What happen To Mack? Why isn't wholly owned?

[realwolfdaddy]

No one ever say's "built like a volvo Truck" or "Tough as a international truck" or "I feel like I've been hit by a Isuzu truck". A Volvo truck has one of the worst resale values of any truck on the market, yet they bought Mack! Until the last models, International's they were not thought of as attractive. I know some will argue about the transtar eagle, Yes attractive, but never could out sale any Mack. There was a time that a DM Mack was worth its weight in gold, we could sale a good wheel base R Model before we got it in. While W900L's 379's sold good, but every time we sold one, it would take forever to get finance arranged for the buyer. But Mack trucks sold instantly to buyers with plenty of cash on hand, any other truck manufacture that we got in our place usually went straight to be parted out.

I say this all to say. I can't imagine what could have happened to Mack? Mack seriously built a great truck! The maxidyne engines were so tough, a five speed transmission was almost unbreakable. We sold 10 rockwell's or eaton's rear ends to one Mack rear end's. Remember White or Paccar cabs having to place cardboard in the doors to control door rattles? But the other manufacture's are alive and well while Mack gets treated like the ugly girl at the dance, no one wants to keep it for long. Was it mismanagement? bad designs? unions? That kept Mack trucks from being the most successful truck manufacturer. What ever happened to cream rising to top? What could have had happened?

[2stacksuperdog]

There was a lot of mismanagement and financial instability.

[Terry T]

a bit of a timeline for Mack Trucks. As you can see, Mack hasn't been Mack since 1967

• 1967: Mack Trucks becomes a part of the Signal Oil and Gas Company. Later that year Signal changes its name to The Signal Companies, Inc.
• 
  
• 1970: Mack moves into its new Allentown world headquarters.
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• 1979: Renault buys 10% of Mack Trucks, Inc.
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• 1982: Renault increases ownership stake to 20%, Signal lowers its stake to 10%.
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• 1983: Mack Trucks conducts an IPO and issues 15.7 million shares of common stock. Renault increases holdings to 40%, while Signal reduces its stake to 10.3%.
• 
  
• 1987: Renault reorganizes; Renault Véhicules Industriels buys Renault's Mack shares.
• 
  
• 1990: Mack Trucks become a wholly owned subsidiary of Renault Véhicules Industriels
• 
  
• 2001: Mack together with Renault Véhicules Industriels becomes part of Volvo AB of Sweden, the parent company Renault S. A. receives a 20% stake in the combined company. (In 2002 Renault Véhicules Industriels changes its name to Renault Trucks.)
• 
  
• 2006: Mack has a record sale year.
• 
  
• 2008: Mack announces relocation of corporate headquarters to Greensboro, North Carolina

[Offset-U-bet!]

Volvo should bow out! There's a reason I call the new Macks Mack-a-Volvos! Totally destroying the good Mack name and reputation for thier own gain! Horrible what they have done! DOWN WITH VOLVO!!!!!!!!!!>

[Offset-U-bet!]

Renault did a better job!

Edited February 11, 2013 by Offset-U-bet!

[39 Baby Mack]

Renault did a better job!

Hate to have to agree with you but Renault seemed to let them be there own company.

They had a great Idea trying to get back into the medium duty business with the Midliner----even though they turned out to be Mudslimers!

They really weren't that bad a truck just never seemed right to have a bulldog and a Mack nameplate on a foreign built truck.

In my opinion they were also, for the most part, a pain to get parts for.

Nothing really against the parts guys (they didn't like the idea of them either) but you could call up all day long and order parts for a real Mack and have fun kidding and

joking with your parts guys.

These are guys that you usually dealt with on a daily basis.

Call up and get over all the niceties like hi Bob, Joe, Ted whatever how are you doing today and then turn around and ask for a part for a Midliner and their whole

attitude seemed to change----acted like you got up extra early this morning just to piss in their oatmeal!

Ron

[fxfymn]

Mack, like most of the larger truck manufacturer's, became a victim of the rampant inflation and very high interest rates brought on by the oil embargo of the 70's. As far as I know Paccar was the only big builder that survived, with Mack being bought out by foreign investors, IH going bankrupt, and the big 3 bowing out of the business.

Basically the legacy builders had existing high labor and manufacturing costs from having outdated plants and processes. Volvo came in and bought out the small names in an effort to get brand recognition and Damlier did the same. Using new plants in low cost labor markets they kicked ass price wise just when big box stores and deregulation were making OTR trucking very profitable.

You think Mack tumbled? At one time IH was one of the 3 biggest corporations in the world.

[Offset-U-bet!]

I have seen first hand what Volvo has done to Mack. We had 2 CH's a 92 and a 97 and love them. Great trucks. So my boss bought a new 2006 and it was in the shop at least 6-7 times for various problems. The last straw was when the rocker gurtles bolts loosened and snapped and bent the gurtles. Mack said that they knew about the problem but didn't notify anyone. NICE Volvo influence. In all it was because it was a Volvo designed Mack motor. He sold it back to the dealer at a lesser price just to be rid of it! Now we just get older trucks and rebuild them!

[realwolfdaddy]

Mack, like most of the larger truck manufacturer's, became a victim of the rampant inflation and very high interest rates brought on by the oil embargo of the 70's. As far as I know Paccar was the only big builder that survived, with Mack being bought out by foreign investors, IH going bankrupt, and the big 3 bowing out of the business.

Basically the legacy builders had existing high labor and manufacturing costs from having outdated plants and processes. Volvo came in and bought out the small names in an effort to get brand recognition and Damlier did the same. Using new plants in low cost labor markets they kicked ass price wise just when big box stores and deregulation were making OTR trucking very profitable.

You think Mack tumbled? At one time IH was one of the 3 biggest corporations in the world.

I read an article that blamed Internationals fall on the unions

[fxfymn]

And of course no one blamed the management that gave them the contracts. Things like having a large inventory of parts and slow assembly times that drove up the borrowing cost were also a factor. That's one reason why new plants were so much more profitable with just in time parts delivery and extensive subcontracting.

[realwolfdaddy]

I just wish Mack could turn around and redeem its name like Harley Davidson did.

[220cummins]

The midliners weren't bad,especially for city driving, but their downfall were the air over hydrualic brakes on the the 200 and 250. The cost to replace for parts alone make it better to replace the truck. The 300's had normal s-cam air brakes.

[mackniac]

I read that in 1964 Mack & Chrysler were about to get married but the U.S. governement stop the ceremony

due to the anti trust law !! wow bravo ! I guess now that trust as changed it's meaning !!

They can sometimes blame the unions but they should look more at the big bosses with there f...g hughe bonuses

and there out of range paycheck !! my 02 cents.

[Rich Reinhart]

The big change for Mack, Especially in the northeast is when they started losing ground in the fleet area. A good number of private haulers, grocery stores, petroleum carriers, Regional LTL runners, tank lines like Matlack, started going to Freightliner and such for fleet trucks. Mack held the vocational field but some of the fleet markets were gone for good..

[realwolfdaddy]

My dad as a salesman for Mack used to hear "I can buy a White truck for 10,000.00 less than a Mack cost" to which he would reply " well White knows what there truck is worth" It was hard to sell Quality.....

[james j neiweem]

Thats why there were so many Whites sold. They were the best of the cheapos

[Offset-U-bet!]

 

My dad as a salesman for Mack used to hear "I can buy a White truck for 10,000.00 less than a Mack cost" to which he would reply " well White knows what there truck is worth" It was hard to sell Quality.....

 

No offence at all to your Father. But, I'd be embarased to be in sales for Mack right now! I'd feel like a foreign truck dealer with an American name plate. Please note no disrespect to your Dad.

[41180]

seems like theres alot of people on here running down newer macks. i think the 04 thru 07 macks deserve to be talked negatively about but the 08 and up are much better . i think the mp engines are just as good as anything else out there today. i dont here drivers complaining about the mp8 505 hp macks. i was talking to a pulp hauler in glens falls ny last week thats running a 2012 pinnacle with a 505 mp8 pulling 120k lbs every day and he said its doing great . lots of power and reliable . our 2012 titan is doing great. it has only had to regen once since august when we put it on the road, and it has as much power as anything out there.

[MackMann85]

Yeah there were some questionable spending decisions back in the day, operating 6-8 north american truck factories at once and having a half dozen planes and helicopters being good examples.

logtruckman, it seems alot of people these days are saying the new macks are the best since 2000 or earlier. but you know it takes years to get a good reputation and a second to ruin it so there are some old mindsets that need worked on.

at the end of the day, Mack and volvo are the last truck company who builds all their trucks for the USA in the USA, and that gets alot of respect from me

[realwolfdaddy]

   

No offence at all to your Father. But, I'd be embarased to be in sales for Mack right now! I'd feel like a foreign truck dealer with an American name plate. Please note no disrespect to your Dad.

None taken. This was the late 70s and early 80s and yes he would be a shame. A that time he was Proud to be apart of mack . How things have change. Not for the better.

[Offset-U-bet!]

 

None taken. This was the late 70s and early 80s and yes he would be a shame. A that time he was Proud to be apart of mack . How things have change. Not for the better.

 

Thats why I tell people I'm a huge fan of Macks up till mid 90's. Even some early 2000's. Beyond that .....Eh!

[markanello]

It made no sense at all when the fire line went away. The CF was the biggest seller and there are still many, many refurbed rigs still serving today. It was a mismanagement issue as the product was top notch. Look at how many L series, B series, C series and CF series fire units still around an running today. Companies like EOne and Pierce (who, by the way, partnered up with Mack for a short while and then helped run them out) cheap sold their units to run Mack out of the market. Now those same companies are even more high priced (in comparison using todays rates) than Mack ever was. How do you go from having a majority market share to out of the business? Just have a bad business plan like what happened to Harley (quality issues that Mack really didn't have) and currently American LaFrance, which is also on the way out.