I drive a autoshift Volvo everyday for P.A.M and couldn't imagine going back to double clutching.

 

Syncromesh transmissions definitely are not as reliable as "crash" boxes as you put them. Europe does not have the highway system we have, so that makes it necassary to have a transmission that is easier on the driver.

 

We don't have a true automatic trans, we still have to clutch in order to engage the trans., but If I can help it, I will never go back to a manual. The only thing I don't like about my ten-speed autoshift is it has terrible acceleration, but it cruises quite nicely.

 

"Europe does not have the highway system we have "??

Do you mean as many miles of highway or the terrain. If you mean not as many miles of highway I can't see what that has to do with anything, what does it matter how long a road is? If a truck covers 500,000 miles it's done 500,000 miles, it doesn't know its run over the same road everyday for 4 years.
If you mean terrain then I think you'll find that the mountain ranges of Europe are closer together than here so a truck there will be doing more climbing then here, which is probably why we generally run with bigger motors. Well that and the fact we can also run 88,000Ibs without a special licence. I used syncro transmission for 17 years before coming here and I promise you they are far easier on a driver and even Stevie Wonder couldn't miss a shift with both hands tied behind his back.
After driving FH16 Volvo's in Europe for the last 5 years I was pleased to see that the North American Volvo have the very same dashboard/instrument layout but when I climbed in and saw what I consider a transmission thats 15 years out of date it was a bitter sweet feeling.
As for the reliability aspect I suppose in truth you may have a point BUT only in as much as a syncromesh trans will have more clutch wear as it is generally used for every shift, however old school drivers can prolong the clutch life by only using the clutch to pull away and then up/down shifting by ear. Then it would have exactly the same life expectancy as a "crash" box...maybe even longer as they are a more modern design.
I guess we'll have to disagree.

 

I was wondering Admore Farms, if this was the vehicle your employer wanted your opinion on...the one that had you question whether or not you were still employed? LOL