Volvo

June 2013, TruckingInfo.com - WebXclusive

Volvo Thinks the Fuel of the Future is DME – and It’s Almost Here

DME engine is based on Volvo D13 diesel. This prototype has common-rail fuel injection, which production engine might or might not use. In the background you can see the back of a cab set up for CNG, with the cabinet behind the cab housing four high-pressure tanks. Volvo remains committed to natural gas for customers who want to use it. (Photos by Tom Berg)

By Tom Berg

Think “alternative fuel” and what comes to mind – natural gas, or maybe propane? Volvo Trucks North America believes it has one better: dimethyl ether, or DME, which it thinks is the real fuel of the future. Volvo, with the help of a small chemical company, financial investors and officials in the state of California, intends to get it to market as a motor fuel by 2015.

Tags: California, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, DME, Safeway, Volvo, Natural Gas

January 2013, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Engine Smarts: Owners Cite Woes with Engines, Dealers; Volvo Lists Some Remedies

J.D. Marshall, dayshift shop foreman at Nacarato Volvo Trucks in LaVergne, Tenn., demonstrates how the Volvo Assist system ties together all pertinent data on a truck to aid in quick diagnosis and servicing.

By Tom Berg

CORRECTED -- Volvo Trucks executives knew full well what a group of its customers would say about experiences with modern engines, but invited them to speak to press reporters anyway. Then the Volvo people explained what they're doing to alleviate service problems that customers have also experienced

Tags: Engine Smarts, Volvo, Dealers, Engines, Diagnostics

December 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Mack, Volvo Trucks Meet 2014 GHG Standards

Mack and Volvo both announced that their model year 2014 trucks and tractors are now certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as meeting 2014 fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas regulations

Tags: Volvo, GHG, Mack, EPA NHTSA

August 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Successful Field Tests of DME in Europe prompt Volvo to Consider the Alternative Fuel for U.S.

In Volvo's field trials in Sweden, DME is produced from a forestry-based biomass known as black liquor.

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor & Sven-Erik Linstrand, European Editor

Engineers at Volvo Trucks are exploring the possibility of using dimethyl ether, or DME, as an alternative fuel in North America, following successful field tests in Europe.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, DME, Volvo

May 2008, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Searching For Middle Ground In Highway Debate

By Oliver Patton, Washington Editor

Oliver Patton's monthly update from Washington includes a report on the federal highway program, the Highway Trust Fund, and congestion pricing in New York City.

Tags: Volvo, Clean Air Retrofit

January 2008, TruckingInfo.com - Test Drives

Volvo VHD 430 Sleeper

By Tom Berg

The point of Volvo Trucks' latest model, the VHD 430, is its sleeper compartment. While previous VHDs have daycabs and work as dumpers, concrete mixer chassis and equipment haulers, the 42-inch-cab addition, with its 36-inch-wide by 79-inch-long bunk, provides a comfortable place for a driver to rest and to legally overnight no matter where he and his rig are.

Tags: Volvo, Test Drive, sleepers