Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2018
HDT APRIL 2018 50 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM nternationals new LT highway tractor may look much like the 11 year old ProStar it replaces but the resemblance is barely skin deep The LT retains the signature International grille though its shaped differently if you look closely but almost everything behind the grille was touched in some way by the sweeping overhaul of the companys best selling highway truck The primary drivers in the reshaping exercise were increased fuel efficiency and driver appeal If drivers do not want to drive the trucks fleets arent going to buy them said Denny Mooney Internationals senior vice president global product development Designers conducted dozens of driver clinics to get feedback from folks who use the product and a few interesting themes emerged For one truck drivers want a truck designed like a truck Career truck drivers arent interested in automotive designing like chrome accents and such They want trucks designed to do a job said Jeff Sass Internationals senior vice president sales and marketing when Internationals driver centric LT The 2018 LT from International is close to 10 more fuel efficient than a 2015 ProStar 500 pounds lighter and much more driver centric Drivers wanted a truck that looks and works like a truck but drives like a car The LT delivers the truck was unveiled Feedback from drivers resulted in a review of more than 500 points of contact between the driver and the truck The result was a cab with more elbow hip and leg room along with a more ergonomic but truck like dash layout and greatly improved mirror design By popular demand International even put the air horn back where it belongs on a lanyard above the driver side door Sass calls the LT the most driver centric Class 8 vehicle weve ever built A very close second design priority was By Jim Park Equipment Editor jpark@ truckinginfo com TEST DRIVE I PHOTOS JIM PARK
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