Michelin and WestStart-CalStart will be coordinating heavy-duty truck and commercial bus participants for the 2003 Challenge Bibendum, scheduled Sept. 23 –25 in the San Francisco area.

WestStart-CalStart is an advanced transportation technologies consortium made up of more than 120 companies and agencies dedicated to high-tech transportation that cleans the air, creates jobs and improves energy efficiency.
"Although our competition for passenger vehicles is well-established, the heavy-duty competition is a new addition to Challenge Bibendum this year," said Ron Musgnug, North American project manager for Challenge Bibendum.
During the 2001 Challenge Bibendum in the United States, Michelin showcased vehicles and technologies from Freightliner, Volvo, the Allison Transmission Division of General Motors, Ebus, XCELLSIS and United Parcel Service. This year, even greater participation from truck and bus manufacturers as well as fleets is expected.
According to the Department of Energy, heavy-duty vehicles represent only 6% of U.S. highway vehicles, but they produce 60% of U.S. NoX emissions. They also produce more than 80% of U.S. particulate matter emissions from the transportation sector. Reporting on the environmental progress of commercial vehicles is a natural evolution of Challenge Bibendum.
"We are proud to join with Michelin to help expand the Challenge Bibendum into heavy-duty vehicles," said John Boesel, WestStart-CalStart's president and CEO. "The Challenge Bibendum will now showcase the world's most advanced heavy-duty technologies and demonstrate to commercial users the new vehicles becoming available for them."
The heavy-duty competition for this year's Challenge Bibendum will be broken into several classes based on gross vehicle weight:
-- Class 6 and 7 - Pick-up and Delivery vehicles
-- Class 8 Trucks
-- Buses - both city transit and highway
-- Other Vehicles - including military, not fitting into the other categories
Manufacturers and innovators interested in participating in Challenge Bibendum should submit a registration form through the web site at www.challengebibendum.com.
Each class of commercial vehicles will be evaluated in four specific categories: emission, noise, fuel economy and acceleration.
The 2003 Challenge Bibendum will be held in Sonoma and San Francisco, Calif. Sept. 23 - 25. It will feature vehicle testing at Infineon Raceway and a rally of environmental vehicles through the Sonoma Valley and across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Michelin Group established challenge Bibendum as an objective way to bring together and test the best available technologies for environmentally positive vehicles.
Although some Americans may be unfamiliar with the name "Bibendum," it is well known elsewhere in the world. "Bibendum" is the name of the Michelin Man -- the ever-pleasant man of tires that has symbolized Michelin for more than 100 years. The first Challenge Bibendum was held in 1998 to help celebrate his 100th birthday.