Next Week
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AFTER the haulage chaos in France, what about compensation for the Brits caught in the melee? Simon Greenly will be looking into this in his Cross Channel page next week. The Routiers Club is pressing claims for compensation from the French Government — whether it is needed for lost wages, lost revenue, damaged contents or damaged cabs. Everyone in international haulage should read Cross Channel next week.
• We shall also be visiting Autoparc and Warehouse '84. And in another feature Bill Brock talks to a manufacturer which advocates the use of 6x4 tractive units for 38-tonne operation.
• Plus two road tests: one is a 38tonner, the other a 5.7 tonne 0609 Ford Cargo: • Renault's G260 medium-powered 38-tonne-gross-combination-weight lightweight tractive unit, which Karrier Motors is building alongside the Dodge marque at Dunstable, has come on stream. One of the first to be produced has now been around CM's Scottish route during a spell of sunny but extremely icy weather. The lorry excelled in some respects yet disappointed in others. Bryan Jarvis will explain next week.
• Requests from public utilities like gas boards has led Ford to develop a down-plated Ford Cargo 0609 capable of towing compressor trailers and still being driven by non-hgv drivers. Brian Weatherley has taken the 5.7 tonne gvw vehicle round our Welsh test route and his report appears in next week's CM.
• At the first International Association for Vehicle Design congress which took place in Geneva last week (Eng News page) around 250 delegates heard experts discussing materials and composites; electronics and automotive controls; and energy, efficiency, performance and economy.
Tim Blakemore sat in on the papers which will be of most interest to commercial vehicle operators. In next week's CM he reports on one, the GKN Technology paper, which describes how new methods had to be developed for durability assessment of its composite leaf springs.
It's all in CM next week. Order a copy now.