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Volvo Announces Medium-Duty Mack Truck Line


kscarbel2

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I think that a lot these trucks will go to the Mack Leasing fleet. Mack Leasing has Hino trucks around here now. An MD7 with a air ride cab and maybe a tag axle will make a great distribution truck. Class 7 distribution trucks is a big market. I would think that a tractor model will be coming, I did not see that noted. The class 7 - baby 8 single axle tractor market is big and Mack has had nothing for years. This truck has a proven engine, drivetrain, cab and is made in the USA. There is a lot of things that can be added to this lineup. Will see where they go with this truck. The best thing I think is that it does not have a Volvo engine in it.

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To me, Kenworth's Cummins ISB-powered T270/370 is the Class 6/7 with the highest level of refinement. Plus there's the Class 5 T170.

And the same goes for Peterbilt's Class 6 Model 330 and Class 7 Model 337. And Peterbilt also offers the Class 5 Model 325.

Freightliner's M2, available with the Cummins ISB, is not a low quality truck. The high-roof crew cab is selling well. But with up to 50 percent market share, Daimler has the economy of scale/sales volume to sell them at the most competitive prices in the industry and meaningfully profit.

International's Cummins ISB-powered MV (formerly Durastar/4300), though aging, remains popular via pricing and competitive in specs.

And then you have Ford. Nobody can touch Ford's price on the Class 6 F-650. But with the Power Stroke / 6R140 6-speed tranny combination, it doesn't appeal to everyone including many fleets and municipalities. It does however have the gasoline 7.3-litre engine and crew cab availability going for it. It seems the Class 7 F-750 can't gain a following without the Cummins ISB/Allison option that many Class 7 operators like.

https://www.kenworth.com/trucks/t170-t270-t370/

https://www.peterbilt.com/trucks/medium-duty

https://freightliner.com/trucks/m2-106/

https://www.internationaltrucks.com/trucks/mv-series

https://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/f650-f750/

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3 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

To me, Kenworth's Cummins ISB-powered T270/370 is the Class 6/7 with the highest level of refinement. Plus there's the Class 5 T170.

And the same goes for Peterbilt's Class 6 Model 330 and Class 7 Model 337. And Peterbilt also offers the Class 5 Model 325.

Freightliner's M2, available with the Cummins ISB, is not a low quality truck. But with up to 50 percent market share, Daimler has the economy of scale/sales volume to sell them at the most competitive prices in the industry and meaningfully profit.

International's Cummins ISB-powered MV (formerly Durastar/4300), though aging, remains popular via pricing and competitive in specs.

And then you have Ford. Nobody can touch Ford's price on the Class 6 F-650. But with the Power Stroke / 6R140 6-speed tranny combination, it doesn't appeal to everyone including many fleets and municipalities. It does however have the gasoline 7.3-litre engine going for it. It seems the Class 7 F-750 can't gain a following without the Cummins ISB/Allison option that many Class 7 operators like.

Will be interesting to see how they make out, but it will be a hard road. Here are a few things I have noted because I have shopped medium duty trucks hard.

I've had reps from Mack and other manufacturers tell me at trade shows that Hino's are dead reliable and they don't know how they make any money because they never break. That's something to hear from competitors.

I like the KW T series. They are the most big rig like, and have very good fit and finish and build quality with good components. But small cab and no crew cab option from factory.

Freightliner is ok, pricing very competitive, all cab options such as extended with seat or bunk and crew cab. But they can be electronics nightmares. Lots of modules I have had fail.

The International Durastar is one that can be a plain, uncomfotable, underpowered fleet truck, or they can be optioned up not too bad.

But where Chev/International CV and Ford rule, and why they are hard to beat....they are the most luxurious as they use high end pickup truck style cabs and interiors. They also offer extended or crew cabs. They also offer factory four wheel drive in a from that is not overly high or big size-wise. And they offer more power and torque ratings. And gasoline engines. And huge dealer networks. Hard to beat that.

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Hino's are the best that Japan Inc. has to offer, as wealthy parent Toyota has the most money to spend on R&D.

Isuzu makes a solid truck, as we all know, and represents the best value play from Japan.

The T270/370 cab as you said has the best fit and finish (build quality). The cab is smaller, but not too small and cramped in my opinion.

The Mack brand is way too late to the party. I can only see this being successful if they had brought a game-changing new design. And being the last one to the party gave them the opportunity to trump the known competition with a better mouse trap. However, I'm just not seeing that here. This is a "me too" product that brings nothing new to the table. So in an overcrowded truck segment with razor thin margins, what was the point of this exercise? It's not like Mack brand dealers were demanding it, much less asking for it. They weren't. They all long ago took on other franchises to meet the Class 6/7 demand due to a lack of product from Volvo.

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Mack salesman (M&K) I deal with says they have MD's on order, he knew this was coming and they are behind it.  All the trucks named above have some kind of issues, that is for sure. But I think that the class 7- baby 8 market has only two real players now. Paccar is there at the high priced end. Volvo (Mack) has nothing. I am sure if Volvo just wanted to offer a class 7 truck they could have run a few down the line in Allentown. I was thinking they were going to bring some Volvo truck from Europe, make a few changes  and try to sell it here. I think they see a big hole in there lineup and are working to fill it.    

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In my mind, there's quite a variety of Class 6 and 7 truck types here, from the refined Kenworth and Peterbilt to the low price F-650.

And we haven't mentioned cabovers.....the 5.2-litre 4-cylinder Isuzu FTR/Chevrolet 6500XD is a strong choice, with it's fuel economy, visibility, maneuverability and ease of maintenance. I regret they don't offer the 4-door crew cab in the US market.

And then we have the conventional cab (bonneted) Hino AL Series in Class 6 and 7 (the new XL is also available in Class 7 but is substantially more expensive).

https://www.chevrolet.com/commercial/low-cab-forward-cab-over-truck

https://www.isuzucv.com/en/fseries/index

https://www.hino.com/hino-trucks.html

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On 2/1/2020 at 12:11 PM, kscarbel2 said:

Hino's are the best that Japan Inc. has to offer, as wealthy parent Toyota has the most money to spend on R&D.

Isuzu makes a solid truck, as we all know, and represents the best value play from Japan.

The T270/370 cab as you said has the best fit and finish (build quality). The cab is smaller, but not too small and cramped in my opinion.

The Mack brand is way too late to the party. I can only see this being successful if they had brought a game-changing new design. And being the last one to the party gave them the opportunity to trump the known competition with a better mouse trap. However, I'm just not seeing that here. This is a "me too" product that brings nothing new to the table. So in an overcrowded truck segment with razor thin margins, what was the point of this exercise? It's not like Mack brand dealers were demanding it, much less asking for it. They weren't. They all long ago took on other franchises to meet the Class 6/7 demand due to a lack of product from Volvo.

Does PACCAR sell many of the badge engineered DAF's in North America..??  

"Be who you are and say what you feel...
Because those that matter...
don't mind...
And those that mind....
don't matter." -

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10 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Looks very similar to the LF series DAF's we get down here.(Not that they sell Many)

https://www.daf.com.au/trucks/lf-series/

Edited by Hayseed
typo

"Be who you are and say what you feel...
Because those that matter...
don't mind...
And those that mind....
don't matter." -

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37 minutes ago, Hayseed said:

Looks very similar to the LF series DAF's we get down here.(Not that they sell 没any)

https://www.daf.com.au/trucks/lf-series/

It is based on the highly successful DAF "LF".

https://www.daf.co.uk/en-gb/trucks/daf-lf

We can all note the common theme.......6.7-litre Cummins ISB.

Ford and GM/Navistar chose in-house engines to reduce cost, but at what expense to sales???  Give the customer what they want!

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