Here are more videos from the ATCA Antique Truck show in Harford, PA from two weeks ago. First, a nice collection of Peterbilts.
And of course there is always room from more Brockways! It’s one thing to see these trucks on display but it’s even better to hear and see them on the move.
3rd Course…More Brockway.
Truck adverting has certainly changed over the years. To start, you don’t find ads for large commercial trucks outside of industry publications anymore. Gone are the days when you would open you copy of Life or Time and see advertisements from International, White, Mack and Autocar. Maybe the fact that Life and Time are gone have something to do with it. Back when this ad was relevant I.H. produced over 104 basic models of truck with 972 variations. Sales were increasing by 11% yearly and total market share was around 35 percent. Impressive stats considering how many more truck builders existed 49 years ago.
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International Harvester A.D. 1963, classy!
Slow truck racing, a simple premise. Select your lowest gear, don’t ride the clutch or brake, the last truck to cross the finish line is the winner. This video is from the ATHS Twin Tiers truck show a few weekends back. Watch as Brockways, Macks, and Reo’s all battle for slow truck supremacy.
Recently there has been one truck manufacturer that has dominated the business world headlines, Navistar. Unfortunately for the employees and stockholders of the company the news has been rather sour. Too keep thing simple here is a bullet list of the events that happened in the past month. Click on the links to read the full stories.
Yikes, that’s a lot scary, gloomy news. Digging a little deeper into the 18 month operating plan it reveals that the company is analyzing every portion of non core North American truck manufacturing ventures. Does this mean Navistar Defense or patnerships with overseas firms like Mahindra are on the chopping block? Quite possibly but only time will tell. Also, Cummins engines will be available to customers in December which should help dealers and customers alike breath a little easier.
During this whole debacle take over rumors have abounded with the likes of Carl Icahn buying near controlling shares of Navistar stock. One global giant often rumored to be in the hunt for control of the International brand has been Volkswagen. However, current VW CEO Martin Winterkorn says the company’s recent buying spree (see Porsche, Ducati) is over.
Every the eternal optimist I believe this truck can be righted. The Cummins engine is tested and ready. SCR retrofitted engines will be available come next Spring and should pass EPA certification. Long term funding has been sourced to provide stability for the next 18 months. Welcome the world of heavily regulated big business folks!
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Sometimes grabbing photos for this site can be hard. Rusted steel fences, garages, large dogs, they all conspire to prevent that perfect shot. But once in a great while the planets aline and you stumble across not one truck but seven! I think it would be a safe bet to say the Town of Lenox takes pride in their rigs as they were spotless and practically on display. The new Mack Granite parked on the loading ramp flanked on either side by RD models (one is AWD) added a nice touch, it was almost like a dealers show lot. And who could pass by the old but well cared for S-Model Internationals?
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This sharp fleet of Macks are the spiritual successor to the Brockway 761 that the town used to run. Click here for a photo.
Some say the art of letter writing has been lost with the advent of email and texting. The financial troubles of the USPS only seem to highlight the fact that soon physical letters will be relegated to a special wing of the Smithsonian. People will gawk at pens, paper, and stamps wondering what uses primitave man found for such devices. Most likely the fall of “snail mail” began when postcards like the one below fell out of use.
Mack Cruise-Liner - Click to Enlarge
RSVP! Yes please!
Mack Cruise-Liner - Click to Enlarge
The Cruise-Liner began production in 1975 at the newly opened Macungie plant and was part of the Mack lineup until 1983.
This past Sunday the Northeastern PA chapter of the ATCA held their 22nd annual antique truck show at the Harford Fairgrounds. I’ve attended this show for the past four or five years and have never been disappointed in the turn out and variety of trucks. This year was no exception. Take a moment to browse through the gallery below but keep in mind, this is only a fraction of the trucks that were on hand.
As usual, I shot a lot of video, like the ’65 Brockway below which happens to be my favorite style of Huskie.
Check back later in the week for more video coverage!
Past ATCA Northearstern PA coverage
Only one way to find out if the used rock truck at the auction is something you want to buy, run the engine at full bore for over a minute. Flat tire? No problem!
This 2001 Mach CH was also up for bid. It was pretty clean all the way around and well maintained. The frame looked freshly painted. Stand back, I’m about to channel my best Car and Driver editorial reviewer. The interior plastic was hard and low quality. Years behind the Japanese in fit and finish. If I had to guess I would say this Mack was formerly owned by Mirabito.
As promised, here is part 2 of Dan’s fantastic coverage of the 2012 NYS Woodsmen Field Days. I really like that International wrecker, sorry, tow truck.
International Tow Truck - Click to Enlarge
Have you figured out the manufacturer of the backhoe from Wednesdays post? If you haven’t and you still want to challenge yourself stop reading….now. For everyone else the answer is…JCB. Two time DDD contents winner Kurt was the first to respond with the correct answer of the JCB HMEE, military slang for High Mobility Engineer Excavator. A little digging on the HMEE (thanks again Kurt) revealed a very informative video of this versatile JCB being put through the paces. Some of the facts that impressed me are…
The more features listed the more you think you are reading an ad for a luxury SUV.
Links: JCB HMEE
