STAYING STRONG
“We’re confident, but we’d just like an impartial outside opinion before we settle on the final spec.”
The phone call came out of the blue late one afternoon and the request could not have been more direct. “G’day Steve,” started the senior Scania man. “We’d like to get your feedback on something.” Obviously enough, the conversation quickly developed; the ‘something’ turning out to be Scania’s upcoming R660 model and the ‘feedback’ essentially seeking an objective opinion on the truck’s specification and subsequent performance and efficiency in a linehaul B-double run, well before an official launch later in the year.
“Sure,” was the emphatic answer, but on one absolute condition. “As long as it’s on the record and I get to write the story about the truck and the result straight after.”
“Fair enough,” was the Scania manager’s prompt response before adding: “We’re confident, but we’d just like an impartial outside opinion before we settle on the final spec.”
And so, in relatively short time, a new R660 with less than 1,500km under its belt, hooked to Scania’s curtain-sided B-double set, rolled out of the brand’s Campbellfield (Vic) headquarters on a weekday morning at a gross weight of 62.2 tonnes with the simple goal of notching at least 1,000km on a major linehaul route.
Sitting in the passenger seat was Ben Nye, Scania Australia’s pragmatic national product manager, earnestly believing the truck would do all expected of it, but quietly eager for confirmation.
There were no instructions or suggestions on how the truck should be driven for maximum effect, just a casually stated acceptance
