January 14, 2015 Vol. 12 No. 1

Last time out, before the wine flowed on New Year’s Eve in fact, I wrote about five developments on the technology front that most captured my attention in 2014. A couple of them had nothing to do with trucks at present, one was about a fleet’s interesting approach to natural gas, and another will have us waiting for a decade or more.

So I thought maybe I should choose 10 of what I consider to be especially interesting or useful products launched last year, things that are actually here on the ground now or soon will be.

To call this an entirely subjective review of the hardware highlights of 2014 is an understatement, and chances are good that you’ll disagree with some of my choices. Goes without saying that I’d love to hear your own thoughts.

One important note first: in a sense this is a list of 11 new products because I would ordinarily include Eaton’s Procision dual-clutch automated transmission, due on the market soonish. But since I wrote about it in my last newsletter as a 2014 tech highlight, I’ll pass it by here. 

OK, I’ll start with the only truck on my list and then move to simple alphabetical order, using the company name.

THE ALL NEW WESTERN STAR 5700XE makes my list partly because it’s so darned good looking, but mostly because it represents a departure from the classic Western Star idea of a tough truck focused mostly on just the work at hand. This one is pretty sophisticated.

Labelled “the newest fuel-efficient on-highway truck in North America,” the 5700XE goes for fuel efficiency with style in its aerodynamically angular look. ‘XE’ stands for extreme efficiency, by the way. It’ll be on the market in a few months.

It has a 126-in. BBC and a set-back front axle, with aerodynamic features such as the hood and roof with chassis and cab fairings to reduce drag. A new sweptback four-piece bumper and an under-bumper valance also contribute, and new halogen headlights are optimized for aerodynamic performance. The “state of the art” visor is specifically engineered to work with the slope in the hood’s rear air ramp to direct air flow over the cab without adding drag. Optional chassis side fairings reduce drag by up to 6% while still providing easy access to batteries and DEF tank.