T. Boone Pickens. Now that’s an honest to goodness Texas name through and through. Just forget the fact he was born in Oklahoma. You may recall a few years back when Mr. Pickens made headlines with his plan to build the largest wind plant in the world. Ultimately that plan feel through but you can’t keep a millionaire down. Yesterday Navistar and T. Boone’s company, Clean Energy Fuels Corp, announced that both companies were set to begin an aggressive push to develop natural gas powered heavy trucks and a nation wide fueling network. By the end of the year Navistar says it will be able to offer natural gas powered engines in the majority of its product lineup while CEFC plans to open 70 LNG filling stations across the country. Will this be enough to help sway an industry away from a proven and establish fuel source like diesel? Recently unveiled tax breaks for commercial NG powered vehicles just may help. It should also be noted that from an industry stand point this is hardly new territory. Many truck manufacturers already offer NG powered engines. Case in point, Freightliner, who recently celebrated their completion of their 1,000 CNG powered truck. Or how about this LNG 386 model from Peterbilt. The technology exists and has been proven to work from a variety of view points. Truck drivers no longer reak of fumes at the end of the day. Truck companies no longer have to worry about spikes in the already high cost of diesel. Environmentalists can be comforted by the fact that emissions are drastically reduced with a NG powered vehicle. And perhaps the biggest feather in the cap, the fuel is 100% domestic. No matter what happens the winners of yesterdays announcement are Navistar and CEFC as their respective stock prices rose by four and three percent by close of trading.
International ProStar+ Soon to be NG Powered.
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