "These were people trying to make a living," said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas. "These people deserve a fair day, not just an exit from your company. . . They deserve an opportunity to be heard." Stumpf was repeatedly questioned about when he, and others in the bank's leadership, realized there was a problem. Hensarling noted the Federal Reserve had found the bank had weak internal controls in 2011 in its mortgage lending business. "If you saw the problem in one area of the business, why wouldn't you do it for the other?," he said. For years, Stumpf has strived to separate Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the country, from the controversy that has typically dogged many of its biggest competitors. But now the San Francisco-based institution has become entangled in a controversy of its own after acknowledging that it fired 5,300 employees over five years for setting up unauthorized accounts customers didn't request. In some cases, customers were charged fees for accounts they didn't know they had or employees moved money from authorized accounts in order to create a fake one. "You fired 5,300 people, you took 5,300 good Americans and turned them into felons with a system that you created, benefited from and drove your stock price up by bragging about your levels of new accounts," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. In one tense exchange, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said Stumpf was running a "criminal enterprise," noting that the bank had been penalized multiple times during the CEO's leadership, and should step down. "I serve at the pleasure of the board," Stumpf responded. "Then the entire board needs to go," Meeks said. "Something is going wrong with this bank. If the bucks stops with you" then you should be held responsible. "The board has that power," Stumpf said. In another exchange, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., noted that Stumpf sold $13 million in stock around the time he learned of the problem in 2013. "My question was did you dump the stock after you found out about the fraudulent accounts," Maloney said. "Because it seems the timing is very very suspicious and raises a very serious question." Stumpf said the sale was unrelated. The controversy has already blossomed with investigations being conducted by the Department of Labor and federal prosecutors. On Wednesday, California Treasurer John Chiang imposed sanctions, saying the state would not invest in the firm's stock or use many of its services for a year. On Thursday, several lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Wells Fargo and senior officials violated the law by misleading investors. Wells Fargo was fined $185 million and has returned more than $2 million to customers who were charged fees for accounts they didn't authorize. Stumpf said the bank's efforts were costly even before any fines were levied or refunds paid. Just the paperwork involved in opening and closing the sham accounts cost the institution $10 million. This was not a money-making scheme, he said. "We have a culture based on ethics, and doing what's right," Stumpf said. "I stand with the people who are doing the right thing." As the hearing dragged into its third hour, Stumpf was asked about the show "Undercover Boss" and if he had ever served as a teller when visiting one of the bank's more than 6,000 branches and experienced the pressure to sell customers more products. "I'm not trained or permitted to do that," he said. .

Our Secretary of Transportation, ex-Charlotte, North Carolina mayor Anthony Foxx, has no clue what he is talking about. No surprise given he lacks any and all “qualifications” applicable to the position. City mayor…..transportation…..parallels? NOT If the U.S. transports freight more efficiently in the years ahead, which I fully expect, to both reduce emissions and increase profitability, the number of trucks on America's roads will decrease.

Transport Topics / September 29, 2016 In the coming decades, consumer demand for goods and services will lead to a sharp increase of trucks on the country's roadways, prompting a need for greater capacity, the nation's top transportation official told an audience in downtown Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28. “Over the next 30 years, we’re going to have 65% more trucks on the road,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, speaking at the Center for American Progress, a promoter of liberal policy. Foxx was reminding audiences of the findings from the Department of Transportation’s “Beyond Traffic” report, which highlighted the impact a rapid rise in freight volume will have on the on the transportation network in cities and suburbia. Boosting freight connectivity is among the top priorities for Obama administration officials and trucking industry executives. Last year, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law a five-year highway law that established additional sources of funding to build large-scale infrastructure projects. According to the “Beyond Traffic” report, unveiled last year, the economy has benefited from the “deregulation of the trucking and rail industries, which has led to increases in productivity and innovations in supply chain logistics.”

I would love to see Scania buses on the streets of US cities. The subject comes up in discussions. However, by the time you build a bus to meet "every" US regulation, you have created a tank that weighs 100 tons. There's a reason why GM walked away from the municipal bus business, why Daimler sells cheap Nova buses in the US rather than quality Mercedes-Benz buses, and why Volvo long ago gave up on plans to build/sell articulated buses in the US. Scania aside, the modern municipal transit buses on the streets of China's big metropolises costs a fraction of what US cities pay, and yet they perform reliably for years and years, safely carrying passengers to and fro, all the while powered by clean Cummins-Westport natural gas engines paired with proven Allison transmissions. The US is the country that absurdly expects a sub-compact car to survive crash tests as well as a full-size car. It defies logic.

Car & Driver / September 29, 2016 The EPA uses dyno cells like in the image above for tests from 20-degree cold starts to 86-degree highway runs. A separate cell with high-intensity lights simulates the solar load of a sunny day for the high-temp tests. Recent cases of “misstated” fuel economy involving Ford, GM, Hyundai, and Mercedes-Benz have this in common: All were caught by the EPA during audits of data submitted by the manufacturers for certification. That’s because the EPA—lacking the personnel, facilities, and funding to test every vehicle—lets the manufacturers largely certify themselves and just submit the data. All automakers follow the same set of procedures designed to generate comparable mpg numbers, but manufacturers have obvious incentive to exploit gray areas and loopholes to produce higher ratings. The goal is to net the best window-sticker numbers without netting ones so good that they raise suspicions. It’s a delicate dance, and engineers we spoke with described it as pervasive. These are a few manufacturer approaches: It’s a Drag The EPA-prescribed dynamometer tests incorporate calibration settings intended to align laboratory results with real-world performance. Road-load coefficients—determined from a coast-down test wherein a car coasts in neutral from 80 mph—are programmed into the dyno to account for the energy lost to aerodynamic drag and friction. Recently, the EPA had to remind automakers to test cars on typical road surfaces and with critical components such as brake pads in place—their removal lowers friction. The EPA also warned against “adjustments,” such as special alignments or using extra-worn parts. Mi­tsu­bishi is currently being investigated for manipulating coast-down data, and Hyundai had to lower the ratings of 1.2 million cars in 2014 after it cherry-picked favorable figures instead of using averaged data. Body Swap In 2013, Ford used a legal EPA provision allowing cars of similar weight and with the same powertrain to share ratings, assigning the C-Max hybrid the same 47-mpg combined figure as the Fusion hybrid. Customer backlash and an EPA audit revealed real-world C-Max fuel economy to be far lower, however, prompting Ford’s “voluntary” reduction of the hybrid wagon’s rating. For a time, Toyota used the same clause, without issue, to apply the Camry’s fuel-economy rating to the larger Avalon. Popularity Contest Per EPA rules, only the expected sales leader within a model family sharing a powertrain must be tested. This explains why, out of the four available trim levels on the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze—two with multiple transmission choices—only the automatic LS has a smaller, 12.1-gallon fuel tank. A smaller tank means less weight. GM used this lighter LS model to generate the 30-mpg city/42-mpg highway ratings for multiple automatic Cruzes, a group that includes the better-equipped LT that rides on wider 16-inch wheels, fills the LS’s empty trunk well with a spare tire, and sits in a higher EPA test-weight class. Legally, Chevrolet could apply the superleggera LS’s ratings to the heavier, range-topping Premier, too, but it tested that one separately and rated it at a lower 30 mpg city/40 highway. We’ll likely see more such caution. The EPA issued a memo last year promising to increase audits of reported data and to test more cars itself. The message is clear: Generate reproducible test results or prepare to make adjustments—and headlines.

The Washington Post / September 29, 2016 The Obama administration is maneuvering to pay health insurers billions of dollars the government owes under the Affordable Care Act, through a move that could circumvent Congress and help shore up the president’s signature legislative achievement before he leaves office. Justice Department officials have privately told several health plans suing over the unpaid money that they are eager to negotiate a broad settlement, which could end up offering payments to about 175 health plans selling coverage on ACA marketplaces, according to insurance executives and lawyers familiar with the talks. The payments most likely would draw from an obscure Treasury Department fund intended to cover federal legal claims, the executives and lawyers said. This approach would get around a recent congressional ban on the use of Health and Human Services money to pay the insurers. The start of negotiations came amid an exodus of health plans from the insurance exchanges that are at the heart of the law. More than 10 million Americans have gained coverage through the marketplaces since they opened in 2014. But many insurers are losing money on their new customers, who tend to be relatively sick and expensive to treat. As a result, some smaller plans have been driven out of business and a few major ones are defecting from exchanges for the coming year. The administration’s efforts reflect the partisan thorns that still surround the sprawling law a half-dozen years after its passage. The payouts that officials want to salvage were part of an ACA strategy to help the marketplaces flourish early on. But Republican opponents in Congress branded them an insurance industry “bailout” and restricted the use of HHS funds. A settlement probably would rely on Treasury’s Judgment Fund, a 1950s creation that is allowed as much money as it needs to satisfy valid claims against the government. The fund’s website shows that it has been used for a few hundred claims against HHS in the past decade. Taken together, they amounted to about $18 million — a fraction of what the insurers are owed. In the administration’s waning months, officials are continuing their upbeat portrayal of all aspects of the law. Behind the scenes, they think that making these payments to insurers — $2.5 billion for 2014 and an as-yet-undisclosed sum for 2015 — is crucial to the exchanges’ well-being. “It’s a legacy item for the White House,” said Dan Mendelson, president of the health consulting firm Avalere and an adviser on the payout effort. “It’s more than just a lawsuit. It’s really about the future . . . and stability of these markets.” GOP lawmakers are already beginning to cry foul. “It’s an end run on the clear . . . intent of Congress,” said Rep. H. Morgan Griffith (Va.). The money in question involves one of three strategies to help coax insurers into the marketplaces by promising to cushion them from unexpectedly high expenses for their new customers. This particular strategy, known as “risk corridors,” was for the marketplaces’ first three years, when it was unclear how many people would sign up and how much medical care they would use. The idea, patterned after a similar arrangement for health plans that sell Medicare drug benefits, is to balance out insurers’ costs by requiring those with unexpectedly low expenses to pay into a fund that would be used to compensate companies with unexpectedly high expenses. The program originally was not supposed to pay for itself, but two years ago the Republican-led Congress restricted HHS from using any of its other money for that purpose. The risk corridors started in 2014. The crunch became apparent last fall, when federal health officials announced that they faced an enormous gap because so many more health plans incurred high expenses for their ACA customers than low ones. For that reason, HHS made less than $400 million in 2014 risk-corridor payments — just 12.6 percent of $2.9 billion it owed overall. Beyond the 175 insurers owed money for the first year, health officials have not said how many need to be paid for 2015, how much they are due or how much money is available. But in a five-paragraph memo this month, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said any money that is available will be put toward what the government still owes for 2014. The risk corridor payments are “an obligation of the federal government,” acting administrator Andy Slavitt told a recent House hearing. The shortfall has contributed to the collapse of most of the 23 nonprofit, consumer-oriented health plans created under the ACA, forcing several hundred thousand people to find new coverage. Just six co-ops remain. Four of them, including two that have closed, are among the seven insurers suing the government for lack of payment. CMS spokesman Aaron Albright referred questions to the Justice Department. Justice spokeswoman Nicole Navas declined to confirm the settlement talks because the litigation is pending. One health plan executive, whose attorney has spoken with Justice officials, said the department is trying to reach an agreement with suing insurers in the next two weeks on what percentage of the remaining $2.5 billion would be paid out. At that point, the same offer would be made to every other insurer owed money. A judge would need to approve the arrangement, according to the executive, who spoke about the pending litigation on the condition of anonymity. Stephen Swedlow, a lawyer for Health Republic Insurance in Oregon, a co-op that was forced to close early this year, said he is preparing a settlement proposal to send to Justice. Said Health Republic chief executive Dawn Bonder: “I don’t think DOJ is making a secret that they would like [the lawsuits] to go away.”

Hackers Infect Army of Cameras, DVRs for Massive Internet Attacks The Wall Street Journal / September 29, 2016 Attackers used an army of hijacked security cameras and video recorders to launch several massive internet attacks last week, prompting fresh concern about the vulnerability of millions of “smart” devicesin homes and businesses connected to the internet. The assaults raised eyebrows among security experts both for their size and for the machines that made them happen. The attackers used as many as one million Chinese-made security cameras, digital video recorders and other infected devices to generate webpage requests and data that knocked their targets offline, security experts said. Those affected include French web hosting provider OVH and U.S. security researcher Brian Krebs, whose website was disabled temporarily. “We need to address this as a clear and present threat not just to censorship but to critical infrastructure,” Mr. Krebs said. Closely held OVH confirmed the attack, but declined to comment further. “We’re thinking this is the tip of the iceberg,” said Dale Drew, head of security at Level 3 Communications Inc., which runs one of the world’s largest internet backbones, giving it a window into many of the attacks that cross the net. The proliferation of internet-connected devices from televisions to thermostats provide attackers a bigger arsenal of weapons to infiltrate. Many are intended to be plugged in and forgotten. These devices are “designed to be remote controlled over the internet,” said Andy Ellis, security chief at network operator Akamai Technologies Inc., some of whose clients were affected. “They’re also never going to be updated.” Experts have long warned that machines without their own screens are less likely to receive fixes designed to protect them. Researchers have found flaws in gadgets ranging from “smart” lightbulbs to internet-connected cars. Wi-Fi routers are a growing source of concern as many manufacturers put the onus on consumers to do the updating. Level 3 identified cameras and video recorders made by Chinese manufacturer Dahua Technology Co. as the sources of a large share of the recent attacks, but Level 3 said other devices are being roped into a new attack network currently being assembled. Hackers often hijack the machines through computers that are already infected or poorly protected Wi-Fi routers. A Dahua spokeswoman said on Thursday the company is still reviewing Level 3’s research. She cautioned that malware could succeed in attacking older devices that have outdated software. “We strongly recommend users to upgrade the firmware of devices” and set a strong password to reduce risks, she added. Dahua, which claims it is one of the world’s biggest makers of security cameras and digital recorders, sells directly to consumers and businesses through its website and retailers like Amazon.com Inc. It also lists 71 technology partners on its U.S. website, from startups like AngelCam to better known firms like Canon Inc. Many of Dahua’s cameras and recorders are used by small businesses for security systems. Level 3 said H.264 DVRs made by Dahua were especially prevalent, though security researchers said other brands were affected. In some cases the devices weren’t protected with passwords or had generic passwords, Mr. Drew said. “I suspect that a lot of people have been caught by surprise by how soon” the attacks happened, said Akamai’s Mr. Ellis. His company said it was blindsided by one of last week’s attacks. Mr. Ellis said traffic on Sept. 20 reached 700 gigabits a second—equivalent to 140,000 high-definition movies streaming at once—on his company’s network, twice the size of the previous biggest stream. Arbor Networks Inc., a security firm that defended several websites affiliated with the Rio Olympics against similar attacks this summer, found cable set-top boxes and home routers used to bombard the websites with data. Those attacks reached as much as 540 gigabits a second, Arbor said. “There are tens and tens of millions of these embedded devices out there,” said Roland Dobbins, Arbor’s principal engineer. “But they ship by default with very poor security.” Denial-of-service attacks—so-called because they flood websites with unwanted data crashing the sites and denying access to legitimate users—are nothing new. In prior iterations, hackers have exploited weaknesses in the operating systems of personal computers hijacking them to carry out these actions. Microsoft Corp. for decades has been playing a running game of Whac-A-Mole to patch each flaw in its Window’s operating system as it arises. “It’s going to be very difficult to convince consumers to patch their refrigerator,” said Matthew Prince, chief executive of security provider CloudFlare Inc. “Where the security is more likely to be placed is in the network.”

Automotive News / September 29, 2016 Fiat Chrysler’s Ram brand introduced a high-powered, off-road concept version of the Ram Rebel, dubbed the Rebel TRX, Thursday at the State Fair of Texas. The concept pickup features a 575-hp, 6.2-liter, supercharged V-8 engine, making it the most powerful pickup FCA has ever built, the company said in a statement. Featuring an enhanced suspension and 37-inch tires, the Rebel TRX concept has 13 inches of suspension travel, up from the Rebel’s standard 9.25 inches. Jim Morrison, vice president of the Ram brand, said the Rebel TRX is just a concept at this point, but he left the door open to the possibility that it could find its way into the Ram lineup sometime in the future. “We have to judge the reaction to it,” Morrison said Thursday. “I’m not going to make any announcements today, but we always listen to our customers.” he added. Morrison noted that the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 has more than 100 hp more than Ford’s V-6 powered Raptor. Morrison said the idea for the Rebel TRX came from brand chief Mike Manley, who challenged FCA designers and engineers to build an off-road truck that could drive at sustained speeds of more than 100 mph off-road. The Rebel TRX has unique features, including side exhaust pipes that empty at the rear of the frame-mounted side-steps. Morrison started the truck on the stage, and it emitted a loud and clearly illegal bark. The production version would have to be quieter. Ram also unveiled a new Texas-only trim for its half-ton Ram 1500 pickup Thursday at the annual state fair in the nation’s largest single pickup market. The 2017 Ram 1500 Lone Star Silver Edition, expected in dealerships later this year, adds even more chrome trim to the brand’s Lone Star edition, including chrome wheel-to-wheel side steps, wave mesh grille inserts, belt moldings and side mirrors. The $900 package also includes special badging and is available on crew cab models of various configurations. Photo gallery - http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=CA&Date=20160929&Category=PHOTOS01&ArtNo=929009981&Ref=PH&Profile=1403 . . .

Navistar is very busy producing engines, in Huntsville, Alabama and Melrose Park, Illinois,

GM packs more pickup into diesel V8 Automotive News / September 29, 2016 The heavy-duty versions of the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups will be available early next year with a new version of the 6.6-liter Duramax V8 turbodiesel that is the most powerful engine General Motors has ever offered in its pickups. GM said today the new Duramax engine is rated at 445 horsepower and 910 pounds-feet of torque, up from 397 hp and 765 lbs.-ft. in the outgoing 2016 models. The new engine escalates a heavy-duty pickup arms race. In July, Ford announced a power increase for its 2017 Powerstroke diesel V8, raising output to 440 hp and 925 lbs.-ft. of torque. Ram, with an aging inline six-cylinder diesel engine supplied by Cummins, offers a version of its engine that makes 385 hp and 900 lbs.-ft. of torque. GM offered to journalists limited test drives of the new engine ahead of tomorrow’s opening of the State Fair of Texas here, which could draw between 2.5 million and 3 million attendees. GM will be displaying the 2017 Silverado HD with the new engine on its stand. Sandor Piszar, director of Chevrolet truck marketing, said GM bumped up the torque, not because it wants to outgun Ford or other competitors but to make the truck more useful and less stressful for customers who haul heavy loads. “We’re shooting for towing confidence,” he said. For highway passing, the new engine reduces acceleration time from 50 mph to 70 mph by 1.5 seconds when towing a 10,000-pound trailer. Without a trailer, it can reach 0 to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds. New engine Gary Arvan, Duramax chief engineer, said 90 percent of the engine is new. It keeps the current engine’s bore spacing -- the distance between the pistons -- and short stroke, which enables GM to retain the expensive production equipment used to build the Duramax engine in its Moraine, Ohio, plant. But nearly every other system, from the oil pan to the fuel injectors, has been re-engineered and “designed to produce more torque at lower rpm,” said Arvan. Arvan said the revamped Durmax engine has three unique features: • Remelted piston bowl rims: The center section of each aluminum piston is heated up again after casting. That changes the molecular structure of the aluminum, making it better able to withstand heat. • A venturi jet drain oil separator: It filters oil mist out of the blow-by gases and returns the oil to the sump. • Closed loop glow plug temperature control: It uses sensors to manage the glow plugs to provide instant starts in cold weather. Other changes to the Duramax include: • A new, stronger block, redesigned aluminum cylinder heads and a new crankshaft with improved bearing surfaces; • A new fuel system, with proprietary GM controls; and • An electronically controlled turbocharger mounted between the cylinders. The new engine will also have a visual signature: a hood scoop that feeds cool, dry air into the intake system, helping the engine produce more power under heavy loads. Only Duramax-equipped trucks will have the scoop. GM has sold more than 2 million vehicles with the Duramax V8 engine since introducing it in 2001 under a joint venture with Isuzu. Horsepower and torque have increased with each new iteration, growing from the original 300 hp and 520 lbs.ft. of torque. Arvan said the new version of the Duramax produces 35 percent less oxides of nitrogen, or NOx, and will only need minor emissions systems revisions in the coming years to stay ahead of toughening clean air standards.

Cultural decay and declining standards of behavior in the United States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Security footage taken outside a store on Winward Avenue in Venice Beach, California, on Sunday night showing a man punching a woman. .

I like to think so. There is a genuine effort at Scania to make a difference, and help create a sustainable tomorrow.

KamAZ Trucks Press Release / September 28, 2016 Truckmaker KamAZ, increased its sales by more than a quarter, significantly increased its stake in the Russian truck market and operates at a profit in June. For the January thru August period, KamAZ sold 18,297 trucks, a 26 percent increase over the same period last year. Sales in Russia reached 15,479 units, a 37 percent rise over the same period last year. The truckmaker’s market share in Russia with 14-40 tonne trucks rose to 59 percent. In August, the company's net profit amounted to 1,177 million Rubles. At the end of eight month period, the company’s losses narrowed to 946 million Rubles. The company continues to follow the path of investment in reengineering the production and development of a new model series. Over the first eight months of 2016, 4.9 billion Rubles were invested on modernization and development of new technologies. .

Transport Engineer / September 29, 2016 Construction material supplier Ardula Group has expanded its fleet to 50 with four new Charlton SuperLite steel-bodied tippers, selected after positive performance from its first three SuperLites last year. “With a tipper, it’s really the body that does all the hard work,” says Ardula’s group managing director Ricky Hemmings. “On the one hand, we want a really good payload when moving easier, high density products such as sand and aggregates. On the other, we want real strength and durability if we are doing heavy site work. “We need one truck that can operate at both ends of the envelope and on everything in between. A premium chassis fitted with a strong, top quality lightweight steel body is therefore the only realistic solution. We had our first three SuperLites last year and have been delighted with them – hence these latest four.” The bodies are mounted on Scania chassis and powered by 450bhp engines, and two of the new additions have sleeper cabs to improve operational versatility. Each vehicle is fitted with Hyva’s latest FCA137 separate ram and tank cylinder which combines a light 450kg wet weight with heavy duty performance. They also feature electric sheeting and aluminium wheels, and boast a payload capacity of more than 19 tonnes. Charleton Bodies by Thompsons Group - http://thompsonsuk.com/products/charlton-bodies/ .

Goodyear Press Release / September 28, 2016 Goodyear SUPER FUELMAX prototype truck tires were unveiled at the 2016 IAA commercial vehicle show in Hanover this September. The prototype steer and drive tires, which boast fuel saving A EU label grades, were fitted to one of the trucks on display at the DAF stand, which all stand out in highest fuel efficiency. The Goodyear prototype truck tires displayed are the SUPER FUELMAX S steer tire in size 385/55R22.5 and SUPER FUELMAX D drive tire in size 315/70R22.5, and are a further development of the very successful low rolling resistance Goodyear FUELMAX range. At the IAA, these tires will be mounted on a fuel efficiency optimized DAF XF 4x2 tractor unit. In addition to their outstanding rolling resistance with A EU tire label grades, the drive tire qualify for the 3 Peak Mountain and Snow Flake (3PMSF) winter tire certification. The super fuel efficient prototype tires demonstrate Goodyear’s commitment to developing innovative products that reduce Total Cost of Ownership for fleets thanks to low fuel consumption – a key cost factor for fleet operators. “The new Goodyear SUPER FUELMAX prototype tires illustrate our commitment to innovative transport solutions”, said Benjamin Willot, Director Marketing Commercial Tires at Goodyear Europe, Middle East and Africa. “The EU tire label covers just three performance criteria but before we bring any new product to market it must meet our stringent requirements covering 50 different performance criteria. The SUPER FUELMAX A grade rolling resistance tires demonstrate our commitment to develop advanced fuel saving truck tires for our customers with a balanced performance in the other important criteria.” Both the steer and the drive tires’ tread compounds feature a specifically developed new formulation based on silica. Thanks to a combination of material processing and curing, the silica blends with the polymer network in a way that further reduces rolling resistance while ensuring long tread life. The tread design of the SUPER FUELMAX S steer tire features the tried and trusted IntelliMax Groove Technology. This limits slip, especially when cornering, thanks to hidden raindrop grooves, which close when rolling through the footprint. The ribs support each other reducing their movement and stiffening the tread. The tread blocks of the SUPER FUELMAX D drive tire have been re-designed and the stiffness of the blocks has been improved. Combined with the low rolling resistance tread compound, the overall tire design results in a noticeably improved fuel efficiency compared to current FUELMAX D. Re-engineering has further decreased rolling resistance, while offering a balanced performance in other important criteria areas. IntelliMax Rib Technology has been introduced between the central and intermediate ribs to stiffen the tread for low rolling resistance, high mileage and regular wear, thanks to the inter-locking elements. Goodyear was the first tire manufacturer to bring a truck tire to market that met the A grade rolling resistance requirements of the EU Tire Label. This was the 385/55R22.5 LHT II trailer tire. Goodyear currently offers the Goodyear FUELMAX T in size 385/55R22.5 and 435/50R19.5, which is an A grade fuel efficient truck trailer tire. Together with the SUPER FUELMAX steer and drive prototype tires, Goodyear customers could benefit from a combination of A grade EU tire label tires in rolling resistance on steer, drive and trailer positions. .

Scania Group Press Release / September 23, 2016 Time is running out and immediate action is required to fulfil the Paris climate target of no more than a two-degree global warming. At IAA, Scania outlined three cornerstones that are crucial for achieving sustainable transport: Smarter transport to make public transport an attractive alternative to passenger car travel through, for example, rapid bus systems, Energy savings by a host of measures, including electrification, Replacement of fossil energy with renewable energy with the increased use of alternative fuels. Scania’s three buses on display at IAA all contribute to this end. Jonas Kempe and Anna Carmo e Silva, Scania Buses and Coaches, outline how these buses contribute to the shift towards more sustainable transport. .

Grandmother murders 3-year-old grandson Associated Press / September 28, 2016 A Delaware woman has been arrested and charged with suffocating her three-year-old grandson, whose decomposing body was discovered in bed inside her trailer home. State police say paramedics responded to a home in Felton at around 8.40am Tuesday after Angela Bingham, 51, called 911 saying she wanted to harm herself and that she had killed her grandson, Rilan Everett. Paramedics and state troopers then entered the woman’s residence and found the toddlers body body decomposing in his bed. He had been dead for more than a week. Bingham has been charged with first-degree murder. Bingham confessed to suffocating her grandson with a washcloth on September 18 as the boy lay awake in bed after telling him 'it was time to go.' Bingham told police that Rilan had been living with her because her daughter left to be with her boyfriend. A neighbor described the toddler as extremely bright and very devoted to his grandmother. A search of the residence yielded a calendar in the kitchen that had an entry on September 18 that read: 'Dead, I love you.' Angela Bingham remained jailed Wednesday on $1,000,000 cash bail. .