Car News Articles

With the average age of truck drivers hovering at 50, cabin comforts are a priority.

Kenworth has taken steps to make life easier and safer for drivers of its new K104B cab-over prime mover. The big Kenworth is the best-selling heavyweight cab-over truck in the country; it has been for years, but in many ways it is hamstrung by its runaway success. Dominance can sometimes stifle development and, as a result, change can come slowly.

With its innovative swing-out staircase, getting in and out of the Freightliner Argosy cabin, featured in Big Wheels last week, is a breeze.

However, drivers of the Kenworth heavyweight hero have had to scramble up steps set back from the cab before lunging forward into the driver’s seat, all the while hanging from grab rails built into the side of the cab. Adding to the dangers, external steps and grab rails like those used on the K104B can be hard to see, particularly at night, and they can be slippery when wet.

Getting in and out of a large cab-over truck is a precarious business that exposes drivers to the risk of falling. The risk increases when the driver is older — and with the average age of Australia’s truck-driving population about 50, there’s plenty of risk involved.

Kenworth’s revised steps were developed by the company’s local engineers in conjunction with leading specialists in occupational health and safety and meet the relevant industry standards.

“We worked with some leading ergonomics experts to establish the size, location and depth of the steps,” says Kenworth’s National Sales Manager, Peter Langworthy, who unveiled the K104B at the recent National Truck and Commercial Vehicle Expo at Sydney Olympic Park.

Langworthy says the criteria used in the development included having consistent step dimensions and ensuring the driver is able to maintain three points of contact — with steps, footwells and grab rails at all times.

“They’re now closer to the ground as well as being wider and have non-slip surfaces, and there are now two footwells in the side of the cab with LED illumination, so they’re much better, but it’s still awkward and the risk of falling is still high.”

The LED lights illuminating the footwells come on when the driver operates the central locking.

Kenworth has also revised the door openings by raising them 45mm, which makes it easier for drivers to get in and out of the cab and has the added bonus of improving the driver’s visibility once in the driving seat.

“The driver’s visibility is greatly improved,” Langworthy says.

“They have a much better view through the side windows and a better view of the side mirrors.”

Once aboard the K104B the driver is rewarded with a new and luxurious interior trim, which makes greater use of soft, plush vinyl and recessed panels.

Kenworth has also added new centre and overhead consoles.

The centre console has a larger storage box with secure lid, which is ideal for storing snacks and personal items, while the overhead console has a storage locker and provision to fit a GPS navigation system or other info displays.

There’s also a new dash layout, with the warning-light cluster relocated to a central position where the lights are more readily visible to the driver.

- The Daily Telegraph

A reincarnation of a classic American muscle car has made its debut at the Chicago Motor Show.

Chrysler lifted the covers on the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 for its first official public outing, after releasing images and pricing towards the end of last year.

Powering the Challenger is a 6.1-litre Hemi V8 engine, producing 317kW and 569Nm. The two-door, rear-wheel-drive coupe races from 0-100km/h in the low five second mark.

Chrysler Group Australia spokesman Jerry Stamoulis says there will be other engine variants in the future, but the complete line-up hasn’t been announced. But there are still no foreseeable plans to bring the muscle car here.

“At this stage it’s for North America only,” Stamoulis says.

And it’s already proven to be popular, with 4300 people putting their name down on the first day of orders in December.

When it came to designing the new Challenger, design executive Trevor Creed says the aim was to portray the emotion of the original model.

“Our designers wanted to capture the minds’ eye view of what people remember about the Challenger from 35 years ago,” Creed says.

The result is an unmistakably Dodge product, drawing inspiration from its heritage. Among the traits adapted from the original Challenger are a full-width grille and fog lamps, a hood with a raised centre, stripes and functional dual scoops, and the A-line and beltline.

The rear spoiler also draws on the previous character, but serves as a functional feature as well, generating significant rear-down force.

And it’s not just the exterior that used the old-school inspiration, with the trapezoidal theme of the door and gauge cluster, the dark headliner and the slanted shifter console on the interior all based directly on the original Dodge Challenger. The original model was launched in 1970 and was phased out five years later.

- The Daily Telegraph

“A younger version of Fountains of Wayne, minus the pretentiousness (and some of the talent). Sound-wise they’re very FoW-ish.” That’s how TTAC contributor Megan Benoit describes the band “Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives.” They’ll be at “T.T. [no relation] the Bears Place” in Cambridge on June 7th, blasting out Megan’s fave “Red Integra.” And yes Jalopnik fans, it’s a slow news day.

I saw you sitting there on Fruit Street
But I’m not any good with words
I’m the red Integra parked behind you
So I’ll leave this little note instead:

“I think that you should be more careful parking. There were no
damages but next time, be careful. They might not be as nice as
myself. I saw you back up into my car.”

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Bad news for Zonda fans. The Pagani Zonda R will not be on the roll call of next month’s Geneva auto show. The track honed, 750 hp supercar made entirely of carbon fibre, will sit out another auto show as Zonda are busily working on more important projects having neglected this one. Only 10 of these will ever be made and maybe thats what has caused this disappointment?

Zonda needs to sell all the 10 to cover the entire cost of the project and it seems like they haven’t. A few are still waiting for buyers and only when they are bought, Zonda would be able to proceed to the next step and subsequently, the launch. Either a strict company policy or the unavailability of a display car has resulted in this decision by Zonda.

Nevertheless, production of these ten units will begin next month. The ultimate track car will compete with the likes of Ferrari FXX and will come with a price tag of 1.2 million euro.

Pagani Zonda R Picture Gallery

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The 1996 Toyota Celica is way too small to transport an entire fellowship from Rivendell to the Black Gate of Mordor, even if four of the companions are pint-sized hobbits. That’s probably why Frodo and the gang ultimately decided to hoof it, and have you seen how much second-hand Toyotas are going for in Middle Earth? It’d be cheaper to pay an Orc for a piggy-back ride.

Yes, I’m a LOTR nerd, but even I have a hard time appreciating the artwork that adorns this Celica. A guy by the name of Jason created “The Precious” from his perfectly good tuned Celica that already had a nice color-changing paint job with what looks like a yellowy orangish base. Now every time Jason embarks on an epic quest to get more Ho-Hos from his local Quicky Mart, the whole gang rides shotgun. Characters from the Peter Jackson trilogy that make an appearance on Jason’s sheetmetal include Frodo, Aragorn, his elvish hottie girlfriend (can’t remember her name, so I’m not that huge of a dork), Gandolf the White, Saruman the White, the Witch King of Angmar and Legolas… twice. Who wouldn’t want Elijah Wood staring back as you unlock your car door?

Fortunately my appreciation for the automobile supercedes my fondness for fantasy, so you won’t find any creations of J.R.R. Tolkein on my car’s quarter panels. You can check out some pics of “The Precious” in the gallery below and read more about Jason’s homage to LOTR by clicking the Source link.

[Source: CarDoman Blog]