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About Kenworth

Kenworth’s history began in 1912 with the creation of the Gerlinger Motors company, a car and truck dealership in Portland, Oregon. The company expanded into manufacturing in 1914 with the Gersix truck, one of the first trucks with an inline six-cylinder engine. The truck became very popular with loggers in the Pacific Northwest and the company moved from Portland to Tacoma, Washington, where it leased a building from businessman Edgar K. Worthington. The company was purchased by Worthington and his business partner, Captain Frederick Kent in 1917. Kent’s son Harry took his place in the partnership when he retired two years later. In 1923, Kent and Worthington relocated to Seattle and combined their names to rename the company Kenworth Motor Truck Company.

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Kenworth T680 Next Gen

Building To Meet The Needs

From the beginning, Kenworth concentrated on building customized trucks rather than standard, assembly line-produced vehicles. Instead, trucks were built in individual bays according to the requests of the customer, a choice that would greatly benefit the company during difficult years. To get through the Great Depression, Kenworth expanded its services to new markets, building buses and fire trucks. In 1933, the company became the first to offer diesel engines as standard equipment, replacing gasoline, which, at the time, was a much more expensive fuel. Kenworth also built its first sleeper cab truck in the 1930s. 

In 1944, the company was sold to Pacific Car and Foundry, better known today as PACCAR, and became a wholly owned subsidiary. The 1950s brought a unique truck to the market when Kenworth built the Model 853 for the Arabian American Oil Co. (ARAMCO). To adapt to the harsh desert environment, the truck was equipped with twin side-by-side radiators, a 318-horsepower (237-kilowatt) engine, six-wheel drive, large flotation tires, and a 300-gallon (1,135-liter) fuel tank. ARAMCO ordered 1,700 of the Model 853s. Around the same time, the company also developed trucks for Hawaiian sugar cane plantations and the Yukon oil fields, furthering Kenworth’s reputation for powerful, durable trucks.

A Shift To Aerodynamic Design

Kenworth built many successful models throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but its biggest seller would come in the 1980s with the radically redesigned T600A, which was unlike anything on the road at the time. The slope-nosed design and set-back front axle gave the truck an aerodynamic advantage and used as much as 22% less fuel. The company continues to offer a range of medium- and heavy-duty trucks with day cab and extended-cab options to meet any need from long-haul routes to vocational applications.

Today, the company’s most popular model is the T680. The newest generation of T680 has a narrow hood and grille design for improved aerodynamics. A-pillar turning vanes, integrated front air dams, redesigned chassis fairings, and the optional 28-inch (71-centimeter) side extenders improve airflow around the truck. It is powered by an EPA 2021 PACCAR MX-13 12.9-liter engine with PACCAR transmission and PACCAR drive axles. The Next Gen T680 is equipped with torque-assisted steering, which uses an electric motor control system in tandem with the hydraulic gear to adjust torque based on vehicle speed. The truck is also equipped with safety features such as lane departure warnings, collision mitigation, and adaptive cruise control. Kenworth also has a battery-electric version of the T680; the T680E is the company’s first Class 8 battery-electric semi-truck with 396 kWh and a range of 150 miles.

Find The Right Kenworth Truck

You’ll find thousands of new and used Kenworth trucks for sale at TruckPaper.com, including popular models like the Kenworth T680, T800, T880, and the W900.