Caterpillar Earns J.D. Power and Associates Award for Customer Satisfaction With Heavy-Duty Engines

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has received a prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Award for ranking highest in customer satisfaction for its Pickup and Delivery Heavy-Duty diesel engines as part of the 2007 Heavy-Duty Truck Engine/Transmission Study.

This award is the tenth Caterpillar has received from J.D. Power and Associates for heavy-duty truck engine customer satisfaction. This marks the 11th year the J.D. Power and Associates study has been undertaken.

"The J.D. Power and Associates Award is important because it is based on the feedback from the end-users of our heavy-duty diesel engines. It reflects our total commitment to customer satisfaction," said George Taylor, director and general manager, Global On-Highway at Caterpillar. "It is also exciting that the state-of-the art technology used in our engines is helping to reduce emissions without sacrificing engine performance and reliability."

Caterpillar received the highest numerical score among pickup and delivery (day cab) heavy-duty diesel engines in the study, which was based on 2,677 primary maintainers fo two-year-old heavy-duty trucks (Class 8 - weighing 33,000 pounds or more). Pickup and delivery vehicles usually return to their home base each night and are used in on-road applications such as package delivery, beverage processing & distribution, food processing & distribution, and petroleum distribution.

Four vital engine factors were measured (in order of importance): engine quality (30 percent); engine performance (26 percent); engine cost of ownership (22 percent); and engine warranty (22 percent). According to the study, Caterpillar rated highest in customer satisfaction in the heavy engine pickup and delivery segment with an index score of 754, and particularly well in the "engine quality" and "engine performance" factors.

The truck engines use Caterpillar ACERT™Technology, a long-term solution that reduces emissions at the point of combustion without sacrificing engine performance and reliability. A systems approach to emissions reduction, it relies on advanced technologies in four key areas: improved air management, precision combustion technology, advanced engine electronics and a simple after-treatment process.

"We continue to see strong ongoing customer acceptance for Cat engines with ACERT Technology," added Taylor. "ACERT Technology remains the solution for future engines."

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on cell phone ratings, car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Issue 55 11/6/07
To learn more about Caterpillar On-Highway Engines, please visit:
http://www.cattruckengines.com/.