INDUSTRY NEWS

Light & Medium Truck, Feb 2004

Navistar Chairman Horne Retiring

Navistar International Chairman John Home is retiring Feb. 17 and will be succeeded by President Daniel Ustian.

Ustian will retain his current title, the company said in a release. He replaced Home as chief executive in February and has been with the company for 30 years.

Horne became president in 1990 and chief executive in 1995.

Olsen New Workhorse President

Dave Olsen was named president of Workhorse Custom Chassis. Workhorse, a subsidiary of GVW Holdings, Highland Park, Ill., is a manufacturer of walk-in truck, motor-home and bus chassis and walk-in trucks.

Olsen joined GVW Holdings in 2001 as president of GVW Parts, another subsidiary of GVW Holdings.

Michelin Raises Tire Prices

Michelin North America raised prices by an average of 5% on its Michelin and BFGoodrich brand commercial tires January 1.

FedEx Testing Hybrid Delivery Trucks

FedEx Express has begun testing 20 diesel-electric-powered delivery trucks. Depending on the results, the company could opt to replace up to 30,000 of its package-delivery trucks with the system.

The hybrid power system was developed by Eaton Corp., using a Cummins ISB diesel engine and an auxiliary electric motor.

Zurich, DriveCam Form Partnership

DriveCam, which markets a driver training system, announced that Zurich North America, a commercial insurance provider, will promote the DriveCam driving feedback system for fleets.

Penske Honors Technicians

Three Penske Truck Leasing technicians were awarded top honors at Penske's 2003 National Technical Challenge held in November in Reading, Pa. Jeff Scheeler, Kent, Wash., and his teammate Jeff Scott, Sumner, Wash., took first place in the vehicle diagnostics and troubleshooting competition. Brad Sheldon, Three Oaks, Mich., took first place in the preventive maintenance competition.

Goodyear Tires Now on Freightliner Trucks

Freightliner LLC has selected Goodyear to supply tires for the Freightliner family of commercial vehicles, including Freightliner Trucks, Sterling Trucks, Western Star Trucks, American LaFrance and Thomas Built Buses.

Mobile Training Centers Educate Customers, Employees

The Donaldson Company is using two new mobile training centers to bring filtration training services to customers and employees throughout North America. The new Donaldson mobile training units, which consist of two 35-foot-long, customized commercial vehicles, will provide specialized, onsite training sessions focused on engine liquid, air, hydraulic and exhaust filtration products to Donaldson distributors, dealers, customers and employees.

Freightliner Offers Multiplex System Brochure

Freghtline Trucks has developed a new brochure for the multiplex wiring system used on the Business Class M2 truck line. The brochure describes how the wiring system works, provides descriptions of diagnostic capabilities and provides answers to common questions, the company noted in a release. It is available online at www.freightlinertrucks.com.

Hine Motora Increases Dealership

Hino Motors Ltd. plans to expand its U.S. dealership network by 20% to 120 by March, European news service AFX reported in December, citing a Japanese newspaper. Most of the expansion will focus on the Midwest. The company said the planned expansion was prompted in part by 1,800 orders received for its new truck (L&MT, Nov. 2003).