Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

earlier, it appeared in 1996, while most brands adopt it as serial equipment somewhere at early 2000´s

they often fail with those things , turbocompound was not very successful in 3series,it was better later in 4 and after in r and t-series, and g outside of euroe. but still not reliable, i like this thing it is good as long as it works , but after 600tkm it require bearing and clutch job this cost a lot ( 3000€) and many mechanics here cant find problem so they change everything , hpi, main turbo,replace many sensors , do engine overhaul , volvo also stop production of turbocompound ( fh12 500)

tc dont work well with erg

so i think mercedes did mistake by taking this , here it is included on om473 (517-625hp 1920-2215lb-ft)

no man did not manage to take over scania , it is owned by vw and man owns vw commmercial vehicles

 

The reason MAN wants to take over Scania for its 12-speed transmission and axles, components for its unbeatable fuel consumption. I dont know why they (MAN, Scania or VW) dont have presence here in North America directly or indirectly eventhough they have really good products and lots of experience. May be they can come here with T-series of Scania (Hooded version of Scania) kind of trucks people like here.

 

That thing looks like its pregnant lol....IMO..all that matters is fuel efficiency, handling and space inside (comfort). Those truck arn't great for aerodynamics,,,,the short wheel base makes them uncomfortable. If it was a better truck i would care less about the looks, but for American trucking its not ideal. Now if you drive small streets and need a small truck, they have their place.

 

I dont know they call American trucks are aerodynamic, but why they put wall like front bumper called as Texas style or so.

 

Lol

Not aerodynamic?

 

i dont know , i would rather say reliability , since man axles are famous for its weak construction all types of drive axles , it is still not clear to me why man give up from axles shared with mb

for example typical road going truck with single drive axle have man hy1350 axle while average scania have r780 , scania diff is almost twice larger and have twice more components i am not sure how expensive is to build this but logic tell it should be more expensive

for this diff man officially says it is rated for 44t (97k lbs) while name 1350 indicate 13ton capacity and 50t gross weight (110k lbs)

scania r780 have 60t capacity (132k) , man dont have larger hypoid diff than this one for single axle , scania have r782 with 66t capacity(72t-145500lbs in good condition on road)

but now scania offer even larger r885 diff with 78metric ton capacity (172000lbs) they say it have 50% longer lifetime than r782

there is one r500 6x2 here with r780 diff (3.08 ratio and 315/70tires) used in heavy haulage pulling 6axle lowloader pulling windmill towers and narceles(mainly for siemens swt93 2.3mw) on steep roads with 238000lbs gross , so far no problems

i think scania transmissions are thing of past , since 2009 as much i know scania in my country sold only one truck with manual transmission -this is showtruck and it was special drivers wish , it is first driver in this company

so from normal point of view , this transmission dont make sense , scanias idea was to have same base for both manual and automated gearbox, to share parts , so parts would be available everywhere and each mechanic could work with them

but since automated transmissions become so popular this really no make sense , synchros take space inside of gearbox , if they dont exist gears could be build larger ,gearbox could be lighter cheaper , with longer lifetime, faster....)


but even this is part of past now, trucks will soon get double clutch transmissions, zf and volvo already have it.

i am kind of sceptic about this , this kind of mechanisam is complicated and it would tend to be problematic-even on cars , and if i am buying truck now and if this is offered to me i would not take if for at least next 5years

maybe daf made smartest thing , they have something called fast-shift with direct shifting from 12->11 without use of clutch , they spend lot of time convicting zf to allow them this and free roll function



but there is something else about scania why man maybe wanted them , scania have gratest profite of any manufacturer , they have good organised production process this is not simple as many think it is sometimes more complicated than develop product , before scania used toyota system for production

so when we talk about technology we look at this things already , scania have fleet of their own trucks and they fallow eachother with 2seconds distance , they are going to try with just 1sec

some manufacturers are few steps ahead especially volvo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpz4jrfQPTA


take a look at link below , especially middle video

http://www.scania.com/media/calendar/2013/intelligent-vehicles/intelligent-vehicles.aspx?tab=7

 

I have been on neutral territory regarding European trucks. They have no bearing on what I have and what I do, so I don't even waste a minute thinking about them. I let the Europeans worry about their trucks. No need to for me to encroach upon their game.

The question, instead of "why do so many Americans hate European trucks?" would be better phrased, "why do any Americans waste time thinking about European trucks?"

 

Euro trucks lack length in the cab, the bunk is right behind the seats but don't think they are small, they are wider and much higher inside, there is much more useable room inside than most classic style us trucks which are tiny by comparison, they are also far more comfortable by comparison, better suspension and fully suspended cabs make the ride far better, proper seats and ease of use make the days work easier, the us volvo has a very rough ride compared to it's euro cousin for instance, if you saw a picture of that Scania and a us truck side by side you would understand the size difference, of course euro truckers would love the space of a volve vnl but euro politicians value safety and don't give a thought to drivers conditions, the manufacturers do the best they can within the rules but still much more useable room in a euro cab than let's say a 379 pete. Given a choice I'd still chose a euro truck, they are still more fuel efficient, easier to drive, ride smoother, safer (EBS disc brakes, syncro gearboxes- can't miss a gear- and retarders aswell as rollover protection) and more reliable.

Perfect truck??? American layout, engine out front, long wheelbase, Volvo vnl style cab with euro suspension, euro build quality, fuel efficiency , Scania v8 engine with Scania manual box or volvo I shift box, neither us or euro have the perfect truck! But you could imagine with a different attitude and some proper investment by us manufacturers they could easily outpace the euro boys

 

A V8 Scania with a 13 speed Fuller 'box would be nicer than any synchr0~auto combination. The Euro 1200BHP racing trucks are using standard 13 speed transmissions mainly for speed of change and durability. Still it takes a skilled driver to drive a Fuller...but a nicer 'box once you master it

 

Cowpie i don't want to offend you but the Paccar group is the only USA owned succesfull truck builder left.(and even they have a very strong EU connection)
International isn't doing so great but for now stil in American hands.
The rest are all owned by EU compagnies.
So the EU truckbuilders must be doing something right.

So whether you think off them or not...........the influence is there.

ps the Scania T series was not a real hood.
It was a COE with the cab put back and a hood thrown on it.