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Heavy Duty Trucking / October 20, 2015 Kenworth is rolling out a service program for its trucks at certified dealers that would provide a full diagnostic analysis and repair estimate within two hours, the company announced at the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) Management Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. The service would be offered under the Kenworth PremierCare Gold Certified program as a way to reduce truck downtime for commercial customers. Kenworth Gold Certified dealers would provide the servive at their Kenworth PremierCare ExpressLane with dedicated technicians that can provide the quick diagnosis and estimate repair time and cost, according to Kenworth. "The goal is to do away with trucks sitting in the queue and drivers waiting for an estimate," said Jason Skoog, Kenworth's assistant general manager for sales and marketing. "And that's critical to our customers, especially when the repair may be very simple and can be completed within hours. Knowing what’s happening, quickly, will help customers make the decisions needed to keep their deliveries on schedule." The program also includes an around-the-clock roadside assistance program supported by a call center to help drivers and fleet managers work through the issue. The dealers also offer extended evening hours on weekdays and the weekends. Diesel technicians at Kenworth Gold dealers will have "achieved the highest levels of certification." In addition, new Kenworth Class 8 trucks with the PACCAR MX-13 engine are now standard with Kenworth TruckTech+. The system enhances vehicle diagnostics by providing information on engine health to the customer and dealer.

Fleet Owner / October 20, 2015 At the American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibit at the Philadelphia Convention Center on October 19, Mack Trucks announced the creation of certified uptime centers, a new dealer service certification dedicated to maximizing customer uptime. Mack stated that its certified uptime centers are the latest extension of Mack’s commitment to keeping customers’ trucks and operations at peak productivity. “Thanks to standardized workflows and service processes, as well as redesigned service bays, certified uptime centers will enable faster and more efficient service and repair,” the company said. “The revisions will also offer more transparent information to the customer, helping them to make quicker decisions for their business.” “This certification goes beyond just improving diagnostic times,” said President Stephen Roy. “We’re increasing customer uptime by changing our approach to the service process, ensuring our customers’ trucks are diagnosed and repaired efficiently and returned back to them as quickly as possible.” Certified uptime centers will feature “uptime bays” reserved specifically for trucks with service and repair tasks requiring less than four hours of work. Customers with vehicles needing a quick repair will be rapidly diagnosed, serviced and returned to work, increasing efficiency at the dealership and improving a customer’s ROI, Mack said. Mack’s Uptime Solutions, including Mack GuardDog Connect telematics and Mack ASIST service management system, will be built into the new Mack Certified Uptime Centers’ workflows. Mack’s recently announced integration of Truck Diagnostics System (TDS) and Mack ASIST will also support certified uptime centers. Mack is currently piloting the certification at 21 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. “The certified uptime centers pilot has significantly reduced the amount of time we’re spending on diagnostics and has also allowed an increase in technician productivity,” said Jon Miller, service manager at Vanguard Truck Center of Phoenix, one of the pilot locations. “Our customers have noticed they’re getting their trucks back more quickly, as the new workflows are helping us be more efficient and move trucks through the repair process faster.” Mack will continue its certified uptime centers pilot through 2015, and will begin the rollout of the certification to the Mack Trucks dealer network in 2016.

Fleet Owner / October 19, 2015 The goals for the next round of federal truck fuel efficiency requirements will be achievable, says the head of the country’s largest truck maker—he’s just not sure yet what the solutions are going to be. And all bets are off if the EPA’s Phase 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction program strays from the preliminary standards proposed earlier this year, Daimler Trucks North America President and CEO Martin Daum told trucking media representatives during a roundtable discussion here. That proposed target is a 24% improvement in heavy-duty fuel efficiency by 2027, which Daum concedes is “a lot.” The good news is the company has “ideas for the first steps,” but where those steps will lead is to be determined. “You can’t have this for nothing. You have to invest and you have to start today thinking about how,” Daum said. “I’m confident we can reach it, but I don’t know how.” While DTNA is generally supportive of the program’s goals, Daum objected to a possible engine-only standard separate from the vehicle requirements. “I’ve never seen an engine alone running down the road,” he quipped. “We need all the pieces to fit together to optimize [fuel efficiency]. But the higher the engine standard, the less room we have for optimization.” He does credit EPA with being “fully aware of the complexity” of the rulemaking, and for working with the industry as well as with environmental advocates and state and local air quality agencies to develop the plan. DTNA also would like to see a single national standard, but the real concern is for the possible development of a new, lower NOx regulation. His concern is that the GHG rule will be finalized and manufacturers will begin to work toward meeting the requirements, and then EPA will set another NOx limit. And that will cause an industry "disruption" similar to 2006. “Don’t touch NOx,” Daum said. “Our entire positive-challenge outlook is off, the moment we get a NOx rule. A NOx rule won’t benefit our customers, it will just make trucks more expensive. This would be very short sighted.” Indeed, some 3 billion gallons of fuel are wasted due to congestion each year, outweighing many times over the projected fuel savings for the Phase 2 rule, according to DTNA. So Daum suggests that policy makers should focus first on relieving traffic bottlenecks, which account for 40% of that wasted fuel. Sean Waters, DTNA director of compliance and regulatory affairs, added that’s he’s “optimistic” the EPA leadership will listen to the recommendations of the agency engineers rather than be swayed by emotional appeals and political considerations. He suggested that both the 24% improvement and the 2027 timeline likely will be features of the final rule. But he admitted to being somewhat “worried” about the date's being moved up due to a “campaign of sorts” that generated some 150,000 “generic” comments from individuals calling for a speedier implementation. “We don’t think moving the 2027 standards to 2024 is possible because we don’t have time to invent the technology,” Waters said. “It’s hard to speculate what they’re going to do, but EPA and NHTSA are data-driven organizations—and the four truck OEMs have jointly stated that it’s not possible.” As to NOx, Waters too explained that there are “far better” and “less disruptive” solutions for improving air quality other than imposing a new standard on trucks, although California specifically is looking for tighter regulations “NOx and CO2 are inextricably intertwined in the engine—that’s a physics problem we can’t overcome—but if you use less fuel you will also end up with less NOx,” Waters said. “The number one thing California could do would be to accelerate fleet equipment turnover. The vast majority of trucking companies are still using pre-EPA10 trucks and, given the NOx reduction since 2010, getting new trucks on the road would the fastest way to achieve better air quality standards.”

Car & Driver / October 20, 2015 Todd McCann started driving big rigs in 1997 and covers about 125,000 miles a year on America’s highways. In other words, he knows driving. (He also runs the hilarious Trucker Dump podcast.) It’s hard to imagine anyone with a better perspective on the best and worst of highway driving than a guy who spends every day, week after week, sitting high up behind the wheel of his rig, watching cars ahead, behind, and alongside. We asked him to tell us what mistakes he sees again and again, and how we can all be better drivers. This should be obvious: Pay attention. People don’t pay attention. They are in their own worlds because of cell phones. That’s why they get caught riding on the right side of the road. That’s why at the last-second they realize they are about to miss their turn. About 75 percent of the time when they are trying to merge onto the highway and are trying to push me over—which is ridiculous in itself—it’s because they are looking up at the last second from their cell phone. They realize that they should worry about merging and you see the cell phone vanish. They put the phone down and look up at you like, “You didn’t see that.” I’m not one of these guys who thinks that if you’re texting going down the road, you’re a danger to everybody. If it’s a quick text, I don’t see it as being much more dangerous than fiddling with your radio station, as long as there isn’t a bunch of traffic around. But I’m in Jersey right now and I see it on I-95 all the time where there’s a ton of traffic and there are people cruising by on their phones. That’s just amazing[ly dumb]. Stop hanging out along my side. Have you ever seen the signs on the back of trucks that say, “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you?” I get what they are trying to do with that, but that rule is not entirely true. It’s true that you shouldn’t tailgate a truck but the sides are just as bad. I had a car riding on my right side the other day, just hanging out. That’s the worst thing any driver can do. We have a huge blindspot over there. I almost ran this guy off the road because I couldn’t see him. He was riding right in my tractor tires. According to that rule, he was okay because he could look up and see my mirror. But I couldn’t see him. He was nowhere to be found. I didn’t see the car until he popped up in another mirror as he was going off on the shoulder. He was right along my right-hand side. What can I do? Personally, I don’t understand why anyone would want to ride beside a truck at all. When I’m in my car, even before I was a trucker, I would get around those trucks as soon as possible. The tires are almost as tall as your car. If there’s a blowout, it’ll tear your car up. It just makes no sense to me. The old three-lane pass is a big problem. That’s when a car is way over in the left-hand lane and passes right in front of you at the last second to hit an exit ramp. You just dove over three lanes! And you have no idea what’s over there on the other side of me. A crotch rocket could have been whipping by me at 90 mph and you would have just killed him dead. It blows my mind, especially when you see it’s a soccer mom with a van full of kids. At least if they are doing that around a car, it makes more sense. At least you can see around a car. You can’t see around a truck. That’s just insane. Stupid is everywhere. It really is. Some areas are worse than others. I think LA has taken the Fast and Furious movies seriously. They drive crazy out there, especially when the bars are getting out. It’s nuts. You see crotch rockets going by you at 100 miles-per-hour, weaving in and out of traffic. The little souped-up cars do that, too. But the East Coast is bad, too. People in the Midwest seem to be more relaxed. The more crowded the area, the more stupid things you see. Construction areas are especially scary. If you get a construction area, no matter where you are, people are doing something stupid. Here’s the thing that makes me the maddest during construction: I’ll be cruising along in the left-hand lane of a two-lane highway going 50 mph because that’s what the signs say to do. I have people driving around me on the right-hand side, which is about the only time they should be doing that, but they are flipping me off. You can see the road rage because I’m in the left lane going 50. They could be doing it while they are passing the sign that says, “Trucks, left lane only. 50 mph.” They are just not paying attention to the signs. They think truckers are bad drivers. We are not. Two-thirds of accidents between a truck and a car are caused by the car. People think we are the safety hazards. But we’re not. We know how to drive defensively. If we drove like car drivers, changing lanes as quickly and as non-nonchalantly as they do, and slamming on the brakes, there would be a lot of accidents out on the road. There would be a lot of deaths. Be consistent with your speed. The fluctuating speed thing causes so many problems. People just don’t pay attention to how fast they are going. They take their foot off the gas and then put it back on. For a truck, that’s the worst, but it causes problems for everybody. I was coming up from Richmond, Virginia yesterday. There was a small Winnebago that was going 10 mph under the speed limit. It was causing all kinds of problems. One vehicle was backing up three lanes of traffic. I wish people would just pay attention. If a trucker is tailgating you, you’re probably going too slow. If you see a truck in your rearview, the first thing you need to do is put down your phone. The second thing you need to do is look at your speedometer. The majority of the time, if a trucker is tailgating you, you’re doing something wrong. My truck is limited at 64 mph. If I’m tailgating you because you’re going too slow, that’s a problem. I’m not talking tailgating like getting one car length behind them and flashing my lights. I’m talking three or four car lengths. Just enough to make them want to cuss me real bad. If they scoot over and get out of the fast lane, mission accomplished.

So your engine, E7-250, is governed at 1950 rpm. I wouldn't turn up the rpms. No Mack single axle has a 4.30 axle ratio. Maybe you misread the last digit. What's the axle model? If it's a Mack rear, it begins with "RA"

Why haven't these murderers been summarily sentenced to death? They savagely ripped away a 5-year-old child's god-given right to a lifetime on earth. Where is the justice? If you intentionally and criminally take a life, you lose your own. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three Milwaukee men murder 5-year old girl Reuters / October 20, 2015 Three black Milwaukee men accused of targeting the wrong house in a revenge shooting last year were charged on Tuesday in the death of a 5-year-old white girl as she sat on her grandfather's lap watching television, police said. Arlis Gordon, 23, and Carl Barrett, 20, were charged with first degree reckless homicide and Paul Farr, 24, was charged with two counts of harboring and aiding a felon in the fatal shooting of Laylah Petersen in 2014, according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn told a news conference the men were seeking revenge for a jury's acquittal in November 2014 of a man who was accused of killing Gordon's step-brother. After the verdict, Farr drove Gordon and Barrett to a house where they thought the defendant's girlfriend lived, Flynn said. Gordon and Barrett got out of the car four blocks from the intended target and fired into the wrong house, he said. The barrage of gunfire fatally wounded Petersen while she was sitting on her grandfather Robert Fogl's lap watching television in the living room, the complaint said. Flynn pulled a large button with a photograph of the girl from his shirt pocket in announcing the charges on Tuesday. "I've been carrying something around with me, and it's Laylah," Flynn said. "I'd like to think we can put her to rest now." Barrett and Gordon could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison if convicted and Farr up to 10 years in prison. The men were arrested over the past week after police heard stories linking the three to the shooting. They are now in custody. .

Arizona father drowns wife, 3 toddler children Associated Press / October 19, 2015 The deaths of two adults and three young children who were in an SUV that plunged into an Arizona lake are being investigated as a murder-suicide as police said Monday that the father of the toddlers deliberately drove the vehicle into the water. Police spokesman Lt. Mike Pooley said 27-year-old Glenn Edward Baxter purposefully drove himself, his estranged wife and their children into Tempe Town Lake just after midnight Sunday. A surveillance video from a nearby condominium complex showed the car being driven into the lake. The video shows Baxter getting out of the SUV, walking down to the lake, then getting back in the driver's seat and driving the vehicle "at a high rate of speed" before it hits a curb and flips over into the water. "This was not an accident. Mr. Baxter took deliberate action," Pooley said. "It's absolutely horrific what happened to those little kids and their mother." Witnesses and officers jumped into the lake in a bid to rescue Baxter, 25-year-old Danica Baxter, and their three children, 1-year-old Zariyah, 2-year-old Nazyiah and 3-year-old Reighn. The children's great-grandfather had expressed his doubts earlier that the deaths were accidental, saying the children's mother had declined her estranged husband's attempts at reconciliation because he hadn't addressed his anger management problems. George Britt said it doesn't make sense that the early-to-bed-early-to-rise mother would take her children out for a ride just after midnight. "She is never up at that time of the night," Britt said. "Never, never." Investigators believe Baxter and his wife met late Saturday night to talk about their children and an argument ensued. Police found a handgun in the SUV, but it's unclear if Danica Baxter was being held against her will at the time of the incident. The couple married in April 2012, and relatives said they separated several months ago. Tamika Franklin, an aunt of Danica Baxter, described her as an excellent mother who adored her children. "Everything she did was for her kids. Her kids were her life. She would never do anything to hurt her kids," she said as she began to cry. The parents and the two youngest children were pulled from the vehicle and brought to a hospital, where they later died. Investigators then determined the couple's oldest child was missing, and divers later retrieved the child's body from the still submerged vehicle.

Missing 11-year-old child found in freezer Associated Press / October 19, 2015 The body of an 11-year-old girl who had been missing since August 2014 was found on Sunday inside a locked freezer owned by her mother. Officials from Child Protective Services (CPS) visited the West Bradenton, Florida, apartment of Keishanna Thomas last Friday, expecting to find five children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old. Instead, they only found four: Missing was 11-year-old Janiya Thomas, who had not been seen since August of 2014. Keishanna Thomas would not divulge her daughter's whereabouts – even after being arrested and appearing before a circuit court judge. For her alleged refusal to cooperate, she was held on a contempt of court charge. After noting her disappearance, police began an investigation to find Janiya. At 7 p.m. Sunday, we received a phone call from a family member of Janiya Thomas, telling us the location where she might possibly be located," says police spokesman Lieutenant James Racky. "We went to that location and were told there that the body of the child may be in a freezer." Keishanna Thomas and a male friend had previously moved the locked freezer to the home of Janiya's aunt and grandmother. After Thomas' arrest, they broke the lock on the freezer and found the girl’s body. Janiya had intestinal issues making her unable to control her digestion and bowel movements. It was quite serious – and could ultimately have been fatal. "That medical condition is the same one that killed her father," said Racky. Authorities say that Keishanna Thomas was annoyed by her daughter's condition and locked her in the bathroom rather than allowing her access to other parts of the apartment. Janiya was pulled from school in 2013. That same year, her mother told CPS that she had begun homeschooling the girl. When asked how the girl celebrated her birthday last year, the child said Janiya just stayed in the bathroom. One child said the mother used a belt and punched Janiya. One child told police that Thomas punished Janiya for soiling herself by leaving her inside a bathroom for long periods of time. When asked how long, the child said it was a week or so, with Janiya even eating in the bathroom. He said his mother slept in the front room so she could catch Janiya if she tried to sneak out at night. The siblings of a missing 11-year-old Florida girl told child welfare investigators that they went to school one day and never saw their sister again, and one boy told them, "I think she is dead or something." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update: Associated Press / October 27, 2015 The mother of a girl found dead in a freezer was accused of beating her five children for years in a home that at times was filled with rats and roaches, according to documents released Tuesday. The documents, released by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, show child welfare investigators visited the home of Keishanna Thomas 10 times amid allegations that she beat one of her children with an electric cord leaving welts, burned another child with bleach so badly her skin was discolored and left another child with 22 scars. Despite evidence of abuse, investigators wrote in their reports that the children were not in imminent danger. One of the children was removed from the home in 2004, but she was later returned to her mother, whose criminal history includes arrests on charges of battery and drug possession, the documents say. Details about when and why that child was returned were not clear. In September, another call came to the state's child abuse hotline, claiming Thomas beat her 12-year-old son for stealing candy. It was then that they discovered no one had seen her 11-year-old daughter Janiya for more than a year. Her siblings told investigators they came home from school one day, and she was gone; they presumed she was dead. A padlocked freezer was left by Thomas and another man at the home of Janiya's grandmother, she and the girl's aunt told authorities. Inside was a body that officials confirmed on Monday was that of Janiya. The grandmother and aunt say they didn't realize what was inside. Janiya's mother had initially been jailed on contempt and child abuse charges because she refused to talk about the girl's whereabouts. The contempt charge has been dropped, though she is jailed on a charge of abuse of a corpse. It's unclear how the child died. Police say they need to do more testing. The Department of Children and Families has removed Janiya's four siblings, and Secretary Mike Carroll said his agency is investigating whether anything could have been done differently to prevent Janiya's death. The sheriff's office is in charge of child welfare investigations in the area and handled the Thomas case for years. The agency did not immediately return emails seeking comment Tuesday. But the documents released by the agency portrayed a violent family life, including six cases alleging physical injury to the children and two cases of family violence, as the single mother struggled to control her anger and appeared to take it out on the children. "The mother is consistently uncooperative with (investigators), and she does not follow through with services when they have been offered and put in place. The children have become increasingly fearful of their mother and frequently feel unsafe in their home environment," investigators wrote after visiting the home last month. But for years, investigators dismissed safety threats. In 2004, one of the children had 22 scars and said her mother beat her. A few years later, a child who cannot use one arm had been hurt in a fall and appeared to have scratches on her face. But the girl was afraid to talk to investigators and said only that she fell. Investigators came to the home again in 2012 after one of the children had burns on his arms and legs, but officials wrote "there are not negative implications based on signs of present danger." Last year, one of the children said his mother pulled down his pants and beat him with an electric cord. A doctor who examined the child also found the marks were "abusive and consistent with being hit with an electrical cord." Thomas said she hit the child with her hand and said the child had been lying and stealing. Investigators again filled out paperwork alleging the children were not in imminent danger. Most recently, the girl's siblings told investigators Thomas punished Janiya for soiling herself by leaving her inside a bathroom for long periods of time. When asked how long, they said it was a week or so, with Janiya even eating in the bathroom. The mother slept in the front room so she could catch Janiya if she tried to sneak out at night. When asked how the girl celebrated her birthday last year, the child said Janiya stayed in the bathroom. Another child said the mother used a belt and punched Janiya.

What's your rear axle ratio and tire size?

Scania Group Press Release / October 19, 2015 Sustainability needs to be much more than a corporate vision of a distant future. Action speaks louder than words, and Scania's sustainable transport solutions are ready here and now.

Well, there you go. You're driving a piece of proud Mack history.

Renault Trucks Press Release / October 19, 2015

Great. All any Mack dealer needs to hear is RD822SX - 1100, and they can research the truck parts you need. Mack trucks sold to the military still have normal model and VIN numbers. Only once in a great while was a truck missing from the Mack parts system, or the information in the system was incomplete. I suspect your truck was one acquired to meet a "war emergency" requirement for Operation Desert Storm (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/34637-mack-people-and-trucks-tackle-the-eye-of-a-storm/?hl=stockertown), and was later turned over to the National Guard. It was a civilian model, and most likely repurchased from a dealer by Mack Trucks for the short-notice requirement.

Truck Sales Australia / October 20, 2015 The 300th Kenworth for Lindsay Transport was handed over at the Kenworth Bayswater plant recently, celebrating a relationship that goes back almost 45 years. Lindsay Brothers first began carting produce in the Coffs Harbour area in 1953, when Tom Lindsay and his late brother Peter bought three trucks from their father, Victor, and started transporting bananas. Today, Lindsay Australia Limited, has grown into an Australian Stock Exchange-listed transport, logistics and rural supply company, and runs a fleet of more than 250 prime movers operating out of 33 stores and depots from Adelaide to Mareeba. From its head office in Brisbane, Lindsay Australia employs over 1,100 people and generates revenue of approximately $310 million per year. The company has also diversified its operations, now hauling fresh and frozen produce, as well as general and express freight from Adelaide to Lakeland Downs (near Cooktown). Currently, the Lindsay Transport fleet travels over 57 million kilometres each year. Lindsay’s Kenworth stable comprises a mix of cabover and conventional models for B-Double and 19-metre line-haul applications. One of Kenworth’s major advantages is the ability to spec trucks for a variety of high utilization applications, which often sees a truck travel more than 500,000 kilometres a year. At the handover event, Kim Lindsay, Managing Director of Lindsay Australia said: “We have been working with PACCAR and the Brown and Hurley Group now for many years. They understand our trucking needs – and deliver outstanding sales, service and support Australia wide. PACCAR’s commitment to quality and innovation has helped Lindsay Transport to grow and maintain a large and diverse fleet so we can deliver our service promise to our customers.” The milestone T409 will go into 26-metre B-Double line haul service hauling refrigerated produce on interstate routes. The vehicle, powered by a 15-litre, Cummins ISX e5 engine with an Eaton Ultrashift Plus transmission, has a number of distinctive features, including gold coloured logos, personalised exhaust shields, a stainless-steel light bar and a specially embossed interior highlighting the 'Lindsay Transport 300th Truck', just to name a few. Related reading - http://www.kenworth.com.au/trucks/t409/ .

Heavy Duty Trucking / October 19, 2015 Detroit Connect has introduced new features for its Virtual Technician remote diagnostic system, including a new portal that lets users dig deeper into the data, and for some 2017 models the ability to "flash" software updates and parameter changes to the truck over the air. “Intelligent connectivity is at the core of what we are offering to drivers and fleet managers,” said Matt Pfaffenbach, director, telematics for Daimler Trucks North America. “By adding new technologies that provide more meaningful insights and visibility, we are further contributing to increased uptime, safety and efficiency.” A new portal will provide Detroit Connect users additional information about overall fleet health, as well as enable them to take a deeper dive into specific fault events communicated via Virtual Technician. The portal, available on all Freightliner and Western Star models with Detroit engines, will also allow users to view and archive Detroit Diesel Engine Control (DDEC) reports, which use diagnostics to further analyze driver and vehicle performance. The portal, which will serve as the access point for all services offered by Detroit Connect, will also include options for communications, reporting and subscription management customization. Detroit Connect is piloting the portal with select customers beginning now, through early 2016, with an anticipated rollout to all customers by spring 2016. “Every customer has different concerns and ways of analyzing and acting on fault information, so we developed the portal to specifically make the fault information as manageable and consumable for every priority,” said Pfaffenbach. Over-the-air updates Farther down the road but perhaps more exciting, DTNA is developing a new telematics platform that will be available on select truck models in 2017. The platform will have new connected vehicle communications hardware that can be used globally. This will enable integration with third-party applications, and will reduce the need for additional hardware. The new telematics platform – which will use cellular service connectivity – will mark the introduction of flash over-the-air capabilities for Detroit, including remote vehicle parameter settings, remote downloading of DDEC reports, and remote flashing of firmware for electronic controllers. "To me this is overdue," said DTNA CEO Martin Daum. "You don’t go to the Apple Store every time you update an app, so why expect it from the truck?" Pfaffenbach noted that fleets will also have the ability to do parameter updates, such as changing the mph limit on speed govenors. "i also hear from fleets that they want confirmation that the vehicle in operation is as it was configured, that someone has not messed with the paramaters, and this technology will give them the ability to do that," he said. “Vehicle connectivity is going to continue to have a significant impact on how customers do business, and DTNA will continue to push the envelope to be part of that evolution,” said Pfaffenbach.

Fleet Owner / October 19, 2015 Look for 2016 truck sales to fall somewhere between the exceptionally strong numbers of 2015 and those seen in 2014, according to Martin Daum, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). With production plans essentially in place through the end of the year, Class 6 through 8 sales in North America should top 435,000 trucks, he said during a press conference at the American Trucking Assns. Annual conference. That would be 13.4% above 2014 sales, which totaled 384,000. With fleets now in the middle of their ordering cycle, Daum said, “I’m fairly confident that [Class 6-8 sales] will be lower than 2015, but better than 2014.” While the new year’s truck totals might suffer in comparison with the strong 2015 numbers, “2014 was a good year,” he said. “Everyone had happy faces then, so why not again.” October and November order intake for delivery in 2016 will be significant lower than last year, which Daum characterized as “not normal,” and driven by fleets rushing to reserve production slots in anticipation of a strong truck sales year. “Don’t be fooled [by the lower order intake]. Compare it to Q4 2013, not to Q4 2014, which would be misleading.” Focusing on the U.S., Daum expects Class 8 sales to reach 262,000 trucks by the end of the year, compared to 220,000 in 2014 for an 18.8% gain year over year. Classes 6 and 7 will finish out 2015 at 114,000 units, which is well above the 106,00 recorded in 2014, but still below what DTNA considers a normal annual volume of 135,000. “We’re seeing a slow and steady recovery [in Classes 6 and 7], and expect that trend to continue in 2016,” Daum said. In other news, Daum said DTNA was “tiptoeing at full speed” into extending remote connectivity for its trucks. During ATA the company announced that it was launching remote software updating for its trucks, and Daum said the company was committed to accelerating development in the area of connectivity “even though it is a big challenge in uncharted territory.” Daum also hinted that DTNA would be introducing it’s next generation heavy truck later in 2016, but declined to give more details.

Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) / October 19, 2015 And then there were none. Peterbilt on Monday announced its plans to join every other major North American truck OEM in sitting out the 2016 Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Ky. “After carefully considering our marketing strategies for next year and beyond, Peterbilt has decided to exhibit at the Mid-America Trucking Show on a bi-annual schedule,” Peterbilt Public Relations Manager Derek Smith says. “We wish MATS success in 2016 and we look forward to participating in the 2017 show.” Pete’s sister company Kenworth made its plans to skip MATS next year known this weekend at the American Trucking Association’s Management Conference & Exhibition in Philadelphia. Daimler Trucks North America, the first to pull out of the show, cited its preference to see the annual MATS show adjust its cycle to odd-numbered years, a move that would relieve conflict for global truck OEs also attending the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, which is held on even numbered years. A sentiment, Smith says, Peterbilt’s parent company echoed. “Peterbilt is a Paccar company, a global leader in the manufacturer and support of commercial vehicles, and the bi-annual MATS show strategy will be complemented by Paccar’s participation at IAA, held every other year in Hannover, Germany,” he adds. Navistar, Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks North America have each also previously announced they would skip MATS in 2016.

Heavy Duty Trucking / October 19, 2015 As Navistar continues to make progress putting the “dark days” of its failed EPA 2010 emissions strategy behind it, the truckmaker will re-brand its product lineup as it rolls out new models starting next year. In an interview during the American Trucking Associations’ annual Management Conference & Exhibition, Jeff Sass, senior vice president for truck sales and marketing, said he thinks truck sales overall next year will be good for International as well as for the industry overall. Looking ahead to 2016 expectations, “I think it’s going to be strong,” said Sass, who joined Navistar about four months ago after a 20-year career at Paccar. “It probably won’t be as high [as 2015] in the on highway sector, maybe down 5%. The vocational sector will be flat to up a little bit and we feel medium-duty will be up.” As far as International trucks specifically, Sass sees "nothing but upside” next year. “We’ve gained a couple points of [market] share in medium this year, and we plan to gain a couple more points in medium next year. We think we’ll see an uptick in market share for our on highway product as well. and with the introduction of our new vocational product I think we’ll see growth there.” The new vocational product, which will replace the PayStar, will be unveiled in February during the World of Concrete event in Las Vegas. It is scheduled to start rolling off the line in April, just in time for the construction season. The “star” nomenclature will be retired in favor of a letter-and-number system. The vocational truck will be referred to as HX, followed by a 3 digit code signifying whether it’s long or short hood and set-forward or set-back axle. Next up will be a replacement for the ProStar, which will be called the LT series. It’s scheduled to be introduced in a late summer time frame, and will feature the new configurations to meet 2017 greenhouse gas regulations. The upcoming Class 4/5 product being co-developed with GM also will use the same naming style: CV, for commercial vehicle. The Chevrolet version will have some different styling and a different name. Why the move to a different naming convention? “It’s just time,” Sass explained. “We have a chance for rebranding and an opportunity to provide the customer with a new experience with Navistar in their International products.”

Fleet Owner / October 19, 2015 A recently released study from the National Resource Council of Canada determined that the combined use of a rear fairing and trailer skirt provides a 10% increase in aerodynamic efficiency above the sum of the individual products. The review, conducted from 2012 to 2015, used products comparable to the Stemco TrailerTail and EcoSkirt in a 30% scale wind tunnel to evaluate the benefits attainable by a variety of commercial trucking aerodynamic devices, Stemco said. According to Stemco, the study revealed that “side-skirts and boat-tails provide the greatest drag reductions” among the devices studied. The findings, the company stated, determined that users can save nearly 1,400 gallons (5,300 liters) of fuel per truck, per year by using both a rear fairing and side skirt. "In our study, we were excited to see that adding skirts and tails were actually mutually beneficial at multiple yaw angles," said Brian McAuliffe, senior research officer at the National Research Council of Canada. "We hope our study will help North American trucking fleets become more fuel efficient and better understand the aerodynamic benefits of current and future technologies." Stemco said the NRC test also confirmed research completed by the company, which indicated that a 4-sided, 4-foot-long TrailerTail 4x4 delivers slightly more drag reduction than the 3-sided, 3-foot-long TrailerTail Trident. However, combined with Eco-Skirt, both TrailerTail 4x4 and TrailerTail Trident models meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed GHG Phase 2 regulations, according to Stemco. "The NRC study further validates that a TrailerTail and EcoSkirt should be essential elements in modern fleet operations," says Al Smith, director of sales for Stemco Innovative Tire & Mileage Solutions group. "Companies could be losing over a thousand dollars in fuel costs per trailer per year by only using one or the other." .

Kenworth to Roll Out DAF MX-11 Engine For Vocational, Regional Haul Customers in 2016 Trailer/Body Builders / October 19, 2015 Kenworth will begin selling the DAF MX-11 engine to its vocational and regional haul customers in the United States and Canada in January 2016. Just introduced by PACCAR, the 11-liter engine is designed to produce up to 430 hp and 1,550 lb-ft of torque. It is positioned between the Cummins PX-9 and DAF MX-13 engines to give Kenworth an expanded range of proprietary engines for its Class 8 product line. The DAF MX-11 engine will be available for the Kenworth T880, T680, T800 with FEPTO, and W900S and will be built at PACCAR’s engine plant in Columbus, Miss. “The MX-11 fits a sweet spot for many of our customers, who need a lighter engine that provides ample horsepower and torque,” said Jason Skoog, Kenworth assistant general manager. “It is 400 pounds lighter than 13-liter engines, and due to the weight savings, provides our customers a boost in payload capacity and fuel economy.” Skoog said the engine has logged significant testing hours throughout North America and has delivered excellent results. “Drivers are telling us the engine has plenty of low-end power and it’s a great match for applications requiring less than 450 hp. Like all PACCAR engines, the MX-11 was designed for long-life and maximum productivity.” The DAF MX-11 is a six-cylinder, 24-valve design and has double overhead camshafts along with high-pressure common rail fuel injection. Like the DAF MX-13, the engine block is constructed from compact graphite iron with vertical ribs to maximize strength while reducing noise levels. To help serve customers, Kenworth is conducting extensive DAF MX-11 training for Kenworth dealer service technicians and salespeople in the United States and Canada as part of its preparations for the DAF MX-11 engine launch. The DAF MX-11 is featured in the current Kenworth Road Tour focused on fuel efficiency and weight savings with stops at 28 Kenworth dealer-hosted events in the United States and Canada.

What is your model and serial number, as shown on the vehicle identification plate located on the driver's door?

In America, Volvo shouldn't forget how they got to the party. In the second half of the game, it was Zenon C.R. Hansen who created the Mack Trucks, the image, that Volvo has profited from for fifteen years. In no uncertain terms, Zenon C.R. Hansen was the best CEO in the history of America's truck industry right up to the present day. No finer person have I ever known.

Legacy of Leadership - Zenon C. R. Hansen “Lead, follow or get out of the way – make a difference.” "Work hard and aim high to succeed." http://bookcrafters.net/preview/Hansen_preview.pdf

Shows are indeed expensive, which is why Hannover is held every two years. Hannover is a professional show with the global truckmakers, and suppliers, presenting their latest cutting edge products. Toby Young and his Exhibit Management Associates don't know how to put on the professional (Hannover-like) trade that Daimler and Volvo are accustomed to. And the small Louisville exhibition center can't even compare with the stunning and massive Messe Hannover facility.. The Louisville show has always been an amateur event geared towards owner-operators, not the fleets where the money and volumes are.