Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

Bearing in mind this ad was from 1989

 

One area we are underdeveloped is heat/ac for the driver while engine isn't running.... This shouldn't be an add on. With all the anti idle rules these should be standard equipment ...

And they should last 10 hours in real world conditions....and I don't even have a sleeper

 

it is not driver, it is electronically , this means, low air usage, (50%) safer ride, better handling, when braking in combination with EBS it can adjust air pressure on certain in airbag to get maximum grip and adjust braking force , and many other nice things...

amount of skepticism that i can read here pretty funny to me, you know we are exporting our old trucks that are no longer profitable to run- even here in east europe, to 3rd world countries.....
first they wanted only old MB bonnet trucks, when all disappear from here till mid 90s, they start to buy NG series ( truck on photos with 2 FL trucks few pages back), first old models from 70s with big v8 and v10 engines, latter new ones from 80s, few years latter those disappeared too, they started to buy SK series and did not want anything else, must be big V8, manual transmission, hub reduction axles, and spring suspension,
over time those trucks they wanted disappeared too, so they start to buy those with air suspension and convert them to springs, some 8years ago all of these disappeared from market, they did not want actros because it was electronic truck too expensive for them, too much things to go wrong etc.

they were paying old SK 50% more than young actros in better shape, when last truck from SK series went away they finally start to buy actros and they soon accept it (even stop to convert them to springs), despite new technology form 1996 ( still not available in US trucks) , they soon start to buy new series from 2002 which have more electronics, but they were still converting automated transmission to manual and they still do for them( conversion cost 150€ truck value lot more there) .

but they started to buy 3series too (2008), this one comes only with automated transmission over
last year they started to buy mp4 ( computer on wheels) too, this year more and more, important thing is truck need to be older than 4years to get lower import taxes

strange even in 3rd world countries they adopt new technologies easier than americans do....

 

And I'm proud of it...

 

New technologies are all fine and dandy, EXCEPT when they don't work. Even stuff you guys have been guinea pigs on for years comes over here and just does not work.

Take Mack/Volvo and their injector cup issues. They have announced that the MP7 and MP8 will change to common rail but the injectors and cups are still the same ones. This does not eliminate the current issue they have with injector cups. I was starting to lean heavily towards the Mack Titan and the MP10 but have since ruled that truck out because of this. The MP10 is not going common rail but it still has the same injector issues.

We have been burned so many times by "New Technologies" that until some fool runs it and gets the bugs worked out there is no way many of us would buy it. When DEF first came out it was horrible. Now 6-7 years later the issues are finally getting ironed out. A new truck today would not scare me as much today as one prior to 2014 would.

 

I would really appreciate if you could elaborate on those different specs. Just a few examples would be fine.

 

Same as any other
Heavier frames
more insulation
More horsepower
lower gearing
heavier axles.
13 or 18 speeds instead of 10
drop axles
20k steer axles
Longer wheel base because of the dropaxle.

In the northwestern states many have their max at 105,500 then you have Michigan, Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana all allow more than that. Smaller sleepers for most of them. You order a completely different setup here than you would in southern states.

I have seen many trucks here with broken frames. Yeah they can to 80k but put them on heavier loads or get them off road and the frames crack or break.

The closest thing that we have here to what you have there are the fuel trucks. Tractor with a tank mounted on it pulling a trailer behind it.

 

You really don't believe that it is a grand extra for the automatic ridehight?

 

Literally thousands of different combinations for the same general job:

Walking beam suspension, some with air ride suspension. Some with 44k lb rears, some with 46k rears, and even 69k tridem rears.

12k lb steers, 20k lb steers. 3/8" frames, double and even triple frames.

8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 18 speeds. Even seen an 18 speed with 4 speed auxillary boxes. Automated manuals, Allison autos.

Daycabs, flat top sleepers, studio sleepers.

Under hood air cleaners, single air cleaners, dual air cleaners.

Transmission driven PTO's, PTO's driven off the front of the engine.

Tilt hoods or butterfly hoods.

Gauges for absolutely anything you want to monitor.