Now that the Hummer -- the original Hummer H1 -- is distinctly out of flavor, the U.S. armed services are busy looking for its replacement. Having put out a request for proposals, one of the supposed leading candidates is this: a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle developed by Navistar and BAE Systems, Inc, a British defense industry firm. The two together already provide the H1's temporary replacement, the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.
The Mad Max monstrosity has the same track as the H1, but that's about all they have in common. Built of many off-the-shelf components from Navistar's parts bin, the truck's modular build configuration makes an easier job of modifying it for different missions and repairing. It's shaped to disperse charges from roadside bombs, the armor is an inch thick, it has a flat floor to allow exit from either side of the vehicle, and it can escape a battle without a wheel and without engine cooling. Not bad. Follow the link to get the full specs on the military's potential new charge. But if they want something even more brutish, they could always go for this.
You may also remember that the producer of the original H1, AM General, is also working on its own candidate for the next Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which we've yet to see.
Ford and Navistar are once again going to court over the automaker's plans to develop a 4.4L diesel engine inhouse for the F-150. The original lawsuit was thrown out last June, with the judge ordering the two corporations to iron out their differences in mediation. Since no progress has been made outside the legal system, Navistar has refiled its claim. In the suit, Navistar is claiming the light-duty diesel engine violates the agreement once made between the two companies, which states that Navistar be Ford's primary supplier of oil burners. Navistar is also alleging that the 4.4L diesel that Ford's currently developing is in fact International's 4.4L Lion V8 project that cost Navistar $11 million to develop. It's hard to pinpoint how or why Navistar is so sure Ford is using the Lion project 4.4L, considering that the supplier has received no official specs of the engine from Ford.
We're not exactly Dr. Phil, but it appears that Navistar has a bone to pick with Ford. Considering the fact that Ford isn't using its long-time supplier to develop and produce its light-duty diesel engine, the Dearborn, MI automaker is none too pleased with Navistar, either. We think the judge should order Navistar's fugly new International Lonestar to take on a pair of F-450s in a concrete cage match – the winner gets the contract for the F-150 diesel engine.
You may recall that Navistar supplies Ford with diesel engines for its Super Duty trucks. You may also recall that the last two diesel engines used in Ford's Super Duty pickups (the current 6.4L Power Stroke and last generation's 6.0L) have had some quality problems. The 6.0L Power Stroke was known for problems stemming from defective fuel injectors, while the newer 6.4L has had one recall related to high exhaust temperatures that could ignite diesel fuel in the particulate filter, causing an impressive light show out the tailpipe. Because of their strained relationship on account of these engines, Ford and Navistar are likely to part ways in the near future.
So what do you do when your biggest client dumps you? You walk across town and strike a deal with its competitor. General Motors announced this morning that it has entered into a "non-binding memorandum of understanding" (read: gentleman's handshake) with International Truck and Engine Corporation to sell its medium-duty truck business to the Navistar owned-and-operated subsidiary. Thus, Navistar will eventually take over building and selling the GMC TopKick and Chevy Kodiak trucks. That's right, while Ironhide will remain a GMC vehicle, he'll no longer be owned by GM.
To be fair, Navistar was undoubtedly forced to produce the last two Power Stroke diesels for Ford in a hurry to meet rising emissions standards, which likely contributed to the problems that both engines have had. Apparently that doesn't bother GM, as we expect the TopKick and Kodiak will likely eschew their Duramax turbodiesels for International diesel engines after the deal is done.
All indications are that Ford will be dumping the Navistar diesels it's used in its Super Duty pickups almost forever in favor of an in-house-developed diesel sometime around the end of the decade. Apparently undaunted by the quality issues that Ford has repeatedly experienced with the Navistar engines, Nissan appears ready to step into the breach and pick up the supply for the Titan pickup.
Since it appears that Nissan won't be developing a heavy duty version of the Titan, it's not clear at this point if it will use the current 6.4L V-8 that Ford uses or the smaller engine that Navistar had developed for the light-duty Fords. Most likely it will be the latter engine, and it may be available for 2009. Nissan, as expected, won't comment on future products -- except when they do (they previously announced a diesel Maxima for 2010).
[Source: Pickuptruck.com]
UPDATE: Mike Levine at Pickuptruck.com spoke with Nissan spokesperson John Schilling who told him, "We haven't announced anything about a diesel engine for the Titan. This news is speculation at this point, but we are continuing to study this technology for potential future use. The only vehicle we've said that will have a diesel engine is the Maxima in 2010."
Wow, talk about a strained relationship! With so much money passing hands between Ford and Navistar, you might think they would find a way to negotiate a deal regarding their diesel engine partnership(s). You would be right, assuming you think that starting yet another lawsuit is a way to patch things up. That's right... another lawsuit. This one is still about diesel truck engines, but instead of the large 6.4 liter Power Stroke, this one cites a smaller 4.4-liter diesel engine slated for the F-150 truck in 2009 or 2010. Navistar has been Ford's long-time supplier of diesel engines that carry the "Power Stroke" moniker for Ford, and Navistar is claiming that if Ford goes to market with the 4.4-liter engine, it would constitute a breach of contract. At this point, it seems unclear whether Navistar is claiming to have designed the engine in question, or if it believes it had a contract to do so, but either way, things could get even messier between the two companies.
[Source: Automotive News (sub. req'd) via AutoblogGreen]
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.
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.
This video of a 2008 Ford Super Duty pickup shooting flames from its tailpipes surfaced last week over at forddoctorsdts.com, a forum only open to registered Ford diesel technicians. It made its way to some other forums before finally popping up on more mainstream sites today. Literally nothing is known for sure about the video, like who uploaded it, whether or not the truck spewing flames is one of the three Ford refers to in its recall notice, or even if the light show is the result of leaky injectors or a cracked turbo, the two issues that supposedly prompted the recall of all 2008 Ford Super Dutys equipped with the new 6.4L Power Stroke diesel in the first place.
What we do know is that it's pretty shocking to watch a truck throwing flames in idle, even more so when it's revved. We think it's important to be clear about what may be causing this and why Ford issued the recall in the first place. Fortunately, the purveyor of forddoctorsdts.com published a very clear, concise explanation of why the recall was issued and what may be going on in this video.
See the video and continue reading our account of this hot situation after the jump.
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.
If you listen closely enough, you can hear the gargantuan "Whew!!!" from the glass house on Michigan Ave. Oakland County, Mich., Judge John McDonald has ordered International Truck and Engine to resume shipment of the 6.4L Power Stroke diesel engine that powers the uber-important Ford Super Duty pickup.
This whole mess started when Ford began debiting International's invoices to the tune of $125 million to help pay for expensive warranty costs incurred repairing the notoriously problematic last-gen 6.0L Power Stroke. As it turns out, Ford spent an estimated $1 billion on warranty costs due to a faulty fuel system on these engines supplied by International. For its part, International disputes the $1 billion figure and has refused to help foot the bill. Ford took action by filing a law suit and International retaliated by stopping production of the new 6.4L Power Stroke, which has resulted in the loss of 4,000 units of Ford's most profitable vehicle.
The temporary agreement calls for Ford to stop debiting International's invoices and actually pay the company. In return, the diesel engine supplier will resume shipments of the new 6.4L Power Stroke. The judge also ordered both sides to continue meeting in order to come up with a final solution, but that won't be easy since there's a lot bad blood between these two companies now. We don't know who's right in this case, but we do know this fire will likely flare up again.
Ford and Navistar are 
Wow, talk about a strained relationship! With 
This video of a 2008 Ford Super Duty pickup shooting flames from its tailpipes surfaced last week over at 
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