Tip-toeing through the Mercedes-Benz Trucks media website the other day I found some more pictures of the weird and wonderful Vos Logistics gas-powered Econic short-haul artic which the Dutch haulier is currently testing.
Underneath the heavily-modified Econic cab there lurks a reworked Mercedes OM906 seven-litre 279hp engine which can run on CNG or LNG (there are storage tanks behind the cab on left-hand-side--as you look at the front--of the chassis). It's also got a push-button auto and top mounted sleeper pod blended into the Econic's slab-fronted cabin to give it a far more streamlined look. BLB is trying to get a ride in it so keep watching this space. meanwhile click through here to see what an Econic normally does for a living....!
That's more like it. An Econic on the refuse run...and seeing how deep the normal rigid chassis cab's windscreen is, the Germans have probably used the one on the fire chassis (seen blow) for the Vos tractor. I climbed inside the Dutch treat at the RAI Show last October and it was a rather unusual beast having a pretty spartan interior (from the refuse truck I'd guess) but with this fully-trimmed top pod sleeper.
Considering that it had to start from scratch the Econic has been a runaway sucess with refuse fleets in the UK knocking many tradtional rivals for six and seeing off the likes of Seddon along the way. Merc has also got its sights firmly on the fire and rescue market too as exemplified by this fire truck. You might even say that Merc's Econic is going to blazes
this is the future