whisperingsmith: > [zb] > anorak: > The 1932 sounds like a superb flagship vehicle. Mercedes should have promoted it as such in GB, like Scania did with the 140. I don’t think Mercedes’ cause was helped when they changed to the NG- it looked more like a competitor for the Ford D series than the Scania 111. Lagging a bit behind in the bhp race did not help.
Agree totally, the big cab LPS was superb for lengthy trips and at 6’2" I found it easy to walk about and could stand up fully when the roof hatch was open.
For some reason Mercedes seemed to treat the UK as a Truck Backwater and sold vehicles that were in competition with 180/190 powered British motors, albeit with an unbreakable build quality & better cabs.
I saw a few short LPS cabbed Irish wagons, but it was a very difficult to get MB UK to supply anything above the poverty UK spec until the NG came along and that to my mind was a retrograde step.
To be fair to Mercedes there are probably 000’s of NGs still earning their keep across the world, so maybe not such a bad move.
IIRC, Mercedes actually moved ahead of Scania in the bhp “chart”, with the 1944, in 1984 or 85. By that time, the bigger GR cab was available which, I would guess, was the equal of the 2 series Scania, in function if not style. The legions of Scanias in preservation is evidence of the Swedes’ earlier forward thinking.
whisperingsmith: > [zb] > anorak: > The 1932 sounds like a superb flagship vehicle. Mercedes should have promoted it as such in GB, like Scania did with the 140. I don’t think Mercedes’ cause was helped when they changed to the NG- it looked more like a competitor for the Ford D series than the Scania 111. Lagging a bit behind in the bhp race did not help.
Agree totally, the big cab LPS was superb for lengthy trips and at 6’2" I found it easy to walk about and could stand up fully when the roof hatch was open.
For some reason Mercedes seemed to treat the UK as a Truck Backwater and sold vehicles that were in competition with 180/190 powered British motors, albeit with an unbreakable build quality & better cabs.
I saw a few short LPS cabbed Irish wagons, but it was a very difficult to get MB UK to supply anything above the poverty UK spec until the NG came along and that to my mind was a retrograde step.
To be fair to Mercedes there are probably 000’s of NGs still earning their keep across the world, so maybe not such a bad move.
IIRC, Mercedes actually moved ahead of Scania in the bhp “chart”, with the 1944, in 1984 or 85. By that time, the bigger GR cab was available which, I would guess, was the equal of the 2 series Scania, in function if not style. The legions of Scanias in preservation is evidence of the Swedes’ earlier forward thinking.
…and the legion NG Mercs still in daily operation throughout the Middle-East and North Africa too. There were still a lot of LPS artics still around when I was on the job.
whisperingsmith: > [zb] > anorak: > The 1932 sounds like a superb flagship vehicle. Mercedes should have promoted it as such in GB, like Scania did with the 140. I don’t think Mercedes’ cause was helped when they changed to the NG- it looked more like a competitor for the Ford D series than the Scania 111. Lagging a bit behind in the bhp race did not help.
Agree totally, the big cab LPS was superb for lengthy trips and at 6’2" I found it easy to walk about and could stand up fully when the roof hatch was open.
For some reason Mercedes seemed to treat the UK as a Truck Backwater and sold vehicles that were in competition with 180/190 powered British motors, albeit with an unbreakable build quality & better cabs.
I saw a few short LPS cabbed Irish wagons, but it was a very difficult to get MB UK to supply anything above the poverty UK spec until the NG came along and that to my mind was a retrograde step.
To be fair to Mercedes there are probably 000’s of NGs still earning their keep across the world, so maybe not such a bad move.
IIRC, Mercedes actually moved ahead of Scania in the bhp “chart”, with the 1944, in 1984 or 85. By that time, the bigger GR cab was available which, I would guess, was the equal of the 2 series Scania, in function if not style. The legions of Scanias in preservation is evidence of the Swedes’ earlier forward thinking.
…and the legion NG Mercs still in daily operation throughout the Middle-East and North Africa too. There were still a lot of LPS artics still around when I was on the job.
The LP and NG probably sold in greater numbers over the world, and were probably more durable machines (I say " probably", because researching this stuff is next to impossible, even with the internet) but, addressing the question in the thread title, Scania’s earlier adoption of turbochargers and synchromesh, coupled with more obvious driver appeal and less restrictive marketing, gave it the advantage it enjoys today- it is perceived as the best.
sorry, just thinking back the LHD maggie drawbar Y reg i drove iirc came from holland was a 192M16 and had a ZF six speed with an electric splitter.Its "sister " was RHD same yr but six speed with two speed axle(it could move!)…my buggy just sat up and down hill at 60 loaded or empty. jimmy
