Ford Motor Co. unveiled its second Verve concept car at the Guangzhou auto show in China this week. The four-door notchback follows a three-door hatchback unveiled in Frankfurt in September and will be followed by a third model, which is slated to be unveiled in Detroit in January. Together, they are designed to show the direction Ford will take with its new global subcompact.

Automobile dealerships are worried that 2008 sales will be worse than this year’s. Amid these concerns they are not ordering as many new cars and Trucks. This is the worst vehicle sales slump since 1998.

“I’m certainly being more cautious,” said Carl Galeana, president of the Galeana Automotive Group. “I’m reeling in what I’m stocking and am looking not to sell at the same rate that I sold at this year.”
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“If we don’t see some sort of boost, our orders will be reflective of that slowdown,” said Bob Thibodeau, a Ford dealer. “We certainly are seeing a little bit of an increase in our stocking levels. Sales are just not what we hoped.”

You could have been forgiven for thinking the Ramada Pelican Waters had become the Coast’s most popular truck stop yesterday, after four Big Mack trucks were parked out the front.

But they weren’t there for a quick stopover to re-fuel and head back out on the road.

In fact, the trucks were on display as part of a four-day convention taking place at the Ramada for the Big Mack Truck group.

The new range of Trucks for 2008, including the Titan, Super-liner, Trident and Granite brands, were on display for sales representatives and national representatives before being taken on a cavalcade tour across Australia.

A spokesperson for Mack Trucks said the sales conference would give more than 160 representatives the opportunity to test drive the Trucks and take part in conference sessions by American designers and engineers who helped create the new models.

She said the representatives also headed to the Big Kart track yesterday to test out their skills, before returning for a number of conferences.

It is the first time the national Big Mack Truck conference has been staged on the Sunshine Coast, which was chosen because of its proximity to the headquarters in Brisbane and the factory at Wacol.

Mack Trucks, UAW Extend Terms of Contracts for Second Time

Mack Trucks Inc. and the United Auto Workers has agreed to extend the terms of union contracts that would have expired at midnight Wednesday, a company spokesman said.

The new deadline is midnight Dec. 14, marking the second time the contracts have been extended for 2,200 workers represented by UAW Local 677 in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida.

The Truck manufacturer is based in Allentown and is owned by AB Volvo of Sweden.

Instead of spending Thanksgiving at home in New Alexandria, Jeff Tenerovich is on the road in a Mack truck. Dinner today is in Danbury, Conn.

Tenerovich said he couldn’t pass up a unique opportunity to accompany the 2007 U.S. Capitol Christmas tree from Vermont to Washington, especially since he gets to stop and visit veterans in hospitals and nursing homes along the way.

“It’s sad when you see some of these veterans, and they don’t have anybody, and this might be their last Thanksgiving,” said Tenerovich, 58. “It’s a small price to pay as far as missing one Thanksgiving at home.”

Tenerovich is driving one of 15 trucks in the caravan. While 14 of them, including the one transporting the 60-foot balsam fir, are antiques, Tenerovich is driving a 2008 Mack Truck.

What makes it different is that it’s painted with a mural of American military personnel from conflicts throughout the nation’s history.

Tenerovich got the opportunity through his membership in the Antique Truck Club of America and his job at Gribble Transport in Rockwood, Somerset County.

Gribble is under contract with Mack Truck Corp. to move the company’s trucks around for trade shows, dealer openings and other events.

The military tribute truck Tenerovich is driving, dubbed “Rolling Thunder,” is owned by Mack Truck.

Members of a Vermont chapter of the Antique Truck Club, who are driving the Capitol tree and 80 other trees in the caravan, knew of Tenerovich’s connection to Mack and asked if he could get access to the military tribute truck.

The truck fits with the caravan’s theme of honoring the nation’s veterans.

Tenerovich’s truck is escorting the Antique trucks, which range in model year from 1950 to 1968.

The tree was cut Friday from the Green Mountain National Forest near Bennington, Vt. After a town celebration Monday in Bennington, the caravan hit the road. They’ll traverse through Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland before arriving Monday in Washington.

Tenerovich is getting to visit veterans homes and hospitals along the route, dropping off cards, gifts and Christmas trees.

“It’s just really awe-inspiring for me. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip you’ll make,” Tenerovich said. “It’s real awesome to be a part of this and interact with the people. These are truly, truly good people.”

Used cars for sale by hundreds of dealers at One Stop

Fifteen Truck drivers will blockade a Mack Trucks site this morning in protest of what they say is neglect from the manufacturer in maintaining their trucks.

The drivers from concrete company Rinker will block the road and entrance to Mack Trucks at Chipping Norton in south-west Sydney from 10am.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) says Mack has refused to continue repairing their vehicles after the warranties expired.

“Drivers have had to contend with serious mechanical issues, rendering their Trucks unsafe and not roadworthy unless fixed,” the union says.

Drivers say they will block access to the Mack facility until management agrees to negotiate.

The Jones County Board of Supervisors will advertise for the purchase of at least one new Garbage truck.

The board voted Monday morning, while meeting in Ellisville, to go out for bids after hearing a presentation on Mack trucks. The Mack representative offered the board a “guaranteed buyback” of trucks after two years. The 2009 Mack truck, or trucks, would be bought back at 64 percent of its original purchase price. A 20,000-mile a year limit on each truck would mean the board would pay 68 cents per mile over that figure.

“We have two Trucks that pay off this year, we need to buy three more Trucks and sell five,” said Charles Miller, county administrator.

The board voted to advertise for one or more Trucks and to add a buyback as a bid option.

Miller told supervisors it costs the county approximately $10.59 a month per household to collect garbage. He said the county charges $10 a month if a home owner pays by the year or $11 if paid by the month.

Supervisors agreed to accept the lowest of two quotes to purchase a surveillance system for the Jones County Tax Office, which also houses the district attorney’s office. The system would include four interior cameras and four exterior cameras. The lowest bid was from International Fire and Safety of Laurel, which recently installed similar systems at the Laurel police and fire departments. The system costs approximately $8,600, and could possibly be in place within 30 days.

The United States Air Force displayed Mack Trucks, Inc.’s innovative and fuel-saving hybrid technology at the Hybrid Truck User Forum (HTUF), September 19 to 21 in Seattle.

A Mack Granite® model Dump truck, built for the Air Force’s Advanced Power Technology Office (APTO) and currently stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, will be at the HTUF exhibition and ride and drive. “Hybrid systems can have a major impact on reducing the more than 38 billion gallons of diesel fuel the U.S. trucking industry consumes every year,” said Paul L. Vikner, president and CEO of Mack. “Mack’s research indicates that hybrid electric systems in Heavy-Duty Trucks could save as much as 35 percent of the fuel consumed by conventionally powered vehicles. Thanks to the support of the Air Force and Congress, we’ve already met many of the challenges involved in turning the hybrid concept into a reality in heavy-duty trucks.

Mack is proud to play a leading role in making these cleaner, quieter, fuel-efficient vehicles significant contributors to the prosperity of our customers — and our country — in the future.” The Mack hybrid electric powertrain features an integrated starter, alternator and motor referred to collectively as an electric machine. The electric machine assists the Granite vehicle’s Mack® MP7 diesel engine in providing torque to the wheels and regenerates energy during braking. This energy (stored in ultracapacitors) is then used in place of diesel fuel. This technology provides the maximum fuel savings on routes with frequent braking and accelerations, particularly refuse collection and urban delivery, as well as certain construction applications.

Specifications for Mack Granite Hybrid Diesel Electric Truck Engine:

Type: Mack Model: MP7 — 365M, 11-liter turbocharged diesel, 365 horsepower at 1,500–1,900 rpm

Electric Machine:

Type: Permanent Magnet; Synchronous Motor Power: 161-horsepower peak; 94-horsepower continuous

Torque: 590 pound-feet peak; 295 pound-feet continuous

Energy Storage:

Type: Ultracapacitors, Usable Energy: 582 watts, Voltage: 300 volts to 725 volts DC

Transmission:

Type: 12-speed automated manual