Wagging the (bull)dog: on the road in the auto Mack Magnum
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• CM recently drove a left-hand drive Ma bodged Magnum demonstrator arou Allentown, Pennsylvania; home of Renault's subsidiary. This was no ordinary Magnum, hi ing been converted by Mack into a 6x4 usinc Hendrickson air-sprung Eaton back bogie (to the US passion for double drive) and Fitted witl nine-speed Fuller Roadranger box, controlled Eaton's AutoShift system, in place of the regu RVI B18 manual synchro box. By US standards the Magnum is a hea, weight—US truck makers build far ligh 6x45—and this has put off operators on the truck show circuit. However, drivers love its floor and roomy interior, along with its EuropE level of comfort. And all the Magnum's posii attributes, including a commanding view and excellent ride, ore as true in the US as they arE Europe. But the Eaton AutoShift makes it just a bit different. CM has already reported on the European version of AutoShift, based on Eaton's 16-speed Series synchro box (CM 1-7 Oct) so it was interesting to see how a US nine-speed works. Lin' the installation in the MAN F2000, which has a column selector, our Magnum had a flo mounted lever like a conventional Allison auto box. On AutoShift the clutch is retained pulling away and stopping; for all other changes the box works automatically, synchronising gears and selecting the appropriate ratio. On the European version the driver keeps his f dawn on the pedal and changes are made depending on throttle position and engine load. I the Mack, as each gear change was signalled to the driver by a bleeper, we had to lift off throttle and look at the rev counter needle dropping till the next gear 'caught", before press down on the pedal. This felt rather like Eaton's old SAMT. Also we understand the US AutoS we drove was an early version, and later versions will behave like their European cousins. Either way, AutoShift is very driver friendly. If you want to make your own shifts you sim press the up or down command buttons on the selector lever. While the manual clutch deliv low-speed control, considering how well ZF has managed without it in its AS-Tronic box reckon that AutoShift would be just as effective as a two-pedal system. Based on our brief drive, the nine-speed AutoShift works just as well as its 16-speed stak mate. Changes were smooth and progressive and well matched to the 460hp Mack E7 12-1 engine, prompting the question: why not offer a nine or 13-speed Roadranger-IDased AutoS box in Europe? Not least in a Renault Magnum!