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Benteler leads engineering of MAN heavy-duty serial hybrid concept Featuring a diesel engine from Audi as a range extender and modular energy storage beneath the driver’s cab, the MAN Metropolis plug-in hybrid truck concept—developed in cooperation with Benteler Engineering Services and revealed at the recent IAA Hanover Show—will begin a two-year field test as a refuse collection vehicle in January 2013. Read full story

Compressed natural gas gains momentum New commercial vehicles, onboard storage tanks, and shipping container-sized fueling stations signal the latest CNG products. Read full story

Powertrain outlook for Europe Neil Pattison, Cummins' Director of On-Highway Engine Business for EMEA & CIS, discusses Euro 6, natural gas, and hybridization at the recent IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover. Read full story

Rolling tires power self-inflation pumps Goodyear is developing an internal mechanically driven pump that keeps commercial truck tires topped off. Read full story

Drivetrain efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles targeted Government/industry team to study parasitic losses derived from waste energy expended in the agitation of the lubricating oil and surface-to-surface component friction, which together can account for more than a tenth of overall vehicle energy losses. Read full story

New heavy-duty Ram trucks feature Cummins diesel upgrades Highlights include oil change intervals doubled to 15,000 mi (24,000 km), introduction of urea injection with selective catalyst reduction NOx controls, and class-leading diesel torque. A dual radiator configuration and two transmission oil heat exchangers are in new front-end cooling module. Read full story

Scalable transmissions based on NuVinci CVP technology coming this decade Development of high-efficiency transmissions appropriate for light-passenger, off-highway, and commercial vehicles is the basis for strategic alliances involving Allison Transmission, Dana, and Fallbrook Technologies. Read full story

GM tools up for high-volume aluminum structures with new welding technology The process centers on a new electrode-tip design. It will enable GM’s global body shops to spot-weld virtually any combination of aluminum sheet, extrusions, and castings at higher production rates than are currently used in automotive aluminum-structures manufacturing. Read full story

Will DOT force trucks to talk? After roughly a decade of research into dedicated short range communications (DSRC), U.S. government agencies are preparing to decide whether to mandate adoption. Read full story