TTA issue 115 web magazine

www.truckandbus.net.au $8.95 incl. GST Issue 115 July/August 2017

MERCEDES DEBUTS ITS NEW ACTROS RIGID RANGE

STIFF COMPETITION FAREWELL SCANIA’S ROGER MCCARTHY VOLVO’S MITCH PEDEN INTERVIEW HINO 500 WORKING HARD IN TASSIE – RAM PICK UP ROAD TEST – NISSAN NAVARA COMPANY CAR

ALL NEW HINO 500 SERIES WIDE CAB. IT’S A GAME CHANGER.

XAVIER_HINO35219_0317

THAT’S ANOTHER HINO

The Challenge: to redefine what to expect from a hard working truck.

The Solution: the astonishing all new Hino 500 Series Wide Cab. With unrivalled build quality encompassing next level chassis, suspension and axles, a range of engine and transmission options, and a cabin with unsurpassed driver comfort. The all new Hino 500 Series Wide Cab boasts the most comprehensive active safety package of any Japanese

hino.com.au

truck in the medium duty truck category – in an Australian-first for this class, Vehicle Stability Control is now fitted as standard across the new wide cab range. Plus at Hino, we’re driven to do more for you with Hino Advantage, our innovative new range of support solutions. So make sure you check out the all new Hino 500 Series Wide Cab today.

It’s a game changer! To find out more visit hino.com.au

NEW ISUZU N SERIES WITH TORQUE

THE TRUCK FO

NEW ISUZU N SERIES

models* that can be driven on a car licence

This latest TC-AMT has been designed for Australian

THE INTELLIGENT TRUCK

now feature a new Torque Convertor

driving conditions, incorporating revised gear ratios

Automated Manual Transmission (TC-AMT),

and a kick-down control switch on the accelerator

Just because you need a truck doesn’t

making them a whole lot more responsive

which means when you put your foot down, the truck

mean that you want to feel like you’re

and sharper off the mark. In fact, you could

automatically selects a lower gear for more controlled

driving one. So most of Isuzu’s new N Series

forget you’re driving a truck at all.

exits from roundabouts, corners and intersections.

*Most NLR, NNR models up to 4,500kgs GVM. #Available most models. F•S•A/ISZ11098

CONVERTER AMT.

R EVERYBODY.

The other advantage of the AMT is that while

comes standard with Isuzu’s Digital Audio Visual

To find out more about the new N Series, head to

it’s still a two pedal operation you can choose to

Equipment (DAVE) unit, ready for sat-nav and telematics

isuzu.com.au or visit your nearest Isuzu Truck Dealer.

shift gears manually or drive it like an automatic,

at extra cost. And to keep you safe, there’s four-wheel

offering both good fuel economy and reduced

disc brakes#, side intrusion bars, driver and passenger

maintenance costs.

airbags and Isuzu Electronic Stability Control (IESC)#.

The smarts don’t end there, though. The N Series

So now your choice of new truck is too easy!

CONTENTS CONTACT DETAILS

FEATURES

PO Box 7046 Warringah Mall NSW 2100

16 ROGER OVER AND OUT

www.truckandbus.net.au admin@truckandbus.net.au Enquiries 02 9938 6408 Follow us on Twitter #truckandbusnews Follow us on Facebook at Truck and Bus Australia

Publisher Jon Thomson admin@truckandbus.net.au Editor in Chief Allan Whiting nofibspublishing@bigpond.com Art Director Fiona Meadows kududesign.com.au Advertising Sales Zara Kilfeather Mob: 0404 883 249 zara@motozedmedia.com.au Editorial Contributors Barry Flanagan, Tom Worsley, Mark Bean, Glenn Torrens, Peter Barnwell

Roger McCarthy’s tenure as managing director at Scania Australia came to an end at the end of June.

Transport Trucking Australia caught up with him at the Brisbane Truck Show for a final chat about his time at Scania and also meets up with his successor Mikael Jonsson.

22 STIFF COMPETITION

Ten months on from the launch of the new generation Actros prime movers Mercedes Benz has unveiled its new generation rigid models. We climbed aboard for a day of driving in some testing conditions and came away giving the new models a thumbs up.

28 DEVILISHLY GOOD

Hino’s new wide body 500 Series is finding favour with operators around the country no more so than in the Apple Isle where leading demolition company Reardons has been impressed with its new Hino, we head across Bass Straight to investigate.

34 GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES

Adelaide bulk transport operator Garden Grove has been carting landscapes supplies for more than 35 years growing out of a humble stockpile of landscape supplies. TTA dropped in to take a look at operations and to get a handle on what makes this bulk carrier a success story.

40 VOLVO MAN

Mitch Peden heads up the Volvo truck brand in Australia and New Zealand and is clearly proud to represent the truck brand down under. As you will see Peden is not afraid to jump on a plane to go out and see customers to find out how to make their business better, we sat down with him to find out what makes the man who heads up the Swedish truck marque in Australia tick.

46 FETCH THE PICK-UP LEROY!

The Ram has been Cummins-powered since 1989. It has taken nearly 30 years to make it down under as a RHD-converted pick up truck, but the wait was worth it, Allan Whiting reckons.

50 BIG VAN CLUB

Japanese truck makers continue to ignore the burgeoning global van market and now the latest Daily iteration competes with traditional Japanese light-truck-market strength: the cab/chassis plus body segment. the editor takes a look at the new Daily seven-tonne van range.

56 HEAVYWEIGHT CRUISER

Toyota’s LandCruiser has been the Australian bush’s favourite Workhorse since the 1960’s. Evolution, not revolution, is the name of the game, but the 70 series has now become much more complex. Editor Whiting took the Cruiser for a spin.

60 COMPANY CAR Transport & Trucking Australia is published under licence by Transport Publishing Australia. and is distributed to road transport professionals, fleets, business professionals and the industry throughout Australia.

All material contained herein including text, photography, design elements and format are copyright and cannot be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Grayhaze Pty.Ltd. is a member of the Copyright Agency Limited (1800 066 844).

Editorial contributions are welcome for consideration. Contact the Editor or Publisher for guidelines, fees and level of interest.

All unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a stamp, addressed envelope for their return. We will not be held responsible for material supplied electronically.

Proudly printed in Australia

Single copy price $8.95 incl. GST

The Nissan Navara series 2 models were announced in November last year and have been upgraded again recently, when the confusing ‘NP300’ name tag was dropped. Transport & Trucking editor Allan Whiting takes a look at the latest version.

34

40

DEPARTMENTS 06 BACK TRACKS

Musings from the Editor

08 HIGHWAY 1

News and info from all over

64 MONEY

Paul’s latest advice on finances

Flexible finance options to take your business further and further.

Fuso. all day. fuso.com.au

Fuso has fast, tailored finance solutions to get you on the road quicker and keep your business moving. Plus, with Guaranteed Buy Back through Fuso Agility and a range of insurance options, enjoy peace of mind on and off the road.

Contact your Fuso dealer or visit fuso.com.au

Finance and insurance available to approved business customers of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd ABN 73 074 134 517 AFSL 247271. Credit assessment, lending criteria and fees apply.

Insurance is underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited ABN 78 003 191 035 AFSL 239545. Guaranteed Buy Back is subject to Excess Kilometre charges. Fair Wear and Use return conditions apply.

ALLAN WHITING IS THE FUTURE BRIGHT?

T

he recent anti-diesel rhetoric in the uninformed general press has caused some alarm within the Australian road transport industry, but there seems little cause for concern in the short term.

Several European countries have stated that they won’t register cars powered by internal combustion engines from as early as 2025. These proposed regulations are aimed at promoting the use of hybridelectric and battery-electric cars.

However, the only viable engine for intra-state and linehaul medium and heavy trucks, globally and in the EEC, is the modern Euro 6 compliant diesel.

There are hybrid-electric and short-haul battery-electric truck initiatives coming in the short term, but the diesel will still dominate for the foreseeable future.

What is certain is that the future of small diesels that power cars and light commercials is threatened, because the cost of emissions-compliance kit is making them too expensive to sell against the latest direct-injection petrol engines that have diesel-like economy.

Small turbocharged petrol engines are cheaper to make and service and are the most likely engines to power the next generation of hybrid-electric light commercial vehicles. It makes little economic sense to couple a more expensive diesel engine to an electric motor and battery pack when a cheaper petrol engine can do the same job.

The big change that is coming to the heavy and light truck scene involves connectivity and automation.

These changes were the principal focus of the Future Vehicles World 2017 Conference held in May 2017 in Sydney.

Australian governments and agencies are spending a great deal more time on planning for automation than they are on electrification, and for good reasons.

General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra has stated: “We expect GM will become the first high-volume auto manufacturer to

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build fully autonomous vehicles in a mass production assembly plant”.

Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo CEO: “Five years from now, it will be a commercial product that will be totally safe, where you can sit back and do something else, giving people more quality of life, time that can be used for other things”.

Mark Fields, the recently sacked Ford CEO said: “Ford will have a fully driverless vehicle on the road by 2021.

This is a transformational moment in our industry, and it is a transformational moment for our company”.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO – the man who started it all: “A Tesla vehicle will drive in fully autonomous mode from LA to New York City by the end of 2017”.

Truck Platooning has already proved its worth in European trials, with a fuel savings around 25-percent and Australia’s long linehaul routes should be ideal for this connected technology. Ultimately, there could be some driverless situations, but initially, platooning will still require a driver in every vehicle.

Other initiatives unveiled at the Conference included Mobility As A Service and the CSIRO’s Data 61 system.

These developments are aimed at reducing the amount of traffic in cities and, although not aimed at trucks, can benefit freight transport efficiency by eliminating many cars from our roads.

Under the MAAS system consumers don’t have their own cars and pay a set monthly fee that entitles them to unlimited public transport and a certain number of taxi/Uber rides and car hires

per month. It’s operating in Finland.

Data 61 introduces a ‘virtual concierge’ to personal and freight transport tasks, ensuring the optimum mode and route for the prevailing conditions.

Nearer to the present day in this issue we bid farewell to the urbane and worldy Roger McCarthy as managing director of Scania Australia and welcome his successor Mikael Jansson. Roger has overseen a period of great success for Scania, a small player in volume terms but one that punches well above its weight. We had a chat to him at the Brisbane Truck Show and it’s a good insight into the time he has spent here in Australia.

As well in a very human focussed issue we also have an interview with Volvo Trucks Australia boss Mitch Peden.

On the product side we have a rundown on the excellent new Benz Actros rigid line up, the follow up to the Actros prime movers launched late last year. As we discover the German giant has created a very flexible platform for its rigid that should deliver. Also we explore a Garden Grove, a large South Australian landscape supply fleet that is exploring the added efficiencies and advantages of PBS. In Tasmania we visit one of the first operators of the recently updated Hino 500 series, we drive some US iron in the form of the locally converted RAM pick up and on the lighter side we take the new Iveco Daily 7-tonne van and Nissan’s recently updated Navara.

All that and a whole lot more, take it easy and enjoy the read.

ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT FUEL REDUCTIONS.

GREG GOODCHILD

GREG’S MEAT TRANSPORT

“Scania driver training is excellent. A guy who’d been

working here for 26 years did the course and straight off his fuel economy was 10% better.”

So contact your local branch or authorised dealer to find out how a Scania Total Transport Solution can work for your business.

VICTORIA Scania Campbellfield Tel: (03) 9217 3300 Scania Dandenong Tel: (03) 9217 3600 Scania Laverton Tel: (03) 9369 8666 SOUTH AUSTRALIA Scania Wingfield Tel: (08) 8406 0200

NEW SOUTH WALES Scania Prestons Tel: (02) 9825 7900 Scania Newcastle Tel: (02) 9825 7940 K&J Trucks, Coffs Harbour Tel: (02) 6652 7218 NJ’s of Wagga Tel: (02) 6971 7214

QUEENSLAND Scania Richlands Tel: (07) 3712 8500 Scania Pinkenba Tel: (07) 3712 7900 Spann’s Trucks, Toowoomba Tel: (07) 4634 4400 RSC Diesels, Cairns Tel: (07) 4054 5440

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Scania Kewdale Tel: (08) 9360 8500 Scania Bunbury Tel: (08) 9724 6200

ALL THE LATEST NEWS AN

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/ INTER DEALERS ANNOUN CED / DAIMLER VOWS TO DEFEND

US TRUCK GIANT ANNOUNCES SILICON VALLEY INNOVATION CENTRE AMERICA”S LEADING HEAVY TRUCK MAKER. IS SET TO CRASH DIRECTLY INTO THE WORLDS HIGH TECH HEATLAND BY ESTABLISHING AN INNOVATION CENTRE IN CUPERTINO. PACCAR ANNOUNCED it would open an advanced technology research and development centre in Silicon Valley, California later this year.

Paccar said in its statement that the new Silicon Valley Innovation Centre will coordinate next-generation product development and identify emerging technologies that will benefit future vehicle performance.

Technology areas of focus will include advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), artificial intelligence, vehicle connectivity and augmented reality.

Darrin Siver, PACCAR senior vice president said that PACCAR is looking forward to expanding its partnerships

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with technology companies in Silicon Valley.

“PACCAR’s Innovation Center will include state-of-the-art laboratory and workshop facilities, and office space,” he said.

The announcement of the new Silicon Valley innovation Centre came amidst the truck giant’s announcement of first half results which saw it continue its unblemished profit record that stretches back more than 80 years.

Highlights of PACCAR’s financial results for the first six months of 2017 include, consolidated net sales and revenues of $US8.94 billion with net income or what we call profit

of $US683.3 million for the first six months of 2017.

While truck sales were buoyant and on the bounce in the US PACCAR Parts also produced strong results with pre-tax income of $US304.1 million on revenues of $US1.61 billion. This six month result included a record quarterly result for the second quarter where the parts operation bettered the Q2 2016 result by more than nine per cent.

Meanwhile it Financial Services arm produced pre-tax income of $US120.3 million.

In the USA Kenworth and Peterbilt achieved 31.7 percent share of U.S.

and Canadian Class 8 truck orders and a 29.6 percent share of U.S. and Canadian Class 8 truck retail sales in the first half.

“Kenworth and Peterbilt’s medium - and heavy-duty truck deliveries increased in the second quarter of 2017 by 25 percent compared to the first quarter of this year,” said Gary Moore, PACCAR executive vice president. “Class 8 truck industry retail sales for the U.S. and Canada are expected to be in a range of 200,000-220,000 vehicles in 2017. The truck market reflects the good economy and high levels of freight tonnage.”

HYUNDAI’S MIGHTY QUIET ENTRY INTO LOCAL MARKET DESPITE PROMISES that their trucks would be hitting our roads in the first quarter of 2017 Hyundai has quietly landed around 100 trucks and started selling its new model Mighty E light duty models early in the third quarter.

In its first full month of sales under the new operation known as Hyundai Commercial Vehicles Australia, 31 Mighties were sold in July from the first shipment of 100 Mighties which arrived from Korea and were pushed out to its network of 10 dealers .

Hyundai spokesperson Anthony Hulme told Truck and Bus News that the trucks were held up as the company spent time getting the spec right.

“It all takes time. We brought in a number of evaluation trucks and made a while lot of changes to get

the right spec for this market,” Hulme told us.

“We worked closely with our dealers to get the right vehicles for this market and then there was the inevitable lag between ordering and getting the stock landed here,” he added.

Hulme said that while the company would be importing some cab chassis models, the company was pursuing a strategy of bringing in ready to work trucks with bodies built at the factory, whether they are, trays, tippers, pantechs, or refrigerated vans.

“We are currently evaluating a three way tipper, and this will be on the way soon, and we are also looking at a steel tray model, our strategy is to have 90 per cent of our trucks ready built and ready to go,” he said

Hulme told us that there are currently ten dealers signed up including two in Sydney at Bankstown (HCVA owner Dilip Kumar’s Peninsula Motor Group) and in Windsor, two in rural NSW at Singleton and Murwillumbah, one in Brisbane at Acacia Ridge and one in Toowoomba.

The company has just signed Truck Centre WA as their reps in the West, they have one dealer in SA and are currently in discussion with three potential dealers in Victoria, one in Cairns in far North Queensland and several other outlets around the country.

Hulme also said that the larger medium and heavy duty Xcient prime mover is still a couple of months away from being signed off for local

sales but he is hopeful it won’t be delayed too long.

“We are currently running through final homologation issues with the Xcient and I think that will take another couple of months,” Hulme said.

The delays mean that Hyundai’s stated aim of having around five per cent of the Australian truck market by the end of 2017 may be hard to achieve. The July result saw the brand grab one per cent of the truck sales for the month.

To take a five per cent stake in the market the brand will have to sell around 150 trucks a month and to achieve its 2018 goal of a 10 per cent share it will be selling 300 trucks a month and rivalling long established brand Fuso.

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GRAND PRIX EXPERIENCE ON THE CARDS FOR IVECO DAILY BUYERS IVECO HAS ANNOUNCED THAT FOR A LIMITED TIME IT IS OFFERING BUYERS OF MY14 DAILY VAN AND CAB CHASSIS MODELS THE CHANCE TO WIN A $10,000 AUSTRALIAN F1 GRAND PRIX EXPERIENCE FOR TWO. THE PRIZE INCLUDES hospitality at the Triple Eight Race Engineering suite, airfares, accommodation and transfers, and applies to purchases made at participating IVECO Dealerships between 1 August to 30 November*.

As part of the offer, IVECO is also providing buyers with a complementary warranty extension of 1 year, to go with the models’ standard 3 year / 200,000km coverage.

IVECO Australia Marketing Manager, Darren Swenson, said the company was leveraging its strong relationship as racecar carrier for Triple Eight

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Race Engineering, to offer a lucky customer and friend, an experience they would not soon forget.

“As well as purchasing Australia’s best-selling European light duty cab chassis model, or an award-winning Daily van, buyers get the added bonus of a year’s extended warranty on their investment, to a total of 4 years,” Mr Swenson said.

“Of course, for many buyers an even more attractive element of the promotion will be the opportunity to attend the 2018 Australian F1 GP in style, including entertainment with our partners at Triple Eight Race Engineering.”

The Daily van range offers buyers volumes spanning 7.3 m³ to 19.6 m³ and GVMs from 4,495kg to 7,000kg, while the cab chassis variants range in GVMs from 4,495 kg to 7,200 kg.

Cab chassis models are available in single, dual cab in work-ready variants.

Both van and cab chassis offer engines ranging from 130 hp to a market-leading 205 hp and are available with either a 6-speed manual or market-leading 8-speed full automatic transmission.

Mr Swenson said that the current generation Daily range had grown markedly since being introduce in

Australia in 2015.

“The Daily range comprises a wide selection of models that lend themselves to a broad range of applications, from trade-based to more traditional PUD roles,” he said.

“Increasingly Daily buyers are making the transition from utility vehicles or cab over light trucks, being drawn to Daily by its strong list of safety equipment, car-like comfort and sophistication while maintaining tough, truck underpinnings like full C Section chassis across all models.”

For full details on the IVECO competition, visit www.iveco.com.au

INTERNATIONAL DEALERS ANNOUNCED A NETWORK OF 11 dealerships has been announced for the first stage of International’s comeback in Australia following Iveco’s appointment as the distributor.

The initial network is made up of:

Sydney Iveco, Thomas Bros and Blacklock’s in New South Wales, Brisbane Iveco and Wideland Trucks and Equipment group in Queensland, Adelaide Iveco in South Australia, Smith Trucks in Victoria and AV Truck

Services in Perth, Western Australia.

All 11 outlets are existing Iveco dealerships as well as Cummins service centres and there are plans to introduce further retail outlets along parts and service only branches to

give greater support around Australia.

Iveco Australia dealer channel director Geoff Busweel says the company was selective in who was best qualified to support the International badge.

“In re-launching the iconic International brand back into the Australian market, we have been fortunate to have access to our existing Iveco network across Australia,” Buswell said.

“Many of the new Dealerships have had a long history with International having previously sold and serviced the range when it was last available in Australia. In fact many Dealers still offer support for previous generation International products.

“Another benefit of appointing existing Iveco Dealers is that they already have a thorough knowledge and understanding of much of the ProStar’s componentry by virtue of several existing Iveco models featuring Cummins, Hendrickson, Eaton and Meritor equipment.

“We are extremely pleased with our initial appointments and we are in the process of adding to these Dealers in the coming days and weeks. We will provide a complete Dealer Network as representation for all prospective ProStar buyers in metropolitan and rural areas,” he added.

NEW APP TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN PORT BOTANY FREIGHT MOVEMENTS in and out of Port Botany will be easier to plan and more efficient, thanks to an innovative piece of mobile technology.

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey said that over 3000 containers move in and out of Port Botany each week day by road, and new technology would help ease congestion.

“Until now, Port Botany performance and status information was only available on a closed system account to a limited number of stevedores and road carriers,” Mrs Pavey said.

“Through the new app live data will be freely available and will allow industry stakeholders to see what’s

happening in the port precinct.

“It will also focus on real-time truck turnaround and performance data in order to enable better freight planning into and around Port Botany.”

Free to download and available on iOS and Android, the Port Botany Performance App makes live cargo movement data for Port Botany available to trucking companies, stevedores and other port users.

First of its kind in Australia, the app was built on the NSW Government’s Cargo Movement Coordination Centre’s (CMCC) IT platform.

Mrs Pavey said users will be able to use the app to better plan and optimise arrival times for trucks and

reduce heavy vehicle queues entering the port.

“Not only will this allow Port Botany to operate more efficiently, it will reduce the impacts of road freight movements and ease congestion around the precinct,” she said.

The CMCC is already improving efficiency by using a range of technology to capture real- time freight movements, including a network of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) readers within Port Botany.

“Through a combination of technology and working collaborative with Port Botany users, truck turnaround times

have been cut by more than 17 per cent in the last four years and rail mode share is at a record 19 per cent.”

“The port contributes $3.2 billion to gross state product each year.

We have to make sure we are working alongside industry leaders and stakeholders to keep up with a thriving industry.”

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DAIMLER VOWS TO FIGHT FOR DIESEL’S SURVIVAL DAIMLER HAS ANNOUNCED it is conducting a thorough investigation into allegations of diesel cheating as the German automaker seeks to burnish the technology’s battered reputation amid an onslaught of negative news for an industry reeling from scandals according to reports by business news agency Bloomberg.

The Stuttgart-based manufacturer is counting on diesel while it invests in lowering the price and increasing the range of battery-powered cars to meet increasingly tough environmental regulations.

“Diesel is worth fighting for,” chief executive officer, Dieter Zetsche has stated.

In his first public comments since allegations of decades-long collusion with other German vehicle makers surfaced last week, Zetsche largely steered clear of the topic beyond bemoaning the string of bad news hitting the industry.

“The auto industry is currently causing headlines, and they’re not good ones,” said Zetsche on a conference call with reporters.

“I know a lot of people want more clarity now, but we can’t comment on speculation.”

The possible antitrust violations,

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which emerged from a report in Der Spiegel last week, opened another set of challenges, which also include the threat of diesel driving bans, industry wide recalls rooted in Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal and heavy investment burdens to develop self-driving electric vehicles.

The U.K. is adding to the urgency by announcing it would ban sales of both diesel and gasoline powered vehicles cars by 2040 to combat air pollution, joining a similar plan in France.

Automakers’ fight for diesel goes beyond holding on to a tried-andtested technology. Until consumers finally buy electric vehicles, manufacturers need diesel as it generates about a fifth less greenhouse gases than comparable gasoline engines. Otherwise, the companies won’t meet Europe’s tightening emission standards and face paying fines as of the start of the next decade.

“We’re convinced, like the rest of the industry, that we’re headed toward electric mobility,” Zetsche said.

“Until that happens, further reductions in CO2 we’ll be achieved through combustion engines, and here the diesel will play a significant role.”

Daimler said a week ago that it will

recall more than 3 million diesel autos to upgrade exhaust-system software and will book the $AUD324 million in costs in the third quarter.

The cloud overshadowed the boon from buyers flocking to Mercedes, whose second-quarter profit rose 15 percent to $AUD5.5 billion euros, the company said in a statement.

The profit gain came even with a 19 percent jump in first-half research and development spending as the manufacturer gears up to introduce a line of battery-powered vehicles. Daimler said in March that it will release 10 new electric vehicles by 2022, three years earlier than a previous target, and it’s working to adapty an engine plant to produce batteries.

Carmakers’ shares dropped after Spiegel magazine reported that Daimler and VW informed authorities last year of discussions they’d had since the 1990s that also included BMW. Over the weekend, the European Union’s antitrust overseer confirmed it’s studying possible collusion among auto producers, together with Germany’s regulator.

The allegations have appeared to strain relations in the auto industry, as BMW backed its diesel emissions technology and pointed the finger at

rivals for not doing enough. Zetsche said he hasn’t conferred with his BMW counterpart, Harald Krueger, in the past seven days, but that he expects existing cooperation pacts with peers to continue.

“I’ve not spoken to him and I’ve not received any information that on other levels there have been any signals of this speculative nature,” Zetsche said, referring to a report in German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that BMW has suspended talks on new projects.

Since about 2008, Daimler and its Munich-based rival have purchased significant volumes of components like windscreen wipers and tires together, totaling some 2 billion euros in annual orders. Combining procurement helps lower prices and gain efficiency, and BMW had planned to expand the partnership.

BMW declined to comment on the newspaper report.

Daimler, BMW, VW and Ford are also working together to establish a fastcharging network for electric vehicles along major European highways by 2020.

Audi, BMW and Daimler bought digital-mapping company HERE in 2015 for 2.5 billion euros, and have run it jointly since then.

Stands out on the road, and the balance sheet.

The new Mercedes-Benz Actros.

Visit mercedes-benz.com.au/actros for more information, or contact your local authorised Mercedes-Benz Trucks Dealership.

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SHELL CARD OFFERING A SMARTER WAY TO FUEL YOUR BUSINESS VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA, exclusive Shell Licensee in Australia, have launched a campaign highlighting their capabilities for helping truck and fleet operators manage and track fuel expenses using Shell Card.

Viva Energy has rightly pointed out that time behind the wheel is money earned and that the more time you spend on administration, the less time you can spend making money.

The numerous time consuming challenges of managing fuel purchases and expenses can be particularly wasteful. With elements such as fluctuating prices, lost receipts and complicated calculations lets face it it’s far from straightforward.

Viva Energy believe that Shell Card may help simplify the fuel purchase needs for operators by providing a simple, effective and convenient method for saving businesses a lot of headaches in paperwork and at the pump. If your operation has a valid ABN Shell Card can provide your business with a secure and efficient way to buy Shell’s high quality fuels and offers a wide range of benefits.

Viva Energy is also offering a potential 4 cents per litre ongoing discount on fuel purchases ( conditions apply) and you can find out more about that discount/conditions and how Shell Card may help your business manage fuel usage you can visit www.shell.com.au/driving.

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BRETT WRIGHT STEPS DOWN FROM HVIA AFTER A 20-YEAR STINT, Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia CEO Brett Wright has announced he will leave the organisation.

Wright joined Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland, which went on to become the HVIA, in 1996 and soon after rose to the top job. He will remain in the role until a suitable replacement is found to ensure a smooth transition.

“It is with many great memories, fondness and pride that I announce my leaving HVIA,” Wright said.

“I am determined that I leave HVIA positioned as strong as ever and fully committed to ensuring the handover and transition to the new CEO is as smooth as possible, “I have been privileged, firstly to have been given the opportunity to work for The Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland all those years ago and then to continue to lead it over the last twenty years culminating in its transformation into a truly national industry body, HVIA, in 2015.”

During his tenure, the organisation has been instrumental in advocating for the heavy vehicle industry on many major issues and most notably through the transition to Heavy Vehicle National Law under the auspices of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

Wright has represented the industry on numerous peak regulatory committees and working groups on issues ranging from Australian Design Rules, Performance Based Standards, Vehicle Modification to Workforce Development programs and National Training Package development.

“It has been a great journey and one that I will always cherish, together with the many wonderful friendships made,” Wright added.

“I have also been privileged to have worked with many great leaders of industry, all of whom have so wisely led us to our current position of strength and potential. CVIAQ

and HVIA’s successes are built on a great community of people who I wish to sincerely thank for all of their time and efforts contributing to the advances in our industry.”

Chairman Peter Langworthy said Wright’s leadership of the organisation through the move to becoming a national body will be the cornerstone of his legacy.

“Brett has steered the organisation through a period of enormous transformation,” Langworthy said.

“When the time came, members were unanimous in determining that the way forward had to be as a national body, and not for a moment did we underestimate the size of the undertaking that would follow. Brett has led that project over the last three years, and put together an extremely capable team to build the capacity of the organisation across the country.

“I know I speak on behalf of all Board Directors, past and present, when I

congratulate Brett on his exemplary and unselfish leadership.”

Langworthy said that HVIA will continue to deliver on its vision amidst the search for Wright’s successor.

“We are looking forward to achieving the next stage in that journey. There are a number of key objectives that we have undertaken both in our business plan and in HVIA’s forward strategy.

“HVIA will only be a success if we continue to listen to our valued members, bring the industry together and effectively represent them to government and other oversight bodies The time is right for the industry to collaborate on increasing productivity and ensuring our innovation and manufacturing footprint grows to its full potential,” he added.

Wright says he will take a sabbatical before weighing up new opportunities.

MELBOURNE COUNCIL TARGETS WORLD’S CLEANEST REFUSE TRUCKS

MELBOURNE’S MORELAND City Council is aiming to have the first emission free refuse collection fleet in the world by 2020.

Moreland Council has teamed up with H2U (or the Hydrogen Utility) in order to convert its fleet of 12 diesel powered trucks to 100 per cent renewable hydrogen, produced through electrolysis using a mix of storm water, solar and wind power.

The council has applied for Victorian and Federal Government funding to see the infrastructure required come to fruition.

Moreland Mayor Helen Davidson says her council is already focussed on sustainability and the move to hydrogen fuelled trucks is another measure.

“Moreland has always been a recognised leader when it comes to sustainability initiatives and this world first project will take us closer to achieving our zero emissions goal,” said Cr Davidson.

“With the prototype truck to be built locally, Council can continue its transition away from fossil diesel fuel and toward renewable hydrogen for all our heavy fleet vehicles.”

H2U CEO Dr Attilio Pigneri says Moreland is being treated as a pilot program for other councils across Australia.

“We are truly inspired by the knowledge, foresight, enthusiasm and can-do attitude we have encountered at Moreland,” said Pigneri.

“Council’s energy is infectious and their standing as an environmental leader has many councils across Australia eager to follow in Moreland’s footsteps.”

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People

ROGER

OVER AND OUT

Roger McCarthy’s tenure as managing director at Scania Australia came to an end at the end of June.

Transport Trucking Australia caught up with him at the Brisbane Truck Show for a final chat about his time at Scania and also meets up with his successor Mikael Jonsson.

There is no more urbane and debonair person running a truck company in Australia than Roger McCarthy, his easy, calm style and self assured manner speaks volumes for his performance at the helm of the Swedish truck maker for the eight years. Scania’s sales have been strong and as well as his role as MD McCarthy has personally overseen sales and he should be proud of the results he and his team have achieved.

TTA online editor Tom Worsley sat down and spoke with McCarthy about his time in Australia, what lies ahead and his legacy here.

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TTA: In a lot of ways this must be a sad occasion – your last truck show for Scania Australia. How do you see the legacy that you leave and the state of play?

TTA: Casting your mind back eight years to what you thought the job was going to be – was it more difficult, less difficult or as difficult as you anticipated?

RM: With a bit of pride really. Not just for me but for the team as well. They’ve done a great job to position Scania where it is. They’ve worked very closely with me on the strategic direction that I laid down for the company and it’s been a very stable direction. We haven’t really deviated much from what we said in 2009.

RM: I would say it’s very different to other markets that I’ve worked in around the world. There are very few markets where you have as many competitors as this in what is a relatively small market in the heavy truck end – averaging out around 10,500 – 11,000 trucks a year.

We’ve always made it very clear that we’d like to build a 10 per cent market share in Australia and we’re on the journey and on the top end of that journey.

I think we have a very stable position, not just in the prime mover market but we’re very active in the 8x4 market and now, as you can see by the distribution rigid on display, we’re working with our 8x2 configuration. We can demonstrate and have demonstrated to clients that not only can you have more carrying capacity but you take away the risk of overloading axles. You can have a high productivity vehicle that is easy to keep street legal.

That’s something that I’m really pleased to have been able to bring to the market.

It’s a very challenging market because there is lots of choice for the customer.

I think what we’ve had to do - yes we have an excellent brand in Scania from an engineering perspective - but we’ve had to differentiate Scania from our competitors.

We started to talk about ‘total transport solutions’ a number of years ago and the market has warmed to that. Yes, if we’d continued to sell just our hardware that would have been a bit more difficult but I’m pleased to say with a good product and good aftersales and services we’ve managed to increase our share.

TTA: Do you think the level of competition has kept everyone on their toes?

RM: Yes I do. I think someone has to be first. We were the first manufacturer to introduce manufacturer owned truck rental and since that time we’ve seen other manufacturers come into the market.

We’re now launching Scania flexible maintenance plans and I’m sure it won’t be long before some of our competitors are trying to work in this space as well.

Someone has to be first on the market.

We’ve tried to be as innovative as we can and there are a still a number of opportunities.

We have customers now that are looking at 6x2 prime movers for certain single trailer operations rather than a 6x4 – especially in the 440hp category where it will always be a single trailer prime mover.

Running with a 6x2 gives them better fuel consumption and a slight cost saving.

TTA: What’s been the most rewarding part of the last eight years?

RM: Tricky question! I would have to say seeing the organisation and also the people within it grow. In many aspects of the business I have a fairly young management team and I think they’ve embraced the change in moving Scania

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forward. It’s very gratifying when you see colleagues and peers develop in their roles.

TTA: And the most challenging?

RM: The most challenging has been the legislation in Australia. All manufacturers find it challenging because there are a variety of opportunities using our products to increase productivity of vehicles.

The rigidity of the legislation stops vehicles being more productive overall.

Of course, the other thing is there aren’t any advantages to the operators. There aren’t any grants or savings to move to the new technology – but that’s on the government side of things.

TTA: Do you mean towards autonomous vehicles?

RM: Not so much autonomous – that’s still a way off. But certainly we feel there are some old trucks. The Truck Industry Council is well aware through the meetings we have with government that there are a lot of older trucks on the road. The average age of a trucks here in Australia is one of the highest in the world.

We have some really good Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines running on line haul business but it’s fair to say the vehicle population

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for distribution vehicles has a lot of old trucks. They could really be incentivised to come off the road in favour of the latest technology. That’s good for the environment and for the travelling public.

TTA: What role will Australia play in your heart as you move on to the next stage of your life?

RM: It’s been great fun here over the past eight years. My wife and I have made some wonderful friends across all nationalities.

It’s a very cosmopolitan country. With great fondness, I am returning in January for a true three-month holiday so that I can actually look around Australia rather than work around it.

It’s been challenging but now I hand over the mantle to someone that can take it to the next stage. Someone that can help the team take the next two to three per cent market share. I’d be very happy to see that in the press.

TTA: What would be your one piece of advice to your successor?

RM: Make sure the organisation stays focussed. Make sure it executes everything we’ve said we would in our strategic plan and make sure all of Scania enjoys the benefit of reaching 10 per cent market share.

SCANIA AUSTRALIA HAS A NEW BOSS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN EIGHT YEARS WITH SWEDE MIKAEL JANSSON TAKING THE REINS FROM ROGER MCCARTHY

SCANIA’S NEW SWEDE FLAVOUR

SCANIA AUSTRALIA has a new boss for the first time in eight years with Swede Mikael Jansson taking the reins from Roger McCarthy, who will bow out after some stunningly successful sales figures in the past year.

In what can be seen as an acknowledgment of the importance of the Australian market to Scania globally, (we rank number five in the company’s bus export markets and a little bit further down the pecking order for trucks) Jansson comes to the role from a very senior position running Scania’s global

parts operation and as part of its Top Management Team for the past decade.

Jansson is an affable and extremely astute operator and brings a range of management skills to the table after a lifetime working for the Swedish company.

He was quick to state that he would be building on the great work Roger McCarthy has done and the strength he has built into the company during his tenure.

Given McCarthy has been steering the Scania ship for about eight years, Jansson’s promise that the much

anticipated new Generation Scania range will be launched down under during his time running the Australian operation may not have been such a big promise.

The sly grin on Jansson’s face indicated some degree of jest, however it is also clear they won’t be rushing the new truck to market and instead will take a considered view with lots of customer consultation, testing and engineering work, not unlike cross town rivals at Mercedes Benz with the Actros Jansson is clearly a strategist and given his exposure to Scania’s long term

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“THIS IS AN INTERESTING AND VIBRANT MARKET AND THE SCANIA ORGANISATION HAS AN EXCITING FUTURE” management philosophies and plans he will have a very clear view of the big picture in his role down under. He has been in a range of roles and brings a vast amount of experience in how to run a large company.

Like many of the other senior managers in the Australian market Jansson sees the sales battles being fought out with service and uptime as the weapons.

“We gained a lot of market share on the sales side last year and an important part of that has been selling repair and maintenance contracts bundled with the trucks.”

“I have been very much involved in developing that concept and going from having generic maintenance plans to contracts that are specific for each and every vehicle.

“The key is improving uptime and reducing cost, there are other things in this way that we will bring forward.

“I believe the market will develop and we will sell more and more services solutions – focusing on that instead of just selling the hardware,” said Mikael.

The data being harvested from trucks now will prove a major benefit for both customers and Scania according to Jansson who believes this data will be the pathway to a goal of guaranteed uptime, something he sees as a major benefit that is worth pursuing as the technology develops.

“The information we are gaining from our vehicles is already giving us the information to change the maintenance plan,” he says.

Jansson flagged the potential for trucks to signal when parts or components are about to fail so that they can be changed before the truck grinds to a halt in the middle of nowhere with a time critical load

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on board. He spoke very optimistically about predictive and preventative parts replacement which he believes will change the approach from ‘repair’ to ‘maintenance’ and from an ‘unplanned stop’ to a ‘planned replacement.

“It’s a much more efficient approach for our customers,” he added.

Jansson said the New Truck Generation production is currently being ramped up for the ‘home’ European markets after what has been a long global launch to customers.

“Launch of the new truck outside Europe, and also in Australia, is being looked at now, but before we launch it in Australia we’re going to ensure that they are the right specification for local conditions,” said Jansson.

“We will be testing the vehicles here in Australia so they really perform at the right level.”

Jansson said that extensive testing will be carried out before the launch of what is a truck that is a massive change and upgrade in technology.

“This is not just a new truck, it’s a total concept, it’s really to support the total operating economy for our customers, that’s with services concepts included,” he added.

“Scania has a strong position going forward I believe and there is a lot of change coming to our industry with electrification, autonomous operation, electrification and other pluses such as sustainability.

“This will affect all markets, sooner or later and I’m looking forward to that journey here in Australia,” he said.

Saluting the work of his predecessor Roger McCarthy, Jansson said the Englishman’s work had been greatly

appreciated in Sweden.

Jansson has worked with Scania since graduating from university in the early 1980s and like McCarthy he is a Scania ‘lifer’. In fact Jansson actually undertook his thesis at university on ways to reduce the company’s inventory. He was able to do just that inside the company and has been there ever since, going on to head up parts product management and becoming vice president in charge of parts in 2006.

He became a senior vice president and head of parts and service in 2013, a role he held up until leaving for Australia.

With all that experience and back ground in parts Jansson said he has always had the desire to run a sales and service company somewhere in the Scania realm and reckons now is the time.

Apart from that Jansson said he is keen to try Australian ski slopes as well as the beach and tennis courts in summer.

“I have a lot of people asking about coming to stay with us for the Australian Open in January which just happens to be the coldest time of year in Sweden,” said Jansson with a smile.

‘I love sport and I am keen to see Australian football, some normal football (soccer) as well as the tennis and the Australian F1 Grand Prix,” he said.

“We have also had other friends asking about coming down under for the Grand Prix, I think we will be very popular with friends back home wanting to visit us,” he added.

“This is an interesting and vibrant market and Scania organisation has an exciting future. I enjoy the outdoors and I am a sports fan so Australia is an amazing opportunity for new experiences,” he said.

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TEN MONTHS ON FROM THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW GENERATION ACTROS PRIME MOVERS MERCEDES BENZ HAS UNVEILED ITS NEW GENERATION RIGID MODELS. WE CLIMBED ABOARD FOR A DAY OF DRIVING IN SOME TESTING CONDITIONS AND CAME AWAY GIVING THE NEW MODELS A THUMBS UP AND BELIEVING THAT THESE NEW TRUCKS WILL PROVE STIFF COMPETITION IN THE MARKET.

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T

he climb from Esk to Hampton up the Great Dividing Range north of Toowoomba is a long, steep, tugging climb that rises almost a kilometre over its length and at its steepest points the grade is between five and ten per cent with the most demanding pinch featuring a better than 10 per cent grade for around 1.4km. It is a tough climb and with no passing lanes it is easy to be held up by slower vehicles.

It was on this particularly steep pinch that Mercedes Benz latest rigid configuration Actros really shone and underlined the versatility and wide spread of potential applications for these talented new additions to the Actros line up.

Well in fact to the Actros/Arocs/Atego line up as Benz has divied up the naming format on its rigids with three axle models falling under the Actros banner, the two axle rigids continuing the Atego nameplate and the four axle twin steer rigids bearing the Arocs badge.

Benz gave the media a thorough and testing, day long drive program in the Brisbane Hinterland, covering just a shade more than 300 kilometres with a range of roads from motorway to bumpy country tarmac, some testing climbs as mentioned earlier and of course the granddaddy of descents coming down the range from Toowoomba.

The rigid model line-up introduced in Brisbane ran from the 12-tonne rigid Atego city distribution truck through to the 32-tonne 8x4 Arocs model that can be used for palletised freight, equipment haulage or waste work.

At the launch Mercedes-Benz Trucks senior manager, Andrew Assimo told us at that the new rigid range follows on from the successful introduction of the prime mover range.

“We have had some fantastic feedback from customers of our new generation prime movers who are extremely pleased with the performance and economy they are delivering,” Assimo said.

“We are now ready for the second stage of our roll out, with our rigid distribution line-up set to deliver a new standard of efficiency, reliability and versatility for our customers, ” he added.

Mercedes-Benz said it had developed the new generation rigid range after consulting customers in varied operations including a comprehensive local testing program that has now included more than 35 customers, 20 trucks and more than 1.8 million km.

The second phase of the new generation Mercedes-Benz truck introduction includes on-road rigid models, while the third phase, set for late this year, will see the introduction of the construction and all-wheel-drive rigid models ready for off-road work.

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The company reckons the wide spread of available engines will cover a huge range of applications and we can only agree.

Fully automated transmissions are standard across the rigid range with either an eight-speed or 12-speed option with both featuring faster shifting and a new creeper gear for low speed work.

The rigid line up features three cab groups, the smaller 2.3m S Classic Space for the 1630L 4x2 Atego medium duty distribution models, the 2.3m M Classic Space for the Actros 2530 and 2535L 6x2 heavy duty distribution and the largest 2.3m M Classic Space for the 6x4 Actros and 8x4 Arocs heavy duty distribution and vocational models. Sleeper cabs and rear seat options are available on various models.

Benz told us that it has developed new cabs and chassis for the rigid range, claiming they deliver better stability and roadholding as well as improved refinement and comfort, and that was certainly borne out by their performance on the road Further to that Benz said all of the cabs meet strict Swedish cab test standards and they are fitted with roof-mounted air-horns, remote locking, electric mirrors and a

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locally-developed touchscreen sat nav and audio unit with DVD player and Bluetooth connectivity all as standard equipment.

As we said when we drove the Actros prime movers back in October last year the driver-focused interiors deliver a big improvement in refinement levels, with controls located well within reach of the driver. Several items can now be controlled using the steering wheel controls.

Customers can also option up the cabins with interior style packs and are able to choose the wood-look/velour Home Line treatment or the metal-look chrome Style Line treatment.

A spread of four rigids on the drive program was added to with a lone prime mover/trailer combo, an intrastate distribution spec model. The line up featured three of the four Benz in line six cylinder engines including the 7.7, 11 and 13 litre versions with horsepower ranging from 299hp to 354hp in the small engine and from 394 to 428 hp in the 11 litre.

There is also a 455 hp 11 litre available but this wasn’t fitted to any of the test trucks on the launch, while the 13-litre engined Actros prime mover had the 530hp version of that powerplant fitted.

Benz is saying that while the rigid line up is available with either the 8 or 11 litre units it can also offer the big 13 and 16 litre power plants for individual builds.

All of the power plants are Euro 6 compliant and feature asymmetric turbocharging as well as X-Pulse highpressure direct injection technology, which both help more usable torque and assist with low speed drivability. They also feature a powerful new engine brake with up to 340kW of power, although a water retarder can increase the available braking force to a total of 750kW. That got a good workout down the range at Toowoomba, but more on that later.

It wasn’t that long ago that the trade press had been gathered to be a part of the launch of the all new Actros range of prime movers after a long and extremely thorough engineering and evaluation program. It was clear then and even more obvious now that the Australian arm of Daimler trucks has done its homework on the new Actros, delivering trucks that fit a lot of niches from 16-tonne city distribution all the way through to 100-tonne plus road train spec prime movers. The rigid line up offers all sorts

BENZ HAS DEVELOPED NEW CABS AND CHASSIS FOR THE RIGID RANGE, CLAIMING THEY DELIVER BETTER STABILITY AND ROADHOLDING AS WELL AS IMPROVED REFINEMENT AND COMFORT.

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of flexibility that could see the various models slotted into numerous roles from niche to volume applications.

On that steep climb up the range TTA found itself behind the wheel of the 354 hp Actros 2635 6x2 taut liner. The Benz four number nomenclature is a code for cracking the spec of the truck with the first two numbers signifying the GVM, in this case 26 tonne and the second two relating to the power, in this instance 35 relates to 350hp. Grossing just on 19 tonnes the ‘little’ 7.7-litre mated to the Benz 12-speed automated manual was a joy to drive, quite literally marching up the range with ease.

This was despite having a slower truck in front, which at times meant our speed dropped in critical pinches, but it still dug deep and had plenty in reserve. It was an impressive effort.

Earlier on the run out from our starting point at the Daimler dealership in Rocklea along the Ipswich Motorway and up the road to Fernvale and the Wivenhoe Dam we were behind the wheel of the Actros 2530 with its 299hp 7.7 litre and GVM of 26 tonnes, with the load it was hauling the 2530 was grossing around 18 tonnes.

The big stand out on the uneven, bumpy Queensland tarmac was the precision of the steering and ride. The truck tracked true and straight no matter what the poor quality bitumen threw at it. The ride was supple and compliant but well controlled and the steering was not thrown by bumps and pothole.

The other abiding quality is the quietness inside the cabs. We first sampled it in the Actros prime movers and not surprisingly it is just the same in the rigids. The proof

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of this came when I answered a call on the Bluetooth system and the person on the other end could not believe that he was talking to someone in a truck cab doing 95km/h down a country road, such was the quietness of the truck. Like most modern Europeans the Benz has excellent NVH characteristics that have created a quiet cab, which serves to reduce fatigue and just make it easy to spend the day in. Conversations can be carried out at normal levels, you can hear the audio system and it is all very civilised even, when tackling steep climbs or at speed on a motorway.

Our stint in the lone Actros prime mover and trailer set up came on the run back from Toowoomba toward the Queensland capital. The 2653 Actros is aimed at the intra-state distribution market and with 530 hp from its 13 litre it is capable of lighter end B double work as well as the single trailer set up it was configured for here. Like the rigids on the program, the cab was brilliantly laid out and super quiet and comfortable which was a benefit in Toowoomba’s busy maze of through roads, which were near grid lock in the mid-afternoon rush with heavy traffic mixing with the school buses, mums picking kids up from school and the flock of tradie utes and delivery vans, the second range crossing can’t come soon enough.

Cresting the rise before the long slow descent down the hill to the Lockyer Valley we punched 28km/h into the Benz cruise control engaged the maximum level on the three stage engine brake and settled back letting the truck do the hard work

and the thinking for us. The system held well and we were even able to reduce the cruise control speed when we ‘caught’ a B double milk tanker sitting on a slightly lower speed. We slotted in behind until a gap and allowed us to re-adjust the hold speed to pass the Volvo with safety. It was all very painless, but that Toowoomba descent never ceases to amaze with some of the cowboy antics displayed by a few idiots, one in particular in his Kenworth B double tanker racing past the line of Benzes and other heavies sitting on a sensible speed.

Our final fling was in the Arocs 3243 twin steer for the run back in on the motorway past Ipswich and into Rocklea.

The four axle Arocs was grossing 22 tonnes on the drive day and made easy work of the undulating motorway conditions on the way past Wacol to the Daimler dealership. Unlike other twin steer trucks the Arocs tracked well and was precise and easy to steer. It made short work of the run back into town and would prove ideal for a range of applications as we mentioned before.

At the end of a long day of driving tackling a range of conditions typical for trucks in this realm, we emerged feeling fresh and unflustered. The car like comforts of the Benz rigids made it an easy day at the wheel covering just over 300 km up hill and down dale. The Benz team came to the media launch from a week of showing customers the new trucks at Mt Cotton and were apparently met with enthusiastic support. Only time will tell if Benz can parlay that enthusiasm into truck sales. We think they can.

\ Paul Jukes Victorian State Manager, Hertz Truck Rental

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Paul Jukes, Victorian State Manager, Hertz Truck Rentals, reckons that since adding Allison equipped UD Trucks to the Hertz fleet they have delivered lower maintenance and repair costs as well as saving money when it comes to operating costs.

“Our Allison automatic trucks are easier on clutches and brakes and that means we save money, not to mention the reduced down time,” says Paul Jukes.

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HINO’S NEW WIDE BODY 500 SERIES IS FINDING FAVOUR WITH OPERATORS AROUND THE COUNTRY NO MORE SO THAN IN THE APPLE ISLE WHERE LEADING DEMOLITION COMPANY REARDONS HAS BEEN IMPRESSED WITH ITS NEW HINO, WE HEAD ACROSS BASS STRAIGHT TO INVESTIGATE.

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F

or many people on the mainland, Hobart is considered a bit of a sleepy backwater but for businesses operating in the Tasmanian capital many of the city pressures that afflict their counterparts in the bustling metropolises on the other side of Bass Straight. Sure the traffic may not be as heavy, but there are traffic lights, hold ups hills and car drivers getting in the way.

For Hobart based demolition company BJ Reardon the need for a new hook lift skip truck saw them scanning the medium duty market for a new truck to replace an old Fuso.

The criteria for the new machine was pretty straightforward, it had to be a medium duty 4x2 with steel spring suspension, a hydraulic PTO and an automatic.

The company had an open mind about the brand of truck it would choose and as it happened Hino had just launched its new Wide Body 500 Series when Reardon’s entered the market. While the latest offering in the market was appealing, the major reason Reardons selected the Hino was the work done by the sales consultant at the local Hino dealer in Hobart.

Reardon’s operations manager Charles Kingston says the Hino dealer was the most professional and actually advised on the right truck for their operation.

“The other brands just gave us a price, but Luke Bennett from the dealer, FRM Hobart took the time to come out, measure up our old truck listen to exactly what we needed and gave us the best spec,” said Charles Kingston.

As it turned out the Reardon Hino FG1628 Medium Long Auto was amongst the first of the retail deliveries of the new model to be sold in Australia and has been climbing the hills and traversing the dales of Hobart for the past few months without fault.

It is a really good truck, it has been totally trouble free and the automatic is a real boon for us, it has helped us keep our driver who was getting sick and tired of having to change gears in the old Fuso we had before,” said Kingston.

The truck is used to drop off and pick up skip bins at major demolition and construction sites around Hobart and Southern Tasmania.

BJ Reardon is a family owned company and was established 20 years ago by Barney Reardon and Sharon Westbury,

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and it has been a successful business thanks to a hands on management style, which has the owner involved in the daily operation of the business.

The company services the construction industry, local councils, state and federal government departments and the general business sector providing commercial, Industrial, civil and domestic demolition and internal strip outs including concrete removal and recycling as well as civil excavations and associated works.

“We pride ourselves on being the cleanest demolition team in Tasmania and our team’s ability to deliver innovative, appropriate services in a safe working environment, on time with our clients’ needs and requirements in mind,” said Charles Kingston.

The Company prides itself on the fact that it has a comprehensive range of equipment to perform any demolition activity on specific projects with staff that are licensed and experienced in all facets required to complete the task required.

“It is important that we have the best machinery and in that regard the Hino is a valuable asset to our fleet,” Kingston added.

“The automatic has enabled us to not just keep our valued driver but also to ensure safer manoeuvring, with the auto it is very precise and you can easily back it up to a skip without hesitation,” he said.

“Similarly the Hino’s Reversing camera is another asset that is important for us and enables us to back on to sites more safely and with less risk,” Charles added. ”Along with that the excellent all round vision from the new cab makes it easier and safer to operate particularly on construction sites and in traffic.”

Along with the new Hino FG, Reardon’s also operate a Volvo FE 6x4 hook lift truck for its larger bins along with tippers and a suite of other equipment including excavators, rock breakers, concrete crushers, augers and mini loaders.

The is accredited with the Tasmanian and Federal governments and is able to handle hazardous materials such as asbestos, soils containing controlled waste, lead and lead compounds and fire debris and fire wash waters.

‘We do the right thing and always have the right equipment and having the new Hino is part of that philosophy, it is the right truck for the job, properly specced and right for the task and it looks good as well,” Charles added.

“Even I have to get behind the wheel from time to time and I really enjoy driving it, it is terrific in stop start traffic, in the old manual it was very tiring, constantly changing gear all day, people think Hobart is not that busy but it has its share of traffic jams and hold ups so the Allison automatic just makes life easier,” he added.

“Another really great aspect is the way the automatic works in downhill situations where it really helps slow the vehicle surprisingly well, I don’t think we would go back to a manual ever again,” Charles said.

It is a little early to get accurate fuel economy figures, however Kingston says preliminary figures indicate the Hino is performing pretty well and is impressing in that regard as well.

“Our business is rubbish and while we spend all day picking it up we don’t want rubbish machinery so in that regard the new Hino is a great asset for the business and we are very pleased with the purchase.

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1

2

3

1. Reardon operations manager Charles Kingston takes a turn behind the wheel of the Hino.

2. The Reardon Hino is set up for hook pick up of skip bins 3. The bold grille of the updated wide body Hino 500 4. An Allison auto was compulsory when Reardon specced the new Hino

4

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Operator

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES

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ADELAIDE BULK TRANSPORT OPERATOR GARDEN GROVE HAS BEEN CARTING LANDSCAPES SUPPLIES FOR MORE THAN 35 YEARS GROWING OUT OF A HUMBLE STOCKPILE OF LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES. TTA DROPPED IN TO TAKE A LOOK AT OPERATIONS AT GARDEN GROVE AND TO GET A HANDLE ON WHAT MAKES THIS BUK CARRIER A SUCCESS STORY.

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“WE’VE GOT A WHOLE LOT OF ISUZUS, FROM THE BIG GIGA, RIGHT DOWN TO THE LITTLE FELLAS”

W

ay back in 1982 Adelaide transport contractor Jim Carraill was carting landscape products with his truck for other people and started stockpiling material on his property for landscaping the block. It was one of those accidents of fate or pieces of good fortune that often provide the impetus to kick start major businesses and 35 years later the Carraill’s have a large scale business that grew out of that small stockpile.

People coming onto the Carraill property outside Adelaide would ask Jim if that landscape material for sale? Jim would say “yeah well I suppose it is”. From there the embryo of Garden Grove was born and three and a half decades later the company is one of the biggest and most widespread landscape product and cartage company’s in the country.

These days Garden Grove runs a fleet of more than 140 trucks running a

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wholesale operation sourcing material from all over the country and distributing it nationwide. It also involves a major retail operation in Adelaide.

The company got its name from the suburb in Adelaide where it started, Garden Grove “We run a landscape yard and a retail outlet, delivering barks, mulches and loams to everyday people in Adelaide,” Brad said.

“But we also wholesale a fair bit of the material, servicing all of Adelaide with the local trucks, while our haulage fleet goes as far as Kununurra, Darwin, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.”

“It’s a family owned and run company and while Mum and Dad started the landscape side of the business, I started the haulage side in 1996 and we have grown from there,” Brad said.

“Originally it was a landscape garden supply material operation, but as far as

the transport side of the business, it’s now more bulk haulage and we do a lot of freight for other companies.”

“We were bringing garden materials back to Adelaide so we looked at opportunities to backload in our bulk tippers. We started off with grains and fertilizers going out and garden products coming back and it just evolved from there,” he added “We’ve since picked up a lot of longterm contracts with blue-chip companies and there’s a lot of set runs now and it has grown massively.”

Today the company has a mixed fleet which caters to the wide spread of operations Garden Grove now handles.

The fleet includes mainly Isuzus on local work in and around Adelaide while for the long haul work the fleet is predominately Kenworths along with some Macks.

“We run pretty all over Australia with set runs to Mount Gambier, Darwin, and Kununurra, we also do a lot of Adelaide

to Melbourne work as well as servicing a lot of local concrete plants with sands and materials as well.”

Brad says the company is always replacing trucks to ensure the fleet is kept modern and he says they have the luxury of being able to drop some of the older equipment onto lower mileage jobs.

“We are able to keep the new trucks out the front and drop the old ones back down the line for lighter or local work where they don’t work quite as hard,” Carraill added.

The oldest working truck in the fleet was added in 2003 and they still have a few older cab-over Kenworths running around.

While the big Kenworths dominate the linehaul work, Isuzu also plays a key role with Garden Grove and Brad says he has been buying them for almost 20 years mainly because of the good reliability, their ability to service a diverse range of tasks and because of the good service they’ve received over the years.

“We’ve got a whole lot of Isuzus, from the big Giga, right down to the little fellas,” he said.

“We started with the FVZ 1400s – I think we bought the first one of them around 1998 or ’99 – and they’ve been great trucks,” he added.

Brad believes Garden Grove’s success lies in its service and ability to cater to a diverse range of needs.

“We obviously started as a landscape yard and a retail outlet, delivering barks, mulches and loams to people around Adelaide, but we also wholesale a lot of the material, to many far flung places around the country.”

Brad says the Isuzus tend to do most of the retail garden supplies delivery work, operating predominantly in metro areas where their get-up-and-go is an advantage.

“We have a couple of the Isuzus in the quarries and they’re working extremely hard in there, they’ll basically do 80 loads a day: loading under a hopper, taking it around to a stockpile, tip off, and then

back under a hopper and it’s all on steep winding haul roads,” he reckons.

“With the Isuzus we don’t really have fatigue issues and the easy access in and out of the cab means they don’t get the back problems they might otherwise.

“We’ve tried the opposition’s product over the years, but the Isuzus perform better,” he said.

“We’ve had a great run with them and the dealers are fantastic people to work with.”

Garden Grove has made some custom mods, extending the sides and swing tail gates of the tippers, and fitted alloy wheels to lower the tare weights. Some of the trucks, such as the tandems, have aluminium bodies fitted, but the smaller ones are just factory bodies customised slightly to suit mulches and barks.

Keeping a precise operation like Garden Grove running requires every bit of equipment to fulfil its duty at all times – there’s no room for faulty machines or lacklustre performance.

Brad’s particularly happy with the Allison automatic transmissions, which have added an even greater level of userfriendliness and driveability.

“The last four or five trucks we’ve had through here were all Allison autos and they’re performing really well. We will definitely be sticking with them,” Brad said.

“The Allison automatics operate really well, particular in boggy situations with the torque converter which helps them get on and off construction sites with ease,” Brad says.

He goes on to say that it’s easier to put drivers in automatic trucks because they’ve got a lot of new drivers coming through, and they’re training people that don’t have a lot of driving experience and believes it’s a lot easier to train them in an automatic.

He also cites the fact that the Allison fitted models are also spending less time in the workshop and are saving money on fuel consumption giving around 0.2 km/litre

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better economy than equivalent manuals.

“You don’t see them here much which means they’re out doing what they’re supposed to be doing, working and earning money and in terms of fuel economy anywhere where you can save on fuel consumption is a plus, especially with the litres we go through,” Brad adds.

“Obviously, our older trucks are all Road-Rangers but the drivers quite enjoy driving the autos as well because they don’t have to think too much about changing gears,” he adds with a smile.

In the Kenworths we run quite a few Eaton automated manuals because the Allison isn’t an option in the really heavy stuff but we’ll definitely put more automatics in to the fleet.”

Garden Grove operates a full workshop and does the majority of its maintenance in house with crews running two shifts with up to 12 mechanics per shift.

“We still outsource a bit of the maintenance work as well and we’ve got trucks based in Murray Bridge and Bordertown so we’ve got guys looking after our trucks there as well while we

base some of our road-trains based out of CMV in Adelaide as well,” he added.

On the heavy side of things Brad reckons the Kenworth is very robust on the longhaul stuff, where he says it is easy to get a million kilometres out of them without too many dramas.

“They probably have a second life if you wanted to rebuild them. They hold together well – all the wiring looms and cab structure stay in place,” according to Brad.

“Application is what really drives our buying behaviour and for the long haul stuff the big Kennies are the go to truck,” he said.

A new Kenworth T610 has become a recent addition to the Garden Grove fleet adding the all new model within a few months of it being launched.

“We’ve added the new T610 to the fleet as a trial to see how it would perform and I reckon it is a pretty good truck, they’ve changed the layout a fair bit, particularly around the dash. The driver we have put in it is fairly new and loves it. He reckons It drives and steers really well,” Brad said.

“OUR FLEET IS FAIRLY CLOSE TO 140 TRUCKS AND WE’VE GOT MORE NEW MACHINERY ON THE WAY” 038 www.truckandbus.net.au

“Our fleet is fairly close to 140 trucks and we’ve got more new machinery on the way and about 90 of those are on longhaul operation with the balance working on the local work.

Brad says the local work is mainly truck and dog combinations along with some single semis, tandem tippers and the three and four tonne minis on the local work.

“We are still a family owned and run company. Mum and Dad are still around the place, but they’re semi-retired now.

We’re running everything from double road trains, AB doubles, truck and sixaxle dogs, truck and five axle dogs, a lot of PBS equipment.

Brad is proud to tell us that the company still has the Volvo F86 which his father purchased in 1976 – and it’s currently being restored.

“It was sold around 15 years ago and I came across it again recently, in a shed up in Berri – the bloke just rang me out of the blue and I ended up buying it back so now we are in the midst of restoring it,” said Brad. “It will be great to see how it comes up,” he added.

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Industry

VOLVO MAN MITCH PEDEN HEADS UP THE VOLVO TRUCK BRAND IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AND IS CLEARLY PROUD TO BE CUSTODIAN AND TO REPRESENT THE TRUCK BRAND DOWN UNDER. AS YOU WILL SEE PEDEN IS NOT AFRAID TO JUMP ON A PLANE TO GO OUT AND SEE CUSTOMERS TO FIND OUT HOW TO MAKE THEIR BUSINESS BETTER. HE IS A PASSIONATE AND DEVOTED OPERATOR AND HIS TRACK RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. WE SAT DOWN WITH MITCH TO FIND OUT WHAT MAKES THE MAN WHO HEADS UP THE SWEDISH TRUCK MARQUE IN AUSTRALIA TICK, WHAT HAS MADE VOLVO SO SUCCESSFUL HERE AND WHAT ADVANTAGES IT BRINGS TO THE MARKET. 040 www.truckandbus.net.au

TTA: Welcome Mitch how did you get involved with the truck business?

TTA: Did you ever imagine you’d be working in the truck industry?

Mitch: Well I was in the motor industry and had been working for General Motors HoIden for 10 years. My wife, was from Brisbane and we decided to move to Queensland, which meant I was looking for a Brisbane based company to work for and fortunately Volvo trucks popped its head up and I got a job here, and the rest is history.

Mitch: No to tell you the truth I was very much engaged in the car industry, I was a car lover and grew up with Holden and in actual fact I was working in the light commercial space so I guess a move across to heavy commercials was not really on my radar.

In that time I have had a number of great roles with the Volvo brand in a group sense and certainly now I am very focused on the Volvo brand and very glad to be part of what is a very exciting time to be part of Volvo, it’s fantastic

Having said that I have really embraced the truck industry, I really enjoy it and have embraced the heavy truck space, its different to the car game in that you really become immersed in people’s businesses and lives in the truck business. You build relationships with the people you meet it’s about long term business partnerships and it’s an interesting place to be.

You’re really selling people tools for their livelihoods aren’t you; these are tools of trade as opposed to a consumer purchase just to get you around.

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“I THINK OUR BIGGEST ADVANTAGE RIGHT NOW IS WHAT WE BRING TO THE TABLE IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF OUR TRUCKS”

We have numerous business partners who are growing strong family business’s working hand in hand with Volvo and the products and services that we offer and you know people for many years, through the ups and downs of their businesses.

You quickly realise the things we do that work with them and things you know that maybe don’t work and we can refine things and get better, so yes it’s pretty cool, I like it a lot TTA: So how long have you been with Volvo now?

Mitch: I’ve been with VGA twelve years now TTA: In that twelve years obviously the company has come a long way in terms of its truck market share and where it is in the market you you’re now giving Paccar a lot of hurry up but what is the toughest challenge for you at Volvo the moment?

Mitch: Right now coming off 2016 we’ve had our strongest market share result in 25 years which is absolutely fantastic our products are very good, our quality’s fantastic but as I put to my team ‘let’s not give our customers any reason to not stay with us for the long term’ because we have to have a long term business view of partnerships and we’re looking to work with customers in that way too, so we just need to be mindful of that, making sure our offering is competitive.

Our quality is our core value; it is and should always be top of mind, making sure that we are firmly focused on the customer and what their challenges are.

We have to keep refining our offering to make the ever evolving needs of our customers in such a highly competitive, low margin business like the trucking industry are met.

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We need to always keep it top of mind that our customers are at the core of our business and driving what we do. If we take our eyes off the ball, you know the others will swamp you with their offerings, so we have to just keep moving forward, whether that’s working with customers to get better fuel economy or working with them to get better repair maintenance programs in place, whether it’s up times, keeping the trucks on the road more consistently with less breakdowns and the like, we have to always keep working with our partners to make sure we get those better outcomes so I reckon those are our biggest challenges.

TTA: So, working on those challenges what do you think Volvo’s biggest competitive advantages is at the moment?

Mitch: I think our biggest advantage right now is what we bring to the table in terms of the quality of our trucks, the driver acceptance of our trucks, fuel economy results and uptimes are all very good and most importantly having a local factory where customers can come to us and ask questions, like how can we maybe refine our offer a bit to meet their particular needs.

Let’s say our ability to meet their needs by having, for want of a better term, a bespoke factory, where we can sit down and nut out and try to make an individual solution for individual customers. It’s a very strong competitive advantage that we maybe don’t make enough of as far as promotion Externally, but we certainly drive that message with our business partners, and say look, if this thing isn’t quite working lets work with our factory engineers to get it right.

TTA: So with those sales successes Volvo has had in the last few years you’ve obviously as a group become number one in heavy duty and you’ve gone from targeting others to being a target yourselves because there is a lot of new trucks coming to market, where do you see your biggest opposition?

Mitch: Well obviously, the Paccar group, they’re still very, very strong and in terms of Kenworth still clear market leader, so I guess it’s always interesting for us to continue to benchmark our performance against Kenworth and the DAF side of things.

Obviously the new generation Mercedes Actros coming to market clearly interests us, we watch with interest how that will be accepted in the market place, Benz is putting a lot of energy into that and we don’t kid ourselves, that there are not a lot of very large well-resourced competitors out there in the market and it is interesting for us from a European sense which is generally the market we play in , I guess, and of course the Mercedes and the new Scania when that arrives will be of great interest to us TTA: That could be away off yet though Mitch: Yes it could be a way off yet, absolutely, but man time flies, you know you just stop for a second to have a coffee and all of a sudden, another three months have flown by.

TTA: I hope this coffee doesn’t take that long!

Mitch: No it’s alright… the coffee isn’t that bad is it?

TTA: No it’s fine….. OK so having the factory here is Australia, do you see that as a distinct competitive edge for Volvo in Australia ?

Mitch: Yes, definitely it’s a much different conversation for me to have with our local factory saying I want to build three specific trucks than it would be for me to try and go to the factory in Sweden and try and get three specific trucks out of their mega build volume, they would think I was absolutely kidding myself, so yes it’s a very strong advantage for us and a relevant conversation for us to say look we’ve got a customer that wants to have a go at x y z application, so lets make it work and we work hard to deliver specific application trucks for our customers, the factory enables us to do that, it is a competitive edge , definitely.

TTA: So coming out of the car industry did you have to go and get a truck licence?

Mitch: Yes I’ve got my truck license, I admit I don’t drive a lot, but I’ve got my truck licence you need to be able to answer yes to that question, I have to say I worked pretty hard to learn and understand the industry when I first started, and you never stop learning, I am constantly looking at understanding all I can about trucks, I mean just for legitimacy in the industry apart from anything else.

The truck industry was certainly an eye opener particularly in terms of just how competitive the industry is, I don’t think it is understood outside Australia, just how competitive it is here, with so many manufacturers competing for a relative small number of trucks, everyone wants a piece of that.

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TTA: So coming from WA does that give you even some sort of insight into what is a very important market for Volvo trucks?

TTA: So there is clearly a lot of travel involved in running a truck company, do you ever get sick of that?

Mitch : The transport trucking space in WA is always very interesting they’ve got to run big configurations and extreme weights and the challenges they face, there are quite large. We have a very strong dealer there in the Winkless Family, of course Max Winkless kicked off Volvo in Australia back in the 1960s.

I like Max a lot, he’s got a very curious mind and always wants to know how things will work and how we can be doing things better so it’s great to still have his guidance and advice because he’s got a very good outlook on the truck industry and a huge amount of knowledge.

Mitch: To tell you the truth you get to the end of the year and you don’t miss getting on a plane again, being a platinum frequent flyer for both Qantas and Virgin is not a good recipe for a quiet home life, that said I’ve got a really understanding partner who is very accepting of the job I do and the nature of needing to go out and see people and be part of people’s business’s so it’s certainly not an office space role, you need to be out and about seeing customers, so it is a part of the job, but when I have time off I like to hang around home for that reason

TTA: So what do you like to do when your not at work Mitch what’s sort of leisure activities do like doing?

Mitch : Oh my wife and I have recently bought a couple of acre’s in the Gold Coast hinterland so at the moment it’s all about enjoying my surrounds there and there is always plenty of grass to mow and things to do around the place, I travel so much during the week that on the weekends I am generally happy to be at home, do the cooking and have a bit of quiet time and mess around a bit. As I said before I’m from WA originally but I moved across here in 1995 so that’s where I find myself now, I still have family back in Western Australia and I very much enjoy getting back there but I am a Queenslander now.

But I do like to travel, I’ve been doing it for a lot of years in the automotive industry now, it’s just that doing it for a while means a sane holiday is welcome every now and then.

TTA: So you have kicked some big goals for Volvo Australia over the last few years you know maybe Martin Lundstedt gets on the phone and says, ‘Mitch we’re very impressed with you we want we want to send you somewhere overseas’, what would the feeling be then?

Mitch: Yes, my wife and I have talked about that and we would be open to that opportunity, that said, right now I am more than happy to be in the Australian market, I don’t think there’s probably a more competitive space maybe globally right now, all the manufacturers are here everyone is competing for a very small slice of the pie so we are happy to be here Having said that yes absolutely if there was some thing interesting to go to try and add value in another market by all means we could certainly go and have a sewing at that too, I like Martin he is an inspirational guy, but I will wait and see what happens.

TTA: Well Mitch we appreciate your time and your frank views on the market.

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Road Test

FETCH THE PICK-UP LEROY! THE RAM HAS BEEN CUMMINS-POWERED SINCE 1989. IT HAS TAKEN NEARLY 30 YEARS TO MAKE IT DOWN UNDER AS A RHD-CONVERTED PICK UP TRUCK, BUT THE WAIT WAS WORTH IT, ALLAN WHITING RECKONS.

W

e’re not suggesting that the 140-grand Ram 2500 crew-cab ute is every fleet’s first choice for a workhorse pickup, but if you can find some tax excuse for buying one as a company show-off vehicle, go for it.

It goes like hell, pulls like a schoolboy and has more cred’ than you could ever need.

Ram Trucks are being distributed in Australia by American Special Vehicles, after ADR-compliant conversion to RHD by Walkinshaw Australia, one of the world’s leading automotive engineering companies.

Two high-spec, crew-cab models are being offered: the 2500, with coil-spring rear suspension and a payload of 900kg, and the 3500, with leaf rear springs and a payload of up to 1700kg.

Both have Cummins ISB diesel power,

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Chrysler six-speed automatic boxes and Borg Warner transfer cases with 2.64:1 deep reduction.

The 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel engine has EGR, a DPF and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions system that requires AdBlue fluid. The B-Series engine is rated at 276kW and 1084Nm, and incorporates a two-stage exhaust brake.

The 2500 is rated to tow up to seven tonnes with a pintle coupling or a fifth-wheel and the 3500, 6.2 tonnes.

The maximum gross combination mass (GCM) of both vehicles when pintle towing is 11.5 tonnes.

The main advantage of the leaf-rearspring 3500 over the coil-rear-end 2500 is almost one tonne more payload and almost one tonne more GCM when towing a 3500kg or 4500kg trailer. The 3500 requires

a light rigid truck licence, whereas the 2500 can be driven on a car licence.

For 2016 Ram comprehensively redesigned the 2500’s ladder frame, using high-strength 345 MPa steel, with eight cross-members, hydro-formed main rails and fully-boxed rear sections.

In addition to the chassis revisions to enhance torsional rigidity, Ram equipped the 2500 with a new five-link rear rear axle and rear coil springs - a segment first that results in a comfortable ride when the pickup is unladen. An anti-spin rear differential is standard.

Also unique among the competition is an optional rear air-suspension that further improves the ride and includes a self-levelling function that adjusts the ride height to compensate for payload or attached trailer.

WHAT YOU GET Our test vehicle was a Ram 2500 model, for which pricing starts at a heady $139,500. That’s an awful lot of money, but the Ram is an awful lot of ute!

The Ram 2500 combines what’s expected of a heavy duty pickup in the US market: power, durability and towing capacity with several features that aren’t typical of the segment, including smooth-riding rear suspension and a luxury vehicle interior.

The right hand drive re-manufactured Australian model is more than cut-and-shut conversion. For a start, the dashboard is completely remodelled, using a one-piece housing and the firewall position is optimised for pedal placement. The pedal position is also adjustable.

The right hand drive steering box is made by the same manufacturer that supplies the original left hand drive box and is positioned on the right hand chassis rail, unlike some RHD conversions that retain a LHD steering box and use a cross-shaft.

The dashboard instruments are metric and are the same as Canadian-market Ram gauges.

All ASV RAM pickups are covered by a three-year/100,000km warranty (whichever comes first) and roadside assistance. The ASV national dealer network also provides parts and service support.

The 2500 has Chrysler’s Uconnect Access infotainment system that’s one of the more user-friendly infotainment setups on the market, Uconnect Access integrates most of the truck’s audio, navigation and climate control functions into one unit.

Uconnect Access features a voice command system that allows the driver to place phone calls, use the sound system, input navigation destinations and more, without taking his or her hands off the wheel.

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An 8.4-inch touchscreen mounted on the dashboard is the central component of the system, but buttons and knobs for climate and audio volume and manual tuning are also included.

A newer feature offered on these models is a switchable rear camera display - there is a cab-rear-mount camera and a tailgatemount camera - for ease of solo-vehicle reversing, trailer coupling and trailer manoeuvring.

In the USA the Ram 2500 is offered in Regular Cab, Quad Cab and Mega Cab models. The Regular Cab features two doors, the Quad Cab has four doors and the Mega Cab has four doors with expanded rear passenger space. Two box lengths are available: 2.5-metre (standard on Regular Cab and available on Quad Cab), and two-metre (standard on Mega Cab and available on Quad Cab).

Eight trim levels are available to North American buyers: Tradesman, SLT, Lone Star, Big Horn, Laramie, Outdoorsman, Laramie Longhorn and Laramie Limited.

With these different trims, the Ram 2500 can be outfitted as a spartan work truck, a leather-lined luxury vehicle with the latest tech features and almost anything in between.

Australian-market Rams come in Quad Cab Laramie spec’ level, which is quite luxurious. Standard equipment includes leather trim, carpet with floor mats, adjustable pedals, heated and ventilated front seats, heated and tilting steering wheel, heated power mirrors, powered opening back screen, cruise control, auto headlights, cup holders everywhere, lifting back seats that convert to a cargo area and a friction-coated cargo tub with lighting and fixed tie-downs.

An optional Ram Box pack features a lockable side bin on each side of the cargo tub. These 240-litre capacity bins are lined and are dust and waterproof, with drain holes fore and aft. (We suspect they’re used for gun stowage by the Good Ol’ Boys, but they’d be ideal for any grubby or wet gear.)

Other tub options are movable tie down tracks and cars, and a movable cargo divider.

All 2500 pickups come equipped with dual front, front side and full-length side curtain airbags in addition to traction and stability control systems.

In the olden days you’d buy a North American ute and discover a vast engine bay with a relatively small five-litre petrol V8 in the middle of it, allowing plenty of

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servicing room around the donk. That’s not how things are today.

The near seven-litre Cummins takes up most of the longitudinal space and its bulky turbo, exhaust and intercooler plumbing takes up most of the available width. What little space remains is filled by a huge brake booster, large coolant reservoir, air cleaner, washer bottle, two batteries, ABS module, computer stack and fuse box.

There is a fuel filter, but it’s very difficult to reach. (Some US blogs suggest the easiest way to get at it is to take off the left hand front wheel and come in via the inner mudguard!) That filter is a five-micron main unit - not a two-micron impossibility like the ones fitted to most common-rail diesels these days - and is preceded by a 30-micron pre-filter and water separator that’s located in front of the rear axle, above the (aluminium) propshaft.

ON AND OFF ROAD We picked up the Ram 2500 Laramie on a wet evening in central Sydney, which is not where this bulky beast was designed to operate. Nevertheless, its excellent forward vision, good mirrors and relatively tight turning circle allowed better manoeuvrability than we expected. It’s been our experience over many years of testing vehicles from Fiat 500s to road trains that a well-balanced vehicle feels smaller than it looks. Such was the case with the Ram 2500.

We left the auto box to its own devices and that resulted in our trickling along in city traffic with 1000-1500rpm on the tacho and seamless shifting. Once on the open road the big beast stretched its legs, but still upshifted at no more than 2000rpm and was happy to lope along in sixth, running at 1500rpm at 110km/h.

When a manual shift was called for, the column shift knob’s ‘+’ and ‘-’ switch was very easy to flick, without taking a hand off the steering wheel.

Fuel consumption at cruise was a creditable 12L/100km, but we averaged 14.7L/100km on an on and off road test cycle with no load on board. Our mates at Club Marine Magazine did a highway tow test, hauling 3.5 tonnes of boat and trailer, for an average of 22L/100km.

We couldn’t pick any compromises in the ASV conversion from LHD to RHD and everything worked as if the Ram had been factory-built for Australian driving conditions. However, we expected the North American shock absorbers to be inadequate and they were - very inadequate.

The Ram’s all-coil springing was excellent, but the dampers couldn’t control live axle movements at the front or the back on typical Aussie bitumen roads.

On corrugated dirt they were woeful, letting the axles do pretty much as they liked.

We’d budget for a set of top-quality, light-truck shockers that won’t leave much change out of $3200, but they’re necessary.

That was it for fault-finding. All the Ram’s controls worked well; the ergonomics were excellent and cabin comfort was at luxury vehicle levels suspension damping apart. Road and mechanical noise was almost totally absent, unless the big Cummins was provoked.

The exhaust brake was handy for washing off speed when running downhill and really came into its own when trailer towing.

ASV took pains to explain to us that the current 2500 specification is aimed at the needs of the majority of Australian buyers and that list is headed by the need for serious towing ability. Ground clearance on the Laramie model isn’t sufficient for serious rock hopping, but theatre are other models in the Ram catalogue that target extreme off-roading. They’re not currently in the Australian catalogue, but you never know.

However, we took the 2500 up some of our test slopes and it climbed very easily, with the Cummins just idling and traction control and the rear LSD doing their bit to preserve traction. The standard side steps were a rockclearance-limiting factor, but they can be easily removed by the adventurous.

Another issue when off-roading is the prominent and expensive emissions treatment kit in the exhaust system. There’s a bulky trio of oxidation catalyst, diesel particulate filter and selective catalytic reduction filter: all fitted with sensors and wires. You wouldn’t want to drag all that across a sharp rock ledge.

TOWING WITH THE RAM 2500 Here’s what our mates at Club Marine Magazine had to say about the Ram 2500: The Laramie is no crude car crusher. It is actually a surprisingly sophisticated and consummate heavy hauler that grew on us as we towed more than four tonnes of Haines Hunter 760R and trailer the 700km or so from Melbourne to Portland and back.

What really impressed was the 6.7L Cummins diesel that combusted away quietly and smoothly in front of us. For such a large oil-burner, it almost purred and there was no sense of diesel shake, rattle and roll when asked for more.

When we put the foot down, nearly 1100Nm of torque was at our disposal.

In the case of our Portland convoy, that meant that the Laramie barely seemed to notice the large boat and trailer that were tagging along behind.

We left it in cruise for most of the trip and only once did it call on a lower gear from the smooth six-speed auto as it effortlessly maintained 95km/h. Very impressive, indeed.

The spacious interior was a tasteful combination of acres of dark leather, with white stitching, fake timber insets, bits of chrome here and there and light grey roof lining. Our model was also equipped with a sunroof and there were American-sized cup holders for those who like their morning coffee supersized.

The heated and cooled front seats were large and comfortable, separated by a slab-like storage console, which converted to a centre seat when required.

Controls and displays weren’t overdone and everything was within easy reach.

A leather-bound heated steering wheel, easy-to-use 20cm touchscreen display and nine-speaker rolling disco sound system completed the front compartment equipment.

Back in the cheap seats, there was plenty of room for XX-Large passengers, although whoever sat in the middle would need to be a little more weight conscious.

The ride was typically big American pickup, tending towards the softer end of the scale and prone to some mild pogo-ing over undulating surfaces.

Steering was effortless and adequately responsive, with a sharp turning circle for such a big rig.

Brakes were powerful enough, but required a hefty push for maximum effect.

Average fuel burn for our 700km-plus journey towing the big Haines worked out to around 22L/100km from the 117L tank.

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New Model

JAPANESE TRUCK MAKERS CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE BURGEONING GLOBAL VAN MARKET AND NOW THE LATEST DAILY ITERATION COMPETES WITH TRADITIONAL JAPANESE LIGHT-TRUCK-MARKET STRENGTH: THE CAB/CHASSIS PLUS BODY SEGMENT. THE EDITOR LIKES THE NEW DAILY 70C SEVEN-TONNES-GVM VAN RANGE.

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van has several advantages over a bodied truck: it comes from a one-stop shop and is ready to go to work out of the box, and warranty/parts/ service is also a one-shop operation; it offers easier entry and exit from the driving station and the cargo area; it has three possible load access points (two sliding side doors and rear doors); all doors have remote central locking; it offers walk-through from the driving station to the cargo area and its seamless sides lend themselves to unified, highimpact company livery.

However, until the arrival of the 2017 four-tonnes-payload Iveco Daily vans had limited payload capacity and competed only in the car-licence class, but not anymore. This new vehicle

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competes directly with pantech-bodied light truck cab/chassis.

Three Daily 70C variants sit on a common 4100mm wheelbase.

The 16-cubic-metre model has a roof height of 2850mm and a rear overhang of 2116mm. The 18m³ model has the same overhang, but a roof height of 3050mm and the 19.6m³ model has the high roof in conjunction with an extended 2511mm overhang.

Incidentally, that overhang is 61.2 percent of the wheelbase and, technically, overhang is legally limited to 60 percent of WB. Maybe the rear bumper of the long van needs to be backed into a wall a few times!

Standard equipment includes one sliding door, but a second is optional. Also, there’s a choice of leaf-spring or air rear

suspension. The latter comes with programmable electronically controlled height settings.

I like the fact that the rear axle is rated for 5350kg maximum load, meaning that almost the entire payload capacity can be positioned over the rear axle without overloading it.

The Iveco Daily 70C breaks new ‘green’ ground as well, being Euro 6 compliant. This level of emissions control isn’t mandatory yet in Australia, but many vehicle operators are keen to have the cleanest vehicles they can buy.

Iveco has the most successful selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology in the world and the company has employed SCR plus exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for emissions control in the new Daily van.

The 70C range comes with a 100-litre fuel tank and a 25-litre AdBlue tank. Claimed AdBlue consumption is three litres per 100 litres of diesel, depending on conditions, so AdBlue refill should be needed only every seven or eight fuel tank refills.

Ongoing emissions compliance is ensured by electronic protection. If the AdBlue tank falls to less than five-percent capacity, engine torque is reduced by 25 percent. If the AdBlue is drained, the vehicle is limited to a maximum speed of 20km/h.

Along with the improved environmental performance, the E6 Daily van features increased power and reduced fuel consumption. The revised three-litre turbo diesel power plant delivers 132kW (180hp) and 430Nm of torque: increases of 7kW (10 hp) and 30Nm over the previous Euro 5 engine.

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“WHEN COMPARED WITH LIGHT TRUCK CAB/CHASSIS, THE NEW DAILY PROVIDES ADVANTAGES SUCH AS FAR SUPERIOR SAFETY FEATURES, MORE COMFORTABLE DRIVING EXPERIENCE AND LOWER FUEL USE” The Daily 70C van offers a choice of two transmissions: a six-speed synchromesh, double-overdrive manual, or Iveco’s eight-speed, torque-converter automatic with adaptive shift strategy and ‘Eco’ and ‘Power’ functions.

Adding to the Daily’s active and passive safety features is an optional Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system that warns the driver if the vehicle moves from its lane, reducing the chance of collision.

The new E6 Daily van previews some of the enhancements and upgrades due to be introduced later this year to the entire Daily van and cab/chassis range.

Iveco ANZ Product Manager, Marco Quaranta, said the new 7 tonne E6 Daily van occupied a unique position in the market.

“When compared with light truck cab/chassis, the new Daily provides advantages such as far superior safety features, more comfortable driving experience and lower fuel use thanks to superior aerodynamics and more sophisticated engine technologies, while

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still providing the strength of a full trucklike C-section chassis.

“Aside from its suitability for general distribution, courier work and refrigerated transport, with an aftermarket refrigerated system installed, a ‘walk-through’ option also makes this van model suitable for recreational applications such as motorhomes.

“Iveco is confident that this new E6 Daily van will be well received by a broad range of customers,” Mr Quaranta said.

T&TA heard on the grapevine that Iveco is working on an all-wheel-drive version of the 70C. This model won’t have the existing Daily 4x4’s live front axle and high ground clearance, but will retain independent, torsion-bar front suspension.

Iveco used to make an AWD Daily with torsion bar front suspension some years ago, so the concept is proved.

On the road in the 70C Iveco put on a drive program for the launch of the Daily 70C van range and T&TA drove 19.6m3 models fitted with leaf and air rear suspensions

and with manual and auto boxes.

Both variants drove like big cars, with excellent engine response and ideal transmission to engine matching. The air rear suspension model obviously had a superior ride with a light load on board, but the leaf spring model rode very well, thanks to long parabolic leaves.

The torsion bar front end aided ride quality, steering and handling that were exceptional for this vehicle weight class.

The auto box is the obvious choice for city work, but the slick-shifting six-speed manual was very easy to operate and clutch pedal pressure was light, with an easy to find friction point. A hill-holding function made lift-offs stress free.

Noise levels inside the cabin were amplified by the voluminous body, but a lined van or one fitted with a bulkhead behind the driver should be very quiet.

Ergonomics were excellent and driver familiarisation should be a rapid exercise.

It will be very interesting to see how the Australian light truck market reacts to the new Iveco ‘Supervan’.

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LCV

HEAVYWEIGHT CRUISER

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TOYOTA’S LANDCRUISER HAS BEEN THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH’S FAVOURITE WORKHORSE SINCE LESLIE THIESS INTRODUCED THE FIRST LAND CRUISERS TO AUSTRALIA IN THE 1960’S. EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION, IS THE NAME OF THE GAME, BUT THE 70 SERIES HAS NOW BECOME MUCH MORE COMPLEX. EDITOR WHITING, WHOSE PET SUBJECT IS OVERLY COMPLEX OFF ROAD MACHINES, TOOK THE CRUISER FOR A SPIN AND HERE IS HIS REPORT.

T

oyota isn’t stupid: you don’t get to be number one by making many mistakes. Until relatively recently, the 70 Series was kept as simple as possible, with electronics only where they were necessary. However, the changes made to the latest model may be steps too far for many buyers.

Market pressure from mining companies and government buyers for best-practice dynamic and passive safety has dictated much more electronic equipment in 2017 vehicles.

The 4.5-litre V8 remains under-stressed in the 76/78/79 Series, putting out 151kW at 3400rpm, with 430Nm in the 12003200rpm band.

As we saw when a twin-turbo version was introduced in the 200 Series wagon range, the Toyota V8 diesel engine is capable of much more output. However, considering the ancient heritage of the 70 Series, the few upgrades made to the chassis and suspension, and a notoriously weak clutch, the engine outputs are just about right.

The electronically-controlled V8 turbointercooled diesel is retained, but has been reconfigured to meet Euro V emissions levels, including the addition of a diesel particulate filter (DPF). That’s not good news, because DPFs fill up with soot unless exhaust temperatures are kept high.

We can imagine this will be a problem for owners who trickle along bush tracks or around sites at idle revs, with low exhaust temperatures.

To clean out the DPF it’s necessary to perform a ‘regeneration’ procedure, or the engine will shut down. This involves parking the vehicle and running the engine with an over-rich mixture to raise the temperature in the DPF. You don’t want to do that in Mitchell Grass country!

Given the complexity and maintenance issues involved with common-rail diesel injection, EGRs and DPFs it may be time

Toyota thought about re-introducing a simpler, petrol engine to the 70 Series.

(The 75 Series used to come with a 4.5-litre in-line petrol six option.)

The standard engines for the 79 Series in other markets around the world are the old 1HZ diesel six that dates back to the Australian 75 Series and the four-litre V6 petrol engine that powers some Prado and HiLux variants here.

Apart from the usual maintenance issues associated with all common-rail diesels the principal negatives for the Toyota V8 diesel engine are the location of the starter motor, in the engine ‘vee’ and the alternator, at the bottom of the engine bay.

Both electrical components have proved vulnerable to corrosion: the starter because if the engine gets a bath, water pools around the starter motor and the alternator gets wet at virtually every creek crossing. Dumb.

Incidentally, getting the corroded starter out is a massive job that requires dismantling the fuel injection plumbing and the alternator is also relatively inaccessible. On T&TA’s old LandCruiser 75 Series we can swap out a starter motor in around half an hour (had to do it at 400,000km) and the alternator has never got wet or clogged with mud.

Until MY2017 the V8 model retained the same overall gearing as the previous generation six-cylinder models, so at cruising speed on the highway the V8 was spinning at a totally unnecessary 2600rpm and fuel economy suffered.

Unbelievably, it took Toyota until late 2016 to revise the overdrive gear ratio, to drop engine revs to 2200rpm at 110km/h.

While Toyota was revising the transmission ratios for 2017 it’s a shame the clutch didn’t get an upgrade, because slipping clutches are common in V8 ‘Cruisers. Toyota’s warranty ‘fix’ is to replace the clutch with the same part, so most owners get the job done elsewhere

and pay for a heavier-duty Exedy Safari Tuff clutch.

When the V8 was introduced the old 7578 Series frame and body, with small grille opening, were widened to accept the V8 engine with its much larger radiator.

The front axle track had to go up 80mm in the case of the split-rim-wheel Workmate version and 120mm on the aluminium-wheel GX and GXL versions.

The V8 model’s front track was therefore wider than the track of the leaf-sprung rear axle and it showed: drive behind the vehicle and you could be forgiven for thinking that it was ‘crabbing’ down the road.

Unbelievably, when the 70 Series was given safety upgrades in late 2016 the narrow-track rear axle was retained.

The recent upgrades were the most comprehensive ever made to the 70 Series and it’s very easy to be cynical about the ‘improvements’. Clearly, Toyota has been forced to improve passive safety to retain its mining and government customers.

These customers’ principal purchase is the short-cab 79 Series and that’s the only model to win a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

ANCAP five-star ratings require multiple airbags. It’s also well known that a vehicle has to have pedestrian-strike ‘softening’ for a five-star rating and that has meant adding a bonnet ‘bulge’ to put some bonnet compression space above the engine, so that a pedestrian’s head doesn’t force the bonnet sheet metal immediately onto the engine.

That’s fine, for the one-percent of 70 Series that won’t have a bull bar fitted!

We welcome the addition of vehicle stability control; active traction control; hill-start assist control; brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution. Also welcome is cruise control, so the 70 Series is now no longer the only vehicle on the market – including trucks – that doesn’t have it.

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Toyota claims improved fuel economy from the piezo injectors in the Euro V engine, which we doubt very much: if there is any improvement it’ll come from having an overdrive ratio that the V8 should have had since its introduction.

Some pundits reckoned Toyota would have to fit a six-speed to the 70 Series, but they don’t understand the Toyota ‘don’t do it unless you have to’ philosophy.

A weird inclusion for 2017 is automatic front hubs, with a manual-lock position.

They’re a pain, because they never lock reliably in ‘auto’ mode and you have to ferret around for your wheel-brace to lock them. They’re more trouble than the simple, manual-locking hubs Toyota has had for years.

These are exactly the same hubs that were fitted to Nissan Patrols 20 years ago, so maybe Toyota picked up some old stock once the ‘real’ Patrol was no more.

Sensibly, the split-rim wheel has finally gone: replaced by tubeless steel 6Jx16 wheels, shod with 225/95R16 tyres on Workmate and Troopy models.

(Incidentally, the only reason the Troopy comes on skinny wheels is that Toyota won’t enlarge the rear wheel arch openings and fit flares.)

We have to take issue with the choice of 225-section tyres. Try buying one in the bush and you’ll see what we mean.

Why didn’t Toyota opt for the commonly available 235/85R16 that for years has been the tubeless replacement for 7.50R16 split-rim tubed tyres?

We like the fact that MY2017 single cabs now come with a stiffer frame, but we don’t like the fact that they drop to 130-litre fuel capacity from the previous 180. Another change is a set-back steering box, to restrict steering column intrusion into the cab in the event of a frontal accident.

Weight has gone up and GVM is still 3400kg, so Toyota’s boast of a 1200kg ‘payload’ needs to be examined. Tare weight is measured with an empty, dry cab/chassis.

Our MY 2017 test ute was fitted with a Toyota Genuine drop-side steel body, towbar and under-tray spare wheel carrier, and tipped the scales at 2850kg with two people on board and a full tank of fuel.

That dropped the real-world payload figure to 550kg and if you fitted a steel bar and winch the payload would drop even further, to around 400-450kg.

Many private buyers of previous 79 Series have opted for a pre-registration GVM increase, usually to 3700-3900kg, to

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allow more payload. However, the 2017 model has electronic stability control (ESC) and that’s calibrated to the 79 Series’ factory-rated GVM. There may be safety and legality issues with such a GVM increase on MY 2017 vehicles.

The 70 Series cab/chassis pricing is horrific, as we’ve come to expect: from around 61 grand to 69 grand, plus air conditioning at $2761, making the 70 Series the only vehicle - car, SUV, 4WD or truck - in the Australian marketplace that doesn’t have aircon as standard.

With a tray fitted, some bar work and needed suspension upgrades you won’t get any change out of 80 grand.

Those who can’t live with the narrow-track rear axle have two wide-track, legal choices: a replacement Dana axle or an Australianmade Tru Tracker wide-track kit.

On-road behaviour was much as we’ve come to expect from the 70 Series, except that the revised steering geometry resulted in a ‘dead’ spot in the steering.

The big ‘Cruiser needed frequent steering correction when running in marked lanes and on cambered roads.

Seating was better than before, except for intrusive headrests that knock off your hard hat.

Cruise control was appreciated and we’re pleased to report that Toyota resisted putting the controls for it on the steering wheel. The ‘old fashioned’ Toyota cruise control wand is more ergonomic than any wheel-hub button arrangement.

The revised transmission ratios should have been there from the day the turbo-six diesel was introduced, let alone the V8.

We cruised happily at 2200rpm at a true 110km/h, with the drop in engine noise replaced by wind noise from the snorkel top and the square mirrors that someone must like.

Ride and handling aren’t any different from before: the dampers don’t damp bumps very well and over-restrict rebound, North American style. Secondary bitumen road driving was a lumpy experience, but a set of decent shockers could fix that to a large extent.

Ride was…er… lively over rough surfaces, as the coil-sprung front end and leaf-sprung rear coped with their different reactions.

Handling was weird, because you had a coil-sprung, wide-track front axle with a relatively low roll centre in combination with a narrow-track, leaf-sprung rear end with a much higher roll centre.

We couldn’t measure economy fairly, because the test vehicle had only 810km on the clock when we picked it up and was very ‘green’.

Vision was as before and the new bonnet bulge didn’t intrude...on road. Off-road it was a vision-blocker for shorter drivers.

Off-road is the 70 Series’ forte and the new model continued with class-leading capability. Stability control is cancelled when low range is engaged, but, oddly, traction control on the test vehicle was cancelled in low range. This may be because the GXL had diff locks and the traction control system doesn’t work in concert with them.

The factory-fitted diff locks worked quickly and effectively in demanding conditions, unlike the older Toyota designs that took too long to engage.

They’re not a retro-fit possibility, because the axle housings are different.

In summary, the latest 70 Series iteration will please the Big Boys, but has far less appeal for the tradie market, we reckon.

It is now even more expensive, has less fuel carrying capacity, less payload and more engine complication and emissions control complexity.

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NAVARA THE NP300 NAVARA WAS RELEASED IN JUNE 2015, WITH MUCH NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER AND TORQUE. THE SERIES 2 MODELS WERE ANNOUNCED IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR AND HAVE BEEN UPGRADED AGAIN RECENTLY, WHEN THE CONFUSING ‘N P300’ NAME TAG WAS DROPPED. TRANSPORT & TRUCKING EDITOR ALLAN WHITING TAKES A LOOK AT THE LATEST VERSION.

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n a recent launch event Nissan put together an excellent drive event for the latest 2017 coil-rear-spring models, with a selection of empty, partloaded and towing vehicles, hauling T Van camper trailers.

The drive involved freeway, secondary roads, hilly back roads and some off-road tracks and our main interest was in the revised suspension, because the remainder of the new specification was largely unchanged from the vehicle tested in 2015.

We’re pleased to report that the revised damper settings have firmed up the ride,

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but we still reckon buyers who intend to tow trailers with heavy ball weights invest in after-market rear springs and dampers, or settle on an RX Navara, with leaf rear springs.

Towing economy was pleasing, averaging 12.4L/100km in the auto transmission Navara, with a 1.2-tonne camper bobbing along behind.

The 12th-generation Navara was released in Thailand in June 2014 and in Australia in May 2015. The NP300 Nissan Navara range included Short, King and Double Cab models.

The Navara retained Nissan’s signature

grille and headlight shape in a styling effort that incorporated a high beltline and blacked B-pillar. Daytime LED running lights were standard equipment.

The new chassis retained coil-front suspension, with leaf rear springs on load-priority models and coil rear springs on higher-spec’ dual-cab models.

VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) helped improve 4WD driving performance and safety, along with ABLS (Active Brake Limited Slip), HSA (Hill Start Assist) and HDC (Hill Descent Control).

The Australian-market NP300 Navara 4WD was offered at launch in three

“THE ALL-NEW NISSAN NP300 NAVARA DELIVERS FIRST-IN-SEGMENT FEATURES WHILE HONOURING THE HERITAGE OF NAVARA AND THE OUTGOING D40 AND D22 MODELS”

-HO

grades; RX, ST and ST-X, with singleturbo and twin-turbo diesel engines, and six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions.

“The all-new Nissan NP300 Navara delivers first-in-segment features while honouring the heritage of Navara and the outgoing D40 and D22 models,” said Nissan Motor Co. (Australia) Managing Director and CEO Richard Emery.

Key features included: twin-turbo diesel YS23DDTT engine with 140kW and 450Nm, in ST and ST-X levels; singleturbo 120kW and 403Nm version in RX; five-link coil-spring rear suspension in

dual cab pick-up variants; seven airbags including driver knee airbag; rear power sliding window in RX, ST and ST-X king-cab and dual-cab models; LED headlamps in ST and ST-X models; Nissan Intelligent Key with remote keyless entry and push button engine start in ST-X; and NissanConnect in ST and ST-X levels.

Maximum braked towing capacity was 3500 kilograms on all diesel variants.

Maximum payload ranged between 880kg and 1112kg, depending on the variant specification.

Active Brake Limited Slip (ABLS)

optimised the driving force of each wheel in slippery conditions.

A rear power-sliding glass window operated by a switch on the dashboard featured on RX, ST and ST-X grades, allowing for easy access into the tub and increased ventilation.

All dual-cab models had three interior 12-volt power sockets and a fourth, weatherproof 12-volt power socket was in the rear tub on RX, ST and ST-X pickups.

All dual-cabs had a USB and auxiliary port in the centre console and automatic on/ off headlights. Bluetooth Phone and Audio Streaming were included on all grades.

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ALL IN ALL THE NAVARA IS NOW A VERY SMOOTH AND SOPHISTICATED WORK HORSE THAT HAS SOME IMPRESSIVE CREDENTIALS

All five seats had three-point Emergency Locking Retractor seatbelts, while front seatbelts also included load limiters and pre-tensioners, height adjustment and audible warnings (second row had seatbelt alerts).

Rear View Camera was standard on ST and ST-X grades, with reversing sensors also included on ST-X. Announced in November 2016, but not available until 2017, the Navara Series 2 range includes the addition of a new ‘SL’ grade, with coil-spring rear suspension, aimed at tradesmen and fleet customers.

Available with the twin-turbo engine

062 www.truckandbus.net.au

and a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission, the Navara SL rides on 16 x 7 inch steel wheels and 255/70R16 tyres and features a durable vinyl floor interior.

The SL also comes with a rear-view camera and LED headlamps and daytime running lights.

All coil-rear-spring Series 2 Navaras receive suspension tuning, with revised front and rear shock absorber valving, for improved ride and handling, and lateral stability, especially when carrying a load or towing.

Other specification changes for the

Navara Series 2 range include deletion of the rear fold-out cup holders in dual-cab model variants; Dual Cab RX Cab Chassis available with automatic or manual transmission and vinyl flooring replaced carpet and satellite navigation standard equipment on Dual Cab ST models.

The Navara comes with a myNissan Service Certainty schedule, three year/100,000 kilometre warranty (extended warranty optional) and threeyear roadside assist program.

All in all the Navara is now a very smooth and sophisticated work horse that has some impressive credentials.

GRAVEL ROADS

AUSTRALIA COMING SOON!

AN ALL NEW MAGAZINE AIMED SQUARELY AT BUILDING AND MAINTAINING GRAVEL ROADS IN THIS COUNTRY

WELCOME TO GRAVEL ROADS AUSTRALIA AN ALL-NEW niche publication will be hitting your desk in early 2016 when Gravel Roads Australia arrives on the scene.

Gravel roads make up almost 66 per cent of the nation’s road network with close to 600,000 kms of unsealed thoroughfares across this wide brown land. Many have low traffic volumes while others are vital arteries providing access to some of our most valuable resource assets.

Building and maintaining our unsealed road network is a major industry in itself with Local Govt, Civil Contractors, Mining Companies, Forestry, Farmers and a myriad of others all

involved in ensuring these vital routes are available to industry and travellers alike.

successful transport website, www.truckandbus.net.au.

Now, for the first time, this sector will have its own journal featuring interesting stories about road construction practices, new equipment, case studies, planned projects and new techniques - in fact anything that involves the building and maintaining of gravel roads.

Gravel Roads Australia will feature great writers with features and news produced by some of the best journalists in Australia with high quality photography and design.

Gravel Roads Australia will be a high quality 64-page publication, produced four times a year by Grayhaze Publishing, publisher of Transport & Trucking Australia and Coach and Bus magazine as well as the highly

The first edition will be published in March 2016 and then in June, September and December each year. The magazine will be direct mailed to more than 3000 Local Govt Works Officers, Civil Contractors, Transport Operators, Machinery Dealers and Manufacturers as well as Mining Companies.

For advertising please contact: Grayhaze Publishing 02 9938 6408 admin@transportandtruckingtoday.com.au - ads@transportandtruckingtoday.com.au

MONEY MATTERS PAUL CLITHROE DIVERSIFYING INVESTMENTS AND PREPARING FOR OUR SEND OFF

A

ustralians are keen investors with more than 11 million of us holding investments outside of super. That’s great news! What we’re not so good at is spreading our money across different assets, and four out of ten investors admit they don’t have a diversified portfolio.

In particular, we tend to focus on local investments yet there’s a whole world of opportunities beyond our shores.

A recent report by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) shows we’re generally very comfortable investing in the basics like cash, shares and of course, rental properties. But our investments are heavily concentrated in Australian assets.

When it comes to shares, only one in ten investors hold international shares.

That’s a shame because investing internationally is a great way to add diversity to a portfolio. Not only is our sharemarket small by world standards, accounting for just 2 per cent of the global market, it’s also heavily concentrated in the resource and financial sectors.

face it, not many of us know much about which companies in Poland, Brazil or China are worth investing in which is why, for my money, it makes sense to use an international share fund.

There’s a good selection of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with an international focus listed on the ASX. These come with very low fees, often just a fraction of a percent, and they can be bought and sold in much the same way as regular shares with the benefit of low brokerage.

Alternatively, unlisted global share funds are available through our large financial institutions. These let you pick and choose the exact region, country or industry you’d like to invest in, with the fund manager making the day to day decisions about companies to invest in. It can be a straightforward option for investing internationally, though do check the annual fees on global share funds. High fees will eat into your investment, and they are no guarantee of healthy returns.

On another tack we all know life can

which may not be the case for many seniors.

The thing is, it’s possible to plan ahead not just to decide the type of funeral you’d like, but also to cover the cost.

One option is prepaid funerals available through funeral directors. You choose the type of funeral you’d like and pay for it in advance or pay it off gradually a bit like lay-by. This locks in the cost at today’s prices but you may not get your money back if you change your mind.

An alternative is funeral bonds. These are a type of tax-free investment that can only be accessed after your death. The sweetener for retirees is that money invested in funeral bonds is normally excluded from the age pension assets test.

A third possibility is funeral insurance.

The idea here is very straightforward. You pay premiums, and if you die the policy covers the cost of the funeral. The catch is that the premiums can skyrocket as you get older – not surprising really. Canstar found it can cost a 52-year old $45 in monthly premiums to buy $10,000 worth of cover

Investing in global sharemarkets may sound daunting but technology has made it far easier and cheaper than it used to be.

Along with diversity, international shares have the potential to deliver strong returns. The MSCI World Ex Australia Index, which measures gains on global sharemarkets, notched up 5-year annualised returns of 10.77 per cent to the end of April 2017. This compares to annualised gains of 6.97 per cent on Australian shares over the same period.

Investing in global sharemarkets may sound daunting but technology has made it far easier and cheaper than it used to be.

A number of online brokers offer international share trading, and while the cost has come down it’s still more expensive than buying local shares. If you’re buying shares on markets outside the United States for instance, it can cost around $US40 – more than double the brokerage on Aussie shares.

The thing is, adding one or two big overseas companies to your portfolio isn’t really beefing up diversity. And let’s

be expensive but so it seems, is death. The average funeral costs around $7,000, yet research by comparison site Finder shows 60 per cent of Australians either haven’t thought about their funeral costs or are expecting relatives to foot the bill. One in ten have considered ways of dodging the expense altogether by donating their body to science or not having a funeral at all.

Decisions about funeral arrangements typically need to be made quickly, and often at a time of intense personal grief.

Understandably, money watchdog ASIC found we usually settle for the first funeral product we find with little thought about value for money.

Websites like Gathered Here (www. gatheredhere.com.au) offer online price comparisons of funeral costs. However, the big question can be how to pay for it all.

Using life insurance may be an option though it can take weeks for the payout to be finalised. This assumes life cover is in place,

for funeral expenses. For a 72-year old, the monthly premiums rise to $72.

Seniors can find it hard keeping up these sort of payments, and according to ASIC as many as 80 per cent of funeral policies sold are cancelled - often in the first year, largely because of the cost. But if you stop paying, you lose the cover.

If you’re really concerned about meeting funeral costs, a simple option is to open a dedicated savings account to save for the expense.

Whatever the case, be sure to let loved ones know about any financial products you have in place to pay for your funeral.

It’s a final legacy that could be greatly appreciated by family members.

Paul Clitheroe is a founding director of financial planning firm ipac, Chairman of the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board and chief commentator for Money Magazine. Visit www.paulsmoney.com.au for more information.

ALL IT TAKES At Kumho, we deliver a smoother, safer ride for you and your cargo – on tyres designed to perform in all Australian conditions. Whether it’s a light load or heavy highway haulage, our commitment to quality will deliver you great value and a safer tomorrow.

And like a circle, it never ends. We’ll continue to look for new ways to make your experience better. It’s just what we do.

KUMHO TYRE. BETTER, ALL-WAYS.

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KUMHO.COM.AU

New

Renault TRAFIC 85 More power to perform

The New Renault Trafic 85 has more power and more torque making it a powerful set of wheels for your business. Right now the New Renault Trafic 85 comes with a 3 year / 200,000km warranty with roadside assist and 3 capped-price services at $349 each. For a mid-sized van that’s easy, safe and fun to drive, the New Renault Trafic 85 is a better option for your business.

For more information visit renault.com.au †Three (3) year/200,000km warranty offer and 3 year Roadside Assistance both apply. Warranty and Roadside Assistance valid for 3 years or 200,000km (whichever comes first) for new and demonstrator TRAFIC models. Roadside Assistance terms and conditions apply. Call our Customer Service Team on 1800 009 008 or view the Terms and Conditions statement at www.renault.com.au/drivingpeaceofmind for details. First 3 scheduled maintenance services capped at $349 per service on new and demonstrator TRAFIC models based on standard scheduled servicing from new and on normal operating conditions. Scheduled maintenance services required every twelve (12) months or 30,000km (whichever occurs first). If vehicle is not presented within three (3) months of when the scheduled service is required, right to that capped-price service under the program is forfeited. ‘Overseas model shown.