Author:charleen-clarke
Highway maintenance personnel take their lives into their own hands โ quite literally โ when working on German highways. As we all know, many highways in that country have no speed limit โ meaning that these highways full of hurtling missiles. The consequences of this situation are dire; deaths are common. In fact, German researchers discovered that road service staff face a risk that is 13-times higher than equivalent workers (who are doing similar jobs, but not working on highways). […]
Regular readers of this column will recall that I visited ZF, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, last month in order to attend the companyโs Technology Day. We saw lots of amazing stuff โ but this really takes the cake, doesnโt it? This is the Rinspeed Snap mobility concept. It is made up of a โskateboardโ in the form of the Intelligent Dynamic Driving Chassis from ZF. This is a platform specially developed by ZF for autonomous electric vehicles. Depending on the application, […]
We have launched an all-new series in FOCUS, entitled Face to Face, in which we interview captains of industry. This time around, CHARLEEN CLARKE goes face to face with Claes Nilsson, president of Volvo Trucks. You appear to be riding a wave of success right now? Yes. For us, as for many of our competitors, it is a very hot market. In more than 30 years with Volvo, I have never seen Europe and North America (which is very important […]
I have just returned from Berlin, where MAN gave journalists an exclusive preview into what the company has up its Bavarian sleeve for this yearโs IAA. I think it is fair to say that IAA visitors will be in for a treat. The location for the event was Berlin Brandenburg Airport โ the German capitalโs new and as yet unfinished airport. Whatโs noteworthy about this airport? It has two things in abundance: lots of free space and lots of controversy. […]
If you donโt do bling, you will hate this new bakkie. CHARLEEN CLARKE, on the other hand, absolutely adores it. A couple of decades ago, I ordered a Peugeot 206 cc โ in orange. Not only was the exterior orange, so, too, were the seats. My friends thought I had lost my mind. โHow can you possibly order an orange car? Have you gone mad?โ they enquired, weeping, wailing and shielding their eyesโฆ โYou will battle to sell it one […]
Recently, along with the rest of the jury members on the International Truck of the Year (ITOY) judging panel, I was invited to Sweden to experience the latest product offerings and technology innovations from Volvo Trucks. What an eye opener! Before travelling to Gothenburg, I thought that I knew exactly what the company was getting up to. I was wrong! The visit incorporated many aspects โฆ You can read more about my trip in my next Global Focus column. For […]
Iveco is returning to the European Truck Racing Championship this year with a female driver! Her name is Steffi Halm. Sheโs 33 years old, hails from Germany and is part of the Schwabentruck team. Ivecoโs official role is that of technical sponsor to the Hahn Racing and Schwabentruck teams. The latter has represented the brand for the past nine years, while Team Hahn won the 2016 championship. Halm and the other drivers are driving a Stralis 440 E 56 XP-R […]
The so-called โSeven Sistersโ (the seven established European brands, namely Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Iveco, Renault, Scania, DAF and Volvo) could be in for a wake-up call in the form of Ford Trucks. Ford trucks are produced by a company called Ford Otosan, which was established in 1959. The company is owned by Ford Motor Company and Koรง Holding, the largest industrial conglomerate in Turkey. I have been spending quite a bit of time with this company (which, sadly, has no plans […]
Weโre launching an all-new series in FOCUS called Face to Face, in which we will interview captains of industry. In the first instalment within the new series, CHARLEEN CLARKE goes face-to-face with Markus Geyer, MD ofย MAN Automotive. You had a great 2017. Well done! How is MAN Automotive performing in 2018?ย I would like to answer this question from a local perspective where we play predominantly in the heavy bus and extra-heavy truck segments. We have managed to increase our […]
FOCUS has just returned from Friedrichshafen, Germany, where we have seen the future of trucking โฆ and it looks utterly fascinating! We were invited to Friedrichshafen by ZF. The company hosts Technology Days each year, during which it predicts and demonstrates future technology. This year, one of the most fascinating topics was the cab of the future which โ according to the very clever engineers at ZF โ wonโt require a steering wheel or pedals for that matter. Instead, the […]
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