Engines/Drivetrains
Twin Stick to mDRIVE
During a visit to the Mack Customer Center and Museum, I had a chance to compress almost 60 years of transmission history into a single day. If you think we have a driver shortage today, thank your lucky stars we aren't trying to coax new drivers into the industry with twin stick gearboxes!
TransPower’s Totally Electric Class 8 Truck
True zero-emissions freight transportation is closer to reality than you might think. TransPower USA has five Class 8 tractors currently in service at the Port of Long Beach, CA. The company also has several yard shunt tractors and school buses in real-world service. These trucks are not cobbled together McGiver jobs, either. They are highly engineered and look just like factory installations. These trucks could be the long sought-after solution to diesel emissions in areas with real air quality issues. We recently had a opportunity to test drive one of these electric Class 8 trucks and found it to be a very functional alternative to a diesel tractor. We had the truck without a trailer, so we can't report on its pulling power, but the company says the truck is powered by two 200-hp electric motors. That's 400 horsepower, plus you get the benefit of the very high torque output of the electric motors.
Mack Super Econodyne Direct
Mack has combined its Super Econodyne spec' with a direct drive version of its mDrive Automated Manual Transmission, boosting fuel economy by as much as 1%. The option is designed for trucks with Gross Combination Weights of less than 80,000 pounds and remain in top gear for most of the time.
