Volvo Trucks North America Inc., will display technologies to reduce fuel consumption, improve vehicle safety and productivity, and to dramatically reduce diesel engine emissions at the 2003 Challenge Bibendum
in Sonoma and San Francisco next week.
Two Volvo VN heavy duty trucks will be on display:
-- A VN daycab equipped with exhaust aftertreatment to reduce NOx and particulate emissions. This system uses selective catalytic reduction (SCR) with urea injection, a diesel particulate filter, and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. This VN operates in day-to-day service for a Volvo Trucks customer in a test fleet, to investigate potential technologies to meet upcoming federal emissions standards for heavy-duty diesel engines. The truck is owned by Talon Logistics, the distribution division of Giant Eagle Inc. Pittsburgh.
-- The VN780 Tech Truck, a technology demonstrator with numerous systems to reduce fuel consumption, improve vehicle efficiency and provide long-haul drivers with a more comfortable working environment. A primary goal of the Tech Truck is to showcase technologies to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by idling trucks, which is an average of 2,200 gallons a year per heavy duty truck, or approximately one gallon of fuel consumed per hour of idling.
Challenge Bibendum, considered one of the premier global events for advanced technology vehicles, was established by the Michelin Group as an objective way to bring together and test the best available technologies for environmentally positive vehicles.
The annual event features vehicles from major manufacturers on three continents and brings together all partners in the automotive world: vehicle manufacturers, designers, energy suppliers, technical leaders, policy makers, universities and government organizations.
The 2003 Challenge Bibendum will be held in Sonoma and San Francisco, Calif., Sept. 23-25. More than 100 passenger and commercial vehicles are registered to participate. In addition to Volvo Trucks North America, other vehicle manufacturers participating in the event include: American Honda, Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Hyundai, Isuzu, Nissan, Toyota, and Volvo Car Corp.
A true competition, Challenge Bibendum is one of the few events to compare different advanced technologies head-to-head. The event is open to all energy sources from electric cars to hybrid fuel cells to hydrogen powered buses. Advanced technology vehicles are rated on emissions, acceleration, braking, handling, noise and energy efficiency during the annual competition.
Complete information is available at www.challengebibendum.com .