Blink and you'll miss it. If you squint pretty hard, you might still miss it.
At the end of this calendar year Peterbilt will sunset its heralded Model 389 in favor of a new model that looks... frankly, almost exactly like it. Even stewards of Peterbilt history might walk the truck stop parking lot and mistake the new Model 589 for a 389.
[Watch: Test drive and walk around of Peterbilt's new Model 589]
I'm a big ol' nerd. One of my favorite movies is The Karate Kid, and there's a quote from the movie that I think is fitting when comparing the outgoing 389 with its replacement. Mr. Miyagi sees a photo of Daniel with his crush, Ali, and remarks that the pair make a cute couple and look "different, but same."
"No. Different but different," a dejected Daniel retorts.
I think that's a fair summation of the Peterbilt Model 589: a truck that is as much unvarnished tradition as it is cutting-edge homage to the unit it replaces. The 589 joins a regal trucking lineage: the 351, 379, 389 and the 359, the latter of which is still widely seen as the King of the Truckstop, and this lineup has remained one of the last vestiges trucking's glory days – big, boxy, flashy, long-nose conventionals.
The decision to phase out an icon isn't an easy one, and it's made even more complicated, said Peterbilt Director of Product Marketing Jacob White, by the emotional connection that so many share with the long-hood tractor.
