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An Australian weighs the prospects for British vehicles PACK MADDOX

WHAT are the future prospects for exports of British commercial vehicles to Australia? I would say very good, provided that manufacturers do not ignore the guidelines. Australia has long been a buyer of British automotive products in preference to those of other countries. Not that this action has been motivated entirely by patriotism or the accuracy of the slogan "Buy best, buy British!" The volume of purchases undoubtedly has been stimulated artificially by preferential tariffs which are benign to British products.

From the tariff angle, Britain is given "favoured nation" treatment, which means that, depending on the degree of availability of components from local manufacturers, duty on British commercial vehicles imported to this country ranges from nil to 7+ per cent. American vehicles attract between l2+ and 22+ per cent duty, while those from Europe are assessed at rates up to 35 per cent.

If tariffs were wiped across the board tomorrow, there would certainly be a cat in among the canaries! But let us leave that aspect for the moment to bring out some facts that will give readers a background to the Australian import scene.

Colouring all Australian motor vehicle industry thinking is the stated policy of the Federal Government to encourage a higher Australian content in vehicles sold in this country. Various

incentives are held out to manufacturers to align themselves more closely with the Australian economy.

Consequently, over the years—particularly since the Second World War—the proportion of complete chassis and c.k.d. units has altered considerably as manufacturers have set up assembly plants here and steadily increased the percentage of Australianmade components (tyres, batteries, radiators, exhaust systems, fuel tanks and so on) and employed a growing local work force, all of which is important to the national economy.

Official statistics show that the number of commercial vehicle chassis assembled in Australia (with a payload of one ton and over) has increased from 15,694 for the year 1956-7 to 27,010 in 1964-5. But, contrary to what was stated in the preceding paragraph, over the same period the cost of Australian components as a percentage of total cost has fallen from 34.4 per cent to 31.5 per cent. However, these figures are subject to a number of qualifications which are rather involved and do not come within the scope of an article such as this. The important point is that the market is continuing to grow.

International Harvester Co. started production of motor trucks in 1950 under a Government plan which involved incorporation of approximately 75 per cent local content. The company produces

21 basic models with numerous variations, ranging in from 6,000 to 27,250 lb. g.v.w., many of which use engines, transmissions and panels. Models in highercategories are imported c.k.d. from the USA.

mous other producers assemble their commercial vehicles .d. packs. using varying percentages of local items such as :ab hardware, and so on. Down at the "light" end of the inelsvans, utilities and the like) Australian percentages are kn example of the change that has come over this segment uction can be seen in the fact that the British Motor tion's assembly of light commercials has declined by 90 since 1957-8—an almost complete swing-over to full local lure of these models.

-al Motors-Holden's, International Harvester, Ford and anufacture engines in which most of the components are d in Australia. The GM-H engines are used to power that y's popular all-Australian car and its utilities and panel IC produces three engines for its commercial range from ic engine block casting. Both GM-H and IHC produce

most of the castings, for these engines in their own foundries, and buy-in forgings such as crankshafts and camshafts.

Ford manufactures two engines for its cars and light commercials; BMC makes six-cylinder engines for certain car models and four-cylinder engines for the J2, Minibus, Messenger, and so on. Chrysler announced in March that it planned to build a foundry and engine plant in South Australia for cars and light commercials, while Volkswagen also intends to start engine production in the near future.

In the diesel field, Cummins and Rolls-Royce assemble their engines from imported and local components.

Currently the Australian market is running at the rate of 27,000 trucks per annum (one-ton capacity and over) including prime movers and specialized units such as transit mix, oilfield vehicles, and the like, and 1,500 buses. The latter figure includes small units such as the Volkswagen Kombi, Morris Messenger and so on. The true bus chassis figure would be in the vicinity of 850 per annum.

The lion's share of the truck and bus market (in terms of vehicle numbers) is held by Bedford. In the year ended December, 1964 (latest accurate figures available when this article was written), there were 7,700 Bedfords represented in the total figure of 26,000-odd. Of a total of 1,384 commercial passenger vehicles registered in that year (including, as mentioned previously, light units such as VW, Morris and Commer 1200) there were 431 Bedfords, almost all of which were buses ranging in capacity (1 would say) from 25 passengers up to 45.

In the truck field. International ran next with a total of around 4,800, but with negligible sales of buses. Ford (3,200), Dodge (2,500), Austin-Morris (1,800) were the runners-up in the massproduced vehicle class.

For that year (1964) there were 575 new Albions registered, 330 Leylands, 209 AECs and 50 Fodens. AEC dominated the heavier bus chassis field with 95 units, followed by Leyland with 77, and Albion with 50.

Reverting to the truck figures for a moment, it has been interesting to note the inroads into the market being made by the Americans. Mack has stepped up its selling greatly in recent times, and for the year 1964 this company delivered 188 new units. The average Mack price is around $20,000. In the higher-priced bracket (say from $23,000 to $30,000) Kenworth and Peterbilt have been making their presence felt, each selling in the vicinity of 40 in 1964, jumping to just on 170 for 1965. Mack was selling at the rate of 250 trucks per annum last year.

Japanese influence in the commercial vehicle market at the moment appears to be confined to the 1and 2-ton category, where a niche has been found for light, moderately-powered but well-equipped units. Sporadic attempts to break into the lightmedium and medium-heavy duty segments of the market have not met with much success. The Jap is still only offering precombustion chamber diesels, and generally speaking does not seem. to be as technologically advanced in this field as manufacturers from other countries. But he is a fast learner, and judging by some of the new equipment being used in Japan today, his presence undoubtedly will be felt more strongly at a later stage.

I mentioned earlier the growth of Mack, Kenworth and Peterbflt, and their' continued progress. In these vehicles, the operator can get just about whatever he wants—if he's prepared to pay for it. And these companies, along with a couple of others, such as Diamond T and International, are prepared to meet operators' requirements for more power and multi-range transmissions.

Inter-city highway operation is a keenly competitive business in Australia. Where, once upon a time, it was considered reasonable to haul the 590 miles from Melbourne to-Sydney in a couple of days, the time has now been reduced to around 18 hours (with a change of drivers at a half-way point). To do that, power and versatility are required. As we have no super-highway system in Australia (except for a few isolated stretches near some of the cities), fast times are not made in the higher gears, but rather on the hills. Speed limits preclude express times such as British trunk operators can schedule on the motorways, so the Australian operator seeks power, plus the gear combinations to make the utmost use of top torque.

A six-speed gearbox with a"splitter" or "joey" box is no match for some of the American importations offering 10, 15 and 20 speeds. The twin-countershaft Fuller, for example, is a one-stick shift with up to 15 speeds! And power? For highway operation they are buying anything from 250 to 325 b.h.p. at the moment, and are showing signs of requiring even more "volatile" units. Those combinations are just not available from Britain.

One well-known and highly regarded make of diesel engine sold here still sticks doggedly to 150 b.h.p., but most of these running in highway (and other) work have been opened out to at least 185 b.h.p. Try to buy one of these units and there is a delay of 27 months. Needless to say, two big American engine manufacturers are making hay while the sun shines.

Cab design and appointments are another item in the heavyduty field. The American units marketed here are very well instrumented indeed. Certainly there are red lights for oil, generator, cylinder-head temperature, and so on, but they are in addition to, and not in place of, gauges. Even gearbox and differential temperatures are indicated to the driver of these vehicles. Noise level is blanketed down, and ride quality is, in the main, excellent for prime movers.

For a man who spends most of his working time (and a good deal of his personal time, too) in the cab of a vehicle, the best is worth buying.

Australia also has a problem of "flying" stones, whipped up by noving cars and flung across the road. To collect one of stones on the windscreen invariably means an expensive cement if that windscreen is a curved type. American vehicles their windscreens up high, usually out of the range of the rig pebbles. Moreover, the glass in them is usually flat and relatively inexpensive to replace. The idea of dropping the screen level, ostensibly for better visibility but (practically) ing it into the stone range, as well as fitting a one-piece (or two-piece) moulded unit, shows a preference for appearance practicability. )t that the highway-type vehicle is the be-all and end-all or nercial vehicles in this country. Their portion of the overall market would be small, but in terms of sales revenue it is not isiderable.

the "popular" range of vehicles, which can be taken broadly 30 cwt. upwards, British vehicles enjoy an enviable market and justifiably so because they are built for that market. The ralian operator is no different from his counterpart in other tries in that he buys on price, in the main, except in cases e specification for a particular type of work is an overriding r.

in all things in life, you get what you pay for. If you buy the )my package, that's what you get. If you buy a piece of equipthat will barely measure up to the requirements of the job, Id of one which will have some capacity to spare, you will ys be battling against self-created difficulties. So one has to be ul not to be swayed by the complaints of those who under

aoring those masochistic types, there are still operators with lite complaints which seem to go unheard by manufacturers. despite the existence of such an excellent establishment as 11RA proving ground, plus manufacturers' own facilities, it is very evident that a vehicle tested in Northern Hemisphere itions will not necessarily stand up to the rigours of the -iern Hemisphere.

Australia for instance, right now (May, 1966) there are les operating in say, Western Queensland, the Kimberleys, he Northern Territory in choking dust and temperatures well 90s, despite the fact that it is now winter here. On the big ry Mountains hydro-electric scheme, there are vehicles slushthrough snow, in a snow-covered region bigger than :erland.

many areas we have extremes of climate; in the more temperones the temperatures range from around 40°F in winter to F in summer. So is it any wonder that Northern Hemisphere ns sometimes come unstuck in the Southern Hemisphere? hen a chronic problem with a particular model is encountered ere, it is not easy to get it rectified. If it is sufficiently serious, a deal man will be flown out. He will spend a week—at most, a ight—looking at the trouble, and even though he may be on side with us and our complaint, and will recommend a fication, we may get the modification in about 12 months. If .echnical man does not have the ear of the Board or the on just below Board level, the modification will be quietly ted under the carpet. Unless, of course, it is having a very us effect on sales, and then there is some spirited action in a nonths.

could be that if MIRA were to shift its proving ground to ralia, it would result in vehicles capable of meeting any operaconditions anywhere in the world! We've got the lot here— plenty of it! Inflexibility and delays in fulfilling orders are other complaints of operators in relation to imported vehicles. Admittedly it is not easy for volume producers, with busy production lines, to cater for every whim and wish of the operator, but it does seem to many that the available options are too restricted. The operator is confined to given wheelbases, a narrow choice of axle ratios and a narrower choice of engines and transmissions.

There is a real need for greater flexibility in correcting design faults and "bugs" which creep into things mechanical. It is not much use the overseas manufacturer saying "It hasn't happened here" and wiping his hands of the problem, when we are probably being plagued with the trouble as a recurring failure.

Not that the Australian operator thinks he is alone in finding bugs. His colleagues in other countries, at home and abroad must find them too. Take, for example, the locating of the compressor intake filter on a certain popular unit low down near the front of the engine—just nicely placed to collect small particles of radiator overflow liquid dissipated by the fan or water spray splashed up from the road. Operators were wondering why the red light came on early, indicating insufficient storage. The reservoirs were being partly filled with liquid, and once the trouble was diagnosed, frequent blowing-down of the reservoirs ensured safe operation. Relocation of the intake finally overcame the trouble. No doubt home-country operators got that one, too, but it took nearly a year for the modification to get into production models!

A move which is paying off for BMC is the setting up of its own product testing division at its big plant in Sydney. BMC does not market a commercial vehicle in this country—nor a car, for that matter—until it has been thoroughly tested (sometimes for months) before introducing it to the buying public.

Some of the modifications introduced as a result of this proving and durability programme bear out the contention that vehicles designed in the Northern Hemisphere will not necessarily handle the demands made of them in other parts of the globe.

Now, if some of my comments have sounded critical of British vehicles, you may be assured that frequently they also apply to other countries' products. But the comments are offered in a constructive sense. As indicated earlier, British vehicles are very well accepted here. Worked within the ratings stipulated by the manufacturer, they do an excellent job. But, every now and again a "clanger" gets through, and is often brought to the surface or aggravated by Australian operating conditions. No doubt much the same can be written of vehicles operating in South Africa and South America. But by the time the fault is rectified and its degree of seriousness impressed on those who control the purse, an inordinately long delay frequently occurs.

But the shortcomings are far outweighed by the overall quality of British automotive products, and within their price range they are hard to beat.

The general forecast for their future in Australia is sound, as 1 indicated at the beginning of this article—but with increasing competition pressures from firms such as II-IC and ChryslerRootes as they expand their Australian production capacity and consequently get their costs down on a wider range of models, particularly in the volume-selling lines. In the heavy-duty range, such as inter-city haulage, road train operation, and even offhighway work, as well as in the express coach market, there will have to be a re-think by British manufacturers on engine power and transmissions, because what might be good for motorway operation in the UK is not necessarily the answer to operators' requirements in this country.