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Volkswagen Truck & Bus Press Release / December 3, 2015 Volkswagen invited refuse fleet customers to its headquarters this week to introduce the latest additions to its family of complete factory-built refuse trucks. Featuring Planalto brand rear-loading refuse bodies (http://www.planaltoindustria.com.br/modelo/coletores-compactadores/), Volkswagen thru October achieved a 46 percent market share in the refuse fleet segment. The Volkswagen “Compactor” truck portfolio had been broadened with the addition of the 17.230 4x2 available in both the Worker and Constellation Series, and the flagship Constellation Series 17.260 and 24.260 6x2s. Now, from the 4x2 Worker 17.190 4x2 up to the 26.280 6x4, customers have body size options ranging from 15 m³ to 19 m³ box. Purpose-designed and factory-engineered, Volkswagen’s rugged Compactor range is tailored to the unforgiving demands of the refuse industry. Worker and Constellation 17.230 Compactor The 17.230 Compactor 4x2 is available with either the proven Worker or flagship Constellation cab, paired with refuse bodies up to 15 m³ in version 4x2. A MAN 4.6-liter D08 engine delivers 225 horsepower, and 850 N.m of torque a low 1100 rpm to 1600 rpm. A 6-speed Eaton FS-6406A manual transmission efficiently delivers power to the wheels. Constellation 17.260 and 24.260 6x2 Compactor The Constellation Series 17.260 and 24.260 6x2 refuse trucks are powered by MAN D08 engines rated at 256 horsepower and 900 N.m of torque, and paired with either a 6-speed Eaton FS-6406A manual transmission or 5-speed Allison S3000. .

AutoKrAZ Press Release / December 3, 2015 KrAZ (Kremenchug Automobile Plant) achieved a positive sales performance for November. Production rose to 119 units, an increase of 10 percent of the same month last year, and a 3 percent increase over October. Of factory-ready complete truck offering, platform rigid trucks accounted for 43 percent of sales, and tippers represented 2 percent. Cab and chassis units represented 53 percent of sales, and tractors accounted for 2 percent. Export sales accounted for 51 percent of production, with 49 percent for the Ukrainian domestic market. Vehicle production for the first 11 months of the year rose over last year to 1,219 units, with sales of US$1.6 million. Export sales accounted for 35 percent of production, with 65 percent for the Ukrainian domestic market. Since the beginning of the year, the company has manufactured 20 towed vehicles including 15 full-trailers and 5 semi-trailers. .

The Southwest [Virginia] Times / December 3, 2015 Amalgamated UAW Local 2069 members voted overwhelming Wednesday to authorize a membership strike against Volvo Truck North America. According to a letter signed by Jennifer Bailey, election committee chairperson for Local 2069, the vote was 96.3 percent in favor of the strike. The vote comes a day after Volvo Truck announced a layoff of at least 730 employees from its 2,800 workforce.

Achieving fossil-free transport Scania Group Press Release / December 3, 2015 What does the road to fossil-free transport look like? Here are Scania’s thoughts on when the different alternative fuels and new technologies, such as electrification, will have their major breakthrough. The idea of the December 2015 Paris climate summit is to get the countries of the world to come together in an agreement, with each of them involved and contributing to the limiting of carbon dioxide emissions. The transport industry has an important role in this area. New technologies, such as electrification and hybridisation, will become increasingly important in order for the transport industry to contribute to the attainment of the UN’s climate goals. However, renewable fuels can already contribute to lowered CO2 emissions, and to helping haulage firms and bus companies take a step towards fossil-free fleets. In combination with these CO2-cutting technologies, higher energy efficiency is also a key factor. Better coordination and greater use of wireless technology could help to maximise shipment loads. Energy savings can also be obtained by more efficient powertrains and more efficient vehicle technology. Together these technologies will enable the transport industry to contribute to the goal of a fossil free future. .

Scania Group Press Release / December 3, 2015 Cutting carbon dioxide emissions in half within five years is possible with today’s technology. Driver training, properly adapted trucks and fully loaded trailers have enabled the Scania Transport Laboratory to reduce its CO2 emissions from 70 to 33 grams per tonne-kilometre. Each gram corresponds to a decrease of 100 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Scania Transport Laboratory works like an ordinary commercial transport company. It deals with some of Scania’s own transports between the production facilities in Södertälje, Sweden, and Zwolle, the Netherlands. The Transport Lab has the support of Scania’s R&D department to test, evaluate and develop new products, services and methods that match customers’ present and future needs. Since its beginning in 2008, Scania Transport Laboratory has been able to improve its vehicle efficiency in a way that has attracted worldwide interest from the transport sector and trade press. Today its carbon dioxide emissions are 33 grams per tonne-kilometre, or half the industry average. The key success factors include continuous driver training and follow-up of driver behaviour, properly adapted vehicles that allow the company’s drivers to drive at 80 km/hr with the lowest possible revs and to maximise loads on each shipment. But although the Transport Lab has halved CO2 emissions per tonne-kilometre in five years, it sees a potential to reduce emissions further by driving in convoys, or platoons, as well as testing longer, heavier rigs – 32-metre rigs with a gross vehicle weight of 76 tonnes. .

Heavy Duty Trucking / December 3, 2015 Peterbilt’s lightweight 58-inch sleeper is now in production for the company’s flagship Model 579 and vocational Model 567. The 58-inch sleeper is available in low- and mid-roof configurations. It includes a full-length door to help facilitate loading personal gear from outside the truck and includes full-length, integrated sleeper extenders to minimize the trailer gap and improve aerodynamic efficiency. Peterbilt says the new sleeper can reduce weight by up to 100 pounds. “Peterbilt’s 58-inch sleeper is ideal for short- and regional-haul operations where less weight and a shorter wheelbase are critical,” said Robert Woodall, Peterbilt assistant general manager of sales and marketing. “It includes all of the amenities found in Peterbilt’s larger sleepers, including ample storage, driver comforts and exceptional fit and finish for quality rest and off-duty time.” With research and customer input, the sleeper was designed to make use of every inch of space so that the layout would be practical and comfortable for drivers. By offering it in low- and mid-roof configurations allows it to meet specific application requirements such as flatbed and tanker operations. “The new 58-inch sleeper is designed with an open, spacious feel that drivers expect from a Peterbilt sleeper,” said Scott Newhouse, Peterbilt chief engineer. “It’s thoughtfully engineered.” .

Big Rig Orders Plummet, Medium-Duty Remains Solid Today’s Trucking / December 3, 2015 Two new and preliminary reports have been issued when it comes to new big-rig orders and no matter how you slice them they show huge drops while the smaller side of trucking continues at a good pace. FTR's preliminary data shows November 2015 North American Class 8 truck net orders at 16,475, 59 percent below a year ago and the lowest level since September 2012. This was the weakest November order activity since 2009 and was a major disappointment, coming in significantly below expectations, according to the freight forecasting firm. All of the OEMs, except one, experienced unusually low orders for the month. FTR expects orders to be better, but not necessarily good, the next two months. Orders for the last 12 months are now annualized at 300,000 units. “The November orders are very concerning. People were optimistic when orders held up well during the summer. Now we get into the peak order season and have the lowest orders of the year,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “The weak orders are the reason for the recent OEM announcements regarding production cutbacks and layoffs. Truck inventories are high and retail sales have stalled.” He said the reason for the big decline is trucking appears to have enough new rigs for now. That’s because the manufacturing sector has sputtered and freight growth has slowed. He is forecasting orders should stabilize soon, but backlogs will be shrinking, necessitating larger production cuts than previously expected. Meantime, a separate report from commercial vehicle industry data provider ACT Research pegs November orders just slightly higher at 16,600, but nearly 60 percent lower than a year ago, the same pattern as last month, when Class 8 orders were off 37 percent year-over-year. “Unfortunately, little of the decline can be accounted for by seasonality,” said Steve Tam, ACT’s vice president, commercial vehicle sector. “November was the weakest Class 8 net order month since August 2010 on a seasonally adjusted basis and September 2012 on an actual basis. A glut of inventory in the broader economy has led to slowing freight and lower freight rates. This, in turn, has caused truckers to hit the pause button on truck orders.” Turning to the medium-duty market, ACT said it managed to show solid performance, despite a slight decline in Classes 5-7 during November, with 18,700 unit orders. “More prevalent direct exposure to facets of the economy other than those that generate freight has allowed demand for medium-duty vehicles to remain more stable,” said Tam. “Despite falling 15 percent month over month, the year-over-year and year-to-date comparisons reveal growth in the mid-single-digit percentage point range.” .

Fleet Owner / December 3, 2015 Filters play a critical role in protecting engines. By effectively removing damaging particles and contaminants from engine oil, filters from OEMs and aftermarket suppliers employ effective types and sizes of media and are designed to last for recommended and extended oil drain intervals. “Media is the heart of a filter,” says David Cline, global product manager, Oil Filtration Systems at Parker Racor, a filter manufacturer that produces elements using engineered cellulose, glass and fully synthetic media. “Recent results in media development show a 50% increase in efficiency at five microns with a 70% increase in capacity. To meet new engine specifications and in preparation for the new PC-11 engine oil change, media is developed and tested at a higher flow rate than present engines use.” “The secret is balancing the characteristics of filter performance,” says Veli Kalayci, director of engine liquid products at Donaldson. “Selecting the right lube filter is a matter of balancing the trade-offs of efficiency, capacity and restriction, and the secret to balancing all three characteristics is found in the filter design.” Efficiency, Kalayci explains, refers to a filter’s ability to remove contaminant at a given micron size. Capacity is the amount of contaminant (measured in grams) that a filter will hold before the restriction exceeds recommended limits. Restriction refers to the amount of pressure loss between the upstream and downstream sides of the filter (often characterized as pressure drop). Manufacturers are currently producing several types of engine oil filters, providing fleets with a range of choices depending on their equipment and maintenance practices. According to the company, Synteq media, which is a key component of Donaldson Blue lube filters, is designed to remove more than 90% of contaminants that are 10 microns or larger compared to 50% or less for typical cellulose filters. The filters also deliver lower restriction to provide maximum oil flow and are designed with long life seals. Cummins Filtration has introduced the LF14000NN lube filter with NanoNet media for Cummins ISX15 engines. Originally developed for Fleetguard fuel filter applications, the synthetic media removes and retains 98.7% of all particles as small as 12 microns, according to the manufacturer. Additionally, in the LF14000NN lube filter, NanoNet and StrataPore media structures work together for particle removal, capacity, and cold flow ability, which means less restriction and faster oil lubrication during cold startup. High Velocity Dual-Flow lube filters from Baldwin Filters include spin-on filters that have one inlet and one outlet so oil flows directly to the engine rather than being returned to the sump. According to Baldwin, the design allows a larger portion of oil to flow through the element to remove smaller contaminants. The WIX industrial filter line has more than 8,000 product numbers available for hydraulic and fluid power system applications. The WL10047 is the newest filter from WIX for Navistar trucks with MaxxForce 11, 13 or 15 engines. The company notes that the replacement filter uses synthetic media and has an eco-friendly plastic design. Luber-finer’s line of heavy-duty Time Release Technology (TRT) oil filters provides a controlled release of a concentrated liquid additive to combat harmful acids that build up over time. The newest bypass oil filtration technology from Pura­dyn Filter Technologies is its Millennium Technology System (MTS) designed to remove solid contaminants to below one micron. Also part of the MTS product family is the Polydry replacement filter element formulated to remove water contamination that occurs through condensation and during the combustion process. The Spinner II centrifuge bypass oil cleaner for diesel engines can be used in addition to full-flow oil filters to divert a small stream of oil for cleaning before it is returned to the crankcase. Powered by engine oil pressure, the centrifuge operates at speeds in excess of 6,000 rpm to spin contaminants smaller than one micron out of the oil and pack them into a dense cake on the wall of the cleanable centrifuge bowl. A Spinner II centrifuge flows up to two gallons of oil every minute, allowing it to clean the entire sump capacity of a typical heavy-duty engine 10 to 15 times each hour. Going forward, design changes required for emissions-controlled, heavy-duty diesel engines will place increased stress on engine oil. This will lead to the ongoing development of oil filters engineered to help increase protection against oil degradation and to protect engine components.

Fleet Owner / December 3, 2015 In many ways, the horror of the shootings in San Bernardino, CA, is compounded by the knowledge that the main perpetrator – alleged to be Syed Rizwan Farook – attacked his fellow workers at a holiday party. Indeed, police noted that 28-year old Farook and his accomplice 27-year old Tashfeen Malik used high-powered rifles and pistols to kill 14 and wound employees of the San Bernardino County Public Health Department – the place where Farook worked for the past five years. That’s the truly scary part, in some ways – that this murderer worked side by side with his future victims for years, with no outward sign of the tragedy he would ultimately create. Such “internal threats” are sadly becoming more common – and may yet become more common still as employment background check rules are being altered by the federal government. For example, note this story written by Roy Maurer with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) earlier this week, which reviews a proposed rule being crafted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prohibiting federal agencies from asking applicants about their criminal background information until they are referred to a hiring manager. That proposed rule, pegged to be issued May 2016, results from a directive issued by President Barack Obama Nov. 2 to remove from federal job application forms the check box requiring applicants to indicate if they have a criminal history, and delay criminal history inquiries until later in the hiring process—a practice that is commonly known as “banning the box.” Under the proposed legislation, once a conditional offer of employment has been made, an employer would be permitted to ask about the applicant’s criminal record and revoke the offer based on the results of a criminal background check – though the proposed law includes exceptions for “sensitive positions,” including law enforcement and national security positions, SHRM’s Maurer noted. Yet critics like Mike Coffey, president of national background screening firm Imperative Information Group, said such legislation places an “unfair burden” on employers. “Ban-the-box advocates are winning the rhetorical battle by falsely suggesting that employers’ criminal history inquiries are merely check boxes without any opportunity to provide offense details and that employers, when they see a checked box, routinely eliminate the candidate without any additional consideration,” Coffey explained. “The allegation is that employers view a 10-year-old shoplifting conviction the same as a 2-year-old sexual assault conviction,” he added. “If an employer isn’t going to hire someone because of the risk associated with past conduct, the level of charm a candidate brings to the interview should not and typically will not change the ultimate outcome.” Indeed, check this list out in terms of how more restrictions are being placed on the hiring processes used by companies. More critical to this discussion is how “internal threats” are increasing in terms of potential criminal activity, if not violence. Take a survey conducted among 337 corporate executives by background screening firm First Advantage this summer, which found that “most important security controls” for thwarting cybercrime isn’t anti-malware software or beefed up physical security measures but better background checks of current and prospective workers. “The fact is that an initial background check does not protect an organization in perpetuity,” noted Mark Silver, chief security officer at First Advantage. “In order to better protect against potential insider-driven breaches, periodic re-screening should be done.” According to the firm’s poll, 60% of respondents said employee background screening is “the most important security control” that can be put in place to protect organizations, followed by anti-malware (53%) then physical security and physical access controls (39%). When asked about the importance of background screening of new employees in preventing security risks, 98% agreed that it was at least “somewhat important” with 57% saying it is “extremely important” to do background checks. Not only were background checks of new employees deemed highly essential, but the process of doing background checks periodically on existing employees also received high marks, Silver added, with 35% calling the process “somewhat important,” with 17% selecting “very important” and 19% characterizing employee re-screening is “extremely important.” Yet when asked how often employees are re-screened, a clear majority of those polled by First Advantage, some 61%, said that the practice is never done at their workplace, with only 13% of respondents re-screening them annually and 10% doing so every other year. However, would such frequent “re-screening” allow companies to potentially detect – and hopefully defuse – a worker making deadly plans? That’s a tough question to answer, considering hindsight is always 20/20, while future predictions are not. We’ll talk more about that angle in tomorrow’s post.

Transport Topics / December 3, 2015 The overall economy increased at a modest pace in most regions of the country from late October to November, but transportation was softer, the Federal Reserve reported. Transportation activity was softer on balance since the previous report, but port activity remained strong. That was largely due to the strength of imports because exports continued to fall, the Fed said in its Beige Book report released Dec. 2. The survey is based on reports gathered by regional Fed banks to give an anecdotal picture of the economy. Record numbers of containers moved through ports in the Atlanta district, but haulers of exported industrial products reported a continued decline in volume, according to the Fed. Cargo volume in the Dallas area remained soft in recent weeks due to the slowdown in energy-related cargo, and the regional Fed reported a trucking firm was passing lower fuel costs on to customers. In the Cleveland area, reports indicated that freight volume contracted over the period. One executive in the district reported the agricultural sector encountered fewer problems getting trucks during the harvest season this year compared with last year. Contacts in the area said they see little change in volume along seasonal trends in the next few months. “The industry is boosting shipping rates even though volume is lower. Rate adjustments are needed to cover rising equipment and labor costs. The former includes the soon-to-be-mandated electronic logging devices,” the Fed reported. Despite the rate increases, there has been little pushback from customers “perhaps because rate increases were partly offset by declines in fuel surcharges,” according to the Fed. The Fed releases its Beige Book report eight times a year. The report, which covered Oct. 24-Nov. 20, was prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Transport Topics / December 3, 2015 The U.S. House and Senate easily passed a five-year, $305 billion highway reauthorization bill on Dec. 3 that would reform a safety performance scoring program for motor carriers and pave the way for employers to rely on hair testing to screen prospective truckers. The House passed it by a vote of 359 to 65 and the Senate by a vote of 83-16. The Obama White House indicated it would sign the reconciled highway bill — the product of House- and Senate-passed transportation measures. With funding authority for highway programs expiring Dec. 4, legislators had to act quickly to send the bill to the president to avoid a disruption across the country’s transportation system. For policymakers, the legislation signifies the culmination of years negotiating over provisions related to truck safety policy, railroad braking systems and infrastructure funding programs. “Since I became chairman, one of my top priorities has been to pass a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill. For the last year and more, I have traveled across the country, talked to transportation and business leaders about the need for a reauthorization bill,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), the bill’s lead author. Senators James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said in a statement: "We couldn't be more proud of the overwhelming vote today, because this legislation is essential for jobs, for our safety by rebuilding our roads and bridges, and for our economic standing in the world. We applaud our many colleagues who worked tirelessly alongside our committee through long hours and many negotiations to make this accomplishment happen. The FAST Act has enormous support throughout the country from businesses and workers alike, and we are so pleased that it is now going to the President to be signed into law." The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to ensure its Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scoring program for trucking companies provides “the most reliable” analysis possible. To achieve that goal, it calls for a review of the program and, during that review period, CSA scores would be removed from public view. It also calls on FMCSA to determine the impact an increase in minimum insurance levels would have on safety, small- and minority-owned carrier and owner-operators and study the ability of the insurance industry to offer expanded coverage. Additionally, the legislation would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a pilot program for current or former members of the military who are under 21 and with truck driving experience, to operate trucks across state lines. Participating drivers would be prohibited from transporting passengers or hazardous materials and “special configurations.” DOT must establish a working group to monitor the program and make recommendations. Tucked in the bill is a provision that would allow hair testing an alternative to urine tests for employment screening. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would have a year to establish federal standards for such a hair-testing provision that would need to be adopted by DOT. American Trucking Associations Chairman Pat Thomas, who is senior vice president of state government affairs for UPS Inc., applauded the chamber’s efforts: “While not perfect, this bill is a tremendous step forward for trucking in many respects.”

GM Heritage Center GM engineers are continuously reinventing the automobile, developing advanced technologies that lead to improved fuel economy, less emissions and a reduced dependence on petroleum. Whether you’re a student shopping for an economic subcompact or a farmer needing a powerful yet efficient pickup, you’ll find vehicle offerings as diverse as our customers. That’s why we don’t have bids on just one winning technology. You can choose from vehicles powered by gas, diesel, biofuels and electricity. Our goal is to put our customers in a vehicle that not only satisfies their needs, but provides a fun driving experience. We look at what customers want and marry technologies that help them get it. And we’ve been doing it for over 100 years. For example, GM’s electric vehicle production history dates back to 1912 when 682 electric trucks were produced with lead-acid and Edison nickel-iron batteries were offered. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when electric propulsion systems re-entered the product development world as a solution to growing concern about pollution and the environment. Additionally, state and federal government regulations caused automakers to revisit their alternate fuels strategies on an ongoing basis. It was an era where the industry saw an evolution of non-petroleum-based propulsion systems and battery technology. GM led the way with innovative solutions. The Electrovair was developed in 1964 as a conversion of the popular Chevrolet Corvair. The engine and transmission were removed and replaced with electric system components. It had a pioneering 90 HP AC induction motor and a 450-volt silver-zinc battery. It tested the feasibility of electric power for passenger cars and whether the batteries would provide enough power. The Electorvair II was announced in 1966. It was more powerful than the Electrovair I with 115-HP and 532 volts. Its silver-zinc batteries enabled a top speed 80 MPH and a range 40-80 miles. In another example of GM technical leadership, the company partnered with Boeing in the late 60’s and early 70’s to build electric vehicles for NASA’s Apollo program. Three of these vehicles are still on the moon! The 1977 Electrovette was the next conversion of a production vehicle, the Chevy Chevette, into an electric vehicle. This car incorporated new nickel-zinc battery technology. The Electrovette is noteworthy as it convinced GM to launch a program to design and develop a production vehicle from this conversion concept. The late 1970’s and 80’s were marked by GM’s focus on improved battery technology to increase electric vehicle performance and driving range. And then on January 3rd 1990 at the Los Angeles Auto show everything changed. GM’s introduction of the all-electric Impact received a phenomenal response. It was immediately recognized as having a very high potential for success and catapulted GM into the electric car spotlight. The Impact’s electronic propulsion system was revolutionary and GM quickly extended this technology to other GM concept cars for testing and development during the 1990’s. The Impact’s systems were tested in converted Geo Storms and Lumina APVs, the HX-3 hybrid-electric show car, Opel Astra wagons (Impuls I and II) and the Chevrolet S-Series pickup truck prototype. In 1997 the Impact became the EV1. The EV1 was the first mass-produced electric vehicle in modern times from a major automaker. It was designed from the ground up to be an electric vehicle, not a conversion of an existing vehicle. Over 1,000 units were produced and leased to customers in California and the southwest. EV1 lessees were officially participants in a "real-world engineering evaluation" and market study into the feasibility of producing and marketing a commuter electric vehicle. The test in select U.S. markets was undertaken by GM's Advanced Technology Vehicles group. After the market test, the EV1 program was discontinued. After the EV1, GM continued to pursue its strategy of developing and testing a diverse range of technologies and brought them forward in distinctive concept vehicles. These included the 2000 Precept, 2001 HydroGen1, 2002 AUTOnomy, 2002 Hy-wire, 2004 HydroGen3. Fuel cells continued to be part of GM's advanced vehicles strategy. The Sequel was an innovative fuel cell vehicle introduced in 2005 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It was the first vehicle in the world to successfully integrate a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system with a broad menu of advanced technologies such as steer-and brake-by-wire controls, wheel hub motors, lithium-ion batteries and a lightweight aluminum structure. It used clean, renewable hydrogen as a fuel and emitted only water vapor. Compared to other fuel cell vehicles of its day, Sequel had an unprecedented range of 300 miles between fill-ups and spirited acceleration, attaining 60 mph in just 10 seconds. A precursor to the Sequel was actually the 1966 Electrovan, a converted GMC van which utilized a "hydrogen oxygen fuel cell," and had a maximum range of 100 to 150 miles. GM built the Electrovan with the same solid state engineering and drive motor as the Electrovair II. Fuel cell technology was introduced in a number of prototype vehicles primarily in conjunction with municipal and corporate fleet customers. However, through the Project Driveway program GM provided 100 2007 Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicles to real-world consumers. It was the world’s largest fuel cell vehicle fleet ever assembled. It was the first meaningful market test of fuel cell vehicles anywhere. A variety of drivers – in differing driving environments – operated these vehicles and refueled with hydrogen in three geographic areas: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington D.C. On the heels of the fuel cell market test GM announced its next new electric concept, the 2007 Chevrolet Volt. The Volt brought in a new era of electrification of the automobile by creating a new class of vehicle known as the Extended-Range Electric Vehicle, or E-REV. The E-REV was significant because vehicle propulsion technology had not changed in more than 100 years. Vehicles operate in pretty much the same fashion as when Karl Benz introduced the horseless carriage in 1886. Today, while mechanical propulsion will be with us for many decades to come, GM sees a market for various forms of electric vehicles, including fuel cells and electric vehicles using gas and diesel engines to extend the range. With our new E-flex concept, we can produce electricity from gasoline, ethanol, bio-diesel or hydrogen. The Chevrolet Volt is just the first variant of the E-flex System. The heart of the Volt is the Voltec electric propulsion system, which combines battery-only electric driving with an efficient, gas-powered engine giving the Volt up to 379 total miles of driving before having to recharge the battery or fill up the small gas tank. The Volt can be fully charged by plugging it into a 110-volt outlet for approximately six hours a day. Moving quickly from concept to reality, the Volt became the only mass produced U.S.-built electric vehicle. Within the framework of GM's vehicle electrification strategy, and following the U.S. market introduction of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle in late 2010, the Chevrolet Spark EV was released in June 2013 as the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors in the U.S. since the EV1 was discontinued in 1999. In 2014 Cadillac launched its version of the Extended-Range Electric Vehicle, the Cadillac ELR. With similar technology as the Volt, the ELR combined electrification with Cadillac luxury and style. The vehicle was born from the 2009 Converj concept vehicle. GM’s commitment to the Extended-Range Electric Vehicle approach continues with the launch of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt. The new Volt is 100 pounds lighter, offers 50 miles of EV range, offers greater efficiency and provides stronger acceleration. It delivers a driving range of more than 400 miles. Photo gallery - https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/featured/Alt-Fuel.html

ISIS is making some Afghans long for the Taliban The Washington Post / October 13, 2015 When the Islamic State fighters seized the Mahmand Valley, they poured pepper into the wounds of their enemies, said villagers. Then, they seared their hands in vats of boiling oil. A group of villagers was blindfolded, tortured and blown apart with explosives buried underneath them. “They pulled out my brother’s teeth before they forced him to sit on the bombs,” recalled Malik Namos, a tribal elder who escaped the valley along with thousands of other villagers. “They are more vicious than the Taliban, than any group we have seen.” At war for more than three decades, Afghans are familiar with violence perpetrated by a raft of armies and militias. But even by their jaded standards, the emergence here of ISIS — the extremist organization that arose in the Middle East — has ushered in a new age of brutality. The radical group adds a fresh dimension to the contest for Afghanistan’s future, a key reason why President Obama is considering a plan to keep around 5,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan past next year. The Islamic State’s decrees threaten in some areas to reverse U.S.-funded gains in education and women’s rights. And they have made the Taliban, which has also committed atrocities, an appealing alternative in ungoverned regions. A rare portrait of the group’s rise and of life inside its domain emerged from traveling in Nangahar province — a central battleground of the Islamic State — and in interviews with local officials, tribal elders and more than two dozen villagers who fled areas under the militants’ control. They had found themselves trapped in a fierce new battle for power and territory between Islamic State fighters and the Taliban — with U.S. warplanes bombing both sides — that ended in victory that day for Afghanistan’s latest tormentors. Even as they mirror the cruelty of their Middle East counterparts, the militants in Afghanistan arose from a different set of circumstances and come to the struggle with a somewhat different outlook. Although in the Middle East the group seeks to create a global caliphate, some fighters here have local ambitions: re-creating the Taliban’s medieval social order, particularly taboos imposed on girls and women, which have waned in many areas since first imposed two decades ago. The majority of fighters are disaffected Afghan and Pakistani Taliban members, their desertions fueled partly by the revelation this summer that their one-eyed supreme leader, Mohammad Omar, had been dead for more than two years. Whether they have operational or financial ties to the Islamic State’s home base in Syria, are merely inspired by the group, or are using its name to generate attention remains unclear. Nor is it clear how they are obtaining the substantial funds and heavy weaponry that they wield. Unlike the conflict in Syria and Iraq, which straddles Sunni-Shiite fault lines, in Afghanistan both victims and attackers are typically Sunni Muslims, from the same ethnic Pashtun tribes. And the struggle in Nangahar is as much for control of the lucrative narcotics trade as it is for religious and regional influence, according to officials from the United Nations. “In our areas, the time of the Taliban is now over,” declared Ahmad Ali Hazrat, a lawmaker in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, a dusty city where Osama bin Laden first lived when he arrived in Afghanistan in 1996. “We are in a new drama.” Since the withdrawal of most U.S. and international troops in December, ISIS has steadily made inroads in Afghanistan. A report last month from the United Nations’ al-Qaeda/Taliban Monitoring Team found that the group — also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh — has a growing number of sympathizers and was recruiting followers in 25 of the nation’s 34 provinces. Even so, conversations with villagers, as well with Afghan officials and elders, suggest that the group’s extremist ideology does not have strong support among most Afghans. In Nangahar, on the Pakistani border, the militants have gained the largest foothold, with a significant presence in more than a quarter of the districts of the province. Since late July, tens of thousands of people have fled the region on foot. Many come to Sar Shahi, a hamlet roughly 20 miles east of Jalalabad, where they have squatted in unfinished houses or in the craggy yards of friendly residents. On a recent day, as a gentle breeze blew through the hulk of a half-constructed dwelling, the villagers clamored to tell an outsider of how their valley died. In the summer of 2014, about 100 fighters from the Pakistani Taliban arrived from across the border. They were fleeing an offensive by the Pakistani military to flush out insurgents and soon joined forces with a faction of the Afghan Taliban, ethnic Pashtuns like themselves. “We gave them sanctuary,” said Omar Jan, an elderly laborer. “We gave them houses to live. We gave them the land.” It was an opportune time for a militia to emerge. A new U.S.-backed power-sharing government was paralyzed by infighting. Overstretched Afghan security forces were preoccupied fighting a resurgent Taliban. The Taliban itself was in the midst of an internal factional struggle. Pakistan, too, was under pressure from the United States to tackle the Taliban insurgents it had long supported and permitted to build havens on its soil. That had the unexpected consequence of pushing more hard-line militants across the border into Afghanistan. In January, ISIS’s leaders in Syria announced the creation of their “Khorasan” branch, using an ancient term for an area that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan. By the spring, reports of Taliban defections and Islamic State recruitment surfaced. At first, the visitors and local Taliban members remained allies. “For almost one year they were friends,” recalled Zirak, another villager. “They were walking with each other.” By this summer, though, there were hints of a transformation. At mosques, villagers noticed that the Pakistanis and some Afghan allies had adopted the austere Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam, though the vast majority of Sunni Afghans practice the moderate Hanafi strain. “They were telling everyone they were better Muslims than us,” said Nazar, a 38-year-old laborer who, like many Afghans, uses only one name. In July, clashes erupted after the Afghan Taliban raided the homes of the Pakistanis and found a large cache of weapons. On that day, the visitors, who now included dozens of defectors from the Afghan Taliban, put aside their white Taliban flags and raised the black flag of the Islamic State. “That’s when we understood they had become Daesh,” said Rostam Sayeed, 20, a laborer. The Taliban and ISIS fighters fought fiercely for control of the valley. As many as 25 civilians, including children, were killed. “The bullets were coming and going from both sides,” said Zirak. “All we could do was lie on the floor and pray.” During periods of calm, ISIS fighters used loudspeakers to urge Taliban members and villagers to defect. “ ‘Mullah Omar is dead,’ they said. ‘You should join us,’ ” Jan recalled. Many did, attracted by ISIS’s organization, weaponry and ability to pay handsome salaries, as much as $500 a month. One morning, a U.S. drone strike targeted both sides, killing several ISIS fighters and dispersing them into the mountains, residents said. But militants returned with reinforcements and heavier weaponry, including large machine guns and missile launchers. They pushed the Taliban out of the valley. Black-clad fighters, many with long hair and beards, went door to door. They ordered villagers to leave their houses and farms within hours. They seized livestock and crops. They shut down scores of schools and Islamic madrassas and destroyed electricity lines and cellphone towers. The fighters included some foreigners from Chechnya and Uzbekistan, villagers said. They did not see any Arabs, but U.N. investigators said in their report that some 70 Islamic State fighters from Iraq and Syria are now fighting in Afghanistan. Houses of suspected Taliban loyalists were burned. In some villages, the militants lured tribal elders and residents to the mosque, where they were taken hostage. In total, more than 120 men were abducted and taken into the mountains. In August, 10 hostages were accused of being Taliban supporters, as cameras rolled. They were told to kneel down on mounds of freshly dug earth. Underneath the dirt were explosives. Their execution was later publicized in a slickly produced video. “Even the Jews and the Christians would not kill Muslims in that way,” said Malik Namos, who recognized his brother, Mohammad Yunus, in the video. In Dih Bala, a district west of the valley, the fighters allowed villagers to remain as long as they followed their decrees. To trigger fear and obedience, the fighters grabbed five men and accused them of providing coordinates for the U.S. airstrikes against their comrades. They beheaded the men in a central market, said residents, and placed their heads and torsos on a road. Then they ordered people to drive over the body parts. In the mosques, ISIS fighters have enshrined Wahhabism as the main brand of Sunni Islam and have forced madrassas to teach its beliefs. On one day, in the village of Loi Papin, an ISIS commander took to the mosque’s loudspeaker: “If you have four sons, two should join us. If you have two sons, one should join us.” Within hours, families were sending their boys. “They are living under their control, so they have to join them,” said Jameel Kaminyar, 23, a farmer who lived under the militants’ rule for two weeks before fleeing. “They are the government now.” In Dih Bala and Kot, another district, families with unmarried daughters have been ordered to raise white flags over their houses, one for each girl in the family. Families with widows had to raise red flags. The females, the militants informed villagers, would provide wives for newly recruited fighters. “If we don’t accept these commands, the Daesh will behead us,” said Hayatullah, 23, a police officer who fled Kot recently with his family. In other areas, ISIS fighters told residents they had the authority to marry any widows of Taliban fighters, viewing them as spoils of war. Yet there have not been reports of mass rapes like those committed against non-Muslim ethnic Yazidis in Syria and Iraq. Most women in Nangahar are Pashtun, like their new masters, and are protected by ancient codes of honor. Still, villagers say the decree to raise flags is an omen. In Afghan tribal society, a woman who is sexually assaulted is often forced to marry her attacker. “Of course they will take these women to rape them,” said Hazrat, the lawmaker. In recent years, the Taliban’s oppressive social codes have not been enforced in many areas, as the Taliban tried to win popular support. In some parts of the country, girls are allowed to attend school. Hard-line attitudes against music have softened. Public executions have been reduced. Now, ISIS fighters, led by former hard-line Taliban members, are restoring the puritanical way of life in some areas. They have ordered men to grow long beards. Women cannot leave their houses without wearing the traditional head-to-toe blue burqa and must be accompanied by a male relative. Smoking is banned, and shops that sell cigarettes have been shut down. They have also created a unit that tells people how to live their lives morally — like the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. “Since Allah has conferred control of these areas to ISIS,” according to a flier distributed to villagers, all people must attend Friday prayers. The flier also echoed the Taliban’s long-standing ban on narcotics. In practice, though, ISIS fighters, like the Taliban, have done nothing to stop opium trafficking. The U.N. investigators said that the Taliban and ISIS are clashing over lucrative drug and smuggling routes, vital to their abilities to acquire more weapons and recruits. But the harsh decrees and punitive actions of ISIS have led to a rethinking of the Taliban. “There’s a huge difference in the way the Taliban was treating the people and the way Daesh is now,” said Hayatullah. “I prefer the Taliban any day.”

The Washington Post / December 3, 2015 Months after the Obama administration declared combat operations over in Afghanistan, the CIA continues to run a shadow war in the eastern part of the country, overseeing an Afghan proxy called the Khost Protection Force (KPF), according to local officials, former commanders of that militia and Western advisers. The highly secretive paramilitary unit has been implicated in civilian killings, torture, questionable detentions, arbitrary arrests and use of excessive force in controversial night raids, abuses that have mostly not been previously disclosed. The elite Afghan fighters and their American handlers came to Tor Ghar one night in September. Shortly after midnight, wearing tan camouflage and black masks, they entered a village in this remote mountainous area straddling the Pakistan border in search of militants with a Taliban-allied group, said local officials and tribal elders who later spoke with the force’s commanders. Within minutes, the armed men had arrived at Darwar Khan’s house. “When my father opened the gate, they shot him dead,” recalled Khan, who was inside the house at the time. “Then, they tossed a grenade into the compound, killing my mother.” His father was a farmer. His mother was a housewife. It was not the first time the fighters had killed civilians in this strategic region. And it wouldn’t be the last allegation of wrongdoing. This article is based on interviews with witnesses of six separate attacks by the militia in the past year, as well as court documents in the only known legal case filed against the unit, after one or more of its men shot a 14-year-old boy to death. Three former commanders of the unit, known as the KPF, tribal elders, lawmakers, lawyers, activists and local government officials with direct knowledge of the force and the CIA’s role were also interviewed. In several attacks, witnesses described hearing English being spoken by armed men who had translators with them, suggesting American operatives were present during assaults where extreme force was used. In an e-mailed statement, the agency’s spokesman, Dean Boyd, said that “we’ve taken significant steps to help the Afghan National Directorate of Security address allegations of human rights abuse.” The directorate, known as the NDS, ostensibly oversees the Khost force. Boyd declined to comment on any specific claims of abuse. “We take seriously any allegation of abuse involving foreign liaison services and routinely work with them to rectify such matters,” Boyd said. “Our goal is always to improve the capabilities and professionalism of foreign counterparts.” On Oct. 15, as President Obama announced that 5,500 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan past next year, he stressed that they would have just two missions — training Afghan forces and fighting al-Qaeda. Yet, throughout this year, there has been an aggressive American effort to stem Taliban territorial gains. And the CIA, separate from the U.S. military, enjoys looser rules of engagement that have enabled it to expand targets to include the Taliban and its allies, the Haqqani network. Here in this strategic eastern border province, which has long served as a key gateway for militants entering from Pakistan, the KPF fights in conjunction with the CIA out of Forward Operating Base Chapman. The KPF “is one of the most effective elements fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and were it not for their constant efforts, Khost would likely be a Haqqani-held province, and Kabul would be under far greater threat than it is,” said a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity. “This is a group made up of thousands of soldiers who come from the area and consequently have the respect and insights necessary to operate in a professional manner despite the constant engagement with the enemy.” Afghan government officials acknowledge that the KPF has killed civilians and committed other abuses. But they claim that the Taliban and other insurgents exaggerate the civilian toll. “The KPF has played a very important role in security, and we are happy for their sacrifices,” said Hukam Khan Habibi, the province’s governor. In Khost, the KPF is more influential than the Afghan army and police, and unaccountable to the provincial government, often acting outside normal chains of command. Locally, militias such as the KPF are called “campaign forces,” an informal name Afghans use for pro-government armed groups. The KPF is so feared that several people interviewed spoke under the condition of anonymity because they worried for their lives. Others spoke on the record because they wanted their experiences told. Reports surfaced last year that the CIA was dismantling its Afghan paramilitary units, especially the 4,000-strong KPF, amid the broader drawdown of U.S. forces. But a visit to Khost last month revealed that although there is coordination with the security directorate — the NDS — the CIA is still directing the KPF’s operations, paying fighters’ salaries, and training and equipping them. American personnel were gathering biometric data of alleged suspects, according to witnesses, former KPF commanders and local officials who regularly meet with the force and their American overseers. One commander, who left the force last month, said that CIA operatives regularly hold planning sessions and that in October he received his salary directly from them. “The orders came from the Americans,” he said. They were “the real bosses.” “Only in name is the KPF linked to the NDS,” said Mohammad Qadin Afghan, a provincial council member and former KPF fighter who maintains close ties to the force. “They still work for the CIA.” On the night they killed his parents, Khan recalled, men outside the compound were yelling in English. Days later, the KPF commander acknowledged to Khan and village elders that the deaths were a mistake, and handed him $11,000 in compensation, Khan and other villagers said. The target of the raid was Khan’s uncle, who lived next door. He bought and sold Kalashnikov rifles, his relatives said, hardly the high-level type of suspect the CIAtypically targets. The fighters handcuffed him and took him away, and later handed him to the NDS. Today, his family does not know his whereabouts and has no contact with him. He has not been charged with any crime, and he does not have a lawyer. “No one is telling us why they have taken him,” said Hekmata, his mother, who, like many Afghans, uses one name. The CIA is not bound by the Bilateral Security Agreement between Afghanistan and Washington that, among other rules, limits the ability of U.S. military forces to enter Afghan homes. The night raids, for the most part banned in 2013 by former president Hamid Karzai, were quietly reinstated by the U.S.-brokered coalition government of President Ashraf Ghani in an effort to better combat the Taliban. But Afghans consider the intrusions offensive. The CIA is not subject to human rights vetting procedures under the Leahy Law, which proscribes the use of American taxpayer dollars to assist, train or equip any foreign military or police unit perpetrating gross human rights violations. The KPF was one of several large paramilitary forces created by the CIA in the months after the Taliban was ousted following the 9/11 attacks. Recruits were drawn from local tribes in Khost with promises of salaries, equipment and conditions that were better than the Afghan military. The force largely operates along the border with North Waziristan, the Pakistani tribal region that is a nerve center for the Taliban, its ally, the Haqqani Network, and al-Qaeda. Fighters receive as much as $400 a month in salary, twice what a soldier in the Afghan security forces earns. Commanders earn $1,000 or more a month, as much as an Afghan army general. Equipped with night-vision goggles, they drive tan Humvees and armored trucks mounted with machine guns. CIA operatives often travel along on raids with the KPF in order to call in airstrikes, from U.S. warplanes or drones, if needed, said Sardar Khan Zadran, a former top KPF commander who still maintains close links to the force. “They are accountable to no one but the Americans,” Zadran said. After the assault on his home, Khan said he and his brother were brought to the base, also known as Camp Chapman. (It was named after Sgt. Nathan Chapman, the first U.S. soldier to be killed by enemy fire in 2002, while he was fighting alongside CIA operatives.) Khan was interrogated by Afghans, but Americans fingerprinted him and scanned his eyes, communicating with him through an interpreter. Others who were detained in other attacks described the same procedure. “They capture anyone they want for no reason,” recalled a local storekeeper, speaking partly in broken English, who was rounded up three months ago in a night raid in which he heard voices speaking English. A bag, he said, was placed over his head even after he informed his captors that he has asthma and had difficulty breathing. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retribution . A U.N. report on detentions this year found that five detainees arrested in 2013 and 2014 by the KPF together with “international military forces,” presumably American, were held at Camp Chapman and were “subjected to ill-treatment.” Two of them later experienced “torture or ill-treatment” when they were transferred to the custody of the NDS. Hassan Shahidzai, the head of the NDS in Khost, declined to comment. When the militia kills, justice is almost always elusive. Six months ago, a 17-year-old student named Javedullah was crossing a KPF checkpoint in Khost city while listening to his earphones. He didn’t hear the fighter order him to stop, and he kept walking. He was shot dead. There was no investigation, only a swift payment of $5,000 to compensate the family, said his father, Sahargul, a farmer. “They are like the government,” he said. “The only thing I could say was ‘I pardon you.’ ” During a raid last December, 14 KPF fighters stormed into the compound of a man named Meerajudin and shot his 14-year-old son in the back, killing him, as the boy fled for cover. “I was begging them to stop firing,” Meerajudin recalled. “I was yelling, ‘He’s only a child.’ ” The house was not a Taliban redoubt. In fact, Meerajudin was a former mujahideen commander with powerful friends in the government, and he forced an investigation. The KPF, though, only handed three fighters over to the authorities. In an apparent effort to cover up their crime, the militiamen in court documents confessed they placed an AK-47 next to the boy’s corpse, at the order of their commander, to make it seem like he was armed. One was released; the other two received 10-year prison sentences. On Nov. 7, hundreds of angry villagers took to the streets of Khost city. There had been another night raid in which the KPF killed two people, described by the protesters as civilians. The corpses were placed in pickup trucks, and the crowd moved toward Camp Chapman. Some clutched sticks and tree branches. Others carried white Taliban flags. “Death to Americans,” they chanted. “Death to American slaves.” It was the latest sign of a growing backlash against the CIA and its proxy. Habibi, the governor, publicly condemned the assault and paid condolences to “the families of the martyrs, as well as the Khost people.” He promised an investigation. On Nov. 20, less than two weeks later, in an incident first reported by the New York Times, KPF fighters killed a recently discharged Afghan Army soldier and his wife in a night raid in Zazi Maidan district, widely considered a pro-government area, said Mirwais Zadran, the district governor, in a phone interview. On Tuesday, the KPF handed the couple’s relatives roughly $4,500 in compensation at Camp Chapman in front of tribal elders and local officials, added Zadran, who said he was at the meeting. The provincial council, several of its members said, has received thousands of complaints about the KPF, not just about the deadly night raids, but also about strict roadblocks that can last for hours. “If their problems are not solved, those people might start cooperating with the insurgents,” said Bostan Walizai, a human rights activist. At the same time, he and others also worry about the future of the KPF — and the province — as the U.S. military scales down. Most of the fighters have known no other profession and are used to high wages. “If these people lose their jobs, they could join armed insurgent groups or form criminal gangs,” Walizai said. Even the KPF’s victims want it to continue. They have little faith in the ability of the regular Afghan forces to protect the province. No one has forgotten the Taliban’s seizure of the northern city of Kunduz in September. “The campaign forces would be good, if they didn’t kill innocent people,” Darwan Khan said as he stood near the gate where his father was shot.

Op-Ed by Robert M. Gates, secretary of defense in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. The Washington Post / December 3, 2015 Many Americans are mad as hell at our political leaders — both Republican and Democrat — and are giving voice to their anger through the likes of Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The anger is understandable. The federal government is paralyzed, unable to tackle any of the major problems facing our country or even accomplish basic functions such as enacting annual budgets for federal departments and agencies. The anger derives equally from governmental ineptitude, arrogance and corruption, and self-serving politicians more concerned with getting reelected than with the nation’s future. The next president will face major domestic problems, as well as the challenges posed by Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, terrorism and a Middle East in turmoil. What kind of qualities should we be looking for in a new chief executive? Based on my experience working for eight presidents, of both political parties, here is my take: ●We need a president who understands the system of government bequeathed to us by the Founders — and grasps the reality that with power divided among three branches of government, building coalitions and making compromises are the only ways anything lasting can get done. Primal screaming may be good therapy, but it is a poor substitute for practical politics. Arch-conservatives may want little government and arch-liberals may want a lot, but many functions of government are critical to our well-being, and they can be carried out effectively only if Congress and the president work together. Those who believe that compromise is synonymous with selling out or giving up one’s principles need to retake eighth-grade American history. The next president needs to have a core philosophy and set of principles, but he or she also needs to be a pragmatic and skilled political leader — like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. ●Our next leader needs to speak truthfully to the American people. “Spinning” has been a part of the political process since ancient Greece, but as mistrustful as most Americans are today of political leaders, the new president must speak candidly and honestly to the people. One reason so many Americans like Trump and Sanders, just as so many liked Ross Perot in 1992, is that both candidates are seen as telling it like it is. People love brutal candor, but that candor is too often detached from reality and responsibility; too many candidates demagogically use divisive rhetoric and make grandiose promises that would be impossible to fulfill. Their rhetoric appeals because so many established politicians are viewed as speaking in platitudes and euphemisms, if not being deceptive or even lying. Yet too many candidates are being just as deceptive and dishonest. We have a lot of problems, and the next president has to be honest with Americans about their seriousness and complexity — and how to tackle them effectively. ●The next president must be resolute. He or she must be very cautious about drawing red lines in foreign policy, but other leaders must know that crossing a red line drawn by the president of the United States will have serious — even fatal — consequences. The public, members of Congress and foreign leaders alike must know that the president’s word is his or her bond, and that promises and commitments will be kept and threats will be carried out. The next president must hold people in government accountable; when programs or initiatives are bungled, senior leaders should be fired. He or she needs to have the courage to act in defiance of public opinion and polls when the national interest requires it. ●Our new leader must be a problem-solver. Recently, we have elected presidents with a conservative agenda or a liberal agenda. This election, how about we look for one whose agenda is just making things work? I realize this is a tall order at a time when most of the candidates are highly ideological, on both the left and the right. But the paralysis within Congress and between Congress and the White House under the past two presidents has been harming the country and putting our future at risk. No wonder so many Americans are pessimistic about the direction of the country. We desperately need a president who will strive tirelessly to identify and work with members of both parties in Congress interested in finding practical solutions to our manifold problems. We need a president who understands that those problems are so complex and so big that overcoming them will require bipartisan support through multiple Congresses and presidencies. ●We need a president who is restrained. Restrained to respect the prerogatives of the other branches of government. Restrained in rhetoric, avoiding unrealistic promises, exaggerated claims of success and dire consequences if his or her initiatives are not adopted exactly as proposed. Restrained in expanding government when so much of what we have works so poorly. Restrained from foreign adventures and from using military force as a first option rather than a last resort. Restrained from questioning the motives of those who disagree and treating them as enemies with no redeeming qualities. Finally, the most important quality for our next leader at this juncture in our history: The new president must be a true unifier of Americans. The nation is divided over how to deal with challenges such as immigration, the quality of public education, economic inequality, our role abroad and more. Too many presidential candidates of all stripes are working overtime to deepen our divisions, to turn us against one another, to play to our fears. They are prepared to place all that holds us together as one people, as Americans, at risk for their own ambitions. The next president must lead in restoring civility to our political process. We must hope that the president we elect next year will again and again remind all Americans of our common destiny, and that our fate as a nation and as a people is bound up with one another. Our new leader should appeal, in President Abraham Lincoln’s words, to “the better angels of our nature.”

The Wall Street Journal / December 3, 2015 Trucking companies ordered the fewest number of trucks since 2010 on a seasonally adjusted basis, reflecting a gloomy outlook for freight transportation Orders for large trucks fell to the lowest level in more than three years in November, according to new reports that suggest U.S. shipping businesses are girding for slower economic growth in the coming year. Orders for new Class-8 trucks, the biggest trucks commonly seen on highways or at construction sites, totaled 16,600 in November, down nearly 60% from the same month a year ago and 36% fewer than companies ordered in October, ACT Research said in its preliminary report on the month. The orders for trucks to be delivered in 2016 have fallen sharply since mid-summer amid tepid retail sales growth and warnings from several big retailers that they are overstocked for the holiday sales period. “A glut of inventory in the broader economy has led to slowing freight and lower freight rates,” ACT Vice President Steve Tam said in a statement. “This in turn has caused truckers to hit the pause button on truck orders.” ACT said the November total was the lowest that the commercial-vehicle research company has recorded since August 2010 on a seasonally-adjusted basis and the lowest since September 2012 without adjusting for seasonal fluctuations. A separate report from FTR, a research group that tracks freight transportation, placed net orders for Class 8 trucks at 16,465 in November, which the group said was a “major disappointment” that was significantly below its expectations. The orders reached the lowest level for a November that FTR has recorded since 2009. The slowdown likely presages deeper cutbacks at truck manufacturers that already have reduced factory work, said Don Ake, FTR vice president for commercial vehicles. Trucking companies “would appear to have enough new trucks for now,” Mr. Ake said. “The manufacturing sector has sputtered and freight growth has slowed. Orders should stabilize soon, but backlogs will be shrinking, necessitating larger production cuts than were previously expected.”

Man’s hoard of nearly 5,000 guns shows ease of amassing arms in U.S. Reuters / December 3, 2015 As sheriff’s investigators threaded past the battered cars, cast-off tires and rusted farm equipment cluttering Brent Nicholson’s front yard, there was no hint of the sinister stockpile hidden behind his windowless front door. Inside, the guns were everywhere: rifles and shotguns piled in the living room, halls and bedrooms; handguns littering tables and countertops. Outside, when they rolled up the door on the pre-fab metal garage, more arms spilled out at their feet. “This has completely changed our definition of an ass-load of guns,” said Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks. Six weeks after the discovery, officers are still cataloging the weapons, many of which have proved stolen, and the final tally is expected to be close to 5,000. “I don’t know if there’s ever been (a seizure) this big anywhere before,” Brooks says. The question of how one man amassed such a stockpile of guns arises just as there is renewed American soul-searching over the widespread availability of firearms in the wake of a series of mass shootings. Even in a country where more people own more guns than anywhere else in the world, Nicholson's cache is extraordinary. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives doesn't rank gun seizures by size, but a spokesman says Nicholson's hoard probably is among the largest ever. Yet when and why Nicholson set out to amass such an arsenal remains a mystery. Investigators are trying to determine whether he was simply a gun-obsessed hoarder or a supply valve in the “Iron Pipeline” of illegal firearms flowing from the south to New Jersey, New York and other northern states. Nicholson, jailed on multiple charges of possessing stolen property, has not entered a plea or retained an attorney, court records show. His wife, Sharon Nicholson, facing similar charges and free on bond, declined to discuss specifics of the case but stressed in a brief interview that her husband buys his guns legally. The Nicholson case raises issues that are fueling an increasingly heated national dialogue on the modern-day implications of Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms, which puts no limits on the number of weapons citizens can own. The uncertainty over how he got his guns – and what he was doing with them – underscores disputes over private gun sales, gun registration and what the government should know about who owns firearms and how they change hands. Now, the spate of mass shootings, capped by Wednesday's spree by a heavily armed couple who killed 14 at an office holiday party in San Bernardino, California, has pushed those issues to the fore in the presidential campaign. The massacre, which follows an attack that killed three last Friday at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic and an Oct. 1 rampage by a gunman who killed 10 at an Oregon college, prompted Hillary Clinton, leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, to renew her call to "stop gun violence now" with new firearm purchase restrictions. Conversely, those who top the polls for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, insist the answer to gun violence is to empower citizens to thwart such attacks by making it easier, not harder, to buy and carry weapons. It wasn’t hard for Nicholson. Just about everyone knows the Nicholsons in this struggling town of 2,700, where the textile industry’s regional decline has helped strand median household income at $26,500 a year, half the U.S. average, and burglary rates run well over national norms. Firearms are a cultural staple – hunting clubs and cabins dot the county – and people say Nicholson’s penchant for guns was a family affair. “Everybody knew he’d buy guns; his father bought ‘em, his grandfather bought ‘em,” says Al Padgett, 68, who keeps a booth at a local flea market and says he’s known the family all his life. “He collected ‘em, hoarded ‘em, but I never knew him to sell a gun. Not one. He did everyone a favor keeping ‘em off the street.” Brooks sees things differently. Nicholson had piles of allegedly stolen goods, including a zoo’s worth of taxidermy trophies, Brooks says, but his preference was guns and he provided a ready market for burglars who grabbed them from cabins and hunting camps. The sheriff still hasn’t determined precisely how many guns in Nicholson’s cache were stolen, noting that hundreds have had their serial numbers removed so they can’t be traced. “Getting him locked up dries up the outlet for this stolen merchandise,” Brooks says. Brooks suspects Nicholson may have been selling some of the guns. He had relatively few handguns – maybe a half-dozen large buckets full – and “that makes us believe he had a market for those and was moving them north,” Brooks says, noting that the matter remains under investigation. South Carolina is a common starting point for firearms moving up the Iron Pipeline, a route for many of the 230,000 or so guns stolen nationwide each year. The South has more gun thefts than any other region, federal data show, and police in New York and other northern cities say they regularly tie those guns to crimes, though there is no data on how often. Stemming the flow is a challenge, law enforcement officials say, because it’s not organized groups moving truckloads of weapons; it’s a loose web of individuals who sell guns more as an occasional sideline than a full-time endeavor. On Oct. 21, a sheriff’s deputy just over the state line in Union County, North Carolina, pulled Nicholson over for running a stop sign. Nicholson’s pick-up had bogus license plates – and the deputy noticed rifle barrels poking up from behind the seat when he approached the vehicle. A search turned up 20 rifles, nine handguns and nearly 200 hydrocodone pills, arrest records show, and several of the guns were stolen. Nicholson was arrested for possessing stolen weapons, trafficking in opiates and vehicular violations. Nicholson was still jailed 48 hours later when a deputy in Pageland stopped by his house with a subpoena in a family court matter. The deputy spotted equipment in the yard that had been reported stolen, and investigators returned with a search warrant. They’d spend the next six days removing guns, hundreds of cases of ammo, and other goods. “He was going up to Union County to do something with those guns; we don’t know what,” Brooks says. “We’ve got information that he was moving some of these goods and … we’re looking at his activities to see if he was part of something more organized.” Tracking Nicholson’s guns is a challenge because many states, including South Carolina, don’t regulate private gun purchases, which are unrestricted and require no background check. So person-to-person sales, including gun show transactions that don’t involve licensed dealers, are largely untraceable. There also is no national gun registration mandate – only some state laws. So, unlike, say, cars, which can be tracked through registrations, guns often have no traceable ownership trail beyond their last sale by a licensed dealer. It's an issue that also is complicating efforts to trace the origin of the two assault-style rifles and two handguns used in Wednesday's shooting spree in San Bernardino. The guns initially were bought legally: two by someone "associated with" the case and two by someone with no apparent link, according to ATF spokeswoman Meredith Davis. But it's still not clear how those guns got to the shooters. President Barack Obama and the major Democratic presidential candidates support background checks for private firearms sales; Leading Republican candidates generally oppose additional gun controls, echoing the National Rifle Association’s position that they’re unnecessary constraints on gun owners’ 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. None of the proposals being floated on either side of the political spectrum would limit the number of guns someone can own. So far, investigators have identified owners of just a fraction of Nicholson’s guns. Even those that still have serial numbers can be traced only to the last time they passed through a licensed dealer. And since there’s no requirement that gun owners record those numbers, many who believe their guns were stolen and sold to Nicholson are unable to prove the weapons belong to them. Sharon Nicholson, 52, said in a brief interview at the family’s liquor store that her husband typically bought his guns at stores, but Brooks says investigators have found no records of any purchases he may have made from licensed dealers. Ultimately, the courts will decide what happens to Nicholson’s guns. Brooks suspects many will be destroyed, particularly those with no serial numbers, because their rightful owners can’t be identified. Some locals scratch their heads over that possibility, arguing that it’s a waste of good weaponry. Nicholson may not have known if he was buying weapons that prove to be stolen, some say, and he should be allowed to keep any that do not. “It doesn’t make sense,” says Otis Burch, 85, another local who knows the Nicholsons. “He’s a good man – he wasn’t selling those guns. “I asked him just about a month ago if he’d sell me a deer rifle,” Burch adds, “and he said he didn’t have any.” .

Mother beats 15-month-old infant on airplane Associated Press / December 3, 2015 A mother is on trial for assaulting her 15-month-old toddler daughter during a flight from Alaska to Hawaii. Passengers and flight attendants all reported that the May 3 flight, Samantha Leialoha Watanabe was abusive to a generally well-behaved toddler, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Wallenstein told the jury in federal court in Honolulu. The trial is for the girl, whose name is Clementine, he said, "a 15-month-old child who was pushed in the face with an open hand with enough force to cause her head to jerk all the back to its full range of motion." Clementine was also cursed at, smacked in the head, hit in the face with a stuffed doll and had her hair pulled out, he said. "All by this woman, Samantha Watanabe," he said. "The defendant, her own mother." Alaska State Trooper Brian Miller, who was headed to a Kauai vacation with about a dozen family members, testified that Watanabe was abusive with her daughter. "She was telling her to shut the F up and ... what's your problem and so on," he said. Miller said Watanabe yanked out Clementine's hair and blew it to the ground. Watanabe then held the hair out as if showing it to the child and threw it on the floor while the child cried. He also told the FBI she hit the girl in the face and smacked her on the back of the head so hard that the child's head snapped forward. Watanabe stuck a wad of cash in the girl's diaper, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI. Whenever the girl tried to touch her mother's face, the complaint said, Watanabe slapped the child's hands and arms. .

This fellow's thoughts, well, form your own opinions.

If we treat all mass shootings as Muslim terror attacks, America would have new gun laws faster than those bullets destroyed so many lives in San Bernardino Op-Ed - Piers Morgan ‘LAW-ABIDING AMERICAN GUN-OWNER COMMITS MASSACRE.’ If that was the headline of the latest horrendous mass shooting in San Bernardino, then this story would disappear from the news agenda within a day or two. The U.S. is now so distressingly, pathetically immune to such gun outrages that it takes an attack of gigantic Sandy Hook style proportions to move any kind of prolonged needle in the news cycle. Even 14 dead and 21 wounded wouldn’t be enough of a toll to warrant more than a week or so of coverage. There is now a mass shooting every single day in America. It’s become a sickening part of routine life in the world’s great superpower. I’ve run out of vitriolic adjectives to describe them, and they would be superfluous anyway because the statistics alone tell the horrific story. These two in particular are all you need to really know: 1) 100,000 people are hit by gunfire in the United States every year, of whom 32,000 die. 2) More people, over 400,000, have been killed by guns since 2001 alone than America lost in the whole of World War 2. This is more than all the other 20 richest industrialized countries in the world, combined. But this story had a twist. ‘MUSLIM KILLERS’ screamed today’s front page of the New York Post. The headline was entirely accurate. Syed Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, the shooter and his wife who joined him in the rampage, were indeed Muslims. Farook was also an American citizen and all four guns they used were bought legally in the United States. But that was deemed irrelevant compared to the stunning revelation of the M-word. Two Muslims had killed a bunch of Americans. Now we had a REAL news story. This was TERRORISM! ‘It’s WAR!’ howled Senator Ted Cruz, a gun-adoring presidential candidate never knowingly heard saying anything about any mass shooting other than ‘pray for the victims’. ‘We’re deeply concerned this is yet another manifestation of terrorism,’ he added, ‘radical Islamic terrorism here at home.’ At the time he said this, Cruz had no actual facts to support this theory other than the fact the perpetrators were Muslims. It may well turn out that he’s right, that this was indeed a terrorist attack carried out by radicalised Islamists. All the evidence is now pointing that way. And if it is, we can all rest assured that Cruz and other Republican candidates like Ben Carson and Donald Trump will start furiously demanding all sorts of new laws to make sure no Muslim can ever do this again. They’ll want so many changes to immigration and surveillance rules and regulations specific to Muslims that the U.S. Constitution itself may need to be re-written to accommodate them all. When it comes to dealing with terrorists, especially Muslim terrorists, all bets, and freedoms, are off. After 9/11, air travel was changed irrevocably for everyone in America. Cockpits got locked, shoes and belts ordered off, baby milk subjected to forensic explosive residue testing. Oh, and President George W Bush declared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to try and destroy the culprits and all their sympathizers, even if – as with Saddam Hussein – they had absolutely nothing to do with it. The message couldn’t be clearer: Republicans hate Islamic terrorists, they’re tough on Islamic terrorists, they WIPE OUT Islamic terrorists. But when it comes to guns, which kill tens of thousands more Americans a year, these same GOP politicians take an opposite tack. Far from wanting to deal with the problem, or get rid of it, they actively seek to make it worse. They block all new gun laws, they viciously berate President Obama for having the audacity to ‘infringe’ their rights, and they recite the NRA mantra: ‘More guns, less crime!’ Only last week, in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, it was pointed out that by refusing to tighten gun laws, these same politicians would of course be making it easier for any radicalised Muslims in America to get their hands on plentiful guns and ammunition to commit their murderous plots. If you have a clean background, and are unlucky enough to actually be subjected to a background check- 40 per cent of all gun sales are conducted without one - you can buy pretty much as many guns and bullets as you like in America. Syed Farook, reported today to have been radicalised, turned his home into a lethal arsenal without anyone ever questioning any purchase he made for any of it. This was not just a massacre waiting to happen, it was one that was loudly and widely predicted just a few days ago. I’ve tried all manner of ways to try and persuade Americans to do something, anything, to combat the scourge of hideous gun violence that insidiously permeates every aspect of U.S. society. When Ebola killed two Americans earlier this year, billions of dollars was thrown at fighting the disease and a whole raft of strict new security measures introduced. But in some U.S. states, it remains easier to buy an assault rifle than a pet dog. The NRA is far too rich, funded by the grateful, equally cynical gun manufacturers, and far too powerful for anything meaningful to be achieve to reduce the level of gun ownership or the subsequent inevitable gun violence. Just look at the record gun sales last Black Friday to see how bleak the future looks in a country where there are already over 300 million guns in circulation. Yet there is one idea that might work, and it came to me as I watched Ted Cruz venting his bigoted wrath this morning. Let’s treat EVERY mass shooting as a terror attack. In fact, let’s go a step further and give every mass shooter an Arabic name. That way, they’d all be ‘Islamic terrorists’ and thus worthy of immediate drastic action. If 32,000 Americans a year were reclassified as being shot dead by ‘Islamic terrorists’ rather than non-Islamic fellow Americans, then Republicans would suddenly support new gun laws faster than those bullets annihilated so many poor innocent people in San Bernardino.

I'm going to tell you that, for political reasons, Volvo does have Renault on a looser leash. And, look a Renault's fantastic sales results!

Peterbilt Recalls Semis That Go Faster Than Tires Can Handle The New York Times / December 2, 2015 Peterbilt has volunteered to recall more than 2,000 semis because they can travel at speeds greater than their tires can safely handle. The move by Peterbilt in the U.S. and Canada raises questions about the safety of trucks still on U.S. roads that are equipped with as many as 10,000 of the same tires. Peterbilt, part of Paccar Inc. of Bellevue, Washington, said it would recall the tractors from the 2009 to 2016 model years because they can go faster than 75 miles per hour, even though the maximum speed their Michelin tires can handle is 65 mph. The trucks are used mainly for hauling automobiles. "A premature tire failure may occur on the front or steer axle" and could cause a crash, Peterbilt said in documents posted this week by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Dealers will reprogram the trucks' computers so they can't go faster than 65 mph. Peterbilt said that because auto haulers tend to push the limits of front-axle loads, it determined that the speed discrepancy is a safety defect and the trucks should be recalled. NHTSA is encouraging other truck manufacturers with "similar risks" to take action to address them, but the agency has no formal investigation under way and hasn't requested further recalls, spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said. Michelin says its tires are safe and perform as designed. The safety agency began investigating Michelin's 22.5-inch diameter XZA tires in October of 2014, finding 16 complaints, three crashes and two police crash reports involving alleged tire failures. One truck rolled onto its side in New Mexico, but no one was seriously hurt. Investigators closed the probe in February after determining that the failures were caused by a road hazard, owners using the tires on the wrong-size rim, or a combination of violating tire load limits, letting the air pressure get too low or traveling at higher speeds than the tires can handle. During the investigation, Volvo Trucks issued a recall similar to Peterbilt's involving 115 trucks. NHTSA investigators also blamed the tire failures on some states raising the speed limit for trucks above 75 mph — the maximum speed rating most truck tires can handle. Fourteen states allow trucks to go 75 mph or faster, even though tire makers say tires can blow out if they exceed that speed for a long period. Federal agencies haven't had authority to set speed limits since 1995, when Congress repealed the national speed limit. NHTSA has proposed a regulation limiting top speeds of big rigs nationwide to below 75 mph. A big trucking association and safety advocates have asked for a 68 mph limit. But the regulation, first proposed in 2006, has been stalled for years in a morass of cost analyses and government reviews. It's been sitting at the White House Office of Budget and Management since May 18. The office wouldn't comment on the delay but said it works as fast as possible to review rules, and complex ones take longer. Henry Jasny, senior vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, one of the groups backing the regulation, said it's unusual for the management and budget office to hold a rule for longer than 90 days.

Land Line Magazine / December 2, 2015 Paccar is recalling nearly 2,000 Peterbilt trucks due to Michelin tires with a speed rating less than the vehicle is governed to, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. Nine Peterbilt models with model years ranging from 2009 to 2016 are affected. Affected vehicles are equipped with Michelin 295/60R22.5 XZA-2 front tires. Higher speeds, tire load, road temperatures and other factors increase the chances of premature tire failure. Trucks affected by the recall include: 2010 Peterbilt 335 2010, 2012, 2015-2016 Peterbilt 337 2009-2010 Peterbilt 340 2011-2016 – Peterbilt 348 2009, 2011-2016 Peterbilt 365 2009, 2012-2013 Peterbilt 386 2009-2015 Peterbilt 388 2015-2016 Peterbilt 389 2015 Peterbilt 567 Owners of affected trucks will be notified by Peterbilt. Dealers will reprogram the engine’s vehicle speed parameters to limit the maximum vehicle speed to the tire speed rating. Drivers can contact Peterbilt at 940-591-4000 with recall number 1115P.

Renault Trucks Press Release / December 2, 2015 Renault Trucks is adding to its range of distribution trucks by equipping the Range D WIDE (full width cab) with our 11-liter engine. The truck’s available 8 and 11 liter engines offer power ratings from 250 to 430 horsepower. Renault Trucks is expanding its choice of engines for the Distribution range by making its 11-liter DT11 Euro-6 engine available for the Range D WIDE. With this new engine option, the Renault Trucks D WIDE can now be equipped with two additional power ratings, 380 hp / 1,800 Nm and 430 hp / 2,050 Nm. This new offering allows Renault Trucks to cover all the needs of its customers seeking vehicles with a high power rating, while retaining a low entry cab for greater comfort. Cab accessibility on the Renault Trucks D WIDE has been designed to make everyday life easier for the driver, who has to frequently get into and out of the vehicle. The D WIDE features two anti-slip stairway type steps only 340 mm from the ground. This enables the Renault Trucks D WIDE DTI11 to perfectly satisfy the needs of activities related to the environment, tankers and even car transporters. The Renault Trucks D WIDE is supplied with the Optidriver automated manual gearbox as standard. It can also be fitted with the Fuel Eco pack, a gearshift optimised to reduce fuel consumption, an automatic engine cutout, the Ecocruise control, the disengageable air compressor and the inhibited Power mode. For even greater driving comfort and safety, a Voith retarder is available as an additional option. As on the D WIDE, the 2.3 meter wide Renault Trucks Range C cab can also be fitted with the DTI11 engine. This vehicle is particularly suitable for environmentally related activities such as waste tips, which demand a high power rating, but also require the crew to get into and out of the cab frequently. Altogether, there are now 16 Range D WIDE and Range C 2.3m models which can now be ordered with the DTI 11 engine. Photo gallery - http://corporate.renault-trucks.com/en/press-releases/2015-12-02_renault_trucks_d_wide_dti_11_en.html

Renault Trucks Press Release / December 2, 2015