Will One Automaker Bid to Go Postal? A Self-Driving Volvo
Nissan built the Taxi of Tomorrow for New York City, and NASCAR still is racing with the automaker’s latest version of its Car of Tomorrow, introduced in 2007.
Both are high-profile vehicles, one moving millions of passengers each year, the others viewed by millions of auto racing fans each year.
Neither, however, is as ubiquitous as the United States Postal Service’s delivery van.
Automotive News reported that the USPS has started the bidding process for an order that will eventually call for 180,000 delivery vans at a cost of $25,000 to $35,000 each, making the contract worth $4.5 to $6.3 billion.
A big question is: Will the major automakers get involved? Back in 2005, a request for bids didn’t get any major responses.
The USPS will want right-hand-drive vehicles with good fuel efficiency. Other traditional features include a van-style body and a sliding driver’s door. The service will want an all-wheel-drive variant available for rural and Snowbelt areas.
Fleet buyers—and this will be the biggest fleet purchase in this country—increasingly are exploring alternate-fuel options.
With the government encouraging the private development of a hydrogen infrastructure, it would be an amazingly forward-thinking decision if the USPS got into this initiative by contracting for fuel-cell and electric postal vehicles. Taking that one step further, could they set up refueling-recharging centers that also would available to the public?
The USPS’s choice will be around for a while since this will be only their third change in design in more than 60 years.
After World War II, the service employed boxy Jeep-made vehicles into the 1980s, when they were phased out in favor of the current Long Life Vehicles built by Grumman from 1987¬–1994.
These current-day trucks have a GM chassis and drivetrain with the aircraft maker’s aluminum body. However, they now are mostly past their 24-year intended lifespan and repairs are becoming expensive and more common, judging from the number of USPS vehicles we’ve seen being moved on flatbed trucks in recent months.
You’d think that the Nissan’s NV200 van, also sold as the Chevrolet City Express, might be a candidate, along with the Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster.
However, police forces have done well with heavy-duty SUVs. Could it be that a Ford Explorer could be both the backbone of the state police and the USPS?
There’s also a possibility that Jeep could adapt one of its vehicles for another run at the prize as could Subaru with its stable of AWD crossovers and SUVs, including the Forester, Outback, and XV Crosstrek.
Or, as happened in 2005, none of the major makers may bid, making this a priority mail situation.
Self-Driving Volvos
Volvo is making news on several fronts. Local dealers are happy that the new XC90 SUV, which hits showrooms this spring, is getting strong early reviews.
Over in Gothenburg, Sweden, Volvo announced last week that it has developed a “complete system solution’’ for integrating self-driving cars into real traffic with ordinary drivers (not engineers) in the driver’s seat.
The company’s “Drive Me’’ project, aimed at a crash-free future, is in its second year. Volvo now plans to have 100 self-driving cars in the hands of customers on selected roads in the Gothenburg area by 2017.
It appears that early routes will be planned by being entered into the navigation system. Then, once autonomous driving is no longer available because of exceptional weather conditions, technical malfunction, or by reaching one’s destination, the driver will be prompted to take over again. Otherwise, the car is programmed to find itself a safe place to stop.
“Developing a complete technological solution for self-driving cars is a major step. Once the public pilot is up and running, it will provide us with valuable knowledge about implementing self-driving cars in the traffic environment and help us explore how they can contribute to sustainable mobility,’’ says Erik Coelingh, technical specialist for the active safety program.
Etc.
Watching NASCAR races has become an exercise in yellow caution flags, restarts, and long strings of commercials. Goodyear, which has provided NASCAR’s tires for more than 60 years, has a trio of funny (at least the first time you see them) and somewhat educational spots with Joe Gibbs’ Racing driver Carl Edwards.
Rolls-Royce has been around for 111 years and built some rare vehicles. Last month, the company confirmed it would build an SUV or, as chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes described it, “an all-new, high-bodied Rolls-Royce designed to satisfy the contemporary, highly mobile lifestyles of our discerning clients around the world. I am confident that this new Rolls-Royce will fully deliver on our brand’s promise of supreme luxury while at the same time being ‘Effortless … Everywhere.’’’
DealerRater.com annually makes a dealer of the year award. This year, it went to Klaben Ford Lincoln of Kent, Ohio. The company also makes awards for the best dealer nationally in each brand. Tufankjian Toyota of Braintree was the only Massachusetts dealer to earn this honor.
DealerRater.com annually makes a dealer of the year award. This year, it went to Klaben Ford Lincoln of Kent, Ohio. The company also makes awards to its top-rated dealers nationally in each brand. Tufankjian Toyota of Braintree was the only Massachusetts dealer to earn this honor.
The website also recognizes its No. 1-ranked dealership in each brand in each state. In Massachusetts, Herb Chambers dealerships won seven awards: Audi of Burlington; BMW of Boston, Mercedes-Benz of Boston, and Mini of Boston; Land-Rover of Sudbury; Lexus of Sharon; and Infiniti of Westboro.
Other Massachusetts dealers earning those honors were Quirk Ford (Quincy); Imperial Chevrolet (Mendon); Acura of Boston; Colonial Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram (Hudson); Commonwealth Honda and Kia (Lawrence); Colonial Volkswagen (Westboro); Jaffarian Volvo (Haverhill); Milford Nissan, Michaud Mitsubishi (Danvers); Lannan Mazda (Lowell); Rte. 2 Hyundai (Leominster); Tufankjian Scion (Braintree); and Steve Lewis Subaru (Hadley).
Among used-car dealerships, Bourne Auto Center of South Easton was the Massachusetts honoree.
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