| **Segment Reporting (Tables)**                                           | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
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| **Segment Reporting [Abstract]**                                         |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| Schedule of selected financial information, by segment                   | (in millions)Truck(A) Engine Parts(A) FinancialServices(B) CorporateandEliminations TotalYear Ended October 31, 2012           External sales and revenues, net$9,034 $1,755 $1,991 $168 $— $12,948Intersegment sales and revenues35 1,639 128 91 (1,893) —Total sales and revenues, net$9,069 $3,394 $2,119 $259 $(1,893) $12,948Net income (loss) attributable to NIC$(320) $(562) $240 $91 $(2,459) $(3,010)Income tax expense— — — — (1,780) (1,780)Segment profit (loss)$(320) $(562) $240 $91 $(679) $(1,230)Depreciation and amortization$140 $118 $10 $33 $22 $323Interest expense— — — 88 171 259Equity in income (loss) of non-consolidated affiliates(28) (7) 6 — — (29)Capital expenditures(C)75 148 21 3 62 309As of October 31, 2012           Segment assets$2,118 $1,777 $707 $2,563 $1,937 $9,102(in millions)Truck(A) Engine Parts(A) FinancialServices(B) CorporateandEliminations TotalYear Ended October 31, 2011           External sales and revenues, net$9,690 $2,101 $1,967 $200 $— $13,958Intersegment sales and revenues48 1,690 188 91 (2,017) —Total sales and revenues, net$9,738 $3,791 $2,155 $291 $(2,017) $13,958Net income attributable to NIC$336 $84 $287 $129 $887 $1,723Income tax benefit— — — — 1,458 1,458Segment profit (loss)$336 $84 $287 $129 $(571) $265Depreciation and amortization$151 $120 $9 $28 $20 $328Interest expense— — — 109 138 247Equity in income (loss) of non-consolidated affiliates(73) (4) 6 — — (71)Capital expenditures(C)83 172 19 2 153 429As of October 31, 2011           Segment assets$2,771 $1,849 $700 $3,580 $3,391 $12,291Year Ended October 31, 2010           External sales and revenues, net$8,205 $2,031 $1,690 $219 $— $12,145Intersegment sales and revenues2 955 195 90 (1,242) —Total sales and revenues, net$8,207 $2,986 $1,885 $309 $(1,242) $12,145Net income (loss) attributable to NIC$424 $51 $266 $95 $(613) $223Income tax expense— — — — (23) (23)Segment profit (loss)$424 $51 $266 $95 $(590) $246Depreciation and amortization$160 $106 $7 $28 $15 $316Interest expense— — — 113 140 253Equity in income (loss) of non-consolidated affiliates(51) (2) 3 — — (50)Capital expenditures(C)82 116 8 2 26 234As of October 31, 2010           Segment assets$2,457 $1,715 $811 $3,497 $1,250 $9,730_________________________(A)See Note 2, Restructurings and Impairments, for further discussion.(B)Total sales and revenues in the Financial Services segment include interest revenues of $254 million, $285 million, and $270 million for 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.(C)Exclusive of purchases of equipment leased to others. |
| Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated [Table Text Block] | Information concerning principal geographic areas for the years ended October 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 is as follows: (in millions)2012 2011 2010Sales and revenues:     United States9,075 9,646 8,847Canada949 1,071 1,006Mexico728 1,002 490Brazil1,066 1,190 961Other1,130 1,049 841(in millions)2012 2011Long-lived assets:(A)   United States1,519 1,340Canada28 83Mexico94 152Brazil445 519Other25 29__________________________(A)Long-lived assets consist of Property and equipment, net, Goodwill, and Intangible assets, net.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of all significant reconciling items in the reconciliation of total assets from reportable segments to the entity's consolidated assets.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the profit or loss and total assets for each reportable segment. An entity discloses certain information on each reportable segment if the amounts (a) are included in the measure of segment profit or loss reviewed by the chief operating decision maker or (b) are otherwise regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker, even if not included in that measure of segment profit or loss.
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