Equipment

Mack’s Pinnacle now standard with mDRIVE automated manual transmission

Oct. 7, 2014

San Diego, CA. The Mack mDRIVE automated manual transmission is now standard on the Mack Pinnacle highway model. Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks North American Sales and Marketing, made the announcement here at the ATA Management Conference & Exhibition. The increasing popularity of the mDRIVE, driven by its proven performance and benefits, led to the decision, he said. More than 50% of Pinnacle models sold now are already spec’d with the transmission, which was introduced in 2010.

Wendy Leavitt

Designed to maximize driver productivity, performance and fuel efficiency by delivering smooth shifts and automatically selecting the best gear for conditions, the 12-speed, two-pedal mDRIVE delivers a base torque input capacity of 1,920 lb.-ft. It is offered with direct drive or overdrive.

The transmission is controlled through a dash-mounted shift pad with an integrated display to indicate the current gear. The Mack Co-Pilot driver display, located in the center of the instrument panel, displays the mDRIVE’s status, including the number of upshifts or downshifts available, the current gear and the current operating mode.

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"The mDRIVE helps customers work faster and smarter by eliminating traditional shifting,” Roy said. “By removing that task, mDRIVE allows drivers to focus on the job at hand: delivering their cargo safely and on time.”

A key component of Mack’s integrated powertrains, the mDRIVE is designed to work seamlessly with Mack MP series engines. When combined with a Mack Pedigree Powertrain, the mDRIVE can boost fuel efficiency by up to 1.5% compared to a standard transmission, Roy noted.

For applications where fuel economy is a priority, Pinnacle models can be spec’d with the Super Econodyne integrated powertrain package. Featuring the Mack MP7 or Mack MP8 engine, mDRIVE, proprietary drive axles and Mack’s custom software, the Super Econodyne package was developed to maximize efficiency without sacrificing performance. When compared to similarly spec’d vehicles, the MP7 Super Econodyne and MP8 Super Econodyne provide fuel economy improvements of up to 4% and 3.5% respectively.

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.