Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85423
TES T DRIVE Top performer S For aerodynamic fuel economy, the Cascadia is a leader. Plus it offers maintenance ease, comfort, power and durability. BY STEVE STURGESS ince the introduction of Kenworth's T600 in the 1980s, manufacturers have been refining the aerodynamics of the conventional tractor. A wind- cheating design has become critically important given that at speeds above 50 mph, the effort in pushing the wind aside is the major contributor to marginal fuel use. To develop the Freightliner Cascadia, Daimler Trucks designed its own wind tunnel in Portland, Ore. More than 2,500 hours were spent testing and redesigning using full-size models to create the new tractor. Since then, the Cascadia has been back in the wind tunnel to make it possibly the most aerodynamic truck ever on America's highways. Freightliner's Cascadia is such a familiar truck on the road that it's hard to remember what a startling sight it was when introduced in 2007. The huge grille opening, the sculpted doors, the visorless windshield, the pedestal- mounted mirrors, the stubby side extenders – all of it was new. And all of it was the result of extensive wind tun- nel tuning of a finely wrought design. 44 OVERDRIVE MARCH 2012 Photos by Steve Sturgess