I conducted an “experiment” last year as I was rolling up I-95 out of Florida. I counted the different manufacturers of trucks to see if my suspicions that Freightliner trucks outnumbered other brands 2-1 were true. It wasn’t a study that a university would be proud of but nevertheless, I found my hypothesis
wasn’t correct. I actually discovered that Freightliner outnumbered other major competitors 3-1 and some of the other OEMs were outnumbered 7-1. Why the dominance?
Before I bought my own truck, I decided that Freightliner wouldn’t be my first choice because everyone has a Freightliner it seems. I wanted to be different, but I wanted to make a wise financial choice too. I’m a practical person and view a truck as a tool to make money, not to build a life around. After spending a lot of time studying my different options, it became clear that a Freightliner SelecTruck would be the best choice for me.
I just recently sold that SelecTruck. It was a 2007 Freightliner Columbia that I bought from
SelecTrucks of Greensboro, NC. I was sad to see it go as I’ve spent most of my company driving career in a Columbia. Of the 12 years I pulled a gasoline tanker, 9 of them were in a Freightliner Columbia day cab. Then when I decided to become an owner-operator and buy a Freightliner, I chose the Columbia because I was already familiar with the model and the dependability. It was a great truck and will continue to serve its new owner well.
As I wave good-bye to the Columbia and think about all the sights we’ve seen together, I look forward with great anticipation to my future with the Freightliner Cascadia. I’m already tracking fuel efficiency improvements on the Cascadia and DD15 engine and will report on those findings soon.
