Today's car of the day is Jada's 1987 Grumman LLV.
The Grumman Long Life Vehicle or LLV is a light transport truck designed for and primarily used by the United States Postal Service.
In the United States, it is the most common vehicle used by letter carriers for curbside and residential delivery of mail, replacing the previous standard letter-carrier vehicle, the Jeep DJ-5. It entered service in 1987. The USPS purchased over 100,000 of these vehicles, of which the last was purchased in 1994. A number were also sold to Canada, Mexico, and several other countries.
Like the old postal-service Jeep, it features a right-handed driver's position (the opposite of the normal U.S. passenger car left-hand drive) and a large metal tray (able to hold three trays of letter mail) mounted where a passenger seat would normally be. This arrangement positions the driver on the side of the vehicle closest to the curb, enabling the carrier to easily grab sorted mail and place it into mailboxes without having to leave the seat. Other notable features are an exceptionally tight turning radius and a low-geared, 3 speed transmission for pulling heavy cargo. The LLV has a 1,000 pound cargo capacity.
The LLV was specifically designed for the United States Postal Service with Grumman winning a contract for production. The main design points of the vehicle in contract competition were: serviceability, handling in confined areas, and overall economical operation. As its name suggests, the LLV is easily capable of 20 years of operation. The original design lifespan of the LLV specified by the US Postal Service was 24 years, but in 2009 this was extended to 30 years. The body and final assembly is by Grumman, and the chassis is made by General Motors, with the powerplant (2.5L I-4 TBI "Iron Duke" and, in later production, GM 2.2L I-4 iron block/aluminum head engine), instrument cluster and front suspension similar to those used in the Chevrolet S-10 pickup.
The LLV's average EPA fuel economy is 17 mpg (16 city/18 highway).
Like other U.S. postal vehicles, they lack license plates, but have a postal service serial number instead.
For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Grumman LLV
A gorgeous model from Jada. This one does not suffer from blinged wheels, however it does retain the larger than 1/64 scale size that plagues most Jada castings. The level of detail blows the Matchbox LLV out of the water.
Because the USPS owns over 100,000 LLVs, of which the oldest are nearing the end of their lifespan, the USPS has been looking into replacing or retrofitting the LLVs. In fiscal year 2009, the USPS spent $524 million to repair LLVs, and estimated that it would cost $4.2 billion to replace the entire fleet. In some areas LLVs have been replaced with minivans, which tend to be much more comfortable for postal workers, especially in extreme climates. On some shorter routes, electric trucks with LLV bodies have replaced the original vehicles; five companies were contracted in February 2010 to develop prototype battery-powered LLVs which will be tested in Washington, D.C. in August 2010.
Canada Post also eventually adopted the LLV, and around 2008, began studying to determine whether to refurbish, upgrade, or replace its fleet. On March 18, 2010, Canada Post and Ford Motor Company announced that Canada Post would purchase a fleet of Ford Transit Connect vans.
No comments:
Post a Comment