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Volkswagen Truck & Bus enters into strategic alliance with Navistar Volkswagen Truck & Bus Press Release / September 6, 2016 • Volkswagen Truck & Bus has agreed to subscribe to a capital increase of US-based commercial vehicles manufacturer Navistar International Corporation, resulting in a 16.6% stake of the outstanding shares • The two companies will pursue a strategic technology and supply cooperation and establish a procurement joint venture Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH ("Volkswagen Truck & Bus") and Navistar International Corporation ("Navistar"), the US-based commercial vehicles manufacturer, today announced that they have formed a far-reaching alliance that includes framework agreements for a strategic technology and supply cooperation and a procurement joint venture. Volkswagen Truck & Bus will furthermore acquire a 16.6% equity stake in Navistar through a primary share issuance. With the completion of this transaction, Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes the brands MAN, Scania, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, will gain access to the key North American market, where it was not previously represented. Andreas Renschler, CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus and member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for commercial vehicles, said: "Closer collaboration among our existing brands was a top priority for our commercial vehicles business and we are well on track in this context. We are now taking the next step on our way to becoming a Global Champion in the commercial vehicles industry. The strategic alliance with Navistar is an important milestone and will be very beneficial for both sides." "We are very pleased to partner with a global leader who shares our view of the world, in an alliance that will deliver multiple benefits and is consistent with our open-integration strategy," said Troy Clarke, President and CEO of Navistar. "Starting in the near term, this alliance will benefit our purchasing operations through global scope and scale. Over the longer term, it is intended to expand the technology options we are able to offer our customers by leveraging the best of both companies and enabling Navistar to deliver enhanced uptime. Volkswagen Truck & Bus's equity investment will strengthen our liquidity position and expand our financial flexibility, while aligning us with a valuable strategic partner." Volkswagen Truck & Bus will purchase from Navistar newly issued common shares representing, pro forma for such issuance, a 16.6% stake in Navistar for a price per share of $15.76 and an aggregate purchase price of approximately $256 million (or approximately €229 million at current exchange rates). In connection with this investment, Truck & Bus will be represented on Navistar’s Board of Directors. In addition, both companies have agreed to collaborate closely. Matthias Gründler, CFO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, said: "Our collaboration, especially with regard to the powertrain, will considerably increase our synergy potential. Navistar will be able to profit from excellent powertrain technologies and we, in turn, will benefit from significantly higher volumes. Initiating this strategic alliance now will enable us to implement the requirements of Navistar into our joint component platforms from the get-go." With the strategic technology and supply cooperation, Volkswagen Truck & Bus will become one of Navistar’s most important technology partners. While the partnership will focus on common powertrain systems, it will also enable collaboration in many aspects of future commercial vehicle development. Additionally, Volkswagen Truck & Bus and Navistar have agreed to establish a procurement joint venture that will pursue joint global sourcing opportunities. The strategic alliance will receive oversight from an Alliance Board consisting of top-level representatives from both sides. Under the umbrella of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, Andreas Renschler has been heading the process of bundling medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses of Volkswagen AG into a robust commercial vehicles group. The Company's strategy includes plans to expand into new regions. Within the next decade, Volkswagen Truck & Bus aims to become a worldwide leading commercial vehicles group in terms of profitability, innovations for its customers and global presence. The closing of the transaction and the implementation of the strategic alliance is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The closing of the share acquisition by Volkswagen Truck & Bus is further subject to the finalization of the agreements governing the procurement joint venture and of the first contract under the technology and supply cooperation. Closing is expected to be completed in late 2016 or early 2017. Volkswagen Truck & Bus was advised by Rothschild as financial advisor, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, CMS Germany and Bär & Karrer as legal advisors.

Volkswagen powertrain coming to Navistar trucks by 2019 Truck News / September 6, 2016 Volkswagen powertrains will be coming to Navistar trucks by 2019, the two companies revealed during a conference call this morning. There was no immediate word on what the newly formed strategic alliance will mean for Cummins, Navistar’s current engine supplier. “Cummins is a great partner for us and the Cummins engine in our product is an outstanding product,” said Troy Clarke, president and CEO of Navistar. “I anticipate we’ll continue to offer Cummins products for a period of time…we’re not speculating or making announcements in that regard today.” Volkswagen announced today it has taken a 16.6% stake in Navistar. Andreas Renschler, CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, said the time was right to partner with Navistar, because of where Volkswagen is in the production cycle of its next generation powertrain. Partnering now allows the companies to work together on development of the powertrain and integrating it into International trucks in North America. “For us, it was the right timing,” said Renschler. “Because we are at the moment designing new powertrain components for the whole world…Now Navistar joins us at the right time so we can develop them together and start to see real economies of scale.” Clarke said the strategic alliance is built on four pillars: A US$256 million cash injection from Volkswagen will improve its liquidity position; the two companies will jointly pursue strategic technological and supply collaboration; the truck makers will conduct the strategic sourcing of parts globally; and a separate board will be formed to oversee the joint venture. Volkswagen will also add two members to the Navistar board of directors. Current Navistar board members James Keyes and Michael Hammes have resigned from the board. Clarke said the partnership should bolster confidence among Navistar customers that the brand is on solid footing. “This will relieve anxiety on the part of some of our customers,” he said. “I fully anticipate we’ll increase consideration of our products, which will drive market share…it gives us the opportunity to get on the balls of our feet again.” While North American truck orders are currently soft, Clarke said Navistar has increased its order share for eight consecutive months. Bringing a vertically integrated powertrain to its products with the help of Volkswagen will benefit customers, Clarke said. “There is a well established trend in the industry globally along vertical integration,” he said. “We can deliver a captive powertrain for Navistar,” Renschler added. In the meantime, Navistar continues to update its complete product line. Clarke said the first vehicle to be launched as part of its Project Horizon will be revealed later this month. Renschler predicted the partnership will make Volkswagen one of Navistar’s most important technology partners going forward. With the alliance announced, the two companies will begin working together on product development that will include not only the engine, but also axles, transmissions and aftertreatment systems, Renschler said. The two truck makers now boast global truck and bus production of about 260,000 units per year.

Navistar, Volkswagen Announce 'Wide Ranging Strategic Alliance' Heavy Duty Trucking / September 6, 2016 Volkswagen Truck & Bus is taking a 16.6% equity stake in Navistar International Corp. as part of a “wide-ranging strategic alliance” that will initially focus on providing powertrains for Navistar trucks starting in 2019. The joint venture is based on four pillars: 1. The equity investment: Volkswagen Truck & Bus will acquire 16.2 million newly issued shares in Navistar, representing 16.6% of post-transaction undiluted common stock (or 19.9% of pre-transaction outstanding common stock). It will pay $15.76 per share or a 25% premium over Navistar’s 90-day volume weighted average price as of Aug. 31, or 12% over Navistar’s closing price on Sept. 2. Navistar will receive $256 million from the equity investment to be used for general corporate purposes. 2. Technology sharing: The two companies will collaborate on technology for powertrain systems, as well as other advanced technologies. It will focus on powertrain technology solutions, with VW supplying engines and other powertrain components by 2019, according to Andreas Renschler, CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus. It also will explore collaboration in other areas, including advanced driver assistance systems, connected vehicle solutions, platooning and autonomous technologies, electric vehicles, and cab and chassis components. This collaboration will allow the companies to share some of the costs of future vehicle development. 3. A procurement joint venture: Pursuing joint global sourcing opportunities for parts for both companies will give both greater scale and competitiveness. It also can create improved pricing for end customers. 4. Governance: Navistar will add two Volkswagen Truck & Bus representatives to its board of directors, and a separate board will be formed to oversee the alliance. When asked how the deal will affect Navistar’s deal with Cummins, which is supplying some three-quarters of the engines going into International trucks, Troy Clarke, Navistar president and CEO, said, “We anticipate we will continue to offer Cummins products for a period of time. We’ve got a great partnership with them as well. We’re not speculating or making announcements on that today.” For Volkswagen, the move is “a major milestone on our way to crating a global champion,” said Renschler, noting that the alliance “allows us access to the North American market and create synergies on the technology and on the human side.” He pointed out that the alliance offers complementary geographic footprint, with VW being strong in Europe and South America, and Navistar strong in North America and Latin America, especially Brazil. There has long been speculation that VW would move to acquire Navistar. When asked about potential plans for a further investment in Navistar, Renschler said, “We believe with the alliance we are forming at the moment … is the right thing … It’s a starting point. Our companies can get to know each other … and I think for us it’s a perfect entry and in a couple of years we can see…. All our options are open.” The timing was right, he added, because VW is currently starting work on its new global powertrain platform and can get Navistar involved in early stages. Navistar expects cumulative synergies for Navistar to ramp up to at least $500 million over the first five years. By year five, it expects the alliance will generate annual synergies of at least $200 million. That amount is expected to grow as the companies continue to introduce technologies from the collaboration. In addition, explained Clarke, the deal can help “relieve anxiety on the part of some of our customers [who may have been concerned whether] Navistar [would] have the ability to have access to new technology going forward. If you’re a company that buys trucks you don’t want to find that technology is stranded at some point in the future. This, I think, will get at that in a big way, and I fully expect will increase consideration of our products. We are improving our market share, it’s just not as fast as we had hoped, and this should increase that. This gives us the opportunity to get on the balls of our feet again.” Meanwhile, Navistar is preparing to unveil the first of the new trucks in its Project Horizon line later this month.

Heavy Duty Trucking / September 6, 2016 Orders for Class 8 trucks in the month of August will be slightly above expectations and a 36% improvement over July’s terrible numbers, according to projections from industry analysts. Class 8 truck orders in August will be around 14,200 units for the month, a significant rebound from July’s dismal 10,358 units ordered. July’s order numbers were the worst recorded since the first quarter of 2010. After a weak June and a dismal July, Class 8 orders rebounded in August to 14,200 units, or nearly 16,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis. While rising 37% from July, August demand failed to meet the year-ago order volume for an eighteenth consecutive month, falling 29% from August 2015. Despite the gains, Class 8 order activity for August was the weakest for the month in six years and is down 35% compared to 2015. Class 8 truck orders have totaled 206,000 units for the last 12 months. Truck orders are expected to remain moderate in September before jumping in October, giving analysts the first look at what to expect for 2017’s truck market. Late-summer orders are generally weak seasonally, however, and the August order total still remains significantly below last year’s level, say analysts. October is expected to be the next truly meaningful order month, as it should be the first month which reflects orders for model-year 2017 tractors, which should give insight into expected production next year.

Transport Topics / September 6, 2016 Volvo Group’s two North American operating companies have agreed to exhibit at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta a year from now, and will either reduce or drop their connection with the Mid-America Trucking Show in 2017. The confirmation from Mack Trucks came on Sept. 1 as part of the original equipment manufacturer’s ride-and-drive press event here. A Volvo Trucks spokesman added a statement on Sept. 3. “Mack has signed a letter of intent to exhibit at the first North American Commercial Vehicle Show. We are still working through our position on MATS,” says John Walsh, Mack’s marketing vice president.. “Volvo Trucks will be at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show but will not be attending MATS in 2017,” says VTNA spokesman John Mies. (In July 2015, Volvo spokesman Avery Vise told Transport Topics that Volvo would return to MATS in 2017, the opposite of John Mies’ statement today.) In May, NACV Show executives announced similar deals with Daimler Trucks North America and Navistar International Corp. The inaugural exhibition will be Sept. 25-29 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. Those two OEMs said their subsidiaries or some dealerships might choose to maintain a presence at Mid-America, but their large, corporate-wide exhibits will move to NACV for at least its first three shows, in 2017, 2019 and 2021. NACV was created to run in odd-numbered years as a North American complement to the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover, Germany, which runs in even-numbered years for the European industry. Kenworth Trucks and Peterbilt Motors have not yet announced decisions on their 2017 marketing plans. MATS, held every spring in Louisville, Kentucky, since 1972, has been North America’s largest truck show, but this year none of the seven manufacturers of heavy trucks displayed there, saying they want to switch to an every-other-year model. Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40797-volvo-becomes-second-oem-to-pull-out-of-mats-next-year/

Transport Topics / September 7, 2016 The growing importance of fleets being able to regulate the speed of individual trucks through remote, over-the-air engine updates should be taken into account as the federal government considers a mandate requiring heavy-duty vehicles to utilize speed limiters, the president of Daimler Trucks North America said. Martin Daum said DTNA maintains a neutral stance on the issue of a mandate and could easily comply with a final rule if and when one is issued. However, during a Sept. 1 interview with Transport Topics after the launch of the new Freightliner Cascadia, he outlined several potential pitfalls with a mandate that left him “hesitant.” An Aug. 26 proposal from the U.S. Department of Transportation called for a speed limiter on trucks, and sought feedback on maximum speeds of 60, 65, and 68 miles per hour. “ A market-driven, smart solution is always better than a rule,” Daum said, because with a rule comes requests for exceptions and a need for enforcement. Daum said many fleet customers have their own set speed limits, and they gain from the “good economic behavior” of higher fuel efficiency at lower speeds. He is concerned the effect a mandate could have on a just-in-time delivery model, which is “huge in the entire economy” and can be aided by remote engine updates. Daum used the example of a company that has chosen 63 mph as its top speed for the entire fleet. However, he said, if a truck with time-sensitive freight gets caught in traffic, fleet managers could temporarily adjust engine parameters to boost that speed closer to a highway’s limit through a telematics system to improve the likelihood it arrives on time. He also said a European mandate limiting large trucks to about 54 mph has created a speed differential between passenger cars and trucks that “is the biggest reason for congestion” on that continent’s highways. In the United States, DOT’s proposal is not expected to include language requiring the device to be tamper-proof. Daum said a desire for tamper-proof limiters is well intentioned but would raise complex legal questions. “Why should I be responsible if someone violates a law?” he asked. “I put [a limiter on a truck] which really respects the law and someone breaks the law by reprogramming it, so is it now my responsibility to assume that you are a criminal and then I make sure that you can’t do illegally what you want to do?” Separately, Daum also sounded a cautious tone on the timeline and expectations surrounding autonomous trucks. He said he cannot see any situation where a true driverless truck is operating on U.S. highways. He also was skeptical of a scenario in which a trucker was “absolutely not paying attention” to the road. However, looking out six to 10 years, Daum forecasted a scenario in which drivers’ feet are spending much less time on pedals. “A truck can brake safer and it can accelerate more economically than any human foot can do — even the most experienced one,” he said. Daum said he “could see platooning, where the first truck is driven by a driver and in the second truck, the driver is sleeping. That is for me not autonomous because the human brain makes all the crucial decisions.” He labeled a two-truck platoon an electronically-controlled, 160,000-pound combination that could split anytime, which is “better than a truck with four trailers and it is easier to maneuver, but the first one is making all of the decisions for the second one.” Still, before that could become reality, the system must become foolproof so there is never a headline about a highway accident that reads: “Robot Kills Man,” he said. During the interview, Daum also said DTNA is continuing to undertake a page-by-page review of the final rule on greenhouse gas emissions through 2027 issued in August but remains pleased it will provide a “stability for the next 14 years" The more than 1,500-page rule from the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Safety Administration shows that the agencies were extremely thorough, Daum said. He also reiterated DTNA’s previously announced endorsement of the rule. “We can reach the [emission reductions] with current technology that has to evolve certainly, but we won’t have a disruptive change,” he said. When fully implemented in 2027, the rule seeks reductions in carbon dioxide output and fuel use of 25% by highway tractors, including engine improvements, and 24% by vocational vehicles — compared with 2017 vehicles.

Bosch Sought VW Cover for Defeat Device in 2008 Bloomberg / September 7, 2016 Robert Bosch GmbH demanded eight years ago that Volkswagen AG indemnify it (secure against legal responsibility for their actions) for using the emissions-cheating defeat device that it helped the automaker create for its diesel engines, U.S. car owners said in a new version of their lawsuit against both companies. Bosch is accused in the lawsuit of conspiring with VW to develop technology that enabled diesel vehicles to evade pollution-control tests. After seeking legal protection from VW for its use of the device in the U.S., the German auto-parts supplier continued to participate in the conspiracy to hide the cheating from regulators, car owners said in a court filing citing a 2008 letter from Bosch to VW. “Plaintiffs do not have a full record of what unfolded in response to Bosch’s June 2, 2008, letter,” according to the filing. “However, it is indisputable that Bosch continued to develop and sell to Volkswagen hundreds of thousands of the defeat devices for U.S. vehicles” even after it acknowledged in writing that using the software was illegal in the U.S. Bosch previously rejected as “wild and unfounded” car owners’ claims that 38 of its employees conspired with VW. Matthew Slater, an attorney for Bosch, didn’t immediately respond to phone or e-mail messages seeking comment on the newly disclosed allegations. U.S. Settlements Volkswagen has already agreed to settlements that may total $16.5 billion (14.7 billion euros) to get 482,000 emissions-cheating diesel cars off U.S. roads. Those agreements cover car owners, the U.S. government and 44 states. That also includes $1.2 billion for VW dealerships, as well as a $603 million accord with states in the U.S. that isn’t part of the settlement to be considered for final approval later this year. Volkswagen still faces criminal probes, efforts by car owners in Europe to get U.S. Justice Department documents to buttress their own civil suits and a sales ban on many VW models in South Korea. The European Union, where most of the 11 million cars with the defeat devices were sold, is also pressuring VW to compensate car owners. Bosch, which isn’t part of any of the VW settlements, developed software to enable Volkswagen to beat emissions testing in the U.S. on its diesel vehicles, consumers claim. They’re seeking damages from Bosch beyond VW’s payments for additional compensation for owners and leasers of the vehicles. ‘Critical Role’ Lawyers for American car owners revised an earlier lawsuit in August to enhance accusations against Bosch over its alleged role in the decade-long scheme. A copy of the lawsuit filed Friday in a San Francisco federal court removed blacked-out portions to provide a more complete picture of the allegations against Bosch. “The evidence already proves that Bosch played a critical role in a scheme to evade U.S. emission requirements,” consumer lawyers said last month in a partially sealed filing. Among the details included in the unsealed version of the filing Friday was the demand for indemnification for anticipated liability arising from the use of the “defeat device,” as Bosch called it in the letter. “Volkswagen apparently refused to indemnify Bosch, but Bosch nevertheless continued to develop the so-called ‘akustikfunktion’ (the code name used for the defeat device) for Volkswagen for another seven years,” the consumer lawyers wrote. On/Off Switch The term akustikfunktion dated back to use by Audi in the 1990s when it “devised software that could switch off certain functions when the vehicle was in test mode,” the lawyers alleged. Bosch concealed its knowledge of the defeat device in communications with U.S. regulators when questions were raised about the emission-control system in VW vehicles and “went so far as to actively lobby lawmakers to promote Volkswagen’s ‘Clean Diesel’ system in the U.S,” they said. Bosch maintained a “tight grip” over the engine control module software used on the VW vehicles and any modifications made to it, the lawyers claimed. Bosch “knew that Volkswagen was using Bosch’s software algorithm as an ‘on/off’ switch for emission controls when the class vehicles were undergoing testing,” they said in the filing last month. “Written communications between and within Bosch and Volkswagen describe the ‘akustikfunktion’ in surprising detail,” according to the unsealed document. “In e-mails sent as early as July 2005 from VW AG’s Andreas Specht” to four Bosch employees, “Specht discussed emissions measurements from vehicles using the ‘akustikfunktion’ in connection with U.S. emission compliance.” The names of the Bosch people remain sealed. E-Mail Request In March 2007, an unidentified Bosch employee e-mailed VW requesting that it remove the description of the function from fuel pump specification sheets provided in the U.S., according to the complaint. Shortly after the exchange, VW developers confirmed to Bosch that the akustikfunktion wouldn’t be listed in the U.S. documentation, according to the filing. The consumers allege that Bosch misled U.S. regulators as they provided specific information “about how Volkswagen’s vehicles functioned and unambiguously stated that the vehicles met emissions standards.” Employees at Bosch’s North American unit “frequently communicated with U.S. regulators and actively worked to ensure the class vehicles were approved.” Bosch’s North American unit also “regularly communicated to its colleagues and clients in Germany about ways to deflect and diffuse questions from U.S. regulators,” particularly the California Air Resources Board, according to the unsealed complaint. The case is In Re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, 15-md-02672, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Navistar Announces Wide-Ranging Strategic Alliance With Volkswagen Truck & Bus Navistar International Corp. Press Release / September 6, 2016 - Navistar and Volkswagen Truck & Bus to pursue strategic technology collaboration and establish procurement joint venture with Volkswagen Truck & Bus taking a 16.6% stake in Navistar - Volkswagen Truck & Bus to invest $256 million in Navistar at $15.76 per share and have the right to appoint two directors to Navistar's board of directors - Alliance will uniquely position Navistar to provide best-in-class products and services to customers - Navistar expects to realize cumulative synergies of $500 million over first five years Navistar International Corporation today announced that it has formed a wide-ranging strategic alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes an equity investment in Navistar by Volkswagen Truck & Bus and framework agreements for strategic technology and supply collaboration and a procurement joint venture. The agreements expected to be entered into in connection with the alliance will enable Navistar to offer customers expanded access to leading-edge products and services through collaboration on technology and the licensing and supply of Volkswagen Truck & Bus's products and components, while better optimizing its product development spend. The alliance will also strengthen Navistar's liquidity position. In addition, the procurement joint venture is expected to leverage the purchasing power of Volkswagen Truck & Bus's three major truck brands, Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, in addition to Navistar's own International® and IC Bus brands, providing Navistar with enhanced global scale. Navistar expects significant synergies from both the strategic technology collaboration and the procurement joint venture. The company expects the alliance to be accretive beginning in the first year, and for cumulative synergies for Navistar to ramp up to at least $500 million over the first five years. By year five, it expects the alliance will generate annual synergies of at least $200 million for Navistar. This annual run rate is expected to grow materially thereafter as the companies continue to introduce technologies from the collaboration. "We are very pleased to partner with a global leader who shares our view of the world, in an alliance that will deliver multiple benefits and is consistent with our open-integration strategy," said Troy Clarke, President and CEO, Navistar. "Starting in the near term, this alliance will benefit our purchasing operations through global scope and scale. Over the longer term, it is intended to expand the technology options we are able to offer our customers by leveraging the best of both companies and enabling Navistar to deliver enhanced uptime. Volkswagen Truck & Bus's equity investment will strengthen our liquidity position and expand our financial flexibility, while aligning us with a valuable strategic partner." "Closer collaboration among our existing brands was a top priority for our commercial vehicles business and we are well on track in this context," said Andreas Renschler, CEO of Volkswagen Truck & Bus and member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for commercial vehicles. "We are now taking the next step on our way to becoming a Global Champion in the commercial vehicles industry. The strategic alliance with Navistar is an important milestone and will be very beneficial for both sides." Navistar will remain a leading, independent truck, bus and engine company, focused on providing best-in-class products and related services to its customers globally and delivering value for its shareholders. "We expect this alliance will create significant global scale, yielding considerable cost savings for both companies," said Walter Borst, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Navistar. "We believe working collaboratively, the two companies can optimize the capital and engineering expenditures associated with next-generation truck and bus engine development, while providing both Navistar and Volkswagen Truck & Bus with opportunities for substantial procurement savings. This alliance marks another step in Navistar's journey to be a stronger, more profitable company." Equity Investment As part of the alliance, Volkswagen Truck & Bus will acquire 16.2 million newly issued shares in Navistar, representing 16.6% of post-transaction undiluted common stock (or 19.9% of pre-transaction outstanding common stock). It will pay $15.76 per share or a 25% premium over Navistar's 90-day volume weighted average price as of August 31, 2016, or 12% over Navistar's closing price on September 2, 2016. Navistar will receive $256 million from the equity investment to be used for general corporate purposes. To underscore the long-term nature of the alliance, Volkswagen Truck & Bus has agreed to hold these shares for a minimum of three years. Reflective of its shareholding post-transaction, Volkswagen Truck & Bus will have the right to appoint two directors to Navistar's board of directors. Procurement Joint Venture The procurement joint venture will help source parts for both companies, providing Navistar and Volkswagen Truck & Bus with greater scale and competitiveness. It will also provide additional opportunities for Navistar suppliers to gain access to potential global sourcing opportunities, and create improved pricing for end-customers. Technology Sharing The strategic technology and supply partnership builds on Navistar's open integration strategy of partnering with the best global companies in the industry to integrate cutting-edge technology. It is expected the partnership will focus on powertrain technology solutions, as well as explore collaboration in all aspects of commercial vehicle development, including advanced driver assistance systems, connected vehicle solutions, platooning and autonomous technologies, electric vehicles, and cab and chassis components. This enhanced collaboration will enable the alliance to share the overall costs associated with future vehicle development. Navistar products will benefit from Volkswagen Truck & Bus components and technology through licensing and supply agreements entered into pursuant to the framework agreement for strategic technology and supply collaboration, which longer term will generate increased parts sales. Governance The strategic alliance will receive oversight from an alliance board, comprising top-level executives from both parties, which will align the product development and procurement processes between the companies. Timing and Conditions to Close The closing of the share purchase agreement implementing the strategic alliance is subject to certain regulatory approvals, the finalization of the agreements governing the procurement joint venture and the first contract under the technology and supply framework agreement and other customary closing conditions. J.P. Morgan is acting as financial advisor to Navistar and Sullivan & Cromwell LLC is acting as legal advisor to Navistar.

VW Buys Stake in Icahn-Backed Navistar in Bet on U.S. Trucks Bloomberg / September 7, 2016 Volkswagen AG will buy a stake in Navistar International Corp. to gain a foothold in the U.S. heavy-truck market, taking a gamble on a struggling U.S. manufacturer as the German company still grapples with the fallout from the emissions-cheating scandal. Navistar shares soared as much as 67 percent. VW will pay $256 million for a 16.6 percent holding and assume two board seats as part of a deal that includes technology sharing and joint purchasing, the companies said Tuesday. The Wolfsburg-based automaker will pay $15.76 a share, 12 percent more than Navistar’s most recent close. The holding, which VW said it may increase later, puts it on par with the largest shareholders, activist investors Carl Icahn and Mark Rachesky. “Navistar has always made sense as an expansion target for Volkswagen, which has no presence in the North American commercial-vehicle market,” said Brian Sponheimer, a Gabelli & Co. analyst in Rye, New York. “And Navistar has been burning through cash. This allows dealers to tell their customers that Navistar will be here, in the North American market, well into the future.” Gaining traction in the U.S. heavy-truck market, dominated by Daimler AG, Volvo AB and Paccar Inc., is key to VW’s plan to forge a global commercial-vehicle operation with higher profit margins than rivals. The marriage isn’t without risk given Navistar’s shrinking market share in the U.S., a country that has also confounded VW. Even before the diesel-cheating scandal, Volkswagen’s car sales were slipping behind competitors in the region. “Closer collaboration among our existing brands was a top priority for our commercial vehicles business and we are well on track in this context,” Andreas Renschler, head of the Volkswagen Truck & Bus division, said in a statement. “We are now taking the next step on our way to becoming a global champion in the commercial-vehicles industry.” Navistar surged 44 percent to $20.28 at 12:34 p.m. in New York after reaching $23.45 for the Lisle, Illinois-based company’s biggest percentage gain since at least 1980. Volkswagen’s American depositary receipts rose 0.7 percent to $29.54. Cummins Inc., a maker of engines for Navistar, fell as much as 6.6 percent to $117.84 on concern that VW will take over as the supplier. Working with Navistar will provide VW with access to technology and designs targeting customers in the U.S., where model lines are very different from offerings in the rest of the world. Many U.S. truck drivers prefer vehicles with an elongated nose, while European operators buy trucks with a flat face due to length restrictions. Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, hired Renschler away from Daimler’s truck unit to push a stalled plan to deepen cooperation between its MAN and Scania brands. Munich-based MAN and Swedish counterpart Scania don’t sell vehicles in the U.S., and the group’s only other large truckmaking operation is a VW-brand division in Brazil focused on Latin America. MAN has a Chinese joint venture with local affiliate Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd. that sells models in Asia. Entering the U.S. will give VW access to a market a bit smaller than its current home region. Around 240,000 trucks will be sold this year in the U.S., while 290,000 will be bought in Europe, according to estimates from Volvo. Spending Cuts Volkswagen Truck & Bus was created in 2015 after the carmaker accumulated majority control of MAN and Scania over the previous decade. The unit has been largely unaffected by the diesel-emissions scandal that erupted at the group’s car operations a year ago. It’s targeting 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) in long-term cost savings through closer collaboration among its brands. Renschler reiterated in a conference call with analysts Tuesday that VW is keeping all options open as part of his expansion strategy, including increasing its stake in Navistar and a possible share sale of VW’s trucks division. But he indicated that an initial public offering might not be imminent as “VW has no actual plan” to spin off the unit. VW and Navistar said they expect to reap combined synergies of $500 million over the next five years. Navistar posted its first profit in 14 quarters in the three months through April, helped by spending cuts under Chief Executive Officer Troy Clarke. Navistar is no stranger to dramatic consequences from emissions-related troubles. The truckmaker had to kill most versions of its so-called premium vocational models in 2010 because they lacked diesel engines that complied with U.S. federal air-pollution rules. Navistar’s market share has tanked since its pollution-control technology failed to meet industry standards and brought the company to the brink of collapse. Joint Work Clarke said on the call with analysts that the VW deal “is another great reason to consider our products -- that you want to do business with somebody who is going to be participating in leading global technologies, and will have that kind of scale going forward.” Navistar has had a license to build engines designed by MAN since 2005. The two companies have held periodic talks about additional strategic initiatives since then and began intensive discussions about six months ago that led to Tuesday’s announcement, Clarke said in an interview. The CEO said Navistar was motivated in part by new U.S. emissions regulations, the first phase of which take effect in 2021. When fully implemented, the rules mean that heavy trucks for the 2027 model year will be 25 percent more carbon-efficient than those sold as 2018 models. Volkswagen is starting work on a new set of engines to meet the U.S. regulations, as well as similar requirements in Asia and Europe, and will turn to Navistar as an engineering partner, Renschler said. Cooperative Benefits “We have a plan to be compliant without this cooperation with Volkswagen, but the cooperation allows us to do it far more efficiently, and with a higher probability not only of compliance but of success,’’ Clarke said. “Engineer it once and use it many times around the world -- that’s going to be our approach.’’ Some VW engine components will start appearing in Navistar’s U.S. products in 2019. Clarke said on the call that it’s logical to think that Navistar could build Volkswagen engines in the U.S., but that no decisions have been made. He also said he had no change to announce on Navistar’s contracts with Cummins for engines. Icahn said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that Navistar agreed that the company won’t support any effort to increase the size of the board to more than 12 directors, as long as an Icahn nominee is a member of the board. Navistar currently has nine directors. The U.S. company said in a separate statement Tuesday that two directors, James Keyes and Michael Hammes, will retire when shares are issued to Volkswagen or at Navistar’s 2017 shareholders meeting, whichever comes first. Icahn on Tuesday also agreed to buy the shares of auto-parts supplier Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp. he doesn’t already own for $9.25 each. Icahn, who holds a stake of almost 82 percent, initially offered $7 a share in February, when the stock was trading at $4.98. He had raised his bid to $8 in June.

Volkswagen Taking 16.6% Stake in Navistar The Wall Street Journal / September 6, 2016 Purchase of truck company’s shares will cost the German auto maker $256 million Volkswagen AG ’s new development alliance with Navistar International Corp. fuels the German company’s ambition to chase rival Daimler AG into the about $30 billion a year North American heavy-duty truck market. Volkswagen’s shares of such truck sales are larger in Europe and Latin America and it has a joint venture with Sinotruk (Hong Kong) Ltd. in China. But Daimler entered the U.S. long ago, and has built a business that now accounts for about 40% of U.S. heavy-duty truck sales. Volkswagen sought to even the score on Tuesday with its $256 million investment in Navistar, a 16.6% stake that will give it two seats on the Lisle, Ill.-based truck maker’s board. The stake and related development-and-procurement alliance will broaden Volkswagen’s U.S. footprint and global truck-market operations. Behind the intensifying rivalry are two executives who have switched sides in the battle between the two German automotive giants. Andreas Renschler, chief executive of Volkswagen’s Trucks and Buses business, was the architect of Daimler’s U.S. strategy. Passed over as chief executive, he left Daimler at the end of 2014 and was tapped by Volkswagen patriarch Ferdinand Piech to mold the fragmented truck businesses into a global enterprise. Mr. Renschler’s former colleague and rival, Daimler Trucks Chief Executive Wolfgang Bernhard, is benefiting from the business that he built. But he wouldn’t compare Volkswagen and Daimler’s bids to grow in North America. “You can ask that question of somebody else in 10 years,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. Mr. Bernhard knows Volkswagen well. A decade ago he ran Volkswagen’s namesake car brand, pursuing an aggressive strategy to standardize components and streamline the business. At Daimler Trucks, he has driven efforts to create common truck platforms and develop new technology. Messrs. Renschler and Bernhard are approaching the U.S. and global truck business with similar strategies. Both are trying to bring the German auto industry’s obsession with standardization and common vehicle platforms to a U.S. market equally obsessed with freedom of choice. “We’re trying to do something that the passenger car guys started already decades ago, what they call the platform strategy,” Mr. Bernhard said. “You use components in one vehicle and try to disperse that in your lineup as much as possible and by that you create economies of scale.” Daimler owns truck maker Freightliner and engine supplier Detroit Diesel that have put its North American operations far ahead of Navistar. The parent company of Mercedes-Benz has quietly amassed 40% of heavy duty truck sales in North America in recent years. Detroit Diesel builds engines that are standardized enough to keep development costs down even while producing versions of the same engine for the U.S., European and Japanese markets. “These are the beginnings of a platform strategy. Now we are rolling it out to transmissions, we are rolling it out to axles and we are rolling it out to medium duty engines,” he said. Creating a global truck platform that can allow Volkswagen to share components across many different brands and models was a big driver of this week’s Navistar deal. Volkswagen’s investment in Navistar, at $15.76 a share, represents a 12% premium to Friday’s closing price. The two companies expect regulatory approvals of the deal by early next year. Navistar anticipates cost savings of $500 million within the first five years of the venture and annual savings of $200 million after that. Initially, those savings were expected to come in the form of cheaper raw materials and commodity components through Navistar’s wide-ranging procurement alliance with Volkswagen. Navistar CEO Troy Clarke said the alliance provides Navistar access to engine technology that should help it reclaim share lost to competitors a few years ago due to engine reliability problems. Navistar has about 11% of heavy-duty truck sales in North America, down about half from five years ago. “We want to get as much of that market as we can,” Mr. Clarke said on Tuesday. The alliance “will increase [customer] consideration of our products.” Volkswagen’s investment also provides a measure of stability for cash-strapped Navistar, which has battled worries from customers and investors that it would run out money. “It gives some of their customers a sigh of relief to know that [Navistar] is going to be around for the long haul,” said Eric Starks, CEO of transportation consultancy FTR in Indiana. The deal, details of which were first reported on Monday by The Wall Street Journal, comes as Navistar deals with the fallout from a run-in over emissions regulations and a declining market share that has left it trailing rivals in a North American commercial truck market wrestling with a slump. The bulk of potential savings from the venture aren’t expected to be realized until after 2019, when Volkswagen plans to launch a new global platform for its heavy-truck brands MAN and Scania and that it will now jointly develop with Navistar. Volkswagen’s MAN unit took a restructuring charge of more than €200 million last year as part of Mr. Renschler’s push to boost earnings and savings by more closely integrating the German truck maker with VW’s Swedish manufacturer Scania. Development of the new truck platform is still in the early stages and was one of the reasons why Volkswagen wanted to do the Navistar deal now. “We are working on common powertrain platforms with MAN and Scania and now Navistar is part of it and can be there from day one,” said Volkswagen’s Mr. Renschler. “We want to have a powertrain-based platform that will be used around the world.”

No murder charges??? This man should be summarily executed. Show the murdered child some respect and justice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press / September 6, 2016 A Minnesota man confessed Tuesday to abducting and killing 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling nearly 27 years ago, recounting a crime that long haunted the state, and sharing chilling details that included a handcuffed Jacob asking him: "What did I do wrong?" Danny Heinrich, 53, of Annandale, made the admission as he pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge that will likely keep him locked up for 20 years, with civil commitment possible after that, meaning he could spend the rest of his life in custody. Asked whether he abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered Jacob, Heinrich said: "Yes, I did." In the years after Jacob's disappearance, his mother Patty became a nationally known advocate for missing children. A 1994 federal law named for Jacob requires states to establish sex offender registries. With Patty and Jacob's father, Jerry Wetterling, in a packed courtroom, Heinrich described seeing Jacob, Jacob's brother, and a friend bicycling down a rural road near Jacob's central Minnesota home in St. Joseph the night of Oct. 22, 1989. Heinrich laid in wait for the three boys to return, and when they did, he put on a mask and confronted them with a revolver. He said he ordered them into a ditch and asked their names and ages. Heinrich said he told the two other boys to run and not look back or he'd shoot. He said he then handcuffed Jacob and drove him to a gravel pit near Paynesville, where he molested him. Afterward, Jacob said he was cold, and Heinrich let him get dressed. Jacob then asked whether he was taking him home. "I said, 'I can't take you all the way home,'" Heinrich said. "He started to cry. I said, 'Don't cry.'" Heinrich said at some point a patrol car with siren and lights passing nearby caused him to panic. He said he pulled out his revolver, which had not been loaded, and put two rounds in the gun. He said he told Jacob to turn around. He held the gun to the boy's head and pulled the trigger. The gun didn't fire. Heinrich then fired two shots. After the second, Jacob fell to the ground. Some of Jacob's family members cried openly as Heinrich calmly described the crime. Heinrich said he went home for a couple of hours, then went back to the gravel pit and buried Jacob about 100 yards away. He said he returned to the site about a year later and saw that Jacob's jacket and some bones had become exposed. "I gathered up as much as I could and put it in the bag and transported it across the highway" to a field, and reburied the remains, he said. Heinrich led authorities to Jacob's buried remains in a central Minnesota field last week. His remains were identified Saturday. "It's incredibly painful to know his last days, last hours, last minutes," Patty Wetterling said after the guilty plea. "To us, Jacob was alive, until we found him." Prosecutors said the Wetterling family was consulted on and approved the plea agreement, which required Heinrich to give a detailed confession and tell investigators where to find Jacob. As part of the plea agreement, Heinrich will not face state murder charges. U.S. Attorney Andy Luger defended the deal, describing Heinrich as a volatile man. He said defense attorneys came to prosecutors 10 days ago with the possibility of a confession, and prosecutors feared he'd change his mind. "He's not getting away with anything. We got the truth. The Wetterling family will bring him home," Luger said. Heinrich's attorneys declined to comment after the hearing. Authorities named Heinrich as a person of interest in Jacob's disappearance last October when they announced the child pornography charges. Heinrich had long been under investigators' scrutiny. They first questioned him shortly after Jacob's abduction, but he maintained his innocence and they never had enough evidence to charge him. They turned a renewed spotlight on him as part of a fresh look into Jacob's abduction around its 25th anniversary. As part of that effort, investigators took another look at the sexual assault of 12-year-old Jared Scheierl, of Cold Spring, nine months before Jacob's disappearance. Investigators had long suspected the two cases were connected. Using technology that wasn't available in 1989, investigators found Heinrich's DNA on Scheierl's sweatshirt, and used that evidence to get a search warrant for Heinrich's home, where they found a large collection of child pornography. The statute of limitations had expired for charging him in the assault on Scheierl, but a grand jury indicted him on 25 child pornography counts. As part of Tuesday's plea deal, Heinrich also admitted to assaulting Scheierl. The AP typically doesn't identify victims of sexual assault, but Scheierl has spoken publicly for years about his case, saying it helped him cope with the trauma and that he hoped it could help investigators find his attacker and Jacob's kidnapper. Jacob's abduction shattered childhood innocence for many rural Minnesotans, changing the way parents let their kids roam. His smiling face was burned into Minnesota's psyche, appearing on countless posters and billboards over the years. Heinrich is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21. .

VW buys 16.6% Navistar stake; full merger is possible Bloomberg / September 6, 2016 Volkswagen has agreed a wide-ranging technology and purchasing deal with U.S. truck maker Navistar International Corp. in exchange for a 16.6 percent stake, an alliance forged in part by the need to meet stringent emissions regulations. The deal should help both sides cut costs, give Volkswagen's trucks business a long-desired foothold in North America, and provide a source of new engines for Navistar, which has been looking for a partner since 2010 when it failed to get approval from U.S. regulators for its heavy-duty diesel truck engine. Volkswagen Trucks CEO Andreas Renschler said a full merger with Navistar is possible once a technology and procurement alliance between the two truck makers takes shape. In a call to discuss a technology and procurement partnership unveiled by the two companies today, Renschler was asked whether he could foresee a full merger with U.S.-based truck maker Navistar. "On our way to becoming a global champion all options are open," Renschler said. Renschler repeated the answer when he was asked whether Volkswagen's truck and buses businesses could be spun off from the German parent company. With few potential partners to choose from, Navistar is tying is fortunes to a company which, through its acquisition of MAN and Sweden's Scania, has amassed global truck engine expertise, but whose carmaking arm is grappling with a scandal over falsified diesel emissions tests. Volkswagen will pay $15.76 a share for 16.2 million new Navistar shares, a 12 percent premium to Navistar's closing price on Sept. 2, the two groups said today. Volkswagen Truck & Bus will hold Navistar shares for a minimum of three years and top-level executives from both parties will align product development and procurement processes, the companies said. The pact was welcomed by analysts who said it could also bolster VW's chances of spinning off its trucks arm. "A more global company with exposure to the profitable North American market will make for a better story should VW look to IPO its trucks business in the future," Arndt Ellinghorst, analyst at Evercore ISI said in a note. The alliance, first reported by Reuters on Monday, will see the creation of a joint venture for procurement, which Navistar said would help it reach synergies of at least $500 million over the first five years. Pooling VW and Navistar's procurement will create economies of scale from Volkswagen Truck & Bus's three major truck brands -- Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus -- in addition to Navistar's own International and IC Bus brands. Navistar gains In a statement, Navistar CEO Troy Clarke said: "Over the longer term, it is intended to expand the technology options we are able to offer our customers by leveraging the best of both companies." Clarke was a 35-year GM executive before going to Navistar in 2010. He became CEO at Navistar in 2013. He last served GM in 2009 as president of GM North America. By year five, Navistar expects the VW alliance to generate annual savings of at least $200 million, which could rise further as the companies continue to introduce technologies from the collaboration. Navistar said savings will come from procurement and technology collaboration, rather than job cuts. Emissions standards U.S. regulators last month announced new environmental standards designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from medium and heavy-duty trucks by up to 25 percent by 2027, adding pressure on Lisle, Ill.-based Navistar to seek a technology partner. The financial burden of developing next generation engines to meet new emissions standards is forcing several vehicle makers to pursue partnerships and technology deals. In May, Nissan took a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi, while in 2013, Aston Martin agreed to sell a 5 percent stake to Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler in exchange for delivering next generation engines and electronics that meet the latest emissions rules. Gaining traction in the U.S. heavy-truck market, dominated by Daimler, Volvo and Paccar, is key to VW’s plan to forge a global commercial-vehicle operation with higher profit margins than rivals. The marriage is not without risk given Navistar’s shrinking market share in the U.S., a country that has also confounded VW. Even before the diesel-cheating scandal, Volkswagen’s car sales were slipping behind competitors in the region. Working with Navistar will provide access to technology and designs targeting customers in the U.S., where model lines are wholly different from offerings in the rest of the world. Many U.S. truck drivers prefer vehicles with an elongated nose, while European operators buy trucks with a flat face due to length restrictions. Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, tapped Renschler in May 2014, who ran Daimler’s truck operations, to push a stalled plan to deepen cooperation between its MAN and Scania brands. Munich-based MAN and Swedish counterpart Scania don’t sell vehicles in the U.S., and the group’s only other large truck making operation is a VW-brand division in Brazil focused on Latin America. MAN has a Chinese joint venture with local affiliate Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd. that sells models in Asia. Entering the U.S. will give VW access to a market a bit smaller than its current home region. Around 240,000 trucks will be sold this year in the U.S., while 290,000 will be bought in Europe, according to estimates from Volvo. Cost savings The Volkswagen Truck & Bus division has been largely unaffected by the diesel-emissions scandal that erupted at the group’s car operations a year ago. It’s targeting 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) in long-term cost savings through closer collaboration among its brands. Renschler has said VW is keeping all options open as part of his expansion strategy, including acquisitions and a possible share sale. Navistar is no stranger to dramatic consequences from emissions-related troubles. The company had to kill most versions of its so-called premium vocational trucks in 2010 because they lacked diesel engines that complied with U.S. federal air-pollution rules. Navistar’s market share has tanked since its pollution-control technology failed to meet industry standards and brought the company to the brink of collapse. Activist investors Carl Icahn and Mark Rachesky have accumulated a combined stake of almost 40 percent in Navistar since 2011. Declining demand for heavy trucks in North America, which led Daimler to cut the profit outlook for its truck unit earlier this year, has only added pressure on the U.S. manufacturer.

Navistar is doing great. They're coming out of the hole and making smart decisions. They've ridden themselves of all the senseless acquisitions that Ustian made, leaned the company out without the layoffs like Volvo/Mack and Freightliner, and have new product coming out of the pipeline. Troy Clarke has been identifying meaningful partnerships, such as the two projects with General Motors. NAV is already using MAN 11L and 13L engines anyway, produced under license in Huntsville, Alabama. A little history here, the relationship with MAN soured around 2010 when Ustian announced he was going to ship NAV-built MAN engines to China for heavy truck production there with JAC. MAN was justifiably upset because their agreement didn't allow that. Such an act would interfere with MAN's activities in China. In the end, NAV never built any trucks in China, and Ustian was ousted. Now, NAV and MAN have put the past behind them, and are seeking to work together again on engines. If they only buy a minority 16.6 percent stake, given MAN is one of their engine suppliers, I've no problem with that. If MAN (VW) acquired NAV, I would have a big problem with that. Troy says he has no plan to sell out.

A 425/65R22.5 tire runs a 12.25 inch wide rim. I assume your Super-Liner was built with 8.0, 8.25 or 8.5 inch wide rims. Had the truck been ordered that way from Mack, the steering arms that mount to the knuckles would be different, as well as the tie rod tube. As is, you're not going to have needed clearance for 425/65R22.5 tires with what you have. I don't know what Volvo does today. But in the days of Mack Trucks, your dealer could submit a changeover request for your exact model and serial number truck with Mack's legendary specifications department (within Parts Operations), and they would advise your dealer what parts (mounting arrangements) would have applied had the truck originally been ordered that way. The dealer could then order you the correct needed parts. If you are "serious" about doing the changeover, you can ask the folks at Watts Mack, or your local dealer, if Volvo's Mack Trucks still processes changeover requests.

Truckstop TV / September 5, 2016 .

CAT Trucks Australia / Navistar Auspac Press Release / September 6, 2016 WAYNE & GARY CROFT – Croft Transport Owners An Adelaide company runs a successful business running 20 Cat Trucks specialising in lifting freight that most transport companies are not interested in. Croft Transport, based in Adelaide’s industrial heart, found a niche in hauling one-off lifts and ‘you-call-we-carry’ type work. “We are essentially a taxi truck company,” says Gary Croft. Not the stereotypical taxi company, however with 50 heavy duty trucks, 70 employees and ‘taxi’ runs across the nation, the latest being a series of road train hauls to Alice Springs. While most transport companies strive for regularity in scheduled freight to give cashflow predictability, the Croft business model embraces irregularity and has developed flexibility to handle on-call jobs at short notice. Gary Croft and his brother Wayne run the family business from its Wingfield headquarters, a no frills yard and office that buzzes with activity with a continual flow of trucks swapping trailers, parking up and drivers delivering paperwork. The 20 Cat Trucks were selected by the Croft brothers from a lifetime love of the International brand. “We have always had a lot of International trucks so as they progressed we eventually came to looking at Cat Trucks with the Cat driveline. We have had Cat engines in other trucks so they are well known to us. We have always respected the Cat product,” Gary Croft says. Croft Transport runs 35 semitrailers in the fleet along with a dozen tray tops and crane trucks. Eight in-house mechanics keep wheels turning. Crofts could be described as a mix of old school management with the latest tech in equipment. Because most work is urban or intra-state, Gary and Wayne have not yet seen the need to move towards electronic tracking of trucks and drivers. With mobile phones ringing non stop, you get the feeling that between them, the Crofts know where every one of their trucks is and whether they are running on time. The variety of truck and trailer operations accommodate a great variety of workloads. “Sometimes we might need one truck on a job, other times eight or 10 trucks on a bigger lift. We are on call for our customers and other transport companies. We do overflow work. Our freight is not scheduled, it is flexible on-call work.” Both Croft brothers have a high regard for the Cat Truck dealership, Cavpower, in Adelaide. A long association with the Cat Trucks salesman, Mervyn Jamieson, led to the investment in the brand. “Cavpower have been very good to us,” says Gary, “supporting us when ever necessary.” The Cat Trucks in the Croft fleet CT630s and CT610s. “We have C12s in our older Internationals and the C13 (in the CT610s) is a progression of those and they have all been doing a good job in different applications.” The most recent Cat purchase is a CT630SC. “We have configured that truck so we can use it in B-double applications, road train work when necessary or single trailer work.” Most trucks are purchased with sleeper cabs, however there are eight Cat Trucks with day cabs. Gary Croft says the sleeper option is more versatile if a truck has to go interstate. “If we get stuck we will send a day cab and put the driver up in a motel, but mostly we buy trucks with sleepers that we can send anywhere.” Another benefit of the Cat Trucks for urban work is their size and ability to get into tight spots. “The vision for the driver is also a big plus, easy entry and exit is a major consideration in our operation so as an all-round package they are very good!” .

Transpo Online Brazil / September 5, 2016 One of Brazil’s leaders in the heavy haul segment, Megatranz Transportes, has purchased two new Kenworth C500 prime movers equipped with Allison 6000 Series automatic transmissions. The 600 horsepower Kenworth C500 6x4s are rated at 500 tons in the U.S. with three percent slope. In Brazil, the flat ground rating is 1,000 tons. Including the ballast box, the trucks have a curb weight of 72 tons. The truck has a maximum speed of 40 km/h and a cruising speed of 20 km/h. "The adoption of the Allison automatic transmission was essential," said Renato Zuppardo, director of Megatranz operations. "It is important in our type of transport by providing a continuous acceleration with no loss of power in gear changes of exchange manual. It will also be of great value to move on uneven terrain, as will be the case in his debut, carrying more than 300 tons on dirt roads." The truck’s first assignment will be carrying a rotor and a transformer for the power plant of São Manoel, located on the border of Mato Grosso and Pará states. For this assignment, the 192-tire trailer will be drawn by three prime movers connected by push-pull system. From there the three trucks will be replaced by the new Kenworth which will pull the trailer for the remaining 100 kilometers of dirt road to the plant. Under ideal conditions, it is estimated that this distance will be traveled over two days over grades ranging between 15% and 17%. .

Inside Bill Clinton’s nearly $18 million job as ‘honorary chancellor’ of a for-profit college The Washington Post / September 5, 2016 The guest list for a private State Department dinner on higher-education policy was taking shape when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a suggestion. In addition to recommending invitations for leaders from a community college and a church-funded institution, Clinton wanted a representative from a for-profit college company called Laureate International Universities, which, she explained in an email to her chief of staff that was released last year, was “the fastest growing college network in the world.” There was another reason Clinton favored setting a seat aside for Laureate at the August 2009 event: The company was started by a businessman, Doug Becker, “who Bill likes a lot,” the secretary wrote, referring to her husband, the former president. Nine months later, Laureate signed Bill Clinton to a lucrative deal as a consultant and “honorary chancellor,” paying him $17.6 million over five years until the contract ended in 2015 as Hillary Clinton launched her campaign for president. There is no evidence that Laureate received special favors from the State Department in direct exchange for hiring Bill Clinton, but the Baltimore-based company had much to gain from an association with a globally connected ex-president and, indirectly, the United States’ chief diplomat. Being included at the 2009 dinner, shoulder to shoulder with leaders from internationally renowned universities for a discussion about the role of higher education in global diplomacy, provided an added level of credibility for the business as it pursued an aggressive expansion strategy overseas, occasionally tangling with foreign regulators. “A lot of these private-education guys, they’re looking to get into events like this one,” said Sam Pitroda, a higher-education expert who was representing a policy commission from India at the State Department dinner. “The discussion itself is irrelevant. . . . It gets you very high-level contacts, and it gets you to the right people.” While much of the controversy about Hillary Clinton’s State Department tenure has involved donations to her family’s charity, the Clinton Foundation, a close examination of the Laureate deal reveals how Bill Clinton leveraged the couple’s connections during that time to enhance their personal wealth — potentially providing another avenue for supporters to gain access to the family. In addition to his well-established career as a paid speaker, which began soon after he left the Oval Office, Bill Clinton took on new consulting work starting in 2009, at the same time Hillary Clinton assumed her post at the State Department. Laureate was the highest-paying client, but Bill Clinton signed contracts worth millions with GEMS Education, a secondary-education chain based in Dubai, as well as Shangri-La Industries and Wasserman Investment, two companies run by longtime Democratic donors. All told, with his consulting, writing and speaking fees, Bill Clinton was paid $65.4 million during Hillary Clinton’s four years as secretary of state. [For Clintons, speech income shows how their wealth intertwines with charity] Details of Bill Clinton’s compensation are found in the couple’s tax returns, which were made public by his wife’s presidential campaign and provide an unusual glimpse into the way a former president can make millions in the private sector. Bill Clinton has proved particularly marketable because of his global celebrity, enhanced by his foundation, his continued visibility on the political scene and his wife’s stature as a senator, Cabinet official and potential president. The Laureate arrangement illustrates the extent to which the Clintons mixed their charitable work with their private and political lives. Many of those who paid Bill Clinton to consult or speak were also foundation donors and, in some cases, supporters of political campaigns for one or both Clintons. Becker, for example, donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and last year donated $2,700 to her current effort. Laureate has given between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the charity’s website, and made millions of dollars of charitable commitments through the Clinton Global Initiative, an arm of the foundation that arranged for corporations to make public pledges to their own philanthropic projects. Meanwhile, Laureate portrayed its association with the Clintons as a symbol of its legitimacy rather than the result of a business deal. “People know that somebody like President Clinton, the most important thing to him is his reputation,” Becker said in a 2010 appearance at a Laureate campus in Malaysia. “And to attach himself to an organization that he doesn’t believe in, he would never do it. It wouldn’t make sense — not just with his own legacy and history but, in his case, being the spouse of the U.S. secretary of state, for example.” When Becker introduced Clinton at an event at the same campus the next year, he read a statement from Malaysia’s education minister declaring that “there must be something very special about Laureate that has inspired President Clinton to devote his energy to such an endeavor.” Aides to Clinton and representatives of Laureate characterized the arrangement as one that advanced global access to education. Angel Urena, a Clinton spokesman, said the former president “engaged with students at Laureate’s campuses worldwide and advised Laureate’s leadership on social responsibility and increasing access to higher education.” Adam Smith, a Laureate spokesman, said Clinton “was paid to advise Laureate, inspire students and visit the campuses and communities they serve, and that’s what he did, with great conviction and energy.” Becker declined to be interviewed for this report. Laureate officials said that the Baltimore businessman first met through Laureate Vice President Joseph Duffey, a former Clinton administration official, at a 2007 Clinton Global Initiative event in Hong Kong. [How Clintons went from ‘dead broke’ to rich: Bill’s $105 million for speeches] Clinton became familiar with the company after giving a few unpaid speeches on its international campuses and then grew closer with Becker when they traveled to Haiti together in 2009 to explore education issues in the troubled nation, a Clinton aide said. Laureate had grown rapidly under Becker, a college dropout who became wealthy in the 1980s after inventing a card that could store personal medical information. He launched Laureate in 2003, transforming an old tutoring company called Sylvan Learning Systems into a network of for-profit college campuses. The company has been intertwined over the years with the global financial elite. Once publicly traded, it was bought out for $3.8 billion in 2007 with investments from, among others, a private-equity firm founded by liberal philanthropist George Soros, as well as the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Laureate, which is taking steps to become publicly traded again, has in recent years been largely focused on growing internationally. Typically, it has purchased financially struggling colleges and vocational schools and improved management while boosting profits through expanding enrollment. The company has said in regulatory filings that it enrolls more than 1 million students on 87 campuses in 28 countries. It has five U.S. campuses. Laureate hired Clinton as scrutiny of private colleges was increasing in the United States and internationally. Congress in 2010 launched an investigation into for-profit schools, which critics say profit from needy students while making often grand but unfulfilled promises of valuable degrees. Laureate has clashed at times with regulators in other countries, such as Chile, where the law forbids for-profit education and Laureate operates by acting as a contractor to local nonprofit institutions. Clinton at times mingled with foreign government leaders during his appearances on Laureate campuses, such as a 2013 Laureate-hosted conference on youth unemployment in Madrid featuring top European officials. Urena said the former president “never sought to influence any foreign or U.S. official on Laureate’s behalf.” Smith said Clinton played an active role as honorary chancellor, visiting 19 locations, meeting with students and delivering speeches that were broadcast to tens of thousands of students around the world. He said Clinton’s role was not related to the company’s business prospects. Clinton’s contract with Laureate was approved by the State Department’s ethics office, in keeping with an Obama administration agreement with Hillary Clinton that gave the agency the right to review her husband’s outside work during her tenure. An ethics official wrote that he saw “no conflict of interest with Laureate or any of their partners,” according to a letter recently released by the conservative group Citizens United, which received it through a public-records request. The contract itself became public through a records request by a different conservative group, Judicial Watch, but descriptions of Clinton’s exact consulting role were blacked out in the publicly released document and labeled as trade secrets. Laureate and Clinton aides declined to release an unredacted copy of the contract. Based on appearances on Laureate’s behalf by Clinton and public statements by the company, it seems that part of the strategy in hiring the former president was to bolster Laureate’s image by aligning it with the former president’s famous charitable efforts — thereby portraying the company as a force for good in the world. News releases about Clinton’s paid campus appearances often invoked his work on education issues with the Clinton Foundation. And every news release during Clinton’s time with the company carried his name and his title of honorary chancellor. In 2013, Clinton recorded a message to Laureate students and, without mentioning his financial ties to the company, said he joined Laureate because he admired its “dedication to helping the next generation of leaders be truly educated and well prepared for your future.” [The inside story of how the Clintons built a $2 billion global empire] Also that year, Laureate prominently featured its association with Clinton as part of its effort to purchase the Thunderbird School of Global Management, a 70-year old private business school in Arizona that was struggling financially. Karen Longo, a graduate of the school who was on the board of directors at the time, recalled that Becker specifically referenced the Clinton tie when he pitched the board on the deal. She provided The Washington Post with brochures Laureate gave out at the time, featuring a letter from Clinton praising Laureate students for working to improve the world and declaring himself “proud to be a part of their efforts.” Clinton’s picture was included on multiple pages. “His face, his name was in all their brochures,” Longo recalled. “It was a very big sell for them.” She and other alumni were concerned that Laureate would lower the school’s admissions standards to expand its enrollment in an effort to make more money from the campus. “The more students they got, the more money they got from student-loan funds,” she said. “It would have been a dilution of the Thunderbird brand.” Longo and four other alumni on the school’s board protested the purchase to the school’s accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission. In 2014, the commission refused to sign off on the purchase. Thunderbird has since merged with Arizona State University. Laureate, meanwhile, pursued close ties with the Clinton Foundation. The company paid to send a group of international students each year to the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York, where they conducted video interviews with CGI attendees such as actor Ted Danson and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright for broadcast to fellow Laureate students around the world. “We’re here with one of the most remarkable world leaders. We’re here with Chelsea Clinton,” said Daniel Rubio Sánchez, a student on a Laureate campus in Madrid, as he began a video interview with the former first daughter at the September 2015 CGI gathering — a few months after Bill Clinton’s contract ended — sitting in front of a glass wall inscribed with the logos of Laureate and CGI. Sánchez, 20, in an interview with The Post, called his CGI experience “really, really enriching” and one that has opened doors for him at European think tanks. “My personal profile changed greatly,” he said. The Clintons’ Laureate connection emerged as a campaign issue earlier this summer, when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump charged that Hillary Clinton “laundered money” to her husband by funneling tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to Laureate while she was secretary of state. By all accounts, Trump’s claim was false, and his campaign did not respond to requests for documentation. The company says its campuses have received about $1.4 million total over the years in grants from the State Department and its international aid arm, USAID. Of that amount, only $15,000 came while Clinton was secretary of state — student scholarships funded by USAID, Laureate said. Publicly available grant records are not detailed enough to corroborate Laureate’s exact numbers. But the records do show that neither Laureate nor any of its campuses has received any individual grant larger than $25,000 from the State Department or USAID. Trump appeared to be drawing on — and misrepresenting — a report in the 2015 book “Clinton Cash” that grants from USAID to a separate charity chaired by Becker, the Laureate founder, increased during the Clinton years. Founded in 1989, the International Youth Foundation has partnered with Laureate campuses in some of its charitable education work. The group has received USAID funding since 1999, and its president said the increase in USAID funding under Clinton was largely the result of the receipt of multi-year grants awarded before she entered office. There is no evidence Hillary Clinton played a role in the grants, and the group’s president, William Reese, said no government money went to Laureate or Becker. Though some Republicans tried to draw parallels between Laureate and Trump University, the real estate seminar company founded by Trump that faces multiple fraud investigations, Laureate is a different sort of business. Unlike Trump University, Laureate’s campuses are fully accredited and offer graduating students valid diplomas. Compared with other universities, including its for-profit competitors, Laureate has a relatively low percentage of students who default on their loans, seen as an indicator of student financial success after graduation. A 2012 Senate report on for-profit colleges said that Laureate’s flagship U.S. school, Walden University, was the best of 30 campuses studied and that students there generally “fared well.” Still, the company has faced some complaints. A group of students at Walden, a Minneapolis-based online school, sued Laureate in 2015, arguing the institution unnecessarily dragged out their education so they would have to pay more. Laureate denied the allegation, and the lawsuit was settled out of court. As of July, three of Laureate’s five U.S. schools were included on a government list of 500 schools that receive additional financial oversight after being found out of compliance with the requirements of federal student aid programs. Outside the State Department, Laureate’s ties extended into the world of the Clintons’ in other ways. Politico has reported that Laureate and GEMS Education were both clients of Teneo Holdings, a public-relations group founded by longtime Bill Clinton aide Doug Band that also paid Clinton a $100,000 consulting fee in 2011. Band declined to comment, as did Laureate. The Clintons were also close to Duffey, a top Laureate official who has been friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton since the two worked as young staffers for his unsuccessful campaign for the Senate in Connecticut in 1970. When Hillary Clinton requested that her staff invite a Laureate official to her 2009 State Department policy dinner, it was Duffey whom she recommended, according to emails released by the State Department. People who participated in the dinner said they remember a high-level conversation about using education to boost diplomacy, held amid antique furniture in the State Department’s elegant James Monroe room. Duffey spoke positively of Laureate’s approach to overseas expansion, according to one participant. Kevin Kinser, who studies for-profit colleges at Pennsylvania State University, said that given Laureate’s rapid growth, it was not unreasonable to include a company representative in that setting. But he said Laureate’s inclusion just months before Bill Clinton began being paid by the company does not look good. “They were clearly a legitimate participant in this sort of event,” he said. “But knowing what we know now, it does seem unseemly.”

VW affair with Navistar challenges Volvo Anders Hagerstrand, Dagens Industri / September 5, 2016 After years of speculation, it seems to be clear now how Volkswagen's truck unit, VW Trucks & Bus, will break into the heavy truck market in North America. This means new challenges for the Volvo Group. Reuters reported on Monday, citing several sources, that Volkswagen Trucks & Bus is set to announce cooperation with North American truckmaker Navistar in which VW will supply engines to Navistar in exchange for a stake in the American company. The news could be presented as early as Tuesday. The deal is logical and fits both companies. Navistar has in recent years had major problems with its engine development and lost significant market share in North America. VW Truck & Bus is prepared to take a step-by-step approach into the North American truck market without being forced to pay billions for a whole company. This at a time when VW Group is suffering financially from its passenger car emissions scandal. However, there is little doubt that the long-term aim for the head of VW's truck operations, Andreas Renschler, is to take full control of the Navistar just as VW has gradually taken control of Scania and MAN in Europe. And, no need to doubt that VW's goal is to restore Navistar to being a strong truck manufacturers in North America. For Sweden's Volvo Group, the development means VW's foray into North America creates tougher competition and new challenges in both the short and the long term. Volvo Trucks is one of the brands which in recent years have gained market share in North America at Navistar's expense. With VW’s backing, Navistar will do everything to win back lost ground and today is impressively becoming a truckmaker with a market share of well over 20 percent in North America. That compares with the company's market share of 12 percent in 2015. History indicates there is a great likelihood that VW will succeed. During his time as head of Daimler Trucks, Andreas Renschler managed well by acquiring problem companies and making them successful again. VW Trucks with its Scania and MAN units, is already Europe's largest manufacturer of heavy trucks. By realizing cooperation with Navistar, VW is taking a big step towards becoming the world's largest manufacturer of both passenger cars and heavy trucks. To be greatest in both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, VW has huge economies of scale in areas such as research and development. The same economies of scale of both light and heavy vehicles presently rank Daimler as the world's largest truckmaker. Standing up to these competitors in the long-term will be a major challenge for Volvo Group, which in this context appears to be a small player. For Volvo's shareholders, it would have been better of the deal between Navistar and VW had lingered a few more years.

Scania Group Press Release / September 6, 2016

Scania Group Press Release / September 5, 2016

Scania Group Press Release / September 5, 2016

Scania Group Press Release / September 5, 2016