Renze
Elite Member
Well i dont have a pickup truck... their larger frontal profile, diffs and transfercases to add weight and friction (fuel consumption and road tax) make it unattractive in Europe to use as commuter vehicle.
When i follow the line of cars that my father drove to what i drove within the same class, you see a steady climb from a 1200kg 245 to a 1350kg 740 to a 1450kg 850 to a 1470kg S70 to a 1540kg V70 2nd gen, where the 3rd gen weighs 1700kg and its successor the V90 over 1800kg...
Then, looking at tractors: The big field tractors of the 90s were the Case Magnum and Deere 55 series. The Magnum ranged from 155 to 238 engine hp, weighed 9 to 10 ton and used the Cummins C series block. The Deere 55 series was from 128 to 228hp and used the Deere 7.6 liter engine, which was stroked to 8.1 liter and later to 9 liter, nowadays churning out anything between 250 and 400hp.
The 155hp of the 9 ton Magnum 7110 is now found in a 5.5 to 6 ton 4 cylinder tractor...
The Case Magnum engine was stroked to 8.7 liter and now putting out between 240 and 380hp.
Both series had wheelbase and weight increases so they actually moved up a class, yet they are still built on the same basic architecture. Its just that the Magnums Cummins was swapped for an Iveco engine of parent Fiat, and got a CVT transmission dug up from the IH archives, which patented a Vari-Torque transmission in 1981 and built working prototypes.
The Deere also got a CVT option, but also an e23 powershift, which is actually an iteration of the 12 speed powershift and the 24 speed hi/lo gearbox of the 1989 8850 articulated tractor...
On early 8000 series tractors, Deere made room for a conventional cab by moving the engine forward by means of bolting a cast iron spacer between engine and transmission of what was under the skin, a plain old 55 series skid unit with a new cab and electronic shifting...
When looking at European compact cars, we got the Golf (or Rabbit on your side of the pond) in 1974 as a replacement of the Beetle. It grew in size so in the 80s VW introduced the Polo. The current generation Polo is a more mature car than the clean sheet design Golf 3 was in the early 90s. Meanwhile, VW introduced a new compact car, called the Up! to serve the market segment where the Golf was positioned 45 years ago.
Manufacturers allways make a new iteration of a model, bigger, more expensive, and more luxurious, they never introduce a new model line upmarket, they allways lure customers to follow them into the next generation of what people already own.
Though using a pickup truck for commuting is an American thing, upmarketing existing model names through its generations is a universal commercial practice.
When i follow the line of cars that my father drove to what i drove within the same class, you see a steady climb from a 1200kg 245 to a 1350kg 740 to a 1450kg 850 to a 1470kg S70 to a 1540kg V70 2nd gen, where the 3rd gen weighs 1700kg and its successor the V90 over 1800kg...
Then, looking at tractors: The big field tractors of the 90s were the Case Magnum and Deere 55 series. The Magnum ranged from 155 to 238 engine hp, weighed 9 to 10 ton and used the Cummins C series block. The Deere 55 series was from 128 to 228hp and used the Deere 7.6 liter engine, which was stroked to 8.1 liter and later to 9 liter, nowadays churning out anything between 250 and 400hp.
The 155hp of the 9 ton Magnum 7110 is now found in a 5.5 to 6 ton 4 cylinder tractor...
The Case Magnum engine was stroked to 8.7 liter and now putting out between 240 and 380hp.
Both series had wheelbase and weight increases so they actually moved up a class, yet they are still built on the same basic architecture. Its just that the Magnums Cummins was swapped for an Iveco engine of parent Fiat, and got a CVT transmission dug up from the IH archives, which patented a Vari-Torque transmission in 1981 and built working prototypes.
The Deere also got a CVT option, but also an e23 powershift, which is actually an iteration of the 12 speed powershift and the 24 speed hi/lo gearbox of the 1989 8850 articulated tractor...
On early 8000 series tractors, Deere made room for a conventional cab by moving the engine forward by means of bolting a cast iron spacer between engine and transmission of what was under the skin, a plain old 55 series skid unit with a new cab and electronic shifting...
When looking at European compact cars, we got the Golf (or Rabbit on your side of the pond) in 1974 as a replacement of the Beetle. It grew in size so in the 80s VW introduced the Polo. The current generation Polo is a more mature car than the clean sheet design Golf 3 was in the early 90s. Meanwhile, VW introduced a new compact car, called the Up! to serve the market segment where the Golf was positioned 45 years ago.
Manufacturers allways make a new iteration of a model, bigger, more expensive, and more luxurious, they never introduce a new model line upmarket, they allways lure customers to follow them into the next generation of what people already own.
Though using a pickup truck for commuting is an American thing, upmarketing existing model names through its generations is a universal commercial practice.
Ha.