Equipment

The Chrome Shop Mafia goes green

May 21, 2007

You will want to see this little video for yourself: television’s popular Chrome Shop Mafia boys installing a SmartWay Upgrade Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a truck

Wendy Leavitt

You will want to see this little video for yourself: television’s popular Chrome Shop Mafia boys installing a SmartWay Upgrade Kit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a truck. It is not everyday that garage-grunge cool meets a federal regulatory agency with such happy results, but it is definitely the case here.

The four-minute, 17-second long clip is posted on http://www.youtube.com/. Search on “Chrome Shop Mafia” to access the video titled, “Chrome Shop Mafia goes Green” and you can see the crew make quick work of fitting side fairings, single-wide tires and a frame-mounted auxiliary power unit (APU) to a new International while providing an overview of the cost-saving benefits as they work.

The savings are worth mentioning, too. According to the EPA (and the Chrome Shop Mafia, of course) fleets or drivers can save up to $7,000 per truck per year (1,500 gallons of diesel) by installing the fuel-conserving equipment in the Upgrade Kit.

The SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaboration between the EPA and the freight industry to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. Participation is voluntary, and the program has been steadily gaining members. More information is available at www.epa.gov/smartway.

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.