Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/725427
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2016 35 FIND A LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR AT MINIMIZER.COM OR CALL 800.248.3855 MINIMIZER POLY PRODUCTS • TESTED AND TORTURED TM • DAILY BY TRUCKERS FOR TRUCKERS TESTED AND TORTURED Times change. So should you. TOOL BOXES FENDERS FLOOR MATS TIRE MASK NICE TRY NAILED IT Molded Tandem Tire Bench Guaranteed for Life! Scrap wood used as a bench Guaranteed to fail Mack debuts fuel economy tool M ack Trucks rolled out a fuel economy tool at its dealership network designed to allow customers to input and modify a number of variables on Pinnacle highway models, select a route and evaluate potential fuel savings against a baseline configuration. Scott Barraclough, Mack technology product manager, said the fuel economy tool allows users to choose from a number of Pinnacle model component and application options that affect fuel effi ciency, including weight, speed, engine size and rating, transmission, axle ratios, tires, aerodynamic enhance- ments and more. Specs for the customer's current Pinnacle model are used as a baseline and can be compared with up to four alterna- tive confi gurations. The tool includes an interactive map that allows customers to choose from several major interstate highway routes, providing a breakdown of both fl at and hilly terrain. – Jason Cannon Shell 'StarShip' slated for test next spring T he futuristic and highly aerodynamic "StarShip" concept truck in development by Shell Lubricants and AirFlow Truck Co. could be completed as early as next spring. Shell announced the venture in March 2015 and said it was working with concept truck builder Bob Sliwa, who in 2009 performed a cross-country fuel economy test with his highly conceptual Bullet Truck, achieving 13.4 mpg with a gross vehicle weight of 65,000 pounds. The Sliwa-Shell duo hope to beat that number with the StarShip, said Kate Foucher, Shell marketing representative. Photos and details on the truck remain scant given the propri- etary nature of the truck build. Foucher said the hyper-fuel-effi cient concept tractor-trailer should debut by the second quarter of 2017. The companies plan to perform their coast-to-coast test along Interstate 10 from California to the East Coast. – James Jaillet The Mack fuel economy tool allows users to choose from a number of Pinnacle model component and application op- tions that a ect fuel e ciency. Shell said the StarShip will show o technologies that 'are on the leading edge of what's possible' with fuel economy gains.