Mack Trucks

There is a lot of romanticism regarding Mack trucks and their role in trucking. I had heard of Mack trucks before I knew people drove across country in a truck. It's pretty much a household name. But considering their prevalence in pop culture, I'm curious why I never hear about them. Every company I researched before going to Prime listed Freightliners, Volvos, and Internstionals. Sometimes I see a Peterbuilt thrown in there for good measure. So since Mack trucks are basically synonymous with trucking, why don't companies offer these trucks? (I'll note that I know zilch about engines, torque, horsepower, and whatever else goes on under the hood that is outside my pretrip components.)

Built Like a Mack Truck was part of post WWII Americana. I am a fan of all Macks, but most notably the B, R and F Models and my personal favorite the Cruise Liner. I drove an early 60's B-61 10-wheeler dump once (in a yard),...had a steering wheel about 3' wide; duplex transmission, two people in the cab rubbed shoulders. A real sardine can. For a company with humble beginnings manufacturing horse carriages and then passenger motor coaches, they left an indelible mark on both the heavy truck industry and fire fighting apparatus. And yes, at one time they also had a 1/2 ton pick-up in their catalogue, mid forties I believe.

In many ways Truck history is very similar to the Automobile industry, 70 years ago there were many, many manufacturer's brands and models to choose from eventually being whittled down to only a select few. Two of the most iconic American truck brands; Mack (Volvo) and Freightliner (Diamler) are no longer American owned. For you history buffs, Freightliner was originally a company that got their start exclusively manufacturing trucks for Consolidated Freightways (CF) in the early 40's (CF was an LTL that went belly-up in the 90's). Their first truck was called a Bullnose (KW, Mack and Peterbilt had a Bullnose model as well) and was a hy-brid of sorts; a cross between a cab-over and conventional. Freightliner was eventually sold to the White Motor Truck Company, and became White Freightliner. In addition to Freightliner, White Motor Truck also had in their stable (pun intended, they had a truck called a Mustang) White, Western Star and Autocar brands.

Sorry, my "truck geek" is showing.

PS - I love the bulldog mascot. I want a Mack just for that reason alone.

PS - I love the bulldog mascot. I want a Mack just for that reason alone.

Start looking for driving jobs in the construction industry, then: That's where you'll find those beasts of burdens! I drove one of those trucks when U.S. Steel was thriving during the 1970's in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After that, I moved into one of their "finer" machines hauling steel for Aero Trucking out of Murrysville, Pennsylvania. I can't say my experience was fond with a Mack, but I did have a love-hate relationship with it; simply because it was so darned dependable :-) Today's Macks are generations ahead of the former ones, but they still retain that same durability quality.

Just don't ask why some drivers turn the dog around and have its face looking at them instead of the road in front of the driver.

I hope to see you driving a Mack someday, Miss Myoshi.

My granddad had a Mack bulldog tattoo

PS - I love the bulldog mascot. I want a Mack just for that reason alone.

Ok. Now I have to ask: why do they turn him around? And unless I work somewhere that has them I doubt I'll get to drive one. Not interested in O/O.

So, are they too expensive? Not dependable? Not profitable? Just wondering why large carriers don't offer them in their truck lineups.

You can put a mack truck hood ornament on any truck if thats why you want a mack. They are mostlky found as said in construction and concrete and waste collection and such. Personally I hated all 5 of our mack trucks, they were beat to hell, had a really stiff ride and were not ergonomic for th the driver, me. I seem to prefer Kenworth the best I'm 6' 240lbs and I just seem to like them better, comfort, ride, my ISX's `550hp, etc.

Buy a pink one here: mack hood ornaments

My guess: there are certainly Mack OTR trucks on the road. But just like Western Star, the brand is really built for and is known for other things.

Mack was bought by Renault in the '80s and they nearly killed the brand. Later Volvo bought Renault (and Mack) and uses mostly Volvo parts in them. A lot of fleets that used to buy Macks now run Kenworths and Peterbilts. My brother drives one and wishes he had a Pete or Kenworth, probably for the same reasons Phil C. just gave.

Mack wasn't the only American truck maker that was bought by European companies in the '80s, but they probably suffered the biggest loss of quality as a result. They made all their parts and were way ahead of other makers in the '70s with their engines, transmissions, etc. I don't think they even make their own engines anymore.

They were arguably the premier American truck until that time. Now they're basically Volvos, and I've heard that Volvo is going to put their grille on them soon, only with a bulldog hood ornament. Kind of like changing the mark on a low-end Opel and calling it the Cadillac Catera. Nobody's fooled.

You can see some nice old Macks at the truck museum at the World's Largest Truckstop in Walcott, IA.

We have alot of macks in the concrete. Ready mix world they are absolutely garbage compared to the KW alot of the new macks are automatics

There is a lot of romanticism regarding Mack trucks and their role in trucking. I had heard of Mack trucks before I knew people drove across country in a truck. It's pretty much a household name. But considering their prevalence in pop culture, I'm curious why I never hear about them. Every company I researched before going to Prime listed Freightliners, Volvos, and Internstionals. Sometimes I see a Peterbuilt thrown in there for good measure. So since Mack trucks are basically synonymous with trucking, why don't companies offer these trucks? (I'll note that I know zilch about engines, torque, horsepower, and whatever else goes on under the hood that is outside my pretrip components.)