Any ‘smoke and mirrors’ behind VW’s EA189 ‘fix’?

Does everyone understand what really lies behind VWs powertrain engineers’ implementation of their ‘fix’ for the EA189 engines? What is really implied in the ‘fix’?

Cat pays for its EGR misdeeds

Caterpillar Inc. has agreed to pay $60 million to settle claims about defects in its C13 and C15 heavy commercial vehicle engines.

Ustian slammed by SEC in EGR cover-up

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has said Navistar International Corporation misled investors about the environmental compliance of its exhaust gas recirculation, or EGR, method of reducing air pollution from its trucks.

Opel to publish WLTP results for 2016 Astra

From April 2016, Opel will publish fuel consumption figures according to WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Duty Vehicles Test Procedure) as part of its next step to meet future emissions guidelines, both on CO2 and NOx.

VW on the ropes as 'cheating' issue grows

Volkswagen shares fell some 18 per cent on the first full day off trading following the EPA finding that algorithms on some VW Group cars could manipulate emissions limits.

Bill McMenamin takes finance helm at Navistar

Bill McMenamin has become senior vice president and treasurer of Navistar International replacing Jim Moran.

BorgWarner named as VW turbo supplier

When Volkswagen introduced its high-performance 2-litre diesel, engineers adopted a twin-turbocharger layout; quite different to the simplified in-house single-turbo route taken by Daimler for its OM 471 truck diesel engine.

Ford readies Transit for its next 50 years

Ford will next year add SCR deNOx technology to its heavier Transit van and chassis-cab models to comply with upcoming Euro 6.1 emission requirements applicable to diesel vehicles under 3.5 tonne gvw. Alan Bunting reports 

Make or buy turbos? Daimler decides

Daimler AG is manufacturing diesel engine turbochargers in-house. It is another ground-breaking development by the vehicle builder on its relentless climb to the sunlit uplands of dominance.

The powertrain future is bright

Olof Persson had something interesting to say about the future of engines Volvo before he was unceremoniously dismissed from the top spot.

MAN 15-litre CGI diesel cuts weight

As German truck maker MAN establishes closer ties with fellow VW stablemate Scania through shareholding and heavy truck transmission technology, it also appears to have moved the goalposts with its newly-developed 15.2-litre, six-cylinder in-line D3876, the latest of the company’s Euro 6 range of engines.

With torque figures of 2500 to 3000Nm and power outputs of 520 and 560bhp for long distance and towing vehicles, or 640bhp for heavy goods vehicles, the D3876 is the company’s top model and offers a 160kg weight-saving over a Euro 5 unit.

Jaguar's XE diesel: its most efficient yet

Jaguar claims the USP of its new Ingenium diesel engine makes the rear-wheel drive XE the most fuel-efficient Jaguar yet, with CO₂ emissions from just 99g/km.

The Ingenium range is produced at the new £500 million, 100,000 square metres UK Engine Manufacturing Centre in the West Midlands.

A silver award for Fiat drivelines

The Turin driveline plant is the first FPT Industrial site in Italy to receive Silver Level certification in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) programme.

FPT Industrial is part of CNH Industrial, dedicated to the design, production and sale of powertrains for on and off-road vehicles, marine and power generation applications.

Clarke to put Navistar up for sale?

Is it in the mind of Troy Clarke, chief executive officer of Navistar International Corporation to sell the company, once he has righted the storm-battered vessel?

One has to think so, going by statements he made to editorial staff of Transport Topics recently. But judge for yourself from reports of his comments which gave hints of a sell-off.

Navistar putting MWM up for sale?

According to US news agency Bloomberg, heavy duty truck maker Navistar Inc. is exploring its options for MWM, its South American truck-engine business. One option may be to sell the unit.

Last May, this newsletter posed the question: Navistar: has it too many engine plants? Clearly the issue of Navistar International’s engine overcapacity, coupled with a growing closeness to Cummins Inc., suggests the topic of conversation in Navistar’s board room has stretched beyond the fate of its three engine plants in the US.

Hotfire gets a boost from Ricardo

Ricardo’s Syner-D programme gives a pointer to how JaguarLandRover’s next-generation Hotfire engine could progress towards meeting Euro 6 emissions requirements and CO2 reductions of over 30 per cent.

The Syner-D project, partly funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency, had as its main aim: to deliver a premium vehicle demonstration vehicle offering a CO2 reduction of 30 per cent, Euro 6 tailpipe emissions and suffering no compromise in transient variability and overall performance.

The three-year programme included input from JLR, Valeo, SKF, Shell and Lontra.

Scania breaks new ground in ISB6.7 purchase

For the first time in its long history, Swedish truck and bus maker Scania has had to resort to using another manufacturer’s diesel engines in its vehicles.

Scania’s top brass have elected to equip the company’s Citywide single deck bus with the Euro 6 version of Cummins 6.7-litre six-cylinder ISB6.7 diesel engine.

This has not been an easy decision to make and could be a sign of the times. Could this be the precursor for further use of the US company’s engines in Scania’s product line-up? And why didn't Scania use an engine from MAN, for example? MAN has a 6.9-litre I6 diesel engine which is used in mid-range trucks. The MAN engine could be heavier and maybe more costly than the Cummins ISB6.7 - the latter aspect of cost may depend on whether the comparison is made between MAN engines made in Germany and Cummins units engines made in Darlington, or Cummins engines made in Darlington and the US

Navistar ditches DT466 in Class 6/7 trucks

Behind the news that Navistar International has had to endure a third quarter loss of $247 million and the subsequent loss of 500 jobs, is the admission the company is blaming much of the financial loss on its transition to the use of Selective Catalytic Converters (SCR) for engines powering its medium and heavy duty trucks.

Navistar president and chief executive officer Troy Clarke admitted: “This includes resizing our company to match our current business environment.”

He added: "We still face a few significant challenges, but we have laid the groundwork to solve them, and obviously, we want to accelerate our rate of progress."

Wider market seen for Cummins V8 CGI diesel

Cummins Inc. is developing a version of the V8 Turbo Diesel for commercial vehicle customers and this could widen the application of the new diesel beyond the first application which is Nissan’s next-generation Titan pick-up truck.

To accommodate this, Cummins has said that its ‘historic’ Columbus Engine Plant (CEP) is being readied to build the new Cummins 5-litre V8 Turbo Diesel for Nissan's next-generation Titan, and will require additional personnel to fulfil the programme, though at this stage Cummins HR department is not revealing numbers.

"This is an exciting announcement for our Cummins team," said Tom Linebarger, chairman and chief executive officer of Cummins Inc. "We are bringing our innovation and latest technology in engines and after-treatment products to a new segment of customers. Importantly, this will help us grow our own business as well as allow us to help an important new partner, Nissan, succeed in the market."

Navistar appoints GM heavyweight as CFO

Walter G. Borst joins Navistar international Corporation on 1 August in the ‘hot seat’ of executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). He succeeds Andrew J. Cederoth who has left the company.

Borst, 51, joins Navistar from General Motors, where most recently he was the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO) and president of GM Asset Management. He was responsible for managing approximately $85 billion in assets, predominantly for the GM benefits plans.

Prior to that, he spent seven years as GM's treasurer and more than two years as CFO of Adam Opel AG.