[GeeTee TSI]

As a passenger car owner who shares the roads with a tired, uncomfortable truck driver whose fatigue poses a risk to me, I look forward to the day OEMs will provide safety and comfort without the reasoning that customers do not ask for it! Sometimes, the customer doesn't know or ask for what he cannot imagine.
Government can only lay down guidelines and not specify to the exact feature. Do we seriously think that an air blower which circulates hot air from the engine bay (which is right in the middle of the cabin) is the answer to providing comfort?

Even the dashboard and controls look exactly the same as it did, during my stint at a Commercial Vehicles OEM more than a decade ago!

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by speedguy

Dear naysayers,So please gather some knowledge before writing anything on a responsible platform like Team BHP

I generally do my research thoroughly before putting down my comments.

Let us turn the clock way way back. 1999 to be precise. The year Volvo launched the legendary FH series of trucks. Almost everything you have highlighted and a whole lot more was available on that truck. Let us not forget the safety equipment on a truck. Keeping aside the TATA Prima (Which still took a decade to conceive and credit due to Daewoo to some extent), show me a truck today with the safety, quality and interior appointments of that FH truck. Chances are you won't find any.

Our local players and learning and improving for sure but they are nowhere close to the offerings of a Volvo, MAN or Scania. There is no comparison. A Volvo truck is on the road for a lot longer. In fact, the only thing that needs replacement is the driver. Your productivity is higher with fewer trucks.

Anyway; the point I am trying to drive is, why wait for the government to tell us what to do and how to do it right. Don't we aspire to be ahead of the game?

I look at those crude blower units and wonder what on earth is that. I rather re direct the effort towards a super comfortable driver seat or NVH than something that will blast away the same hot air the driver is already struggling to deal with. Where is our vision in this space?

[H_Dogg72]

My friend, it's the same case in cars. No one will do anything unless the market or govt forces them to do it. Just look at the airbag levels in cars now. You can't expect manufactures to give stuff.
Also that air blower? Only time I think it'll be useful is when the poor chap is stuck in traffic. More like a glorified fan that you see in vans and the like.

[speedguy]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I generally do my research thoroughly before putting down my comments

Good to know that you are doing your research. Now let's compare Volvo FH & Prima LPS (Remember Prima is half of the price of Volvo FH)




Except Hill hold/ Retarder & cruise control, everything is at par with Volvo. (Retarder & cruise control for trucks is not suitable for Indian conditions. More on that sometimes later)

Basically, commercial vehicle industry affects our life seriously & we don't even know.
Imagine you are residing in Mumbai & using Amul's milk which is coming from Anand (Gujarat)
So the transporter number 1 is using Volvo truck (Not FH-It's a puller, but a haulage truck)
& Transporter number 2 is using Tata (Yes, same noisy LPT).
Which will cost you lesser? The milk supplied by Volvo will cost you at least 1-2 Rupee higher as transport cost will be more because of higher initial cost of truck.
Apply this scenario in all our economic cycle & you will come to know that at one side you will ask more features for the truck driver, but at the same time you will whine & cry for the increased prices of milk (You means not you but a layman. Don't take it personally )
Volvo, MAN, Scania truck's business case is different. Their requirements, their economy, their supply chain demand all this can not be compared to Indian conditions.
I am not saying that facilities should not be provided, but we as a consumer, as a market & as a nation we are just not yet ready for it (IMHO)

[DWind]

Quick question! Does the absence of Aircon but blowers only mean CVs now do not have cooling component and Heater as well or only cooling component? If only cooling is missing I feel it is a step in the right direction for now before we get a complete HVAC systems.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by DWind

Quick question! Does the absence of Aircon but blowers only mean CVs now do not have cooling component and Heater as well or only cooling component?

I hope to be proven wrong. I bet these blowers do not have a evaporator coil in them as that is expensive. It just circulates air within the cabin, hopefully through some filtering element. There is no heating element either. This has to be a heating coil or a line drawn from the radiator.

[chiranjitp]

Some more photos of the blower from a TATA chassis, it seems that during transit these blowers are covered.