Those claims “are solely based on Class 8 on-highway operations,” according to Jack Allen, president of Navistar’s North American Truck Group. “Looking across all applications, [advanced EGR] is equal to SCR, and in some light- and medium-duty applications, EGR might even be better,” he said during a press conference yesterday.

According to Ramin Youonessi, group VP, product development & business strategy, the cooling requirements for Navistar’s 2010 engine solution will result in “no increase in hood length or height or make [the truck] lower to the ground; even the grille will stay the same from the outside. What we are changing is under the hood, by moving the charge air coolers.” He noted this will also “make under the hood more service-friendly” and add less than 50 lbs. in weight.

Youonessi said Navistar is currently conducting final validation testing of its 2010 engines. The OEM expects to unveil the 2010 models at its dealer meeting in October, and will have trucks for customer and media test drives available after that meeting, according to Hebe.
EPA certification and initial production of the MaxxForce MD and HD engines is expected “early next year,” Allen said. Development of a 15-liter MaxxForce Big Bore diesel based on Caterpillar’s C15 is continuing, and is expected to be ready for production sometime later in 2010.

Asked about Navistar’s ongoing federal suit over the EPA’s certification process for SCR engines, Allen said the U.S. Court of Appeals has not yet set hearing dates, nor has EPA issued a formal response.