Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

What engine does that nice W9 have in it you ask.........

 

Some people who have actually driven both types of truck may disagaree. Read this article from New Zealand:

NZ Trucking. MAIN TEST - Hip to be square

A nice quote:

Gary came off a Kenworth K108E to climb aboard the DAF and he’s driven Kenworths most of his life. So let ’s give him the last word, “Oh mate...you won’t get me out of this thing, I’m telling ya! It’s got enough power for what I do. My truck’s my second home, always has been. I spend half the week in here and this is just beautiful. I absolutely love it!”
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And remember, in New Zealand and Australia they are still using the 'old' Euro V models, not the much improved Euro VI models.

 

Fake news

 

Wow. He spends half a week in a truck, and he is comparing it to another COE. It just doesn't make any sense that there aren't Daf dealerships springing up all over.

 

There are far more places in the world where you can buy a DAF truck, than there are where you can buy a US truck with a big hood.

And by the way, the article states he drove Kenworths most of his life, and only the last one is specified as a Kenworth K108E, so others may well have had a hood.

 

This is what you responded to:

And your reply displays a New Zealander that spends half a week in a truck.

Text out of context is pretext Caesar.

 

The way I read some statements here, the driver spends his time under the hood and not in the cab of the truck. Well, some of the drivers even look and smell like they live under the hood.

The size of the cab gives you room, not the hood.

 

Isn’t a k108 a cab over that’s not even offered in NA?

 

That fella would die over here if calls a half a week in a truck living in one

 

Wow, long thread!
Can I join in?

So........, I'm a Canadian who's driven a lot of different cabovers and conventionals over the years, and I don't hate Euro trucks.

The first COE I drove was a 1965 Emeryville, and big bunks don't impress me that much as I lived in a 1966 KW K-100 with a 74 inch cab for a couple months at a time, I prefer to travel light, just the bare necessities.
I can think of a few cabovers I drove that I might take over a conventional if they were updated a bit.
I drove a bunch of different K-100's, VIT's and Aerodynes, and I really liked the Aerodyne.
I also drove a highly optioned Ford CLT 9000 with air cab and air suspension for 2 1/2 years that was a pleasure to drive, put about 350,000 miles on it and had only a few minor issues.
Sitting that high up puts a whole new perspective on the world around you, great visibility, lots of room for an 84 inch cab, a comfortable seating position and the low doghouse was level with the seat which provided a nice tabletop for the tape collection and other trucker necessities.
Maybe not the best built truck, but a nice driving truck.
Biggest complaint was the spring loaded trailer spike mounted on the dash.

I would jump at the chance to drive a Euro cabover so I could form an un biased opinion.
I have driven a nearly new Volvo 780 and have to say that it was probably my least favourite truck with a hood, only because it was so quiet and mushy riding that I couldn't feel or hear the things I feel are important to my driving style.
I want to feel the road and how the truck is reacting to it, I want to hear the engine and the driveline, I want to be able to shift by ear, I don't like the feeling that a small house is following me around, and I really really really didn't like that throttle that felt like I was stepping on a sponge.
Having said that, there's nothing wrong with Volvos, they make a decent enough motorhome.

On a final note, I've driven a bunch of them from the 70's to late 90's and my favourite conventional truck is a w900/W900L.
Regardless of the small cabin, they were all sure footed and a pleasure for me to drive.