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In a move billed as potentially assisting Navistar with "life after Ford," the company is talking to GM about buying the General's medium-duty truck unit. Navistar already makes trucks and engines, and talks are only just beginning, but buying the GM unit would allow it to enlarge its market share and remove a competitor. Navistar, if you'll remember, is locked in a legal tussle with Ford to the tune of $2 billion. Navistar says that Ford is looking at introducing its own engines before 2012, in breach of contract; Ford says it's paying far too much for Navistar's 6-liter PowerStroke Super Duty engine issues.

Were GM to sell its medium-duty truck unit, assuming the price were right, GM would shed a non-core division, make a profit, and be able to focus on making cars. GM's medium-duty trucks are sold as the Chevy Kodiak, GM Topkick (aka "Ironhide"), and Isuzu T-Series, which together account for almost 12% of the medium-duty truck market. And apparently the medium-duties aren't the only ones on the block: GM is in talks to let Allison Transmissions go as well.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

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Ford has not been having much luck with the 6.4-liter diesel engines for its Super Duty trucks of late. In the latest twist of a saga that began in January, Navistar, the company that makes those engines, had added additional charges to its $2 billion counter-suit against Ford.

Navistar has been the exclusive maker of Ford's Super Duty diesel truck engines since 1979. In January of this year, Ford sued Navistar over the price of the engine and excessive warranty claims. In February, Navistar halted shipments of the just launched 6.4-liter engines, saying Ford had stopped paying for them. Ford got a court order to compel Navistar to ship the engines (which Ford paid for) -- then Ford had to recall more than 8,000 trucks because customers were reporting tailpipe fires. Navistar has now filed a counterclaim that seeks more than $2 billion in damages, and alleges that Ford is planning to develop its own diesel engines prior to 2012. There is no indication as to which party, Ford or Navistar, has a better case. For now, though, while the engine issues can't be good for Navistar, it is far more damaging for Ford to have to deal with these kinds of problems with its newly-launched bread-and-butter vehicle.

[Source: Automotive News]

After recent disagreements with engine supplier Navistar, as well as dealing with Super Dutys that perform roman candle impressions, Ford is accelerating development of a new diesel engine for its burliest of pickups. Ford and Navistar played chicken earlier this year over warranty costs for the older 6-liter Powerstroke V8. That engine had a high number of issues that led to Ford covering repair costs. Ford in turn sued Navistar, the engine supplier, and held back payments for the new 6.4-liter Powerstroke in an effort to recoup some of their expense. Navistar decided they'd have none of it, and shut down engine production, slowing Super Duty production until a court order got the engines flowing again.

This acrimony has spurred Ford to come up with an alternative to Navistar engines in one of its most pivotal vehicles. The diesel and its muscle-bound tow rating attract plenty of buyers, and the Super Duty is at the top of the Ford Truck food chain, so problems here look bad. If your work truck doesn't work, you're in trouble. Ford can't afford to lose the profits from the Super Duty, nor can it accept tarnishing the image of the iconic F-Series trucks, so the Dearborn team is on it in the interest of exorcising Navistar powerplants from the engine bay and keeping that customer cash flowing.

[Source: AutoObserver]