Hello,
During the month of May, I had the opportunity to
participate in a cross country tour (from San Diego, CA to Gastonia, NC) in Freightliner's new "Cascadia Evolution." The new truck showcased the latest technology in regards to fuel efficiency.
I wanted to give you some information on my experience operating the recently unveiled Cascadia Evolution, equipped with the all new Detroit DT 12 Transmission. I traveled a total of 2,459 miles in this vehicle. The new transmission is a single counter shaft transmission, available with direct or overdrive, final gear ratio, 12 forward gears, E-coast mode and skip shift.
As I prepared myself for the trip, I was a bit leery of the E-coast feature. In order to save fuel, the E-coast automatically disengages the engine when the vehicle is coasting. This is a sophisticated version of what drivers have referred to for years as "The Georgia Overdrive." The new transmission works as a controlled "Georgia Overdrive." Therefore, it will never allow you to coast beyond a safe speed. The driver sets the controls to a speed above his/her chosen cruise speed. The transmission reengages the engine and if necessary; turns on the compression brake to maintain a safe and comfortable speed. All this action takes place very smoothly and I wouldn't have noticed the E-coast performing its function if I hadn’t heard the engine brake.
During the cross-country tour, I had only a small bit of experience with the creep mode. I found it gave me excellent low speed maneuverability.
At the conclusion of the tour, I had a chance to speak with the engineers who had collected the data from our journey. The results showed I had coasted over 600 miles, achieved 9.32 mpg at 76,000 lbs. with a cruise speed of 62 mph. Needless to say, I was more than impressed with the transmission's contribution to the stellar fuel efficiency achievements.
Click here for more information on the DT 12 Automated Manual Transmission.
Till next time be safe,
Henry