LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
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• Motor shows provide an opportunity for the vehicle industry's top designers to showcase their latest ideas. The last Motor Show in this country, at Birmingham in 1986, was marked by the launch of the revolutionary Leyland TX450 concept truck, and this year's show also promises a few surprises.
We will present a detailed account of , the latest in professional van, bus and truck design in next week's bumper Motor Show issue, but this week we are taking a long-term view.
What will the professional truck designers of the 1990s and beyond be offering operators? What innovations can we expect? What operating problems do they hope to solve?
To answer these questions we present a selection of work from some of the country's top commercial vehicle design students, who are taking the industrial design course at Coventry's Lanchester Polytechnic.
FRIDGE FREEZER
The working and living environment of the long-distance driver is the principal concern of Andrew Hill's Concept Truck Cab. Realising that driving a rig from A to B is not the driver's only requirement, Hill has arranged a small fold-down desk and incab computer for handling paperwork and form-filling, and a built-in safe for valuables and vital documents, Home comforts, to enable the driver to make the most of his rest periods, include a small fridge-freezer and microwave oven and a small sink which is just enough to prepare a roadside snack without taking the place of full meals. Fold-away bunks and a slide-away passenger seat allow the driver sufficient room for changing his clothes before relaxing in front of the incab video. To make a short production run viable, it is intended to vary the complexity of the interior layout to suit the needs of day-cabs or less luxurious sleeper cabs. The welded-steel frame would carry an outer skin of SMC moulded panels, enabling styling changes when required. The key to the interior is the proposal to create the whole fascia and dash from a onepiece blow-moulding with all the ducting and electronics built in, thus reducing any likelihood of squeaks and rattles and reducing assembly time by allowing testing before installation.
The deregulation of bus authorities and
experience while working with Motor Panels in Coventry has prompted Jonathan Gould to improve upon the current crop of minibus conversions. Powered by a 2.5litre Peugot Talbot turbo-diesel, the 18seat City Sprinter is designed to be flexible enough in its seat layout to take wheelchairs for welfare bus operations_ An integral frame and chassis made from high-strength, low-alloy steel carries large sheet-moulded sandwiched plastic panels to provide safety for the occupants and facilitate minor repairs. All the glazing is bonded to the body frames to increase rigidity. The entrance height of only 300mm provides a gentle gradient to the central gangway which makes boarding easier, and there is provision for push-chair storage. The rear suspension can be lowered hydraulically by 180mm which, combined with a pull-out ramp, provides wheelchair access through large double rear doors. Planned for long-distance urban and subirban use, the aerodynamics have been -,:arefully considered to minimise air drag and to keep the bodywork clean.
Those who have had the misfortune to :ravel in a current ambulance will know of he limitations in terms of ride, insulation ind noise levels. These have been some A the improvements planned in Alistair 3urn's design, which is for an Advanced kmbulance.
Powered by a two-litre front-wheel'rive petrol engine, the galvanised chassis ind space frame carries a body vacuumormed from ABS plastic panels with exmnded sound insulation between inner aid outer skins. The lower panels below he waistline are of polyurethane reaction njection mouldings to withstand minor :nocks and scratches.
:URRENT PROBLEMS
'he all-independent hydropneumatic suspension envisaged would provide a good ide and enable the trailing arm rear units o lower the rear of the chassis to overome the current problems of crew memers having to lift patients up two or three teps. The double-hinged lift-up rear door nables the crew to bring the vehicle lose to hospital entrances and provides ome additional overhead cover.
To overcome the problem of temperaire drop when this door is open, a heater nit is positioned above the aperture to ive a curtain of warm air, like that in the ntrances to large department stores. The interior is laid out with removable modular units to enable station officers to convert them from emergency road accident use to hospital outpatient transport, thus increasing the efficiency of units and helping forward planning.
AFRICAN CONTINENT
A replacement for the ubiquitous Peugeot 404 throughout the African Continent has been one of the design and marketing aims for Marx Grix's Fourunner. Retaining only the Peugeot's diesel power as a pump unit, it comprises simple squaresection steel framework and an expoxy coated wooden body with hydrogas suspension and hydraulic transmission driving through a motor in each hub. Although nominally a four-wheeler, the spare wheels mounted in panniers on each side may be lowered and power from a hub motor used to move the vehicle over difficult terrain.
The simplicity of the body chassis unit is intended to appeal to local constructors in what is potentially an enormous market. One can only wish it greater success than others have had so far in designing a car for Africa.
O by Richard Scrase