July 29, 2009 Vol. 5, No. 15

In the seemingly endless war of words between the EGR and SCR camps, decorum has not always been evident. The rhetoric has occasionally been sharp and nasty. And Navistar executives have sometimes been a little… well, animated, in their criticism of SCR.

But in a combination online and telephone press conference yesterday, it was a more measured – and maybe more confident? – voice that we heard from the boys in Warrenville, Illinois. Jack Allen, president, Navistar North American Truck Group, was joined by Jim Hebe, executive vice president, North American sales, and Ramin Younessi, group vice president, product development and business strategy, in presenting the Navistar case to the usual assemblage of motor noters.

Mainly the reason for this virtual gathering was to announce pricing for 2010 Navistar truck engine products, but it also served as an update on the company’s progress with “advanced” EGR technology and its lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency. In fact, the affable Younessi joined the conversation from Colorado where, along with 30 engineers and 14 ‘010 trucks, he’s conducting hot-weather and high-altitude final-validation tests. That also include time spent in Death Valley and the infamous Baker grade. Extensive cold-weather testing has been done in Minnesota.