Why did all mega carriers stop using manual transmissions?

Yeah the Volvos are nice. The problem is that when they break down, good luck. Waiting for parts, expensive, not many shops that can work on them, etc. I wish Freightliner had the vision to create a driver-friendly interior. Have the new Cascadias been improved on the inside?

 

How does your 425 hp pull on hills?

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the amount of fuel wasted due to traffic lights changing before you get there due to the transmission being programmed to short shift and lug the engine. That's happened to me plenty of times in places like US 30 in Indiana as well as in stop and go traffic.

 

Yep. I have one light that turns red at the time the truck starts to move.

 

It depends.

Some lease directly from the manufacturer.

Some buy outright.

Pretty much any mega that has a L/P option will have their finance company buy the trucks and them lease them - either to the mega itself or the fleece driver. They can double dip on the tax write offs and create a liability shield at the same time.

 

I know at my company, auto trucks get 2 to 2.5 mpg better than manual.
Mostly because nobody knows how to drive a manual to get better mileage.
That works out to a fuel savings of 120k per year, just at our terminal.
Then factor in that most new drivers have auto only restriction, and it becomes a no brainer.
The fuel savings alone is smart business.
Driver availability seals the deal.
Plus, given we run local, in town, auto helps significantly with driver fatigue.

 

Vastly, compared to the Evolution models. The 2018+ new bodies look like this inside:

 

That doesn't look a while lot better than the 2017 I'm sitting in right now. At least the switches are all grouped together, but the fact that the dash is still sloped makes me think you probably still have to lean forward to reach them.

I really wish they would've had focus groups consisting of veteran drivers sit in their mock-ups and give them feedback before they finalized the design.

 

Because if anyone has an open mind about changing and updating trucks it’s veteran drivers. Lol

 

So, the driver is supposed to keep their eyes on the road and they put a computer screen on the instrument panel.