Competing against the International 9800, Kenworth K100E, and Peterbilt 362, the Argosy was the final Class 8 cabover marketed in North America, following the decline in use of the design in the United States and Canada.

[1][2] Derived from the Freightliner Century Class conventional, the concept cabover truck shared major production components, including its doors, windshield, headlamps, and grille.

[1][2] Along with visual commonality, the Safety Concept Vehicle adopted telematics from the Century Class, facilitating electronic braking, messaging capability, daytime running lights, and traction control.

[1] Intended to preview a successor to the FLB-series cabover (introduced in 1987), the Argosy Safety Concept Vehicle was distinguished by a nearly flat interior floor (reducing the engine intrusion to only 3 inches high[2]), outward-pivoting entrance steps, and a shorter vehicle length (allowing it to tow a trailer as long as 58 feet in the United States[2]).

While sales of COEs had declined to a 3% market share of the Class 8 truck segment for 1998, Freightliner had predicted that its new design would lead to a revival of the configuration.

[4] Carrying over a distinguishing exterior feature from the concept vehicle, the production Argosy offered electrically-powered pivoting entrance steps.

[1] Coinciding with the lowered engine intrusion, the gear shifter was integrated into the dashboard console, allowing walk-in access to the sleeper cab.

While again manufactured in the United States, the new generation was developed primarily for sales in export markets (in Australia, the Argosy was the best-selling Freightliner vehicle line[5]).

Distinguished by the introduction of a larger grille, the update brought extensive design upgrades, centered around aerodynamic and cooling improvements.

[5][6] While sharing its underlying cab structure with the first generation, the 2012 Argosy adopted design commonality with the Cascadia (the successor of the Century Class and Columbia), including its drivers' compartment; in a loose preview of the 2018 Cascadia, the Argosy was designed with a trapezoidal grille opening and single-piece door glass (deleting the vent windows[6]).

[2] Outside of North America, trailer length laws remained more restrictive than in the United States and Canada, leading to continued demand for shorter-length cabover trucks.