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Trucks Turn To High Tech

Manfredi Motor Transit Co. of Newberry, Ohio, owns 101 Freightliners with antilock braking systems (ABS). Since 1986, when the company first bought electronically controlled brakes for its factors, the trucks have tallied 16 million miles, hauling tankers, some containing hazardous liquids. None of the trucks has been in any accident reportable to the Department of Transportation--any accident resulting in personal injury or more than $4,250 in damages--says the company's president, Richard J. Manfredi. "And the cost of maintenance has been zero."

Manfredi says his firm can justify the cost of ABS (listed by the manufacturers at $1,850 for a four-channel system) on the basis of accident reduction. The company's fleet is 45-percent ABS-equipped, and Manfredi plans to make it 100 percent by the end of 1991.

Technological developments such as ABS are making trucks safer, easier to drive, more comfortable to ride in, and more economical to operate.

A 1989 heavy-duty truck typically gets 8 miles per gallon, while a 5-year-old model gets about 4. Truck maintenance cycles are lengthening, and maintenance costs are falling.

Volvo-GM predicts the point at which a first engine overhaul is required on most trucks will rise to 600,000 miles by 1992 from the current average of 300,000 to 400,000. It should be 1 million miles by 2004, when the firm predicts maintenance costs should drop to 70 percent of what they are today.

These improved trucks are going to cost more because of higger costs of engines and other components. Heavy-duty trucks' prices began edging up last fall; increases could average up to $2,200 for some trucks.

Analysts expect that in a few years, light trucks will be brought into compliance with most of the federal emission and safety standards now required of passenger cars, including passive seat belts or air bags. This could add $1,000 or more to the prices of light trucks.

Diesel-powered trucks also will cost more. They must meet tough federal rules on sooty particulate exhaust emissions.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:58 AM