Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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INBRIEF new Class 5 195 and 195h COE trucks will be arriving at Hino dealerships across the country this fall. Available with a diesel (195) or diesel-electric hybrid (195h) powertrain, the 19,500-lb. GVW trucks feature 210 horse- power and 440 lb.-ft. of torque. vocational product line now is avail- able with a wide range of split-shaft power take-off options, suited for customers operating specialized equipment that frequently requires a PTO installed rearward of the transmission. Peterbilt also announced Bendix air disc front brakes are available on Models 382 and 348. now offers instructor-led training courses in addition to the more than 100 online courses currently available through Meritor BullPen. Several new in-depth and hands-on classes now are available for those interested in learning the specifics about Meritor' products and services. s diverse range of announced its transmissions are the exclusive offering in Freightliner' s natural gas vehicles. Al- lison also announced its investment in a noncontrolling eq- uity stake in Odyne Systems, a manufacturer of advanced hybrid control systems; terms were not announced. and started production of their respective I-Shift and mDrive automated transmissions at their powertrain facility in Hagerstown, Md. Mack also unveiled a suite of driver-focused enhancements for its Pinnacle highway tractor models designed to improve comfort and productivity. announced that the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency is utilizing its commercial truck tire casing to establish a SmartWay verification program for retreaded tires used on Class 8 linehaul trucks. started producing brake disc pads for the off-highway market at its manufacturing facility in Prattville, Ala. – the first time the company has manufac- tured products for the off-highway market in the United States. opened two new aftermarket distribution centers in Toluca, Mexico, and Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, to increase product availability, improve delivery times and provide additional support. 36 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2012 Navistar devises post-EGR plan, looks toward the future Company talks new engine strategy, restoring confidence, profitability BY JACK ROBERTS N avistar says it is hitting the "reset" button. After years spent develop- ing and marketing its own engine platform, a series of negative turns this year resulted in an about-face on Navistar's engine tech- nology and a nosedive in its stock price. Now, executives say, they are charging ahead with a new engine strategy and a plan to restore customers' and investors' confidence in Navistar's products and return the company to profitability. "We really feel like our competitors are telling our story instead of us, and we want to change that," said Jack Allen, North American Truck Group president for Navistar, during a meeting last month at Navistar's headquarters in Lisle, Ill., with editors from Randall-Reilly Publishing Co., owner of CCJ and Overdrive magazines. Allen said the controversial push to meet 2010 emissions standards using an exhaust gas recirculation-only engine, as opposed to one using selective catalytic reduction, was rooted in the pride Navistar takes in understanding its custom- ers. "More than 9,000 fleets went out of business during the economic crash, while government regulations such as HOS (hours of service), CSA (Compliance Safety Accountability) as well as rising fuel prices have created big challenges for them," he explained. "We really thought an engine without SCR would be a big help to them." Every other diesel engine manufacturer ruled out an EGR- only engine as impractical for meeting 2010 standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But Allen said Navistar felt their engineers could develop one, which would give the company a huge advantage for years. "So we started early back in 2000 building engines that al- lowed us to stockpile credits because we knew we'd have a race Continued on page 38