AVFI 2008: Sterling's new (and first) natural gas tractor

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It was hard to miss the colorfully-decorated natural gas truck that Sterling Truck Corporation brought to the AFVI Show in Las Vegas this week. This is a huge cab that Sterling is calling the Set-Back 113, and the company claims it can save fleet operators up to six grand a year in fuel and operating costs, on top of any tax credits and other government incentives. There was no one at the booth who could talk to us about the truck, but this is where press releases come in handy.

Fleet operators were a big part of the AFVI Show, especially yesterday (it was Fleet Day, after all, and today is Public Day) and the main customer base that Sterling will likely be selling the Set-Back 113 to are port operators, natural gas utilities and municipalities. Natural gas is burned in a Cummins Westport ISL G 8.9 liter stoichiometric cooled-exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) engine. Sterling says this combination "offers the lowest emissions available in the industry without sacrificing top-level performance and efficiency." At the very least, the ISL G with its maintenance-free exhaust system already meets 2010 emissions standards. The display version is pretty, too. Check it out in the gallery below.

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[Source: Sterling]

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