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Navistar buys former Studebaker test track
May 20, 2015
Indiana proving ground to let truck manufacturer test systems in house.
Navistar has purchased a historic proving ground in Indiana and plans to use it to test new trucks, school buses, and military vehicles.
Now called the Navistar Proving Grounds, the test track dates back to 1926 when Studebaker built it for testing. Adjacent to the track, trees were planted in a specific formation so the Studebaker name is still visible in aerial photography.
In 1963, Studebaker shut down production in nearby South Bend, Indiana, and sold the track to commercial truck systems company Bendix, a company now known as Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems. In 1996, German automotive supplier Robert Bosch bought the track to test its components and began allowing other automotive companies to do the same. By the time Bosch sold the property to Navistar, more than 75% of the testing work done there was for non-Bosch work.
The 668-acre site includes a three-mile paved and banked oval with several that Navistar hopes to use for:
- Brake testing capabilities which include infrastructure, complete instrumentation, and computerized data acquisition
- Structural durability testing/accelerated mile accumulation with road profile capability using accelerometer and strain gage data and multiple road surfaces including chatter, impact, cobblestone, undulating, resonance road surfaces, high speed oval, gravel, body/chassis twist event, and off-road surfaces
- Specialized testing such as vehicle noise and handling, center-of-gravity, rollover and roof crush testing, gradeability up to 60%, traction control, and powertrain durability
"The new Navistar Proving Grounds is a strategic addition to our product development operations and will play an important role in our mission to deliver industry-leading uptime for our customers," says Bill Kozek, president, Navistar Truck and Parts. "Beyond testing our latest vehicles and innovative technologies, we will also use the site as a customer center to showcase new products and give customers an opportunity to experience our vehicles firsthand."
Located about 90 miles from Navistar headquarters in Lisle, Illinois, the close proximity of Navistar Proving Grounds will complement the company's validation center in Melrose Park, Illinois, driving efficiencies and allowing test capabilities to be managed in-house by Navistar.
Source: Navistar
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