Pierce: The Legacy Grows

[Roto-Ray]

Hey Roto-Ray as for the speculation on the next cab getting axed ill start it off I guess.


As for the next cab being axed from the line id put my money on the Impel because originally when the Impel was introduced it replaced the Saber, but the Saber had such a strong market with smaller departments and cash strapped budgets it was still cheaper than the Impel so they brought back the Saber as the once again choice of custom cab low cost apparatus and the Impel became the low cost version of the Velocity, but now with the new upgrades to the Saber and the resurrection of the Enforcer even if it only be the name, and the Dash CF now hear to stay the only logical choice would be the Impel, its the only rig in the line up that has a twin for the most part, the only other rig I could think of would be the Quantum Chassis becuase of the price but I still think its a long shot I think that chassis well be around for a few more years it survived the resession so that I think says enough.

 

Couple of quick corrections:  The Saber was never axed and brought back, it always been around in two forms.  One is the Saber, the other was the original Customer Contender, which was a Saber cab without the windown between the front and rear cab doors (the window was later added as an option for the CC).

 

When the Velocity and Impel were introduced they were specifically designed to be the replacement for the Dash and Enforcer, respectively.  The idea was the the Impel would the "lower tier" model with more limited motor, transmission, and size options, whereas the Velocity would have everything available.  Of course, this is about the same time that the Lance was also nixed from production, but very few Velocity split-tilts have been built that I know of (I've only seen one in person myself).

 

Yes, the Arrow XT was built as a non-multiplexed heavy-duty chassis for the LAFD, and it's popularity never really soared until the discontinuation of the Dash, Lance, and Enforcer. Lots of customers wanted that traditional fire engine look, which the XT offered.  As sales increased, so did the option list for the XT, including multiplexed wiring packages.

 

I'd be surprised to see the XT in it's existing form stay around for another three years.  There aren't any other chassis using this outside skin, so it would make sense to take some of the features that have made the XT popular and work them into a heavier Enforcer cab/chassis combination.  Pierce would be down to four cab skins at that point (Quantum, Velocity/Impel, Enforcer/Saber, Dash CF), saving on the production costs and time at that point.  Of course, that's pure speculation on my part.