If you’ve been following the news, VW is buying a quarter of Navistar, builder of International trucks… That officially makes them ‘an item”, and engagement and eventually marriage is expected soon. Nothing new for International, who’s been “sleeping around” since they went all but bankrupt in the 80s. Let me check the “little black book”… International was shacking up with DAF first, then got kicked out and the whole deal fell apart before they could even badge engineer and federalize a cabover for us ‘mericans. That was followed by one night stands with FIAT’s IVECO and Nissan, then a long term relationship with Ford that went as far as assembling Ford trucks as well as diesels for Ford. After that relationship soured and Uncle Sugar quit buying half million dollar armored SUVs to get blown up in the middle east, International had a fling with MAN that led to the birth of a 13 liter engine, which International then misdiapered and damn near lost custody of the whole company when the EPA caught up with them. VW bought MAN and Scania too, while newly outa bankruptcy GM decided to get back into the medium truck biz. So while rumors of a VW proposal to International swirl, International hops in bed with GM and forms a relationship to assemble said medium trucks for GM. Then VW comes up with some hard cash, and suddenly this is “serious”.

So promises are made: VW will give International their next generation engine design and the aforementioned dowry. International will… Print up a bunch more stock certificates and give them to VW. All will be sweetness and light, and unicorns will grace the hoods of future Internationals. Heck, this morning I even heard rumor that International will be selling VW’s medium cabover trucks.

But like a certain infamous presidential candidate, International just doesn’t seem cut out for monogamy. With the principals barely sobered up from the party with VW, International jetted off to Australia and announced an affair with IVECO to market International trucks through IVECO dealers, while Cat reassured all that their “arrangement” where International supplied Cat with badge engineered trucks for Australia was still alive.

As an admirer of VW with custody of a few of their prodigy I was thrilled by the news of the relationship and hopefully marriage. And heck, with a couple International dealers closer than the nearest VW dealer, I’d love to be able to buy VW parts closer to home. And if a medium cabover is reputedly coming to International showrooms already, and doesn’t VW have a new 3 row SUV coming online at the Chattanooga Plant? And as long as they’re going to be Ro-Ro shipping them medium cabovers up from Brazil, why not fill out some of the gaps in the load plan with some of them neat little VW compact pickups?

That rumor came and disappeared in just a few of the last 24 hours. Like VW, I’ve been jilted again. And while VW may have anticipated International’s slutty ways in the pre-nups, good luck collecting in bankruptcy court. I sure as heck won’t be fangrrrling around the International dealers waiting for a 21st century Scout or Travellall…