In October, Mack Trucks inaugurated its new axle line at the Hagerstown, Maryland, facility where the company’s powertrain components have been assembled since 1961.
models, and this arrangement increases fuel efficiency up to 4 percent compared with similarly spec’d vehicles.
Seamless operation Powertrain integration always has been a pillar of Mack’s design approach. Integration provides the opportunity to engineer components to work seamlessly together in ways that optimize vehicle performance and increase fuel efficiency. Assembly of the mDRIVE automated manual transmission, which is standard on the Pinnacle model, came to Hagerstown in 2012. mDRIVE automatically selects the best gear for optimized fuel economy at the desired road speed, putting less stress on the driveline and leading to less wear and longer life. The mDRIVE HD, a heavy-duty version of the mDRIVE, was announced in February 2015. Also assembled in Hagerstown, the mDRIVE HD is standard on the Mack Granite® and Titan by Mack models and offers improved performance for demanding on- and off-road applications. “Hagerstown has played a crucial role in powering Mack’s truck models for more than 50 years,” says Pierre Jenny, vice president of powertrain production for Mack. “With this new axle-manufacturing capability, we are truly the birthplace of Mack’s famous Gold Bulldog, which adorns every Mack model equipped with a complete Mack proprietary powertrain.” 2015 V3 | Bulldog | 21
