Why do so many Americans hate European trucks?

Bad Cat.

 

Kenworth had a European import organization in France, but it seems they now use a few big dealers in several European countries to distribute Kenworth trucks from there This is the Dutch dealer: Bakker Bedrijfswagens Nederland | Welkom . Scroll down on their homepage, and you will see a Kenworth.

There is a galley of almost 140 trucks they delivered lately, and one of them is a Kenworth with a sleeper. It's used for pulling a short trailer for big glass panes.

Daf recently renewed their entire line of trucks. From the outside it is hardly visible, the cabs only differ on details from the previous trucks. The reason for that is very simple, they are working on the new aerodynamic cabs that will get a 20 inch 'bubble' at the front, and will become legal in a view years time. I doubt very much if any European truck will get anything remotely comparable with a NA nose, the allowed 20 inch extra will be used to gain maximum aerodynamic performance (and extra crumple zone). The interior of the new cabs has been changed.

However the MX-11 and MX-13 engines were completely renewed. New turbos, pistons and many other things. Power went slightly up (for instance from 510HP to 530HP), but torque at low rpm went up quite a bit. At maximum European speed (56 mph), the engine runs at 1000 rpm.The exhaust gas treatment system has also been completely renewed. It's half the size and weight of the previous one.

The ZF AStronic transmission has been replaced by the ZF Traxon (12 or 16 speed) automated transmission. That Traxon is a magnificent concept, you can get it with a single clutch, a double clutch (like VW automatic transmissions), or a hydrodynamic torque converter. With the last one they seem to target Allison. Hybrid and PTO modules are also available.

The drive axles are also completely new, several reductions are avilable depending on the tyre size.

Engine improvements, new transmissions and drive axles, and aerodynamic tweaking, have resulted in 7% less fuel consumption.

The smallest truck is the LF series (Kenworth and Peterbilt use the same cab), it got a new smaller Cummins engine below the the existing engines.

If I were Paccar, I would build some 50 or so DAF XF tractors with an extended cab, and let US drivers try them out, starting in the east where there are far more 'European style' road conditions. I've seen plenty of YouTube clips where a NA semi had a lot of trouble making the corner, where a European style semi wouldn't have had any trouble at all. After all, there are still quite a lot of COE lovers in NA, and once they discover that the old uncomfortable NA COE trucks have nothing to do with a modern European design, you never know what happens.

 

That is true, and if they drove one, it is an old NA type cabover. These have nothing in common with a modern European cabover, so their experiences are useless if you want to discuss modern cabovers.

No, those are the old outdated models.

 

Indeed, joint venture with Eaton.

 

What you call 'a big square wall' is in reality nothing of the kind. Every European manufacturer puts his cabs in the wind tunnel, and there is a lot of fine tuning involved in guiding the air along the cab and through the engine bay.

You posted a picture of 'classic' NA trucks. I can assure you that wind turbulence caused by all the bits and pieces sticking out, like front lights, air filters, steps and so on, will cause an enormous drag. European trucks are clean in that respect.

 

You pretty much just covered this entire thread in one short post.

 

How about this:

 

This is one of the most informative and entertaining threads on TTR. I'm likin' it!!

 

I'm thinking you may be due for a random.