Western Star loses weight

Canadian truck maker Western Star Trucks unveiled at the Mid-America Trucking Show its new Constellation 4900 FXL conventional over-the-road tractor, which weighs in at just under 14,000 lb. That represents a weight savings of 1,000 lb. over the 1999 4900 XL, which itself lost 2,000 lb. compared to the company's 1998 model.

"Just because fuel costs are going through the roof doesn't mean the cost of operating our trucks has to as well," said Bob Enright, Western Star's president. "High fuel prices are putting our primary customers - owner-operators - in a bind, so we have to help them any way we can."

The British Columbia-based company is also trying to raise its stature as a truck manufacturer in North America by taking its new Class 6-7 trucks on a tour of Canada and the U.S. Star Tour 2000, which kicks off this month, will give vocational fleets a chance to drive the company's Solar Series medium-duty trucks. Design Works U.S.A., a subsidiary of BMW, and Rouse Industries of Detroit, designed the new line. It's being built in Mexico for Western Star by Dina.