Production of the Freightliner Cascadia with enhanced safety and aerodynamic features has begun, the company has announced.
Detroit Assurance 5.0 is now standard with Freightliner Cascadias powered by Detroit engines. This radar and camera fused system features standard active safety and advanced driver assistance technologies designed to keep drivers, other motorists and pedestrians safe, including:
- Adaptive Cruise Control to 0 MPH: Automatically decelerates and accelerates to maintain a safe following distance.
- Active Brake Assist 5.0 – Full Braking on Moving Pedestrian: When a moving pedestrian enters the truck’s path, Detroit Assurance 5.0 applies input from the radar and camera sensors to warn the driver using visual and audible warnings simultaneously with partial emergency braking. If the driver doesn’t act, full emergency braking brings the truck to a complete stop.
Additionally, new standard features with Detroit Assurance 5.0 include automatic wipers/headlamps, Intelligent High Beam and traffic sign display.
Side Guard Assist is an optional feature available with Detroit Assurance 5.0 that detects objects, including pedestrians and cyclists, in the passenger-side blind spot along the full length of the tractor and trailer.
Active Lane Assist, an optional feature available in early 2020, consists of Lane Departure Protection and Lane Keep Assist. With Lane Departure Protection, if the truck begins to drift from its lane without the turn signal activated, a rumble sound, along with a visual warning, will alert the driver. The system will then counter steer the truck back into its lane. When Adaptive Cruise Control is enabled, Lane Keep Assist uses micro-steering movements to keep the new Cascadia centered in its detected lane. With the addition of lateral steering assist offered by the optional Active Lane Assist feature, in combination with Adaptive Cruise Control, Freightliner and Detroit will begin delivering the first production SAE Level 2 automated truck in North America, the company says.
Freightliner says the Standard aerodynamic package now includes A-pillar deflectors, tow hook covers and side extender seals; The Aero package adds enhanced chassis fairing skirts; and the AeroX package features an optimized low ground clearance bumper, optimized roof deflector, optimized drive wheel fairings and front wheel well closeouts.
Additional aerodynamic options available include the Aerodynamic Height Control, which electronically lowers the suspension height one inch at 55 miles per hour to optimize airflow over and under the front of the truck and reduce drag. Michelin X Line D+ Energy tires, developed in collaboration with Michelin and exclusive to the Cascadia, are also available and the company says will reduce rolling resistance in 6×4 applications. All of the new aerodynamic features available on Cascadia provide up to a five percent increase in fuel efficiency over the current model, Freightliner says.
The Cascadia also features the Integrated Detroit Powertrain. An update for the Cascadia from Detroit is Intelligent Powertrain Management 6 (IPM6), which comes standard with the DT12. Like earlier IPM technology, IPM6 integrates pre-loaded terrain maps and GPS into engine and transmission functions to know the route ahead and uses the truck’s kinetic energy to automatically adjust to its surroundings by reducing braking power and making transmission and engine adjustments.
Another feature is the Cascadia Maintenance System, an onboard monitoring system computes maintenance intervals based on actual operating conditions of the vehicle.
