Ford replaces Merles with Cargo: we give all the facts
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,RCH 28 is D-day for Ford. Or De more precise, that's when company will start replacing 0-Series with a new range of 'ides under the name Cargo. ord considers this to be its iicle of the future. On the rich day, CM will be pubiing the facts, and the in-ned opinion of our specialist jineering and technical staff.
its March issue, which apired on February 5, Truck maine carried a sketchy descri pin of the range in its notoriously regular "scoop ies".
that title was meant to show t the magazine had exclusive ess to the range, then it was illy misleading.
dl Europe's leading road nsport publications have q-1 gathering information for re than two years on what ; originally code-named the ta. Some "scoop"!
Je will publish the full facts the launch day March 28. it is the day when Ford lers will have supplies of the icle ready to meet demand.
first production began on uary 12 this year.
he premature announcement -ruck sounded very much like iild taunting 'I know someig you don't" — and then imliately forgetting what it was :new. Perhaps, however, it ; merely a burst of infantile rrusiasm for Ford's new baby. that is the case, then Truck's Jers should place a regular e.r for Commercial Motor i. On March 28 we will not be horic about Cargo, we will be ing the facts.
raham Montgomerie and te Gray have been living on off with Cargo during its iception and gestation ods, and Steve was in atlance at the birth.
Ws readers can read an ac-it of the baptism on March
it what is the offspring like? ie says there is no doubt that like Leyland, has gone for Br appeal. This is very much he Continental mould. But Cargo reached Volvo, Scania lercedes standards? Gray's writing is always objective. It isn't his style to patronise manufacturers. He will be stating the facts as he finds them and basing his opinions on the facts only.
He isn't impressed about every facet of Cargo, and he'll tell you just why.
So, on March 28, get the facts.
These are the questions we'll be setting out to answer — the questions most crucial to any prospective buyers.
• What's the initial cost?
• What are the running costs?
• What operating life can you expect from it?
• Has Cargo's work capability been sacrificed on the altar of cab comfort?
• Is Cargo just a change for change's sake — to keep up with the Jones and the Leylands?
• What's it like to drive?
• How does it handle?
• Is it a gas guzzler?
Unlike Steve, our engineering expert Graham Montgomerie hasn't actually been out and about with Cargo. Instead he's been studiously sitting at his Drawing Board carrying out a critical engineering analysis.
Graham will be asking and answering a few questions of his own.
• In engineering terms how does Cargo measure up to the DSeries?
• Are power unit and drivel ine matched to advantage?
• Are there sufficient or are there too many options?
• Is Cargo a true reflection of advanced technology?
He is working on yet more questions and carrying out further analysis right up to the deadline — just before March 28, when CM publishes all the facts.
Ford's investment in cv is Million. "Unlike others, who shall be nameless, we can't afford to get it wrong." A Ford man disclosed this to CM just as Leyland applied to the Government for a further £990m loan.
Nor can we at CM afford to get it wrong. That's why our highly skilled writers will be taking all of the lead time Ford has given to sift meticulously through the thousands of words Ford has produced in praise of Cargo and get to the truth.
We'll be putting Cargo's specification sheets under the arc light to substantiate or perhaps to refute Ford's claims.
On a project this big the old adage applies — "fools rush in". While we don't claim to be an gels, our years of experience serving the transport industry has taught us to be cautious less we be misleading.
So, on March 28, determined as ever to give a considered and informed opinion on Ford's claims, we will publish the facts.
On March 28, for the first time in 75 years, CM readers will receive a 68-page manufacturer's catalogue. Manufacturers don't generally make this available, except to selected customers or prospective customers. But Ford, also for the first time in its history, is to make it available free. In CM, March 28.
We will also amply illustrate the range through the lens of Europe's most experienced road transport photographer, our own staff man Dick Ross.
This will be Dick's last launch assignment before he retires in May, and he will be bringing almost 40 years of transport photographic experience to Ford's big day.
No one can afford to miss the real story of Cargo, written and illustrated by the top men in the business — professional and experienced engineers, technicians and journalists.
One last point, CM is usually only available at newsagents if it is ordered. To be sure you see it on March 28, and receive your own copy of Ford's 68-page colour catalogue, please order your copy early. It will avoid disappointment.