Go lightly, but drive a big truck.
That's the idea behind a new UPS delivery vehicle being tested in Tucson and four other cities as part of the shipping company's efforts to cut back on fuel expenses and shrink its carbon footprint.
The company's CV-23 Prototype vehicle, which came to Tucson in April,, looks more or less like other UPS trucks that can be seen rumbling around the city except that the body is made of a lightweight, composite material.
Basically, it's a plastic truck.
The composite body panels cut the truck's weight by about 1,000 pounds. Combined with a smaller, 4-cylinder diesel engine, the truck is about 40 percent more fuel efficient than the typical UPS delivery vehicle, said Tony Coleman, the company's automotive fleet supervisor in Tucson.
The truck is living up to its billing, Coleman said.
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"So far so good. We've seen terrific numbers in fuel economy, which in these times is a big deal," he said.
The truck also features a smoother ride.
"I've noticed that it's quieter than a traditional aluminum truck," Coleman said. "The plastic panels don't rattle or make creaking noises. It's smoother, quieter. It feels lighter to drive."
The composite body panels are also easily replaced if damaged, saving UPS a trip to the body shop, Coleman said.
A UPS spokesman, writing on the company's website, said that although UPS uses almost 2,000 alternative-fuel vehicles for its business, the vehicles still aren't ready to handle high-mile delivery routes yet.
"In UPS' case, diesel is still the only capable option for many routes, so we're working to make it ultra-efficient," UPS public relations supervisor Michael French wrote on the UPS blog, "Upside."
UPS is testing five of the CV-23s in different environments, including Lincoln, Neb., Albany N.Y., Livonia, Mich., and Roswell, Ga. Tucson got the nod because UPS wants to see how the futuristic vehicle holds up throughout a hot, dry summer in the Sonoran Desert.
UPS will be testing the vehicles through December.
Find out more online
To learn more about the new UPS lightweight truck, go online to pressroom.ups.com/Composite+Car
Contact reporter Alex Dalenberg at adalenberg@azstarnet.com or 807-8429.