Expressway in Europe
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• Does Britain lack a suitable coach chassis to meet Continental operators' requirements? This was an impression gained by senior executives of Willowbrook Ltd when the company sent one of its new Expressway coaches on a 3500-mile four-week tour of Europe recently. The Continentals also suggested that British chassis generally were underpowered — though Willowbrook had no complaint about the performance of the Ford R1014 turbo-engined chassis upon which this Expressway was mounted.
Nevertheless, the European reactions have led Willowbrook's chairman, Mr George Hughes (who accompanied the coach on its tour, together with sales director Mr Denis Foster) to conclude that the company may be compelled to go for a Continental chassis in order to sell the Expressway in Europe. He told CM that this was a contingency which he had hoped to avoid.
Many of the operators who examined the coach favoured higher-powered vehicles while the preferred configuration among Continental coach proprietors calls for a rear-mounted engine, in a vertical or near vertical position, and adequate luggage space beneath the floor between the axles.
Mr Hughes told CM he was heartened by the reaction to the new Willowbrook design in the six countries visited — Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary. The coach was a standard 45-seater with two of the seats replaced by one double reclining seat to illustrate this option. Equipment included forced ventilation and window demisting, safety belts on the front seats, a Webasto oil-fired heating unit, and a Telma retarder fitted to the chassis.
Arising from ' the tour a few minor modifications will he incorporated into the design of the Expressway body, including increased sound insulation at the front, since the front-mounted engine was found to be a little noisy. Despite its late introduction relative to the 1972 coach season, the Expressway is already in quantity production against firm orders and, compared with equivalent European coach design, is much cheaper.