Articles by James Stanford

Don’t drive a new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter fitted with an automatic transmission and a blind-spot warning system unless you are prepared to buy it. Why? Because it will spoil you.

There are other ways, but they are mostly less flattering. But that could all be about to change is a teaser sketch of the next generation Trafic is anywhere near accurate. Renault has decided to try and create some anticipation for its next generation van, which will go on sale in Europe later this year, by releasing this sketch by company designer Kihyun Jung.If borne out in a production model, the new look would mark a clear change of direction from the Trafic's current rounded design.  The new van's most prominent feature is the hard angled lines of its headlights, which are relatively narrow and lead up into the bonnet. It is an aggressive, masculine theme that is continued on with the shape of the doors and rear window. There are few rounded edges on the sketched vehicle, with kinks used for the window edges adding to a much cleaner and simpler design.The design sketch features a large stylised front bumper that looks like it belongs to a passenger SUV or sports car, with featured fog-lights. It is likely that the production version will have a less complex front bumper that would be easier to replace given the likelihood for dings and scrapes.Renault is not giving away how close the sketch is to the production Trafic, but the fact it has no door join suggests it is more of a loose sketch aimed at outlining the theme of the vehicle. The sketch also has oversized alloy wheels with low profile tyres that are not likely to make it into production.Jung explains the idea behind the sketch: "Its lines embody Renault's new brand identity," Jung says. "My aim was to achieve a dynamic, assertive stance without sacrificing either the robustness or user-friendliness customers expect of their van."

Mercedes-Benz Australia had planned to bring the Citan to Australia from the middle of this year in order to fill a hole below the mid-sized Vito van but pulled the pin on the plan just before Christmas. The Citan is based on the Renault Kangoo. It has so much in common with the donor car that Renault actually builds them on the same production line. The new load-hauler got off to a bad start in Europe, where it scored a Euro NCAP safety rating of three stars and put Mercedes in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It has since been re-jigged and achieved four stars, but is well short of the five-star ratings Mercedes-Benz Australia is used to. Even the existing Vito van is available with a five-star safety rating, something Mercedes has made a lot of with its marketing activities. Because the Citan is based on the Renault, there is no diesel automatic version available and Mercedes was not prepared to develop one -- a  process that would have been costly and taken at least 18 months. Mercedes Australia says this is the real reason it is not going to take the Citan and insists the four-star crash safety rating did not matter. "We just can't get the specification we want," says Mercedes-Benz Australia public relations chief, David McCarthy. "Without a diesel automatic, we just wouldn't sell enough to make it viable." He says the Kangoo and therefore the Citan wasn't developed with a diesel automatic originally because there is little demand for the combination in Europe. "In other places having no diesel automatic is not a big deal, but it is in Australia," he says. McCarthy says Mercedes-Benz would have been at a significant disadvantage to Volkswagen, which sells the Caddy in the same segment with a diesel automatic in several variations, if it had brought in manual only diesel Citans.  

The Icon factory in a Los Angeles suburb is a ute wonderland. This is the place that some of the world's most beautiful and expensive utes are handmade.Icon is the brainchild of Jonathan Ward, a man who loves cars as well as industrial design, and it recreates all kinds of fantastic machines. The company does everything from new-age Ford Broncos to Derelicts -- classic cars fitted out with new chassis' and engines -- but it is Ward's version of the Toyota FJ40 and particularly the ute that has put the company on the map.The new-age FJ is not cheap and prices range from about $160,000 to $230,000 in our money. Before you choke on your grits, it should be explained the Icon FJs are not simply restored vehicles or even new versions of the old cars. They are instead totally new vehicles with unique bodies, suspension, and axles and are fitted with premium elements such as turned aluminium dials. They are also powered by Corvette V8s.We dropped by Icon's plant during a recent trip to Los Angeles to check out the FJ40 and see how it is made. There are some wonderful things being created at Icon, including a new-age Willys Jeep, an electric bicycle and even a Land Rover Defender that was being stripped and rebuilt with new components.One of the most beautiful objects in the factory is the FJ40, particularly the ute version. Ward explains that he didn't want to use steel because of potential rust, so Icon uses aluminium bodies produced by a Canadian company that also builds boats for the US military.Instead of being painted normally, Icon uses a powdercoat, a process normally used for smaller items such as bicycles. This is more durable and Ward says you have to try very hard to scratch the surface. The ute version of the FJ sits on the long wheelbase chassis and has a 1.7m long cargo bed.Readers interested in the Icon FJ might be pleased to hear they can be made in right-hand drive. Ward says none have been shipped to Australia yet but he is working with an Australian company to allow interested customers to bring them in and have them registered. 

Boeing and the US Army have developed such a weapon, a laser mounted on a custom Oshkosh military truck. It’s called the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator or HEL MD for short, which is probably an appropriate name given its capability. The fully drivable vehicle was put to the test late last year at a desert test base in White Sands, New Mexico. According to the US Army, the 10kW weapon shot down 90 incoming mortar rounds and up to six unmanned drones during the six-week test. HEL MD program manager Terry Bauer told America’s ABC that the laser weapon did extremely well in the tests. "We had no thoughts that this 10-kilowatt would be as successful in doing that as it has been," he says. The HEL MD system is a defensive weapon that could be deployed quickly to many different regions thanks to the fact it is installed on the Oshkosh LVSR truck, an eight wheeler with a 448kW (600hp) diesel that can haul 16 tonnes in extreme off-road conditions. It uses a radar system mounted next to the laser to help the system lock in on enemy drones or artillery. In a video of the test the laser is shown pointing at a drone, flying until smoke and fire appear. Seconds later, the drone slams into the ground. Footage also shows the same laser causing a mortar shell to burn up in mid air and not explode when it hits the ground. Bauer tells ABC: "We turn it into rock basically." Unlike Hollywood laser weapons, this laser is not visible. The test weapon has 10kW of power, but the Army and Boeing are working on one with ten times the power that could even be used on jet aircraft and faster missiles.

The Fiat Scudo must be one of the least known models in Australia. I had actually forgotten it was available here until I turned up to a recent Fiat Commercial event in Melbourne.

Even if the Commodore lives on past 2016, the Ute will almost certainly stop there.

It might not be pretty, but the Belaz 75710 is the strongest dump truck in the world. This monster is capable of carrying an incredible 450 tonnes (metric). That means it can out-lug the existing dirt moving titans from America, including Caterpillar and Terex, as well as Japan's Komatsu and Germany's Liebherr. So where is Belaz from? Belarus. That's one of former Soviet Union states and it borders Ukraine, Poland and Russia. If you're from the bush, there's a good chance you'll remember tractors wearing the Belarus name that were sold here in the 1980s. This writer will never forget driving one, picking up hay bales as a teenager too young for a car licence. The brakes didn't work properly, which was unfortunate given the hilly terrain. It was rubbish. I was blamed for a damaging the clutch and my career as a tractor driver ended after just one day. I hear the tractors from Belarus are much improved now that the country has emerged from the quagmire of communism. Belaz, full name Belarusian Autoworks, started up in 1948 as the USSR got back onto its feet after World War II, which had devastated much of the country. Few of us Westerners have seen one, but Belaz claims that every third mining truck operating globally wears the Belaz name. It has a full range of dump trucks, but until now, the most capable has been one that can carry 360 tonnes. Now Belaz has topped that with the 450 tonne truck and says it has already written to the Guinness World Records to make sure it gets recognition as the truck that can haul the greatest weight anywhere in the world. It's a whopper and stands just over 8 metres tall, is nearly 10 metres wide and is 20 metres long. The truck might be built in Belarus, but for the engine, Belaz did something it would have never done in Soviet times and looked to America for help. It uses Detroit Diesel power in the form of two V16 turbo diesel engines. One is used to power the hydraulics, which assist the steering and lifts the bucket, while the other produces energy to turn the wheels. Each engine produces a whopping 1715kW. These generate enough force to allow the big Belaz to hit a top speed of 60km/h. It can reportedly maintain 40km/h when climbing a 10 per cent gradient while fully loaded. Together, the engines add 19,200kg to the total weight of the truck. Even without a load on board, the big Belaz weighs a remarkable 360 tonnes. The engine dedicated to moving the truck generates energy that is sent through four electric motors that turn each wheel set. This method offers the advantage of being able to slow a fully loaded truck by using the electric motors. There are also regular service brakes, but these are only used in addition to the electric motors. The hot exhaust gases from both engines are used to heat the steel bucket. This might sound odd, but by heating the bucket, any sticky mud is dried out and is therefore easier to remove. There are two fuel tanks, which add up to a massive 5600 litres, to allow the Belaz to run a long shift. Options include an automatic fire suppression system, external cameras to improve the field of vision, a diagnostics system and self-inflating tyres. The 450-tonne Belaz truck is seen as a symbol of national pride in Belarus and the president, Alexander Lukashenko, recently attended the plant and went for a test ride in the new model.  

Despite its Twizy Cargo name, this boldly-designed city machine can only manage 75kg of cargo in an area that measures 180 litres.

The South Korean company launched its light duty truck range here in 2010. Sales were slow to start off with and then ground to a halt this year. Industry scorekeeper, VFACTS, reports that just two Hyundai trucks have been sold so far this year. The Australian sales and marketing head for Hyundai trucks, Anthony Hulme, says the company has solid plans for Australia. He describes the reason behind the stalled sales. “We have been affected by a supply shortage,” Hulme explains. “Hyundai can sell everything it can build at the moment.” Hulme says Hyundai Australia is working with its parent company in South Korea to enable more trucks to be produced for the Australian market. “We are expecting more trucks before the end of the year,” he says. “They are looking at ways to boost production.” Most Hyundai light duty trucks produced are left-hand drive and run older, cheaper-to-produce engines with lower Euro 3 and Euro 4 emission ratings, which are sent to developing countries. The Australian and New Zealand markets are not only right-hand drive, but also require engines with a Euro 5 emission rating. This, along with relatively low volumes, may have pushed Australia and New Zealand down the list of priorities at Hyundai. Hyundai has sold a total of 202 light duty trucks since they were introduced locally three years ago. Most of these were Euro 4 rated trucks, although some Euro 5 models were sold from 2011 onwards. Hyundai offers three trucks in Australia, the HD45, HD65 and HD75, which are rated between 4.5 tonne and 7.5 tonne in correlation with their names. All run a 3.9-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo diesel, which can produce up to 110kW and 579Nm in the two larger capacity trucks.