Road&Track tests the FedEx W700 Hybrid
I've been a long-time reader of Road&Track, and as long as I can remember, the April issue has always featured a special road test of a vehicle, outside the usual fare that they serve up. Past issues have included the likes of the Concorde, a Zamboni, the Goodyear blimp and a sedan chair. The April 2007 issue is no exception, featuring a comparison test of the some members of the DHL, UPS and FedEx delivery fleets.
Of interest to ABG readers in particular is the FedEx W700 Hybrid. This rolling delivery warehouse has 700 cu. ft. of interior volume for all those packages, and a parallel hybrid drive-train developed by Eaton. It uses a 4.3L four cylinder Mercedes-Benz diesel, mated with a 60hp electric motor and a 340V lithium-ion battery pack. The hybrid truck was the slowest of the three with a 0-60mph time of 20.9, although it was also more than twice the weight of the DHL and UPS vans. Actual fuel economy numbers are proprietary, but FedEx claims that the hybrid gets 42 percent better fuel efficiency than the standard W700.
[Source: Road&Track]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Rowell 8:58PM (3/04/2007)
**takes a second look at that photo**
So that's what's been happening to my shipments! lol
Seriously it's great that the shipping companies are looking at hybrids. This will save a lot of fuel and cut pollution, as well as lowering operating costs for the shipping companies and hopefully in the long run my shipping costs will go down!
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