With the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, as its announcement venue, Kenworth Truck Company launched its Class 8 truck line for model year 2006. Of special note, KW added 25 new standard features, moving more than half of them from the options list.
Trucks get a new speedometer and tachometer cluster accompanied by two-inch diameter gauges set in chrome bezels. An outside temperature gauge, an engine hour meter, odometer, and trip odometer now are standard, all with LED backlighting. Rocker switches on the dash are large and utilize LED indicator lamps. Five pre-wired spare switches are built into the dash for custom applications. The entire instrument and control panel uses multiplex wiring with color-coded and numbered positive locking connectors.
Some changes are small, but add to vehicle durability. For instance, the new door pad survived a 150,000-cycle door-slamming test. The map pocket in the door pad supported more than 400 pounds during testing. Power door locks now are standard equipment with a power window on the driver side. A power window lift is optional for the passenger side door.
Kenworth trucks offer two levels of interior trim with seats covered with vinyl, two cloth versions, or leather. Standard interior cab lighting is said to be better than any previous optional lighting with dome lamps and task lamps mounted above both doors, a dome lamp on the rear headliner, and a red under-dash lamp. New insulation at specific noise entry points has cut interior sound levels by 20%, Kenworth says.
A curved windshield is available for the W900, T800, and C500. Flat windshields remain available as an option.