When Mack Trucks introduced a complete replacement for its aging Mid-Liner series-the Freedom, a new low-cabover developed by Renault VI of France-it was only natural to ask when something similar would happen with its time-worn conventional cab derivative.

Paccar stablemates Kenworth and Peterbilt, for example, offer both in their medium-duty lines; indeed, their conventionals are far better sellers than their cabover counterparts.

Building a conventional from the Freedom platform would involve too many engineering compromises, replied Mack president and CEO Paul Vikner. And besides, cabovers are better suited to urban environments, a market Vikner believes offers a high ceiling for growth in the class-6 and class-7 GVW ranges.

“We know that medium-duty in North America is primarily a conventional-cab business, but cabover is a pretty nice part of it,” says Vikner, Mack’s long-time sales vice-president who came out of retirement to lead the company following Volvo’s acquisition of Mack/RVI. “Freedom will allow us to grab more of that market. Our dealers are enthusiastic about it, because it’s a stay-at-home business” that results in considerable parts and service traffic from local customers.

Freedom has a streamlined cab that’s large and versatile enough to be used as a sleeper, plus chassis and mechanical improvements that should keep Mack competitive, at least in the cabover segment of the market. Freedom comes in four duty levels-M, L, XL and XXL-in class 6 and 7, using Renault-made E3 diesels. Cab lengths are 63 and 79 inches.

For 2002, Hino Canada will offer a “workhorse” version of its class-7 SG3325 model. Unique to Canada, it mates a nine-speed Eaton Fuller transmission to Hino’s J-Series six-cylinder 252-horsepower diesel engine. The spec is being targeted to car haulers, construction fleets, and temperature-controlled carriers. A five-speed Allison MD automatic transmission is optional.

A crew cab option for the class-4 FG and a slightly higher weight rating for the FG’s four-wheel-drive version are among Mitsubishi Fuso’s changes for ’02 trucks. One interesting carryover from ’01 are a pair of concrete mixer trucks: one at 14,500 pounds gross with a 1.5-cubic-yard drum and the other at 25,995 pounds with a drum just under four yards.

Specific to Canada, the company’s goals include building its dealer network from the current nine locations in most major markets to about 30. Mitsubishi has 185 locations in the United States.