US Ford turbine for heavier UK trucks
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I Work on the adaptation of the US Ford 175 hp truck gas turbine engine for possible ise in the British market is now occupying ord Motor Co Ltd engineers. And, if 3ritish regulations permit increases to 36, 18 or 44 tons, then Ford of Britain is well idvanced with plans to go all the way. This was revealed by Mr Peter Livsey, the ;ompany's director of truck sales, last week. Mr Livsey made it clear that Ford was ntent on having a commercial product .ange spanning the British truck narket—in which, he claimed, the company was now leader. For the first six months of he year, he said, Ford obtained 31.4 per ;ent of the total commercial vehicle market ;ompared with 25.1 per cent during the ;ame period of last year. This improvement ;till left Ford in second place overall but the ;ap between Ford and "a well-known ;ongjomerate" had been reduced from 13+ o only 4+ per cent in 12 months. "Our imbitions are obvious," he remarked.
Mr Livsey emphasized that the domestic ;ommercial vehicle market was in an mmensely strong position, with an mtstancling growth prospect for the next lecade. The reduction of the intervals )etween truck replacement was one of the nost significant trends working towards a ;ontinued high level of demand. The 1969 total commercial vehicle market was 257,000, and Ford was confidently expecting the 1970 total to be at least six per cent higher—though it was being held to this rate of increase only because of the chronic shortage of vehicles. On the truck side Ford was now rapidly climbing out of the catastrophic shortage of supply which had bedevilled the company's
efforts in 1969 and the first quarter of th year, and Ford now had national mark' leadership in trucks for the first half 4 1970. With production problems overcom they looked for a bigger share of the true market; meanwhile in the meditu commercial group the Transit had achim over 37.5 per cent of the market and was clear leader there.
Although developments in the R seril psv chassis were the only significai changes for this year's Show, becau: component supplies had forced a announcement of new developments to 1 delayed until early next year, there would 1 significant changes, particularly improv• ments in reliability and versatility, I announce in 1971.
On servicing and other support facilitil Mr Livsey revealed that only eight weel after the introduction of the Contra! Confidence maintenance scheme, Ford trill specialist dealers were well on the way 1 writing their thousandth contract.