MOSSVILLE, Ill. Caterpillar says its trucking customers are putting tens of thousands of miles on its 2007 reduced-emissions engines and reporting that fuel economy and performance is on par or better than previous engines.

One such customer is Ray Birkmire, an over-the-road driver for New

Century Transportation in Westampton, N.J. Birkmire, who has been driving big rigs for 35 years, averages 130,000 miles annually running coast to coast.

Earlier this year, he took delivery of a new truck equipped with a 430-horsepower 2007 C13 Cat. So far, he has put 80,000 miles on the engine, using the required ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel.

Even with the new fuel, performance and economy is equal to or better than previous engines, says Birkmire. "I'm happy with the engine, it does a good job. I'm not seeing any performance issues with it using the ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel.

"It pulls a mountain in Tennessee that I regularly run at about 65 miles

per hour, the same as the previous Cat engine I had," he reports. "We're getting good fuel mileage, too - it gets 6.8 miles per gallon, and I was amazed that this truck would get that."

Although the '07 engine comes equipped with a self-regenerating diesel particulate filter, driving the new C13 feels the same as running a Cat engine always has, according to Birkmire.

"There's no special training required. The dealer sat down with me when the truck came in and explained the regeneration process and the indicator

lights," he said. "Usually it regenerates all by itself, I don't have to do anything."

Cat says its '07 engines are designed to meet the stringent '07 EPA emissions standards without sacrificing performance, reliability or

fuel economy.

Robert Long, chief financial officer of USA Dry Van Logistics of McAllen, Texas, said his company tested its new Cat engines against competing power plants. "The Cat's doing a lot better than those engines, averaging about 7.2 or 7.4 miles per gallon," said Long.

"We weren't afraid to jump into the new motor and it's doing well for us. Drivers love them too, and haven't had problems with them," added Long.

With the same range of engine ratings, fuel economy and projected

life to overhaul as previous engines, the 2007 model Cats provide the value, performance and fuel economy customers expect, said George Taylor, director and general manager, Global On-Highway at Caterpillar.

"With refinements to the same technology approach proven successful over millions of miles, the new engines are meeting or exceeding our customers' expectations in every way," Taylor added.