With the trucking news full of Cummins' new certification of its October '02 ISX engine and Caterpillar's efforts to get the October deadline delayed, Detroit Diesel Corporation Friday released additional information about its 2002 Series 60 engine program.

"Because of recent and, to some extent, conflicting comments which have been made in the heavy-duty diesel engine industry regarding the October 2002 emission changes, we at DDC wish to assure our customers regarding DDC plans going forward," DDC Vice Chairman and CEO Lud Koci said in a statement.
Koci emphasized Detroit Diesel's commitment to provide engines in October 2002 that meet EPA requirements without penalties or aftertreatment devices, using exhaust gas recirculation, the same technology chosen by almost all engine manufacturers to meet 2002 emissions levels.
Early in 2001, in-use durability testing began on DDC's next generation of EGR engines designed to meet the emissions standards scheduled to take effect October 1, 2002. Since that time, six test vehicles have each run over 1,000 miles per day, at 80,000 pounds gcw. An additional test vehicle has been dedicated to cross country runs between company-owned assembly plants.
In February, two more prototype Series 60 units were placed into revenue service at one of DDC's largest customers, a truckload operation with each unit running 2,000-2,500 miles a week. These are 12.7-liter engines, rated at 430 horsepower. Additional 2002 Series 60 pre-production test engines are being released to other customers for evaluation and are being installed by a number of OEMs on their standard assembly lines.
As previously announced, DDC will initially make approximately 95 percent of its current ratings available in October 2002. As is its customary practice, DDC will submit applications for 2002 emissions certification to the EPA approximately 30-60 days in advance of scheduled production.
Currently, the first production versions of the 2002 Series 60 engine are scheduled to be available in September 2002.