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It takes a man to survive the school of hard knocks...
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SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED The challenging test track at Force Motors' facility in Akurdi, Pune, is not at all forgiving on the MAN trucks... and our author!
Do huge trucks feel pain? They just might, if they hang around too long at Force Motors' Akurdi plant. This facility churns out a whole range of heavy and light commercial vehicles, three-wheelers and tractors. Right now, heavy commercial vehicles born of Force Motors' partnership with German truck-maker, MAN, are being singled out for special treatment at Akurdi's tracks of torture. The gruelling endurance test seems unending.
Stage I - the truck has to conquer a track that has concrete corrugations from start to finish. Each corrugation rises higher than the previous one. The comfort of sinking into the hydraulic seat evaporates as the truck lurches violently. You all but throw up your lunch. The exercise seems to wring the life out of the hapless MAN as the cabin twists in one direction and the rest of the vehicle in another.
Stage II - a track that is riddled with potholes. They increase in diameter and tend to become abysmal as you keep driving down the track. The clatter of metal pierces the air as the truck enters Stage III and trundles over what is called the Belgian pavement, which replicates a cobblestone path. The uneven surface manages to crunch your bones into shards of calcium.
You crawl out of the vehicle, hoping a hand will help you out. To your dismay, all attention is directed towards the truck. Engineers check for signs of weakness... in the truck. "If these tracks can't break the truck, no road can," says Abhay Firodia, C&MD of Force Motors.
The engineers at Force Motors are trying to meet a nerve-wracking deadline - they have to ready an enviable India-specific line-up of multi-axle trucks for the Pithampur plant (Madhya Pradesh), which will be inaugurated on April 30 this year. These trucks are new-generation machines that will take on the likes of the Volvos that are a common sight today, the Tata-Daewoo products and the Mercedes-Benz Actros range. Initially, the Pithampur facility will make 24,000 trucks every year. Half of this output will feed the export market. For more details, log on to forcemotors.com
PRINCE FREDERICK
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