DaimlerChrysler is expanding the scope of its Sprinter van chassis as it seeks to win more commercial customers. “We're trying to form more alliances with body suppliers so we can expand the appeal of the Sprinter in the commercial sector,” Craig Fisher, director of marketing for the Sprinter, told FLEET OWNER. “We're especially hoping to increase the awareness of our cab-chassis in the light commercial market in terms of what we think are its two main advantages — fuel economy and low maintenance costs.”
The 2004 Sprinter 3500 cab chassis, now marketed through DainlerChrysler's Dodge truck subsidiary, comes in two wheelbases — 140 and 158 in. Equipped with a 2.7L in-line 5-cyl. turbodiesel engine, the 140-in. Sprinter cab chassis gets between 22 and 28.6 mpg, while the 158-in. model comes in between 18.7 and 24.7 mpg.
“The fuel cost is the critical point with the Sprinter,” Fisher explained. “It gets almost twice the fuel economy of a comparable light-duty work truck.”
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