Work Truck Show Kicks Off Big with Navistar

 

According to our company reporters at the St. Louis event, the 2010 NTEA Work Truck Show off with a bang this morning (March 10, 2010) with Navistar announcing its new, MaxxForce 7 V8 diesel engine and the new International TerraStar vocational truck, which is squarely aimed at the North American Class 4 and 5 markets.

Navistar TerraStar

 According to Jack Allen, president of Navistar’s North American Truck Group, the new engine and truck are specifically designed to take advantage of major changes in the North American vocational market. “Both General Motors and Sterling have left this market,” Allen notes. “Combined, those two companies represented almost a quarter of the commercial trucks sold into vocational applications. At the same time, customers in this market are shifting the truck purchases, with many moving up and acquiring larger GVW trucks to fulfill their business needs. International will fill this vacuum with a commercial grade medium-duty truck that features our heavy-duty truck DNA is built to handle even the toughest jobsites and applications.”

 The new TerraStar is a conventional truck design and, according to Allen, built on a strong and durable commercial-duty platform. International engineers designed the TerraStar with a large front windshield, which it says offers 28 percent more than its leading competitive truck. TerraStar features a 107-inch BBC (bumper to back-of-cab) length and a 44-foot curb-to-curb turning radius, combined with a roomy cab International says is 30 percent larger than the market leader, allowing plenty of room for three adults to fit comfortably in the front seat. The TerraStar will also be offered with optional extended cab or crew cab configurations.

 Under its hood, the TerraStar is powered by the new MaxxForce 7 V8 diesel engine. Like its bigger MaxxForce brothers, the new engine is crafted from compacted graphite iron, which is lighter, yet stronger than conventional cast iron engine blocks. While noting that the MaxxForce engine carries much of the same DNA as the PowerStroke diesel engine line that Navistar supplied Ford F-Series trucks since the early ‘80s, Allen says this new engine was designed from the ground up “For International and nobody else.”

Partner Insights
Information to advance your business from industry suppliers
How High Fuel Prices hurt Your Business
Presented by EquipmentWatch
Selecting the Correct Construction Tire Solution
Presented by Michelin North America
8 Crucial Elements of a Tire Safety Program
Presented by Michelin North America

 The MaxxForce 7 churns out 300 horsepower and 660 foot-pounds of torque thanks to a 28,000-psi (1,900 bar) high-pressure common-rail fuel system and a dual sequential turbocharger system. “This V-8 marks one of the most significant product upgrades in our history as we met the market’s challenge for big power from an efficient, reliable and durable platform,” notes Jim Hebe, Navistar senior vice president, North American sales operations. “Customers whose business involves pickup and delivery, towing and recovery, landscape or emergency vehicles such as ambulances, will find the MaxxForce 7 to be the perfect fit for their operations with true commercial vehicle power, durability and capability.”