I’m speaking to Volvo’s Uk MD later today - I don’t suppose anyone has any questions for him about the company or its products?
cheers
Dom Perry
Road Transport Group
Just off of the top of my head…
“How many electrical sockets do you have in your home? Two? No, I didn’t think so. So why do you think two is enough for us?”
Harry Monk:
Just off of the top of my head…“How many electrical sockets do you have in your home? Two? No, I didn’t think so. So why do you think two is enough for us?”
Dom, ask him about their engine for Euro6, will it be the same as the EPA2010 model used in North America, if so, have they mastered the art of making injector cups that last more than a week?
Whens the replacement for the fm/fh cab out & will it be a flat floor? Most drivers don’t really like raked windscreens- they intrude too much in the already resricted cab space & obviously don’t get any better MPGs- since when do Volvo’s get any better fuel economy than the box shaped cabs?
Cheers all - I shall ask, but be prepared for lots of ‘no comment’-type answers.
OK - broad-brush answers but here we go.
I didn’t ask specifically about the sockets but Volvo’s overall view is that the driver is very important hence the attention it puts into its cabs etc etc,
He wouldn’t be drawn on the time-frame for FM/FH replacements but simply that Volvo has “a very definite three year plan” so what will appear before Euro-6 (2014) I don’t know, nor in what order. FH and FM are not getting flat floors - they don’t consider it a “deal breaker” so prepare for the existing 4" step to continue.
Euro-6 engines won’t be the same at EPA10 ones, but will use a mixture of SCR/EGR and will be “no worse” on fuel, but with a 20%(ish) price premium.
Dom
Should have asked…
" when will Volvo admit that the Magnum is now the Volvo flagship cab that Volvo Should have made and offer it with the 700bhp I-shift that it deserves, given that below the cab it is a Volvo anyway?"
You could finish that question with “mother funker”, or words to that effect!
Dom Perry:
won’t be the same at EPA10 ones, but will use a mixture of SCR/EGR and will be “no worse” on fuel, but with a 20%(ish) price premium.Dom
I’m confused, the EPA2010 engines use a mix of EGR/SCR and attract a premium of 20% 
Dom Perry:
OK - broad-brush answers but here we go.I didn’t ask specifically about the sockets but Volvo’s overall view is that the driver is very important hence the attention it puts into its cabs etc etc,
Well, that’s good news at least, Volvo made a huge retrograde step when they replaced the F Series with the FH Series.It’s a shame that they didn’t ask drivers then but it’s fantastic that they are listening to our opinions now 
Harry Monk:
Dom Perry:
OK - broad-brush answers but here we go.I didn’t ask specifically about the sockets but Volvo’s overall view is that the driver is very important hence the attention it puts into its cabs etc etc,
Well, that’s good news at least, Volvo made a huge retrograde step when they replaced the F Series with the FH Series.It’s a shame that they didn’t ask drivers then but it’s fantastic that they are listening to our opinions now
It is true to say that the FH is getting a little long in the tooth. The basic cab has been with us since 1993, so was probably penned in the late eighties!
That said the Version 3 cab, in terms of driver comfort, is a huge leap forward.
I’ve just spent my first week in my new Globetrotter and it’s a VAST improvement. A few points to note…
- Passenger Swivel seat is a god send, every truck should have one. To be able to sit in an armchair at night whilst eating a meal from a proper table is great!
- The ability to raise/lower the angle of the bed is great. I hate moving my ppillows to the other end if the truck is parked on a slop, now i can simple raise my head a few degrees, problem solved!
- The new lighting system is great, centrally controlled and dim controlled. lighting was one of my big issues with the previous FH.
HOWEVER a few negatives…
-
The radio is still bobbins, speaker locations are great but the speakers themselves are fizzing already after a week!
-
The Bunk has a 24v socket at the foot end, why 24v? a 12v one would be much more useful
-
Please can ALL manufacturers make a simple flat screen bracket standard, as it is 2010 and we all watch TV!
probably too late.
but why isn’t the volvo vh/vn available in the uk?
limeyphil:
probably too late.
but why isn’t the volvo vh/vn available in the uk?
Main reason is it would be totally useless with the UK restrictions on length.
Also the braking systems would need adapting to UK spec.
The bloke who pulls boxes with an old VN down south had to gas axe an FH in half and bolt on the rear end onto the VN front end (if that makes sense) so it woul MOT etc!
Gaz:
limeyphil:
probably too late.
but why isn’t the volvo vh/vn available in the uk?Main reason is it would be totally useless with the UK restrictions on length.
Also the braking systems would need adapting to UK spec.
The bloke who pulls boxes with an old VN down south had to gas axe an FH in half and bolt on the rear end onto the VN front end (if that makes sense) so it woul MOT etc!
the length laws are changing.
ARE changing? That sounded like a definite statement!!!
LHV trials are not even allowed on our roads, ask ■■■■ Denby or Stan Robinson!
I think it would be a good idea but it aint happening!
Gaz:
limeyphil:
probably too late.
but why isn’t the volvo vh/vn available in the uk?Main reason is it would be totally useless with the UK restrictions on length.
Also the braking systems would need adapting to UK spec.
The bloke who pulls boxes with an old VN down south had to gas axe an FH in half and bolt on the rear end onto the VN front end (if that makes sense) so it woul MOT etc!
Why? What’s the differences other than suzis?
Steve-o:
Gaz:
limeyphil:
probably too late.
but why isn’t the volvo vh/vn available in the uk?Main reason is it would be totally useless with the UK restrictions on length.
Also the braking systems would need adapting to UK spec.
The bloke who pulls boxes with an old VN down south had to gas axe an FH in half and bolt on the rear end onto the VN front end (if that makes sense) so it woul MOT etc!
Why? What’s the differences other than suzis?
Suspension and brakes are totally different apparantley?!
Gaz:
limeyphil:
probably too late.
but why isn’t the volvo vh/vn available in the uk?Main reason is it would be totally useless with the UK restrictions on length.
Also the braking systems would need adapting to UK spec.
The bloke who pulls boxes with an old VN down south had to gas axe an FH in half and bolt on the rear end onto the VN front end (if that makes sense) so it woul MOT etc!
Is that the Mike Newman motor, that used to be AP52 WOR?
Don’t think so, same cab but it’s a maroon one. Parked up and had a cuppa in it at Stoke a few years back and he was telling me about the trouble he had getting Type Approval for it!
Gaz:
ARE changing? That sounded like a definite statement!!!LHV trials are not even allowed on our roads, ask ■■■■ Denby or Stan Robinson!
I think it would be a good idea but it aint happening!
not LHV’s. just longer artics.