LOUISVILLE, KY -- Allison Transmission is unveiling what it calls a "radically new transmission design" for tractors during the 2011 Mid-America Trucking Show.


Allison says it offers the trucking industry a new approach to tractor transmission design that incorporates Allison's proven torque converter and twin countershafts.

The company says the new transmission design concept is ideal for distribution applications where a tractor-trailer splits its work cycle between city and highway conditions. The full-power shifts bring productivity and fuel efficiency to stop-and-go portions of a route, while the 10-speed-countershaft architecture offers fuel economy while cruising.

"Initial in-vehicle demonstration tests have allowed us to document some very nice gains in fuel economy and we achieved increases in a vehicles miles-per-workday," according to Lou Gilbert, Allison Transmission's director of North American Market Development. "Our testing has shown this new transmission offers better fuel economy than an automated manual in the targeted duty cycle markets for which it was developed."

Allison will have one of its demonstration vehicles, which incorporates Allison's new transmission, on-site for customer driving and evaluation. Once you combine exceptional fuel economy and miles-per-day with Allison Quality, Reliability and Durability, "you've got a transmission that will redefine tractor performance and operating efficiencies," Gilbert said.

More info: www.allisontransmission.com.