Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/535950
42 | Overdrive | July 2015 DRIVE TEST A reborn classic K enworth has been building W900 tractors since 1961. If you run an Internet search for images of the '61 model, the first thing you notice is that Kenworth has done lit- tle to alter the appearance of this tractor over the years. Under the hood and behind its panels, it's a different story: Continuous tweaks and upgrades have kept pace with vir- tually every modern advance, meaning that today's W900 is a quintessential blend of old and new. Maybe that's why the truck has been a perennial favorite. It even became a Hollywood star of sorts, keeping Jerry Reed's Snowman blowing and going in the classic Smokey and The Bandit films from the late '70s and early '80s. Today, you can't help but feel that time is running out for the tough old W900. My sense is that Kenworth exec- utives would rather take a swift kick in their collective midsections than kill off the truck. But in this age of super-sleek aerodynamics and fuel-economy fever, it's tough to see how such an old-school design survives outside of flatbed and oversized hauls. Even the equally venerable Peterbilt flagship Model 379, the other conven- tional tractor long cherished by own- er-operators, was phased out in 2007 and succeeded by the slightly more aero- dynamic Model 389. On the other hand, a lot of old-school owner-operators are more than happy to take a fuel economy penalty for the honor of driving one of these machines down the highway. That leads us to the Icon 900 – a special-edition W900 unveiled this year at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Featuring special colors presented in throwback paint schemes, the Icon 900 is Kenworth's tip of the hat to one of the greatest designs to ever prowl an American road. The move isn't purely sentimental. Curt Swihart, marketing director, says the company noticed owner-operators returning to the trucking market in Kenworth gives its W900 rebel the spotlight with its limited Icon 900 BY JACK ROBERTS The Icon 900's throwback paint scheme was selected from a contest among the company's design engi- neers.