Work Truck Show 2012 to again host Green Truck Ride-and-Drive

The Work Truck Show 2012 will once again max out available space at the Indiana Convention Center to provide show attendees with access to 21 environmentally friendly vehicles during the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive. Equipment demonstrations of electric PTOs and similar technologies also will take place in a stationary display area adjacent to the outdoor Ride-and-Drive course.

The Work Truck Show, North America’s largest work truck event, runs March 6-8, 2012. Education sessions start March 5. The Green Truck Ride-and-Drive is open to all Show attendees on Tuesday, March 6, and Wednesday, March 7, from 12:00pm to 4:30pm. There is no additional charge to participate.

A fixture of The Work Truck Show since 2007, the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive gives Show attendees the opportunity to experience cutting-edge technologies and energy-efficient vehicles firsthand. This year’s event includes a wide range of environmentally friendly drive systems, including CNG, propane, battery-electric, extended range electric, ultra-clean biodiesel, bi-fuel CNG, electric hybrids (series and parallel), and hydraulic hybrids. Some of the vehicles will also feature lightweight and aerodynamic technologies that further reduce the vehicle’s fuel consumption.

“Driving a truck under real-world conditions provides insights into the vehicle that you can’t get any other way,” explains Bob Johnson, NTEA fleet relations director. “You can experience for yourself the vehicle’s handling characteristics, sounds, user-friendliness and more. If you’re interested in green vehicles, be sure to allow time in your Show schedule for the Ride-and-Drive.”

A variety of work trucks will be represented in the Ride-and-Drive, including cargo and service vans, pickup trucks, dump trucks, shuttle buses, walk-in vans, tree-trimming trucks, utility trucks, box trucks, cutaways and more. The Ride-and-Drive is sponsored by Hino Trucks. The companies providing vehicles for the Ride-and-Drive are:

• Altec Industries (stationary demonstration)
• BAE Systems
• Cummins Crosspoint
• Electric Vehicles International
• Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation
• Freightliner Trucks
• Hino Trucks
• IMPCO Automotive
• International Truck
• Isuzu Commercial Truck of America
• Kenworth Truck Co
• Knapheide Manufacturing Company (The)
• Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products
• Lightning Hybrids
• Motiv Power Systems
• Peterbilt Motors Company
• Propane Education & Research Council (PERC)
• Ram Trucks
• Reading Truck Body
• Roush CleanTech
• Smith Electric Vehicles

Access to the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive is included with Work Truck Show registration. Attendees sign up on the Show floor for the vehicles they want to drive on a first-come, first-served basis. A CDL is required in order to drive a few of the vehicles. (Attendees without a CDL are welcome to ride in these vehicles as they are driven by manufacturers’ representatives.) The Ride-and-Drive course covers city streets to provide a realistic driving experience.

Complete vehicle descriptions will be available online in January. Visit www.ntea.com/worktruckshow/greenproductsandprograms to learn more about the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive, Green Truck Summit and other Work Truck Show 2012 green products and programs.

To register for The Work Truck Show 2012, visit www.ntea.com or call 1-800-441-NTEA (6832).