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NEWS RELEASE
/FIAT DUCATO TO BECOME AUTOMATICALLY BETTER IN 2008
Fiat will add a self-shifting gearbox to its Ducato range in the first quarter of 2008 that will match the performance and economy of a manual with the ease of use and convenience of self shifting gearbox and which has been developed specifically to meet the needs of van users and motor home owners.
“Fiat has not just taken an off-the-shelf gearbox and put it into the Ducato,” explains Chris Swann, General Manager for Fiat Commercial Vehicles in Australia. “Fiat has developed the new MTA gearbox to meet the specific needs of van users and motor home owners to point of building motor home ‘mule’ vehicles to check it meets motor home needs.”
“With the MTA gearbox Fiat recognises the requirement for manual gearbox levels of performance and economy to be maintained, either because the vehicle is being used as part of a business or driven over long distances as a motor home. At the same time it meets the demand for a gearbox that looks after the gearchanging, reducing stress, boosting safety and lifting comfort and convenience,” says Mr Swann.
Significantly the new MTA (Manual Transmission – Automated) gearbox will be launched this week (24 August 2007) at the Dusseldorf Caravan Show, one of Europe’s largest motor home and caravan shows, and will be shown initially with the acclaimed Fiat 3.0 litre 115.5 kW Multijet diesel engine. This launch venue clearly shows that Fiat plans to use the MTA gearbox to further extend its domination of the motor home market, as well as providing van users with a new transmission choice.
In Australia and New Zealand Motor Home conversions are the largest single market sector for the Ducato with six converters - Jayco, A’Van, Trakka, Winnebago, Sunliner and Horizon – using the Fiat Ducato to meet a wide range of different motor home market requirements. To meet the demand locally Fiat provides the motor home industry with a range of specialist platforms on which to build their vehicles.
The MTA gearbox is not a manual gearbox that has been adapted to work as a self shifting unit.
The MTA gearbox has been designed from the ground up to be an automated or robotised manual gearbox with all its systems fully integrated into a gearbox that has been designed to maximise the advantages of robotisation.
Furthermore, during the development stage in particular, great attention has been paid to the ensuring the gearbox meets the specific needs of recreational vehicles. To this end, rather than use vans and cab chassis to develop the gearbox, Fiat built special ‘mule’ test vehicles that reproduced all the load characteristics of motor homes for the fine-tuning and testing phase.
These provided faithful reproduction of the front surface configurations, gross vehicle weight and conditions of use typical of this class of vehicle. In addition, as is often the case with trailers and motor homes which by their very nature are employed in conditions of maximum load, the MTA gearbox offers the driver “UP” button which makes it possible to optimise gear-change points automatically, thus guaranteeing optimal engine revs in all circumstances and improving performance in particularly demanding conditions or on steep slopes.
The gearbox offers six gears plus reverse with a choice of manual or automatic operation.
In manual mode the driver can freely choose the ratio required by gear lever on the dash but without having to use a clutch pedal or worrying about stalling or being in the wrong gear.
In automatic mode the customer has the benefit of a variety of useful functions typical of the electronic operation of the gearbox:
· Uphill – Downhill Mode: Gear changing logics operated by software to guarantee the best ratio depending on the slope in the road;
· Warm Up Mode: Emission/Fuel Consumption reduction strategy for cold starts;
· Brake Assistance Mode: MTA goes down through the gears to support vehicle deceleration;
· Kick Down Mode: Quick selection of a lower gear for over taking, for example.
· Fast Off Detection: The gearbox will stay in a given gear if the accelerator is suddenly released and not slur up a gear, as with conventional automatics, ensuring that the Ducato is more responsive.
Compared to traditional automatic gearboxes, the Fiat Ducato’s MTA gearbox is 30 per cent lighter, is more economical, reduces emissions, and requires less maintenance.
“The MTA gearbox provides yet another excellent strength for the Ducato,” says Mr Swann. “The Ducato has been awarded ‘Van of the Year’, it has been named as the best chassis on which to build a motor home and the 3.0 litre engine is so good, other companies are buying it from Fiat to fit to their vehicles. Now, added to this, is a gearbox that maintains the performance and economy of the existing manual gearbox, reduces emissions and makes driving safer and easier. Once again, the Ducato is confirmed as the benchmark for both commercial vehicles and motor homes!”
Prices and specifications for the new MTA gearbox versions of the Fiat Ducato will be announced when they join the local range in the first quarter of 2008.
(ends)
For further information:
Fiat media web site: http://media.ateco.com.au/
Chris Swann / Edward RoweGeneral Manager ~ Fiat CV / Public Relations Manager
Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd / Ateco Automotive
Ph: (02) 9701 8035 / Ph: (02) 9701 8015
Mob: 0400 166 147 / Mob: 0407 913 244
Fax: (02) 9701 3533 / Fax: (02) 9701 3555
E-mail: / E-mail:
ATECO AUTOMOTIVE PTY LTD
Street Address: Heritage Building, Campus Business Park, 350 Parramatta Road, Homebush NSW 2140 Australia. Postal Address: Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd,Locked Bag 260, Silverwater, NSW 1811, Australia A.B.N. 34 000 486 706
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Release Number: 186_Fiat_AU
Date of Issue: 21 August 2007. Time of Issue: 15:01:44