The Imperia-Abadal model was manufactured by Imperia under Abadal license
Abadal Vehicles
The Abadal was a Spanishcar manufactured between 1912 and 1923, named after Francisco Abadal. Considered a fast luxury car, it was closely patterned on the Hispano-Suiza and offered in two models. One had a 3104 cc four-cylinderengine while the other had a 4521 cc six-cylinder engine.
Soon after the inception of the Abadal line, the Belgian company Impéria began building Abadals under license as Impéria-Abadals. In 1916 Abadal acquired the Buick agency, and Barcelona-built Abadals after that year had Buick power units and featured custom coachwork. These cars were called “Abadal-Buicks”. M. A. Van Roggen (formerly of Springuel) took over the Belgian operation soon after, and built around 170 more Impéria-Abadals. Among the models produced were a 2992cc 16-valve four-cylinder OHC sports model and three prototype 5630 cc straight-eights. The company ceased automobile production in 1923.
Francisco Abadal (nicknamed Paco) was a Hispano-Suiza salesman and racing driver in Barcelona. He began this enterprise in 1912, and upon its cessation became an agent of General Motors in Spain. General Motors’ plans in 1930 related to a prototype named the Abadal Continental never materialised.
Abadal 25 HP 1914
Abadal-Buick 1923
Abadal Y-12 aero-engine
Abadal also produced the Abadal Y-12 aero-engine, a multiple bank in-line engine with twelve cylinders in three banks of four arranged in a Y.
References
Jump up^Burgess Wise, David (1979). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles. London: New Burlington Books. ISBN0 906286 16 6.
Impéria Automobiles was a Belgian automobile factory, active from 1906 until 1948. The factory in Nessonvaux, Liège, Belgium, had a rooftop test track since 1928.
Imperia 7-25 CV from 1932
History
Imperia TA-9 BS 1938
1948 Imperia TA-8 Sport
Standard Vanguard convertible built by Imperia
Impéria was a Belgianautomobile manufactured from 1906 until 1948. Products of the Ateliers Piedboeuf of Liège, the first cars were designed by the German Paul Henze. These were four-cylinders of 3, 4.9, and 9.9 litres. The next year, the company moved to Nessonvaux, Trooz municipality, and began production in the old Pieper factory. Impéria produced a monobloc 12 hp (8.9 kW) in 1909. In 1910, the company merged with Springuel.
The Nessonvaux factory began producing Impéria-Abadals from about 1916. In 1921, it built three ohc 5.6-litre straight-eights. These were quickly replaced by an ephemeral ohc 3-litre 32-valve four-cylinder which had a top speed of 90 mph (140 km/h). This was followed by an 1100 cc slide-valve 11/22 hp four designed by Couchard, one of the first cars ever built with a sunroof. Its engine rotated counterclockwise, and its transmission brake also served as a servo for those on the front wheels. In 1927 a six-cylinder of 1624 cc appeared; this had been available in three-carburettor Super Sports form from 1930.
In 1925, the company hired Louis de Monge as chief research engineer. Some of his work included torsion bar suspension and automatic transmissions. De Monge left in 1937 to join Bugatti, where he would design the Bugatti 100P racer plane.
Around and on top of the factory buildings, there was a test track over 1 km long. The track was built in 1928. The only other rooftop test tracks were on Fiat’s Lingotto plant, opened in 1923, and Palacio Chrysler in Buenos Aires, opened in 1928.
Over the course of four years, Impéria took over three other Belgian car manufacturers: Métallurgique (1927), Excelsior (1929), and Nagant (1931). From 1934 until the company folded it built mainly front-wheel-drive Adlers with Belgian-made coachwork. The company merged with Minerva in 1934, but they split in 1939.
In addition to its production in Belgium, Impéria made a number of cars in Great Britain; these were assembled at a factory in Maidenhead.
From 1947 to 1949 Impéria built its last model TA-8 which combined an Adler Trumpf Junior-type chassis with an engine originally intended for the Amilcar Compound.
After 1948 Impéria assembled Standard Vanguards under license and also built a unique convertible version. After Standard decided to set up a new factory in Belgium, the factory was left without work and had to close doors in 1957.
The Imperia GP was going to be sold in 2013. The car was designed by Denis Stevens. The Imperia GP roadster would have had PowerHybrid motorization technology developed by Green Propulsion.
Pictures from my collection:
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
References
Jump up^Pegasus, newsletter of the Bugatti Association, issue 23
Volkswagen is German for “people’s car”, and the company’s current international advertising slogan is just “Volkswagen”. American English pronunciation is approximately “volks wagon” (listen(help·info)).
Model of Porsche Type 12 (Zündapp), Museum of Industrial Culture, Nuremberg
Volkswagen was originally established in 1932 by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront) in Berlin. In the early 1930s, the German auto industry was still largely composed of luxury models, and the average German could rarely afford anything more than a motorcycle. As a result, only one German out of 50 owned a car. Seeking a potential new market, some car makers began independent “people’s car” projects – the
The trend was not new, as Béla Barényi is credited with having conceived the basic design in the mid-1920s. Josef Ganz developed the Standard Superior (going as far as advertising it as the “German Volkswagen”). In Germany, the company Hanomag mass-produced the
2/10 PS “Kommissbrot”, a small, cheap rear engined car, from 1925 to 1928. Also, in Czechoslovakia, the Hans Ledwinka‘s penned
Tatra T77, a very popular car amongst the German elite, was becoming smaller and more affordable at each revision. Ferdinand Porsche, a well-known designer for high-end vehicles and race cars, had been trying for years to get a manufacturer interested in a small car suitable for a family. He felt the small cars at the time were just stripped down big cars. Instead he built a car he called the “Volksauto” from the ground up in 1933, using many of the ideas floating around at the time and several of his own, putting together a car with an air-cooled rear engine, torsion bar suspension, and a “beetle” shape, the front hood rounded for better aerodynamics (necessary as it had a small engine).
VW logo during the 1930s, initials surrounded by a stylized cogwheel and swastika wings
Josef Ganz with his Standard Superior in 1935
In 1934, with many of the above projects still in development or early stages of production, Adolf Hitler became involved, ordering the production of a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph). He wanted all German citizens to have access to cars. The “People’s Car” would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings plan at 990 Reichsmark ($396 in 1930s U.S. dollars)—about the price of a small motorcycle (the average income being around 32 RM a week).
1936 Volkswagen Beetle Type 60 V3 Prototype
Despite heavy lobbying in favor of one of the existing projects, it soon became apparent that private industry could not turn out a car for only 990 RM. Thus, Hitler chose to sponsor an all-new, state-owned factory using Ferdinand Porsche’s design (with some of Hitler’s design constraints, including an air-cooled engine so nothing could freeze). The intention was that ordinary Germans would buy the car by means of a savings scheme (“Fünf Mark die Woche musst du sparen, willst du im eigenen Wagen fahren” – “Five marks a week you must put aside, if you want to drive your own car“), which around 336,000 people eventually paid into. However, the entire project was financially unsound, and only the Nazi party made it possible to provide funding.
Prototypes of the car called the “KdF-Wagen” (German: Kraft durch Freude – “Strength through Joy”), appeared from 1938 onwards (the first cars had been produced in Stuttgart). The car already had its distinctive round shape and air-cooled, flat-four, rear-mounted engine. The VW car was just one of many KdF programs, which included things such as tours and outings. The prefix Volks— (“People’s”) was not just applied to cars, but also to other products in Germany; the “Volksempfänger” radio receiver for instance.
1937-5-28 Hitler and Ferdinand Porsche are looking at the prototype of VW Beetle on birthday VW
On 28 May 1937 The birthday of Volkswagen, Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH (“Company for the Preparation of the German Volkswagen Ltd.”), or Gezuvor for short, was established by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront in Berlin. More than a year later, on 16 September 1938, it was renamed to Volkswagenwerk GmbH.
VW Type 82E
Erwin Komenda, the longstanding Auto Union chief designer, part of Ferdinand Porsche’s hand-picked team, developed the car body of
1939 vw proto 01
the prototype, which was recognizably the Beetle known today. It was one of the first cars designed with the aid of a wind tunnel—a method used for German aircraft design since the early 1920s. The car designs were put through rigorous tests, and achieved a record-breaking million miles of testing before being deemed finished.
The construction of the new factory started in May 1938 in the new town of “Stadt des KdF-Wagens” (modern-day Wolfsburg), which had been purpose-built for the factory workers. This factory had only produced a handful of cars by the time war started in 1939. None were actually delivered to any holder of the completed saving stamp books, though one Type 1 Cabriolet was presented to Hitler on 20 April 1944 (his 55th birthday).
War changed production to military vehicles—
the Type 82 Kübelwagen (“Bucket car”) utility vehicle (VW’s most common wartime model), and
the amphibiousSchwimmwagen—manufactured for German forces. As was common with much of the production in Nazi Germany during the war, slave labor was utilized in the Volkswagen plant, e.g. from Arbeitsdorf concentration camp. The company would admit in 1998 that it used 15,000 slaves during the war effort. German historians estimated that 80% of Volkswagen’s wartime workforce was slave labor. Many of the slaves were reported to have been supplied from the concentration camps upon request from plant managers. A lawsuit was filed in 1998 by survivors for restitution for the forced labor. Volkswagen would set up a voluntary restitution fund.
Volkswagen factory
1945–1948: British Army intervention, unclear future
The company owes its post-war existence largely to one man, War-time British Armyofficer Major Ivan Hirst, REME. In April 1945, KdF-Stadt and its heavily bombed factory were captured by the Americans, and subsequently handed over to the British, within whose occupation zone the town and factory fell. The factories were placed under the control of Saddleworth-born Hirst, by then a civilian Military Governor with the occupying forces. At first, one plan was to use it for military vehicle maintenance, and possibly dismantle and ship it to Britain. Since it had been used for military production, (though not of KdF-Wagens) and had been in Hirst’s words, a “political animal” rather than a commercial enterprise — technically making it liable for destruction under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement — the equipment could have been salvaged as war reparations. Allied dismantling policy changed in late 1946 to mid-1947, though heavy industry continued to be dismantled until 1951.
One of the factory’s War-time ‘KdF-Wagen’ cars had been taken to the factory for repairs and abandoned there. Hirst had it repainted green and demonstrated it to British Army headquarters. Short of light transport, in September 1945 the British Army was persuaded to place a vital order for 20,000 cars. However, production facilities had been massively disrupted, there was a refugee crisis at and around the factory and some parts (such as carburetors) were unavailable. With striking humanity and great engineering and management ingenuity, Hirst and his German assistant Heinrich Nordhoff (who went on to run the Wolfsburg facility after Military Government ended in 1949) helped to stabilize the acute social situation while simultaneously re-establishing production. Hirst, for example, used his fine engineering experience to arrange the manufacture of carburetors, the original producers being effectively ‘lost’ in the Russian zone. The first few hundred cars went to personnel from the occupying forces, and to the German Post Office. Some British Service personnel were allowed to take their Beetles back to the United Kingdom when they were demobilised.
In 1986, Hirst explained how it was commonly misunderstood that he had run Wolfsburg as a British Army Major. The defeated German staff, he said, were initially sullen and unresponsive, having been conditioned by many years of Nazism and they were sometimes unresponsive to orders. At Nordhoff’s suggestion, he sent back to England for his officer’s uniform and from then on, had no difficulty in having his instructions followed. Hirst can be seen photographed at Wolfsburg in his uniform, although he was not actually a soldier at the time but a civilian member of the Military Government. The title of ‘Major’ was sometimes used by someone who had left the Army as a courtesy title. In fact, Hirst chose not to do so.
The post-war Industrial plans for Germany set out rules that governed which industries Germany was allowed to retain. These rules set German car production at a maximum of 10% of 1936 car production. By 1946, the factory produced 1,000 cars a month—a remarkable feat considering it was still in disrepair. Owing to roof and window damage, production had to stop when it rained, and the company had to barter new vehicles for steel for production.
The car and its town changed their Second World War-era names to “Volkswagen” and “Wolfsburg” respectively, and production increased. It was still unclear what was to become of the factory. It was offered to representatives from the American, Australian, British, and French motor industries. Famously, all rejected it. After an inspection of the plant, Sir William Rootes, head of the British Rootes Group, told Hirst the project would fail within two years, and that the car “…is quite unattractive to the average motorcar buyer, is too ugly and too noisy … If you think you’re going to build cars in this place, you’re a bloody fool, young man.” The official report said “To build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise.” In an ironic twist of fate, Volkswagen manufactured a locally built version of Rootes’s Hillman Avenger in Argentina in the 1980s, long after Rootes had gone bankrupt at the hands of Chrysler in 1978—the Beetle outliving the Avenger by over 30 years.
Ford representatives were equally critical. In March 1948, the British offered the Volkswagen company to Ford, free of charge. Henry Ford II, the son of Edsel Ford, traveled to West Germany for discussions. Heinz Nordhoff was also present, and Ernest Breech, chairman of the board for Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford II looked to Ernest Breech for his opinion, and Breech said, “Mr. Ford, I don’t think what we’re being offered here is worth a dime!” Ford passed on the offer, leaving Volkswagen to rebuild itself under Nordhoff’s leadership.
In the later 1960s, as worldwide appetite for the Beetle finally began to diminish, a variety of successor designs were proposed and, in most cases, rejected by management.
From 1948, Volkswagen became an important element, symbolically and economically, of West German regeneration. Heinrich Nordhoff (1899–1968), a former senior manager at Opel who had overseen civilian and military vehicle production in the 1930s and 1940s, was recruited to run the factory in 1948. In 1949, Major Hirst left the company—now re-formed as a trust controlled by the West German government and government of the State of Lower Saxony. The “Beetle” sedan or “peoples’ car” Volkswagen is the Type 1. Apart from the introduction of
the VW Karmann Ghia sports car, Nordhoff pursued the one-model policy until shortly before his death in 1968.
Volkswagens were first exhibited and sold in the United States in 1949, but sold only two units in America that first year. On entry to the U.S. market, the VW was briefly sold as a Victory Wagon. Volkswagen of America was formed in April 1955 to standardise sales and service in the United States. Production of the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle increased dramatically over the years, the total reaching one million in 1955.
The UK’s first official Volkswagen Importer, Colborne Garages of Ripley, Surrey, started with parts for the models brought home by soldiers returning from Germany.
Canadian Motors, Limited brought in Canada’s first shipment of Volkswagens on 10 July 1952 (shipping order 143075). The order consisted of 12 vehicles, (3) model 11C, a black, green, and sandcolor (3) 11GS, a chestnut brown and two azure blue, (2) 24A-M51 in red, (1)21A in blue, (1) 23A in blue, (1) 22A beige color, and one ambulance. Volkswagens were seen in Canada for the first time at the Canadian National Exhibition in August 1952 and were accepted enthusiastically. (At least one Type 2 bus from this order still exists, and is currently in France undergoing restoration). The first shipment for Volkswagen Canada reached Toronto in early December 1952. (At least one Type 1 from this first shipment still exists, and was driven on a nationwide tour for Volkswagen Canada’s 60th year of business festivities in 2012).
By 1955, sales were on a basis that warranted the building of the Volkswagen plant on a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site on Scarboro’s Golden Mile. To this, a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) building with administration, showrooms, service, repairs and parts was built in 1957, with storage for $4,000,000 of parts.
In 1959, VW started production at a plant near São Paulo in Brazil. Volkswagen do Brasil was accused of spying on workers during the time of the military dictatorship in the 1970´s and informing police on oppositional activities. In 1976, mass arrests occurred and some VW employees were tortured. In 1979, Brazilian VW workers traveled to Wolfsburg to inform the CEO in person. In 2015, activists and former VW employees in Brazil spoke out in public accused the company´s silence about persecution of its workers. In fall 2016, VW commissioned an expert review of the situation due end of 2017.
On 22 August 1960, Volkswagenwerk GmbH was renamed to Volkswagenwerk AG.
Sales soared, throughout the 1960s, peaking at the end of the decade, thanks in part to the famous advertising campaigns by New York advertising agency Doyle, Dane Bernbach. Led by art director Helmut Krone, and copywriters Julian Koenig and Bob Levinson, Volkswagen advertisements became as popular as the car, using crisp layouts and witty copy to lure the younger, sophisticated consumers with whom the car became associated. Even though it was almost universally known as the Beetle (or the Bug), it was never officially labelled as such by the manufacturer, instead referred to as the Type 1.
Although the car was becoming outdated, during the 1960s and early 1970s, American exports, innovative advertising, and a growing reputation for reliability helped production figures surpass the levels of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T. On 17 February 1972 the 15,007,034th Beetle was sold. Volkswagen could now claim the world production record for the most-produced, single make of car in history. By 1973, total production was over 16 million.
To commemorate its passing the Ford Model T’s record sales mark and its victories in the Baja 1000 Mexican races from 1967 to 1971, Volkswagen produced its first limited-edition Beetle. It was marketed as the “Baja Champion SE” in the United States and the “Marathon” Superbeetle in the rest of the world. It featured unique “Marathon Blau” metallic blue paint, steel-pressed 10-spoke 15-inch (38 cm) magnesium-alloy wheels, a commemorative metal plate mounted on the glovebox and a certificate of authenticity presented to the original purchaser. Dealer-installed options for this limited-edition Superbeetle included the following: white stripes running the length of the rocker-panel, a special shifter knob, bumper overriders, tapered exhaust tips, fake walnut inserts in the dashboard (behind the steering wheel and the glovebox cover) as well as Bosch fog lights mounted on the front bumper.
The 1961 Type 1 Beetle had a 36 hp 1200cc four cylinder air-cooled flat-four opposed OHV engine made of aluminum alloy block and heads. By 1966, the Type 1 came with a 1300 engine. By 1967 the Type 1 had a 1500 engine, and 1600 in 1970. The air-cooled engine lost favor in the USA market with the advent of non-leaded gasoline and smog controls. These air-cooled engines were commonly tuned to be fuel rich in order to control engine over-heating, and this led to excessive carbon monoxide emissions. VW Production equipment was eventually moved to Mexico where vehicle emissions were not regulated. Beetles were popular on the USA West Coast where the limited-capacity cabin heating was less inconvenient. Beetles were popularized on the USA West Coast as beach buggies and dune buggies.
VW expanded its product line in 1961 with the introduction of four Type 3 models (Karmann Ghia, Notchback, Fastback, and Variant) based on the new Type 3 mechanical underpinnings. The name ‘Squareback’ was used in the U.S.A for the Variant.
In 1969 the larger Type 4 (411 and 412) models were introduced. These differed substantially from previous vehicles, with the notable introduction of monocoque/unibody construction, the option of a fully automatic transmission, electronic fuel injection, and a sturdier powerplant.
Volkswagen added a “Super Beetle” (the Type 131) to its lineup in 1971. The Type 131 differed from the standard Beetle in its use of a MacPherson strut front suspension instead of the usual torsion bars. The Super Beetle featured a new hooded, padded dash and curved windshield (from 1973 model year on up). Rack and pinion steering replaced recirculating ball steering gears in model year 1975 and up. The front of the car was stretched 2 inches (51 mm) to allow the spare tire to lie flat, and the combination of these two features increased the usable front luggage space.
In 1973, Volkswagen introduced the military-themed Type 181, or “Trekker” in Europe, “Thing” in America, recalling the wartime Type 82. The military version was produced for the NATO-era German Army during the Cold War years of 1970 to 1979. The U.S. Thing version only sold for two years, 1973 and 1974.
In 1964, Volkswagen acquired Auto Union, and in 1969, NSU Motorenwerke AG (NSU). The former company owned the historic Audi brand, which had disappeared after the Second World War. VW ultimately merged Auto Union and NSU to create the modern Audi company, and would go on to develop it as its luxury vehiclemarque. The purchase of Auto Union and NSU was a pivotal point in Volkswagen’s history, as both companies yielded the technological expertise that proved necessary for VW to survive when demand for its air-cooled models went into decline.
By late 1972, Volkswagen had decided to cancel the nearly finished typ 266, a project for a mid-engined car to replace the Beetle, and to focus on front-wheel-drive, water-cooled cars. Rudolf Leiding, recently made head of Volkswagen, cited noise, heat, and servicing problems with the mid-engine layout, as well as the difficulty of making it a station wagon.
Volkswagen was in serious trouble by 1973. The Type 3 and Type 4 models had sold in much smaller numbers than the Beetle and the NSU-based K70 also failed to woo buyers. Beetle sales had started to decline rapidly in European and North American markets. The company knew that Beetle production had to end, but faced a conundrum of how to replace it. VW’s ownership of Audi/Auto Union proved beneficial. Its expertise in front-wheel drive, and water-cooled engines would help Volkswagen produce a credible Beetle successor. Audi influences paved the way for this new generation of Volkswagens: the Passat, Scirocco, Golf, and Polo.
First in the series was the Volkswagen Passat (Dasher in the US), introduced in 1973, a fastback version of the Audi 80, using many identical body and mechanical parts. Estate/wagon versions were available in many markets. In Europe, the estate/wagon version dominated in market share for many years.
In spring 1974, the Scirocco followed. The coupe was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Based on the platform of the not yet released Golf, it was built at Karmann due to capacity constraints at Volkswagen.
The pivotal model emerged as the Volkswagen Golf in 1974, marketed in the United States and Canada as the Rabbit for the 1st generation (1975–1985) and 5th generation (2006–2009). Its angular styling was designed by the Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro). Its design followed trends for small family cars set by the 1959 Mini – the Golf had a transversely mounted, water-cooled engine in the front, driving the front wheels, and had a hatchback, a format that has dominated the market segment ever since. Beetle production at Wolfsburg ended upon the Golf’s introduction. It continued in smaller numbers at other German factories (Hanover and Emden) until 1978, but mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico.
In 1975, the Volkswagen Polo followed. It was a re-badged Audi 50, which was soon discontinued in 1978. The Polo became the base of
the Volkswagen Derby, which was introduced 1977. The Derby was for all intents and purposes a three-box design of the Polo. After a second model generation, the Derby was discontinued in 1985, although the bodystyle lived on in the form of the polo classic/polo saloon until 1991.
Passat, Scirocco, Golf, and Polo shared many character defining features, as well as parts and engines. They built the basis for Volkswagen’s turn-around.
While Volkswagen’s range of cars soon became similar to that of other large European automakers, the Golf has been the mainstay of the Volkswagen lineup since its introduction, and the mechanical basis for several other cars of the company. There have been seven generations of the Volkswagen Golf, the first of which was produced from the summer of 1974 until the autumn of 1983 (sold as the Rabbit in the United States and Canada and as the Caribe in Latin America). Its chassis also spawned the Volkswagen Scirocco sport coupe, Volkswagen Jetta saloon/sedan, Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet convertible, and Volkswagen Caddy pick-up. North American production of the Rabbit commenced at the Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant near New Stanton, Pennsylvania in 1978. It would be produced in the United States as the Rabbit until the spring of 1984.The second-generation Golf hatchback/Jetta sedan ran from October 1983 until the autumn of 1991, and a North American version produced at Westmoreland Assembly went on sale at the start of the 1985 model year. The production numbers of the first-generation Golf has continued to grow annually in South Africa as
the Citi Golf, with only minor modifications to the interior, engine and chassis, using tooling relocated from the New Stanton, Pennsylvania plant when that site began to build the Second Generation car.
In the 1980s, Volkswagen’s sales in the United States and Canada fell dramatically, despite the success of models like the Golf elsewhere. The Japanese and the Americans were able to compete with similar products at lower prices. Sales in the United States were 293,595 in 1980, but by 1984 they were down to 177,709. The introduction of the second-generation Golf, GTI and Jetta models helped Volkswagen briefly in North America. Motor Trend named the GTI its Car of the Year for 1985, and Volkswagen rose in the J.D. Power buyer satisfaction ratings to eighth place in 1985, up from 22nd a year earlier. VW’s American sales broke 200,000 in 1985 and 1986 before resuming the downward trend from earlier in the decade. Chairman Carl Hahn decided to expand the company elsewhere (mostly in developing countries), and the New Stanton, Pennsylvania factory closed on 14 July 1988. Meanwhile, four years after signing a cooperation agreement with the Spanish car maker SEAT in 1982, Hahn expanded the company by purchasing a majority share of SEAT up to 75% by the end of 1986, which VW bought outright in 1990. On 4 July 1985, Volkswagenwerk AG was renamed to Volkswagen AG.
Volkswagen entered the supermini market in 1975 with the Volkswagen Polo, a stylish and spacious three-door hatchback designed by Bertone. It was a strong seller in West Germany and most of the rest of Western Europe, being one of the first foreign small cars to prove popular in Britain. It had started out in 1974 as the Audi 50, which was only available in certain markets and was less popular. The Polo entered a market sector already being dominated by the Fiat 127 and Renault 5, and which before long would also include the Austin Metro and Ford Fiesta.
In 1981, the second-generation Polo launched and sold as a hatchback and “coupe” (with the hatchback resembling a small estate car and the coupe being similar to a conventional hatchback), was an even greater success for Volkswagen. Its practicality, despite the lack of a five-door version, helped ensure even stronger sales than its predecessor, and it continued to sell well after a makeover in 1990, finally being replaced by an all-new version in 1994. Also arriving in 1981 were the second generation of the larger Passat and a second generation of the Volkswagen Scirocco coupe. The original Scirocco had been launched in 1974 to compete with affordable four-seater coupes like the Ford Capri.
In 1983 the MK2 Golf was launched. At the beginning of 1988, the third generation Passat was the next major car launch and Volkswagen did not produce a hatchback version of this Passat, despite the rising popularity of the hatchback bodystyle throughout Europe. Just after launching the B3 Passat, Volkswagen launched the Corrado, replacement for the Scirocco, although the Scirocco remained in production until 1992.
1991–1999
Volkswagen Golf, in North American form
In 1991, Volkswagen launched the third-generation Golf, which was European Car of the Year for 1992. The Golf Mk3 and Jetta arrived in North America in 1993. The sedan version of the Golf was badged Vento in Europe, but remained Jetta in the U.S. The Scirocco and the later Corrado were both Golf-based coupés.
In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the J Mays-designed Concept One, a “retro”-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, based on the platform of the Polo. Due to a positive response to the concept, a production version was developed as the New Beetle, based on the Golf’s larger platform.
In 1995 the Sharan was launched in Europe, the result of a joint venture with Ford, which also resulted in the Ford Galaxy and SEAT Alhambra.
The company’s evolution of its model range was continued with the Golf Mk4, introduced at the end of 1997 (and in North America in 1999), its chassis spawned a host of other cars within the Volkswagen Group; the Volkswagen Bora (the sedan called Jetta in the U.S.), SEAT Toledo, SEAT León, Audi A3, Audi TT, and Škoda Octavia. Other main models during the decade include the Polo, a smaller car than the Golf, and the larger Passat for the segment above the Golf.
In 1998 the company launched the new Lupo city car. In 1999 they announced the first “3-litre” car, a lightweight version of the Lupo that could travel 100 km with only 3-litres of diesel—making it the world’s most fuel efficient car at the time.
The sixth-generation Passat and the fifth-generation Jetta both debuted in 2005, and VW announced plans to expand its lineup further by bringing back the Scirocco by 2008. Other models in Wolfgang Bernhard‘s (Volkswagen brand CEO) “product offensive” include the Tiguan mid-sized SUV in 2008 and a Passat Coupé. In November 2006 Bernd Pischetsrieder announced his resignation as Volkswagen Group CEO, and was replaced by Audi worldwide CEO Martin Winterkorn at the beginning of 2007.
Volkswagen in 2005 maintained North American sales of 224,195. Momentum continued for fiscal 2006, as VW’s North American sales for the year were 235,140 vehicles, a 4.9 percent increase over 2005, despite a slump in domestic North American manufacturer’s sales. In conjunction with the introduction of new models, production location of Volkswagen vehicles also underwent great change. The 2007 Eos, a hardtop convertible, is produced in a new facility in Portugal. All Golfs/Rabbits and GTIs as of 2006 are manufactured in Wolfsburg, Germany, rather than VW’s Mexican factory in Puebla, where Golfs and GTIs for the North American market were produced from 1989 to 1998, and the Brazilian factory in Curitiba, where Golfs and GTIs were produced from 1999 to 2006 (the Jetta has primarily been made in Mexico since 1989). VW is also in the process of reconfiguring an automotive assembly plant in Belgium. The new models and investments in manufacturing improvements were noticed immediately by automotive critics. Favorable reviews for VW’s newest cars include the GTI being named by Consumer Reports as the top sporty car under $25,000, one of Car and Driver magazine’s “10 Best” for 2007, Automobile Magazine’s 2007 Car of the Year, as well as a 2008 Motor Trend comparison ranking the mid-size Passat first in its class.
Volkswagen partnered with Daimler AG and other companies to market the BlueTecclean dieseltechnology on cars and trucks from Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and other companies and brands. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, four of the ten most fuel-efficient vehicles available for sale in the U.S. are powered by Volkswagen diesel engines. Volkswagen has offered a number of its vehicles with a TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine, which lends class-leading fuel economy to several models. They were a three-way tie for 8th (TDI Beetle, TDI Golf, TDI Jetta) and ninth, the TDI Jetta Wagon. In addition, all Volkswagen TDI diesel engines produced from 1996 to 2006 can be driven on 100% biodiesel fuel. For the 2007 model year, however, strict U.S. government emissions regulations have forced VW to drop most diesels from their U.S. engine lineup, but a new lineup of diesel engines compatible to U.S. standards returned to the American market starting with Model Year 2009. These post-2009 Clean Diesel engines are limited to running on 5% (B5) biodiesel only to maintain Volkswagen’s warranty. Volkswagen long resisted adding a SUV to its lineup, but relented with the introduction of
the Touareg, made in partnership with Porsche, while they worked on the Porsche Cayenne and later the Audi Q7. Though acclaimed as a fine handling vehicle, the Touareg has been a modest seller at best, and it has been criticised by auto reviewers for its absence of a third-row seat, the relatively poor fuel economy, and the high vehicle mass. VW set plans to add a compact SUV with styling influences from the “Concept A” concept vehicle introduced at the 2006 Geneva Auto Show, and on 20 July 2006, VW announced that the new vehicle, called
Since the discontinuance of the T4 in 2003 and decision not to bring the T5 to the US market, Volkswagen, ironically, lacked a van in its North American lineup. To change this, Volkswagen launched the Volkswagen Routan, a badge-engineeredDodge Grand Caravan made for the American and Canadian markets, in 2008.
In September 2006, Volkswagen began offering the City Golf and City Jetta only for the Canadian market. Both models were originally the Mk4 Golf and Jetta but were later replaced with the Brazilian versions of the Golf Mk4 and Bora. Volkswagen’s introduction of such models is seen as a test of the market for a subcompact and, if successful, may be the beginnings of a thriving subcompact market for Volkswagen.
In May 2011, Volkswagen completed Chattanooga Assembly in the US state of Tennessee. The facility has produced Volkswagen cars and SUVs specifically designed for North American markets, beginning with the Passat B7 in 2011. The company recently announced plans to expand further by investing $900 million to add floor space to the factory.
The VW XL1 began a limited production run in 2013. The XL1 is a lightweight and fuel efficient two-person vehicle (only 795 kg).
The Volkswagen Atlas (a large crossoverSUV) begins production in late 2016, and aims to help end several years of losses for Volkswagen in the US, the world’s second-largest auto market.
On 14 September 2016, Volkswagen announced its partnership with three Israeli cybersecurity experts to create a new company, Cymotive, dedicated to automotive security.
VW calls their shift towards electric vehicles “Transform 2025+”. As part of the strategy, VW aims to launch more than 30 electric vehicles until 2025, and is anticipating yearly sales of 2 to 3 million electric VW cars by 2025, which would make up 20 to 25 percent of their total yearly sales volume. In September 2017, CEO Matthias Mueller announced plans to have electric version of all of VW’s 300 automotive models by 2030. The company vows to spend 20 billion euros by 2030 to roll out the cars and designated another 50 billion euros to buy the batteries needed to power the vehicles.
In April 2018, Volkswagen has finally whipped the covers of its first all-electric race car, the I.D. R Pikes Peak, which has been built to conquer the road race of the same name. The I.D. R Pikes Peak was unveiled in Alès, France, and should be ready to roll in two short months. It will be powered by twin engines, though this time around they’ll be strictly electric. With a lithium-ion battery system on board, the car generates 680 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque.
Operations
Volkswagen is the founding and namesake member of the Volkswagen Group, a large international corporation in charge of multiple car and truck brands, including Audi, SEAT, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, Scania, MAN, and Škoda. Volkswagen Group’s global headquarters are located in Volkswagen’s historic home of Wolfsburg, Germany.
Volkswagen Group, as a unit, is Europe’s largest automaker. For a long time, Volkswagen has had a market share over 20 percent.
In 2010, Volkswagen posted record sales of 6.29 million vehicles, with its global market share at 11.4%. In 2008, Volkswagen became the third largest automaker in the world, and, as of 2012, Volkswagen is the second largest manufacturer worldwide. Volkswagen has aimed to double its US market share from 2% to 4% in 2014, and is aiming to become, sustainably, the world’s largest car maker by 2018. Volkswagen Group’s core markets include Germany and China.
Worldwide presence
Volkswagen has factories in many parts of the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets. In addition to plants in Germany, Volkswagen has manufacturing or assembly facilities in Mexico, the US, Slovakia, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa. In 2011, Volkswagen was named in the top 25 largest companies in the world by the Forbes Global 2000.
Volkswagen is setting up a new factory in West Java, Indonesia, which started construction in mid-2013. The investment into the new plant, which will produce large transporters and multivans, is valued at $140 million.
As of May 2014, Volkswagen is planning to start assembling certain engines in India to increase localisation from 70% to 90%.
In January 2016, Volkswagen announced launching a new factory in Algeria during a summit between Angela Merkel and Algerian prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal.
Work–life balance
Volkswagen agreed in December 2011 to implement a rule passed by the company’s works council aimed at improving work–life balanceby restricting company email functionality on the firm’s BlackBerry smartphones from 6:30 pm to 7:30 am. The change was a response to employees’ complaints about high stress levels at work and the expectation that employees would immediately answer after-hours email from home. About 1,150 of Volkswagen’s more than 190,000 employees are affected by the email restriction.
Relationship with Porsche and the Volkswagen Law
Volkswagen has always had a close relationship with Porsche, the Zuffenhausen-based sports car manufacturer founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the original Volkswagen designer and Volkswagen company co-founder, hired by Adolf Hitler for the project. The first Porsche car, the Porsche 64 of 1938, used many components from the Volkswagen Beetle. The 1948 Porsche 356 continued using many Volkswagen components, including a tuned engine, gearbox and suspension.
The two companies continued their collaboration in 1969 to make the VW-Porsche 914 and Porsche 914-6. (The 914-6 had a 6-cylinder Porsche engine, and the standard 914 had a Volkswagen engine.) Volkswagen and Porsche would collaborate again in 1976 on the Porsche 912-E (USA only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components and was built at Audi’s Neckarsulm facilities. The 924 was originally designated for AUDI. Most Porsche 944 models were built there, although they used far fewer VW components.
In September 2005, Porsche announced it would increase its 5% stake in Volkswagen to 20% at a cost of €3 billion, with the intention that the combined stakes of Porsche and the government of Lower Saxony would ensure that any hostile takeover by foreign investors would be impossible. Speculated suitors included DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and Renault. In July 2006, Porsche increased their ownership again to 25.1%.
On 4 March 2005, the European Commission brought an action against the Federal Republic of Germany before the European Court of Justice, claiming that the Volkswagen Law, which prevents any shareholder in Volkswagen from executing more than 20% of the total voting rights in the firm, was illegally restricting the flow of capital in Europe. On 13 February 2007, Advocate GeneralDámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer submitted an opinion to the court in support of the action. This again opened the possibility of a hostile takeover of VW and so on 26 March of the same year Porsche took its holding of Volkswagen shares to 30.9%. Porsche formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen, but intended the move to avoid a competitor’s taking a large stake and to stop hedge funds from dismantling VW. As expected, on 22 October 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled in agreement with Ruiz-Jarabo and the law was struck down. In October 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled that the VW law was illegal because it was protectionist. At that time, Porsche held 31% of VW shares — although a smaller proportion of voting rights, due to the Volkswagen Law — and there had been speculation that Porsche would be interested in taking over VW if the law did not stand in its way. The court also prevented the government from appointing Volkswagen board members. The German government then rewrote the Volkswagen law, only to be sued again. In October 2013, the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that the rewritten Volkswagen law “complied in full” with EU rules.
On 26 October 2008, Porsche revealed its plan to assume control of VW. As of that day, it held 42.6% of Volkswagen’s ordinary shares and stock options on another 31.5%. Combined with the state of Lower Saxony’s 20.1% stake, this left only 5.8% of shares on the market—mostly with index funds that could not legally sell. Hedge funds desperate to cover their short positions forced Volkswagen stock above one thousand euros per share, briefly making it the world’s largest company by market capitalisation on 28 October 2008. By January 2009, Porsche had a 50.76% holding in Volkswagen AG, although the “Volkswagen Law” prevented it from taking control of the company.
On 6 May 2009, the two companies decided to join together, in a merger.
On 13 August, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft’s Supervisory Board signed the agreement to create an integrated automotive group with Porsche led by Volkswagen. The initial decision was for Volkswagen to take a 42.0% stake in Porsche AG by the end of 2009, and it would also see the family shareholders selling the automobile trading business of Porsche Holding Salzburg to Volkswagen. In October 2009 however, Volkswagen announced that its percentage in Porsche would be 49.9% for a cost of €3.9 billion (the 42.0% deal would have cost €3.3 billion). On 1 March 2011, Volkswagen has finalized the purchase of Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS), Austria’s leading specialty automobile distributor, for €3.3 billion ($4.55 billion).
AutoMuseum
Since 1985, Volkswagen has run the Volkswagen AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg, a museum dedicated specifically to the history of Volkswagen. In addition to visiting exhibits in person, owners of vintage Volkswagens anywhere in the world may order what the museum refers to as a “Birth Certificate” for a set fee of €50—this formal “Zertifikat” indicates basic information known at the time of manufacture (colors, options, port of destination, etc.).
Volkswagen do Brasil produced and sold neat ethanol-powered, (E100 only), vehicles in Brazil, and production was discontinued only after they were supplanted by more modern Flex Fuel technology. As a response to the 1973 oil crisis, the Brazilian government began promoting bioethanol as a fuel, and the National Alcohol Program –Pró-Álcool– (Portuguese: Programa Nacional do Álcool) was launched in 1975. Compelled by the 1979 energy crisis, and after development and testing with government fleets by the CTA at São José dos Campos, and further testing of several prototypes developed by the four local carmakers, including Volkswagen do Brasil, neat ethanol vehicles were launched in the Brazilian market. Gasoline engines were modified to support hydrous ethanol characteristics and changes included compression ratio, amount of fuel injected, replacement of materials that would get corroded by the contact with ethanol, use of colder spark plugs suitable for dissipating heat due to higher flame temperatures, and an auxiliary cold-start system that injects gasoline from a small tank in the engine compartment to help starting when cold. Within six years, around 75% of all Brazilian passenger cars were manufactured with ethanol engines.
Production and sales of neat ethanol vehicles tumbled beginning in 1987 owing to several factors, including a sharp decline in gasoline prices as a result of the 1980s oil glut, and high sugar prices in the world market, shifting sugarcane ethanol production from fuel to sugar. By mid-1989, a shortage of ethanol fuel supply in the local market left thousands of vehicles in line at gas stations or out of fuel in their garages, forcing consumers to abandon ethanol vehicles.
Flexible-fuel vehicles
The 2003 VW Gol 1.6 Total Flex was the first full flexible-fuel vehicle launched in Brazil, capable of running on any blend of gasoline and E100. In March of that year, on its fiftieth anniversary, Volkswagen do Brasil launched in the local market the Gol 1.6 Total Flex, the first Brazilian commercial flexible fuel vehicle capable of running on any mix of E20-E25 gasoline and up to 100% hydrousethanol fuel (E100). After the neat ethanol fiasco, consumer confidence in ethanol-powered vehicles was restored, allowing a rapid adoption of the flex technology. This was facilitated by the fuel distribution infrastructure already in place throughout Brazil, with more than 30 thousand fueling stations, a heritage of the Pró-Álcool program
Owing to the success and rapid consumer acceptance of the flex-fuel versions, by 2005 VW had sold 293,523 flex-fuel cars and light-duty trucks, and only 53,074 gasoline-only automobiles, jumping to 525,838 flex-fuel vehicles and only 13,572 gasoline-only cars and 248 gasoline-only light trucks in 2007, and reaching new car sales of 564,959 flex-fuel vehicles in 2008, representing 96% of all new cars and light-duty trucks sold in that year. VW do Brasil stopped manufacturing gasoline-only vehicles models for the local market in 2006, and all of the remaining gasoline-only Volkswagen models sold in Brazil are imported. The flex-fuel models currently produced for the local market are the Gol, Fox, CrossFox, Parati, Polo Hatch, Polo Sedan, Saveiro, Golf, and Kombi. By March 2009, Volkswagen do Brasil had attained the milestone mark of two million flex-fuel vehicles produced since 2003.
Hybrid vehicles
The Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid gets 48 mpg highway.
Volkswagen and Sanyo have teamed up to develop a battery system for hybrid cars. Volkswagen head Martin Winterkorn has confirmed the company plans to build compact hybrid electric vehicles. He has stated “There will definitely be compact hybrid models, such as Polo and Golf, and without any great delay”, with gasoline and diesel power. For example, Golf is the ideal model to go hybrid as the Golf 1.4 TSI was recently awarded the “Auto Environment Certificate” by the Oko-Trend Institute for Environmental Research, and was considered as one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles of 2007. Also underway at Volkswagen’s BraunschweigR&D facilities in Northern Germany is a hybrid version of the next-generation Touareg.
VW intends all future models to have the hybrid option. “Future VW models will fundamentally also be constructed with hybrid concepts,” VW head of development Ulrich Hackenberg told Automobilwoche in an interview. Hackenberg mentioned that the car based on the Up! concept seen at Frankfurt Motor Show, as well as all future models, could be offered with either full or partial hybrid options. The rear-engine up! will go into production in 2011. Nothing has been said about plug-in hybrid options.
Volkswagen announced at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show the launch of the 2012 Touareg Hybrid, scheduled for 2011. VW also announced plans to introduce diesel-electric hybrid versions of its most popular models in 2012, beginning with the new Jetta, followed by the Golf Hybrid in 2013 together with hybrid versions of the Passat. In 2012, the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid set the world record to become the fastest hybrid car at 187 mph.
Plug-in electric vehicles
In November 2009, Volkswagen announced it has hired Karl-Thomas Neumann as its group chief officer for electric traction. VW’s Chief of research, Jürgen Leohold, said in 2010 the company has concluded hydrogen fuel-cell cars are not a viable option.
In order to comply with increasingly strict carbon dioxide emission limits in major markets, the VW Group expects to sell about one million all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles a year worldwide by 2025. The Group plans to expand its plug-in range with 20 new pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars, including two cars to compete with Tesla Motors, the Porsche Mission E all-electric car and the Audi e-tron quattro, which is expected to become the brand’s first mass production electric vehicle. According to Thomas Ulbrich, VW brand production chief, the carmaker has capacitty to build as many as 75,000 battery electric and plug-in hybrids a year if demand rises. Volkswagen announced in October 2015 that “it will develop a modular architecture for battery electric cars, called the MEB. The standardized system will be designed for all body structures and vehicle types and will allow the company to build emotionally appealing EVs with a range of up to 310 mi (500 km).” In June 2016, VW launched a program to develop 30 all-electric cars in 10 years, and sell 2-3 million electric cars per year by 2025. Due to lower manpower requirements for electric motors than for piston engines, VW expects a gradual workforce reduction as numbers of electric cars increase. VW considers battery factory ownership as too expensive.
Environmental record
The Volkswagen XL1, with potential mileage as high as 261 mpg, is the most fuel-efficient car in the world
In 1974 Volkswagen paid a $120,000 fine to settle a complaint filed by the Environmental Protection Agency over the use of so-called “defeat devices” that disabled certain pollution-control systems. The complaint said the use of the devices violated the U.S. Clean Air Act.
In 1996, Volkswagen first implemented its seven environmental goals in Technical Development with themes involving climate protection, resource conservation, and healthcare, through objectives such as reducing greenhouse emissions and fuel consumption, enabling alternative fuels, and avoiding hazardous materials. The goals have been revised in 2002 and 2007. Volkswagen was the first car manufacturer to apply ISO 14000, during its drafting stage and was re-certified under the standards in September 2005.
In 2011, Greenpeace began criticising Volkswagen’s opposition to legislation requiring tighter controls on CO2 emissions and energy efficiency, and launched an advertising campaign parodying VW’s series of Star Wars-based commercials.
In 2013, the Volkswagen XL1 became the most fuel-efficient production car in the world, with a claimed combined fuel consumption of 261 mpg (0.90 liter/100 km). Driving style has huge impact on this result – “normal” driving produces mileage in the 120 mpg range (1.96 liter/100 km).
On 18 September 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said beginning in 2008 the automaker improperly installed engine control unit (ECU) software determined to be a “defeat device”, in violation of the Clean Air Act to circumvent environmental regulations of NOxemissions by diesel engine 2009-2015 model year Volkswagen and Audi cars. The software detects when the cars were being subject to emissions testing, and then fully enabled ECU emission controls to successfully pass. However, during normal driving conditions, emission control software was shut off in order to attain greater fuel economy and additional power, resulting in as much as 40 times more pollution than allowed by law. Consumer Reports tested a 2011 Jetta SportWagen TDI and found in emissions mode its 0-60 mph time increased by 0.6 seconds and its highway fuel economy dropped from 50 mpg to 46 mpg. Volkswagen admitted to using the defeat device, and has been ordered to recall approximately 482,000 cars with four-cylinder 2.0-liter TDI engines. United States federal penalties may include fines ranging up to US$18billion, and possibly criminal charges. On 28 June 2016, Volkswagen agreed to pay a settlement of $15.3 billion, the largest auto-related consumer class-action lawsuit in the United States history.
In May 2014, the EPA was first alerted to the issue by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), reporting results of research commissioned for them by West Virginia University‘s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions (CAFEE). After 15 months of denying the emissions control systems were deliberately gamed and instead claiming discrepancies due to “technical” reasons, on August 21 Volkswagen acknowledged to the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) their emission controls systems were rigged. This was followed by a formal announcement of admission to regulators on September 3 which took place immediately after the EPA threatened to withhold approval for their 2016 cars. Volkswagen’s initial public response came on 20 September, when a spokesman said they would stop all US sales of the diesel models affected. Chairman Martin Winterkorn issued an apology and said Volkswagen would cooperate with investigators. Since emission standards in Canada are close to those in the US, Volkswagen Canada also halted sales of the affected diesel models. on 22 September 2015, Volkswagen spokesman admitted that the defeat device is installed in ~11 million vehicles with Type EA 189 diesel engines worldwide.
On the first business day after the news, Volkswagen’s stock price declined 20% and declined another 17% the following day, the same day a social media advertisement with Wired about “how diesel was re-engineered” was removed as well as a series of YouTube ads titled “Diesel Old Wives’ Tales”. On Wednesday, 23 September, Volkswagen chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn resigned. Volkswagen hired Kirkland & Ellis law firm for defense, the same firm that defended BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
On 2 November 2016, the EPA issued a second notice of violation (NOV) pertaining to certain diesel 3.0-liter V6 equipped Audis, Volkswagen Touaregs and Porsche Cayennes. The EPA found beginning with the 2009 model year all vehicles powered by the V6 were non-compliant. During testing the EPA, CARB and Transport Canada discovered software that activates pollution reduction systems when the automobiles are being driven under federal test conditions, otherwise during real world driving these devices are inactive. Volkswagen disputed the EPA’s findings stating their software was legally permitted, however shortly after Volkswagen issued a stop-sale for the EPA’s disputed vehicles and additional models the EPA did not question.
In March 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission sued Volkswagen for false advertising, because Volkswagen’s “clean diesel” vehicles were less environmentally friendly than advertised.
In November 2016, Volkswagen and its labour unions agreed to reduce the workforce by 30,000 people until 2021 as a result of the costs from the violations. However, 9,000 new jobs would come by producing more electric cars. Volkswagen also announced plans to become the world leader in electric cars, producing 1 million VW-EVs by 2025 and 3 million by the group, and a VW manager stated that its diesel cars would not become available in USA.
On 11 January 2017, Volkswagen agreed to plead guilty to the emissions-cheating scandal and to pay $4.3 billion in penalties. Six Volkswagen executives were charged. The following day, one of the indicted executives was ordered to be held without bail pending trial as it was feared that he would flee to Germany and extradition would be impossible. Senior VW management staff were warned not to travel to the US. On 23 January 2017, a US judge approved a $1.2 billion settlement in which 650 American dealers, “who, like consumers, were blindsided by the brazen fraud that VW perpetrated,” would receive an average of $1.85 million.
Awards
The Volkswagen Polo in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Volkswagen Polo won the 2010 World Car of the Year
In 1963, Formula Vee circuit racing, with cars built from easily available Beetle parts, started in the United States. It quickly spread to Europe and other parts of the world. It proved very popular as a low-cost route into formula racing.
In July 2011 Wolfgang Dürheimer, the director of Bugatti and Bentley, told German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport that “if [the VW group] is at the forefront of the auto industry, I can imagine us competing in Formula 1 in 2018. We have enough brands to pull it off.” They did not compete in F1 in 2018.
World Rally Championship
In 1981, now based in Hanover, VW took a new direction into rallying, with the launch of the first-generation Golf, and Sweden’s Per Eklund, Frenchman Jean-Luc Thérier, and the Finn Pentti Airikkala. The final chapters in Volkswagen Racing UK’s rallying story were the ‘one-make’ Castrol Polo Challenge, and the Polo GTI ‘Super 1600’ in 2001.
Europe: In 1998 the company founded the ADAC Volkswagen Lupo Cup, founded in 1998 (renamed Polo Cup in 2003, and Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup from 2010 to 2014), and started the ADAC New Beetle Cup in 2000. In 2004, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles entered the European Truck Racing series with the Volkswagen Titan truck – it became a back-to-back champion for the 2004 and 2005 series.
United States: In 1976, Volkswagen entered the under-2000-cc Trans-Am Series, with the Scirocco, and they won their class outright. Beginning in 2008 Volkswagen introduced the Jetta TDI Cup. The Jetta TDI Cup is a SCCA sanctioned race series that features 25 drivers between the ages of 16 and 26 driving slightly modified 2009 Jetta TDIs. The series features 10 events at 8 different road courses across North America. There is $50,000 prize money at stake over the course of the series in addition to the $100,000 prize awarded to the champion of the series at the conclusion of the last race.
Argentina: Many Volkswagen models have competed in TC 2000, including the 1980 to 1983 champion Volkswagen 1500 and the 1994 champion Volkswagen Gol.
In 1999 and 2000, VW won the F2 Australian Rally Championship with the Golf GTI.
Finland: In 2002, VW won the Finnish Rally Championship in a7/(F2), with a Golf Mk4 KitCar, with Mikko Hirvonen. In 1999 and 2000, VW won the Finnish Rally Championship in a7/(F2) with a Golf Mk3 KitCar. In 2000, 2001 and 2002, VW won the Finnish Racing Championship in Sport 2000 with a Golf Mk4.
Austria: From 1967 until 1974, the Austrian sole distributor Porsche Salzburg entered the VW Beetle (1500, 1302S and 1303S) in Europe-wide rallies. Victories were achieved in 1972 and 1973 in the overall Austrian championship, on Elba, in the Acropolis rally (first in class). Top drivers were Tony Fall (GB), Achim Warmbold (D), Günter Janger (A), Harry Källström(S).
1939 Berlin to Rome. Porsche Type 64 racer based on Beetle platform
Halwart Schrader: VW Personenwagen seit 1945, Band 1, Typenkompass. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN3-613-02105-6.
Halwart Schrader: VW Personenwagen seit 1945, Band 2, Typenkompass. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN3-613-02186-2.
Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos, Band 2, 1920–1945. 2. Auflage. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN3-613-02170-6.
Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos, Band 3, 1945–1990, Ford, Opel und Volkswagen. 1. Auflage. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN3-613-02116-1.
The pictures I collected the last years, my own pictures and the ones from the worldwideweb:
Zentralbild Junge 20.3.1957 Ehemalige Botschaft der USA, Berlin Blick auf die Ruine der ehemaligen Botschaft der USA in Berlin, Pariser Platz 2 Ecke Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 21. (Aufgenommen am 18. März 1957)
VW-Werk, Wolfsburg End-MontageVW-Werk, Wolfsburg Montage 412VW-Werk, Wolfsburg Forschung und EntwicklungsabteilungVW-Werk, Wolfsburg Forschung und EntwicklungsabteilungVW-Werk Salzgitter Salzgitter Endmontage 412 und K70VW-Werk, Wolfsburg Montage 412
VW-Werk, Wolfsburg Montage-Käfer
VW-Werk, Wolfsburg Montage 412
VW-Werk, Wolfsburg Forschung und EntwicklungsabteilungVW-Werk, Wolfsburg Forschung und Entwicklung PKW-Versuch/Abt. Sicherheit, Prüfgerät zur Belastung von Fahrzeugbauteilen mit Kräften, wie sie bei einem Crash auftreten. 1. März 1973
VW-Werk Wolfsburg Endmontage Passat
VW-Werk, Wolfsburg Forschung und Entwicklung Fahrzeug im Klimawindkanal, Messungen des aerodynamischen Verhaltens, Heizungs- und Belüftungseigenschaften bei unterschiedlichen Klimabedingungen
^Tooze notes: “Even if the war had not intervened, developments up to 1939 made clear that the entire conception of the ‘people’s car’ was a disastrous flop.” Tooze (2006) p.156).
^Manfred Grieger; Ulrike Gutzmann; Dirk Schlinkert, eds. (2008). Volkswagen Chronicle (PDF). Historical Notes. 7. Volkswagen AG. ISBN978-3-935112-11-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
^König, Wolfgang. “Adolf Hitler vs. Henry Ford: The Volkswagen, the Role of America as a Model, and the Failure of a Nazi Consumer Society.” German Studies Review, vol. 27, no. 2, 2004, pp. 249–268. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1433081.
^Wilkins, Gordon (December 1972). “Volkswagenwerk plans new cars and engines”. CAR (South Africa). Vol. 16 no. 11. Cape Town, South Africa: Ramsay, Son & Parker (Pty) Ltd. p. 11.
1912-14 Adler betreft met zeer waarschijnlijk een carroserie v d N.V. Fabriek voor luxe rijtuigen en automobielen vh gebroeders H & F Kimman De nieuwe Haarlemsche ziekenauto zijingang
Dear viewers and readers, when you know about more ambulances starting with the A, I’m grateful and then I fill this blog on so its get still more interesting and complete. Thanks already.
B
Barkas 1000 + Barkas Framo Ambulances from the DDR
1913-Bedelia-BD-1-Livrai569 Ambulance
1914 BEDELIA – CYCLECAR TYPE MICHEL PORTE BRANCARD
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation, from or between places of treatment, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient. The word is often associated with road going emergency ambulances which form part of an emergency medical service, administering emergency care to those with acute medical problems.
The term ambulance does, however, extend to a wider range of vehicles other than those with flashing warning lights and sirens. The term also includes a large number of non-urgent ambulances which are for transport of patients without an urgent acute condition (see below: Functional types) and a wide range of urgent and non-urgent vehicles including trucks, vans, bicycles, motorbikes, station wagons, buses, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, boats, and even hospital ships (see below: Vehicle types).
The term ambulance comes from the Latin word “ambulare” as meaning “to walk or move about” which is a reference to early medical care where patients were moved by lifting or wheeling. The word originally meant a moving hospital, which follows an army in its movements. Ambulances (Ambulancias in Spanish) were first used for emergency transport in 1487 by the Spanish forces during the siege of Málaga by the Catholic Monarchs against the Emirate of Granada. During the American Civil War vehicles for conveying the wounded off the field of battle were called ambulance wagons. Field hospitals were still called ambulances during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and in the Serbo-Turkish war of 1876 even though the wagons were first referred to as ambulances about 1854 during the Crimean War.
There are other types of ambulance, with the most common being the patient transport ambulance (sometimes called an ambulette). These vehicles are not usually (although there are exceptions) equipped with life-support equipment, and are usually crewed by staff with fewer qualifications than the crew of emergency ambulances. Their purpose is simply to transport patients to, from or between places of treatment. In most countries, these are not equipped with flashing lights or sirens. In some jurisdictions there is a modified form of the ambulance used, that only carries one member of ambulance crew to the scene to provide care, but is not used to transport the patient. Such vehicles are called fly-cars. In these cases a patient who requires transportation to hospital will require a patient-carrying ambulance to attend in addition to the first responder.
History
Early car-based ambulances, like this 1948 Cadillac Meteor, were sometimes also used as hearses.
The history of the ambulance begins in ancient times, with the use of carts to transport incurable patients by force. Ambulances were first used for emergency transport in 1487 by the Spanish, and civilian variants were put into operation during the 1830s. Advances in technology throughout the 19th and 20th centuries led to the modern self-powered ambulances.
Functional types
Ambulances can be grouped into types depending on whether or not they transport patients, and under what conditions. In some cases, ambulances may fulfil more than one function (such as combining emergency ambulance care with patient transport
Emergency ambulance – The most common type of ambulance, which provide care to patients with an acute illness or injury. These can be road-going vans, boats, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft (known as air ambulances) or even converted vehicles such as golf carts.
Patient transport ambulance – A vehicle, which has the job of transporting patients to, from or between places of medical treatment, such as hospital or dialysiscenter, for non-urgent care. These can be vans, buses or other vehicles.
Response unit – Also known as a fly-car or a [Quick Response Vehicle], which is a vehicle which is used to reach an acutely ill patient quickly, and provide on scene care, but lacks the capacity to transport the patient from the scene. Response units may be backed up by an emergency ambulance which can transport the patient, or may deal with the problem on scene, with no requirement for a transport ambulance. These can be a wide variety of vehicles, from standard cars, to modified vans, motorcycles, pedal cycles, quad bikes or horses. These units can function as a vehicle for officers or supervisors (similar to a fire chief’s vehicle, but for ambulance services). Fire & Rescue services in North America often staff EMTs or Paramedics to their apparatuses to provide medical care without the need to wait for an ambulance.
Charity ambulance – A special type of patient transport ambulance is provided by a charity for the purpose of taking sick children or adults on trips or vacations away from hospitals, hospices or care homes where they are in long term care. Examples include the United Kingdom’s ‘Jumbulance’ project. These are usually based on a bus.
Bariatric ambulance – A special type of patient transport ambulance designed for extremely obese patients equipped with the appropriate tools to move and manage these patients.
Vehicle types
In the US, there are four types of ambulances. There are Type I, Type II, Type III and Type IV. Type I is based upon a heavy truck chassis and is used primarily for Advanced Life Support and rescue work. Type II is a van based ambulance with little modifications except for a raised roof. Its use is for basic life support and transfer of patients. The Type III is a van chassis but with a custom made rear compartment and has the same use as Type I ambulances. Type IV’s are nomenclature for smaller ad hoc patient transfer using smaller utility vehicles where passenger vehicles and trucks would have difficulty in traversing, such as large industrial complexes, commercial venues, and special events with large crowds. These do not, generally, fall under Federal Regulations.
Ambulances can be based on many types of vehicle, although emergency and disaster conditions may lead to other vehicles serving as makeshift ambulances:
A Modern American Ambulance built on the Chassis of a Ford F-450 truck
Van or pickup truck – A typical ambulance is based on either the chassis of a van (vanbulance) or pickup truck. This chassis is then modified to the designs and specifications of the purchaser.
Car/SUV – Used either as a fly-car for rapid response or for patients who can sit, these are standard car models adapted to the requirements of the service using them. Some cars are capable of taking a stretcher with a recumbent patient, but this often requires the removal of the front passenger seat, or the use of a particularly long car. This was often the case with early ambulances, which were converted (or even serving) hearses, as these were some of the few vehicles able to accept a human body in a supine position.
Motorcycle – In developed areas, these are used for rapid response in an emergency as they can travel through heavy traffic much faster than a car or van. Trailers or sidecars can make these patient transporting units. See also motorcycle ambulance.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulance of the HSE National ambulance service in Ireland. This type of ambulance is typically used in England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Bicycle – Used for response, but usually in pedestrian-only areas where large vehicles find access difficult. Like the motorcycle ambulance, a bicycle may be connected to a trailer for patient transport, most often in the developing world. See also cycle responder.
All-terrain vehicle (ATV) – for example quad bikes; these are used for response off-road, especially at events. ATVs can be modified to carry a stretcher, and are used for tasks such as mountain rescue in inaccessible areas.
Golf cart or Neighborhood Electric Vehicle – Used for rapid response at events or on campuses. These function similarly to ATVs, with less rough terrain capability, but with less noise.
Helicopter – Usually used for emergency care, either in places inaccessible by road, or in areas where speed is of the essence, as they are able to travel significantly faster than a road ambulance. Helicopter and fixed-wing ambulances are discussed in greater detail at air ambulance.
Fixed-wing aircraft – These can be used for either acute emergency care in remote areas (such as in Australia, with the ‘Flying Doctors‘), for patient transport over long distances (e.g. a re-patriation following an illness or injury in a foreign country), or transportation between distant hospitals. Helicopter and fixed-wing ambulances are discussed in greater detail at air ambulance.
Boat – Boats can be used to serve as ambulances, especially in island areas or in areas with a large number of canals, such as the Venetianwater ambulances. Some lifeboats or lifeguard vessels may fit the description of an ambulance as they are used to transport a casualty.
Ship – Ships can be used as hospital ships, mostly operated by national military services, although some ships are operated by charities. They can meet the definition of ambulances as they provide transport to the sick and wounded (along with treatment). They are often sent to disaster or war zones to provide care for the casualties of these events.
Bus – In some cases, buses can be used for multiple casualty transport, either for the purposes of taking patients on journeys, in the context of major incidents, or to deal with specific problems such as drunken patients in town centres.Ambulance busses are discussed at greater length in their own article.
Trailer – In some instances a trailer, which can be towed behind a self-propelled vehicle can be used. This permits flexibility in areas with minimal access to vehicles, such as on small islands.
Horse and cart – Especially in developing world areas, more traditional methods of transport include transport such as horse and cart, used in much the same way as motorcycle or bicycle stretcher units to transport to a local clinic.
Hospital train – Early hospital trains functioned to carry large numbers of wounded soldiers. Similar to other ambulance types, as Western medicine developed, hospital trains gained the ability to provide treatment. In some rural locations, hospital trains now function as mobile hospitals, traveling by rail from one location to the next, then parking on a siding to provide hospital services to the local population. Hospital trains also find use in disaster response
Fire Engine – Fire services (especially in North America) often train Firefighters in emergency medicine and most apparatuses carry at least basic medical supplies. By design, apparatuses cannot transport patients.
Ambulance design must take into account local conditions and infrastructure. Maintained roads are necessary for road going ambulances to arrive on scene and then transport the patient to a hospital, though in rugged areas four-wheel drive or all-terrain vehicles can be used. Fuel must be available and service facilities are necessary to maintain the vehicle.
Car-based ambulance in Sweden
Truck-based ambulance in Columbus, Ohio using a pre-built box system
Methods of summoning (e.g. telephone) and dispatching ambulances usually rely on electronic equipment, which itself often relies on an intact power grid. Similarly, modern ambulances are equipped with two-way radios or cellular telephones to enable them to contact hospitals, either to notify the appropriate hospital of the ambulance’s pending arrival, or, in cases where physicians do not form part of the ambulance’s crew, to confer with a physician for medical oversight.
Ambulances often have two manufacturers. The first is frequently a manufacturer of light trucks or full-size vans (or previously, cars) such as Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, or Ford. The second manufacturer (known as second stage manufacturer) purchases the vehicle (which is sometimes purchased incomplete, having no body or interior behind the driver’s seat) and turns it into an ambulance by adding bodywork, emergency vehicle equipment, and interior fittings. This is done by one of two methods – either coachbuilding, where the modifications are started from scratch and built on to the vehicle, or using a modular system, where a pre-built ‘box’ is put on to the empty chassis of the ambulance, and then finished off.
Modern ambulances are typically powered by internal combustion engines, which can be powered by any conventional fuel, including diesel, gasoline or liquefied petroleum gas, depending on the preference of the operator and the availability of different options. Colder regions often use gasoline-powered engines, as diesels can be difficult to start when they are cold. Warmer regions may favor diesel engines, as they are thought to be more efficient and more durable. Diesel power is sometimes chosen due to safety concerns, after a series of fires involving gasoline-powered ambulances during the 1980s. These fires were ultimately attributed in part to gasoline’s higher volatility in comparison to diesel fuel. The type of engine may be determined by the manufacturer: in the past two decades, Ford would only sell vehicles for ambulance conversion if they are diesel-powered. Beginning in 2010, Ford will sell its ambulance chassis with a gasoline engine in order to meet emissions requirements.
Standards
Many regions have prescribed standards which ambulances should, or must, meet in order to be used for their role. These standards may have different levels which reflect the type of patient which the ambulance is expected to transport (for instance specifying a different standard for routine patient transport than high dependency), or may base standards on the size of vehicle.
For instance, in Europe, the European Committee for Standardization publishes the standard CEN 1789, which specifies minimum compliance levels across the build of ambulance, including crash resistance, equipment levels, and exterior marking. In the United States, standards for ambulance design have existed since 1976, where the standard is published by the General Services Administration and known as KKK-1822-A. This standard has been revised several times, and is currently in version ‘F’ change #10, known as KKK-A-1822F, although not all states have adopted this version. The National Fire Protection Association has also published a design standard, NFPA 1917, which some administrations are considering switching to if KKK-A-1822F is withdrawn. The Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) has published its Ground Vehicle Standard for Ambulances effective July 2016. This standard is similar to the KKK-A-1822F and NFPA 1917-2016 specifications.
The move towards standardisation is now reaching countries without a history of prescriptive codes, such as India, which approved its first national standard for ambulance construction in 2013.
Safety
A video on ambulance crash testing
Ambulances, like other emergency vehicles, are required to operate in all weather conditions, including those during which civilian drivers often elect to stay off the road. Also, the ambulance crew’s responsibilities to their patient often preclude their use of safety devices such as seat belts. Research has shown that ambulances are more likely to be involved in motor vehicle collisions resulting in injury or death than either fire trucks or police cars. Unrestrained occupants, particularly those riding in the patient-care compartment, are particularly vulnerable. When compared to civilian vehicles of similar size, one study found that on a per-accident basis, ambulance collisions tend to involve more people, and result in more injuries. An 11-year retrospective study concluded in 2001 found that although most fatal ambulance crashes occurred during emergency runs, they typically occurred on improved, straight, dry roads, during clear weather. Furthermore, paramedics are also at risk in ambulances while helping patients, as 27 paramedics died during ambulance trips in the US between 1991 and 2006.
Equipment
Interior of a mobile intensive care unit (MICU) ambulance from Graz, Austria
Four stages of deployment on an inboard ambulance tail lift
In addition to the equipment directly used for the treatment of patients, ambulances may be fitted with a range of additional equipment which is used in order to facilitate patient care. This could include:
Two-way radio – One of the most important pieces of equipment in modern emergency medical services as it allows for the issuing of jobs to the ambulance, and can allow the crew to pass information back to control or to the hospital (for example a priority ASHICE message to alert the hospital of the impending arrival of a critical patient.) More recently many services worldwide have moved from traditional analog UHF/VHF sets, which can be monitored externally, to more secure digital systems, such as those working on a GSM system, such as TETRA.
Mobile data terminal – Some ambulances are fitted with Mobile data terminals (or MDTs), which are connected wirelessly to a central computer, usually at the control center. These terminals can function instead of or alongside the two-way radio and can be used to pass details of jobs to the crew, and can log the time the crew was mobile to a patient, arrived, and left scene, or fulfill any other computer based function.
Evidence gathering CCTV – Some ambulances are now being fitted with video cameras used to record activity either inside or outside the vehicle. They may also be fitted with sound recording facilities. This can be used as a form of protection from violence against ambulance crews, or in some cases (dependent on local laws) to prove or disprove cases where a member of crew stands accused of malpractice.
Tail lift or ramp – Ambulances can be fitted with a tail lift or ramp in order to facilitate loading a patient without having to undertake any lifting. This is especially important where the patient is obese or specialty care transports that require large, bulky equipment such as a neonatal incubator or hospital beds. There may also be equipment linked to this such as winches which are designed to pull heavy patients into the vehicle.
Trauma lighting – In addition to normal working lighting, ambulances can be fitted with special lighting (often blue or red) which is used when the patient becomes photosensitive.
Air conditioning – Ambulances are often fitted with a separate air conditioning system to serve the working area from that which serves the cab. This helps to maintain an appropriate temperature for any patients being treated, but may also feature additional features such as filtering against airborne pathogens.
Data Recorders – These are often placed in ambulances to record such information as speed, braking power and time, activation of active emergency warnings such as lights and sirens, as well as seat belt usage. These are often used in coordination with GPS units.
Intermediate technology
In parts of the world which lack a high level of infrastructure, ambulances are designed to meet local conditions, being built using intermediate technology. Ambulances can also be trailers, which are pulled by bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, or animals. Animal-powered ambulances can be particularly useful in regions that are subject to flooding. Motorcycles fitted with sidecars (or motorcycle ambulances) are also used, though they are subject to some of the same limitations as more traditional over-the-road ambulances. The level of care provided by these ambulances varies between merely providing transport to a medical clinic to providing on-scene and continuing care during transport.
The design of intermediate technology ambulances must take into account not only the operation and maintenance of the ambulance, but its construction as well. The robustness of the design becomes more important, as does the nature of the skills required to properly operate the vehicle. Cost-effectiveness can be a high priority.
Emergency ambulances are highly likely to be involved in hazardous situations, including incidents such as a road traffic collision, as these emergencies create people who are likely to be in need of treatment. They are required to gain access to patients as quickly as possible, and in many countries, are given dispensation from obeying certain traffic laws. For instance, they may be able to treat a red traffic light or stop sign as a yield sign (‘give way’), or be permitted to break the speed limit. Generally, the priority of the response to the call will be assigned by the dispatcher, but the priority of the return will be decided by the ambulance crew based on the severity of the patient’s illness or injury. Patients in significant danger to life and limb (as determined by triage) require urgent treatment by advanced medical personnel, and because of this need, emergency ambulances are often fitted with passive and active visual and/or audible warnings to alert road users.
The passive visual warnings are usually part of the design of the vehicle, and involve the use of high contrast patterns. Older ambulances (and those in developing countries) are more likely to have their pattern painted on, whereas modern ambulances generally carry retro-reflective designs, which reflects light from car headlights or torches. Popular patterns include ‘checker board’ (alternate coloured squares, sometimes called ‘Battenburg‘, named after a type of cake), chevrons (arrowheads – often pointed towards the front of the vehicle if on the side, or pointing vertically upwards on the rear) or stripes along the side (these were the first type of retro-reflective device introduced, as the original reflective material, invented by 3M, only came in tape form). In addition to retro-reflective markings, some services now have the vehicles painted in a bright (sometimes fluorescent) yellow or orange for maximum visual impact, though classic white or red are also common. Fire Department-operated Ambulances are often painted similarly to their apparatuses for ease of identification and the fact that bright red is a very striking color appropriate for this type of vehicle.
Another passive marking form is the word ambulance (or local language variant) spelled out in reverse on the front of the vehicle. This enables drivers of other vehicles to more easily identify an approaching ambulance in their rear view mirrors. Ambulances may display the name of their owner or operator, and an emergency telephone number for the ambulance service.
Ambulances may also carry an emblem (either as part of the passive warning markings or not), such as a Red Cross, Red Crescent or Red Crystal (collective known as the Protective Symbols). These are symbols laid down by the Geneva Convention, and all countries signatory to it agree to restrict their use to either (1) Military Ambulances or (2) the national Red Cross or Red Crescent society. Use by any other person, organization or agency is in breach of international law. The protective symbols are designed to indicate to all people (especially combatants in the case of war) that the vehicle is neutral and is not to be fired upon, hence giving protection to the medics and their casualties, although this has not always been adhered to. In Israel, Magen David Adom, the Red Cross member organization use a red Star of David, but this does not have recognition beyond Israeli borders, where they must use the Red Crystal.
The Star of Life is widely used, and was originally designed and governed by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, because the Red Cross symbol is legally protected by both National and international law. It indicates that the vehicle’s operators can render their given level of care represented on the six pointed star.
Ambulance services that have historical origins such as the Order of St John, the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps and Malteser International often use the Maltese cross to identify their ambulances. This is especially important in countries such as Australia, where St. John Ambulance operate one state and one territory ambulance service, and all of Australia’s other ambulance services use variations on a red Maltese cross.
Fire service operated ambulances may display the Cross of St. Florian (often incorrectly called a Maltese cross) as this cross is frequently used as a fire department logo (St. Florian being the patron saint of firefighters).
An ambulance in Denmark with roof-integrated LED lights, plus side-view mirror, grill and front fend-off lights, and fog lamps wig-wags
The active visual warnings are usually in the form of flashing lights. These flash in order to attract the attention of other road users as the ambulance approaches, or to provide warning to motorists approaching a stopped ambulance in a dangerous position on the road. Common colours for ambulance warning beacons are blue, red, amber, and white (clear). However the colours may vary by country and sometimes by operator.
There are several technologies in use to achieve the flashing effect. These include flashing a light bulb or LED, flashing or rotating halogen, and strobe lights, which are usually brighter than incandescent lights. Each of these can be programmed to flash singly or in groups, and can be programmed to flash in patterns (such as a left -> right pattern for use when the ambulance is parked on the left hand side of the road, indicating to other road users that they should move to the right (away from the ambulance)). Incandescent and LED lights may also be programmed to burn steadily, without flashing, which is required in some provinces.
Emergency lights may simply be mounted directly on the body, or may be housed in special fittings, such as in a lightbar or in special flush-mount designs (as seen on the Danish ambulance to the right), or may be hidden in a host light (such as a headlamp) by drilling a hole in the host light’s reflector and inserting the emergency light. These hidden lights may not be apparent until they are activated. Additionally, some of the standard lights fitted to an ambulance (e.g. headlamps, tail lamps) may be programmed to flash. Flashing headlights (typically the high beams, flashed alternately) are known as a wig-wag.
In order to increase safety, it is best practice to have 360° coverage with the active warnings, improving the chance of the vehicle being seen from all sides. In some countries, such as the United States, this may be mandatory. The roof, front grille, sides of the body, and front fenders are common places to mount emergency lights. A certain balance must be made when deciding on the number and location of lights: too few and the ambulance may not be noticed easily, too many and it becomes a massive distraction for other road users more than it is already, increasing the risk of local accidents.
A Whelen(R) siren with wail, yelpand phaser tones is a common sound in many cities
In addition to visual warnings, ambulances can be fitted with audible warnings, sometimes known as sirens, which can alert people and vehicles to the presence of an ambulance before they can be seen. The first audible warnings were mechanical bells, mounted to either the front or roof of the ambulance. Most modern ambulances are now fitted with electronic sirens, producing a range of different noises which ambulance operators can use to attract more attention to themselves, particularly when proceeding through an intersection or in heavy traffic.
The speakers for modern sirens can be integral to the lightbar, or they may be hidden in or flush to the grill to reduce noise inside the ambulance that may interfere with patient care and radio communications. Ambulances can additionally be fitted with airhorn audible warnings to augment the effectiveness of the siren system, or may be fitted with extremely loud two-tone airhorns as their primary siren.
A recent development is the use of the RDS system of car radios. The ambulance is fitted with a short range FM transmitter, set to RDS code 31, which interrupts the radio of all cars within range, in the manner of a traffic broadcast, but in such a way that the user of the receiving radio is unable to opt out of the message (as with traffic broadcasts). This feature is built into every RDS radio for use in national emergency broadcast systems, but short range units on emergency vehicles can prove an effective means of alerting traffic to their presence. It is, however, unlikely that this system could replace audible warnings, as it is unable to alert pedestrians, those not using a compatible radio or even have it turned off.
Non-acute patient transport ambulance from New Zealand.
Some countries closely regulate the industry (and may require anyone working on an ambulance to be qualified to a set level), whereas others allow quite wide differences between types of operator.
Government Ambulance Service – Operating separately from (although alongside) the fire and police service of the area, these ambulances are funded by local or national government. In some countries, these only tend to be found in big cities, whereas in countries such as the United Kingdom almost all emergency ambulances are part of a nationwide system under the National Health Service. In Canada ambulance services are normally operated by local municipalities or provincial health agencies as a separate entity from fire or police services.
Fire or Police Linked Service – In countries such as the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and France ambulances can be operated by the local fire or police service, more commonly the fire service due to overlapping calls. This is particularly common in rural areas, where maintaining a separate service is not necessarily cost effective, or by service preference such as in Los Angeles where the Los Angeles Fire Department prefers to handle all parts of emergency medicine in-house. In some cases this can lead to an illness or injury being attended by a vehicle other than an ambulance, such as a fire truck, and firefighters must maintain higher standards of medical capability.
Volunteer Ambulance Service – Charities or non-profit companies operate ambulances, both in an emergency and patient transport function. This may be along similar lines to volunteer fire companies, providing the main service for an area, and either community or privately owned. They may be linked to a voluntary fire department, with volunteers providing both services. There are charities who focus on providing ambulances for the community, or for cover at private events (sports etc.). The Red Cross provides this service across the world on a volunteer basis. (and in others as a Private Ambulance Service), as do other organisations such as St John Ambulance and the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps. These volunteer ambulances may be seen providing support to the full-time ambulance crews during times of emergency. In some cases the volunteer charity may employ paid members of staff alongside volunteers to operate a full-time ambulance service, such in some parts of Australia and in Ireland and New Zealand.
Private Ambulance Service – Normal commercial companies with paid employees, but often on contract to the local or national government. Private companies may provide only the patient transport elements of ambulance care (i.e. nonurgent or ambulatory transport), but in some places, they are contracted to provide emergency care, or to form a ‘second tier’ response. In many areas private services cover all emergency transport functions and government agencies do not provide this service. Companies such as Falck, Acadian Ambulance, and American Medical Response are some of the larger companies that provide such services. These organisations may also provide services known as ‘Stand-by’ cover at industrial sites or at special events. From April 2011 all private ambulance services in the UK must be Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered. Private services in Canada operate non-emergency patient transfers or for private functions only.
Combined Emergency Service – these are full service emergency service agencies, which may be found in places such as airports or large colleges and universities. Their key feature is that all personnel are trained not only in ambulance (EMT) care, but as a firefighter and a peace officer (police function). They may be found in smaller towns and cities, where size or budget does not warrant separate services. This multi-functionality allows to make the most of limited resource or budget, but having a single team respond to any emergency.
Hospital Based Service – Hospitals may provide their own ambulance service as a service to the community, or where ambulance care is unreliable or chargeable. Their use would be dependent on using the services of the providing hospital.
Charity Ambulance – This special type of ambulance is provided by a charity for the purpose of taking sick children or adults on trips or vacations away from hospitals, hospices or care homes where they are in long term care. Examples include the UK’s ‘Jumbulance’ project.
Company Ambulance – Many large factories and other industrial centres, such as chemical plants, oil refineries, breweries and distilleries, have ambulance services provided by employers as a means of protecting their interests and the welfare of their staff. These are often used as first response vehicles in the event of a fire or explosion.
Costs
The cost of an ambulance ride may be paid for from several sources, and this will depend on the type of service being provided, by whom, and possibly who to.
Government funded service – The full or the majority of the cost of transport by ambulance is borne by the local, regional, or national government (through their normal taxation).
Privately funded service – Transport by ambulance is paid for by the patient themselves, or through their insurance company. This may be at the point of care (i.e. payment or guarantee must be made before treatment or transport), although this may be an issue with critically injured patients, unable to provide such details, or via a system of billing later on.
Charity funded service – Transport by ambulance may be provided free of charge to patients by a charity, although donations may be sought for services received.
Hospital funded service – Hospitals may provide the ambulance transport free of charge, on the condition that patients use the hospital’s services (which they may have to pay for).
There are differing levels of qualification that the ambulance crew may hold, from holding no formal qualification to having a fully qualified doctor on board. Most ambulance services require at least two crew members to be on every ambulance (one to drive, and one to attend the patient), although response cars may have a sole crew member, possibly backed up by another double-crewed ambulance. It may be the case that only the attendant need be qualified, and the driver might have no medical training. In some locations, an advanced life support ambulance may be crewed by one paramedic and one EMT-Basic.
Common ambulance crew qualifications are:
First responder – A person who arrives first at the scene of an incident, and whose job is to provide early critical care such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) or using an automated external defibrillator (AED). First responders may be dispatched by the ambulance service, may be passers-by, or may be dispatched to the scene from other agencies, such as the police or fire departments.
Ambulance Driver – Some services employ staff with no medical qualification (or just a first aid certificate) whose job is to simply drive the patients from place to place. In some emergency ambulance contexts this term is a pejorative toward qualified providers implying that they perform no function but driving, although it may be acceptable for patient transport or community operations. In some areas, these drivers would survey and study the local network of routes for better performance of service, as some road routes may be blocked, and the driver must know another route to the patient or to the hospital. The driver would gather the local weather and traffic status reports before and in-between emergencies. They may also have training in using the radio and knowing where medical supplies are stored in the ambulance.
Ambulance Care Assistant – Have varying levels of training across the world, but these staff are usually only required to perform patient transport duties (which can include stretcher or wheelchaircases), rather than acute care. Dependent on provider, they may be trained in first aid or extended skills such as use of an AED, oxygen therapy and other lifesaving or palliative skills. They may provide emergency cover when other units are not available, or when accompanied by a fully qualified technician or paramedic.
Emergency Care Assistant/Emergency Care Support Workers – Also known as ECA/ECSW are members of a frontline ambulance that drive the vehicles under both emergency and non-emergency conditions to incidents. Their role is to assist the clinician that they are working with, either a Technician or Paramedic, in their duties, whether that be drawing up drugs, setting up fluids (but not attaching), doing basic observations or performing 12 lead ECG assessments.
Emergency medical technician – Also known as Ambulance Technician. Technicians are usually able to perform a wide range of emergency care skills, such as defibrillation, spinal immobilization, bleeding control, splinting of suspected fractures, assisting the patient with certain medications, and oxygen therapy. Some countries split this term into levels (such as in the US, where there is EMT-Basic and EMT-Intermediate).
Registered nurse (RN) – Nurses can be involved in ambulance work dependent on the jurisdiction, and as with doctors, this is mostly as air-medical rescuers often in conjunction with a technician or paramedic. They may bring different skills to the care of the patient, especially those who may be critically ill or injured in locations that do not enjoy close proximity to a high level of definitive care such as trauma, cardiac, or stroke centers.
Paramedic – This is a high level of medical training and usually involves key skills not permissible for technicians, such as cannulation (and with it the ability to administer a range of drugs such as morphine), tracheal intubation and other skills such as performing a cricothyrotomy. Dependent on jurisdiction, the title “paramedic” can be a protected title, and use of it without the relevant qualification may result in criminal prosecution.
Emergency Care Practitioner – This position, sometimes called ‘Super Paramedic’ in the media, is designed to bridge the link between ambulance care and the care of a general practitioner. ECPs are already qualified paramedics who have undergone further training, and are trained to prescribe medicines for longer term care, such as antibiotics, as well as being trained in a range of additional diagnostic techniques.
Doctor – Doctors are present on some ambulances – most notably air ambulances – will employ physicians to attend on the ambulances, bringing a full range of additional skills such as use of prescription medicines.
Military ambulances have historically included vehicles based on civilian designs and at times also included armored, but unarmed, vehicles ambulances based upon armoured personnel carriers (APCs). In the Second World War vehicles such as the Hanomag Sd Kfz 251 halftrack were pressed into service as ad hoc ambulances, and in more recent times purpose built AFVs such as the U.S. M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicle serve the exclusive purpose of armored medical vehicles. Civilian based designs may be painted in appropriate colours, depending on the operational requirements (i.e. camouflage for field use, white for United Nations peacekeeping, etc.). For example, the British Royal Army Medical Corps has a fleet of white ambulances, based on production trucks. Military helicopters have also served both as ad hoc and purpose-built air ambulances, since they are extremely useful for MEDEVAC. In terms of equipment, military ambulances are barebones, often being nothing more than a box on wheels with racks to place manual stretchers, though for the operational conditions and level of care involved this is usually sufficient.
Since laws of war demand ambulances be marked with one of the Emblems of the Red Cross not to mount offensive weapons, military ambulances are often unarmed. It is a generally accepted practice in most countries to classify the personnel attached to military vehicles marked as ambulances as non-combatants; however, this application does not always exempt medical personnel from catching enemy fire—accidental or deliberate. As a result, medics and other medical personnel attached to military ambulances are usually put through basic military training, on the assumption that they may have to use a weapon. The laws of war do allow non-combatant military personnel to carry individual weapons for protecting themselves and casualties. However, not all militaries exercise this right to their personnel.
Recently, the Israeli Defense Forces has modified a number of its Merkava main battle tanks with ambulance features in order to allow rescue operations to take place under heavy fire in urban warfare. The modifications were made following a failed rescue attempt in which Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers who were providing aid for a Palestinian woman in Rafah. Since M-113 armored personnel carriers and regular up-armored ambulances are not sufficiently protected against anti-tankweapons and improvised explosive devices, it was decided to use the heavily armored Merkava tank. Its rear door enables the evacuation of critically wounded soldiers. Israel did not remove the Merkava’s weaponry, claiming that weapons were more effective protection than emblems since Palestinian militants would disregard any symbols of protection and fire at ambulances anyway. For use as ground ambulances and treatment & evacuation vehicles, the United States military currently employs the M113, the M577, the M1133Stryker Medical Evacuation Vehicle (MEV), and the RG-33 Heavily Armored Ground Ambulance (HAGA) as treatment and evacuation vehicles, with contracts to incorporate the newly designed M2A0 Armored Medical Evacuation Vehicle (AMEV), a variant of the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (formerly known as the ATTV).
Some navies operate ocean-going hospital ships to lend medical assistance in high casualty situations like wars or natural disasters. These hospital ships fulfill the criteria of an ambulance (transporting the sick or injured), although the capabilities of a hospital ship are more on par with a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. In line with the laws of war, these ships can display a prominent Red Cross or Red Crescent to confer protection under the appropriate Geneva convention. However, this designation has not always protected hospital ships from enemy fire.
Reuse of retired ambulances
Retired ambulances may find reuse in less-demanding emergency services, such as this logistics unit, such as this Ford E-Series ambulance.
When an ambulance is retired, it may be donated or sold to another EMS provider. Alternately, it may be adapted into a storage and transport vehicle for crime scene identification equipment, a command post at community events, or support vehicle, such as a logistics unit. Others are refurbished and resold, or may just have their emergency equipment removed to be sold to private businesses or individuals, who then can use them as small recreational vehicles.
Toronto‘s City Council has begun a “Caravan of Hope” project to provide retired Toronto ambulances a second life by donating them to the people of El Salvador. Since the Province of Ontario requires that ambulances be retired after just four and a half years in service in Ontario, the City of Toronto decommissions and auctions 28 ambulances each year.
Ambulances in the Netherlands:
1905 Belgische Germain 24 H.P
1905-30 Mobil Ambulance Dinas Kesehatan Gemeente Batavia
1909 spyker ambulance van het rode kruis rode kruisziekenhuis den haag
1909 spyker rodekruis
1909 ziekenauto is een Fiat
1909 ziekenauto red cross
1909 fiat kroeskop meppel
1912 Spijker 16pk, de ziekenauto in die tijd in Rheden
1912-14 Adler betreft met zeer waarschijnlijk een carroserie v d N.V. Fabriek voor luxe rijtuigen en automobielen vh gebroeders H & F Kimman De nieuwe Haarlemsche ziekenauto zijingang
1912-14 Adler betreft met zeer waarschijnlijk een carroserie v d N.V. Fabriek voor luxe rijtuigen en automobielen vh gebroeders H & F Kimman De nieuwe Haarlemsche ziekenauto zijingang
1912-1913 Fiat of Opel Ambulance Groningen-bakker-emmamij-1913-2
Jump up^The memoirs of Charles E. Ryan With An Ambulance Personal Experiences And Adventures With Both Armies 1870–1871[1]and of Emma Maria Pearson and Louisa McLaughlinOur Adventures During the War of 1870“Archived copy” (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
Jump up^Ray AF, Kupas DF (October–December 2005). “Comparison of crashes involving ambulances with those of similar-sized vehicles”. Prehosp Emerg Care. 9 (4): 412–5. doi:10.1080/10903120500253813. PMID16263674.
Jump up^Kahn CA, Pirrallo RG, Kuhn EM (July 2001). “Characteristics of fatal ambulance crashes in the United States: an 11-year retrospective analysis”. Prehosp Emerg Care. 5 (3): 261–9. doi:10.1080/10903120190939751. PMID11446540.
Jump up^“CTAS Category Definitions”. Implementation Guidelines for the Canadian ED Triage & Acuity Scale (CTAS). Canadian Association of Emergency Physician. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
Jump up^“23”. Emergency Care Manual. The Canadian Red Cross. Guelph, ON: The StayWell Health Company. 2008. p. 359. ISBN978-1-58480-404-8. Viewed 19 November 2009.
Adler 4 1/2HP Vis-à-vis 1901 entrant in the London to Brighton veteran car run 2010.
1928 Adler Standard 6, the model Clärenore Stinnes drove on her journey around the world
History
The Adler factory produced bicycles, typewriters, and motorcycles in addition to cars. Before World War I, the company used De Dion two- and four-cylinder engines in cars that ranged from 1032 cc to 9081 cc; beginning in 1902 (the year Edmund Rumpler became technical director), they used their own engines as well. These cars, driven by Erwin Kleyer and Otto Kleyer (sons of the company founder Heinrich Kleyer) and by Alfred Theves won many sporting events. In the 1920s, Karl Irion raced many Adlers; popular models of the period included the 2298 cc, 1550 cc, and 4700 cc four-cylinders and the 2580 cc six-cylinders. A few of the Standard models, built between 1927 and 1934, featured Gropius designed coachwork. The Adler Standard 6, which entered volume production in 1927, had a 2540 cc or 2916 cc six-cylinder engine, while the Adler Standard 8 which appeared a year later use a 3887 cc eight-cylinder engine. The Standard 6, first seen in public at the Berlin Motor Show in October 1926 was the first Continental European car to use hydraulic brakes (the Triumph 13/35 offered them in the UK in 1924 and Duesenberg offered them in the US in 1921), when it was fitted with an ATE-Lockheed system. 1927 to 1929 Clärenore Stinnes was the first to circumnavigate the world by car, in an Adler Standard 6.
In December 1930, Adler assigned the German engineer Josef Ganz, who was also editor-in-chief of Motor-Kritik magazine, as a consultant engineer. In the first months of 1931, Ganz constructed a lightweight Volkswagen prototype at Adler with a tubular chassis, a mid-mounted engine, and independent wheel suspension with swing-axles at the rear. After completion in May 1931, Ganz nicknamed his new prototype Maikäfer (May Beetle). After a shift in management at Adler, further development of the Maikäfer was stopped as the company’s new technical director Hans Gustav Röhr concentrated on front-wheel driven cars.
In the 1930s, the company introduced front-wheel driveTrumpf and Trumpf-Junior models, ranging from 995 cc to 1645 cc four-cylinder sv engines. These gained many successes in races, including in the Le Mans race. The 1943 cc Favorit, the 2916 cc six-cylinder Diplomat (featuring 65 hp (48 kW) at 3800 rpm, and the 1910 cc four-cylinder and 2494 cc six-cylinder models (with and Karmannbodywork) were all rear-driven; these were built until World War II. The last new car introduced by Adler was the 2.5 Liter of 1937; it had a six-cylinder engine producing 58 hp (43 kW). Thanks to a streamlined body designed by Paul Jaray, this car could run at 125 km/h (78 mph).
After World War II, a decision was made to not resume automobile construction. Motorcycle production resumed in 1949 and continued for 8 years, leading to the production of the MB 250S. As part of the Allies war reparations, Adler motorcycle designs had been taken by BSA in Britain and later used by the British company Ariel to produce their ‘Arrow’ and ‘Leader’ models. Increasingly, Adler focused on the manufacture of office equipment. The company associated with Triumph to form Triumpf-Adler, and was taken over by Grundig in 1957, then later by Olivetti.
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6.073 million units (2016 annual report)
![VW logo during the 1930s, initials surrounded by a stylized cogwheel and swastika wings[8]](https://wiki2.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/VW_logo_during_the_1930s.svg/im154-239px-VW_logo_during_the_1930s.svg.png){kind=logo}
2014-present Volkswagen Gol Mk6 Sedan
2017 VW Ameo rear view
2015 Volkswagen Fox in Punta del Este 01
2005-2010 Volkswagen Polo IV (9N3) GTI 3-door hatchback
2015 Vento Highline
2011 VW Polo GTI (V)
2015 Volkswagen Golf GTi (16460156619)
2015 Black VW Golf GTE charging
2014 VW Golf R (VII)
2010 VW Corrado 16 V (2010-04-12)
2010 VW Golf Plus 2.0 TDI Facelift front-1 20100710
2011 VW Phaeton 3.0 V6 TDI 4MOTION (2. Facelift)
2010 Volkswagen Passat CC 2.0 TSi 2010
1967 Volkswagen Beetle Fittipaldi-Baldahl 1967
2006 Volkswagen Bora V8 Stock Car V8 Brasil Amir Nasr Racing
2006 Formula Truck 2006 Interlagos Ford leads
That’s it what my collection has to show. There are some pictures double, I got them out so far as possible, but it was extremely hot today, so forgive. I hope you have a lot off pleasure.
This page was last edited on 7 July 2018, at 01:14
Adler w61 5555©Holger Erdmann
Adler KFZ 13 Armoured CAR
Albion model 40 Ambulance
Albion AM463
1956 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 ambulance colli 
Alfa Romeo Police Ambulance
Alfa Romeo 2 Fadisa Rode Kruis Ambulancia
Alfa Romeo Ambulance
ALFA ROMEO F12
1988 Alfa Romeo 14 AR 6 Ambulance (Alessio3373)
2007 Alfa Romeo-159-Wagon-Ambulance
Alfa Romeo (A-0.3-TE) Sp
1993 Ambulance Alm Acmat UN 4×4
1996 Ambulance ALM-АСМАТ ТРК-4.32SB, 4×4
Alvis saracen ambulance
Ambulance – Emergency – boats – ships
All Emergency – Evacuation – Ambulance Buses
American La France 500 series 15020 Ambulance
Audi Fast responders.
1936-37 Austro Fiat AFN Fahrschule WH-678217 © Sammlung Holger Erdmann
1983 Avia A-21 F
Avia 20 Fourgon ambulance
1950 Bedford KZ Ambulance
1951 bedford-ambulance
1952 Bedford KZ, Nottinghamshire County Council Ambulance Service
1940 Bernardet Sidecar
1970 BMC LD05. Ambulance
EMW+BMW Ambulances, Quick Responders and Motorambulances
1957 Borgward В4500А, 4×4
Borgward b611-kw-1
1949 Borgward b1000-krankenwagen
Borgward b1250-krankenwagen
Borgward b1500-krankenwagen
1939-45 Borgward L 1400 Krankenwagen © Holger Erdmann
Bremach Ambulances
Several different Buick(s) (Flxible) (Visser) Ambulances from 1918-1965
1909 De Spyker ambulances voor het Roode Kruis
1909 SPIJKER Ambulance amsterdam redcross lehmann trompenburg
1914 Spyker
1916 ford-t-ambulances-st-vincents-web
1918 Ford T Ambulance
1920 Dodge Brothers model 30 Ambulance Zuid Holland Wateringen H-31364
1939 Packard Ziekenauto op Storkterrein Hengelo NL
1940 Ziekenauto Bedrijfsongeval Demka fabrieken te Zuilen NL
1947 Ziekenauto uit Sneek Chauffeur was T.J Vallinga. met Packard uit 1947
1950 Packard 1950 Buick en Buick De Vrij Zuiderplein Lw NL
Cadillac Ambulance
1965 Peugeot D4B Ambulance gemeente Texel
1967 Citroën ID 19 Ambulance NL
1967-68 Mercedes Benz 230 amb 84-91-FM
1969 Citroën hy-ambulance NL
1968 Mercedes-Benz ambulance Visser, Leeuwarden ZS-97-16
1969 20-93-JM MERCEDES-BENZ W114 230 BINZ Ambulance NL
1971 Merc Benz 220
1970 Bedford Ambulance HY-91-JT NL
1971 peugeot-j7-ambulance-carrosserie-visser-standplaats-schiphol NL
1979 Peugeot 504 Ambulance NL
1980 Mercedes-Benz 240D NL
1985 PEUGEOT 505 GR Ambulance NL
1986 Opel Senator Miesen Ambulance D
1987 Peugeot J9 ambulance Leiden en omstreken RP-44-XJ NL
1989 Mercedes-Benz W124 XY-96-JS Binz carr NL
2001 Nederlandse Volvo S80 ambulance met Nilson carrosserie NL
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