So I had a chance to chat with Justin Yee, manager of vehicle concepts for Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) here at the 2012 Mid America Trucking Show about the Revolution Innovation Truck concept vehicle he helped build for DTNA’s Freightliner Trucks division – a unique take on the ubiquitous highway tractors that’s chugged along our nation’s highways hauling freight since time out of mind.
What’s neat about this particular concept is that it’s a fully operational truck – yes, you can hop in, key the ignition, and start driving – that features an awful lot of what Yee refers to as “near future” technology, meaning it’s packed with stuff that could become reality for freight haulers very rapidly if desired.
Take this truck’s suspension system, for example: though it looks like a traditional 6 x 4 axle configuration, it can actually operate in a fuel-sipping 6 x 2 mode when not under load. Yet the mind the vehicle detects a load or the need for more traction, BAM! That extra axle automatically kicks right back into the mix with a time lag of 0.3 seconds, Yee told me – basically meaning it’s instantaneous.