A suite of active safety and wheel-end technologies from Bendix are now available on vehicles from Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a intercity coach manufacturer in the United States and Canada.
The Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program full-stability system, Bendix Wingman Advanced – A Collision Mitigation Technology, Bendix Wingman ACB – Active Cruise with Braking, the Bendix ADB22X air disc brake, and the SmarTire Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) by Bendix CVS can all be ordered on MCI vehicles.
Bendix is the North American leader in the development and manufacture of active safety and braking system technologies for commercial vehicles.
Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., MCI manufactures coaches serving charter and tour operators, line-haul and scheduled-service operators, and transit agencies.
In 2014, MCI showcased the Bendix systems on its J4500 model – the industry’s best-selling intercity coach for 10 consecutive years – during a series of Reliability Rallies held across the United States.
“Vehicle safety, performance, and reliability are our highest priorities when it comes to engineering MCI coaches, and these Bendix technologies represent yet another advancement in all three,” said Brent Maitland, vice president of marketing and product planning at MCI. “We’ve already provided roughly a dozen of our J4500s equipped with the Bendix systems to a few select customers that represent extremes in vehicle usage, from high mileage to cold weather, and feedback from the drivers and owners has been fantastic.”
Bendix ESP helps address both roll and directional instability through sensors that recognize and mitigate conditions that could lead to rollover and loss-of-control situations. Bendix Wingman Advanced is built on the foundation of Bendix ESP. The technology uses a radar sensor mounted to the front of a vehicle to provide active cruise control with braking features, along with collision mitigation technology that delivers both warnings and active interventions to help drivers potentially avoid rear-end collisions, or at least help reduce their severity.
“MCI’s commitment to safety and insistence on continuously raising the standards of technology reflects our own, and Bendix is proud to partner with them in elevating their coaches to the next level of performance,” said TJ Thomas, Bendix director of marketing and customer solutions, Controls group. “While no system replaces the importance of safe drivers practicing safe driving habits, Bendix and MCI are together improving motorcoach safety for drivers, their passengers, and everyone on the road.”
The Bendix ADB22X air disc brake, manufactured by Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC, provides improved stopping power while virtually eliminating brake fade, and offers drivers a car-like feel and straight, stable stops. Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake (BSFB) is a joint venture of Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC and Dana Commercial Vehicle Products, LLC.
Bendix’s SmarTire continuously monitors the pressure and temperature of each tire on a commercial vehicle to provide real-time tire status information to the driver. The temperature compensation feature allows the system to accurately monitor pressure whether the coach has been sitting idle or has been driving for hundreds of miles.Bendix’s ever-growing portfolio of technology developments helps it deliver in areas critical to motorcoach fleets’ success: safety, product performance, value, and post-sales support. Bendix aims to help fleets and drivers lower total cost of vehicle ownership and strengthen return on investment in equipment, technology, and training, which leads to safer highways for everybody.
