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Trucks strut in Kentucky by Steve Sturgess They do things

2nd April 1998, Page 24
2nd April 1998
Page 24
Page 25
Page 24, 2nd April 1998 — Trucks strut in Kentucky by Steve Sturgess They do things
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big in the States: the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky was the biggest to date, reflecting the strength of US haulage.

Taking centre stage was Freightliner's Argosy, the first new American cabover in 16 years—which isn't surprising with cabovers accounting for a mere 3% of the Class 8 (over-15-tonne) truck market. Freightliner president Jim Hebe is adamant that only an American-designed cabover is right for the home market. But he's bullish about exchanging components between US and European vehicles: the lightweight Actros due in Europe next year will have a 12-litre unit-pump straight-six based on Detroit Diesel's Series 55.

Hebe has also been showing the Mercedes Sprinter and Vario to Freightliner dealers to gauge their reaction. Other truck manufacturers with European partners are testing the water for cabovers. Mack displayed parent RVI's Premium and AE with North American components and 12V electrics: the Premium had a prototype E5 engine derived from Renault's 10-litre, stretched to 11 litres and matched to Eaton's 8209 with two-pedal EasyClutch control. Paccar showed a Daf 85 on the Peterbilt stand with a 95XF over at Kenworth: the Wall Street Journal reports that Paccar is exploring the possibility of bringing in Daf kits for assembly. Peterbilt has at least one chassis running with a 480hp Daf XF engine for evaluation, but Foden doesn't appear to be a potential North American entrant.

Volvo president Marc Gustafson had considered showing an FH but decided to focus on the VN conventional. He revealed that Volvo plans to rationalise its worldwide product to three ranges: the VN, the FM and the FH.

Transmission specialists Eaton Fuller and Mentor (née Rockwell) all showed shift-by-wire solutions: Eaton's is an AutoShift version of its 18-speeder; the only transmission that can cope with the 2,780Nm (2,050Ibft) produced by Cat and Cummins 600hp engines. Mentor's box is a simple 10-speeder with a Wabco electronic shift tower which can flip down out of the way like the Actros unit. What will they do with the hole in the floor where the gearlever used to sprout? The way these rolling apartments are going, it'll probably be used for access to the wine cellar. • Peterbilt may be hedging its bets with both the traditional 379 conventional and a derivative of the Daf 85 or 95XF if the tiny US cabover market sees a resurgence.

• Western Star's Constellation has been on a diet, aided by new composite aluminium and polypropylene-sandwich material for sleeper construction. This 6x4 conventional with a Cat C12 engine scales just 7,200kg.

• This Western Star logger features a new short sleeper, responding to loggers' need to haul longer distances as environmental pressure makes logging more difficult. • The International 9900 features a new front end with lots of chrome, responding to market studies that say this is what American drivers want. Big cab innovations will follow next spring.

• Volvo's VN770 is the company's Stateside star: its aerodynamics and sumptuous interior are taking the market by storm, with a Volvo driveline or proprietary engines up to 600hp. The VN featured in the truck industry's most expensive advert to date—a $1.3m (£790,000) TV spot that aired during the SuperBowl. • Silver Star is Sterling's conventional tractive unit. Sterling is the Ford heavy truck business recently acquired by Freightliner and positioned as a competitor to the parent company (CM 26 Feb-4 March). Trucks range from the Cargo (yes, the old Cargo) up to this ownerdriver premium rig.

• Freightliner's Argosy borrows many of Freightliner's Century Class premium conventional features, squeezed into a more manoeuvrable cabover tractor (CM 26 March-1 April). This is the short sleeper variant. Freightliner's Productivity Concept was also on show, with a 6x4 Argosy hauling a 58ft (17.7m) Wabash trailer—and still coming in 2ft shorter than a standard US tractor/trailer.

• Kenworth celebrates its 75th birthday with a new AeroCab Studio Sleeper, offering the industry's biggest sleeper—measuring 2.13m from the seats to the back wall—and up to 600hp (449kW).

• Freightliner/Sterling TufTrac suspension has been developed for on/off-highway construction and refuse operations. Rugged suspension is a zero-maintenance design which is tipped for European Mercedes-Benz applications. • This Great Dane Reefer is typical of the standard 53-foot (16.2m) trailers operated throughout the US. These units can weigh as little as 6,300kg. weight laws in many states lead to multiaxle set-ups like this sevenaxle woodchip hauler with a gross weight up to 60 tonnes. This example features a walking-floor trailer.


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