TORRANCE, CA – Representatives of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America (ICTA) visited Work Truck magazine recently, arriving, appropriately enough, in an Isuzu NPR truck.

Brian Tabel, retail marketing manager, and Ed Crawford, executive director of strategic marketing, gave Work Truck staff an overview of the 12,000 GVW medium-duty cab-forward truck, gasoline truck, at the magazine’s Torrance, Calif.-based headquarters.

Work Truck staff were given a walk around of the NPR with special emphasis on the teletrac system. The plug-and-play system allows fleet managers to monitor driver location and behavior via the fleet director web interface, updating driver activity every two minutes.

The NPR that visited Work Truck was equipped with a 6.0L V-8 gasoline engine, which achieves 297 hp. The standard cab design offers a 20 ft. cargo length. The crew-cab design has 16 ft. of cargo capacity. The NPR is also available with either a diesel, dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane-autogas engine.

Among the NPR’s biggest advantages for urban fleets is the cab-forward design, according to Crawford. He noted that the large window and the elimination of an engine in front of the cab, gives the driver better visibility while driving.

No matter the engine option, the powertrain is accessed by tilting the cab up, which can be performed by a single person without special tools.

By Chris Wolski