Caterpillar today announced that it will offer a special coverage program on all 2007-model Cat® engines with ACERT™ Technology delivered to end-users in the U.S. or Canada during the first half of 2007 for commercial on-highway service. "Many fleets have told us that they're concerned about the technology changes that all the engine manufacturers are making in their 2007 engines. Cat has nearly 12 million test miles on our 2007 pre-production engines, and customers who are operating them are telling us that they're as reliable and fuel efficient as Cat engines have always been," said George Taylor, director and general manager of Caterpillar On-Highway Engine Business. "We want to share that confidence with users who are undecided on their engine purchases. So we are offering free Extended Service Coverage and our On-Time Promise on every 2007-model Cat engine." The new program, called Caterpillar Pure Confidence, includes Extended Service Coverage (ESC) and the Cat On-Time Promise. ESC offers full parts and labor coverage on covered engine and emission components for three years/300,000 miles on all C9, C13 and C15 engines and three years/150,000 miles on all C7 engines. To receive this coverage, these engines must be purchased and delivered between January 1, 2007 and June 30, 2007. And, if a 2007-model Cat engine requires repairs that will keep it sidelined for more than 24 hours during 2007, Cat will reimburse the user for a rental vehicle to get the load to the destination on time. Some restrictions apply. See your Cat or Cat-authorized truck dealer for details of the program. The evidence that Cat is ready for 2007 is rolling in: more than 100 pre-production engines are being tested by 56 fleets and are demonstrating excellent reliability and fuel economy virtually identical to 2006-model engines. Maintenance Director Curtis Wright of A. Passmore & Sons Trucking in Altus, Okla., is currently testing several pre-production 2007 Cat engines with ACERT Technology and reports that reliability and fuel economy are fulfilling their expectations. "Regarding fuel economy, the Cat '07 pre-production engine runs right in the same ballpark as our current Cat engines," Wright said. "I have no maintenance issues with the pre-production engine in this truck; it just hasn't broken down. It's a profitable truck." Bill Chaney of L.H. Chaney Materials Inc., a highway construction materials hauler in Roanoke, Texas, agrees. "Since putting two Cat '07 pre-production engines into service, we've had no problems. Based on our experience, we feel extremely confident with Cat's product moving into '07," Chaney said. The new Pure Confidence program is exactly what customers expect from Caterpillar, according to David Freymiller, president of Freymiller Inc. in Oklahoma City, who currently is running a Cat '07 pre-production engine. "In the past 12 months, with 160,000 miles on the engine, we have only had one minor repair. In all of the years that we've run Caterpillar, Cat has always stood behind their products," he said. Caterpillar has sold more than 450,000 on-highway engines with ACERT Technology to more than 46,000 customers since the technology was introduced in 2003. Customer acceptance of Cat engines is reflected in the company's sixth J.D. Power and Associates Award, which Caterpillar received in 2006 for "Highest Customer Satisfaction With Vocational Heavy Duty Diesel Engines." Customer satisfaction was measured in the J.D. Power and Associates annual study of vehicle owners who operate in typically rugged vocations such as dump trucks or garbage trucks. The new engines feature an enhanced version of ACERT Technology that allows these engines to comply with the 2007 EPA regulations without sacrificing reliability, durability or fuel economy.