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LIFE BEGINS AT 40
Page 58
Page 59
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On 10 October 1965 Commercial
Motor's Ron Cater reported on a
new light CV from Ford called the Transit. So who better to evaluate how Britain's favourite van has changed in 40 years?
SOME NEW CVs are launched only to disappear without trace. Most are born, evolve and die —hut a few,just a few, become household names: so ubiquitous. so long lasting that they become synonymous with entire classes of vehicle.
For example, from the late 1920s until the 1940s any really large HGV was likely to be described as a Scammell; only to be supplanted by the terrn"tank transporter" by the end of the war. Similarly, Bedford's CA van became known as the -Dormobile" and the name stuck to any van with that general shape until the mid-1960s.
Then, in 1965. Ford launched the Transit and before long whenever Mr and Mrs Public were asked for a description of a light-to-medium panel van the reply usually came hack: It was aTransit van!" During September and October 1%5 I was busy describing and roadtesting the 850 Transit van. And 40 years on I have been asked to give my opinion of how much its successor has changed.
Most noticeable is the front end styling, which now forms a smooth transition from windscreen and bonnet, with curved bumper ends, wing-panels and lights all reducing the swept turning circle.
A very deep screen and fore-end cut-aways in the doors give excellent low forward and side visibil ity.A Godsend when working in tight situations!
Functional layout
Climb into the cab, settle down in the multiadjustable seat which will accommodate virtually any size and shape of driver —then survey the simple, functional layout of instruments and controls with any illumination shielded from the inside of the huge screen. My mentor during this appraisal of the latest Transit was Stephen Humphreys, of Vospers Commercial Sales at Roche, near St Austell,in Cornwall.
As he led me through all the gadgets! was most impressed by the security features.Then with a turn of the key we were off.
The initial impression is one of the absolute accuracy of the controls.Throttle and clutch are both soft and smooth.
The steering (now power-assisted of course!) allows manoeuvres to be made without subsequent correction and one can travel for almost unlimited distances without correcting at all on a straight road.
Although I was unable to have a load on the vehicle, the 100PS diesel engine showed that it would not present any performance problems At 30mph it was obvious that the highest (fifth) gear was not going to be kind to the rest of the transmission.
One gear down, however, allowed sweet progression without any over-revving. Acceleration was quite startling with quick and accurate gear shifting.Very satisfying allin-all a very pleasant run.
One point in particular that stood out was the excellent all-round vision. Without the bulkhead, and with glazed rear doors and an inside mirror, i t would be impossible for anyone to hide from the driver.
Extremely smooth Bumps and bruises on the coachwork are nearly always caused by poor visual access around the vehicle; they make a vehicle look tired long before its time.
McPherson-strut front suspension and a leaf sprung rear end combine to make for extremely smooth riding. On this vehicle the front wheel drive was almost unnoticeable.
Even so, compared with the 1965 850, the latest model only sacrifices about a metre of turning circle kerb-to-kerb and probably nothing at all wall-to-wall thanks to the cut-off front corners. •