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Next to be Chopped


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We heard through our dealership today the next item to be removed from Mack's arsenal are all manual transmissions, both Maxitorque and Eaton. Apparently mDrive and Allison have decimated the manual volumes to a point where they don't want to offer. With the addition of the mDrive crawler transmission and the lack of competent drivers, corporate feels manual shifting is not a value for US and Canada. It wasn't clear if it would take place on late 2017 or 2018 models. If you want a manual, don't wait too long to order.

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A lot of new truck buyers still insist on engines larger than 13 liters, and Volvo already lost them. Just as many truck buyers insist on a dual countershaft transmissions they can get fixed anywhere, and Volvo is about to lose them too. Anybody wanna guess how soon Volvo/Mack's combined market share here goes below 10%?

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Maybe manual shifting is not a big value for Volvo, but in the mountains and with the snow, M-drive isn't great value.

Automated and automatic transmissions is for driver and school driver who need a job like another job.

Real truck driver work with a manual transmission.

Then, the great thinker of Volvo decide that it's not important to keep this kind of Customer.

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What are you all complaining about. Pretty soon you won't be driving at all. They will all be autonomous.

I don't care what they do with new trucks, because they aren't trucks to me anymore anyway. They are ALL JUNK.

That's why you should keep enjoying the old Mack's. They were the last of the real trucks and you will never have them back. Ever.

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Volvo killed White and Autocar in one fell swoop. They are killing Mack one pin prick at a time. Possibly the only ace in the hole that Mack has is the MR/LE. The government made them sell Autocar because of a monopoly in the refuse industry. May be they will make them sell Mack in the same way. When Volvo makes a new cab over for the refuse industry you know Mack is done.

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9 minutes ago, james j neiweem said:

Volvo killed White and Autocar in one fell swoop. They are killing Mack one pin prick at a time. Possibly the only ace in the hole that Mack has is the MR/LE. The government made them sell Autocar because of a monopoly in the refuse industry. May be they will make them sell Mack in the same way. When Volvo makes a new cab over for the refuse industry you know Mack is done.

Jim, the government didn't make Volvo sell Autocar. It only made them divest the Xpeditor. And Volvo then agreed to license the Autocar name too as part of the deal. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Volvo agrees to sell Xpeditor

Fleet Owner / July 26, 2001

To comply with a deal it entered into with the U.S. Dept. of Justice when it acquired Renault VI and Mack Trucks Inc. in December 2000, Volvo Trucks North America Inc. said today it will sell its Xpeditor truck product line to Grand Vehicle Works Holdings LLC.

The agreement involves the assembly and sale of low cab-over-engine (LCOE) heavy-duty Class 8 trucks and unique aftermarket parts. As part of the deal, Volvo will license the Autocar truck brand name to Autocar LLC, a newly formed subsidiary of Grand Vehicle Works Holdings, which will use it to market the LCOE products. The trucks included in the deal are the Xpeditor models WX and WXLL.

In addition to the license for the Autocar brand name, the terms of the agreement include model-specific designs, tooling and other assets, including component tooling located at supplier facilities. Upon completion of the sales transaction, there will be an up to 24-month transition period during which Volvo will continue to assemble LCOEs for Grand Vehicle Works Holdings on a contract basis.

The Class 8 LCOE segment represents less than 3% of the total heavy truck market in North America, and 8% of Volvo Trucks North America's sales. This divestiture will not materially impact the volume or production capabilities of Volvo's New River Valley, VA truck assembly facility. According to the OEM, no layoffs will result directly from the closing of the transaction.

Autocar LLC - http://www.autocartruck.com/

 

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I would say that more than 85% of our new truck sales have been M-drive and Allison's . Also in the used trucks department, we buy up all the Eaton Ultra shifts we can find as that's what all the farmers around here want. I been here since 88 and never would have thought the auto trans would take off like it has. It would make sense to drop the Mack trans as  if someone did wanted a manual, they could order a Eaton. Good or bad , times are a changing. 

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29 minutes ago, Mackpro said:

I would say that more than 85% of our new truck sales have been M-drive and Allison's . Also in the used trucks department, we buy up all the Eaton Ultra shifts we can find as that's what all the farmers around here want. I been here since 88 and never would have thought the auto trans would take off like it has. It would make sense to drop the Mack trans as  if someone did wanted a manual, they could order a Eaton. Good or bad , times are a changing. 

I didn't know it was that high a percentage of automatic.  We are serious about trying a automatic in the next truck as we aren't all that happy with the Eaton 18 speeds quality we had to do a rebuild of one at 200k Miles 

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You must be kidding. This must be a troll post because there is no way that ANY manufacturer would remove the manual option.

BTW, Volvo hates Mack so much that they've kept the brand for 17 years now.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Oso2
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4 hours ago, logtruckman said:

I didn't know it was that high a percentage of automatic.  We are serious about trying a automatic in the next truck as we aren't all that happy with the Eaton 18 speeds quality we had to do a rebuild of one at 200k Miles 

Why aren't you running maxitorque in your macks?

really like my 18sp maxitorque 

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39 minutes ago, 1965 said:

Why aren't you running maxitorque in your macks?

really like my 18sp maxitorque 

We had issues with a 18 speed mack about 10 years ago ,put thousands in it and it turned out to be a little vent was plugged in the range selector. We decided to go Eaton on these new ones . We were gonna switch back to mack trans before the titan discontinued issue and now maybe mack maxitorque discontinued.  

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To me Mack has been gone since 2008, Volvo MP8 engine you couldn't keep on the road and out of the shop.  Every month broke down somewhere, Jackson, Tn  down 2 days.  AZ down 1 Week.  Ca. down 3 days.  Ok, down 4 days.  on and on, not dependable. All in 1 year.  2000 Vision 1,600000 miles only  broke down 1 time in Mississippi and had to stay over night for a injector line.  We had good service with  E-6, E-7 Vmac 1, best mack engine made, and E-tech.  It's only turning into a Volvo with a bulldog on the hood, why keep it.

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What are you all complaining about. Pretty soon you won't be driving at all. They will all be autonomous.
I don't care what they do with new trucks, because they aren't trucks to me anymore anyway. They are ALL JUNK.
That's why you should keep enjoying the old Mack's. They were the last of the real trucks and you will never have them back. Ever.

As long as you can get parts, keep running the old stuff. Mechanical engines. Long live the E6!
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I'm disappointed by this news but not surprised. The modern truck driver is barely a man. Some of the silly things they complain about. Anyway, we here all have our old macks and that's what's most important, preserving a piece of Mack history. 

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10 hours ago, james j neiweem said:

Good point Oso2. Would just like Volvo to give Mack a little more latitude like Renault or Mack Australia.:mellow:

Yeah - but Paccar is the same way. Same engines, and many, many shared parts between the new Petes and KW's. 

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We were told it was due to two main reasons. I don't quite understand all the details but here is the gist:

There are new green house gas regulations being introduced by the Obama administration starting 2020/2021. They are driving new technology to meet CO2. One technology the regulation wants to promote is automated transmissions. To do this the automated transmissions get a big CO2 credit and the manual gets zero. So the OEM has a big incentive to sell only automated transmissions. You can read on EPAs website which I haven't had a chance to do. So in effect Obama has taken away your god given right to grab a gear. All others OEMS will be faced with the same deal.

The second reason was nailed by kscarbel. Volvo corporate is so enamored with the I-shift it's the only transmission the world needs. So much so they want I-Shift and Twin clutch version as only offer. So that means once the manuals are out, Allison will be next on the chopping block. It's so bad we were told new trucks probably won't even be designed with a clutch pedal or a hole in the floor for the shifter.

 

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