Mack VS Volvo
The technical jargon, Volvo has acquired Mack. They wanted a foothold in the US market, and Mack was the most vulnerable. Not to mention Mack’s off-road technologies. Now you would think that the two would stay separated in the form of design, but the only difference is exterior. Yes, one engine is green and one is red, but that too is only the exterior. When you go under the rocker cover you are going to find the same engine. In fact the MP8 is a derivative of the D15, the MP7 of the D13. It is easier to get the specs of the Mack program than it is the Volvo program, so when we need to torque the cam or rocker shafts, or adjust the overhead; we go to the Mack program. The big difference is that the cam is backward.
If you know what you need as far as parts go, you can use either Volvo or Mack parts, the only difference is the package and part number. What we feel, most of the techs I talked to is that Mack is using the Volvo on-road engine in the Mack off-road, and severe duty trucks. This is not at all holding up. This is giving Mack a very sour taste in the mouths of many fleet owners. The big difference between the on-road application and the off-road application is the way the engine is run. The on-road engine is built to be driven at a given RPM for hundreds of mile, and the off road engine RPM varies so frequently in a mile. The second biggest problem is the engine is designed to Regen automatically. So while the on road truck Regen while the driver cruises down the highway, not losing any time, the off-road driver has to stop and allow the engine to Regen, losing 40 – 90 minutes or more. For the off-road driver this can be the difference of a couple of loads. I have to admit that Mack is still the king on the off-highway truck, they have experienced their share of problems and they are slowly being addresses.
The Mack transmission is still one of the toughest, and still the most expensive when it does go down. Volvo right now has the smoothest riding on-highway truck. It is a little wavy and gives you the feeling of instability. It takes a little getting used to. But either way you go, on or off highway, your getting a Volvo power plant under the hood.
The latest news is that they are moving from Allen Town PA to North Carolina where it can be close to all the Volvo management teams. By now, and through out 2010, the moves of all Mack facilities should be completed, and the new engine block factory in Maryland should be soon pushing out the new engines. Volvo seems very dedicated to keeping Mack alive, and ruling US the off-road truck market. Combine that with Volvos construction equipment division, and Volvo could become the largest Heavy Duty Truck and Equipment manufacture in the world
