Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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Navistar last month started shipping its first International TerraStar 4×4 units – one of the company's newest additions to its Class 4-8 product portfolio. Navistar continues turnaround efforts Company releases SCR-based MaxxForce 13, names new president By JACK ROBERTS N avistar's concerted effort to erase the bad memories of its ill-fated exhaust gas recirculation strategy met a major milestone last month when the company released a selective catalytic reduction-equipped version of its MaxxForce 13 diesel engine. The revamped MaxxForce gives International customers a 13-liter power option in addition to the Cummins ISX15, which has been available since January. International's partnership with Cummins also reaches to the MaxxForce 13, with Cummins Filtration aftertreatment systems combined with Navistar's in-cylinder emissions technology to convert the engine's exhaust emissions levels down to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2010 standard of 0.2 grams per brake horsepower unit. At a press briefing last month in Lisle, Ill., Troy Clarke, Navistar chief executive officer, made the case for both the MaxxForce 13 and the aggressive steps the company 28 is taking to put the EGR controversy firmly behind it. Clarke said that Navistar was 80 percent through its SCR adoption program and expected to have the remaining 20 percent of models completed by August. "We are excited to be back in the market with an even bigger portfolio than we had this time last year," Clarke said. "The ISX is back in International trucks. We've got a great 15-liter option and now a great 13-liter option as well. Our fuel economy numbers are strong with both of these engines, and we feel like that trend will improve. All of this is very encouraging to us. We feel we're doing the right things for our customers and that we'll earn our way back into their fleets one relationship at a time." Beyond the addition of the Cummins aftertreatment system, the basic MaxxForce 13 design largely is unchanged from its EGR inception and currently is available in International's flagship ProStar Plus models. During a long test drive south of Chicago last month, I was able to gauge for myself how the revamped MaxxForce 13 acquitted itself in a range of road conditions, from jam-packed interstates to lonely Illinois backroads. The first thing I noticed was that the engine seems to have more pep than its EGR predecessor – an impression confirmed by the International engineers riding along with me. Thanks to the dialed-back EGR, there's less smoke going into the combustion chamber and The revamped MaxxForce gives customers a 13-liter power option in addition to the Cummins ISX15. commercial carrier journal | july 2013 0713_Equipdept_Jack.indd 28 6/19/13 1:56 PM