SLICK real slick!

After a protracted development program with more stops and starts than an asthmatic slug, UD is finally adding Eaton’s AutoShift transmission to its flagship GW model. But as STEVE BROOKS found during an
exclusive test drive, it was worth the wait
for what is probably the smoothest, smartest AutoShift installation on the market.

About 18 months ago, UD general manager John Bushell rang and asked if we could have a chat ‘on the quiet’. “Sure, what’s on your mind Booka?”

Well, on his mind was Eaton’s AutoShift transmission, the automated version of the ever-popular 18-speed Roadranger. Bushell and his small crew knew there was worthwhile business to be won by becoming the first Japanese truck to offer Eaton’s automated stirrer and a year or so earlier had instigated a project to install and test the transmission in UD’s former flagship, the versatile CW445.

But it hadn’t been an easy exercise and nervousness had crept into the camp. For starters, UD’s Nissan Diesel masters in Japan were only tentatively supportive of the AutoShift project and at the time, not particularly amenable to disclosing the complex algorithms essential for the cohesive marriage of engine and transmission. What’s more, UD’s local lads knew it had to be right from the outset because despite AutoShift’s widespread acceptance – it is, after all, the only US automated transmission on the market – there were installations where it had simply failed to live up to the expectations of owners and drivers alike. And compared to the stunningly smooth performance of European automated boxes such as Volvo’s I-Shift and Iveco’s EuroTronic, Eaton’s offering could often appear coarse and agricultural.

On top of these factors, timing of the project wasn’t ideal either. Not too far over the horizon was the Australian introduction of the long-awaited Quon (GW) range with a suite of electronic and software changes that would, of course, impact on the relationship between engine and transmission in future installations. Meanwhile, on the corporate front, Volvo was finalising its takeover of Nissan Diesel and locally, UD’s place in the new structure remained clouded and confused.

Still, with the knowledge that Nissan Diesel’s own ESCOT nine-speed automated transm...
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