Economically Engineering Lorries of the Future
Commercial vehicle manufacturers have been finding ways to economically and accurately optimize their vehicles long before the recent economic conditions presented themselves. Making "greener" vehicles to meet government emissions standards and operators’ demands for ever improving fuel economy is driving the need for more efficient power trains, continuous improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, and reductions in vehicle weight. Operators also require improved quality and durability, and increasingly want more innovative and emotionally expressive external designs. Power train supplier warranty contracts require strict operational temperature ranges within ever tighter underhood packaging. in addition, soiling and water must be managed to avoid safety issues.
These goals often conflict, requiring truck manufacturers to make careful trade-offs of competing values. The commercial vehicle engineer’s task is to create a truck that sufficiently satisfies the customers’ design preferences, and quality and comfort expectations; offers fuel efficiency within a desired target range; provides sufficient cooling; meets safety targets; and can be brought to market on time at an acceptable profit. This need to optimize the balance of industrial design, performance factors, cost, and process efficiencies is a continual challenge for the industry.