ClassicTVMan1981X

Why do some links that direct here then redirect to a page called URL4SHORT.info, complete with details about removal of said link? Please correct this problem. Thank you very much.

~Ben

I am wondering if the F12 and F16 would've been likely competitors to the domestic class 8 COE segment that included the White Road Commander, the Freightliner COE, the Kenworth K100/Peterbilt 352/362, GMC Astro 9500 and the Ford Louisville CL(T)9000?

~Ben

Does anyone remember any Mack Mid-Liners and MC/MR/U/RD/DMs or Volvo F6/F7s delivered with the Allison AT545 and/or MT643 automatic transmissions? If so, what were your experiences of them? Off-hand, some truckers think auto shifting takes the fun out of driving trucks; while on the other hand automatics seemed popular in garbage trucks and in buses.

The AT545 was suited to engines with 235 hp and 385 lb-ft of torque, and engines in this category were the Mack E4-210 (Mack Mid-Liner) and the Volvo TD60B (Volvo F6). The MT643 was beefier, for engines up to 250 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque; and thus the engines in that category included the Cat 3208/T (Mack 400 series) and the Volvo TD70F (Volvo F7).

~Ben

With respect to your vast knowledge, I can't say I can fully agree with you on this point....

I feel that.. a. the product they produced, a COE, was on a fast demise in the US due to length law changes and b. Volvo knew that to enter a market as vast as the US would stretch them too far trying to support a coast-coast dealer network demanded by buyers used to what currently existed.... especially when Volvo were already enjoying success elsewhere... that's why they bought an existing brand in GM and remodelled it...

I was on one of the first F10 maintenance courses at Ailsa Trucks, Scotland... and what I saw as the improvements over the F88 impressed me, stronger chassis, wider cab, improved engine after the TD100B... the F12 came soon after and in right hand drive which the F89 could not have...

the F12 became a very strong contender on the gold run, the Europe to Middle East run via Turkey and Iran... which was the torture test for the durability of any truck... it has evolved into the FH16 with continued success.

I feel that F10/12 would have done very well in the US.. however, there is more to this than just the technical merits of any design, the dealer support, creating new market share, financial investment in a low profit market.... I know that you know all about that..!!!!!!

The tie up with the "club cab" gave them an inside track when the French rationalised their truck industry gave them an inside track to grab Mack for a song after they had tested the waters with the GM White deal..

World trade is here to stay, shareholder return is the driving force and company loyalty has gone out the window for profit. Watch VW, Scania, MAN........ same pattern. And an American company owns DAF, so it's NOT all one way traffic in the mergers and aquisitions game..!!!

BC Mack

That company is, of course, PACCAR, which owns Peterbilt and Kenworth. It also took over the British truck builder Foden when it went bankrupt in 1980. Ironically, for a short period of time, production of the Ford Transcontinental moved from Holland to the former Foden plant in Sandbach, England.

~Ben

A little confusion here. The F10 and F12 were not known outside North America as the F88 and F89.

The F88 and F89 were produced from 1965 to 1977, when they were replaced by the F10 and F12 (1977 thru 1993).

The F6 and F7 were indeed sold in the United States, imported and distributed by Freightliner Corporation. However the F10 and F12 were never sold here because Freightliner already had a heavy COE to sell.

The smaller F6 and F7 gave Freightliner a medium straight truck (24,500 to 29,000 GVW) and city/regional tractor (40,000 to 66,000 GCW) to extend their product range downward.

The one other model sold by Freightliner Corporation was the conventional cab N10 series (N1016T 4x2 and N1023T 6x4)

But in late 1981, Freightliner came under the control of Mercedes-Benz. However, then there was the White "Road Commander" COE (and a related Autocar model), so another reason the F10/12 didn't quite show up here.

~Ben