There's a funny thing about auto shows; from the outside, they appear to be all glitz and glamor, high-dollar extravaganzas to draw the attention of the nearest journalist, and later the consumer. In actuality, they are crushingly boring, highly stressed, cynical, irritating events which grow tiresome from both the PR side and the coverage side. Still, it's fun when you see something unexpected pop up on the floor. The new International LoneStar is definitely outside the mainstream of the average motor show. It was a welcome respite. We're digging the grill because it reminds us of the Shredder's helmet and mask. As a special bonus above that, the truck can be equipped with any of 42 different accessories, ranging from lights to shift knobs to acres of excess chrome. International has certainly switched its truck line from suck to blow.
GAME-CHANGING TRUCK COMBINES STYLE, FUNCTIONALITY; INTERNATIONAL LONESTAR DEBUTS AT CHICAGO AUTO SHOW
New Flagship Product Blends Striking Design, Fuel Economy, ComfortCHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2008 - The deep-throated roar of a big bore diesel engine wrapped in a sleek chrome grill announced the arrival today of the world's most innovative big-rig truck. Navistar International Corp. (Other OTC: NAVZ) unveiled its International® brand's new flagship product, the visually stunning and technologically advanced LoneStar, at the Chicago Auto Show.
With a striking, aerodynamic appearance and breakthrough functional innovations inside and out, the International® LoneStar® is the result of extensive customer research and automotive-inspired design - a new truck that changes the game for today's trucking professional. It creates a new category of Class 8 trucks called "Advanced Classic," in which technology and innovative styling converge with next-generation aerodynamic design to deliver superior fuel efficiency. LoneStar also sets a higher standard for comfort - through improved ergonomics, an industry-leading suspension, advanced electronics and a quiet cab.
"This truck is unlike anything on the road today," said Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar chairman, president and CEO. "The International LoneStar closes the gap between workstyle and lifestyle for driving professionals, combining peak productivity with emotional appeal. It is the product of Navistar's culture of relentless innovatation, and embodies the spirit both of today's driving professionals and the dynamic, transforming energy inside our company."
"Our customers told us they want three things: A truck that makes a statement about the driver, comfort on the road whether working or resting, and the combination of fuel economy and servicability that helps them make more money," said Dee Kapur, president, Navistar Truck Group. "LoneStar delivers on all accounts. Now, drivers don't have to compromise. They can have it all - looks, efficiency, comfort, functionality and productivity."
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International LoneStar Launched / Page 2
LoneStar is a breakthrough product that resulted from a breakthrough process. The truck progressed directly from math and clay models to production - without any development prototypes."Our engineering team, which has diverse backgrounds in the automotive, aerospace and trucking industries, felt confident that we could develop this truck without spending months in prototyping," said Tom Baughman, vice president and general manager, Navistar Heavy Truck Vehicle Center. "We knew we had a winning truck, and we wanted to make it available to our customers as soon as it could be ready."
LoneStar features advanced ride and handling, class-leading quietness and the luxurious and functional Suite interior that rivals many offices and living rooms.
Automotive-style features built into the LoneStar include:
• Standard ABS
• Roll stability
• Traction control
• Bluetooth Integration for hands-free phone use
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Automotive-style dash and gauges with rosewood or titanium trim
• 50-degree wheel cutLoneStar's interior is as distinctive, innovative and practical as its skin. After listening to hundreds of driving professionals, the design team developed an interior that features a level of comfort and functionality typically found in recreational vehicles.
Interior highlights include:
• Wood flooring in the sleeper cab
• Sofa-bed design with back pillows
• Swivel chairs
• Closed "airline" cabinets for maximum storage
• Monsoon stereo system with 11 speakers, sub-woofer and amplifier
• Pull-down bed with 42-inch premium mattress
• Workspaces to plug in laptop computers and work in a desk-like setting
• Mini refrigerator"In an average week, a truck driver may spend 120 hours in his or her truck - driving, eating, sleeping, running a business, even entertaining friends," said David Allendorph, chief designer for Navistar's Truck Group. "We designed the LoneStar's environment to be both highly functional and comfortable. No other truck's interior delivers the style, comfort and practicality we have built into the LoneStar."
Fuel efficiency is increasingly important for truck owners. LoneStar is projected to be five percent to 15 percent more fuel efficient than classic trucks, equating to an annual savings of $3,000 to $8,000.
"The aerodynamic design of LoneStar's hood, windshield and side skirts will save them real money," Allendorph said. "Truck pros can have a unique, customizable truck that will reward them at the pump. When you are spending $1,000 or more with each fill-up, you really appreciate the fuel efficiency of the LoneStar."
The distictive grille and sloped hood were inspired by International's D-Series trucks, which helped transform America's cross-country transportation in the early 20th Century. A restored and modified example of that truck, the DMAXX, also is on display at the International booth.
The LoneStar will be available for order from nearly 900 dealer locations in North America beginning in April 2008. Production of the trucks will begin in August 2008 at Navistar's plant in Chatham, Ontario, Canada and will be delivered to customers in fall 2008.
In addition to the LoneStar and DMAXX, other Navistar vehicles at the Chicago Auto Show include the International MaxxPro™, Navistar's mine-resistant military vehicle that helps protect the U.S. military from roadside bombs; a military version of the International MXT that includes Raytheon's advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (SL-AMRAAM) launcher; and the civilian International MXT, an extreme pickup truck launched at the Chicago Auto Show in 2006 that can haul nearly eight tons and tops out at $135,000.














Comments
I see your Schwartz is as big as mine...
Nice Spaceballs reference in the writeup, which saved us all the trouble.
I see you met again for the first time for the last time.
pt cruiser is going to sue. man is that thing hideous.
We're gonna have go right to... ludicrous speed.
Nice truck.
NINJA
NINJA....RAP
NINJA
NINJA...RAP
GO NINJA, GO NINJA, GO!
"In an average week, a truck driver may spend 120 hours in his or her truck - driving, eating, sleeping, running a business, even entertaining friends...".
Wink-wink. Nudge-nudge.
@harumph: Exactly what I was thinking.
This isn't the hybrid version then?
Nothing says "I've got the best meth at the rest-stop" like a well appointed sleeper cab.
So this is what the trucker with a small penis buys?
If Spiderman ever needed a big rig...
looks like they grille engineered a CTS
@mwood10: Well, that and a pair of truck testicles.
okay we are now ready to officially launch Dekatora madness in the States..
This thing's airhorn should produce the first two notes of the JAWS theme!!
Nice. This truck would look great in a remake of "Maximum Overdrive." Yeah, let's get THAT rumor started.
Maximum Overdrive!
@yellofury: Factory Dekatora! Yesss! Now we need to get Peterbuilt and Mack to start churning out 'Acres of Neon and chrome' factory kits.
And those spiky spoilers, too.
@beercheck: Say not more!
Oops, Say NO more> :-)
@ash78: Exactly what I thought when I saw the word "Lonestar"
This thing looks like it is auditioning for a roll in the next Pixar/Disney "Cars II" movie. Already has the mouth in the right spot just like Mack.
I hope that smoke isn't diesel exhaust! *cough-cough*
"We're not just doing this for money.....we're doing it for a SHITLOAD of money!"
" ...a military version (of the International MXT) that includes Raytheon's advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (SL-AMRAAM) launcher"... Just the thing to get those pesky cars outta the way...
This is a really interesting design, if someone with some talent, and taste were to tone the chrome down, change the grill material( billet,similar in style to a 34 ford),and give it a some killer paint I'd say a tasteful Ohio style flame job, this thing would be a visual knockout ....for a truck.
In the Navistar headquarters.......I've got it! We need a semi with the front-end styling of the Kia Amanti!
Wow!!! Thats one big PT Cruiser ....
@highmile: it's sloppy but, here's Michael Strahan playing the LoneStar in said Cars II
I'm pretty sure that's dragon smoke in the background.
Ray, are you reading all of these comments. There goes my idea of doing a weekly Truck Feature...
@UDMAN: I read every comment...
@UDMAN:WEEKLY TRUCK WOULD WORK FOR ME! DO YOU SELL OR DRIVE UD'S?
@DWMILLER: I'm a Factory Rep for them....
"The evil Optimus prime" Scourge [en.wikipedia.org] or Ultra Magnus [en.wikipedia.org]
UGULY.
Paint it matt something-or-other, cover it in road dirt and kick it about a bit and it would be ideal for a remake of Duel.
You guys should have asked them if we're going to see any of this new design language on the '09 Scout.
I want this so bad. I want to blast down I-30 with "Lone Star Queen" blasting out all 11 speakers, with a rough-looking dog riding shotgun. Because, as we all know there's beer in Texarkana and their thirsty in Atlanta, so let's put that hammer down and give it hell.
I like it.
A weekly truck feature would add to the rich tapestry that is jalopnik.
When did Chery start doing design work for International?
@UDMAN: "Black Smoke Burping" title?
never saw a truck post on jalopnik...and it's not even a repost. Very nice rig, i would make the stacks curve rather than sharp bend, I can hear a wallop of a signal at an idle smashing my head while sleeping in the bunk already....top of bunk has a good shape to avoid alot of underhood noises, versus, a round ampitheatre amplifier in 99% of rigs now. The fronts angle seems to invite road debris, but who knows how much the clutch fan is spinning when neutral to take some of it in.All that nice design now needs is a 16.4 liter 550 hp v8... love the fenders too, appears low. nice to see a difference in the trucking world. 30 year old long nose peterbuilts still seem to be too popular proving bad evolution.
@UDMAN: Pardon my ignorance... just who or what is UD...?
Awesome truck, easily the best roadgoing interpretation of streamlined Art Deco this side of WWII.
Awesome truck! I'll order mine as a long Wheelbase straight truck chassis and put a 20 foot "sleeper" just ahead of the hitch for the gooseneck race trailer..... Right after I hit the Lottery.
@Euromobile:
"...it would be ideal for a remake of Duel."
I was thinking with a matt-finish it'd be perfect for reviving the Mad Max franchise, with people clamboring all over the external surfaces, firing crossbows and swinging mace-and-ball and stuff like that...
Mel G. could run over a few Jews and rescue his sugar-tits love interest while drunk and barreling down Pacific Coast Hwy. with a real crappy haircut...
When I saw that hideous grillepiece, I thought Cadillac was getting into the Big Rig business.
EuroRigs FTW!
@Charles_Barrett: They are the cab-over commercial truck division of Nissan, if I am not mistaken.
And that is THE BIGGEST PT CRUISER I'VE EVER SEEN!
@Charles_Barrett: They are the cab-over commercial truck division of Nissan, if I am not mistaken.
And also, I gotta say,... THAT'S THE BIGGEST PT CRUISER I'VE EVER SEEN!
"...5-15% better fuel economy than classic trucks..."
gee, thanks for clearing up that for us.
@peabody3684: You know what? That's actually a pretty good idea.
@Charles_Barrett: I know Austinminiman already said it, but this is a UD.

Or at least one of our models.
These are Trucks From Nissan Diesel Japan
And we are now owned by Volv