DaBryan Answers the Call... Again
Transcription
DaBryan Answers the Call... Again
NATIONAL LIMO REVIEW VOL. 17 NOVEMBER 2011 DaBryan Answers the Call... Again DaBryan Coachworks unveils the 2012 Lincoln series with some added twists & better durability The 2012 DaBryan Nighthawk 120” D aBryan is well known to produce superbly durable vehicles and that tradition continues in 2012. This year they’ve upped the ante by revisiting styling feature implementation and incorporating even stronger environmental systems, all with the intent of answering the call from fleet managers and owners. Many of you may recall the survey we performed in our April 2011 issue whereupon we asked operators to rank a series of considerations in order of importance when it comes to stretched vehicle deployment. Over 1400 respondents sent in their responses and we in turn published this feedback in the June 2011 issue. Manufacturers paid heed to the number 1 ranked consideration when it comes to the purchase of new equipment, durability. Fleet managers and owners have quietly voiced the issue of passenger cabin repairs for some time, noting that in most cases it’s an honest mistake of some big person trying to exit the car, grabbing the wrong surface trying to get out and ripping it. “It’s always an uncomfortable call to have to inform a client they broke something and it’s going to cost $900.00 to fix it.” - John Moss Chase Limousine Dallas This and a variety of other concerns prompted DaBryan into action. Steve McNamara from DaBryan engineering was quick to point out that in light of the operator responses, the passenger cabin was completely reevaluated for stress fatigue and/or potential damage issues, with an emphasis on reducing aesthetic damage that happens with antsy passengers. “We left no stone unturned when we went back in to strengthen the cabin.” Steve McNamara —Engineering Team Leader THE 2012 NIGHTHAWK SERIES SETTING A NEW STANDARD The Nighthawks exemplify steps taken to address these client needs. For starters, the bar area has been given additional reinforcement near exit points in the form of stronger back-plates. This increases its ability to withstand pull stress when people put their weight on it when exiting the car, as well as persons who from time to time actually sit on them. PASSENGER STABILITY ADDITIONS In noting that many people tend to put upward pressure on the ceiling lighting systems to balance themselves when moving around, two reinforced door pulls were added to the design as hand grabs on the ceiling edges, allowing occupants a better way to comfortably move themselves. 42 NATIONAL LIMO REVIEW VOL. 17 NOVEMBER 2011 STRONGER—MORE EFFICIENT LIGHTING Down below, standard floor lights have been replaced with starlight LED’s. These lights are small, recessed, and virtually unbreakable, as opposed to flat panel lights, which often break or crack when kicked. This same concept is now applied to all of the trim and cubby lighting in the cabin, taking advantage of new and brighter LED technologies. The string systems have been further recessed to prevent unwanted hand contact by passengers to help keep them smudge & scratch-free. Thus no bulbs to break, and providing a quality, long lasting LED lighting system that uses less than a fifth of the power of their incandescent predecessors. A major plus here is the reduced strain on the alternator too. BETTER DRAINAGE Secondary considerations were also looked at in terms of regular cleaning maintenance. It’s well known to all of us the beer & wine coolers get clogged up by clients dumping trash in them. A very simple and yet highly effective method to stop water damage from clogged coolers sloshing back up onto the bar was to simply add a thin mesh screen to the bottom of the tank. This prevents the drain from being blocked. And there’s more... The solid extrusion drink holders introduced in 2005 and faithfully utilized ever since, have now been given small yet very effective overboard drain lines to evacuate liquids spilled in them. It’s long been known passengers accidentally break champagne flutes in these cup holders. When they try to clean them up, they wind up making a bigger mess all over the seats. With these added drains this nuisance is done away with. LESS EXTERIOR NOISE Now the savvy among you might consider the addition of more overboard drains equals more air noise coming back into the cabin. Well, not any more… DaBryan follows through on its reputation for innovation by creating an airfoil undercarriage cap for the drain exits. And look for this to become a standard feature industry-wide. All strip LED lines completely recessed into structure Flat panel floor lights replaced w/ LED Cup-holders w/ drains added ( 4 additional) “We’ve been quite happy with the results of our in-house stress tests and are anxious to see them proven in the field. The message was clear: Reduce the downtime… We took that to heart with all the 2012 production models” Chris Carlisle —Structural Design Manager The foil works by allowing liquids a clear exit and moves air around the drain lip, effectively muffling noise pollution. Designer Chris Carlisle is clearly amused with this one. “Its such a simple addition and yet no one’s ever bothered to do it before. We more or less had to do something when we added all the extra Undercarriage Drain Cap drains, and now its even quieter in the cabin that when we started. Go figure…” AIR CONDITIONING IMPROVEMENTS Another important consideration, and especially down south, are the cabin air systems. DaBryan has always been known to have highly reliable A/C systems and yet over time they all get clogged and tend to lose cooling performance. This is certainly nothing new, and inevitable as well. However one aspect that can be addressed is find ways to increase the length of time in-between servicing. The system components are certainly not easy to get to, and maintenance has always been a days-long downtime affair. DaBryan addressed this consideration by adding a second evaporator core to the rear cabin. No doubt operators in hot summer portions of the country will love this, as it effectively doubles the cooling airflow surface area. With this incorporation, the length of time between system servicing will dramatically increase. New Dual-Core Cabin Evaporator Coil 43 NATIONAL LIMO REVIEW VOL. 17 NOVEMBER 2011 NEW BREAK RESISTANT MASTER CONTROL PANELS INTUITIVE TOUCH-SCREEN CONTROL SYSTEMS One other design consideration that has gotten a lot of attention are the new touchscreen control panels. Every operator at some point goes through the annoyance of knobs and buttons mysteriously disappearing from the control panels. Though a minor performance issue, they cheapen the impression clients get from your sense of professionalism. And they’re hard to come by when you need to replace them. Operators asked for two simple things: Make the panels more durable, and easier to read. And so they did. NO MORE BUTTONS—NO MORE KNOBS Starting in 2010 DaBryan began addressing this issue by collaborating with MasterControl Inc., the company responsible for virtually all limousine control panels used in the industry. In 2012 DaBryan debuts its first ever 100% touch-screen control panels. With these displays all sliding buttons and turn knobs have been replaced with interactive screens. As an important safety consideration, these panels are far easier to see at night for drivers on the move, as well as for clients in darkened cabins. And no longer shall the driver or clients be pestered with button caps that The 2012 Master Control® Driver and Cabin Touch-Screen Control Panel are missing or fall off. Additionally, the removal of manual controls freed up space on the panel now used to increase the size of the typeface, making them that much easier to read. VISION AND THE ROAD AHEAD With these improvements, DaBryan hopes to continue its longstanding reputation as a highly trusted manufacturer of stretch livery vehicles. Enhancing the user experience as they do year after year is most certainly a great way of going about that. Operators interested in getting informational brochures are encouraged to contact DaBryan directly, and as always they will have the full complement of demo vehicles at our upcoming January NLR show in Las Vegas. 44