The 379 was Peterbilt

Peterbilt

Peterbilt Motors Company is an American manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty Class 5 through Class 8 trucks headquartered in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1939 Peterbilt operates manufacturing facilities in Denton, Texas , and Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec...

's flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 truck from 1987 until the 2007 model year maintaining the nameplate's signature long-nose styling coupled with a rugged edged yet refined profile. Available in standard (119" BBC) and long hood (127" BBC) lengths, the 379 is the last conventional over-the-road truck available with an aluminum hood.

Variations

Replacing the "359" in 1987, it remained in production until March 2007 with the last 1000 379s called the "Legacy Class 379."

Common Powerplants

Throughout production, the 379 came loaded with some of the most powerful inline 6 cylinder turbo-diesel engines offered in on-highway vehicles. These engines included the Caterpillar C-15, Caterpillar 3406 (both mechanically and later electronically injected), Cummins N-14, the "big cam" Cummins, and many other high-torque workhorse engines. Many Peterbilt 379's were capable of attaining in excess of 1 million miles before major engine attention and a 379 loaded with a Caterpillar C-15 boasted about 4-9 miles per gallon depending on road conditions, severity of the load, and the driver.

In popular media

Autobot leader Optimus Prime's alternate mode for all three films is a Peterbilt Model-379 truck. Three modified 379s were used interchangeably. There was much controversy over this in the Transformers fan community because Optimus Prime is almost always portrayed in the various cartoon series as a flat-nose cab over

Cab over

Cab-over, also known as COE , cab forward, or forward control, is a body style of truck or van that has a vertical front or "flat face", with the cab of the truck sitting above the front axle...

 semi-trailer

Semi-trailer

A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. A large proportion of its weight is supported by a road tractor, a detachable front axle assembly known as a dolly, or the tail of another trailer...

 truck (or later as a fire engine); his movie incarnation would be the second with an extended nose conventional cab. The filmmakers have said that, ignoring the fan-termed "mass shifting" associated with the series, Optimus's final official height of 32 ft (almost 10m) in robot mode would not have been possible to allow for all of the mechanics of the CGI

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

 model if they had gone with a cab-over, which would have dropped him instead to a smaller 20 ft (almost 7m).

Other popular culture

• A Peterbilt 379 appeared in the 2000 version of Gone in 60 Seconds
• A Peterbilt 379 appeared in the movie Black Dog
  Black Dog (film)
  Black Dog is a 1998 film about an ex-con manipulated into transporting illegal arms. The film stars Patrick Swayze, Randy Travis, and Meat Loaf.-Plot:...
  
  (1998)
• A close relative of the Peterbilt 379, the Kenworth W900, appeared extensively in the 1977 film "Smokey and the Bandit" driven by the country guitarist and actor, Jerry Reed.