Volvo Trucks debuted a new Customer Center with a larger demonstration track, new terrain and more on Thursday.
The Dublin, Virgnia, facility has a new track that's three times the size of the old one and includes two super-elevations for radius and grade change, a one-mile straightaway and more.
"The Volvo Customer Center illustrates further investment in Volvo Trucks' footprint in North America where customers can demo entire product lines of our new battery-electric truck models and vocational vehicles while being safely guided by our team of skilled CDL drivers," says Rob Simpson, director of the center. "VDS is transforming how drivers operate by eliminating much of the work behind the wheel, while reducing strain for better comfort and enabling safer and easier steering. Customers can test all the safety and driver comfort features on the customer experience track designed with new S-curves and concrete curb drops that simulate a real-world truck driving experience."
An eight-inch concrete curb drop and 6-7% grade changes will allow customers to see the full range of the Volvo Dynamic Steering system and how it helps the driver keep control of the truck, Volvo says.
"The concrete curb is exactly like the curb you'll find on the side of a road with an eight-inch drop from the road surface to the concrete ditch. The driver drives into the curb so that the left tire drops into that eight-inch ditch and then immediately steers to the right to come back onto the road surface," Simpson explains. "Without VDS, the steering wheel would be jerked hard tot he left and the driver would fight to maintain control. The steering system, which was designed to further bolster the safety of our trucks, dampens that violent input so the driver doesn't have to deal with that hard pull from the steering wheel."
VDS is available in most Volvo Truck models, including vocational models. There's also a section of track to show how the system handles off road. That portion includes two 27% grades to highlight Rock Free, an extreme I-Shift function that lets the driver rock the truck back and forth by pumping the accelerator if the truck gets stuck in mud or sand.
The facility also includes the 36,000-square-foot Volvo Customer Center with interactive product displays, exhibit and training rooms, a pilot review room with a 40-ton lift, and a theater-style hall with an 80-foot turntable and room for a complete tractor and trailer. It also contains a new interactive electromobility exhibit with Volvo VNR Electric truck displays and a fully operational charging infrastructure.
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Visitors can also tour the New River Valley production plant, adjacent to the Customer Center, where all of Volvo Trucks' North America models are assembled.
