Setting The Place
18 CUSTOM RIGS Winter 2009 After 70 years, Peterbilt continues to win hearts of owner-operators By MAX HEINE I f a trucking outsider were to visit virtually any show truck competition, he could be forgiven for getting the impression that big rigs are synonymous with Peterbilt. Since at least 1990, when Overdrive held its first Pride & Polish, the Red Oval has been well represented. In the 11 years he's produced truck show events, says former Pride & Polish organizer Bud Farquhar, Petes have out-weighed other brands as the truck of choice for showing off chrome and graphics. At the Mid-America Trucking Show, it's 65 to 70 percent, he says. At all other shows, it's 85 to 95 percent. This is because show trucks are predominantly owned and customized by owner-operators and owner-operators prefer Peterbilt. Many drivers say Peterbilts are easier to customize, as well as buy parts for. Customization is one strong facet of a brand that's celebrating Peterbilt's class marketing theme has a long history in Overdrive , evident in this advertisement from the April 1968 issue. Peterbilt's 70 th Anniversary Peterbilt's 70 th Anniversary Peterbilt General Manager Bill Jackson takes pride in this Model 334, on display at the Denton, Texas, plant. Peterbilt traces its roots to 1939, when T.A. Peterman produced the 334 for his lumber business in Tacoma, Wash., and began to sell trucks to the public. That venture grew into Peterbilt Motors. Setting Setting