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Navistar International Corp. said Wednesday that one of its affiliates will create a joint venture with U.K.-based Modec Ltd. to build Class 2 and 3 all-electric commercial trucks in the United States for sale to North, Central and South American markets.

Representatives of several high-tech firms said they already are marketing, or soon will offer, systems designed to prevent motorists from texting and talking on cell phones while driving their vehicles.

Navistar Inc., which said it has spent $600 million to develop its 2010 exhaust gas recirculation engine, said the company is losing sales of next year’s model because federal regulators “helped create the false impression” among customers that only urea-based after-treatment systems would meet 2010 federal emissions standards.

U.S. Class 8 truck sales in October were 29.6% lower than year-ago levels, marking the 10th straight month this year that sales have trailed 2008’s results, according to data from WardsAuto.com.

North American Class 8 truck orders shot up sharply in October to about 22,000 vehicles, double the previous month’s total and more than twice the year-ago total, according to data from two research firms.

For more than a decade, the trucking industry has called for an overhaul of the Department of Transportation’s safety fitness measurement and rating systems. Fortunately, DOT heard these calls and soon will implement its new system — Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010. CSA 2010’s measurement component will be rolled out in July 2010; the rating component will be implemented after a future rulemaking process is completed.

Navistar Inc. said that it has acquired certain assets of Continental Diesel Systems US.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s third-quarter profit more than doubled, though the company forecast an operating loss for its North American market this year.

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) has proposed requiring truck drivers there to use only Global Positioning System devices that are equipped with truck route information to keep them off restricted roads.