October 5, 2016 Vol. 13 No. 20

Honestly, I don’t know where to begin. Last time out I promised a full report on the IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Germany, including a meeting with Andreas Renschler, head of Volkswagen Truck and Bus, along with Navistar president and CEO Troy Clarke.  

I’ll get to that in a moment and one of the few news bits of consuming interest to North Americans.

My embarrassment of journalistic riches arises because so much has been happening on this side of the pond in the week-and-a-half since I returned from Deutschland.

We’ve seen the new LT truck launched by Navistar, the introduction of that company’s International CatalIST SuperTruck, a similar machine from Volvo, and all manner of news on the connectivity front and digital trucking in general. Goodbye, analog world, as if we hadn’t said that before.

I don’t have time — nor the space — to cover it all, but let’s start with Navistar.

INTERNATIONAL’S NEW FLAGSHIP is the LT Series with its focus on both driver-friendly improvements and what the company calls “unrivaled fuel efficiency.” Think 7% better.

It will gradually replace the ProStar that was first unveiled in 2006. Versions with Cummins engines will be replaced at the end of this year, while the proprietary N13 engine will replace the remainder by April. Orders begin today, and production starts in late November.