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The New York Times / September 18, 2016 A radical Islamist Somali immigrant, identified as Dahir A. Adan, age 22, stabbed nine people on Saturday night at Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The FBI is investigating as a “potential act of terrorism.” Adan, who arrived in the U.S. fifteen years ago, was asking people if they were Muslim and stabbing those who said they were not. Nine people were injured in the 8:00pm attack before an off-duty police officer fatally shot the knife-wielding man. The nine victims included seven men and two women who ranged in age from 15 to 53. The attacker, who was dressed in a security guard uniform, mentioned Allah and asked at least one victim if he was Muslim. All nine victims were expected to survive. Chief William Blair Anderson of the St. Cloud police told reporters at the scene, “It has hit home for us,” adding, “But I want everybody in St. Cloud to know that we will be diligent and we will get to the bottom of this.” “It’s an awful day, honestly,” Chief Anderson said. In a phone interview on Sunday morning, Mayor Dave Kleis said the mall, Crossroads Center, was an active crime scene and would remain closed. He praised the off-duty police officer, who he said had “clearly saved lives and protected the other individuals.” “This is exactly what keeps me up at night, and last night it did,” Mr. Kleis said. “This could happen in any community in this country, and certainly we have seen it happen. Certainly it is something that really scares a community.” Mayor Kleis [improperly] identified the off-duty officer as Jason Falconer, a police officer in nearby Avon, Minnesota. Kleis said video footage of the shooting showed Officer Falconer confronting the attacker in a Macy’s store and shooting him as he charged with a knife. “For me watching it, it looked like a training video for what law enforcement should do,” Kleis said. The mayor said the wounded included seven men, one woman and a teenage girl, all from the St. Cloud area. The stabbing event in Minnesota occurred on the same day that 29 people in New York City were injured in an explosion and that an explosive device detonated near the route of a race in New Jersey. The FBI is becoming convinced that the New York and New Jersey episodes were connected, but have given no indication of a link to the stabbing in St. Cloud. Chief Anderson said officers had searched two local residences on Sunday in connection with the case. He said the police had had at least three prior interactions with the attacker, mostly for minor traffic violations. St. Cloud, a city of about 67,000 residents, is about an hour’s drive northwest of Minneapolis. .

Transport Engineer / September 15, 2016 Whisky haulage business McPherson says it is looking to roll out its installation of Fontaine’s new LED fifth wheels across its 200-strong truck fleet, after trialling 10 of the units for three months. “We’re no different from any other company in that drivers do make mistakes and we do have the risk of trailers running away,” says Ian Jamieson, fleet engineering director for the Aberlour-based operator. “Keeping on top of this is an important health and safety issue.” To reduce mishaps during trailer changes, the company installed 10 new Fontaine LED Sensor Fifth Wheels “We began fitting the system 3 months ago and, so far, there have been no accidents,” confirms Jamieson. Fontaine’s new fifth wheel uses three sensors on the jaws, handle and safety clip to ensure no part of the coupling procedure has been neglected, before showing a green LED light on the fifth wheel itself to inform the driver – and security staff in any gatehouse the vehicle passes – that the is safe to operate. An in-cab display not only confirms the exterior ‘green light’, but will give an audible and visual warning should the coupling be incomplete, acting as an additional failsafe. Jamieson says another impressive feature is the built-in facility to take an additional feed from the circuit board mounted on the fifth wheel itself, enabling McPherson to link the sensors and LED indicator light with its existing on-board CCTV systems. “As well as working with the cameras themselves, which we have pointed at the indicator lights on the fifth wheel, we have also been able to set the sensors to additionally trigger a red light on the monitor in the cab,” he explains. “This means not only does the driver know when he’s made an error, he knows we’re recording what he’s doing about it, too.” Jamieson concludes: “The Fontaine LED sensor fifth wheel is definitely well worth having. It’s saving us a lot of time and effort, simply because there are no mistakes. It couldn’t be any safer.” Fontaine LED Sensor Fifth Wheel: http://fifthwheel-europe.com/led_sensor.html http://fifthwheel-europe.com/pdf/LED_Sensor/Fontaine_UK.pdf .

Transport Engineer / September 15, 2016 Specialist plant and equipment supplier CRH Plant has added two new Andover Trailers plant bodies, both mounted on 32-tonne Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3240L 8x2 rear-steer chassis, to its existing 25-plus Andover-built commercial vehicle fleet. “The team are always extremely accommodating,” comments CRH Plant managing director Neville Thomas. “We tell them what we need; they tell us how it can be done. “In all the years we have been working together they have never let us down. This is what our relationship is built on, so why would we go to anyone else?” As with each of CRH’s previous Andover Trailers plant bodies, the new units are bespoke designs, to the company’s specifications, and include Andover’s removable working at height barriers, which have become a requirement on many of the sites CRH visits. The new bodies also feature Andover’s fold forward ramps – which Thomas insists are fitted to all CRH trailers and rigid trucks due to the fuel savings he’s witnessed. The ramps have also been designed with a shallow loading angle to accommodate CRH’s most popular 13-tonne self-propelled rollers. Each was also specified with a drawbar coupling, six pairs of lashing points, and a remote-controlled Ramsey H800 hydraulic winch – the latter installed low to the floor, along with chain trays, thanks to an Andover-engineered recessed section behind the headboard, providing clearance for the truck exhaust which runs above the chassis over the second axle. These two 32-tonne rigid trucks mark a step up in size for CRH, having previously operated 26-tonne rigids from a range of chassis manufacturers. “We opted for 32-tonne plant bodies out of necessity, mainly due to the fact that new emission regulations mean the self-propelled rollers we supply are getting heavier,” explains Thomas. “Though we are phasing out some of our older trucks, the Andover bodies are holding up so well that most are still part of the fleet,” he continues, adding that CRH Plant has also now ordered a pair of the latest generation of tri-axle semi-sloping step frame trailers from Andover, for moving road surfacing equipment. They will be built to a similar specification to the plant bodies, he says, again with fold-forward ramps, Andover’s working at height system and Chapter Eight marking on the rear. Delivery is expected early 2017. CRH Plant’s latest plant bodies will be working five days per week and are expected to last over 0 years, covering some 700,000km. They will operate out of CRH’s Plymouth and Sheffield depots, delivering a wide range of heavy plant and specialist equipment across the South West and North East. .

Transport Engineer / September 15, 2016 CSL Transport has taken delivery of seven 44-tonne Range T520 6x2 tractors following what it describes as impressive fuel consumption figures and good driver feedback. The Surrey-based firms’ new trucks comprise five mid-lifts and two tags, one specified with a 9-tonne front axle. They join CSL’s 23-strong fleet, which has operated Renault Magnums and Range T460s for several years. “The outstanding service we have received from Renault Trucks South and BRS over the years has been a crucial factor in our vehicle selection on this occasion,” explains CSL Transport fleet manager Dan Broda. “Optimum fuel economy was also an important factor and we are getting around 9.1mpg, with one vehicle reaching 10mpg. This compares to 7.4-7.8mpg with previous trucks, so we are delighted with these improved figures,” he continues. Driver retention is another key focus for CSL, he says: “With a national driver shortage, we need to be able to attract and retain some of the best in the industry. “We know that our drivers like the Renault trucks, especially with all the added features, and adding more Range Ts with the right spec is one sure-fire way to keep our best employees motivated and on board.” In fact, CSL’s new Range T520 tractors were specified with luxury leather seats, double bunks, light-bars and spotlights. They will now be transporting containers, cabins, timber and plant across the UK and Europe, as well as moving barriers for high-profile London events. All the new trucks were supplied by dealer Renault Trucks South on a four-year, with full repair and maintenance through BRS. .

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / September 15, 2016 .

Scania Group Press Release / September 16, 2016 Ups and downs put their marks on a company’s future, some leaving lasting impressions that become embedded in the corporate culture. Scania is mustering all of its expertise to make sure the latest truck range carries the brand hallmarks proudly into the 2020s. The company spent its first decades searching for a viable strategy, but since the 1920s, the focus has been on heavy vehicles and strong customer relations. Operations have remained profitable ever since 1934. After the war, Scania-Vabis stood prepared for international expansion. Newly recruited engineers would form the engineering backbone for the remainder of the century, with a reformulated strategy, state-of-the-art products and refurbished facilities – and a new company spirit that soon became embedded in the walls. Advocating teamwork and ‘consensus’ decisions, the management introduced advanced analysis methods at the laboratory, started preparing for a modular product range and took advantage of international contacts in their innovation work. The twist “build what customers need, not what they want” implied that engineers were expected to understand customers’ operating conditions. Another move to tighten customer bonds was to make the service organisation part of the feedback loop to R&D. During three decades, systems and components were harmonised in preparation for the fully-modularised GPRT-series in 1980. Modularisation is Scania’s way of broadening the customers’ choice; interfaces between components and systems are designed to maximise flexibility. This global product range paved the way for volume growth and expansion worldwide. By the late 1980s, the new management under Leif Östling (1989) outlined a new strategy for global expansion, and took radical action to come to terms with production. The entire production system was reformed, involving leadership principles and an empowered workforce. This yielded a new company spirit with a set of strong core values – Customer first, Respect for the individual and Quality. “Eliminating waste” became a catch phrase. Waste means unnecessary work, storage, material or time, as well as all forms of environmental pollution. In this way, continuously improving work processes became part of daily work. This new company spirit was fundamental in pulling Scania through the financial crisis in 2008-2009. It now encompasses the entire company, including the dealer network. Ever since the early 1900s, the company’s engineers managed to stay abreast of international developments in engine technology. Inspired by contacts with Magirus in Germany, Scania-Vabis’ first diesel engine (1936) was both lighter and smoother than competitors. And the direct-injection diesel technology (1949) developed in cooperation with Leyland in the UK, produced performance that was superior to the competition from the outset. Convinced of a future need for more power, Scania developed an engine the market didn’t know it needed – the Scania V8 in 1969 – which gave birth to Scania’s low-rev philosophy, principles now adopted by the entire industry. From the 1990s, Scania’s cooperation with Cummins in the USA provided deep insights in combustion technology and engine management that proved instrumental for ­Scania’s pioneering efforts in emission control and alternative fuels in the 2000s. Scania now has the broadest platform of Euro 6 engines with the greatest flexibility in alternative fuels, and is known for its excellent fuel efficiency. The Scania Technical Centre has industry-leading know-how in vehicle engineering, powertrain technology and electronics. Scania is committed to improving transport efficiency by providing energy savings, alternative fuel solutions, and phasing in platooning, electrification and autonomous driving, for instance. All electronics are developed in-house, and this sector is the most vivid in terms of innovations and patents, providing a flow of products, features and services that put Scania at the forefront in terms of connected vehicles, fleet management and associated services. Scania-Vabis always put pride in the design of its products. Post-war styling cues included a common radiator grille on trucks. Swedish designer Björn Karlström created the timeless 75-series (1958-1980), the Briton Lionel Sherrow styled the forward-control LB80/110-series (1968), Italian stylist Giorgio Giugiaro gave the GPRT-range (1980) contemporary flair, and the elegant 4-series was penned by Bertone. Scania’s own studio is now responsible for all styling touches, e.g. the R-series (2004 and 2009), the New Streamline (2013) and the new truck generation (2016). Well aware of customers’ pride in their vehicles, great care is taken to nurture traditions and incorporate appealing Scania traits. A profitable company can afford to maintain focus and patiently invest in its future. Backed by vitalising lessons learnt over a century and a quarter, Scania is launching its new truck generation, designed to take Scania and its customers into a future of more sustainable transport in the 2020s and 2030s. Photo gallery - https://www.scania.com/group/en/a-living-heritage/

Greater unit sales and increased market shares | Contemporary MAN CLA in continuous further development MAN Truck & Bus Press Release / September 16, 2016 Ten years ago, MAN Truck & Bus laid the foundations for modern, sustainable freight and passenger transport in India with the MAN model CLA. The company’s commitment has been borne out by significantly higher unit sales, increased market shares and a marked increase in revenue compared with the previous six months. Furthermore, substantial investments in the development of the CLA series will continue to increase its market presence in the future. An economic giant has awoken in India in recent years, with an increase in the country’s gross national product of seven percent being recorded in the past year alone. In the context of increasing internationalisation, great opportunities have presented themselves for MAN Truck & Bus to participate in the economic recovery. Against this background, the Munich-based commercial vehicle manufacturer chose to realign parts of its strategy for India. Both the reactivation of the dealer network and the operational improvement of structures and processes as well as the implementation of numerous customer events are just some examples of the company’s new approach. It has been ten years since MAN entered into a cooperation for a joint venture in India, thus laying the groundwork for further expansion into non-European markets. Shortly afterwards, the first MAN CLA came off the production line at the newly established production facility in Pithampur, India. About half of the vehicles are intended for the domestic market, while the other half are divided between 40 different export markets across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The product range of the modern CLA series comprises semitrailer tractors with various axle variations and chassis with or without bodywork. In the first five years of the joint venture, the development and localisation of the extensive MAN CLA portfolio took centre stage, together with the establishment of a nationwide sales network. As a logical consequence of this increasing commitment MAN Truck & Bus assumed the remaining shares in the cooperation in 2012 and founded the current MAN Trucks INDIA pvt. Ltd. The MAN CLA series currently covers tonnages from 15 to 37 tonnes gross vehicle weight. Its modest yet reliable engines and robust chassis, designed to make light work of poor road conditions, mean the CLA series is ideally suited to the markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Just like the engines with high sulphur tolerance and 6S-850 and 9S-1110 ZF gearboxes, the cabs and sleeper cabs likewise originate from the proven LE2000 series. For local and distribution transport, the proven MAN AP axles are preferred, while hypoid axles are available for some of the models in the long-haul version. The CLA series is powered by a 6-cylinder in-line engine with 6.9 litre cubic capacity. The EURO 4 unit boasts 300 HP at 2,300 rpm and features a torque of 1,150 Nm at 1,200–1,800 rpm. As previously, the MAN CLA product range has been successively further developed to ensure that freight and passenger transport continues to be both sustainable and environmentally friendly in the target markets in the future. In the meantime, both the 8x4 chassis and the MAN CLA bus chassis have proven to be successful in day-to-day customer use. However, business relationships with India have a far longer history. As early as 1936, a Nuremberg sales consultant travelled to India with six E-type truck chassis and D 0534 engines in order to market them there. The visit was a resounding success. After a few weeks, he returned to Germany with an order for 30 additional chassis. Just one year later, the German-Indian dealership was launched in Bombay. In 1958, the first production and assembly agreement was drawn up between MAN and India to cover the assembly of type 415 L1 AR chassis in Jabalpur, with the still legendary product name SHAKTIMAN. More than 70,000 vehicles in this product range were created during this period, of which some are still in use today. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / September 16, 2016 Giving you a better business. .

Renault Trucks Press Release / September 15, 2016 The partnership between Renault Trucks and the World Food Programme explained by Marina Catena, WFP Director in France and Monaco; Jean-François Milhaud, co-founder of the partnership, currently UNHRD Ghana Hub Manager (United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot) and Bruno Blin, Renault Trucks President. .

Fleet Owner / September 16, 2016 He envisions automated trucks operating like commercial aircraft, “flying” from city to city on autopilot while drivers only handle “takeoff” and “landing.” Troy Clarke, president and CEO of Navistar, provided his view of trucking’s future – and that of his company, following its alliance with the truck and bus division of Germany’s Volkswagen – during a presentation at annual three-day transportation conference hosted by research firm FTR in Indianapolis. Clarke touched on a wide variety of subjects, including how “software” will provide the key difference between truck brands now and in the future, how truck buyers will increasingly demand a “one stop shop” for all of their vehicle needs, and how autonomous trucks may one day soon operate like today’s commercial aircraft – largely on autopilot while on the highway, with the driver only controlling the vehicle for “takeoff” and “landing.” “This industry is on the verge of huge technological change,” Clarke noted. “The question for us is; how do we cover all the bets we need to make?” He said the partnership with Volkswagen is but one effort to “cover” such “bets,” creating in Clarke’s words an “opportunity to accumulate technology and to accumulate scale” for Navistar’s truck manufacturing efforts. “The truth of the matter is we are excited as all get out about our new partnership,” he emphasized. “It helps us get back on track.” Clarke also noted that such partnerships will be critical moving forward as truck manufacturers shift their strategic thinking away from focusing on the nuts and bolts of commercial vehicles – such as “who has the best gearing or whether to use synthetic lubricant or not,” he noted – and focus instead on how to better “integrate” trucks with the country’s “transportation system." “This is where the Uberization’ of freight gets involved and how we get the truck to better interact with our road systems,” he explained. That “evolution” also impacts the future development of trucks in terms of safety, environmental impact and freight efficiency, Clarke added. To meet such various needs, then, will require more of a focus on the truck’s “software” as that is what will link the vehicle better not only to trailers and the road network but to service providers such as dealerships in order to foster faster and less costly repairs. “This focus on ‘software’ is opening the door of the trucking industry to companies that have never been in this space before: companies like Google and Apple,” Clarke emphasized. “This is also one of the reasons we chose to focus on building ‘connected trucks’ and our OnCommand telematics system. Because we believe connected vehicles are going to be ubiquitous in the future.” Such “connections” will be critical to improving uptime for customers as well as improving freight efficiency and thus lower operating costs, yet he believes they need to be built on “open architecture” as well. “The [truck] customer is a hard person to contain – they want the freedom to pick and choose what works for them, much the way we pick and choose what apps we want on our [smart] phones,” Clarke stressed. “That’s why our profit model for connected systems and software is modeled on Apple’s. I just don’t think owning the ‘value chain’ and forcing customers to use it is how this is going to work.” Taking that view also “opens the door” to new freight solutions, as well, he said, such as electrified medium-duty trucks serving as “mobile platforms” for drones that make package deliveries. “Here’s the secret: drones cost 7 cents a mile to operate, while a medium-duty truck in zero-emission electric mode costs 21 cents a mile to operate,” he said. “Now compare that to the 57 to 60 cent per mile operating cost of a diesel-powered medium-duty truck or the $1.20 a mile operating cost of a diesel-powered highway tractor-trailer. That’s why you are going to see more diversity and experimentation in freight transport.”

Fleet Owner / September 16, 2016 Former ATA leader Bill Graves, NACFE program manager cite need for movement on truck productivity One of the biggest hot-button issues in the trucking industry in recent years has been efforts to move legislation through Congress that would authorize longer and/or heavier trucks. Groups such as the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce among others have pushed the efforts forward. Generally, the proposals feature 33-ft. twin trailers or 96,000 lb. trailers equipped with three axles to maintain weight balance. Those proposals have not found enough traction yet to pass, though. Despite some evidence that suggest 33-ft. trailers are no more dangerous than current 28-ft. models, or that properly equipped 96,000 lb. trailers do no more damage to roads, opponents have managed to stop these efforts. In 2015, when the Dept. of Transportation shut down the possibility of a program, DOT Under Secretary Peter Rogoff wrote in a letter that “at this time, the department believes that the current data limitations are so profound that the results cannot accurately be extrapolated to predict national impacts. As such, DOT believes that no changes in the relevant truck size and weight laws and regulations should be considered until these data limitations are overcome.” DOT said much the same thing in April of this year when it formally rejected efforts to expand truck size and weights. To Bill Graves, former president and CEO of ATA, the logic doesn’t follow. Speaking at the Meritor and Pressure Systems International 2016 Annual Fleet Technology Event in San Antonio this week, Graves said that Congress needs to address the freight productivity of tractor-trailers, and it starts with size and weight. “I don’t see how we can keep up with demands [of a growing economy] … and keep pulling the same weight,” he said. “The fact that we can’t have an adult conversation about it in Congress is a problem. We need to address truck productivity.” Rick Mihelic, program manager of the North America Council for Freight Efficiency, echoed Graves’ statements. Mihelic noted that freight demand continues to increase and density per truck (how much freight is loaded into a trailer) continues to increase yet due to many factors, including hours-of-service, the number of miles driven per truck has declined for the past 15 years. “This is where the discussion has to start,” he said. “How do you solve that? Either you get more drivers or you give each truck the ability to haul more freight.” The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of nearly 200 of the nation’s manufacturers, shippers, carriers and allied associations, has been pushing Congress for action on the issue for several years. In a letter and accompanying one-page brief to Congress from CTP Executive Director John Runyan, the organization cited U.S. DOT technical findings that six-axle trucks weighing either 91,000 or 97,000 lbs. maintain key braking and handling characteristics, allowing them to safely ship more freight and reduce vehicle miles traveled, logistics and pavement costs, and environmental impacts. The technical report also finds that the use of these vehicles would lead to a minimal diversion of freight from rail to truck, which would be more than offset by projected freight rail growth. “The actual study data provides strong support for allowing trucks equipped with six axles to carry more freight on Interstate System highways,” Runyan wrote. “This is the real message for Congress, despite the fact that U.S. DOT political leadership, after three years of study and 1,100 pages of released data, wrote a cover letter citing insufficient information and recommending against any changes in truck size and weight regulations. While the Administration could not find a political path to support truck weight reform, we urge members of Congress to review the study findings for themselves and allow carefully crafted reforms in vehicle weight regulation to move forward.” Others, though, including safety groups and the Teamsters, have fought the idea. "The claim that fewer trucks will be an end-product of truck size and weight increases simply isn't true," Jim Hoffa, Teamsters general president, has said in the past. "This is about safety and ensuring as safe a workplace for our driver members on the highways as anyone working on a factory floor." Albeit a small sample size, but in early 2015, a Maine state official attributed a drop in highway fatalities in part to a federal pilot program that was allowing heavier tractor-trailers with six axles rated up to 100,000-lbs. GCW on all interstate highways in Maine. “Commercial vehicle related fatalities dropped in 2014 to 10 fatalities compared to 18 in 2013,” James Tanner, fatal accident system analyst for the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, said in a Bangor Daily News story. “Maine averaged 16.2 commercial vehicle related crash fatalities from 2009 to 2013. Overall, Maine has experienced a decrease in the number of commercial vehicle related fatalities from 2009 when we experienced 23 commercial vehicle related fatalities.”

A fuel fill with no cap (note the photo slide show). I understand the door is sealed, but I still don't care for it. http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/15/diesel-powered-ford-f-150-spy-shots/#slide-4060924

No, the "secret" is to switch the truck over to Motul synthetic brake fluid, as I mentioned earlier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_4

The Financial Times / September 16, 2016 Britain’s armed forces cannot defend the UK against a serious military attack and have lost much of their ability to fight conventional wars, the recently retired head of the country’s Joint Forces Command has warned. General Sir Richard Barrons, who stepped down in April as one of the country’s four service chiefs, has said a series of “profoundly difficult” strategic challenges are being sidestepped as Whitehall focuses on “skinning” budgets and delivering costly but increasingly redundant big-ticket military projects. His 10-page, private memorandum to Michael Fallon, defence minister, is the most forthright criticism of defence policy from the UK’s senior military leadership to have emerged publicly in years. It came just months after the last spending review handed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) a significant funding boost despite widespread cuts to other departments. The general’s detailed analysis will raise grave concerns in Nato. Britain has long cast itself as a linchpin of the alliance’s European military power base, but the US has voiced doubts about its diminishing capabilities since the troubled campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Capability that is foundational to all major armed forces has been withered by design,” wrote Sir Richard. The MoD, he says, is working to “preserve the shop window” while critical technical and logistical capabilities have been “iteratively stripped out” behind it. In the correspondence, a copy of which has been obtained by the Financial Times, Sir Richard states: ● There is no military plan to defend the UK in a conventional conflict. “Counter-terrorism is the limit of up-to-date plans and preparations to secure our airspace, waters and territory … There is no top-to-bottom command and control mechanism, preparation or training in place for the UK armed forces [to defend home territory] … let alone to do so with Nato.” ● A Russian air campaign would quickly overwhelm Britain. “UK air defence now consists of the (working) Type 45 [destroyers], enough ground-based air defence to protect roughly Whitehall only, and RAF fast jets. Neither the UK homeland nor a deployed force — let alone both concurrently — could be protected from a concerted Russian air effort.” ● Navy ships and RAF planes are often deployed without adequate munitions or protections because they have grown used to depending on US forces to protect and support them. “Key capabilities such as radars, fire control systems and missile stocks are deficient.” ● The army is not equipped to fight a rival professional land force and is significantly outgunned by Russia. “The current army has grown used to operating from safe bases in the middle of its operating area, against opponents who do not manoeuvre at scale, have no protected mobility, no air defence, no substantial artillery, no electronic warfare capability, nor — especially — an air force or recourse to conventional ballistic or cruise missiles.” ● Small numbers of hugely expensive pieces of military equipment make the UK’s capabilities “extremely fragile”. It is unlikely the UK’s two new aircraft carriers, which cost £2bn each, will ever be sent within 300km of the Chinese coast, for example. “We operate platforms that we cannot afford to use fully, damage or lose — industry would take years to repair or produce more.” ● Manpower across all the forces is dangerously squeezed. “It is not necessary to shoot down all the UK’s Joint Strike Fighters, only to know how to murder in their beds the 40 or so people who can fly them.” Sir Richard warned that the UK’s entire strategic thinking was underpinned by the assumption it could fight wars on a discretionary basis — a supposition he says has been completely upended by the increase in global instability over the past two years. “There is a sense that modern conflict is ordained to be only as small and as short term as we want to afford — and that is absurd. The failure to come to terms with this will not matter at all if we are lucky in the way the world happens to turn out, but it could matter a very great deal if even a few of the risks now at large conspire against the UK.” The Ministry of Defence said: “Our defence review last year put in place a plan for more ships, planes and troops at readiness, alongside greater spending on cyber and special forces. That plan was backed by a rising defence budget. And, crucially, it was backed by all of the service chiefs, who were heavily involved in putting it together.” Across Nato, Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine has thrown defence planning into flux. While the UK’s armed forces are the best resourced in Europe, they are also among those struggling most to adapt themselves to the rapidly changing European security environment. “We became used to using the military as a foreign policy tool, but in that lost any real sense of it as an insurance policy,” said a senior Whitehall official. “So far there is a lot of talk about deterrence across Nato but what really matters is whether it is credible, certainly as far as Russia is concerned.” Shortfall 1: Artillery and tanks Britain has cut back its armoured warfare capabilities significantly over the years. A Russian brigade contains two or three artillery battalions. A British brigade contains just one. The focus on fast, lighter vehicles also makes the UK vulnerable For the past decade, Britain’s military posture has been conditioned by the Afghan and Iraqi deployments as well as by the reality of a dramatically shrinking budget. The most recent Strategic Defence and Security Review — which coincided with a generous spending commitment from the government and a wide-ranging review of defence priorities — has gone some way to addressing the challenges. But experts say it has not gone far enough. “There is a capability gap across the services,” said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, adding that he strongly agreed with Sir Richard’s assessment. “With regard to Russia, the SDSR is schizophrenic. There is lots of language about being shoulder to shoulder with Nato allies, the value of deterrence and increased expenditure, but the threat analysis in it specifically rules out a direct threat to the UK — and I think that is wrong. It is not clear at all that the UK’s conventional capability is being rebuilt nearly enough.” The British army, Mr Barry continued, had not practised armoured warfare properly since 2003. It was outgunned in comparison to Russia’s forces, in some areas significantly so. Each Russian brigade had either two or three artillery battalions within it, he noted; the UK’s had one. Shortfall 2: Manpower All four services have seen dramatic reductions in manpower. This has curbed deployability and flexibility. But more critically, there are severe shortages of manpower in critical jobs, such as naval engineering, intelligence and medicine. While Britain is committed to a comprehensive upgrade of its Warrior tanks, that programme has a low priority within the existing defence equipment plan. By comparison, Russia’s new Armata tanks outgun anything the UK or Nato can field, and have an active protection system that will reduce the effect of British anti-tank weapons by between 50 per cent and 90 per cent. The other services are even more pressured. “[In the air], the forces are being pushed in a way they have not been since the end of the cold war,” noted Justin Bronk, research fellow and combat air power specialist at the Royal United Services Institute. While the F35 Joint Strike Fighter, due to come into service soon for the RAF, was an exceptionally capable weapon, Mr Bronk said, the numbers purchased — at least initially — would limit its utility sharply because of pressures such as training, servicing and maintenance. Shortfall 3: F35 fighters Britain’s new generation of fast jets are the most expensive — and capable — combat aircraft ever built for the UK. But with just 48 of them, the UK will only be able to operate six at a time and payloads are limited The UK has committed to buying 48 of the jets, which will be able to launch from the Navy’s two aircraft carriers. “That essentially means that on a long-term sustainable basis you might be able to deploy six of them,” says Mr Bronk. “At a high tempo for a short duration, you might be able to deploy 12.” The UK’s aerial surveillance assets are the most stretched, however. On any given day, just one or two of the British six-plane AWACS fleet can be used to provide long-range radar and command functions for British forces. The aircraft were so old that their capabilities were “substantially” below their French and US equivalents, said Mr Bronk. “That is certainly not going to give you a 24-hour presence … let alone the ability to field more than one at a time in two or more different theatres.” eShortfall 4: Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissanc The UK’s fleet of 6 AWACS planes, which provide long-range radar coverage and act as command hubs for deployed forces, are very out of date. Only one or two can operate at any one time. The UK cannot even sustain 24-hour coverage over a theatre of operation with them. The Royal Navy’s spate of new investments — from the Type 45 destroyers to the Queen Elizabeth carriers and the forthcoming Type-26 frigates — also belies significant operational constraints. “The major capability gap that the Royal Navy faces is one of numbers,” said Lee Willett, editor of IHS Janes Navy International. “It is the simple need to have enough ships in all the places that the government requires them to be.” While new high-tech ships would deliver a “major capability uplift in the short to medium term”, said Mr Willett, there may not be enough of them to combat or deter adversaries. Shortfall 5: Type 45 destroyers With only six Type 45 destroyers the Royal Navy will struggle to protect UK waters and its carrier fleet. Each carrier needs at least two destroyers to protect it. The ships have also been bedevilled by technical glitches. The six Type 45s, for example, must between them cope with aiding the defence of UK airspace and territorial waters, routine deployments to help allies such as escorting US carriers through the Gulf, escort of the UK’s own new carriers, low-tempo operations such as countering piracy, as well as potential high-tempo operations such as combat operations. The ships are already bedevilled by technical glitches that have curbed operations. Other, less prominent elements of the navy have continued to suffer. Amphibious assault forces, for example, are being cut back. The number of Bay-class logistics ships has fallen from four to three, and there are no costed plans to replace the amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean. Shortfall 6: Aircraft carriers At £2bn each, the two carriers are the most expensive military platforms the UK fields. But there will not be enough F35 jets to fully kit them out for years. The big ships are also vulnerable to a host of emerging military technologies: China’s new hypersonic missiles could easily sink them. According to Sir Richard, the challenge is not merely one of resources or money. More fundamentally, he wrote, the issue is one of strategic oversight and planning. In the MoD and the security organs of Whitehall, he said, there was now “almost no capacity left to think and plan strategically or generate resources for the unforeseen … our own bureaucracy struggles to get its head above managing details and events”.

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VW diesel-cheat probe widens in U.S. to include Bosch Bloomberg / September 16, 2016 U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH, which provided software to Volkswagen AG, conspired with the automaker to engineer diesel cars that would cheat U.S. emissions testing. Among the questions the Justice Department is asking in the criminal probe, one of them said, is whether automakers in addition to VW used Bosch software to skirt environmental standards. The line of inquiry broadens what is already the costliest scandal in U.S. automaking history. VW faces an industry-record $16.5 billion, and counting, in criminal and civil litigation fines after admitting last year that its diesel cars were outfitted with a “defeat device” that lowered emissions to legal levels only when it detected the vehicle was being tested. Second supplier A second supplier may also be part of the widening probe: When prosecutors in Detroit outlined their case last week against a VW engineer who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the matter, they said he had help from a Berlin-based company that is 50 percent owned by Volkswagen, described as "Company A" in a court filing. That company, according to a another person familiar with the matter, is IAV GmbH, which supplies VW and other automakers. IAV employees were part of a group working with Bosch and VW to develop emissions functions, according to U.S. court filings in a separate case. IAV and Volkswagen refused to comment. In Germany, prosecutors have said they are investigating whether Bosch employees helped VW rig software to cheat on emissions tests. In the U.S., Bosch is defending itself against a civil suit by drivers who allege that it not only conspired with VW to develop defeat devices, but also asked for legal protection from VW if the devices were used on American roadways. Bosch, in filings in San Francisco federal court, has called the suit “wild and unfounded.” People familiar with the industry have said it’s common for carmakers to buy software from a company such as Bosch and adapt it to their own vehicles. Diesel universe There’s a limited universe of diesel-engine vehicles sold in the U.S., including cars made by VW, Daimler AG and BMW AG and light trucks by General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Bosch provides components for several of these, including GM’s GMC Sierra, Ford’s F-250, Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and models by Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. Informed in general about a government look into whether automakers beyond Volkswagen may have used defeat devices, spokespeople for Daimler, Fiat Chrysler, BMW, GM and Ford declined to comment. IAV, the parts-maker that is half-owned by Volkswagen, provides engineering and expertise to automakers mainly for new-car development, including software, electronics and technology support. Volkswagen is that company’s largest customer, according to documents unsealed last week in Detroit federal court, with other clients including Bosch, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM and Daimler. Special access Under an agreement signed by VW and Bosch in 2006, IAV employees were among 35 individuals who were granted special access to documentation on “expanded software” created for certain emissions functions, according to a filing in a civil lawsuit. The agreement, which the plaintiffs say they received from VW during discovery in the case, shows the extent to which Bosch sought control over any modifications to its software, they allege in the filing. Bosch has yet to respond in court to the allegations. Beyond VW, other automakers face emissions-cheating lawsuits in the U.S. or accusations overseas of poor emissions performance. Daimler said in April that it was asked by the Justice Department to investigate the certification process of its cars and is the subject of a lawsuit by car owners alleging some of its diesel cars violated emissions standards. Daimler, which said it was fully cooperating with U.S. authorities, has called the class-actions lawsuit “baseless.” Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz has no 2017 diesel models listed among the more than 50 entries on the EPA’s fueleconomy.gov website. For 2016, the 70-plus models included the diesel-powered GL350 Bluetec SUV and E250 Bluetec sedan. The brand hasn’t announced a date for any diesel models to go on sale. Earlier this month, the German Transport Ministry asked the European Union to investigate allegations that three Fiat Chrysler vehicles sold in Europe had defeat devices. Italy and Fiat have denied the accusations, with the Italian Transport Ministry sayings its own tests showed no unauthorized devices on the vehicles. Other diesel vehicles in the U.S. include Nissan Motor Co.’s Titan XD pickup and Tata Motors Ltd.’s Land Rover Range Rover Sport Td6, which went on sale after the VW scandal erupted a year ago. Tata’s Jaguar has diesel versions of its 2017 F-Pace crossover and XE and XF sedans approved by the EPA and just starting to reach dealerships.

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The spirit of this prototype was to create an MH-based replacement for the FM.

With one crass decision, the greedy men who run Ford have betrayed everything Henry stood for - and run Hillary right off the road Piers Morgan / September 15, 2016 I heard a loud noise in my London office today. It began at a cemetery in Detroit, swirled around America, then reverberated across the Atlantic and clattered angrily into my airspace. It was the sound of Henry Ford turning in his grave. The greatest industrialist in the history of the United States would surely have been sickened by breaking news this morning about the world-renowned car company he created. Ford announced it is moving its small-car production from U.S. plants to Mexico. Not some of it, ALL of it. This will create 2,800 new jobs, not in America but in Mexico. Ford’s CEO Mark Fields told investors proudly: ‘Over the next two to three years, we will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States.’ Isn’t that, with 93 million Americans currently unemployed, an astonishing thing for the boss of a major U.S. company to boast about? Presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has long railed at precisely this kind of corporate activity, instantly branded the move ‘horrible’ and an ‘absolute disgrace.’ He also declared that if he becomes President then he’ll impose a 35% import tax on any Ford cars built in Mexico. This, he explained, will either force them to bring production back home, or they will end up paying America a lot of money. ‘When we send our jobs out of Michigan, we’re also sending our tax base,’ he said. He’s right. Make no mistake, Ford has done this from no motivation other than pure capitalist greed. The company is stinking rich and raking in cash, with assets worth $224 billion and reported pre-tax profits of $3 billion for the second quarter of 2016 alone. By moving small car production to Mexico to appease the equally grasping Wall Street speculators, it can squeeze that gigantic dollar lemon just a little tighter. But at what cost to America and Americans? Domestic manufacturing has collapsed this century in the United States, decimated by a combination of new technology and out-sourcing factories abroad. There are an estimated 12 million U.S. manufacturing jobs today, down from a peak of 19 million in 1979, with most of the fall happening since 2000. This extraordinary drop-off has wrecked many communities in the process, causing huge financial and social hardship for millions of Americans. Ford insists no American jobs will be lost as a result of this move, as production of larger vehicles will be moved to its Wayne plant in Michigan. This may or may not turn out to true. But what’s undeniable is that this decision will directly boost Mexico’s jobs market and not America’s. This cuts to the very core of Trump’s message about job preservation and creation in America. He passionately believes, and I’ve had this conversation with him for many years so I know it to be a sincere view, that big American companies are selling out the country and its people by sending production overseas to save a few bucks. Ford’s by no means the only culprit in the U.S. car market. General Motors and Fiat Chrysler have also expanded fast in Mexico. There are now 675,000 auto jobs in Mexico, a 40% increase from 2008. The total number of auto jobs has also risen in America over the same period, but by a far smaller amount of 15%. How many more could have been created if the out-sourcing hadn’t happened? It doesn’t have to be this way. Starbucks recently committed to building new factories in the U.S. even though it would be far cheaper for them to make all their cups abroad. CEO Howard Schultz did it because he thinks it’s imperative to save America’s manufacturing industry from further obliteration. As would Henry Ford, a man whose whole ethos was based around empowering Americans to rule the world in manufacturing by making things in America. Of all the many brilliant ideas that Ford had, perhaps his greatest was the $5-a-day wage he introduced for all his employees in 1914. This would be equivalent to $120 today and it nearly doubled the existing rate of most of his workers. Why did he do it? Ford wanted to pay his people well enough so they would be able to afford to buy the cars they made. A more powerful incentive to guarantee high quality work and care it would be hard to imagine. The move was stunningly successful. It instantly attracted the best mechanics from all over Detroit, which raised productivity and lowered training costs. This, in turn, kick-started the depressed local economy. So it benefited everyone, not just Ford employees. Ford made more money and so did America. It was the perfect fusion of profits and patriotism. What Ford is doing now betrays everything Henry Ford stood for. The company’s announcement today is another massive blow to U.S. manufacturing and will merely serve to encourage other major U.S. companies to take more their jobs abroad. When they do, the crumbling middle class, on which the power of America’s economy so vitally depends, will get further pulverised. Short-term greed will inevitably lead to longer-term impoverishment. It’s the perfect real life illustration of Aesop’s fable, “The Goose With The Golden Eggs”. Of course, there is one aspect of this move that even Donald Trump may find very pleasing. Ford’s greedy antics aren’t just anti-American, they may also have just helped hand him the presidency. ‘States that make cars like Donald Trump’, he said today. The latest polls, showing a surge in his support in those very states like Ohio, confirm this view. If Trump wins those states come November, he wins the White House.