Despite the wholesale engineering effort required to fit new EPA ‘07-compliant diesel engines into heavy-, medium-, and light-duty chassis this year — and the higher sticker prices that go along with that effort — OEMs also saw fit to upgrade most of their models with other new features as well and even brought brand new trucks to market this year.
Perhaps the biggest news is in the medium-duty sector, where new factory-built hybrid diesel-electric trucks will be offered this year, along with new cabover and conventional cab designs. Heavy-duty fleets will also have new cab and chassis designs to look over, engineered to accommodate new engines and driver features.
Light-duty buyers will also find a big buffet of new models from almost all the major OEMs in their market that incorporate everything from sleek new exteriors on pickups to rollover stability systems on commercial vans.
Indeed, in many ways, the 2008 model year represents a turning point in truck design across the spectrum of Class 1 through 8 commercial trucks as pollution from diesel-powered vehicles gets cut to incredibly miniscule amounts while designs, truck capability, and even fuel economy experience positive changes across the board.