Reduction and Increased Meet European Code and rnp2tition Aspects of Paris • n : Cabs get Better By Anthony Ellis
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FOR once it is possible to detect distinct general trends from exhibits at the Paris Salon de l'Automobile which opened On Thursday last week and closes on Sunday. Whereas this biennial display of commercial vehicles by the French motor industry usually conveys an iMpressiOn of great diversity without any readily apparent unified'. aim, there 'seems this year to be more pronounced agreement between membersof the industry on what is required by French and European operators.
This is partly the fruit of mergers between manufacturing concerrfs which have occurred in recent years, but has resulted in the Main from the growing recognition of the European code for road transport, which lays down maximum gross weights and dimensions differing from those in force at present 'in -France it also adopts the German regulation which specifies' a minirnUrn.., power-to-weight ratio of 6 b.h.p. per ton gross weight.: The code stipulates a maximum gross train weight of 32 •tons; -instead of the French 35,ton limit, and reduces the 26-ton .gross weight for rigid vehicles to 22 tons.
Thus, in the design of new vehicles, French manufacturers are attempting to reduce unladen weight in order that payload shall not be forfeited. Low unladen weight has been an important reason for the extensive sale Of German vehicles in France. Until this year they have been anything up to 2 tons lighter than home models of comparable gross weight. New vehicles exhibited in Paris indicate that this discrepancy will soon be removed.
The trend towards low weight and greater power is
accompanied by renewed interest in improved suspension systems. With regard to air suspension, French manufacturers seem to. be at much the same stage of development as the British industry was at the I95S Earls Court Show. Air or air-and"-rubber suspension is shown on five makes of semi-trailer, whilst Bernard,. Savie.-n and Unic show powered .vehicles with air springing. The Saviern installation on a bus is the only one offered as a catalogued product.
French commercial-vehicle production continues to increase, albeit gradually, and the latest figures available show that in June this year it was running at some 16,0 0 units per month out of a total output, including cars, of 135,000. .
One thing the French industry does not have to fear at present is British competition. The commercial-vehicle quota is so small that it is barely worth the while of British manufacturers to attend the Salon. But it is to the credit of Austin, Bedford, Dodge and Ford that .they have done so this year. If agreement is reached between the European Common Market and the Outer Seven, which includes Britain, their efforts may be well rewarded.
The surprise of the Salon is almost_ certainly the two experimental chassis shown by Bernard -with fullair springing. • This cortern, 'usually ,regarded as somewhat
conservative, has also developed a new forxard-control cab of striking, if somewhat angular, appearance, which is fitted to both air-sprung chassis; a tractor for grOIs.train weights up to 35 tons, and a long-wheelbase chassis • carrying mock-up van bodywork. . .
In the Bernard layout the solid front axle is located by a trailing A-frame and two single radius arms. Circular air bellows are fitted at each side of the'Axle and the springing is controlled by rebound rods and large dampers. A short central leaf spring and two radius arms r4tainjire:rear axle, which is . sprung by four bellows mounted ciiinifiatfOrins at each side of : it. The metal spring presumablY4.Ssists the 'air bellows, Particularly during large axle moverrients'l I was told that the system, if marketed, would cost Abbut;£350 more than conventional leaf springing.
The Bernard cab is ingenious in that it is produced from welded steel without the use ,of press tools. Only flat panels are employed and the large Windscreen and rear lights are also flat to reduce cost.
A six-cylindered 12-litre oil engine, which has features in _ common with the Gardner 6LX, powers-the Bernard tractor.. Coupled to it is a Freuhauf semi-trailer also equipped with air suspension of anew and simple type. The axle is carried on very stiff spring leaves mounted in pivots at their leading ends. These trailing arms act rather as torsion bars against relative wheel movements and so increase roll resistance. The four air bellows are mounted on saddles at each side of the axle And telescopic dampers are fitted.
Whilst Bernard provides the novelty, Berliet, Saviem, Unie and Willeme show that 'solid progress has been made during the past two years in the design of popular quantity produced vehicles. .
The new Berliet GCK8 forward-control chassis, for operation with an independent trailer at 25 tons gross train weight, is notable for its low unladen weight .of 5 tons complete with bodywork. It can carry 11 tons as a rigid vehicle and is powered by a Berliet Magic five-cylindered oil engine which develops 150 b.h.p. at 2,100 r.p.m. and is coupled to a five
speed gearbox. .
A Magic four-cylindered 100-b.h.p. oil engine is fitted in the new GAK5R chassis for 101 -ton gross weight operation. This augments the existing OAK range and has a five-speed synchromesh gearbox. At the lower end of the payload scale the GAK4 chassis, powered by a Perlsins P6 Oil engine, has been introduced. It has a gross rating of 71 tons and employs the forward-entrance forward-control cab of .the type fitted, to the other new models. ,
Two new passenger vehieMs appear on the Bertiet stand. These are Fugue and Rallye buses with seating capacities of 20-33 and 36-43 respectively, Of similar layout and external design, they have air-pressure braking systems and leaf springing assisted by Evid-gom rubber helpers. The Fugue has a 100b.h.p. engine with a five-speed gearbox, whilst the Rallye can have either a 120-b.h.p. or a 150-b.h.p. engine and a fiveor six-speed gearbox.
Berliet have the distinction of displaying the only disc-braked commercial vehicle at the Salon. This is the 11-ft.-wide T.25 B34
4 x 2 dumper chassis with Marrel bodywork. It has a turbocharged 14-litre engine developing 320, b.b.p., which drives the double-reduction rear axle through a 10-speed transmission.
New engines, gearboxes and cabs have been developed for the three new models shown by Saviem, who, during the past two years, have rationalized their production. The fourand six-cylindered engines known as the Fulgur range, are of 4.56 and 6.84 litres respectively. ,They employ the same basic components and incorporate the Ricardo Comet V combustion system.
The smaller unit develops 100 b.h.p., whilst the six-cylindered engine has an output of 150 b.h.p. Both units run up to 2,500 r.p.m. The new gearbox can have direct or overdrive top gear. The three new vehicles, which are designated the JL21, J.L23 and JL25, share the latest cab, which has a wide curved One-piece windscreen and is entered via low steps ahead of the front wheels.
They also have a new type of rear suspension which employs ,conventional leaf springs assisted by two Evid-gom rubber springs at each side. The rubber units almost touch the main —spring, even when the 'vehicle is unladen, so that they do 'more work than normal helpers and increase roll resistance: The JL21 has the four-cylindered engine and is. suitable for 11 tons gross. This power .unit is installed also in the JL23 when it is employed as a solo vehicle at 13 tons gross, but is replaced by the 150-b.h.p. engine in the tractor version of this chassis and when the vehicle is to be used with an independent trailer. Solo operation at 14+ tons gross is permissible for the JI,25, which can have either of the new power units,
Seating capacities from 31-44 are provided by the new Saviem SC.5 passenger chassis, which is powered by the Fulgur four-cylindered engine and is one of the few production vehicles at the Salon to have air suspension. This is fitted at the rear axle and is basically similar to the metal spring and air system developed for the Renault Dauphine car. The metal spring takes the unladen weight of the attractively styled bus, whilst the air springs modify suspension characteristics during laden running. The SC.5 ingeniously combines a front entrance with a forward-mounted engine.
Air suspension, but in experimental form, is fitted to the rear axle of a Saverne tractor exhibited by Unic. This new normal-control model, shown also with an attractive flatfronted forward-control cab with the entrance ahead of the wheels, is powered by a 5.027-litre oil engine producing 100 b.h.p. The two-speed axle of the air-sprung model is located by a trailing A-frame and by leading radius arms attached to a chassis cross-member behind it. Saddles on the axle casing carry four Dunlop two-convolution air springs. The normal Saverne has leaf springs and is a member of the new Unic Vosges range introduced last spring, which also embraces the Bussang, for 5-ton payloads, and the Donon to carry 6 tons. In solo form the Saverne has a 7-ton payload rating.
A new six-cylindered engine of 7.54-litre capacity, developing 150 b.h.p. and similar in construction to the four-cylindered unit used for the Vosges range, has been produced for the new Unic Auvergne northal-control four-wheeler for 11-ton payloads.
To increase the power-to-weight ratios of their models. Willeme have developed a turbocharged version of their 13.54-litre engine which develops 255 b.h.p. at 1,900 r.p.m., instead of 190 b.h.p. in naturally aspirated form. with a claim of 20 per cent, gain in economy. This power unit is installed in Willeme four-wheeled tractors for gross train weights _up to 35 tons, which also have the new Horizon cab fitted to certain Unic models. This forward-control structure has a continuous band of glass around it at the same depth as the windscreen interrupted only by thin pillars, The' forward entrance is provided with a fixed step and another which is linked to the door and lowers automatically as this is opened,
In the lightweight field, Labourier exhibit the new 'TL3 chassis, which weighs 2 tons 2 cwt. and has a gross weight rating of 54 tons. It is novel in having a plastics forward-control cab—this material is in little evidence at the Salon—and is powered by a 1.814-litre oil engine .tieseloping 50 b.h.p. at 4,000 r.p,m.
Citroen were scheduled to show their P55 normal-control 5-tonner with a 5.1-litre petrol injection engine, but this was not ready in time. This injection system is now said to have been under development for 15 years.
The Renault Estafette 10-12-cwt. front-wheel-drive model is on view for the first time at a Paris Salon in a multitude of bodywork guises, ranging from a small livestock transporter to an open-sided greengrocer's van with slide-out racking. Panhard have altered the frontal -stiyling of their range of light vans and pick-ups to give them a more streamlined appearance. These 8-cwt. vehicles have flat-twin -air-cooled engines .and, in their 1961 form, four-speed gearboxes.
With the greatest share of the foreign vehicle market in France, Germany is represented by Mercedes-Benz, MagirusDeutz, M.A.N., Faun, Krupp, Borgward, Bfissing (who show a bus with leaf-air suspension at both axles), Goliath, Hanomag, Henschel, Kassbohrer, Opel, Unimog and Volkswagen. None of these manufacturers has chosen to introduce new models.
Although Spain produces a number of vehicles for its home market, they are rarely seen outside that country. Thus, the display of three Barreiros models at Paris is all the more interesting. The three forward-control models shown are a 7-ton four-wheeler, a tractor unit derived from it, and a 4 x 4 chassis which can carry up to 5 tons, A six-cylindered 4.727litre oil engine is common to them all.
This unit develops 83 b.h.p. at 2,400 r.p.m. and is coupled to a David Brown five-speed gearbox with either direct or overdrive top gear. A two-speed rear axle is fitted to the haulage models and all types have air-pressure brakes. The pressedsteel cab has a one-piece curved windscreen, entrance steps ahead of the wheel-arches and paired headlamps recessed into the front bumper. The four-headlamp layout is a feature of almost all the new vehicles in the Salon.
Semi-trailers have not been forgotten in they move to reduce •
unladen weight. The mainly light-alloy integral van is much in evidence at the Salon. As an example of the results achieved in France, Titan exhibit a single-axle van for a 194-cwt. payload weighing 4 tons 7 cwt, unladen whilst their similar tandem-axle model weighs 5 tons. Weight reduction is the aim too of an all-plastics semi-trailer-based insulated container displayed by Trailor.
Apart from • Freuhauf, four semi-trailer 'makers have developed air-suspension bogies. Cazenave show a design with independent suspension by trailing beams. Each wheel is sprung by two canister-type air springs. •Fregat's single axle is carried on a trailing H-frame with a pair of two-convolution bellows ahead of the axle and two three-convolution mini behind it. Between air springs are four Evid-gom rubbers.
A pair of triple-convolution bellows is employed for the F1aj et Fond design which has a solid axle located by trailing beams. Since 1958 Coder has modified the Caueitlex bogie which uses Evid-gom rubbers as the suspension medium. An additional rubber unit. fitted above the walking-beam pivot can be inflated with air by a manual control to vary the suspension characteristics.
Other novelties among the trailers displayed include a Craneslike 160-ton trailer with hydraulic suspension shown by Robert and a Freuhauf low-loading trailer with swing-aside axles instead of detachable components.