Fleets & Fuels ShowTimes Green Truck Summit March 7 issue by Fetzer Group

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WORK TRUCK SHOW & GREEN TRUCK SUMMIT

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2012

Green Truck–Work Truck 2012 More News Content Published Online www.showtimesdaily.com

Via Leads with Verizon ‘This is a historic moment for America,’ said Via Motors CEO Kraig Higginson, who claimed commitments here yesterday for 20,000 of his new GM-based, extendedrange electric vans with fleets including Verizon, with deliveries of 2,700 this year. —Page 5

The 2012 Ride-and-Drive Vehicles ranging from battery electrics to diesels to deliver your pizza or trim your tree are here to take for a spin. —Pages 8-9

CNG Fords via Upfitters Firms including BAF, Landi Renzo USA, Venchurs, and Westport Innovations can modify your Ford for CNG. —Pages 10-11

FCCC for Factory Propane Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp roars back into propane-autogas with a factorybuilt S2G with 8.0-liter GM engine. One target market: propane dealers. —Page 12

Chrysler literally took the wraps off its long-awaited re-entry into natural gas vehicles in the U.S. here yesterday, showing a CNG-gasoline bi-fuel Ram pickup truck that’s 100% factory built. Full OEM assembly line manufacturing will reduce costs by some $6,000 compared with the competition, said Ram president Fred Diaz. ‘This is not a conversion,’ he said.

Chrysler Claims a First with CNG Ram Truck America’s only factory-built compressed natural gas bi-fuel pickup truck was unveiled here yesterday by Chrysler’s Ram Trucks. CNG vehicles from Ford and GM are delivered from the factory to converters – albeit with full OEM sanction and warranties – but the Ram CNG will be built on the production line by the manufacturer, said Fred Diaz, president and CEO of Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico. “This is not a conversion,” he stressed. This brings two benefits – a three-year/30,000 mile Chrysler warranty for the whole vehicle and fuel systems, and a savings on price of at least $6,000 that competitors incur for CNG conversions. The Ram 2500 HD CNG, available from July as a Crew Cab 4x4 model with 169-inch wheelbase, is priced at $47,500, including a $995 destination charge. A comparable conventional Ram is priced around $39,745. With a $3 difference between CNG and gasoline, a Ram owner will recoup the extra cost of the CNG vehicle in close to two years, Diaz said. The truck uses

gasoline only on start up, and if CNG is not available. The Ram CNG was engineered in collaboration with Chrysler’s major investor Fiat, which has an 80% market share in Europe’s clean vehicle market with more than half a million trucks and cars on the roads. Appealing to American patriotism, Diaz said the Ram CNG runs on domestic gas instead of imported oil “and is factory-built in North America for North America.” Diaz said the Ram CNG should prove popular with commercial and fleet operators, government agencies, and small businesses and contractors. Ram Truck is experiencing a boom in popularity, he noted, with 22 consecutive months of higher sales and a 21% increase in 2011. Chrysler Ram is at Booth 1003 and a new CNG Ram is in the Green Truck ride-and-drive. —See Pages 8-9

More from the Green Truck Summit CNG, propane, truck electrification from CalstartNTEA Green Truck Summit here. —Page 6

Leave a greener footprint.

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cleaner, greener, and more responsibly. By making the transition to Eaton’s hybrid power systems, ﬂeets can reduce their overall operating costs and emissions while dramatically improving fuel efﬁciency. It’s a decision that’s as economical as it is ecological. Learn more at eaton.com/hybrid or call the Roadranger helpline at ®

1-800-826-HELP[4357].

AireDock (3885)

Freightliner Trucks (3859)

National Truck Equipment Association (3401)

Allison Transmission Inc (4275)

Frygy Cube International (808)

Altec Industries (2215,5269)

General Services Administration Automotive (5077)

Peterbilt Motors Company (2125)

AT&T (5868)

Go Power! by Carmanah Technologies Corp (5177)

Propane Education & Research Council (5191)

BAE Systems (5359)

Greater Indiana Clean Cities (3607)

Protean Electric Inc (5371)

Bauer Compressors Inc (715)

Green Alternative Systems (5958)

RAD Woodwork Co Inc (5869)

Bergstrom Inc (5277)

GreenRoad Technologies (5749)

RAM Trucks (1003)

Bosch Rexroth Corp (4181)

Hamsar Diversco Inc (5364)

Reading Truck Body LLC (3527,5380)

BrandFX Body Co (3519)

Henderson Products Inc (4045)

Brenntag (5473)

Hino Trucks (4139)

C.E. Niehoff & Co (826)

IMPCO Automotive (5465)

Roadranger-Eaton Corp & Dana Holding Corp (3511)

CALSTART (5261)

International Truck (4359)

Robert Bosch LLC (3985)

Odyne (5360)

ANGI Energy Systems (5574)

Remy Inc (5475)

There are green truck options across the entirety of Work Truck Show 2012. Enjoy, and Learn!

A Field of Green ROUSH CleanTech (5098)

Chevrolet & GMC Commercial Truck (1829)

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America Inc (4747)

US DOE Clean Cities (3605)

Jasper Engines & Transmissions (623)

Rumber Materials Inc (5275)

Kenworth Truck Co (3039)

Ryder Vehicle Sales (5848)

Cummins Crosspoint LLC (5173) Cummins Inc (2101)

Knapheide Manufacturing Co (3739)

Siemens Industry Inc (618)

Daimler Vans USA LLC (3565)

Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products (1817,3249)

Smart Power Systems (5576)

RSC Bio Soluitons (5860)

CPI Divisions (5971)

Smith Electric Vehicles (4187)

D-Brake LLC (2118) Lightning Hybrids Inc (5468)

Sortimo NA (5087)

Donlen (5647) Lincoln Composites Inc (5767)

SwapLoader USA Ltd (4481)

Dow Kokam (5347) Littelfuse/Cole Hersee (733)

Telogis Inc (4881)

DRM Diversafab (5377) Mansfield Oil Co (5572)

Terex Utilities (5159)

Efficient Transportation Solutions (5362)

Maxwell Technologies (633)

Electric Vehicles International (5099)

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Inc (1809)

Vanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Electrical Systems (5270)

Espar Heater Systems (5268)

Morgan Olson (3218)

Venchurs Vehicle Systems (5975)

Fiber-Tech Industries Inc (5255)

Motiv Power Systems (5666)

VIA Motors INC (5459)

FleetOwner Magazine (3050)

NAFA Fleet Mgmt Assoc (724)

Vulcan On-Board Scales (5169)

Flitz International Ltd (5358)

NAFTC (5476)

Webasto Product North America Inc (5687)

FORCE America Inc (2045)

New Eagle (5375)

Ford Commercial Truck (3439)

Next Hydraulics S.R.L. (5065)

Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp (4169)

NGVAmerica (5376)

Vanner Inc (5263)

Westport LD (5491) Wilcox Bodies Ltd (2035) ZAPI Inc (5367) Nissan North America (1437)

WORK TRUCK SHOW 2012

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Work Trucks Continue Go Green The movement to highly efficient and cleaner trucks has certainly continued to grow and is playing a significant role in shaping the future of the work truck industry. The NTEA and its Green Truck Association (GTA) affiliate division have established a leadership position in helping companies find solutions and bring the newest green technology to the market. The NTEA’s Green Truck Summit and Work Truck Show continue to showcase the industry’s most innovative and newest product deSteve Carey of NTEA velopments at the forefront of the industry’s green movement. This year, the Green Truck Summit was again produced jointly with CALSTART, and brought together technical experts, government officials, industry leaders and early-adopter fleet managers to share their ideas along with real-world deployment experiences. Since its introduction six years ago, this event has grown in presence and has truly become the premier conference for gaining valuable information on fuel efficiency, implementing green fleet programs, and advances in engine and fuel technology. In addition to the Green Truck Summit, The Work Truck Show offers other events and activities focused on green solutions and advanced technology, including:

Educational sessions geared toward fleets and others interested in procuring more fuel-efficient vehicles. The CALSTART Clean Technologies and Fuels Pavilion, a dedicated area on the show floor that features technologies and fuels available now for clean commercial vehicles. The Green Truck Ride-andDrive, where attendees can testdrive or ride in work trucks equipped with the latest hybrid technology and alternative fuel applications. The Work Truck Show and Green Truck Summit are just two examples of how the NTEA and GTA lead the industry in navigating the ever-evolving green market. Specifically, the Green Truck Association continues to be dedicated to advancing alternative fuels and the innovative technologies that make work trucks more efficient and environmentally friendly. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on how the NTEA and GTA can best support your organization. Stop by our Booth 3401 to meet the staff, get answers to your questions and explore the many services and resources we offer. Sincerely, Steve Carey NTEA Executive Director

Clean Cities Poster Session Today Clean Cities is hosting a poster session this afternoon to highlight successful coalition projects. “The goal of this poster session is to show fleet managers real-world examples of successful petroleum-reduction projects, inspire them to explore options with their local coordinator, and know that Clean Cities is here to help,” said Sandra Loi of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The posters will be on display from noon until 5 p.m. in Meeting Rooms 103-104 on Level 1 of the convention center (near the Green Truck Summit area). Clean Cities coordinators will be on hand from U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited Kellie Walsh and Cris Dorman of the Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition (Booth 3605) here Monday. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 4

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More from Calstart, This Year and Next Green Truck Summit co-host Calstart is busily organizing HTUF 2012, the Hybrid, Electric & Advanced Truck Users Forum, to be held September 18-20 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. HTUF 2012 is co-hosted by the U.S. Army, specifically the Army’s National Automotive Center and TARDEC, the Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (www.htuf.org). Calstart will also, as it has this year, co-host the Green Truck Summit in league with NTEA, the National Truck Equipment Association – here in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center. The Green Truck Summit, 49th Annual NTEA Convention, and Work Truck Show 2013 will be held March 5-8, 2013. The Green Truck Summit dates are March 5-6 – Tuesday-Wednesday.

Publisher Kirk Fetzer 415-385-0987; Kirk@CTNPublishing.com Editor Rich Piellisch 415-305-9050; Rich@CTNPublishing.com Reporter John Morris Photographer Mel Lindstrom Production Designer Maureen Spuhler News Coverage by Fleets & Fuels

www.fleetsandfuels.com Printed by: Print Communications / DCG ShowTimes is published live at The Work Truck Show 2012 by Convention & Tradeshow News. Advertising Department: (415) 979-1414 Editorial Department: (415) 896-5988 www.CTNPublishing.com © Copyright 2012 by Convention & Tradeshow News. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Reprints available upon request.

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Via & Verizon’s Electric Vision “This is a historic moment for America,” said Via Motors CEO Kraig Higginson as he announced here yesterday that fleets across the country have committed to take delivery of

Propane: Fuel This Way Propane Education & Research Council’s Alan McEwan shows how to do it right at PERC’s Booth 5191.

20,000 of his new electric vans next year. Via is working with Verizon to develop and demonstrate plug-in cargo vans that will save Via’s Kraig Higginson with Verizon’s James Gowen fleets millions of dollars a month in fuel costs. They will “We hope to create a game-changing opporhave an all-electric range of up to 40 miles, with extended range from what will initially be the tunity for Verizon and other industries…withstandard internal combustion engine used as an out having to wait years for large-scale electric onboard generator. They can be charged from a charging infrastructure,” said James Gowen, typical 110v household outlet for as little as $1 a Verizon’s chief sustainability officer. The van is equipped with 110v and 240v outday in some states, and have already demonlets, allowing it to power jobsites or provide elecstrated economy equivalent to 100 mpg. The first of Via’s General Motors-based vans tricity in an emergency. “We can even plug it into will be delivered in August, with output pegged our networks to keep them running during outat 2,700 this year, Higginson said. Verizon will ages,” said Gowen. Via Motors has developed its proprietary eRev initially take two for evaluation next month, and another 50 fleets cross the country will test them drive system (its 402 hp electric motor weighs just 100 lb) on a GM pickup truck, and tested it late this summer. At a list price of $79,000, Higginson said that with Pacific Gas & Electric before on a lease basis the three-quarter ton van would applying it to the van. Plans call for cost the same or less than a conventional van on using fleet demand to drive the lease-plus-fuel, meaning that the electric van production price low enough to could be cash-positive from its first month in make the technology affordable for StoryLink fleet service.

the public.

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FREIGHTLINER IS A PROUD SPONSOR O F T H E 2012 G R E E N T R U C K S U M M I T

Find a truck for your business at FreightlinerTrucks.com Competitive financing available through Daimler Truck Financial. For the Freightliner Trucks Dealer nearest you, call 1-800-FTL-HELP. www.freightlinertrucks.com. FTL/MC-A-1169. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Freightliner Trucks is registered to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004. Copyright © 2012. Daimler Trucks North America LLC. All rights reserved. Freightliner Trucks is a division of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company.

WORK TRUCK SHOW 2012

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GREEN TRUCK SUMMIT

Technology Accelerates for Affordable Clean Vehicles Electric vehicles, hybrids, and the cost and weight of compressed natural gas fuel cylinders are three areas targeted for breakthrough technologies by the government, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at the Green Truck Summit. Improvements to the internal combustion engine are also on the agenda, in a broad-based quest to improve fuel efficiencies by up to 30%. DoE has allocated $30 million to research innovative CNG tanks, Chu said here Monday. “If we can solve this, then CNG will become an alternative,” for the automobile industry, he said – with benefits for the clean truck industry too. Calstart president and CEO John Boesel noted that Chesapeake Energy

Steven Chu

and 3M said last month that they will team to develop next generation CNG tanks that are up to 20% lighter with 20% more capacity, at a lower cost than today’s vessels. For electric vehicles, there must be better batteries, Chu said, noting that last week a Silicon Valley start-up unveiled a lithium ion cell with a worldbeating power density of 400 watt hours per kilogram, that could bring down the price to $125 per kilowatt hour. DoE had invested $4 million in that project. (Testing of “next generation” lithium ion technology by Envia Systems was performed by the Electrochemical Power Systems Department at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., Envia said last week, under the sponsorship of ARPA-E. ARPA-E is DoE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy. It is offering to fund new natural gas research work under an initiative dubbed MOVE, for Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy). Today’s best lithium-ion batteries cost more than $300 per kilowatthour. “Our goal is for $125 per kilowatt-hour by the end of the decade” Chu said. DoE is aiming for electric vehicles to achieve cost of use and ownership of just 22 cents per mile by 2020, comparable with a conventional vehicle in 2010.

U.S. Charged Up Over Electric Vehicles Will development of electric vehicles increase America’s dependence on other countries? That question was thrown at John Boesel, president and Remy is promoting its HVH ‘hairCEO of Calstart, at the Green pin’ motors at Booth 5475. Remy will supply Via Motors’ new plug-in Truck Summit. hybrid electric truck (Booth 5459). China dominates the world market for rare earth metals needed for electric motors, and the U.S. imports its lithium from Chile and Argentina, and lithium-ion batteries from countries around the world. No, he replied. Molycorp has reopened a rare earth metals mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., that will meet America’s needs, and California-based Simbol Materials has shown it can extract enough lithium to meet U.S. demand for the rest of the decade from the wastewater of its geothermal plants. And now Nissan will produce lithium-ion batteries for its Leaf electric car at a new plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. “We’re just at the beginning of the electric vehicle industry,” Boesel said.

Propane Is Popular Worldwide Call it autogas, says Darren Engle, of Oregon’s Blue Star Gas. “The rest of the world does.” And the rest of the world uses it, too. More than 17 million vehicles worldwide run on propane, but only 200,000 in the U.S., Engle said at the Green Truck Summit. Historically cheap gasoline has given little incentive for North America to use propane, but that’s

about to change. As gas prices approach $5 a gallon, propane is a 60% cheaper source of fuel, he said. It is readily available (the U.S. last year exported more than it used), and there are now more than 250 EPA-approved vehicle conversion kits on the market. And look out later this year for the introduction of a propanediesel hybrid that will use 30% less diesel, he said.

Quasar Laments the Lack of Vehicles It’s not the lack of fueling stations that’s holding back the use of compressed natural gas vehicles – it’s the lack of CNG vehicles themselves. That’s the opinion of Mel Kurtz, president of wasteto-fuel company Quasar Energy. “The problem is getting enough vehicles to support the fueling stations,” he said at the Green Truck Summit. “You can put up fueling stations in 90 days. It’s the lack of availability of CNG vehicles.” Kurtz should know – Cleveland-based Quasar is converting its fleet to biomethane-based CNG, and it is building a chain of public fueling stations across 6

Ohio. “Quasar will continue installing fueling stations at its anaerobic digestion facilities,” he said. Quasar said last month that it’s broken ground at Zanesville on the demonstration scale “integrated anaerobic digestion system” (iADs) in collaboration with Ohio State. Technology developed at OSU by Dr. Yebo Li “couples Quasar’s liquid anaerobic digestion technology with solid-state anaerobic digestion to increase energy outputs, expand the feedstock base, and broaden the market application StoryLink scan to share story online for the system.”

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Quasar markets its CNG as qng.

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WORK TRUCK SHOW 2012

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The WTS 2012 Green Truck Ride-and-Drive Spencer Nicol with hybrid electric cabover by Hino Trucks

John Hroncich, Chris Colston and Lou Butash of BAE Systems with HybriDrive Parallel hybrid electric-powered Kenworth dump truck

Joe Morris with Kenworth T370 with Eaton parallel hybrid electric drive.

Hino Trucks (Booth 4139) is hosting the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive from noon to 4:30pm again today. No registration is necessary, but some vehicles require a commercial driver’s license. Hino itself has brought its Class 5 diesel-fueled hybrid electric cabover with proprietary drive, coupled with next-generation 4-cylinder J05 Series engine. Cab and 33-inch frame rails have been specifically designed for the U.S. market. BAE Systems (Booth 5359) Kenworth T800 Class 8 chassis-cab truck with HybriDrive Parallel hybrid electric drive and dump truck body. Cummins Crosspoint (Booth 5173) 12-passenger GM diesel cutaway bus with a Variable Torque Motors parallel electric drivetrain. Electric Vehicles International (Booth 5099) Freightliner M2-based EVI-MD battery electric truck with flatbed. Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp (Booth 4169) FCCC MT45-EV pure battery electric walk-in van 8

with Enova drivetrain and aerodynamic body by Morgon Olson representiong the firms’ new Green for Free program. Freightliner Trucks (Booth 3859) CNG-fueled M2 112 CNG with an Altec LRV tree trimmer lift, utilizing a Cummins-Westport engine with a factory-installed high-volume (back-of-cabmounted) fuel storage unit by Agility Fuel Systems. Isuzu Commercial Truck (Booth 4747) A 2012 Isuzu Reach diesel with Utilimaster body affording a 35% improvement in fuel economy over previous walk-in vans.

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Impco Automotive (Booth 5465) CNG-gasoline bi-fuel Chevy Silverado 2500HD pickup. International Truck (Booth 4359)

CNG-fueled DuraStar with Phoenix 7.6L engine by Emission Solutions, Inc. Kenworth (Booth 3039) Kenwor th T370 with Eaton parallel electric hybrid transmission powered by a Paccar PX-6 diesel engine with Paccar’s advanced powertrain controls. Knapheide (Booth 3739) CNG Ford F-450 with BAF fuel system and Knapheide 9-foot DRW service body. Leggett & Platt (Booths 1817 & 3249) CNG Ford E-250 with Landi-Renzo CNG fuel system and upfitted with a full Masterack interior package. Lightning Hybrids (Booth 5468) Parallel hydraulic hybrid conversion of a GM Chevrolet 3500 cutaway.

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WORK TRUCK SHOW 2012

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Brian Sutherland with CNG Freightliner M2 with Altec tree-trimmer

Steve Weiner with CNG-fueled Peterbilt 382

Mike Stark, Andres Moscoso and Lewis Mazariegos of Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp with battery electric walk-in van

Motiv Power Systems (Booth 5666) 10-passenger battery shuttle bus using an open architecture design.

16,000-lb GVW said to achieve singlecharge range of 100 miles with a top speed of 50 mph.

Peterbilt (Booth 2125) CNG-fueled Peterbilt 382 Class 8 truck with a municipal dump body. Agility tank assembly.

VIA Motors (Booth 5459) An extended range electric van with eREV powertrain affording 40 miles of all-electric travel.

PERC (Booth 5191) 2008 Ford F-150 pickup with Roush CleanTech dedicated propane fuel system.

Stationary Demonstration Area Vehicles

Ram Trucks (Chrysler) (Booth 1003) New-technology Ram Truck – CNG! (see page 1). Reading Truck Body (Booths 3527 & 5380) Ford E-350 cutaway with Roush CleanTech propane fuel system. Roush CleanTech (Booth 5098) Ford E-450 cutaway van upfitted with a box body and Roush liquid propane injection fuel system. Smith Electric Vehicles (Booth 4187)

Altec Industries (Booths 2215 & 5269) Battery powered Jobsite Energy Management System (JEMS) aerial lift that can significantly reduce, or even eliminate, idle time at the job site. Johnson Refrigerated (Booth 3977) ElectriMax all-electric refrigeration.

Amy Looper of NextTruck drops the beanbag from Altec’s HyPower battery lift.

Smith Newton all-electric cargo van rated Twitter @ShowTimesAFV • www.ShowTimesDaily.com • Convention & Tradeshow News March 7, 2012

WORK TRUCK SHOW 2012

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N AT U R A L G A S V E H I C L E S

Impco Automobile Adds Ford to GM Stable Impco Automotive (Booth 5465) said last week that it’s secured Qualified Vehicle Modifier status with Ford, allowing it to offer full OEM warranties on upfits of Ford vehicles with the Ford gaseous prep engine package. Last month, Impco gave word that it’s converted 1,200 General Motors Chevrolet Express vans to compressed natural gas for AT&T. Impco has a 75,000-square-foot, alternative fuel installation center in Union City, east northeast of here on the Ohio line. The firm handles both CNG and propane installations. “Achieving QVM status represents another significant milestone as we continue to solidify our leadership position within the automotive alternative fuel market,” Impco Automotive sales and marketing

director Rob Lykins said of the Ford approval. “We continue to expand our offering of systems that allow popular light-duty Ford commercial truck platforms to operate on clean burning, plentiful, domestic CNG,” said Jay Sandler, who heads OEM and fleet sales. The AT&T deal is the largest-ever order of CNG vehicles from General Motors. Impco installed the dedicated-CNG systems in Union City, and the vans were upfitted as work trucks by St. Louis-headquartered Commercial Van Interiors (CVI). The vans have 6.0-liter GM Vortec V-8 engines with hardened exhaust valves, and intake and exhaust valve seats. The CNG option is available on Chevrolet Express

2500 and 3500 Cargo vans. Each van is covered by GM’s three-year, 36,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty and five-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, and meets all U.S. EPA and California Air Resources Board emission certification requirements. The 1,200 vans will allow the big telcom to avoid the purchase of a million gallons of gasoline per year, said AT&T fleet operations VP Jerome Webber. AT&T recently trumpeted the placement of its 5,000th alternative fuel vehicle on its march to 15,000 through 2018. Most – thus far – have been Ford E-250 vans upfitted by BAF. Ford is located at Booth 3439.

Westport Promotes WiNG for Lighter Vehicles Westport Innovations is well known in natural gas vehicles for its 15-liter over-the-road engines and smaller, dedicated-natural gas engines via the (just extended) Cummins Westport joint venture. Now Westport (Booth 5491) is targeting smaller vehicles, with a goal of nationwide sales, including California, of its new WiNG power system

on natural gas-gasoline bi-fuel Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks with 6.2-liter gaseous-prep engines. The firm describes WiNG as “an advanced, integrated, bi-fuel system for passenger and commercial vehicles targeting fleet customers… [which] can also run on ordinary gasoline and offer unparalleled drivability.” “We’re seeing strong customer interest across the spectrum from

fleets of all shapes and sizes for a factory-validated product, as more and more owners understand the economic and operational benefits of a cleaner fuel that’s sourced right here in North America,” Westport LD president Ian Scott said when the system was announced. “The WiNG system is specifically designed to deliver best-in-class performance, reliability and efficiency,” said John Lapetz, managing direc-

Landi Renzo with Leggett and More Compressed natural gas fuel systems by Landi Renzo USA (Baytech) may be seen on at least four different natural gas vehicles here. And, the recently formed U.S. arm of Italy’s world leader in light duty gaseous fuel vehicles last month reported the first California certification of Ford E-Series vans with the 5.4-liter engine for 2012 for dedicated-CNG operation. The vehicles on show here with Landi Renzo compressed natural gas fuel systems include Ford E-250 cargo vans with Leggett & Platt interiors on display by Leggett & Platt at Booth 1817 and Ford at Booth 3439, and a Freightliner Customer Chassis Corp MT-55 at FCCC Booth 4169. 10

Landi reported here that its customer Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products has been officially deemed a Ford Gaseous Fuel QVM Gianluca Maso, Ryan Waltz and John Sledge of Landi Renzo USA

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Darren Weatherly (left) and Robert Williams install CNG fuel tanks at the Impco Automotive plant in Union City, Ind. Impco gave word last week that it’s fully approved as a QVM – qualified vehicle modifier – for Ford vehicles.

tor for North American vehicle programs. “Our customers will benefit from the best natural gas technology in the industry along with the confidence and quality of the Ford name and the strength of their dealer network,” Lapetz says in the Westport WiNG announcement. WiNG systems have been engineered at a new Westport technical facility in Plymouth, Mich., and “will be installed and the trucks will be ready to roll when they reach authorized Ford dealers.”

Qualified Participant, meaning it can ship Landi Renzo-converted E-Series vans from its Ford ship-through facility in Elyria, Ohio. “We intend to continue to open the market for CNG vehicles here in the U.S. utilizing our global CNG component manufacturing and engineering resources,” said Landi Renzo USA president Andrea Landi. “This allows us to drive down the high cost of conversions due to our economies of scale and quality manufacturing processes,” Landi said. “We will have other Ford CNG platforms available in the near future.” These will include F-250 and F-350 trucks with 6.2-liter engines, and F-450, F-550, and StoryLink scan to share F-650 trucks with 6.8-liter engines. story online

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N AT U R A L G A S V E H I C L E S

BAF for Work Truck CNG BAF Technologies provided the compressed natural gas fuel systems evident on Ford trucks being shown by Knapheide, Altec, and Sortimo here at Work Truck Show 2012. BAF, since 2009 a unit of Boone Pickens’s Clean Energy Fuels, is celebrating its 20th year – and is expanding in Dallas to meet burgeoning demand for natural gas vehicles. “Since 1992, we’ve done about 15,000 vehi-

Venchurs Promotes CNG to Fleets

Venchurs Vehicle Systems burst on the natural gas vehicles scene this past autumn, at which time it had already achieved Qualified Vehicle Modifier with Ford. As a Ford QVM, it offers conversions of Ford F-250 and F-350 with a 6.2-liter engine. Venchurs has a bi-fuel CNG search and rescue Ford F-250 concept truck proposed for pilot program demonstrations by national park rangers at Booth 5783-5975.

cles,” says Bill Calvert, cofounder and senior VP of BAF. Besides the Dallas expansion, BAF is working with Ford to make sure that the customer shops installing its systems – like Pearson Ford here in Indianapolis and Green AlternaFrom left, the BAF brain trust: Robert Sessa , tive Systems of Elkhart, Ind. Brad Waggoner, Brent and Chino, Calif. – get full Pope, Barry Carr, and Ford QVM – Qualified Vehico-founder Bill Calvert cle Modifier – recognition. BAF is moving from an agglomeration of four buildings developed over Knapheide itself is showing a BAF dedicatedthe years in Dallas to a new, 90,000-square-foot, CNG F-250 at Booth 3739 and has brought a fully engineered production facility there. The CNG F-450 with 9-foot DRW service body for old complex will be shut down when leases expire the ride-and-drive. Altec (Booths 2215 & 5269) is at the end of this first quarter – by which time showing a BAF-converted F-450/550 – with batmore than 600 Ford Transit Connects will have tery-powered JEMS (Jobsite Energy Managebeen converted for AT&T (using Type III CNG ment System) aerial lift in the ride-and-drive fuel cylinders from Italy’s Faber), for a total of stationary display area. about 4,000 vehicles for the customer. Green Alternative Systems of Elkhart and The Transit Connect represents a new type Chino, Calif. offers CNG equipment from a for AT&T, as most of the big telcom’s NGVs are variety of suppliers and also performs propane BAF-upfitted Ford E-250 vans. conversions. GAS is at Booth 5958. Norcross, Ga.-based Sortimo has a BAF-modLast year BAF added bi-fuel Ford E-250/ and ified CNG Transit Connect on display at Booth -350 vans and F-250 and -350 pickups to its list of certified offerings. 5087. The compact vans are being completed for “Bi-fuels will be attractive to AT&T by Quincy, Ill.-based Knapheide using a Sortimo work truck design. BAF is offering the customers in virtually any segTransit Connect with dedicated-CNG or, four ment,” said BAF operations VP StoryLink scan to share story online Paul Shaffer. EPA states, bi-fuel.

Visit us at Booth # 618 to find out more.

Partnering for success Siemens ELFA Traction Hybrid Drive systems enable mass transit vehicles to save over 30% in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

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FCCC’s S2G Propane for Medium Duty Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation introduced its S2G chassis, which it says “provides the industry with the only factory-installed liquid propane gas (LPG) engine available to the medium-duty truck market.” Initial target? Propane dealers, who get the fuel cheap. Tank suppliers to upfit the chassis? “I have a pocketful of people who are waiting in line,” says commercial chassis product manager Gordie

FCCC Fiver With the new S2G, Freightliner Customer Chassis Corp can boast a presence in all five commercial alternative fuel market segments. There is a compressed natural gas-fueled walk-in van at Booth 4169, and a pure battery electric MT E-Cell walk-in van in the Green Truck ride-and-drive. FCCC also offers a hybrid electric and hydraulic hybrid vehicles.

Taylor, flourishing a fistful of business cards. Those upfitters, he says, “have standing orders waiting for the truck. Those guys want it now.” “The S2G was developed in response to significant industry interest for an LPG solution without retrofitting or aftermarket additions,” said FCCC president Bob Harbin. “In offering the only original equipment manufacturer LPG solution for medium-duty applications, we believe the S2G will meet our customers’ needs. The S2G also perfectly fits into FCCC’s heritage as a custom chassis manufacturer with a successful history in alternative fuel powertrains.” FCCC offered propane trucks with the BLPG Plus 5.9-liter engine from Cummins Westport, but the engine was discontinued, “The ISL was much too big,” Taylor says of the current ISL G, an 8.9-liter engine now favored by CNG truckmakers. The new truck was developed with the support of PERC, the Propane Education & Research Council (Booth 5191). FCCC partnered with Powertrain Integration and CleanFuel USA

FCCC’s Bob Harbin and Gordie Taylor.

for the liquid propane injection mod for an 8.0liter engine from General Motors. CleanFuel USA president Tucker Perkins told Energy Secretary Steven Chu here Monday that the new chassis is suitable for school buses and other delivery vehicles too. The S2G thus embodies more than a decade of gaseous fuel vehicle experience (including compressed natural gas) but is also “a new product developed in part through direct customer input.” A limited preproduction run of S2G chassis is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012, with full production slated StoryLink for the first quarter of 2013.

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Diesel Advocates Emphasize Efficiency

BILL MAHON

“It’s essentially a truce in the decades-long war between CARB and industry,” a longtime clean diesel communications specialist in California told Fleets & Fuels last week, trumpeting a February 28 Diesel Technology Forum event in Sacramento where officials of the California Air Resources Board and the diesel industry lauded the fuel. The shift in regulatory emphasis from criteria pollutants like particulates, NOx and sulfur dioxide to greenhouse gases bodes well for diesel: carbon dioxide emissions drop with fuel consumption, and efficiency has always been a key diesel selling point. “We’ve had tremendous success thanks to the willingness and ability of the industry to get creative when faced with the challenge of reducing emissions and nitrogen oxide and fine particulates,” CARB chair Mary Nichols said in a video presentation opening the agency-DTF press briefing this past Tuesday. “Today’s diesel engines emit about 90% less of these pollutants than they did when we first started this effort,” Nichols said. “And while we still have work to do – especially in turning over the fleet of older vehicles that are out there.”

Heavy duty Chrysler Ram pickup with 6.7-liter Cummins engine at the Sacramento clean diesel event on February 28.

This Isuzu NPR Eco-Max operated by Minnesota’s Deli Express runs on diesel, but burns far less of it due to its 3.0-liter, four-cylinder 4JJ1-TC turbo diesel engine, and lightweight body structure.

Deli Does It with Diesel, Says Isuzu Isuzu NPR Eco-Max trucks are helping one of the nation’s largest food purveyors achieve its goals of reduced fuel consumption and a smaller carbon footprint, says Isuzu Commercial Truck (Booth 4747). And they are doing it with diesel. Deli Express/E.A. Sween of Eden Prairie, Minn., has several Isuzu NPR Eco-Max trucks with more Isuzu vehicles on the way, the manufacturer says. “These vehicles are demonstrating nearly 50% better fuel economy than the rest of our fleet, and are emitting about 700 lb less carbon dioxide every month,” Deli Express fleets operation chief Gregg Hodgdon says in an Isuzu release. “These results are proof that it is possible to improve a fleet’s carbon footprint through weight reduction and efficient technologies while still utilizing a traditional fuel source,” Hodgdon said. “We realized that it was indeed possible to make a positive, sustainable change with traditional fuels,” he added. The 12,000-lb NPR Eco-Max features Isuzu’s 4JJ1-TC 3.0-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel engine.

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Eaton for Diverse Hybrids Seattle’s CleanScapes is adding CNG-fueled hydraulic hybrids with Eaton’s HLA drive to its CNG fleet. Slow-fill system by Clean Energy Fuels.

The wide range of hybrid technologies offered by Eaton is being displayed by the company’s Roadranger unit at Booth 3511. Eaton has supplied the lion’s share of the drive systems for the hybrid trucks in use today, primarily parallel system with Hitachi batteries for manufacturers including Freightliner, Kenworth and Navistar International. Some 5,500 hybrid trucks and buses with Eaton drives are in service worldwide, the company says. including 3,500 – almost all of them trucks – in the U.S.

Eaton also offers a hydraulic hybrid – with power for regenerative braking stored in a hydraulic accumulator rather than a battery or ultracapacitor, dubbed HLA. The Hydraulic Launch Assist technology has found use mostly in refuse trucks with intense stop-and-go cycles, and even in a handful of compressed natural gas-fueled refuse trucks ordered by CleanScapes in Seattle. The natural gas hydraulic hybrids are being supplied through Okla- StoryLink scan to share homa City-based Crane Carrier. story online

FedEx Orders Smith All-Electric Vans The electric vehicle industry has received a shot in the arm with a fleet order for vans by FedEx Express. Smith Electric Vehicles will provide an undisclosed number of walk-in step vans to the carrier on its all-electric Newton chassis, launching a new model of electric van in the U.S. There are about 900 all-electric vehicles in service across the country, according to data presented here at the Green Truck Summit, including Smith Newtonbased fleets of nearly 200 at Frito-Lay and 60 at Staples. The Newton van for FedEx is tailored to its route requirements, but retains 90% parts commonality with the current production Newton chassis. This helps keep production costs down, said Smith Electric CEO Bryan Hansel. The van’s

body is produced by Indianabased Utilimaster. The plug-in van will have a range of up to 100 miles on a single charge. It incorporates Smith’s proprietary Smith Drive, Smith Power, and Smith Link technologies for power train performance, battery management efficiency and remote system monitoring. Batteries are supplied by A123 Systems. Smith CEO Bryan Hansel

Hansel said the Newton chassis has a list price of $65,000 stripped or $75,000 with cab over, and battery packs are priced separately. The Newton step van, he says, will open up a new market, with demand centering on states that offer incentives, such as California, New York and Maryland. FedEx has been delighted with trials of the Newton step van, Hansel said, and its deployment of the vehicles will be in sufficient size to allow FedEx to gather statistical data on all-electric vehicles for the first time. The FedEx Newton on show here at Booth 4187 is a development vehicle, but production is already underway. “Most people are still prototyping,” Hansel said.

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EVI Shows Battery Truck Potential Stockton, Calif.-based Electric Vehicles International weighs into the Work Truck Show on the heels of winning federal GSA approval to supply four models of medium-duty all-electric trucks and vans to the U.S. government and military. EVI also has a major battery electric walk-in van program with UPS, for 100 vehicles based on a Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp platform, and expects to deliver the production prototype with aerodynamic Morgon Olson body later this month. Production deliveries are to commence in late May, and all 100 vehicles will be delivered by the end of the summer. The battery vans will be deployed by UPS in California and will constitute the largest all-electric fleet of delivery vehicles in the state. EVI has expanded its facility in Stockton by nearly half, to 107,000 square feet, with two new assembly lines, for the UPS job. An earlier demo vehicle for UPS is on show

in Booth 5099. Increasingly sophisticated versions of range-extended hybrids, based on both Ford and Freightliner platforms, are in development at EVI too. The GSA approval, secured under solicitation QMAA-F6-110004-N, gives EVI “the most comprehensive GSA-approved portfolio of all-electric, medium-duty vehicles.” “It’s another big win for EVI as we look to grow our customer base,” said sales and marketing VP Frank Jenkins. “We are excited to partner with federal agencies and military forces as they look to transform their fleets to clean, energy-efficient, long-life battery electric vehicles that are built to stand up to the rigors of military use.” EVI uses motors from Colorado’s UQM Technologies and lithium iron magnesium phosphate batteries from its close affiliate Valence Technology, of Austin, Texas. EVI is testing its range-extended hybrid de-

Variable Torque Targets Trucks Indiana’s Variable Torque Motors is targeting trucks with its hybrid electric driveshaft retrofits, which until today have been sold mostly for buses. The Fort Wayne-based firm and its Indianapolis dealer, Cummins Crosspoint VTM’s Larry Zepp (Booth 5173), claim the Maxwell (633) ultracapacitor-based system will yield a payback in as little as three years to operators of vehicles logging 40,000-miles-per-year with high stop-and-go cycles. “We’re affordable and we’re retrofittable,” says VTM’s Larry Zepp. Because the motor is installed along the OEM driveshaft, the system is “totally hands-off,” he says. “We’re a driveline accessory,” he says – albeit one that yields fuel savings of 25% to 30% on Class 3 to Class 7 vehicles. VTM uses high-torque motors built according to a VTM design by Nidec (formerly Emerson), with ultracapacitors from San Diego’s Maxwell Technologies for electricity storage for the regenerative braking that makes the hybrid system work. Ultracaps, VTM says, allow its installation to be 500 lb lighter than it competition. “Our technology features a brushless permanent magnet motor that’s capable of maintaining torque over a wide range of speed,” the company explains. “It delivers torque to the driveshaft for both acceleration and deceleration to provide regenerative braking… “Patented features of this brushless permanent magnet motor provide an unusually wide operating range of speed and torque – from 0 to 35 miles per hour. It is essentially a continuously variable transmission with a patented shifting mechanism. “As vehicle speed increases,” VTM explains, “the motor controller slides the rotor out of the stator to weaken the field so it supplies less torque and the engine takes more of the load.” 14

sign on an F-450 flatbed and will extend the engineering work to an F-550 with a utility body and, under a recent California Energy Commission contract, to an F-550 based shuttle bus. Plans are also in the works for Freightliner M2and FCCC walk in van-based series hybrids with far smaller engines for greater overall efficiency, Jenkins says. He is also busy bringing EVI’s new office in Farmington Hills, Mich., up to speed. The Detroitarea location eventually could take StoryLink scan to share on light vehicle servicing work too. story online

Mansfield Oil for Renewables and CNG Mansfield Oil is promoting a broadening range of renewable fuels at Booth 5572. And the Georgia-based company, already a broker for biodiesel, last year acquired compressed natural gas fueling station specialist Gas Equipment Systems, Inc., and established Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems. The unit is a major distributor of BRC FuelMaker vehicle refueling appliances (VRAs). More recently, Mansfield teamed with Dynamic Fuels, a 50-50 venture of Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Corp, “to efficiently distribute synthetic renewable diesel to the commercial fleet vehicle market.” Dynamic’s plant in Geismar, La. has a design capacity of 75 million gallons of renewable diesel, naphtha and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or propane) per year, of which the primary product is ASTM D975 renewable diesel. Dynamic’s renewable diesel is a pure hydrocarbon, Mansfield says, and is thus a is “a ‘drop in’ fuel that can replace 100% of petroleum diesel in a diesel engine without engine modification.” Subsequent to the Dynamic deal, Mansfield and the Noble Group formed Noble Mansfield Renewable Energy, to be headquartered in Bloomington, Minn., to focus on ethanol. Most recently, Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems notified users of FuelMaker VRAs of improved service and support, including the replacement of compressors and other components with newer and better ones when units are sent in for routine service, faster turn times, and extended warranties. Compressor warranties are being doubled from 1,000 hours or one year to 2,000 hours and two years (and are being extended to electronics and other non-compressor components), and the 4,000-hour VRA lifetime limit is being eliminated. “Run time is now infinite,” states a late-February notice to customers. Italy-based BRC FuelMaker is pledging faster shipping, too. BRC FuelMaker is a corporate affiliate of Indiana’s Impco Automotive (Booth 5465), which does propane and CNG upfits primarily of GM vehicles but has just earned Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier status as well.

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ELECTRIC · HYBRID · HYDROGEN · NATURAL GAS · PROPANE · RENEWABLE FUELS · ADVANCEDTECHNOLOGIES

May 15-17, 2012 Long Beach, California

North America’s Leading Alternative Fuel & Clean Vehicle Technologies Show