The Pete Store Delivers Class 8 Hybrid to American Honda Motor Company

Baltimore, MD - 13 Mar, 2009 00:00:00
As part of an on-going effort to reduce its CO2 global footprint and overall fuel consumption, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., (www.honda.com) has become the first company in its industry to introduce a Class 8 hybrid diesel electric truck into its fleet

As part of an on-going effort to reduce its CO2 global footprint and overall fuel consumption, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., (www.honda.com) has become the first company in its industry to introduce a Class 8 hybrid diesel electric truck into its fleet. Built for Honda by Peterbilt Motors Company, and delivered by The Pete Store, Inc., the Smartway(SM)-certified Model 386 hybrid truck is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 45 tons per year, when compared to its diesel counterpart.

Honda uses Class 8 trucks to transport service parts between its parts centers and dealerships. The company’s diesel truck fleet, operated by its truck fleet partner, UPS Freight Truckload, typically travels 300,000 miles per day.

The hybrid truck will be utilized along two routes — a hilly route in Tennessee and a relatively flat one in Georgia — in order to evaluate the truck’s fuel economy under various driving conditions. Honda will alternate the hybrid with a standard diesel Peterbilt Model 386 and will collect data using engine telematics to accurately compare the performance of the two trucks on the same routes. Testing and evaluation will take place over the next year.

"We’re excited to add this environmentally advanced truck to our fleet," said Jim Roach, senior vice president of Parts and Service for American Honda. "With our truck fleet driving hundreds of thousands of miles per day, we feel this is a great opportunity for Honda to further reduce its carbon footprint."

The Hybrid technology utilized on this truck was designed by Eaton Corporation. The system (called Eaton Hybrid Power System) retains energy generated by the engine, which would normally be lost during braking, and stores it in batteries for later use. That electricity is then sent through the motor/generator and blended with engine torque to improve vehicle performance, operate the engine in a more fuel-efficient range for a given speed and/or operate only with electric power in certain situations. The system also improves fuel efficiency and lowers emissions by powering the heating, air conditioning and vehicle electrical systems utilizing a no idle auxiliary power unit when the engine is off.

The Pete Store, Inc.(www.ThePeteStore.com ), who delivered the vehicle also made news in 2007 for delivering what was the world’s first class 8 hybrid to Walmart Stores Inc.

"Everyone here at The Pete Store takes great pride in the role we have, and continue to play in providing innovative products to world-class organizations like Honda, UPS, and Walmart," said John Arscott, President of The Pete Store, Inc. "Our wide range of hybrid offerings deliver a combination of outstanding product quality, low overall operating costs and superior efficiency making them an excellent choice for environmentally conscious organizations looking to further their efficiency initiatives."