Freightliner LLC announced it has initiated the build of EPA 2007 emissions-certified heavy-duty Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines.

The new EPA regulations will drive significant near-term improvements in truck emissions and air quality. Series 60 engines compliant with the new regulations emit 95 percent less particulate matter and 50 percent less nitrogen oxide than comparable engines in 2006.

"These engines pass the ‘white handkerchief test’ where a white hanky placed over the exhaust pipes of the running truck shows there is no soot or odor emitted,” said Tim Tindall, director of sales. “They also demonstrate Freightliner and Detroit Diesel’s commitment to clean air and environmental progress."

Freightliner said it has made a significant investment in the innovation of this new technology in its Detroit Diesel engines, including extensive validation with laboratory and field-testing. Since the inception of the development program in 2004, Series 60 engines that are EPA’ 07 compliant have accumulated more than 14 million equivalent miles, with 2.5 million of those miles in actual customer vehicles executing revenue service.

The engine and aftertreatment technology developed for Detroit Diesel engines in conjunction with the newer 15 ppm ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel spearheaded by the U.S. EPA, provides exceptional performance in reducing diesel emissions, the company said.

Freightliner’s Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Mich., began building engines in December. These first 2007 emission-certified engines were installed in vehicles at Freightliner’s Cleveland, N.C., Portland, Ore., and St. Thomas, Ont., truck plants beginning on Jan. 8, with initial customer deliveries planned before the end of January.

For more information, visit http://www.freightliner.com/.