Why did Cat leave the business?
#71
01-01-2010, 06:11 PM
That's hilarious CAT trying to justify their exit as them taking the high road. They simply failed. Their 08 DPF engines were the worst in the industry, fleets had dozens of them parked against the fence. Their market share plummeted from over 40% to around 12% in less than 4 years. That's not due to EPA mandates, that's simply pure failure in the business.
Back in 03 they were the only engine maker to be kicking and screaming about the new emissions, even though they had ~5 years to figure it out. They even sued the EPA. Everyone laughed. Then they didn't meet the deadline and we're putting out "illegal" engines with high fines. Everyone laughed again. Their marketing was absolutely terrible. Right from 03. "We'll meet 2010 without EGR". 2008 comes around and what do they put in? EGR! Everyone had another laugh at their expense. Any half decent marketing expert would say to never make forward looking projections like that. Kind of like what Navistar is doing now. ACERT's are well known to be terrible on fuel. Entire fleets were handing them in, going with Cummins. There was also a truck show a few months before they announced they were pulling out. Their slogan? "We're in it for the long haul". A few months later they announced they were pulling out at the end of 2009. Then shortly after that they moved it up a year. Their market share was shrinking faster than home values. I pointed this out well before they announced the pullout. At this point Volvo was selling more motors. They were simply stubborn. Made too many forward looking statements, and didn't want to change their platform. Stuck to it too much. Then their platform dive bombed after 08. They had the most problems with DPF. Instead of proper marketing and engineering, they simply pulled the plug. So to blame the EPA is a joke, because everyone has to meet those emissions. Yes the new engines are less reliable, but the other makers are constantly working on solutions. Cummins put the EGR valve on the cold side, and went with a more refined turbo. Volvo did the same thing. Detroit came out with a completely new engine that is designed from the ground up to meet 2010, and has turbocompounding and the simplest turbo in the industry(unlike their series 60 EGR turbo). And if they say that Cummins and Detroit put out unreliable engines, and they'd never go with their style engines, what does that say about ACERT when their market share was a quarter of what it once was? Even before they announced the pullout. THEY FAILED! I am one person who is happy CAT is not making truck engines anymore, I have one of the 08 engines in one of my trucks and it is the worst engine I have ever had, there has been nothing but problems with the DPF, it is always in the shop, CAT told me when I speced out the truck that the engines are doing great and the fuel economy was going to be fantastic, what a bunch of liars, if I had known then how bad these engines were going to be I would have never bought one. It almost seems like they put no thought into this engine. I would just love to put a stick of dynamite in this truck, or take it back to CAT and tell them to shove it up their ass Anyway, I have had good luck with older CAT engines in the past but they were never as fuel efficient as the Detroits, which I always found were less expensive to fix than the CATs. My friends who have new trucks with Cummins and Detroits and Mercedes are all really happy with them and the fuel economy 
#72
01-01-2010, 06:25 PM
May be it's just that CAT need a different approach from a drivers?
__________________
Pessimist,- is just well informed optimist!
#74
01-01-2010, 07:16 PM
A friend of mine has one of the CAT ascert engines in a 379 Pete. He is getting over 6 mpg. I spoke with an owner operator who bought one of the new Volvo's with a Cummins. He could not get more than 4.5 mpg. Some of the new engines are not doing as well on fuel mileage. Some are doing pretty well, regardless of brand.
#75
01-01-2010, 09:03 PM
A friend of mine has one of the CAT ascert engines in a 379 Pete. He is getting over 6 mpg. I spoke with an owner operator who bought one of the new Volvo's with a Cummins. He could not get more than 4.5 mpg. Some of the new engines are not doing as well on fuel mileage. Some are doing pretty well, regardless of brand.
#76
01-01-2010, 11:32 PM
I would say that you got lucky with the ACERT yes. They're simply not as thermally efficient as other engines. No amount of proper driving can make up for that.
#77
01-01-2010, 11:40 PM
I'm old enough, to know, that not everything is created equal, but how would you explain that difference between Acerts?
__________________
Pessimist,- is just well informed optimist!
#78
01-02-2010, 12:53 AM
Just like every other engines, there are different tolerances as well as small incremental changes cat has made. For example many had problems with the fuel filter base, changing this on certain year ACERTS helped MPG. That's just a small example.
#79
01-02-2010, 06:56 PM
Hey Gman you really ought to change your hood from blue to yellow!
I'm a die hard CAT man too. The 3406 mechanical fuel injected is the best on highway engine in history. Then the government got involved and ruined the state of the art. Blowing your exhaust into your intake makes absolutely no sense. Try sticking a hose up your azz and the other end down your throat and see how well you perform! You guys pay too much for CAT parts. I get mine from my KW dealer if I can. It's cheaper than the CAT house. The CAT engine tools are expensive too. $1500 sounds about right for a turbo from CAT. Get the exact same one from Borg Warner (Schwitzer) for half that. Why shop at Macy's when you can go to Walmart?! Anyway all I can say is my 3406C never left me on the side of the road in 15 years. I have passed countless new trucks pulling steep grades as they drop by the wayside. The fact that a 15-20 year old engine will outperform a new one says volumes. CAT is still king. They still make 3406Bs for export generator use. Just change some fuel pump parts and you have a top notch truck motor. The only thing I am worried about is the government outlawing my engine. Not sure I want to invest $25K in a new zero emission engine that's bound to give more trouble than it's worth.
__________________
The reason I'm a narcissist is cause everyone else is so lame.
#80
01-02-2010, 07:11 PM
I have a c-15 Acert that I am pretty happy with
ssshhhh, dont tell anybody
__________________
http://fredogtrucking.proboards.com |
|
