Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/240655
TRUCK TECHNOLOGY Series 1 – The first truck In February 1928, the very first Volvo truck in history rolled out of the gates at the factory in Gothenburg, Sweden. Dubbed Series 1, the truck was a medium-duty truck with a four-cylinder gas engine delivering a modest 28 horsepower. But the truck's simple and sturdy design made it a runaway hit. The official legal load for Series 1 was 3,300 pounds. But the truck's robust build meant that drivers frequently used it to haul loads up to double that figure. Other features that made the model popular included a three-speed omics and sound levels that low compared to other contemporary models at the time. Nevertheless, the performance and comfort of Series 1 falls far short of today's standards. The max speed of the truck was about 31 MPH, and this was brought down further when carrying loads, especially up hills. Heating meanwhile was limited to the heat produced from the truck's engine. Heat entered the cab through a metal sheet that separated the engine from the cab. While sales of Volvo cars were supressed at the time due to low personal incomes in the 1920s, demand for the Series 1 was high from the day the truck was launched. Fewer than six months after its debut, all 500 of the Series 1 trucks sold out. DRIVER 'S DIGEST #1/2014 31