Auto Review Mack and Brockway

Mack is a revered name among American truck manufacturers. The first vehicles were made by the Mack brothers in New York at the turn of the 20th century. Marketed for a while as ‘Manhattan’ trucks, they soon reverted to the Mack name. Their trucks were seen as so sturdy that a new saying was introduced to the language; Built like a Mack truck. Their ruggedness and their pugnacious appearance resulted in British Tommies in the Great War giving Mack ACs the Bulldog nickname. This was regularised in 1922 with the adoption of a Bulldog bonnet (hood) ornament. Some idea of the way Macks were perceived is indicated by some of the straplines used in advertising down the following decades: Tuned to the Modern tempo’ was in the 1930s, whilst in the 1940s it was ‘Performance counts’ and ‘If you’ve got a Mack you’re lucky... If you plan to get one you’re wise’. From the 1950s onwards it was ‘Modernize with Mack’ and ‘Macks handle the important jobs’. In later years we were told that ‘Mack trucks perform’ followed by ‘Mack: the greatest name in trucks’ and ‘Mack quality: depend on it!’.

When we look at US automotive companies we get used to seeing regular annual model changes, but Mack never felt the need for new model releases every year. The Mack AC ‘Bulldog’ lasted for 23 years, the last examples built in 1939. The Model F lasted for almost 20 years, the B series was made for 13 years, and the Model R was made for almost three decades. This means that in our coverage here we describe a model when it was first launched, but it might well still be in production decades later, outliving newer models. 

In 1956 Mack took over Brockway, another American truck maker with a long history. The two firms were not really direct competitors. Mack used modern production line techniques, whereas Brockway built up custom trucks. In 1990 RVI (Renault) took over Mack, and in 2001 Volvo acquired the RVI group, including Mack. 

Brockway had already closed in the 1970s.