Smog-free truck takes lead in meeting emission rules

September 13, 2007
Chuck Howitt
Record Staff

CAMBRIDGE

Challenger Motor Freight unveiled its new smog-free truck yesterday, one of the first in the province to comply with new, more stringent emission standards.

The 2007 truck is equipped with a device called a particulate trap which filters out microscopic particulate matter known to cause smog.

The engine is also designed to run on diesel fuel using 97 per cent less sulphur.

Rebecka Torn, manager of communications with the Ontario Trucking Association, was on hand for the unveiling and presented Challenger chief executive Dan Einwechter and president Eugene Moser with the Plaque of Environmental Stewardship.

Moser said the new smog-free truck "allows Challenger to show leadership in the industry. The truck costs more but the end result is a cleaner environment."

The particulate trap resembles a long, stainless steel cylinder sitting under the passenger side of the truck cab.

Though the truck is billed as being smog-free, the trap still allows 10 per cent of the particulate matter or nitrogen oxide to escape the engine.

By 2010, when even tougher emission standards from the federal government come into force, the trucking association estimates nitrogen oxide will be slashed by 95 per cent.

The industry has made huge strides in reducing gas emissions in the past few decades, the trucking association says.

In fact, it would take 60 trucks built according to 2007 emission standards to produce the same level of smog emissions as one truck built in 1988, the association says.

By 2010, when the stricter standards come into force, the exhaust coming out of trucks will be cleaner than the air we breathe, Moser said.

Though he praised the new smog-free trucks, Moser admitted the $8,000 they add to the price of a new diesel truck is significant.

"It's something that we're going to have to deal with going into the future. It is a huge cost if you multiply that by 1,500 trucks," he said in an interview.

Cambridge-based Challenger has a fleet of close to 1,500 vehicles.

The average freight-hauling truck used by Challenger today costs $130,000 to $135,000, Moser said.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance has also voiced concern that the new low-smog trucks burn more fuel than the older models, thereby increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Though the manufacturers dispute this position, Moser said he believes the newer trucks are not quite as fuel-efficient and require more maintenance because more of the particulate matter is left inside the engine oil.
But he said as the technology evolves, the problem will be solved.

The trucking alliance is urging the federal government to offer more financial incentives to reduce the cost of smog-free trucks and other green devices such as auxiliary power units, which heat or cool a truck when it is not running.

The auxiliary power units, which dramatically reduce the amount of fuel needed to heat or cool the cab, cost an average of $7,750 US.

The trucking industry wants governments to stop taxing fuel used to operate the units.

The auxiliary units are "going to help the environment so hopefully the governments can help with some sort of incentives to make sure that everyone puts them on," Moser said.

chowitt@therecord.com

Reprinted with permission from the Record