Freightliner has announced that it has initiated the build of Environmental Protection Agency 2007 emissions-certified heavy-duty Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines. Series 60 engines compliant with the new regulations emit 95 percent less particulate matter and 50 percent less nitrogen oxide than comparable engines in 2006, the company says.
“These engines pass the ‘white handkerchief test,’ where a white hanky placed over the exhaust pipes of the running truck shows there is no soot or odor emitted,” says Tim Tindall, director of sales for Portland, Ore.-based Freightliner. “They also demonstrate Freightliner and Detroit Diesel’s commitment to clean air and environmental progress.”
Freightliner says it has made a significant investment in the innovation of this new technology in its Detroit Diesel engines, including extensive validation with laboratory and field testing. Since the inception of the development program in 2004, Series 60 engines that are EPA ’07 compliant have accumulated more than 14 million equivalent miles, with 2.5 million of those miles in actual customer vehicles executing revenue service.
“This is the most thoroughly tested engine and vehicle combination that Freightliner LLC has ever released,” Tindall says. The engine and aftertreatment technology developed for Detroit Diesel engines — in conjunction with the newer 15 ppm ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel spearheaded by the EPA — provides exceptional, world-class performance in reducing diesel emissions, according to Freightliner.
Effective Dec. 29, Freightliner’s Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Mich., began building engines for some of Freightliner’s largest customers. These first ’07 emissions-certified engines will be installed in vehicles at Freightliner’s truck plants in Cleveland, N.C., Portland and St. Thomas, Ontario, beginning today, Jan. 8, with initial customer deliveries planned before the end of January.
“The truck plants have already built a significant number of trucks with pre-production engines, and we are more than ready to begin full production of EPA 2007 emissions-certified engines,” says Larry Dutko, general manager of EPA 2007 activities for Freightliner.
Officials from the EPA joined Freightliner in recognizing the significance of this achievement. “It’s an exciting, historic milestone to see clean diesel engines reach the market,” says Margo Oge, director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. “Americans will benefit enormously from the environmental and public health successes of our clean diesel programs. All of those involved in diesel’s transformation can be proud of contributing to a more sustainable transportation sector.”
