Star Struck
42 OVERDRIVE APRIL 2009 Pho tos b y P aul Har tle y H eavy-truck drive tests are usually quiet affairs, attract-ing little notice. That wasn't the case, however, with International's latest on-highway road tractor, the LoneStar, a vehicle that attracts truckers and non-truckers alike as they turn their heads, hoist cell phone cameras and say, Wow! I fi rst witnessed this phenomenon in mid-January at a fuel stop on Interstate 10 near Baytown, Texas. I was aboard a glossy Canyon black LoneStar en route from the 37th Houston Marathon to the 43rd Super Bowl, this year in Tampa, Fla. One of my cabmates this was a three-driver run had pulled up to the pumps, and within minutes curious visitors ambled over to ask questions and shoot photos. This happens all the time, says Chris Folsom, a driver and event manager for Inmotion, the company that owns the truck. I don't mind the attention if we're stopped, but sometimes gawkers will drift into our lane going down the road, while they're trying to get a better look at all the chrome and lights. Such are the hazards of driving the most distinctive factory-built Class 8 truck on the planet. LoneStar was introduced in February 2008, during a splashy unveiling at the Chicago Auto Show. It was the biggest, most popular and most refl ective set of wheels on the show fl oor. International executives described it as an advanced classic, combining bold styling that normally appeals to owner-operators and other premier truck buyers with fuel-saving aerodynamics, popular among large fl eet managers. It's clear designers were given permis-sion to color outside the lines during development. The truck, which borrows chassis and electrical components plus its cab from other trucks in the compa-ny's lineup, is bold and angular, perhaps even aggressive and imposing. The front end, awash with truckin' bling, is based on the look of 1930s-era International C and D Series pickups. Subtlety is not part of the mix. From the start, we'd decided that this wasn't going to be a garden-variety vehicle, says L. David Allendorph, In-On a test drive to the Super Bowl, the LoneStar's dynamic styling commands attention. Performance is just as strong. BY PAUL HARTLEY Engineers worked to make maintenance easier. LoneStar's headlight bulbs can be replaced without tools. The distinctive grille and sloped hood were inspired by Inter-national's early 20th Century D-Series trucks.