Autocar News & Resources Magazine

Fall 2010

Xpeditor E3 in the Headlines

The Autocar Xpeditor E3 Hybrid continues to grab the headlines as it makes its way into fleets across the country. At a recent media event in Florida, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, City of Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, and City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado gathered with officials from the EPA, Autocar and Parker Hannifin to recognize the introduction of the E3 to their waste collection fleets. Basically these trucks have no maintenance costs. The reduction is unbelievable, Alvarez said. So its going to cost less but more importantly it goes along our blueprint for a greener and sustainable Miami-Dade County. The three Miami area communities are very excited at the prospect of the E3s use of hydraulic energy to run, cutting fuel costs in half while reducing carbon and noise emissions. The communities are the first in the nation to implement this new technology for waste trucks. Jim Johnston, President of Autocar, spoke at the media event. None of us is as strong as all of us!, Johnston said. Bearing that in mind, the risks of following innovation and doing the right thing for the environment are lessened with the help of viable partners. Acknowledging the Miami area communities, Parker and Heil, Johnston added, The heart of the Autocar E3 is the Parker RunWise System! This is a modern machine that saves fuel, reduces harmful emissions, enhances performance, and makes repetitive maintenance issues, like constantly changing brakes, a thing CONTENTS of the past. Christopher Grundler, Deputy Director of the EPAs Office of Transportation and Air Quality had this to say at the media event, This unique hydraulic hybrid system represents a breakthrough in efforts to reduce mobile source related air pollution from these vehicles and their fuel use. (continued on page 3...) Page 1
A Note From Jim ............... 2 E3, continued .................... 3 SWANA Recap .................. 4 Steve Ginter....................... 4 Guest Column ................... 5 Friends of Autocar ............. 6
Published By: Autocar, LLC 551 South Washington St. Hagerstown, IN 47346 877.973.3486 info@autocartruck.com www.autocartruck.com 2010 Autocar, LLC All Rights Reserved

With the E3 behind him, Jim Johnston, President of Autocar, addresses the media

No Risk, No Reward!
It sounds simple enough, but in todays marketplace, there are many people trying to reap the rewards without taking any risk. Hybrid vehicles are a prime example of something that everybody wants, but only if it costs the same, accomplishes more, and they have the assurance that they can have it back the old way if the new way doesnt work out for them. I commend the municipals listed in this newsletter who have partnered with Autocar and Parker in the truest sense of the word and have taken a huge step forward in bringing real fuel and maintenance savings to their cities, while still doing what is right for our shared environment. We are positioning Autocar from the inside out on the values that built our country work hard, work smart, earn more! The supply chain that supports both us and the end user should be rewarded. However, pushing components through and not taking any risk to engineer them, or not aligning for after the sale support deserves no reward. To our customers if you perform your maintenance, participate in design and reviews, clarify applications up front, and keep the channels of communication open mutual success will be ours. The statement quoted on the front page of this newsletter comes from a plaque brought back from India by one of our most valued employees, None of us is as strong as all of us! If everyone believed in that just a little, none of us would think of claiming the reward for hard work and integrity without accepting the risk involved which is required for all of us to succeed in business today. So, in these extremely complex times that we are all working through, maybe some simplicity will help you make tough decisions. Hire, buy from, and sell to those who have tried and true values. Share the risk, and the shared reward will be compounded from what you could accomplish alone.

Thanks for your business!

James M. Johnston President Autocar, LLC 551 South Washington Street Hagerstown, IN 47346 765.489.6060 Office 765.994.5650 Cell 765.489.6063 Assistant, Heidi 765.935.9770 Home jjohnston@autocartruck.com www.autocartruck.com

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Xpeditor E3 in the Headlines

Grundler added, Given the magnitude of the fuel savings and corresponding emissions reductions this technology can offer, it can play a key role in creating a cleaner environment for these communities. This is particularly important considering that refuse trucks are one of the top three vehicle categories in average annual fuel use.

The Xpeditor E3 Makes a Splash at HTUF

The Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) 10th annual meeting was held September 28-30 at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn Michigan. The national forum brings together fleets, suppliers and manufacturers to examine the latest in hybrid technology for the trucking industry.

The Autocar E3 was part of the worlds largest convoy of advanced hybrid trucks and buses that rolled into Dearborn for the meeting.

HTUF is a national, multi-year, user-driven program to speed the commercialization of medium- and heavyduty hybrid and high-efficiency technologies. It is operated by CALSTART in partnership with the U.S. Armys National Automotive Center (NAC), with project support from the Hewlett Foundation and the Department of Energy. HTUF has been very successful in helping launch the first production of hybrid trucks and is credited with cutting up to two years from product development. HTUF has helped create the first markets and is now working to get purchase incentive funding. Autocar featured the latest E3 demo vehicle at HTUF. The new truck sports an eye-catching full-vehicle graphics wrap, shown at right. With Joe Autocar standing above the Earth, the tag line reads, Saving the planet...one route at a time.

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SWANA/WasteCon 2010 Recap

Autocar partnered with New Way to present an ACX front loader at the recent WasteCon show in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, LaBrie had one of their automated side loaders on a natural gas ACX in their booth. The trucks were well received by the mix of municipal and private haulers that attended the show.

Autocar representatives at WasteCon, left to right Craig Teune, Cliff Buck, Jon Loftis, Brian Rhoades

SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America) presents WasteCon annually to showcase the latest and greatest tools and equipment offerings to the waste industry.

Autocar Calls on Industry Veteran Steve Ginter to Lead Business and Product Development for the Eastern Region
Autocar is honored to announce the addition of Steve Ginter to its team as Director, Business and Product Development Eastern Region. In this role, Ginter will be an active participant in Autocars efforts to drive continuous product improvements and opening doors and selling in the East. A Masters of Science graduate in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, Steve has spent nearly his entire professional career in the class eight truck industry, excelling in a variety of roles from engineering to sales. Steve Ginter brings over 30 years of industry experience and is held in high regard with both customers and suppliers. One of Autocars core values is to hire A Players that have intellectual and moral integrity. This is exactly why Steve is a perfect fit for us! said James M. Johnston, President of Autocar. Page 4

Steve Ginter

GUEST COLUMN
Scott Edelbach, General Manager at Vocational Energy, joins us this issue with some very important and useful information about the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in the Refuse Industry.

CNG! The time is now Natural Gas is nothing new to the Refuse Industry. As a matter of fact, the refuse industry has been using Natural Gas Trucks for well over 20 years. Technology changes over the past several years along with rising fuel prices are now making the strongest case ever to move your fleet to CNG. 1 out of 5 garbage trucks in 2011 will be CNG powered! What is Natural Gas? Natural Gas is not a renewable. It is not a fuel source that has endless supply, it does however show a very promising future as a replacement for oil based fuels such as diesel and gasoline. Natural gas is a fuel source that consists mostly of methane. It is odorless, colorless and tasteless. Natural gas is non toxic and doesnt present the same storage or environmental hazards as diesel fuel. Natural gas is lighter than air and when released will dissipate into the atmosphere. It doesnt present the same storage or environmental hazards as diesel fuel. Natural gas ignites at 1100-1300 degrees where diesel ignites at 500-600 degrees. Supply Natural gas is abundant in the US. 98% of all consumed natural gas in the US comes from North America. New technologies in natural gas exploration and drilling are adding new gas supply from US production fields every day. Unlike oil that has been in production decline for several years, natural gas supply is increasing daily in the US and the rest of the world. Todays US supplies are at all time highs and prices are predicted to stay low for several years to come. Natural gas is abundant, clean and economical. What is CNG? Compressed Natural Gas is created by compressing pipeline quality gas with large compressors and storing it on a vehicle at 3,600 psi. Vocational Energy supplies a variety of time fill and fast fill CNG station configurations to fill your trucks at your location. The wonderful thing about CNG is that you can create a fuel supply at your location and eliminate lots of middlemen that mark up your current price of fuel. A typical refuse company will use a time fill station that fills the trucks up at night while they are parked. This is a unmanned operation that eliminates drivers waiting in fuel lines or driving out of their way to fill their trucks each day. A time fill station requires a small footprint

for compressors and filling equipment. Completing a CNG station project can be done in approximately the same time as it takes to order and receive your new CNG trucks and bodies. (about 5-6 months). Fuel Storage CNG doesnt achieve the same energy density as diesel fuel, thus requiring 4 times more fuel storage space on a vehicle. Special high pressure storage tanks installed on the trucks will hold similar volumes of fuel to what the average user is accustomed to. Average fuel tank configurations are available in 60, 75 and 82 Diesel gallon equivalents. Autocar provides CNG storage systems that accommodate nearly every axle and body configuration without compromising payload. Economics Owning your own CNG station has great economic benefits. CNG on average is half the cost of diesel fuel in most parts of the country. There are also several states that remove state road taxes or offer lower tax rates to CNG users. Natural gas is purchased from your local gas utility, rather from OPEC controlled oil companies. Natural gas prices can be locked for multiple years, protecting your contracts from rapidly increasing and unpredictable diesel fuel prices. An average garbage truck will save $15,000 to $20,000 per year in fuel costs. A 30 truck fleet on CNG will save $400,000 to $500,000 per year with CNG. The Vocational Energy team of engineers, electricians, high-pressure specialists and civil construction personnel have been involved with dozens of light and heavy duty CNG installation projects over the past 10 years. Vocational Energy currently holds a California Class A General Engineering Contractors License, National Building License, is a National Fire Protection Association Member and holds high and low pressure tubing certifications. Core Services Include: CNG equipment, engineering, permitting, construction, operation and maintenance training, maintenance facility methane detection systems and full-service maintenance services. We are your 1 stop shop for CNG! Contact Scott Edelbach at 813-5451343 or sedelbach@trucks.com to learn more.

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Friends of Autocar
The annual Friends of Autocar meeting and banquet was held on Saturday, October 2 at the Goshen Fire Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania. A beautiful sunny day greeted the large turnout of trucks and Autocar fans. Anyone interested in more information about the group should contact Ed Minshall at (610) 692-2786. Eds email address is minch1023@aol.com. There is also a web site with lots of valuable information at www.waykool.com/autocar.

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