Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/596928
50 | Overdrive | November 2015 DRIVE TEST Compact strength Y ou'd be hard-pressed to pick better proving grounds than the mountainous Pacific Northwest, Kenworth's home turf, to test a new 11-liter diesel engine and a GPS-driven cruise control system. The new MX-11 was, like its big-brother MX-13, designed by Paccar's DAF subsidiary in The Netherlands. It has seen extensive testing in Europe since its debut there in 2013, where it eventually logged 250 million miles, with another two million in North America. Paccar now builds the new engine in Columbus, Miss., and sends many of them back across the pond to Europe. The MX-11 features new design points that were not available when the MX-13 was on the drawing board. There are new modularly designed components, including an innovative water pump that features cartridge-style sections that can be replaced without removing the entire system. If the pump's impeller or the belt assembly goes bad, a technician can simply replace those modules. A glimpse of the future also can be seen in the MX-11: The engine has been designed from the ground up to be quickly updated with software and can be programmed to meet specific custom- er requirements. Paccar's MX-11, Predictive Cruise provide a glimpse of the future BY JACK ROBERTS Paccar says the new engine offers enough horsepower to tackle most long-haul Class 8 and medium-duty vocational applications. In long-haul, the engine delivers ample power to deal with all but the most extreme terrain while boosting fuel economy numbers. Kenworth's new Predictive Cruise Control system uses real-time GPS data to identify upcoming terrain conditions and instantly match throttle input and gear selection.