When it came on the North American market about seven years ago, Volvo's I-Shift was approved for on-road use but not for on/off-road trucks, except by special OK from engineers at Volvo Trucks' headquarters in Greensboro, N.C. Since then, the I-Shift has been officially approved for the burly conventional-cab VHD, for Volvo Heavy Duty. Engineers have added a slew of special features that give drivers more control over what the transmission, and the truck it's in, does. Volvo managers invited me to drive a VHD dumper where the truck was assembled, at the New River Valley plant at Dublin, Va.
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