Customers and other visitors to Volvo Trucks' New River Valley manufacturing plant can now experience a fully equipped Volvo VHD - in modified pickup truck form.

They get a first-hand sense of Volvo truck comfort and performance as they tour the facility or are transported to and from the local hotels and airport.

The VHD pickup was designed and built by a team of engineers and production operators at NRV to showcase various technologies to customers who do not have commercial driver licenses.

"We spend a lot of time educating customers about our technology - how it works and the value it brings," said Ron Huibers, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks North America. "But explaining how impressive the I-Shift technology is, for example, doesn't replace the driving experience. The new VHD with I-Shift pickup allows people who are not professional drivers to experience the technology for themselves."

The bright orange, one-of-a-kind Volvo VHD chassis has a full-size crew cab and a pickup truck bed. The four-door, five-seat vehicle is powered by an EPA 2010-certified 500-hp Volvo D13 engine and features an I-Shift transmission. With a cab height of 11 feet, the VHD truck dwarfs a conventional pickup. The roof of a Ford F-150, for example, reaches just under the side mirror of the VHD pickup.

In addition to providing an unforgettable ride-and-drive option for customers and visitors to the Volvo New River Valley plant, the VHD pickup will be featured at trade shows, parades and other special events.

"Volvo is known for high quality and innovative technologies," said Patrick Collignon, vice president and general manager at the New River Valley facility. "The VHD pickup shows the depth of our capability and versatility, from the engineering to the design to the craftsmanship."