| **Postretirement Benefits**                           | 9 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 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| **Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]** | Â                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       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| Postretirement Benefits                               | Postretirement benefitsDefined Benefit PlansFor the three and nine months ended July 31, 2011, we contributed $28 million and $80 million, respectively, and for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2010, we contributed $37 million and $84 million, respectively, to our pension plans to meet regulatory minimum funding requirements. We currently anticipate additional contributions of approximately $53 million during the remainder of 2011.Other post-employment benefit (“OPEB”) obligations, such as retiree medical, are generally funded in accordance with a 1993 restructured health and life legal settlement (the “1993 Settlement Agreement”), which requires us to fund a portion of the plans’ annual service cost. Contributions for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2011 and 2010, and anticipated contributions for the remainder of 2011, are not material. In the first quarter of 2011, the Company incurred a charge of $5 million due to a plan curtailment and contractual termination benefits related to restructuring activities at the Fort Wayne facility, as discussed in Note 2, Restructurings and impairments. The plan curtailment also resulted in a plan remeasurement at December 31, 2010. The discount rate used to measure the pension benefit obligation at December 31, 2010 was 5.0% compared to the October 31, 2010 discount rate of 4.9%. All other significant assumptions remained unchanged from the October 31, 2010 measurement date. Actuarial gains for the two months ended December 31, 2010 of $44 million, primarily due to favorable asset returns, were recognized as a credit to equity as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss. As discussed in Note 2, Restructurings and impairments, the Company committed to close its Chatham, Ontario plant. During the third quarter of 2011, the plant closure resulted in a pension curtailment gain of $8 million that was recognized as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss and contractual termination charges of $35 million. The closure also resulted in an OPEB charge of $13 million during the third quarter of 2011 representing a plan curtailment and related contractual termination benefits. The pension plan curtailment resulted in a plan remeasurement at July 31, 2011.  The discount rate used to measure the pension benefit obligation was 4.5% at July 31, 2011 compared to 5.0% at October 31, 2010. The OPEB plan curtailment resulted in a plan remeasurement at July 31, 2011.  The discount rate used to measure the OPEB obligation at July 31, 2011 was 5.3% compared to the October 31, 2010 discount rate of 5.4%. All other significant assumptions remained unchanged from the October 31, 2010 measurement date. As a result of the plan remeasurements, actuarial losses of $9 million for pension and actuarial gains for OPEB of $1 million were recognized as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss at July 31, 2011. The effects of the remeasurements will decrease net periodic postretirement cost by approximately $3 million for the remainder of 2011. The Company also incurred an OPEB charge of $4 million during the third quarter of 2011 due to an OPEB plan curtailment and contractual termination charges related to the closure of the Workhorse Union City plant. During 2010, the Company made an administrative change to the prescription drug program under the OPEB plan affecting plan participants who are Medicare eligible. The Company enrolled Medicare eligible plan participants who did not opt out into a Medicare Part D Plan. The OPEB plan now supplements the coverage provided by the Medicare Part D Plan. As a result of this change, for substantially all of the Medicare eligible participants, the Company is no longer eligible to receive the Medicare Part D subsidy that is available to sponsors of retiree healthcare plans that provide prescription drug benefits that are at least actuarially equivalent to Medicare Part D. The UAW filed a motion contesting our ability to implement this administrative change and the Company filed a complaint arguing that it has not received the consideration it was promised in the 1993 Settlement Agreement. See Note 12, Commitments and contingencies, for further discussion.Also during 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (“HCERA”), which amends certain aspects of the PPACA, were enacted. The impact of the PPACA and the HCERA was estimated and included in the measurement of the OPEB obligation. As regulations regarding implementation of the health care reform legislation are promulgated and additional guidance becomes available, our estimates may change.In addition, in the second quarter of 2010 the Company recognized a charge of $2 million which was primarily curtailment charges related to the retiree medical plan due to the planned terminations of certain salaried employees in conjunction with NFC's U.S. financing alliance with GE.The Company had previously committed to close its IEP and ICC locations resulting in a charge of $16 million during the first quarter of 2009 representing a plan curtailment and related contractual termination benefits. In July 2010, we reached an agreement with ICC employees represented by the UAW and are now continuing operations at ICC.  As a result, in the third quarter of 2010, we reversed $4 million of charges for pension and OPEB contractual termination benefits associated with the previously planned action.Components of Net Postretirement Benefits ExpenseNet postretirement benefits expense included in our Consolidated Statements of Operations is composed of the following:   Three Months Ended July 31, Nine Months Ended July 31,   PensionBenefits Health andLife InsuranceBenefits Pension Benefits Health andLife InsuranceBenefits   2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 (in millions)                 Service cost for benefits earned during the period $4 $4 $2 $2 $13 $13 $6 $6 Interest on obligation 47 51 13 19 141 152 40 62 Amortization of net cumulative losses 25 24 — 2 75 73 — 6 Amortization of prior service benefit 1 1 (7) (7) 1 1 (22) (12) Settlement and curtailments — 1 11 — 2 1 11 2 Contractual termination benefits 35 (2) 6 (2) 38 (2) 6 (2) Premiums on pension insurance — — — — 1 1 — — Expected return on assets (53) (48) (10) (10) (158) (144) (31) (30) Net postretirement benefits expense $59 $31 $15 $4 $113 $95 $10 $32 Defined Contribution Plans Defined contribution expense pursuant to our defined contribution plans was $7 million and $25 million for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2011, respectively, and  $7 million and $23 million for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2010, respectively.Other Contractual ArrangementsIn accordance with the 1993 restructured health care and life insurance plans, an independent Retiree Supplemental Benefit Trust (the “Trust”) was established. The Trust, and the benefits it provides to certain retirees, is not part of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The assets of the Trust arise from three sources: (i) the Company’s 1993 contribution to the Trust of 25.5 million shares of our Class B common stock, which was subsequently sold by the Trust prior to 2000,  (ii) contingent profit-sharing contributions made by the Company, and (iii) net investment gains on the Trust’s assets, if any.The Company’s contingent profit sharing obligations will continue until certain funding targets defined by the 1993 Settlement Agreement are met (“Profit Sharing Cessation”). Upon Profit Sharing Cessation, the Company would assume responsibility for (i) establishing the investment policy for the Trust, (ii) approving or disapproving of certain additional supplemental benefits to the extent such benefits would result in higher expenditures than those contemplated upon the Profit Sharing Cessation, and (iii) making additional contributions to the Trust as necessary to make up for investment and /or actuarial losses. For the three and nine months ended July 31, 2011, we have recorded no profit sharing accruals based on our estimate of 2011 results. |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for pension and other postretirement benefits.
+ References
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