The Sterling A-Line was the set-back conventional truck in the range that Daimler built from Ford’s heavy-truck inheritance. It sat alongside the L-Line and shared its cab, but with the front axle moved back under the cab it was aimed at a different set of buyers, from fleet tractors to vocational chassis.
Sterling A-Line at a glance
| Maker | Sterling Trucks Corporation (Daimler, through Freightliner) |
|---|---|
| Production | 1997–2009 |
| Class | Class 8 tractors and heavy chassis |
| Cab | conventional, set back |
| Series | AT9500, AT9513, AT9522, A9513 |
| Relation to L-Line | same conventional cab, different axle position |
| Assembly | St. Thomas, Ontario; Portland, Oregon |
| Markets | United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand |
| Headquarters | Redford Township, Michigan |
| Brand discontinued | 2009 |
No separate Wikipedia article exists for the A-Line; this page uses the model section of the English article on Sterling Trucks and the German article on the marque. The AT9500, AT9513, AT9522 and A9513 designations come from the model records of this collection.
History of the Sterling A-Line
A name revived in 1997
Sterling returned to the American market when Freightliner, part of Daimler-Benz, acquired Ford’s heavy-truck product lines in 1997. Trucks were sold under the Sterling name from 1998, and the A-Line was one of the conventional families that carried the Ford L-Series engineering into the new brand. The Sterling name itself was not new: the original Sterling Motor Truck Company had built trucks in Milwaukee until White Motor Corporation retired the nameplate in 1953.
Set back for the A-Line
Within the Sterling range the A-Line was the set-back conventional, while the L-Line covered both set-back and set-forward layouts. Both used the conventional cab derived from the second-generation Ford Louisville/AeroMax introduced in 1996, and both were sold as cab/chassis so that body builders could fit anything from a tractor fifth wheel to a mixer drum, a tanker or a snow plough. The A-Line was offered as the AT9500, AT9513, AT9522 and A9513, and in the 2000s the brand added medium-duty trucks to the range, slotting Sterling between Freightliner and Western Star.
Closure
Daimler announced on 14 October 2008 that Sterling would be discontinued, consolidating North American production under Freightliner and Western Star. Orders stopped in January 2009, the St. Thomas plant in Ontario closed in March 2009, and the Portland, Oregon plant followed in June 2010. The A-Line therefore ended with the brand after little more than a decade.
Design and features
- Set-back axle: the defining difference from the L-Line, with the front axle under the cab.
- Ford-derived cab: the conventional cab of the 1996 Louisville/AeroMax generation.
- Cab/chassis supply: sold to body builders for tractors and vocational work.
- Daimler backing: part of the Freightliner organisation, between Freightliner and Western Star.
Sterling A-Line versions
- AT9500: Class 8 tractor in the A-Line.
- AT9513: Class 8 tractor in the A-Line.
- AT9522: Class 8 tractor in the A-Line.
- A9513: heavy cab/chassis for vocational bodies.
The set-forward alternative was the L-Line, and the lighter member of the family was the Acterra. More trucks are in the Sterling collection.
Video: Cold Start of AT9522 Video 2
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Sterling Trucks, English Wikipedia: history, model lines, plants, discontinuation
- Sterling (Nutzfahrzeugmarke), German Wikipedia: founding, Daimler takeover, closure
