Jerry and Ronda Diemoz, small fleet owners from Rock Springs WY, recently visited Peterbilt Motors Co's manufacturing facility in Denton TX to see their new black-cherry metallic Model 379X — the first such unit ever produced — roll off the assembly line.
The Diemozes were given a tour of the plant that culminated with their new Model 379X rolling off the assembly line, where Peterbilt's General Manager handed the keys to the vehicle over to Jerry.
“It was a fantastic experience, even better than we expected. The plant tour really showed us how much attention and pride went into each vehicle, and to see our own coming off the line at the end was really something special,” Jerry says. “I occasionally want to be different, and when I first heard about the Model 379X, I knew I wanted the first one. It has even more value to us now having been there to see it come to life.”
The couple own J & R Trucking which specializes in hauling frac sand with pneumatic trailers to oilfields for frac applications. The business requires their trucks run both on- and off-highway, but, according to Jerry, the Model 379X won't be venturing too far from the asphalt.
“This is our show truck, and I'm going to leave it parked as much as possible. My oldest son, Jeremy, will be taking it to truck shows to compete,” Jerry says. “We do have it working, but we keep it on the highway. And when it is running, it creates a lot of CB chatter, a lot of attention.”
Peterbilt launched the special-edition Model 379X at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March 2003, and production began in September.