Suppliers Say Time Remains to Meet '07 Engine Requirements

AS VEGAS — There is still enough time to test and market new heavy-duty truck engines to meet the next round of federal emissions rules that begin in 2007, several industry suppliers said recently.

However, most of them also said they could not rule out the chance for the same kind of turmoil that accompanied the introduction of the current generation of engines in October 2002.

But some manufacturers said they are already road-testing new- model engines with fleets, hoping to head off the uncertainty that caused carriers to buy large numbers of old-model engines in 2002 and avoid buying engines that met the new Environmental Protection Agency standards.

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