Cummins Confidential Comeback : Since We’ve Been Gone - The Cummins Accountability Project

We take a short TCAP break and Cummins immediately starts pumping the newsroom like a panicked bastard trying to Febreze a corpse. Eight drops between 17 and 25 February 2026. Recalls. Dealer worship. People Story fairy dust. Fracking tech dressed up as innovation. Component porn for the next round of heavy-duty misery. Even an X return!

We’re not giving them an extended stretch of free propaganda. Not a fucking chance. We’re doing what we always do: read the glossy guff, peel it back, and leave the fingerprints where everyone can see them.

The Return To X: Look Who Crawled Out

The timing is cute. You announce a hiatus and suddenly Cummins remembers it has a mouth. Not to answer anything meaningful, obviously. Just to reappear, look alive, and keep the content conveyor belt moving.

It’s the corporate version of waving from behind the curtains so the audience thinks the show is still on. Same old play. Same old stench. Different day.

Recall 67A: Paying You To Do Their Dirty Work

Cummins announces an incentive for Emissions Recall 67A on eligible 2013–2018 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks. It’s a simple software update, takes less than an hour, no parts, no hardware. They even promise it does not change power torque or responsiveness. Convenient, isn’t it.

Then comes the punchline. They’ll give you $500 on a prepaid Mastercard after you get the recall done. And if you’re one of the first 750 to complete it by 31 March you get $1,000. A little prize for being quick to help them meet federal requirements and protect “long-term vehicle performance”.

Read that again. They are paying their customers to show up and let Cummins tidy up its own mess.

That is not “customer support”. That is a bribe with a smile sticker on it.

If you own one of these trucks, take the money if you want. I’m not your mum. But don’t kid yourself this is charity. It’s a company slipping you cash so you’ll quietly do what you should have demanded without being paid: proper accountability, properly explained, without the glossy wank.

Devall Diesel: Dealer Praise Masquerading As Journalism

Next up is an “interview” with Devall Diesel Services at Workboat 2025. Thirty years as an independent Cummins marine dealer, wrapped inside a wider Southern Devall legacy, and name-checked for operating more than 60 Cummins-powered vessels along 11,000 miles of inland rivers.

They quote the general manager saying the engines are “easy to work on” and “very dependable”. Of course he did. His livelihood is stapled to the badge.

This is classic Cummins comfort food: partner says Cummins is great, Cummins publishes it, everyone pretends it’s independent validation. It’s not. It’s a brochure with a heartbeat.

Temi And The Sustainability Costume Department

Then we get the People Story. The emotional sponge. The polished face. The corporate bedtime story for gullible readers who want to believe the diesel giant is “changing”.

Cummins introduces Temiloluwa (Temi) A as an Environmental Compliance Engineer and tells us progress is driven by people with “intention curiosity and care”. They mention her work turning complex environmental requirements into meaningful impact. They also highlight her role on the Community Impact team of the Cummins Black Network supporting education equity opportunity and STEM pathways.

None of that is an attack on Temi. It’s an attack on Cummins using Temi.

Because this is how the machine launders itself. Find a smart person with a clean narrative arc. Wrap them in the word “sustainable”. Let their credibility take a beating while the core business keeps doing what it does best: selling the hardware that keeps the air thick and the excuses thicker.

It’s diversity theatre with a climate filter. And it’s fucking shameless.

QSK60: Poetry For Gridless Plunder

Cummins then decides to write like it’s auditioning for a short story prize. They ask what happens in wild gridless places where “stores of wealth and promise” lie buried under an “endless dearth of final energy”.

Then they declare the QSK60 Series is the answer.

Of course it is. The “wealth” is oil gas mining. The “promise” is somebody else’s shareholder return. The “answer” is more combustion delivered with a straight face and a lyrical paragraph.

They offer two configurations. A fast-starting multi-turbo model for remote applications, and a single-turbo model that prioritises fuel efficiency while delivering primary power wherever you need it.

A cleaner way to keep doing the same dirty thing. That’s the whole brand.

Careers Content: Recruitment Porn With A Safety Helmet

Now we get two flavours of HR syrup.

First, Cory Bettenhausen. A career “fuelled by determination”. Joined at 19 as an intern through a school-to-work programme. Two years in the shop. Now a Service Supervisor. His advice includes being coachable, pushing forward, and reading The War of Art to embrace discomfort.

Great. Determination. The cleanest fuel on earth. Maybe Cummins should bottle it and stop selling engines altogether. Problem solved.

Second, a “day in the life” manufacturing careers piece that reads like a brochure trying to seduce teenagers into a lifetime of shift work. Assemblers start with safety checks, then assemble engines fuel cells or hybrid powertrains. Quality control specialists prevent defects that could cause harm. Career ladder. Teamwork. Purpose.

It’s all very wholesome until you remember what the output is. You’re not building dreams. You’re building the machines that keep the burn going, dressed up in corporate virtue and safety acronyms.

Willy Workhorse would be proud. He’d also probably be on a wellbeing call with a laminated smile.

Natural Gas Fracking: The Green Halo Over A Drill Bit

Here’s the one that deserves the loudest “are you taking the piss”.

Cummins announces field validation of its HSK78G natural gas variable speed technology for hydraulic fracturing. More than 10,000 hours across test cells and frac field operations. They say it’s designed to lower fleet emissions while balancing fuel efficiency and EPA Mobile Off-Highway Tier 2 compliance. They’re aiming for EPA certification in Q2 2026.

Then they crown themselves as the industry’s first and only variable-speed large-displacement natural gas engine tailored for hydraulic fracturing.

So yes. Cummins is bragging about making fracking better.

Not stopping it. Not questioning it. Not pivoting away from it. Just optimising the planet-cracking business model and calling it progress.

If you ever wanted a single paragraph that captures modern corporate climate bullshit, frame that one and hang it in the lobby.

Drivetrain Components: Making The Grind Smoother

Finally, we get the component design piece for part-time all-wheel drive trucks, aimed at the practical world of utility fleets and vocational rigs.

The Meritor MTC-4200 transfer case gets an all-new aluminium housing for better heat loss and less weight, plus an internal baffle system to cut oil churn and heat generation, often eliminating the need for an auxiliary oil cooler.

Then the Meritor MX-810 axle appears with a right-hand offset bowl to help packaging, routing, and upfitter flexibility, without compromising strength or durability.

It’s clever engineering. It’s also the same story: refine the machinery so the work keeps moving, the fleets keep running, the industries keep chewing through fuel and infrastructure, and Cummins keeps getting paid while playing innocent.

Since We’ve Been Gone: The Whole Point

This is Cummins in miniature.

Pay customers to comply with a recall. Publish partner praise as if it’s news. Use a People Story to perfume the brand. Romanticise gridless extraction. Sell careers as purpose. Make fracking “cleaner”. Optimise drivetrain guts so the grind continues with fewer headaches.

Then pop back up on X like nothing happened.

We’re back too.

And we’re not here to clap at the corporate parade. We’re here to keep dragging the spotlight onto the rot until somebody in Columbus decides this is costing more than it’s worth.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project