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Volvo Group’s Mack Defense unit completes delivery of 1,500 re-badged Renault Kerax 8x8 trucks to Canadian Armed Forces Trailer-Body Builder / February 18, 2020 Volvo Group subsidiary Mack Defense recently assembled the 1,587th and final Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) truck for the Canadian Armed Forces’ regular forces and overseas deployments under its Standard Military Pattern (SMP) program. The truck rolled off the assembly line Feb 13 in Saint Nicolas, Quebec, in front of a select group of dignitaries, military officials and Mack Defense employees. “Mack Defense is proud to have completed the build-out of these trucks, and we look forward to continuing the program and supporting the more than 1,500 MSVS trucks that will be in service with the Canadian Armed Forces,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “This program demonstrates the global reach and collaboration Mack Defense is capable of.” Mack Defense is part of the Volvo Group, allowing it to leverage the group’s large industrial footprint and global capabilities to engineer and produce the MSVS SMP trucks. Before final production took place at a Prevost facility in Saint Nicolas, additional work was completed at facilities located in Bourg-en-Bresse, Marolles, Blainville and Limoges, France. The MSVS SMP program was coordinated through Mack Defense headquarters in Allentown PA. In addition, Mack Defense said it called upon several Canadian partners, including Dumur Industries, EODC, Marshall, Craig Manufacturing and Link Suspensions of Canada (Raydan Division) to contribute to the project. Mack Defense was awarded two contracts in 2015 valued at $725 million CAD by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada on behalf of the Department of National Defense. The contracts called for Mack to deliver more than 1,500 8x8 MSVS SMP trucks, including variants such as cargo, material handling cranes, load handling systems and mobile repair trucks. .

I hate to pop Volvo's bubble, but a manual transmission should still yet be an option on the MD. The market share leader Freightliner M2 106 is available with four manual transmissions, from a 6-speed Benz unit to 9-, 10- and 11-speed Eaton units. https://freightliner.com/trucks/m2-106/specifications/

https://www.midontariotrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/405/2020/02/c10c81c9-1056-4533-b51c-bfbc360413f5_Mack_MDSellSheet_Class7-web.pdf

We had such a great time meeting current & new customers in Las Vegas earlier this month. Excited to see the DC-64M on job sites—taking orders now! .

You need Mack part-no. 38MO343RP3.

An Australian Metro-Liner hood (pictured below) with redesigned Anthem-style fenders. .

Actually, Cummins power is not offered in the Super-Liner or Trident. Only the Titan is available with Cummins power (and the compact Metro-Liner exclusively with the ISL, alike the Granite MHD).

Reuters / February 18, 2020 SEATTLE - Boeing Co found debris that could pose potential safety risks in the fuel tanks of several 737 MAX aircraft that are in storage and waiting to be delivered to airlines, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Foreign object debris, an industrial term for rags, tools, metal shavings and other materials left behind by workers during the production process, has been a quality control issue for various Boeing aircraft, such as its KC-46 tankers. Mark Jenks, general manager of the 737 program, told employees in the memo that such debris was “absolutely unacceptable”. A Boeing spokesman confirmed the memo’s authenticity.

Ford’s New COO Gets Almost $2 Million Raise to Spur Turnaround Keith Naughton, Bloomberg / February 18, 2020 Ford Motor Co.’s new chief operating officer, Jim Farley, is getting a raise worth almost $2 million to help engineer a turnaround at the struggling automaker. Farley, previously Ford’s president of new business, technology and strategy, is to receive as much as $1.98 million in extra salary, bonus and stock in his new role, the company said Tuesday in a regulatory filing. Most of the increase in his compensation plan, which will total $8.29 million, is a boost to his annual stock grant. The 57-year-old’s promotion takes effect March 1 along with the retirement of his primary rival at the company, Joe Hinrichs, 53. The moves were announced earlier this month. Ford has been on a losing streak extended by the botched launch of the Explorer sport utility vehicle, which contributed to disappointing earnings results and a downbeat profit forecast for this year. Farley is now in position to eventually succeed Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett, but first he has to help him execute an $11 billion restructuring that analysts say is moving too slowly. “We cannot wait years and years,” Farley said in an interview on the day he was named COO. “In the context of our industry and how it’s changing, we have to accelerate.”

. . .

Ford Trucks International Press Release / February 18, 2020 Long maintenance intervals and low maintenance costs: International Truck of the Year Ford Trucks F-MAX keeps you on the road without breaking the bank. Ford Trucks and You – "Sharing the Load" At Ford Trucks, we’re serious about trucking. It's why we designed the Ford Trucks construction series from the ground up to meet your needs and expectations. See your authorized Ford heavy truck dealer for details, or visit the global Ford heavy truck website at https://www.fordtrucks.com.tr/tr-en/home .

They need a new cab, and they know it. A new cab is in the pipeline. This was a decent redesign for the current cab.

No Jim.

Designing Trucks that Drivers Want to Drive By Chris Ito, Navistar Director, Industrial Design February 7, 2020 While Navistar is committed to customer Uptime, it's not enough to build trucks that stay on the road. Instead, we're determined to build trucks that drivers want to drive. That’s the philosophy we call “DriverFirst”; and one important way we put it into action is the discipline of industrial design. Customers may not realize Navistar designers choose virtually every visual and tactile element of the truck, both exterior and interior. Whenever a driver gets a first look at the vehicle, or steps into the cab, we want everything to look natural and right. People may not notice when everything is in harmony, but they absolutely will notice when things are not in harmony, such as part-to-part color or grain discontinuity on interior components. That’s why we put so much emphasis on every detail. Color Choice Impact to Our Products With trucks, the most identifying element of our products, besides the shape of the cab, is the interior and exterior color selection. Colors can affect the emotional response and perception of the product by our customers. Colors can visually communicate customers’ visual identity and technology leadership, as demonstrated by the “Electric Blue” applied to the International® eMV, which recently debuted at the 2019 North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) show in Atlanta. While white dominates the on-highway customer preference, Navistar offers customers thousands of color options. One of the most exciting and memorable colors we’ve created is “Sunrise Orange,” which we unveiled at the first NACV exhibition in 2017. The impact was greater than we anticipated: one of our major customers liked the color so much, they changed their corporate truck colors to match it. Interior Colors Aid Driver Productivity Inside the cab, strategically selected colors and their positions have a big impact on our customers’ “user experience.” Lighter colors create a perception of larger space, while darker colors tend to hide scuff marks and soiling. When the top of the instrument panel is darker, it reduces reflections into the windshield. This is an important safety consideration for our customers, many of whom drive their trucks 100,000 miles a year. Contrasting colors make instruments easier to read. All the colors on the instrument panel need to be considered together, using a concept we refer to as “illumination harmony.” This includes factors like the luminosity scale or the color of the light, the use of white lettering, and even the use of a consistent font on different switches. Designing from the Driver’s Point of View We also work with a multitude of suppliers to achieve visual harmony across all the components – everything from door handles to color display screens, switches on the instrument panels and steering wheel, and HVAC registers, just to name a few. We design all the visual graphic elements on our displays used in the instrument panel cluster. All the elements shown on the displays, including primary and secondary pressures, temperature, options for cruise control and other safety systems, are developed to provide visually appealing displays that capture ergonomic and HMI requirements. Even when adjacent components are manufactured by multiple suppliers, we want everything to look as though it came from the same company, and was designed with the driver’s point of view in mind. The positioning of knobs, switches and other features the driver needs to reach should also feel intuitive, or in other words, positioned comfortably for the driver’s position. That’s why we use “driver clinics” to identify the most favored locations for radio, HVAC and other switches. We have had participating drivers move components to their preferred spot on a simulated instrument panel. Our ergonomics and engineering teams validate these positions. That’s probably one reason our Product Marketing team has received positive feedback on the instrument panel, telling us not to change anything. Creating a Personalized Workspace We also seek to offer drivers more opportunities to personalize their workspace. This reflects drivers’ increasing role as logistics professionals who are responsible for managing the use of trucking assets. Here I personally take inspiration from my brother, who took over our Dad’s farm. On his tractor, he has a flat place where he keeps steno pads, a pen, a two-way, a cell phone and five coffee cups. Real-life examples like this inspired us to add a flat, horizontal trough on the instrument panel where drivers can place their items of choice, including pens, sunglasses, or personal devices such as their phone, creating an easy-to-reach useable storage space. The console between the two front seats has also been shaped by driver clinic input. Instead of the previous console, which incorporated three cupholders, long-haul drivers actually prefer a pared-down version that offers two cupholders, permitting easier access to the sleeper portion of the cab. This console design also includes a storage bin in front of the cupholders where drivers can place their smartphones or other similarly sized items. Helping drivers with all the facets of their jobs will continue to be a major focus for truck designers. Advanced technologies such as automation, connectivity and eMobility will make drivers’ work safer, more comfortable and more productive. Navistar Industrial Design will work to take full advantage of those advances, using visual harmony, functional integration and the driver’s point of view. .

We're heading to Atlanta next week for #TMCAnnual20 and we're bringing the Autocar ACTT terminal tractor. It's the fastest-growing, best-performing terminal tractor brand in North America with best in class uptime, safety features and ergonomics! Visit us in booth #1823. Always Up - Autocar Trucks .

The air intake air filter on the cowl (under the hood) in a US market option, but perhaps standard in Oz. https://www.raneystruckparts.com/mack-Cab-air-filter-ch-cv-cx-cl/

GM failed only because it never had the right leadership for Asia except in one instance.........Philip Murtaugh. And they stupidly ran him out in the end, the only GM guy who ever understood the China market.

The Ford Escape was produced in Taiwan and sold in Asian markets under the Maverick badge.

GM to phase out Holden, pull Chevy from Thailand Reuters/Bloomberg / February 16, 2020 General Motors is retreating from more markets outside of the United States and China, saying on Sunday that it will wind down sales, design and engineering operations in Australia and New Zealand and retire the Holden brand by 2021. GM also said that China's Great Wall Motor Co. had agreed to buy its Thailand manufacturing plant. The automaker said it also plans to pull the Chevrolet brand from Thailand. The company expects to incur net cash charges of about $300 million in connection with the changes, and total cash and non-cash charges of $1.1 billion. In rearranging its global operations, GM is accelerating a retreat from unprofitable markets, notably Europe, while becoming more dependent on the United States, China, Latin America and South Korea. GM Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara told analysts during a Feb. 5 presentation that restructuring GM's international operations outside of China so they produce profit margins in the mid-single digits "does represent a $2 billion improvement" compared with 2018. Ahead of that presentation, GM forecast flat profit for 2020 and reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings in the face of a $3.6 billion hit from a 40-day United Auto Workers strike. With the proposed sale of the Thailand plant to Great Wall, GM is giving up an opening to expand operations in Southeast Asia. GM is "focusing on markets where we have the right strategies to drive robust returns, and prioritizing global investments that will drive growth in the future of mobility," especially in electric and autonomous vehicles, GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “I’ve often said that we will do the right thing, even when it’s hard, and this is one of those times,” Barra added. She has prioritized profit margins over sales volume and a global footprint since taking over in 2014. In 2017, GM sold its Opel and Vauxhall business units in Europe to Peugeot SA and exited South Africa and other African markets. Since then, Barra has decided to pull GM out of Vietnam, Indonesia and India. In earlier moves, GM withdrew the Chevrolet brand from Europe in 2015 and left Russia the same year. Like Britain, Australia and New Zealand are right-hand drive markets. With sales of GM's Australian Holden brand plummeting, the company could not justify the investment to continue building right-hand drive vehicles, GM President Mark Reuss said in Sunday's statement. Reuss ran Holden in 2008 and 2009, but since then GM's market share has fallen from almost 13 percent to 4.1 percent, the company said in a statement. GM ended Holden manufacturing in 2017. GM imports the majority of the Holden models it sells in Australia, mostly from South Korea and Thailand. Even when GM stopped manufacturing Holden models -- adorned with a "lion and stone wheel" logo -- in Australia, GM and brand officials maintained it was "going to be a part of the fabric" of the "country for a very long time." Yet the cost of maintaining a separate brand in such a small and fractured market, increasingly dominated by Asia automakers, proved too daunting, even for an automaker with GM's global scale. GM has 828 employees in Australia and New Zealand and another 1,500 in Thailand, the company said. Great Wall, one of China's biggest SUV makers, said it will sell vehicles from the Thai manufacturing plant in Thailand, other ASEAN countries and Australia as the Baoding-based automaker seeks to expand globally amid a slowing domestic market. In January, Great Wall signed an agreement to buy a GM plant in India. The companies said they expect the transaction would be completed by the second half of 2020.

Ford plans Bronco reveal in March; dealers learn details Michael Martinez, Automotive News / February 16, 2020 LAS VEGAS — The wait for the Bronco is nearly over. Ford Motor Co. plans to introduce the off-road SUV next month, dealers were told at the brand's annual make meeting at the NADA Show here. The introduction of a smaller off-road crossover, called the Bronco Sport, will follow in April, likely at the New York auto show. Executives told dealers Sunday that they expect sales of the Bronco family of vehicles — which will initially include two-door and four-door versions of the Bronco as well as the Bronco Sport — will hit at least 200,000 in 2021 as the seek volume to challenge Jeep. The Bronco Sport will go on sale late this year, while the Bronco won't be available until early 2021. Ford is planning an aggressive rollout of hundreds of Bronco accessories to help boost profitability. The automaker has made changes to its accessories business following the launch of the Ranger midsize pickup in 2019 to ensure parts will be available at launch, dealers were told. Anticipation for the Bronco has been building since Ford confirmed the rugged utility's return at the 2017 Detroit auto show. Dealers have said the Bronco could be among Ford's most important launches, even in a year that includes a redesigned F-150 and introduction of the Mustang Mach-E. "As dealers, we're big optimists," John Crane, Ford's national dealer council chairman and owner of Golf Mill Ford in Niles, Ill., told Automotive News. "We need to know the product is coming. "Now that everyone knows the Bronco is coming, we know that's going to transform our business. For a lot of dealers, just hearing this isn't a one-vehicle play, it's a family of vehicles, people are walking out of here very positive." Ford told dealers they would not need to sign up for specific facility requirements to sell the Bronco; it would be available to every retailer at launch. The SUV is designed to be customizable, with a removable hard top and removable doors that can be stored in the vehicle's cargo area, and dealers are banking on additional revenue from accessories, similar to Jeep. Positive meeting Multiple dealers who attended the meeting characterized it as positive. A question-and-answer session included queries about how Ford planned to address affordability after eliminating lower-priced sedans as well as leasing opportunities in certain markets. Executives at the meeting included North America President Kumar Galhotra; Ford Credit CEO Marion Harris; Mark LaNeve, vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service; and Lincoln President Joy Falotico. Officials played a recorded video message from Ford CEO Jim Hackett discussing the automaker's transformation and aggressive product rollout. LaNeve said Ford dealers posted their fourth-best year of profitability, behind new product and a revamped floorplan assistance program, and company officials expect higher dealer margins in 2020. High-margin growth Officials celebrated Ford's growth in high-margin businesses, touting a 50 percent commercial van market share as well as a 30 percent market share for the Expedition, up from 15 percent the previous year. Ford last year also rolled out FordPass Rewards, which allows users to earn points that can be redeemed for service work at dealerships around the country. Crane said Sunday that, to date, 3.5 million people have accumulated FordPass Rewards points. "We're at a special moment right now," Crane said. "We have some great leadership, some great support. Everybody's on the same page right now." .

BBC / February 17, 2020 General Motors has said it will retire the iconic Australian car brand Holden as it leaves more markets. The American car giant said it will wind down Holden sales, design and engineering operations in Australia and New Zealand by next year. It also said China's Great Wall Motors had agreed to buy GM's manufacturing plant in Thailand. The announcement comes three years after GM ended manufacturing in Australia. GM's CEO Mary Barra said: "I've often said that we will do the right thing, even when it's hard, and this is one of those times." The statement did not say how many jobs would be lost as a result of the move but reports suggest it will mean up to 600 layoffs. In response to the news, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: "I am disappointed but not surprised. But I am angry, like I think many Australians would be. "Australian taxpayers put millions into this multinational company. They let the brand just wither away on their watch. Now they are leaving it behind," he added. GM President Mark Reuss said the company had explored ways to keep the Holden brand but had decided that it would cost too much to remain in the "highly fragmented right-hand-drive market". It comes as GM is accelerating its exit from unprofitable markets as it focuses on the US, China, Latin America and South Korea. The move will end 160 years of the Holden name's association with Australia. The company was founded as a saddle maker in South Australia in 1856 before it started building vehicles in 1908. Holden was bought by GM in 1931, beginning their 89-year history as a combined entity. Late last year the company also said it would stop selling its most iconic model the Commodore after more than four decades. At the end of 2013 Holden announced that it would halt production in Australia and start importing vehicles from its overseas plants. GM said a strong Australian currency, high manufacturing costs and a small domestic market were among the reasons behind its decision. The ending of Australian production of Holdens in 2017 resulted in nearly 2,900 job losses. .

Chevy vs. Ford vs. Ram K.C. Colwell, Car & Driver / January 17, 2020 We know what you're thinking: Didn't you just pick the Ram 1500 as a 10Best winner? Why are you comparing these trucks again so soon? Well, upsets happen all the time, and when you narrow the focus to a single model rather than the entire range, it's possible that the Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado 1500 beats the Ram. So we lined up the Big Three's new half-ton diesels and let them slug it out. It was a fair fight. We gathered four-door crew-cab versions with four-wheel drive and two-speed transfer cases, five-seat leather interiors, and five-figure asking prices that start with "6." In other words: These aren't strictly work trucks. These pickups fulfill a daily mission not unlike a large SUV, albeit with heftier towing capacities (see chart below). A diesel in a Ram 1500 is nothing new. The EcoDiesel brand has already been through an emissions scandal involving its VM Motori–supplied 3.0-liter V-6. Unavailable last year, the turbo-diesel is back with a bit more power. It now makes 260 ponies and (more important to the coal-rolling community) 480 pound-feet of torque, gains of 20 horses and 60 pound-feet over the previous gen. The EcoDiesel, which comes with a mandatory 3.92:1 final drive, is a $5090 upgrade over the base gas V-6. Ford was second to jump on the light-duty-diesel bandwagon when it began offering its own turbo 3.0-liter V-6 for the 2018 model year. The engine comes from Europe, a cousin of the turbo-diesel that Jaguar Land Rover installs in Range Rovers, among others. It is the weakling in this test, with 250 horsepower and 440 pound-feet. Ford complicates things by offering the diesel in different trims for different amounts. In our test truck, it's a $4750 option. Newest on the scene is Chevrolet's—wait for it—3.0-liter six. Guess what? It was also developed in Europe, but unlike the others, it is wholly new and arranges the cylinders in a straight line. Just as Ford has repurposed the "Power Stroke" branding of its heavy-duty engine for its light-duty six, Chevy christens this turbo-diesel "Duramax" in the hope that you'll make a mental connection to the 910-lb-ft monster that goes into the brand's HD trucks. The Duramax makes the most power of the bunch, with 277 horses on tap, and the second-most twist, with 460 pound-feet. Also like Ford's setup, the cost for the diesel option depends on trim. In a Silverado LTZ, it's a $2495 charge. The Ford and Chevy share a transmission, but you would never know it by driving them. It isn't so much that the Ford's version is conspicuous, it's that the Silverado's works as seamlessly as the inline-six that turns it. Chevy's powertrain shines all the time but never so brightly as when it's hooked to a 6650-pound trailer. If all we ever did with one of these trucks was tow, the Duramax might be enough to win us over. It is that nice. The Silverado also tops a lot of objective stats, including payload, as-tested price, and acceleration. It is the lightest in the test, too, which pokes a rusty hole in Ford's aluminum-body strategy. Even the fully kitted Ram 1500 is lighter than the F-series pickup. With big fuel tanks and efficient diesel engines, these trucks offer long-haul range and, in the Ram's case, near-luxury-car comfort. But while this truck, equipped with the Duramax and the Z71 off-road package, rides better than other current-gen Silverados we've tested, it is no match for the Ram's supple ride and adept handling. The scary thing for the competition is that the Ram isn't just good for a truck; it's just plain good. The F-150, on the other hand, never settles down. It bucks, wiggles, shimmies, and hops endlessly after an otherwise minor bump in the road. We thought attaching a trailer might calm the ride, but it didn't. Objectively, Ram's EcoDiesel isn't the best at doing truck things. As the charts reveal, the Ram's payload is lower than the Chevy's, and its tow rating is topped by the Ford's. But the differences are negligible. About the only gripe anyone had with the Ram was its labored feeling when trying to keep a 70-mph pace with a trailer in tow; 65 was just fine. The real knockout punch came at the fuel pump. Returning 30 mpg, the Ram bests its competitors by a wide margin. We should note that there is a slim but very real possibility that the Ram didn't experience a single particulate-filter-regen event during the miles we logged. These periodic self-cleanings—think colon blow for your exhaust—consume extra fuel. Even if we doubled the worst-case scenario, adding half a gallon of diesel to our tally, the Ram would still have averaged a best-in-test 27 mpg. Towing economy was essentially a wash, with only a 1-mpg spread among the pickups. In the end, this wasn't anything more than a sparring match for the 10Best-winning Ram 1500. The upset will have to wait. We're sure that Ford and Chevy will mount another title challenge soon enough. 1st Place: Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Highs: Remarkable ride and handling, as polished as a luxury car, sips fuel. Lows: A little labored with a moderate trailer, but only a little. 2nd Place: Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax Highs: Velvety engine, silky trans, perfect brake feel. Lows: Bland exterior, uninspired interior, can't match the comfort of the segment's best. 3rd Place: Ford F-150 Power Stroke Highs: Tow-capacity champ, aluminum body won't rust. Lows: Heavy despite prevalent aluminum, atrocious ride, chintzy interior. .

I’ll say one thing, the new 1500 is by far the leader across the board.

DAF Trucks Press Release / February 13, 2020 DAF Trucks unveils the XF Super Space Cab Celebration Edition. With this luxurious and specially striped version of the largest and most comfortable cab on the market, DAF is celebrating the production of the 250,000th DAF XF with Super Space Cab. Drivers are treated to a luxuriously trimmed interior, including among other things the cognac-coloured leather package as standard. “How can we offer the driver the very highest comfort?” This question led in 1985 to the introduction of the DAF 3600 Space Cab, which set the new level in terms of interior space and thus driver comfort thanks to the raised roof. In 1994, DAF went even further: the Super Space Cab, with which DAF again set new standards. Ideal place for the drive The cab of the latest DAF XF Super Space Cab is the most ideal place for every driver to work, live and sleep. Unsurpassed ergonomically, beautifully decorated and extremely spacious. The cab has a volume of no less than 12.6 m3 making it the most spacious on the market. The XF Super Space Cab offers an impressive standing room of 2.23 metres and with no less than 925 litres of storage space. It is equipped with two generous beds, the lower one is 80 cm wide and 2.20 metres long, and comes with a deep mattress as standard. It is not without reason that half of all DAF XFs are ordered as Super Space Cab. The DAF XF Super Space Cab Celebration Edition is available as 4x2 FT and 6x2 FTG tractor variants as well as in all rigid configurations. In terms of power unit, the PACCAR MX-11 with 330 kW/450 hp can be selected or the PACCAR MX-13 engine, with ratings of 355 kW/480 hp or 390 kW/530 hp. The trim of this ‘special’ is country specific: each version is configured to suit local customer preferences – but every Celebration Edition is equipped with the beautiful Exclusive interior, including the beautiful cognac-coloured leather package. And the bed always has DAF’s 15 cm deep comfort mattress for maximum sleeping comfort. In addition, things like the fast DAF TNR navigation system, the most extensive climate control including operation from the rear wall and DAF's impressively large refrigerator come as standard. The DAF XF Super Space Cab Celebration Edition is now available at all official DAF dealers. .