Fuel Economy Won’t Drop in ’07, Truck, Engine Makers Say

TLANTA — Next year’s lower-emission truck engines should prove to be as reliable and as fuel efficient as current models, avoiding the problems carriers faced in the last round of emissions cuts, truck and engine builders said.

The manufacturers said that despite government standards that force them to add or tighten pollution-control equipment, the new engines themselves are actually more economical, offsetting the reduced power yield of ultra-low-sulfur diesel that the new engines need.

Referring to the fuel-economy drop of about 5% for engines built to meet emissions rules in force after October 2002, the head of the biggest U.S. truck maker said, “This time, we’ve achieved about the same level” of fuel efficiency as “we did with the 2004 models.”