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.
William Riley (1851–1944)
William Victor Riley (1876–1958)
Allan Riley (c.1880– )
Percy Riley (1882–1941)
Stanley Riley (c.1889–1952)
Cecil Riley (c. 1895– )
Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. Riley became part of the Nuffield Organisation in 1938 and was merged into the British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. ln July 1969 British Leyland announced the immediate end of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK auto industry and cars from Riley’s inventory may have been first registered in 1970.
The business began as the Bonnick Cycle Company of Coventry, England. In 1890 during the pedal cycle craze that swept Britain at the end of the 19th century William Riley Jr. who had interests in the textile industry purchased the business and in 1896 incorporated a company to own it named The Riley Cycle Company Limited. Later, cycle gear maker Sturmey Archer was added to the portfolio. Riley’s middle son, Percy, left school in the same year and soon began to dabble in automobiles. He built his first car at 16, in 1898, secretly, because his father did not approve. It featured the first mechanically operated inlet valve. By 1899, Percy Riley moved from producing motorcycles to his first prototype four-wheeled quadricycle. Little is known about Percy Riley’s first “motor-car”. It is, however, well attested that the engine featured mechanically operated cylinder valves at a time when other engines depended on the vacuum effect of the descending piston to suck the inlet valve(s) open. That was demonstrated some years later when Benz developed and patented a mechanically operated inlet valve process of their own but were unable to collect royalties on their system from British companies; the courts were persuaded that the system used by British auto-makers was based on the one pioneered by Percy, which had comfortably anticipated equivalent developments in Germany. In 1900, Riley sold a single three-wheeled automobile. Meanwhile, the elder of the Riley brothers, Victor Riley, although supportive of his brother’s embryonic motor-car enterprise, devoted his energies to the core bicycle business.
Riley’s founder William Riley remained resolutely opposed to diverting the resources of his bicycle business into motor cars, and in 1902 three of his sons, Victor, Percy and younger brother Allan Riley pooled resources, borrowed a necessary balancing amount from their mother and in 1903 established the separate Riley Engine Company, also in Coventry. A few years later the other two Riley brothers, Stanley and Cecil, having left school joined their elder brothers in the business. At first, the Riley Engine Company simply supplied engines for Riley motorcycles and also to Singer, a newly emerging motorcycle manufacturer in the area, but the Riley Engine Company soon began to focus on four-wheeled automobiles. Their Vee-Twin Tourer prototype, produced in 1905, can be considered the first proper Riley car. The Riley Engine Company expanded the next year. William Riley reversed his former opposition to his sons’ preference for motorised vehicles and Riley Cycle halted motorcycle production in 1907 to focus on automobiles. Bicycle production also ceased in 1911.
In 1912, the Riley Cycle Company changed its name to Riley (Coventry) Limited as William Riley focused it on becoming a wire-spoked wheel supplier for the burgeoning motor industry, the detachable wheel having been invented (and patented) by Percy and distributed to over 180 motor manufacturers, and by 1912 the father’s business had also dropped automobile manufacture in order to concentrate capacity and resources on the wheels. Exploitation of this new and rapidly expanding lucrative business sector made commercial sense for William Riley, but the abandonment of his motor-bicycle and then of his automobile business which had been the principal customer for his sons’ Riley Engine Company enforced a rethink on the engine business.
Riley (Coventry) Limited
Riley (Coventry) Limited share certificate issued 17 May 1937
In early 1913, Percy was joined by three of his brothers (Victor, Stanley, and Allan) to focus on manufacturing entire automobiles. The works was located near Percy’s Riley Engine Company. The first new model, the 17/30, was introduced at the London Motor Show that year. Soon afterwards, Stanley Riley founded yet another business, the Nero Engine Company, to produce his own 4-cylinder 10 hp (7.5 kW) car. Riley also began manufacturing aeroplane engines and became a key supplier in Britain’s buildup for World War I.
In 1918, after the war, the Riley companies were restructured. Nero joined Riley (Coventry) as the sole producer of automobiles. Riley Motor Manufacturing under the control of Allan Riley became Midland Motor Bodies, a coachbuilder for Riley. Riley Engine Company continued under Percy as the engine supplier. At this time, Riley’s blue diamond badge, designed by Harry Rush, also appeared. The motto was “As old as the industry, as modern as the hour.”
Riley grew rapidly through the 1920s and 1930s. The Riley Engine Company produced 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder engines, while Midland built more than a dozen different bodies. Riley models at this time included:
Introduced in 1926 in a humble but innovatively designed fabric bodied saloon, Percy Riley’s ground-breaking Riley 9 engine- a small capacity, high revving unit- was ahead of its time in many respects. Having hemispherical combustion chambers and inclined overhead valves, it has been called the most significant engine development of the 1920s. With twin camshafts set high in the cylinder block and valves operated by short pushrods, it provided power and efficiency without the servicing complexity of an OHC (overhead camshaft) layout. It soon attracted the attention of tuners and builders of ‘specials’ intended for sporting purposes. One such was engineer/driver J.G. Parry-Thomas, who conceived the Riley ‘Brooklands’ (initially called the ‘9’ Speed Model) in his workshops at the banked Surrey circuit. After Parry-Thomas was killed during a land speed record attempt in 1927, his close collaborator Reid Railton stepped in to finish the job. Officially backed by Riley, the Brooklands, along with later developments and variations such as the ‘Ulster’ Imp, MPH, and Sprite, proved some of the most successful works and privateer racing cars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. At Le Mans in 1934, Rileys finished 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 12th, winning the Rudge-Whitworth Cup, the Team Prize, two class awards, and the Ladies’ Prize. Rileys also distinguished themselves at the Ulster TT, at Brooklands itself, and at smaller events like hill climbs, while providing a platform for the success of motorsports’ first women racing drivers such as Kay Petre, Dorothy Champney and Joan Richmond. Another engineer/driver,Freddie Dixon, was responsible for extensive improvements to engine and chassis tuning, creating a number of ‘specials’ that exploited the basic Riley design still further, and contributed greatly to its success on the track.
For series production, the engine configuration was extended into a larger 12 horsepower ‘4’, six-cylinder and even V8 versions, powering an increasingly bewildering range of touring and sports cars. The soundness and longevity of the engine design is illustrated by Mike Hawthorn’s early racing success after WW2 in pre-war Rileys, in particular his father’s Sprite. By about 1936, however, the business had overextended, with too many models and few common parts, and the emergence of Jaguar at Coventry was a direct challenge. Disagreements between the Riley brothers about the future direction of the enterprise grew. Victor Riley had set up a new ultra-luxury concern, 1938 Autovia, to produce a V8 saloon and limousine to compete with Rolls-Royce. By contrast, Percy, however, did not favour an entry into the luxury market, and the Riley Engine Company had been renamed PR Motors to be a high-volume supplier of engines and components. Although the rest of the Riley companies would go on to become part of Nuffield and then BMC, PR Motors remained independent. After the death of Percy Riley in 1941, his business began producing transmission components and still exists today, producing marine and off-highway vehicle applications, as PRM Newage Limited based in Aldermans Green, Coventry. Percy’s widow Norah ran his business for many years and was Britain’s businesswoman of the year in 1960.
Riley sports saloons and coupés
Nine Biarritz
4-door saloon 1930
Nine Monaco
4-door saloon 1932
Nine Gamecock
2/4-str sports 1932
Nine Lynx
instrument panel
Nine Lynx
tourer 1934
Nine Merlin
4-light saloon 1935
Nine Kestrel
4-light saloon 1934
12/4 Kestrel
4-light saloon 1934
1½-litre Kestrel
4-light saloon 1935
1½-litre Kestrel
6-light saloon 1938
Riley 12/4 Kestrel 6-Light
16/4 2½-litre Kestrel
6-light saloon 1937
16/4 2½-litre Kestrel
6-light saloon 1937
14/6 Lincock
fixed head coupé ’34
1½-litre Falcon
4-door saloon 1935
15/6 Adelphi
six-light Saloon 1935
12/4 Lynx
sports tourer 1937
12/4 Continental
sports saloon 1937
Twelve
six-light saloon 1939
First Nuffield Model
Riley racing and sports cars
Nine Brooklands
open 2-seater 1931
1½-litre Sprite
TT Replica 1935
1½-litre Sprite
2-seater sports 1936
Nine MPH
2-seater sports 1936
Vincent MPH replica
Nuffield Organisation
Riley 12/4 Kestrel 6-Light
2½-litre Kestrel 1938
with the new Big Four engine
RMH 2½-litre Pathfinder 1953
the last real Riley with the Big Four engine 1956 example
By 1937, Riley began to look to other manufacturers for partnerships. A contract with Briggs Motor Bodies of Dagenham to provide all-steel bodies for a cheaper, more mass-market saloon had already turned sour, with dozens of unsold bodies littering the factory. It had withdrawn from works racing after its most successful year, 1934, although it continued to supply engines for the ERA, a voiturette (Formula 2) racing car based on the supercharged 6-cylinder ‘White Riley’, developed by ERA founder Raymond Mays in the mid-thirties. BMW of Munich, Germany was interested in expanding its range into England. But the Riley brothers were more interested in a larger British concern, and looked to Triumph Motor Company, also of Coventry, as a natural fit. In February 1938, all negotiations were suspended. On 24 February the directors placed Riley (Coventry) Limited and Autovia in voluntary receivership. On 10 March the Triumph board announced merger negotiations had been dropped.
It was announced on 9 September 1938 that the assets and goodwill of Riley Motors (Coventry) Limited had been purchased from the receiver by Lord Nuffield and he would on completion transfer ownership to Morris Motors Limited “on terms which will show very considerable financial advantage to the company, resulting in further consolidation of its financial position”. Mr Victor Riley then said this did not mean that the company would cease its activities. On 30 September Victor Riley announced that Riley (Coventry) Limited would be wound up but it would appear that the proceeds of liquidation would be insufficient to meet the amount due to debenture holders. Nuffield paid £143,000 for the business and a new company was formed, Riley Motors Limited. However, in spite of the announced intention to wind-up Riley (Coventry) Limited, perhaps for tax reasons, continued under the management of Victor Riley presumably with the necessary consents of debenture holders (part paid) creditors (nothing) and former shareholders (nothing). Nuffield passed ownership to his Morris Motors Limited for £100. Along with other Morris Motors subsidiaries Wolseley and MG, Riley would later be promoted as a member of the (1951) Nuffield Organisation. Riley Motors Limited seems to have begun trading at the end of the 1940s when Riley (Coventry) Limited disappeared..
Nuffield took quick measures to firm up the Riley business. Autovia was no more, with just 35 cars having been produced. Riley refocused on the 4-cylinder market with two engines: A 1.5-litre 12 hp engine and the “Big Four”, a 2.5-litre 16 hp unit (The hp figures are RAC Rating, and bear no relationship to bhp or kW). Only a few bodies were produced prior to the onset of war in 1939, and some components were shared with Morris for economies of scale. Though they incorporated a number of mechanical improvements- notably a Nuffield synchromesh gearbox- they were essentially interim models, suffering a loss of Riley character in the process. The new management responded to the concerns of the marque’s loyal adherents by re-introducing the Kestrel 2.5 litre Sports Saloon in updated form, but as the factory was turned over to wartime production this was a short-lived development.
After World War II, Riley took up the old engines in new models, based in concept on the 1936-8 ‘Continental’, a fashionable ‘notchback’ design whose name had been changed prior to release to ‘Close-Coupled Touring Saloon’ owing to feared objections from Rolls-Royce. The RMA used the 1.5-litre engine, while the RMB got the Big Four. Both engines, being derived from pre-war models, lent themselves as power units for specials and new specialist manufacturers, such as Donald Healey. The RM line of vehicles, sold under the “Magnificent Motoring” tag line, were to be a re-affirmation of Riley values in both road behaviour and appearance. ‘Torsionic’ front independent suspension and steering design inspired by the CitroënTraction Avant provided precise handling; their flowing lines were particularly well-balanced, marrying pre-war ‘coachbuilt’ elegance to more modern features, such as headlamps faired into the front wings. The RMC, a 3-seater roadster was an unsuccessful attempt to break into the American market, while the RMD was an elegant 4/5-seater two-door drophead, of which again few were made. The 1.5-litre RME and 2.5-litre RMF were later developments of the saloon versions, which continued in production into the mid-fifties.
Victor Riley was removed by Nuffield in 1947. In early 1949 the Coventry works were made an extension of Morris Motors’ engine branch. Riley production was consolidated with MG at Abingdon. Wolseley production was moved to Cowley. Nuffield’s marques were then organised in a similar way to those of General Motors: Morris was the value line, and Wolseley the luxury marque. Aside from their small saloons MG largely offered spartan performance, especially with their open sports cars, while Riley sought to be both sporty and luxurious. With Wolseley also fighting for the top position, however, the range was crowded and confused.
The confusion became critical in 1952 with the merger of Nuffield and Austin as the British Motor Corporation. Now, Riley was positioned between MG and Wolseley and most Riley models would become, like those, little more than badge-engineered versions of Austin/Morris designs.
The first all-new Riley under BMC, however, was designated the RMH, and because of its distinctive engine and suspension design, has been called ‘the last real Riley’. This was the Pathfinder, with Riley’s familiar 2.5-litre four developed to produce 110 bhp. (The RMG ‘Wayfarer’, a projected 1.5-litre version, was rejected as underpowered). The Pathfinder body was later reworked and, with a different engine and rear suspension, sold as the Wolseley 6/90. The Riley lost its distinct (though externally subtle) differences in 1958, and the 6/90 of that year was available badge engineered as a Riley Two-Point-Six 1957 Riley two-point-six 1957 207 CWL. Although this was the only postwar 6-cylinder Riley, its C-Series engine was actually less powerful than the Riley Big Four that it replaced. This was to be the last large Riley, with the model dropped in May 1959 and Riley refocusing on the under-2-litre segment.
Riley and Wolseley were linked in small cars as well. Launched in 1957, the Riley One-Point-Five and Wolseley 1500 were based on the unused but intended replacement for the Morris Minor. They shared their exteriors, but the Riley was marketed as the more performance-oriented option, having an uprated engine, twin S.U. carburetters and a close-ratio gearbox. With its good handling, compact, sports-saloon styling and well-appointed interior, the One-Point-Five quite successfully recaptured the character of the 1930s light saloons.
At the top of the Riley line for April 1959 was the new Riley 4/Sixty-Eight saloon. Again, it was merely a badge-engineered version of other BMC models. The steering was perhaps the worst feature of the car, being Austin-derived cam and peg rather than the rack and pinion of the One-Point-Five. Overall, it could not provide the sharp and positive drive associated with previous Rileys, being based on the humble Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxford. Sharing many features with the similarly upmarket MG Magnette Mark III and Wolseley 15/60, it was the most luxurious of the versions, which were all comfortable and spacious, and (nominally) styled by Farina. The car was refreshed, along with its siblings, in 1961 and rebadged the 4/Seventy-Two.
The early 1960s also saw the introduction of the Mini-based Riley Elf. Again, a Wolseley model (the Hornet) was introduced simultaneously. This time, the Riley and Wolseley versions were differentiated visually by their grilles but identical mechanically.
The final model of the BMC era was the Kestrel 1100/1300, based on the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 saloon. This also had stablemates in Wolseley and MG versions. Following objections from diehard Riley enthusiasts, the Kestrel name was dropped for the last facelift in 1968, the Riley 1300.
Between 1966 and 1968 a series of mergers took place in the British motor industry, ultimately creating the British Leyland Motor Corporation, whose management embarked on a programme of rationalisation—in which the Riley marque was an early casualty. A BLMC press release was reported in The Times of 9 July 1969: “British Leyland will stop making Riley cars from today. “With less than 1 per cent of the home market, they are not viable” the company said last night. The decision will end 60 years of motoring history. No other marques in the British Leyland stable are likely to suffer the same fate “in the foreseeable future”.
In spite of the decline of the marque under BMC, surviving well-preserved examples of the period are now considered desirable classics, the Riley ‘face’ and badge lending a distinctive character. The needs of enthusiasts are met by the Riley Motor Club, the original factory Club founded in 1925.
The future
Riley production ended with the 1960s, and the marque became dormant. The last Riley badged car was produced in 1969. For many enthusiasts, however, the name of Riley still has resonance into the 21st century. Many of the original racing Rileys compete regularly in VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) events, and pre-war racing ‘specials’ continue to be created (controversially) from tired or derelict saloons. For a short while, following BMW’s purchase of the Rover Group in 1994, there were hopes that Riley might be revived, since the then Chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder was an enthusiast for many of the defunct British marques. After Pischetsrieder’s removal in 1999, and BMW‘s divestment of the MG Rover Group in 2000, however, these hopes faded; though the rights to the Triumph and Riley marques, along with Mini were retained by BMW.
In 2007, William Riley, who claims to be a descendant of the Riley family, although this has been disputed, formed MG Sports and Racing Europe Ltd. This new business acquired assets relating to the MG XPower SVsportscar from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrators of the defunct MG Rover Group, and intended to continue production of the model as the MG XPower WR.
In September 2010 the motor magazine ‘Autocar’ reported that BMW were considering the revival of the Riley brand in the form of a variant of the redesigned MINI. This would most likely be a luxury version taking its cues from the ‘Elf’ of 1961-9, with a ‘notchback’ (booted) body, and the interior trimmed in wood and leather in the manner of earlier Rileys. No sources were quoted, however, and in the absence of any statement from BMW reports of the possible resurrection of Riley must be regarded as highly speculative. ‘Autocar’ reiterated this information in April 2016.
Riley 1.5litre Sprite with Kestrel body 1936. The 6-light Kestrel body was given to the new 1½-litre car in 1936
Riley 12/4 Kestrel 6-Light
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Notes
Jump up^Information extracted from Notice issued in compliance with the Regulations of the Committee of The Stock Exchange, London (with regard to the issue of 150,000 Preference Shares of £1 each on 17 January 1934).
The Company was incorporated in England on 25 June 1896 under the name The Riley Cycle Company Limited, changed to Riley (Coventry) Limited on 30 March 1912.
In and around the year 1927 closer working arrangements were made between the Company and the Riley Engine Company and the Midland Motor Body Company whereby the designing and manufacturing resources of the three businesses were pooled.
(During 1932) these two associated concerns were absorbed by the Company which became a completely self-contained manufacturing unit on modern lines.
The Company’s works at Coventry and Hendon cover a combined area of 16½ acres, in addition to which the Company owns adjoining land at Coventry of approximately 6 acres.
About 2,200 workpeople are regularly employed.
Riley (Coventry) Limited. The Times, Thursday, 18 January 1934; pg. 18; Issue 46655
Jump up^Riley Motors Limited, Company no. 00344156 was incorporated 8 September 1938—and changed its name in 1994 to BLMC Engineering Limited. Curiously the name Riley (Coventry) Limited continued to be used in all Nuffield group advertising until 1946 as if the original company had not been liquidated but continued to survive.
Riley Motors Limited was used in all advertising between 1950 and July 1960
Riley is een historisch merk van motorfietsen en automobielen.
De bedrijfsnaam was Riley Cycle Co. Ltd., City Works, Coventry (1899–1908).
Riley was een Engels merk, opgericht door William Riley, dat in 1901 motorfietsen ging maken, nadat al eerder driewielers met De Dion-motor werden geproduceerd.
De motorfietsen werden aangedreven door motorblokken van Minerva en MMC. Die laatste waren overigens in licentie geproduceerde De Dions. In 1903 probeerden William’s zoons Percy, Victor en Allan hun vader en hun oom te overreden een bedrijf te kopen waar men zelf motorblokken kon bouwen. William en zijn broer wilden er niet aan beginnen, maar de zoons kregen toch financiële steun en richtten de Riley Engine Company op. Zodoende beschikte Riley vanaf 1904 over eigen 2-, 2½- en 2¾ pk eencilinders en V-twins. In dat jaar waren er fietsen, twee- en driewielers in productie. In 1908 werd de productie beëindigd en Riley ging automobielen maken.
2007-2008 De Engelsen laten het niet over hun kant gaan dat Jan en alleman er met hun automobiele historie vandoor gaat. Op de plek waar vroeger TVR zat, wordt nu weer een oud merk nieuw leven ingeblazen.
William Riley, een nakomeling van de oprichter van het merk, wil in Blackpool, op de plek waar vroeger TVR’s werden gebouwd het merk Riley opnieuw gaan stichten. Riley kwam in 1907 voort uit een bedrijf dat fietsen maakte. In 1969 ging het onder de vleugels van British Leyland ter ziele. Aanvankelijk wilde William Riley zijn auto’s gaan bouwen op de basis van TVR-modellen. Nu is het plan de auto te baseren op de MG SV. Die sportauto was nauwelijks op de markt toen in 2005 MG Rover failliet ging. Van de SV zouden zeshonderd exemplaren worden gebouwd, maar uiteindelijk is het gebleven bij een handjevol. Riley is inmiddels druk bezig in Blackpool de weg te plaveien voor een wedergeboorte. Als alles goed gaat, worden in 2010 1.800 auto’s gebouwd en werken er honderd mensen.
Heropleving
William Riley, een nakomeling van de oprichter van het merk, wil in Blackpool, op de plek waar vroeger TVR’s werden gebouwd het merk Riley opnieuw oprichten. Aanvankelijk wilde William Riley zijn auto’s gaan bouwen op de basis van TVR-modellen. Nu is het plan de auto te baseren op de MG XPower SV. Deze sportauto was nauwelijks op de markt toen in 2005 MG Rover failliet ging. Van de SV zouden zeshonderd exemplaren worden gebouwd, maar uiteindelijk is het gebleven bij een handjevol. Men wil in 2010 1.800 auto’s bouwen.
Maserati (Italian pronunciation: [mazeˈraːti]) is an Italianluxury vehicle manufacturer established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna. The Maserati tagline is “Luxury, sports and style cast in exclusive cars”, and the brand’s mission statement is to “Build ultra-luxury performance automobiles with timeless Italian style, accommodating bespoke interiors, and effortless, signature sounding power”.
The company’s headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian-American car giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and FCA’s Italian predecessor Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., which was also owned by FCA until being spun off in 2015, but more recently it has become part of the sports car group including Alfa Romeo and Abarth (see section below). In May 2014, due to ambitious plans and product launches, Maserati sold a record of over 3,000 cars. This caused them to increase production of the Quattroporte and Ghibli models. In addition to the Ghibli and Quattroporte, Maserati offers the Maserati GranTurismo, the GranTurismo Convertible, and has confirmed that it will be offering the Maserati Levante, the first Maserati SUV, in 2016, and the Maserati Alfieri, a new 2+2 in 2016. Maserati is placing a production output cap at 75,000 vehicles globally.
The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another).1921 Diatto 20 DA Torpedo
The trident logo of the Maserati car company is based on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna‘s Piazza Maggiore. In 1920, one of the Maserati brothers, artist Mario, used this symbol in the logo at the suggestion of family friend Marquis Diego de Sterlich. It was considered particularly appropriate for the sports car company due to fact that Neptune represents strength and vigour; additionally the statue is a characteristic symbol of the company’s original home city.
Alfieri Maserati died in 1932, but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore, kept the firm going, building cars that won races.
Orsi ownership
In 1937, the remaining Maserati brothers sold their shares in the company to the Adolfo Orsi family, who in 1940, relocated the company headquarters to their home town of Modena, where it remains to this day. The brothers continued in engineering roles with the company. Racing successes continued, even against the giants of German racing, Auto Union and Mercedes. In back-to-back wins in 1939 and 1940, a1938 Maserati 8CTF won the Indianapolis 500, the only Italian manufacturer ever to do so.
The war then intervened, Maserati abandoned car making to produce components for the Italian war effort. During this time, Maserati worked in fierce competition to construct a V16 town car for Benito Mussolini before Ferry Porsche of Volkswagen built one for Adolf Hitler. This failed, and the plans were scrapped. Once peace was restored, Maserati returned to making cars; theMaserati A6 series did well in the post-war racing scene.
Key people joined the Maserati team. Alberto Massimino, an old Fiat engineer, with both Alfa Romeo and Ferrari experiences oversaw the design of all racing models for the next ten years. With him joined engineers Giulio Alfieri, Vittorio Bellentani, and Gioacchino Colombo. The focus was on the best engines and chassis to succeed in car racing. These new projects saw the last contributions of the Maserati brothers, who after their 10-year contract with Orsi expired went on to form O.S.C.A.. This new team at Maserati worked on several projects: the
The famous Argentinian driver Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years in the 1950s, producing a number of stunning victories including winning the world championship in 1957 in the Maserati 250F alongside Toulo de Graffenried, Louis Chiron, Prince Bira, Enrico Platé, and a few others. Other racing projects in the 1950s were the1957 Maserati 200SI 200S,Maserati 300S 300S (with several famous pilots, among them Benoit Musy),Maserati-350 S-Open Sports Racing 350S, and1957 Maserati 450S 450S, followed in 1961 by the famous
Maserati retired from factory racing participation because of the Guidizzolo tragedy during the 1957 Mille Miglia, though they continued to build cars for privateers. Maserati became more and more focused on building road-going grand tourers.
The 1957 Maserati 3500 GT marked a turning point in the marque’s history, as its first ground-up grand tourer design and first series produced car. Production jumped from a dozen to a few hundreds cars a year. Chief engineer Giulio Alfieri took care of the project, and turned the 3.5 L inline-six engine from the 350S into a road engine. First launched with a 2+2 coupé aluminium body over Carrozzeria Touring‘s superleggera structure, a steel-bodied short wheelbase Vignale 3500 GT Convertibile open top version followed in 1960. The 3500 GT’s success, with over 2200 made, was critical to Maserati’s survival in the years that followed the withdrawal from racing.
The 3500 GT also provided the underpinnings for the
small-volume V8-engined 5000 GT, another seminal car for Maserati. Born from the Shah of Persia‘s whim of owning a road car powered by the Maserati 450S racing engine, it became one of the fastest and most expensive cars of its days. From the third to the thirty-fourth and last example produced it housed Maserati’s first ever road-going V8 engine design.
In 1962, the 3500 GT was evolved into the Sebring, bodied by Vignale and based on the Convertibile short chassis. Next, camethe two-seater Mistral coupé in 19631964 Maserati Mistral Spyder and Spider in 1964, both six-cylinder powered and designed by Pietro Frua.
Also in 1963, the company’s first saloon car arrived,the Maserati Quattroporte, designed by Frua as well. If the 5000 GT inaugurated the marque’s first road-going V8, the Quattroporte’s Tipo 107 4.2-litre DOHC V8 was the forefather of all Maserati V8s up to 1990.
The Ghia-designed Ghibli coupé was launched in 1967. It was powered by a 4.7L, dry sump version of Maserati’s quad cam V8. The Ghibli Spyder and 4.9-litre Ghibli SS followed.
Citroën ownership
In 1968, Maserati was taken over by French car manufacturer Citroën. Adolfo Orsi remained the nominal president, but Maserati changed a great deal. The relationship with Citroën started as a joint venture, made public in January 1968, in which Maserati would design and manufacture an engine for an upcoming Citroën flagship car, the Citroën SM. Launched in 1970, the SM was a four-seater front-wheel-drive coupé, powered by a Maserati Tipo C114 2.7 L 90° V6 engine. The V6 Maserati engine and its associated gearbox have been used in other vehicles such as Special Rally prepared Citroën DS, as used by Bob Neyret in Bandama Rally, and in the Ligier JS 2.
With secure financial backing, new models were launched, and built in much greater numbers than before. Citroën borrowed Maserati expertise and engines for the Citroën SM and other vehicles, and Maseratis also incorporated Citroën technology, particularly in hydraulics. Engineer Giulio Alfieri was key to many of the ambitious designs of this period.
The first new arrival was the 1969 Maserati Indy—a Vignale-designed four seater GT with a traditional V8 drivetrain, which was produced in over 1100 units.
In 1971, the Maserati Bora, was the first series production mid-engined Maserati, an idea agreed with Maserati administrator Guy Malleret shortly after the 1968 takeover. The Bora ended Maserati’s reputation for producing fast, but technologically out of date cars, being the first Maserati with four wheel independent suspension. In contrast, competitor Lamborghini had independent suspension in 1964.
In 1972, fitting a Tipo 114 SM-derived V6 enlarged to 3.0-litre into the Bora produced theMaserati Merak.
To power this large car, Alfieri developed a V8 engine from the SM V6 with 260 PS (190 kW; 260 bhp) and fitted it to a lightly modified SM, proving that the chassis could easily handle the power increase. Citroën’s and Maserati’s financial difficulties hampered the type homologation process; the development costs for the stillborn saloon further aggravated Maserati’s situation. Only a dozen Quattroporte IIs were ever produced, all with the V6.
a front-engined grand tourer that introduced in 1972 and produced from 1974; it married the traditional Maserati V8 GT layout with modern independent suspension, unibody construction and refined Citroën technologies such as DIRAVI power steering.
Meanwhile, the 1973 oil crisis put the brakes on this ambitious expansion; demand for fuel-hungry sports cars shrank drastically. Austerity measures in Italy meant that the domestic market contracted by 60-70%. All of the main Italian GT car manufacturers were damaged, having to lay off workers in order to empty lots of unsold cars. Maserati received the hardest blow, as its home market sales accounted for over half of the total—in contrast, for example, with Ferrari‘s 20%. In this situation, the only Maserati that continued to sell in appreciable numbers was the smaller engined Merak.
In 1974, the 1973–75 recession at its climax, things took a turn for the worse. Citroën went bankrupt and its incorporation into PSA Peugeot Citroën begun. The year closed with domestic sales tumbling from 1973’s 360 to 150 units, and losses exceeding the share capital.
On 22 May 1975, a press release from the Citroën management announced all of a sudden that Maserati had been put into liquidation. The workforce immediately picketed the factory, but production was not halted. Trade unions, the mayor of Modena and local politicians mobilised to save the 800 jobs; industry ministerCarlo Donat-Cattin even flew to Paris to meet Citroën chairman Francois Rollier. An agreement was reached in June, after several meetings and assemblies. During one of these meetings, Citroën liquidators disclosed that a possible Italian buyer had showed up, and the name of de Tomaso was put forth for the first time. Citroën accepted to suspend liquidation as requested by the Italian government, which on its part guaranteed six months of special redundancy fund to pay the salaries.
De Tomaso era
On 8 August 1975, an agreement was signed at the Ministry of Industry in Rome, and property of Maserati passed from Citroën to Italian state-owned holding companyGEPI and Alejandro de Tomaso, an Argentinianindustrialist and former racing driver, who became president and CEO. As of December 1979, GEPI’s quota amounted to 88.75% of Maserati, the remaining 11.25% being controlled by De Tomaso through an holding which grouped his automotive interests in Maserati and Innocenti. Beginning in 1976, new models were introduced, sharing their underpinnings—but not their engines—with De Tomaso cars; first came the Kyalami grand tourer, derived from the De Tomaso Longchamp restyled by Frua and powered by Maserati’s V8. Following wasthe Italdesign Giugiaro-designed third generation Quattroporte, introduced in 1976 and put on sale in 1979. Bora sales dwindled down; Khamsin was discontinued between 1982 and 1983. Progressively stripped of its Citroën-derived parts, the Merak continued to sell over one hundred pieces a year, until 1982.
The Biturbo
1985 Maserati Biturbo E, front left (US) A 1985 Maserati Biturbo
The 1980s saw the company largely abandoning the mid-engined sports car in favour of a compact front-engined, rear-drivecoupé, the Maserati Biturbo. Of fairly conventional construction, the Biturbo’s pleasure and pain was its twin-turbochargedV6 engine, the first ever in a production car. This engine, descending from Alfieri’s 90° V6, was fitted in a large number of models, all sharing key components; every new Maserati launched up to the 1990s would derive from the Biturbo. The Biturbo family was extremely successful at exploiting the aspirational image of the Maserati name—selling 40,000 units.
In 1983 and 1984, the range was extended to include saloons (the 425 and 420) and a cabriolet (the Zagato-bodied Spyder), respectively on a long and short wheelbase Biturbo platform.
During 1984, Chrysler bought a 5% share in the new company. Following an agreement between De Tomaso’s friend and Chrysler head Lee Iacocca, a joint venture was signed. Maserati would produce a car for export to the American market, the Chrysler TC by Maserati, with Chrysler-sourced engines. In July of that same year, a merger between Maserati and Nuova Innocenti was decided; it was carried out in 1985. Chrysler upped its stake to 15.6% by underwriting three quarters of a 75 billion Lire capital raise in 1986.
New Biturbo-based cars and model evolutions were launched year after year. In 1984, it was the 228, a large coupé built on the long wheelbase saloon chassis, with a new 2.8 L version of the twin-turbo V6. WeberFuel injection was phased in starting in 1986, bringing improved reliability and a host of new model variants. The same year, the ageing third generation Quattroporte was updated as the luxurious Maserati Royale, built to order in an handful of examples a year; its discontinuation in 1990 marked the disappearance of Maserati’s four-cam V8 engine, a design that could trace its roots back to the 450S racer and the legendary 5000 GT. In 1987, the 2.8-litre 430 topped the saloon range. 1988 brought the Maserati Karif 2.8-litre two-seater, based on the short wheelbase Spyder chassis. Meanwhile, the Biturbo name was dropped altogether, as updated coupés and saloons were updated became the 222 and 422. 1989 marked the reintroduction of an eight-cylinder grand tourer: the Maserati Shamal, built on a modified short wheelbase Biturbo bodyshell, clad in new muscular bodywork by Marcello Gandini. It was powered by an all-new twin-turbo 32-valve V8 engine paired to a 6-speed gearbox. Two-litre, 24-valve engines also debuted.
De Tomaso-Fiat years
In October 1989, De Tomaso bought the remaining Gepi quota. In December, Fiat entered in Maserati’s history. Maserati and Innocenti were separated; Innocenti Milano S.p.A., the company that sold Innocenti cars, continued its business under a 51% Fiat Auto ownership. All of the Modena and Lambrate plants went to a newly created company, the still extant Maserati S.p.A.; 49% of it was owned by Fiat Auto and 51% was controlled by De Tomaso through the old company, Officine Alfieri Maserati.
In the early Nineties, a mid-engined sports car was developed, the Maserati Chubasco—which was to début in 1992. It featured Gandini-designed body, a V8 powertrain and a backbone chassis. The project was cancelled, as it proved too expensive. Starting in 1990, the entire range received a facelift by Marcello Gandini, on the lines of the Shamal’s styling. The last version of the Biturbo coupé proper was called Maserati Racing. It was a transitional model in which several features to be found on the upcoming Ghibli were tested.
The Maserati Ghibli was introduced in 1992. It was a six-cylinder coupé, with modified Biturbo underpinnings dressed by new Gandini bodywork (toned down from the Shamal) and the latest evolution of the 24-valve twin-turbo V6 with record breaking specific output. The underpinnings of the stillborn Chubasco gave birth to the Maserati Barchetta, a small open top mid-engine sports car styled by Synthesis Design (Carlo Gaino). A one-make racing series was held in 1992 and 1993, using the Barchetta Corsa racing version; the road-going Barchetta Stradale was never put into production. Just 17 Barchetta examples were produced. Between 1992 and 1994 all models save for the Ghibli and Shamal were progressively discontinued.
Fiat ownership
On 19 May 1993, 17 years after having rescued it from liquidation, Alejandro De Tomaso sold its 51% stake in Maserati to Fiat, which became the sole owner. Substantial investments were made in Maserati, and it has since undergone something of a renaissance.
In 1998, a new chapter began in Maserati’s history when the company launched the 3200 GT. This two-door coupé is powered by a 3.2 L twin-turbocharged V8 derived from the Shamal engine, which produces 370 hp (276 kW).
Over two decades after the ill-fated Chrysler TC by Maserati during Chrysler’s brief ownership stake in Maserati, the two companies became interconnected again when Fiat purchased majority control of Chrysler in 2011 as a result of Chrysler’s bankruptcy.
Ferrari
In July 1997, Fiat sold a 50% share in the company to Maserati’s long-time arch-rival Ferrari (Ferrari itself being owned by Fiat). In 1999, Ferrari took full control, making Maserati its luxury division. A new factory was built, replacing the existing 1940s-vintage facility. Ferrari is credited for bringing Maserati back into business, after many lacklustre years of Maserati teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
The last links to the de Tomaso era were cut in 2002, when the 3200 GT was replaced by the Maserati Coupé and Spyder; evolved from the 3200, these cars ditched its twin-turbocharged V8 for an all-new, naturally aspirated, dry sump 4.2-litre V8 with a transaxle gearbox. In turn Coupé and Spyder were replaced by the GranTurismo and GranCabrio.
Meanwhile, two new models have been shown to the public: the MC12 road supersports and successful GT racer with a Ferrari Enzo–derived chassis and engine and the new Quattroporte, a high luxury saloon with the 4.2l V8 engine. Nowadays, Maserati is back in business and successfully selling on a global basis. In 2001, Ferrari decided to throw away all the old tooling and installed high-tech devices in the Modena factory, making it one of the most advanced in the world.
Since early 2002, Maserati once again entered the United States market, which has quickly become for Maserati the largest market worldwide. The company has also re-entered the racing arena with their Trofeo and, in December 2003, the Maserati MC12 (formerly known as the MCC), which was developed according to FIA GT regulations and has since competed with great success in the world FIA GT championship, winning the teams championship three consecutive times from 2005 to 2007. The MC12 has also been raced in various national GT championship as well as in the American Le Mans series. The MC12 is based on the Enzo Ferrari sports car; 50 street-legal homologation models (roadsters and coupés) have been sold for about US$700,000 each.
The Maserati and Alfa Romeo Group under Fiat Group
The Maserati and Alfa Romeo group, under Fiat Group, started in 2005, when Maserati was split off from Ferrari and partnered with Alfa Romeo. On 9 June 2005 the 20,000th Maserati, a Quattroporte, left the factory. In the second quarter of 2007, Maserati made profit for the first time in 17 years under Fiat ownership.
On January 22, 2010, Fiat announced that it had created a new partnership/brand group for Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Abarth. The group was led by Harald J. Wester, the current CEO of Maserati. Sergio Marchionne said that “[the] purpose of bringing the Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth brands under the same leadership is to emphasize and leverage the value of the shared qualities of the three brands in terms of their sporting characteristics and performance.” Abarth stayed under Wester’s leadership until 2013, leaving Maserati and Alfa Romeo in the brand group, led by Wester. Although Maserati and Alfa Romeo are in a brand group, Alfa Romeo is structured under FCA Italy S.p.A., which itself is structured under FCA, whereas Maserati is structured solely under FCA. In addition, in an interview with Wester in 2015, he clarified that his “role at Maserati is different from that in the Alfa Romeo as the latter is better integrated into the Fiat Group” and that “the new Alfa car won’t share any parts with the current Maserati model. I’m not planning any technical merging of these two makes.”
In 2013, Maserati started its expansion with the sixth-generation Maserati Quattroporte, which was designed to better compete with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This was followed by the introduction of the Ghibli, which was slated to compete against the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-series. On May 6, 2014, Maserati confirmed production of the Levante SUV and the Alfieri (previously a 2+2 concept sports car that was named after Alfieri Maserati). At this event, it was revealed that 2014 will be the last year of production for the GranTurismo and GranTurismo Convertible, although production of the GranTurismo was extended until 2016, with a new GranTurismo still being unveiled in 2018. In a 2015 interview, Harald J. Wester said that there was room for a future sports car, positioned above the Alfieri.
Along with their expansion, Maserati started their re-entrance into the high-performance car field, in order to compete with brands such as Mercedes-AMG, BMW M, Porsche, Jaguar, and in certain cases, Ferrari. This is being done with Maseratis that have higher output engines, higher performance components, and better handling. The fastest Maserati Alfieri will be receiving a 520 bhp (388 kW; 527 PS) V6 with all-wheel drive, while the Quattroporte, Ghibli, and Levante are receiving 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) V8s in the future with all-wheel drive, in order to better compete with their respective AMGs, M cars, Jaguars, and Porsches. The Maserati Alfieri will be competitive against the Mercedes-AMG GT, Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type R, and even the Ferrari California T in terms of performance. The replacement for the GranTurismo, to be presented in 2018, will have a 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) V8. The high performance all wheel drive version of the Ghibli (as mentioned above) will likely wear a GTS badge. For the Quattroporte, this will be a replacement for the GTS version (with increased power and all wheel drive, as mentioned above).
In addition, Harald J. Wester stated that Maserati is experimenting with plug-in hybrid powertrains, and that one will be offered in the second half of 2017 in the Levante SUV. By 2018, the base Ghibli will receive a performance upgrade 350 bhp (261 kW; 355 PS), and the Ghibli S Q4 to 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS).
The 2014 Maserati lineup, as shown at the 100th Year Anniversary in Autoworld Brussels From left to right: Maserati GranCabrio Sport, Maserati Ghibli III and Maserati Quattroporte Series VI
Maserati sales in 2013 were 15,400 units, which is up from just over 6,000 units worldwide in 2012 (2013 included the release of the new Quattroporte and Ghibli towards the end of the year, and thus the first year to fully represent the sales inclusive of these models is 2014). In May, 2014, Maserati sold a company record of over 3,000 cars worldwide, causing them to increase production of the Ghibli and Quattroporte. For that same month in the United States, Maserati sold 1,114 vehicles, which is up 406.19% over the same month in the previous year in the United States. Maserati’s best month of sales in the United States was September 2014, with 1,318 units sold. The month in 2014 where the increase on sales for the same month of the previous year was the highest was May, with a volume increase of 406.19%. The sales target for 2018 is 75,000 units worldwide.
2014 marked an historic record of 13,411 total units sold in North America for the year, a 169% increase versus 2013, boasting the highest-ever overall sales year for Maserati North America, Inc. Worldwide, in 2014 Maserati sold about 36,500 cars, a 136% increase over 2013. Harald J. Wester stated that Maserati will not surpass the 70,000 sales per year mark, and that Maserati will maintain its current position in the higher end of the luxury sports car market, not expanding downmarket and making vehicles smaller and less expensive than the Ghibli and Levante (such as those similar to the Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class), as other FCA brands, specifically Alfa Romeo, are or will be in those market spaces.
Since 2009, Marco Tencone (born 1967) has been the head designer of Maserati cars.
Italian for “four-door,” the Maserati Quattroporte is a sportingluxury saloon. The sixth generation Maserati Quattroporte was introduced in 2013. The Quattroporte is currently available in S Q4, GTS and Diesel trim. The S Q4 has an advanced four wheel drive system, and a 404-horsepower twin-turbo V6. The GTS is rear wheel drive, and has a 523-horsepower V8. A Quattroporte Diesel model is offered on selected markets, making 275 horsepower (250 hp in Italy) and 442 ft-lbs of torque. The sixth-generation Quattroporte has grown in size in order to better compete with the roomier luxury saloons like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
By 2018, the Quattroporte S Q4 will be upgraded to produce 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS) from its V6, and the GTS to produce 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) horsepower from its V8, both with all-wheel drive (for the V8 to increase performance).
The first presentation of this car was on 20 April 2013 in Shanghai. It is a sporting/luxury executive saloon that competes against the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class or Audi A6. This new model is expected to be key in order to reach the ambitious target sales of 50,000 cars a year by 2015, and 75,000 by 2018. The car, along with the new Quattroporte, is built in the Italian factory of Grugliasco, Turin (former Bertone). The base Ghibli comes with 330 horsepower, the Ghibli Diesel with 275 horsepower (also 250 in Italy only), and the Ghibli S Q4 with 410 horsepower. By 2018, the base Ghibli will have 350 horsepower, the S Q4 450 horsepower, and a higher performance version (likely GTS) which will have 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) and all-wheel drive.
The Maserati GranTurismo is a grand tourer introduced in 2007. The GranTurismo has a 4.7-litre V8, making 454 bhp (339 kW; 460 PS) in Sport form and MC form. A convertible (GranCabrio) version is also available in standard, Sport, and MC form. The final production year for the Maserati GranTurismo is scheduled to be 2014, but it will be revived in 2018 with a 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) V8, again in rear wheel drive form.
The Maserati Levante is a crossover SUV due to be released in 2014. It has been anticipated with the Maserati Kubang concept SUV in September 2003 at the Frankfurt Motor Show and again in 2011. It was announced, at the Paris Motor Show held in Paris in September 2012. The Levante will be assembled in Mirafiori Plant, in Turin. It was confirmed on May 6, 2014. The Levante 3.0L V6 will be offered in either 350 or 425 horsepower states of tune, with a 3.8L V8 producing 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) down the road, due in 2018. All models will have all-wheel drive.
The Maserati Alfieri was a concept 2+2 presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 2014. The concept was based off the lighter chassis of the GranTurismo MC Stradale, although it had a shorter wheelbase. The concept was introduced with a 4.7 liter V8 producing 460 bhp (343 kW; 466 PS).
The Alfieri was confirmed for production in 2016 at a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles event on May 6, 2014. The production version will receive three different V6 engine choices, producing 410 bhp (306 kW; 416 PS), 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS), and 520 bhp (388 kW; 527 PS), respectively. The 450 horsepower and 520 horsepower versions will only have an all-wheel drive system. The Alfieri will be joined by an Alfieri convertible in 2017.
Throughout its history, Maserati has participated in various forms of motorsports including Formula One, sportscar racing and touring car racing, both as a works team and through private entrants.
Maserati developed fifteen GranTurismo MC racecars, homologated for the European Cup and National Endurance Series, one of which was raced by GT motorsport organization Cool Victory in Dubai in January, 2010.
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-L’auto e la prima Maserati con carrozzeria di Pininfarina. -L’eleganza della linea e arricchita dai fari anteriori a scomparsa e dal tetto in plexiglass azionati elettricamente. – La vettura fu presentata al Salone dell’Automobile di Ginevra lo stesso anno. – Prototipo
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Jump up^Near the town of Guidizzolo, a 4.2-litre Ferrari travelling at 250 km/h blew a tire and crashed into the roadside crowd, killing the driver, co-driver, and ten spectators, including five children. In response, Enzo Ferrari was charged with manslaughter in a lengthy criminal prosecution that was finally dismissed in 1961.
Jump up^Gepi, or Società per le Gestioni e Partecipazioni Industriali, was a holding company owned by state enterprises, whose intended purpose was to assume control of privately owned companies in difficulty and to resell them once restructured. De Tomaso had carried out similar recovery operations with aid from Gepi in the previous years, notably for the Benelli and Guzzimotorcycle companies—which at the time he controlled.
Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and other utility vehicles, based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into ‘administration sequestre’ it was in private ownership until 1967 when it then became part of Citroën, and subsequently acquired by Renault in 1974 and merged with Saviem into a new Renault Trucks company in 1978. The Berliet marque was phased out by 1980.
Marius Berliet started his experiments with automobiles in 1894. Some single-cylinder cars were followed in 1900 by a twin-cylinder model. In 1902, Berliet took over the plant of Audibert & Lavirotte in Lyon. Berliet started to build four-cylinder automobiles featured by a honeycomb radiator and steel chassis frame was used instead of wood. The next year, a model was launched that was similar to contemporary Mercedes. In 1906, Berliet sold the licence for manufacturing his model to the American Locomotive Company.
Before World War I, Berliet offered a range of models from 8 CV to 60 CV. The main models had four-cylinder engines (2412 cc and 4398 cc, respectively), and there was a six-cylinder model of 9500 cc. A 1539 cc model (12 CV) was produced between 1910 and 1912. From 1912, six-cylinder models were made upon individual orders only.
First World War
The First World War led to a massive increase in demand. Berliet, like Renault and Latil, produced trucks for the French army. The military orders placed major demands on the factory’s capacity, necessitating major investment in production plant and factory space.
Berliet CBA at the Verdun Memorial museum. The CBA became the iconic truck on the Voie Sacrée, supplying the battle front at Verdun during 1916. It continued in production till 1932.
In 1915 a 400 hectare site was purchased between Vénissieux et Saint-Priest in order to build a new principal factory.
The Berliet CBA became the iconic truck on the Voie Sacrée, supplying the battle front at Verdun during 1916. 25,000 of these 4/5 ton Berliet trucks, originally launched in 1914, were ordered by the French army. During 1916 40 of them were leaving the plant each day. Under license from Renault, Berliet were also producing shells and battle tanks at this time. The number of workers employed increased to 3,150.
By 1917 the value of annual turnover had multiplied fourfold since the start of the war, a new legal structure was deemed appropriate. The company became the Société anonyme des Automobiles Marius Berliet.
Between two wars
After the war the manufacturer reoriented part of its production back to passenger cars, but Berliet nevertheless found themselves with excess capacity, as the army was no longer buying all the trucks the factory could produce, and overall output halved.
Shrinking the range
Marius Berliet responded to the outbreak of peace by deciding to produce just a single type of truck and a single type of car, which represented a departure from his pre-war market strategy. The single truck on which Berliet focused was the 5 ton CBA that had served the nation so well during the war.
An ill-judged short-cut
The passenger car to be produced, exhibited on the Berliet stand at the 15th Paris Motor Show in October 1919, was the 3296cc (15HP/CV) “Torpedo” bodied “Berliet Type VB” of modern appearance. Marius Berliet was not one to miss a trick: rather than devote time and engineering talent to developing a new car for the new decade, he obtained and copied an AmericanDodge. The Dodge was famously robust, and the Berliet copy was well received in March 1919 when it had its first public outing, locally, at the Lyon Trade Fair. The headlights were mounted unusually high and the simple disc wheels were large, giving the car a pleasing “no nonsense” look.Particularly attractive was the price of just 11,800 francs in October 1919. Unfortunately, however, the Berliet engineers failed to ensure that the steel used in the car’s construction was of the same quality as the North American steel used for the Dodge, and this resulted in series problems for the early customers of the “Berliet Type VB” and serious reputational damage to the company.
Bankruptcy and recovery
The factory had been set up to produce the “Berliet Type VB” at the rate of 100 cars per day which would have been an ambitious target under any circumstances. The rapid drop-off in demand for what at this stage was the manufacturer’s only passenger car model that followed the quality issues plunged the business into financial difficulties, with losses of 55 million francs recorded in one year. Survival was in doubt, and Berliet was placed in judicial administration in 1921. Marius Berliet himself had held 88% of the share capital, but was unable to pay off all the company’s creditors and the firm therefore fell into the hands of the banks. Berliet was nevertheless able to retain operational control. During the ensuring decade, supported by a sustained recovery in demand that in turn reflected an effective model strategy after 1922, Berliet was able to pay off his debtors and, in 1929, to regain financial control over the business from the banks.
A full range for 1925
By the middle of the decade the manufacturer was again exhibiting a full range of automobile models at the 1924 October Motor Show, although at this stage they all featured four cylinder engines including even the 3958cc “4-litre” with its impressive cylinder dimensions of 95 x 140 mm. The range for 1925 was as follows:
“Type VI”: Launched 1924 with a 1,160cc (7HP/CV) ohc engine. Wheelbase 2,800 mm (110.2 in)
Listed prices Oct 1924: 16,260 francs (bare chassis), 21,500 francs (Torpedo), 25,500 francs (berline/saloon/sedan)
“Type VRC” with a 2,603cc (12 HP/CV) sidevalve engine. Wheelbase 3,060 mm (120.5 in)
Listed prices Oct 1924: 20,600 francs (bare chassis), 26,500 francs (Torpedo), 34,000 francs (berline/saloon/sedan)
“Type VM” with a 3,296cc (16 HP/CV) sidevalve engine. Wheelbase 3,150 mm (124.0 in)
Listed prices Oct 1924: 24,800 francs (bare chassis), 33,000 francs (Torpedo), 41,650 francs (berline/saloon/sedan)
“Type VRK / 2½-litre” with a 2,480cc (16 HP/CV) ohv engine. Wheelbase 3,350 mm (131.9 in)
Listed prices Oct 1924: 30,000 francs (bare chassis), 46,500 francs (Torpedo), 48,500 francs (berline/saloon/sedan)
“Type VK” with a 3,958cc (18 HP/CV) ohv engine. Wheelbase 3,585 mm (141.1 in)
Listed prices Oct 1924: 48,500 francs (bare chassis only)
From 1925 the manufacturer was producing its own car bodies.
Pushing up market
New six-cylinder models followed in 1927. By October 1928, just twelve months before the Wall Street Crash crystallized a savage downturn for the western economies, three of the four cars offered for 1929 on the Berliet stand at the Paris Motor Show, were powered by six cylinder engines. The range for 1929 was as follows:
“9CV”: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine. Wheelbase 2,800 mm (110.2 in)
“10CV”: 1.8-litre 6-cylinder engine. Wheelbase 2,900 mm (114.2 in)
“11CV”: 2.0-litre 6-cylinder engine. Wheelbase 2,900 mm (114.2 in)
“20CV”: 4.0-litre 6-cylinder engine. Wheelbase 3,600 mm (141.7 in)
The largest of these, with its four litre engine, was still listed by the manufacturer in March 1929, but was only available “to special order”. However, by this time the manufacturer was also developing, for 1930, a “16CV” 2.8-litre six-cylinder model.
In 1930 Berliet experimentally installed a diesel engines in one of their old CBA trucks, and in 1931 a batch of diesel powered Berliet GD2s was produced.
From 1933, only four-cylinder models (1600 cc and 2000 cc) were offered. The last Berliet sedan, first exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in October 1933 but launched, now with a name, only Summer 1934, was the Berliet Dauphine 11CV powered, by a 1,990cc (11CV) engine. For 1939 Berliet stopped producing car bodies and the last few hundred Berliet Dauphines, produced in the first half of 1939, used the body of a Peugeot 402 with a custom made Berliet hood/bonnet and radiator grille.
Second World War and aftermath
Berliet GLR
Regular passenger car production ceased in 1939 and after World War II, the company produced trucks only, with buses added to the range later. However, more than 20 brand-new sedans were in the factory when the Germans requisitioned it in June 1940, and these were immediately put into service. After the liberation, from late 1944 to early 1945, about 50 sedans were assembled from parts on hand, and in 1946, the last 15 sedans were completed by the Geneva agents. The company was given back to the family in 1949, but to Marius Berliet’s son Paul as following the founder’s death earlier that year. The Berliet GLR truck became the first new post-war product.
In his 1975 book, Vichy France: old guard and new order: 1940-1944, Robert Paxton contrasted the fate of the Berliet truck factory in Lyon, which remained in Marius Berliet’s family possession, despite his having manufactured 2,330 trucks for the Germans. — and the fate of Louis Renault‘s factories, which had also been seized — suggesting that the Renault factory might have been returned to Louis Renault and his family, had he lived longer. Marius Berliet, who died in 1949, had however “stubbornly refused to recognize legal actions against him after the war.”
As it happened, Renault’s were the only factories permanently seized by the French government.
Berliet manufactured the largest truck in the world in 1957, the T100 with 600 hp (447 kW) and 700 hp (522 kW) from a Cummins V12 engine. It was designed in 10 months at the factory in Courbevoie, outside of Paris, with a second built in 1958 and two further T100s built in 1959.
Citroën, Renault and demise
In August 1967, it was reported that Berliet had been taken over by Citroën, Berliet share holders receiving Citroën shares in return for their Berliet stock. In 1966, Berliet’s final year as an independent, they had produced approximately 17,000 units. Following the take-over the merged company stated that Citroën-Berliet would command 58% of France’s market for commercial vehicles above 6 tons. Citroën itself had been owned by Michelin since 1934 following a cash crisis of its own.
By this time, Michelin owned both Citroën and Berliet. However, after the 1973 oil crisis, Michelin decided to divest itself of these two companies in order to concentrate on its tyre business. Thus, in 1974 Berliet was sold to Renault, while Citroën was sold to Peugeot. Renault then proceeded to merge Berliet with Saviem to form Renault Véhicules Industriels in 1978.
After the merger, the Berliet name was phased out and another French marque came to an end by the late 1970s, with the last Berliet bus in production, the 1971 PR100, continuing to be sold as a Renault until 1993. Other products that survived the merger include the 1973 VXB-170 4×4 armoured personnel carrier for the French Army and others.
Peugeot vehicles produced mainly automobiles for private and commercial as well as two-wheelers . In 2009, the company sales totaled nearly 1.52 million motor vehicles in the world, with 1.12 million in Europe. Through its Department Peugeot Sport, Peugeot has also been engaged in motorsport and in particular endurance until 2011.
In 1832, they associate with Jacques Maillard-Salins and founded the company “Peugeot Frères Jacques Maillard-Elders and Salins” to manufacture blades saw.
Visionary, Armand Peugeot has decided to manufacture automobiles. After build 1889 a tricycle to steam driven boiler designed by Léon Serpollet , he noted that only the petrol engine allows to build a reliable and lightweight car. At the same time, Emile Levassor seeking customers for its licensed engines Daimler offers auto manufacturing Armand Peugeot follows. In January 1891, Peugeot produces and markets one of the first cars “horseless” Mr. Vurpillod becoming the same year the first purchaser of a Peugeot car. After this vis-à-vis, follow the type 2 and type 3. Developing power 8 hp , they reach a speed of about 15 km / h .
1891 Adventure Peugeot
In “Sons of Peugeot Frères”, contrary to Armand, Eugene Peugeot is hostile to the car so that the two cousins clash and eventually separated. Eugene continues alone fabrications excluding cars and Armand founded the “Society of Motor Peugeot” which install in part to Lille, the city where are deposited the statutes of the company on April 2, 1896 at the Trade and Companies Register. The main factory established in 1897 is situated in the Doubs to Audincourt. At the end of the xix th century, joins Lille-Fives workshop to be an important industrial tool group, especially for the manufacture of gasoline engines and Diesel Indenor its closure in the early 1980s.
1896 Peugeot Adventure
When Peugeot will try to implement the United States in 1960 , it will focus its advertising on the fact that the older vehicle in running condition in this country is a Peugeot 1898. It will be the full page with the slogan ” Call me Indestructible “(” Call me the indestructible “). The Peugeot 404 does not appear that there thumbnail footer.
The Peugeot 201 allowed to overcome the crisis of the 1930s.
In 1905, the children of Eugene Peugeot who took over the helm of the company after his death, authorized by Armand Peugeot produce automotive (under the name Lion-Peugeot ) in return for financial compensation. The latter being excessive, the two entities finally merged in 1910 to become the “Anonymous Society of Motor cycles and Peugeot”. He was born a particularly impressive company in the automotive industry, taking advantage of four plants located in Audincourt , Beaulieu , Lille and Valentigney .
Peugeot, Phaeton 139A (1913)
In 1912, the factory Sochaux is first opened to facilitate the manufacture of trucks. The same year, the brand built its body in the new workshop Mandeure. Before the First World War, Peugeot built nearly 10,000 cars, or half of the French production.
In 1926, Peugeot is indebted, the Cycles Peugeot, the most profitable industry, are legally separated from the car while making the truck is abandoned.
Nevertheless, Peugeot through the 1930s – years marked by the crash of 1929 – without tripping, the success of the Peugeot 201 enabling it to overcome the effects of the crisis and to acquire an image of largest automaker. If mass production appeared timidly 1924, 201 is the first Peugeot manufactured this way.
As with most manufacturers, the following years were devoted to the war effort. During the German occupation, Peugeot provides the German army first ambulances and trucks, then from 1941 skid tanks and aircraft engines for Adler Werke AG and BMW, and sees 1943 imposing making an element of V1; and 90% of its production was destined for Germany.
Sold over 4.7 million copies, the Peugeot 504 was a great success.
Hangovers of WWII compel Peugeot to start a “single model” policy, first with the 203 and the 403, the first French car Diesel Series. The unique pattern is present in the range until 1965, saw the launch of the first front-wheel drive of the brand, the year 204 .
A year later, a cooperation agreement was signed with Renault will expand to Volvo in November 1971to produce the PRV engine of 604. Mid-1966, the holding company Peugeot SA groups into a single entity all activities Peugeot.
In 1970, Peugeot is the second French automaker (behind Renault) with more than 500,000 cars produced per year. Established in many industrial sites in France and worldwide, the brand is strongly associated with the town of Sochaux where its biggest industrial site that includes the activities ofresearch and development and to manufacture automotive series. The Sochaux plant remained, even in the 1960s, the only terminal unit automobile production of the brand, before the construction of site-Sausheim Mulhouse in Alsace began operations in 1962 to make parts of gearbox, which produced its first car in 1971.
End 1974, the brand takes a stake in Citroën then takes control in April 1976 instead of Michelin. So Peugeot Citroën SA and SA merged to form the PSA Peugeot-Citroën.
In 1978, acquisition of industrial tool Chrysler in Europe with Simca in France. The same year, the brand launched the 604 D Turbo, the first car engine turbo – diesel sold in Europe.
In 1980, Jean Boillot became president instead long occupied by François Gautier and renews the brand with the 205, the Turbo version is 16 Champion Rally (see below Peugeot competition), followed by 405, 605, 106 and 306 .
The XXI th century
A Peugeot dealer
The 206 was the best-selling car in France in 2001, 2004 and 2005.
On 20 June 2008, the 50 millionth Peugeot output assembly lines Sochaux. It is a SW 308 with a body was decorated with photographs of the site’s employees with their Peugeot in the important moments of their lives. After the usual ceremonies, the car goes directly to the Peugeot Adventure Museum to inaugurate the festivities of the 20 th anniversary of the opening of the museum.
In 1847, the Peugeot brothers involve Justin Blazer, goldsmith and engraver from Montbéliard, and asked him to symbolize their business to draw a lion which was filed as logo on November 20, 1858 to Registrar by Émile Peugeot. The impression of the brand was inspired by the lion Comté coat walking on an arrow symbol and originally the three qualities blades saws Peugeot “cutting speed, flexibility and hardness of the teeth of the blade. ” This renowned steel quality will continue over the years.
The emblem of the Lion and this becomes standard on all production from the Paris Salon of 1933. It appeared late in 1905 and then as a mascot on plugs radiator in 1923.
It was not until 1948 and the Peugeot 203 to disappear arrow underneath. The lion heraldry appeared on the 203. It recovers on its hind legs to adopt the familiar posture of heraldic lion arms of Franche-Comté, birthplace of the company. He will undergo eight successive changes to the current version dating from 2010.
The first number is related to the position of the model in the range, the last in its generation. On the marketing , this simple idea saves Peugeot millions on advertising: when a car is called Peugeot 204 , one immediately knows she succeeds the Peugeot 203 and is in the range closer toPeugeot 104 as the Peugeot 404 . Nevertheless, there are exceptions like the 309 prior to the 306 and 307 . There is also a “jump + 2” when the 60 series there is directly moved from 605 to 607 . Peugeot introduced in the automotive field the x0y designations for its models. Thus the Porsche 901 will be marketed under the name of 911 at the request of Peugeot. In contrast, the Boeing 707 is not affected because it is not a car and because Boeing filed its part names airplane in 7×7 models.
We often find the story that it was initially integrate the hole in the crank starter motor to the model number. This trick has not yet been used on early models with central zero ( 301 , 401 and 601 ), but only on a few models that followed, 302 and 402 for example. More recently, the central zero button serves Trunk on CC 307 , 407 , 607 and 508 .
The multiplicity of models Peugeot has decided to introduce a double zero on some of its future models instead of one central zero, in order to increase the number of appointments available while maintaining an air of family designations range. At first, it seems that double zero may serve only “special” models that coexist with models with a single zero ( 107 and 1007 or 308 and 3008 for example).
More recently the Peugeot reflect the name of its upcoming models, numbering approaching ten for some (eg. Peugeot 208, Peugeot 508 etc) or else some having already existed (eg Peugeot 309). Some would have raised the idea of a return to previous numbers (eg Peugeot 201, Peugeot 301). But this seemed unlikely and could create some confusion. Others have suggested that the current Peugeot block numbers to be used as single model and this is what was actually their choice (eg Renault Clio’s I, II, III and so on Peugeot 208 will have its I, II etc..). The first issue will be that of the vehicle category, the second number is the famous central and the third number will be “8” (Chinese edition focuses happiness). It will be the same for vehicles carrying four digits. Except vehicles at low cost that will graft a “1” instead of “8”.
205 Turbo 16 ( 1984 ) version of 450 hp competition twice won the World Rally Championship Group B (1985-1986). The model sold in 1984 developed 200 hp.
Peugeot first “broad shoulders”, 205 could accommodate engines of 0.9 liter to 1.9 liter displacement and 45 hp to 130 hp allowing it to meet all customer demands of the day .
206 + ( 2009 – 2012 ). 206 restyled for the second time and wearing a typical 207 + 206 The grille is called Peugeot 207 and Peugeot 207 Compact ), Latin America.
309 ( 1985 – 1993 ) extended the 205 designed to be the successor version Talbot Horizon under the name Arizona , it will be integrated into the Peugeot range in the disappearance of Talbot, hence its non-chronological surname to 09.
306 ( 1 993 – 2,002 ) replacement for the 309 . It will come in 3, 4 and 5-door, wagon and convertible.
4007 ( 2 007 – in 2012 ) First SUV brand. It is designed in partnership with Mitsubishi and twin Citroen C-Crosser. It is produced in Japan . It is sold with a diesel engine house, the 2.2-liter HDI 156 hp ( 160 hp for the Citroën).
The Quasar (1984) and Proxima (1986): two futuristic concept cars non-rolling
The Oxia (1988): prototype coupe “Gran Turismo High Performance”, with a 24-valve 6-cylinder engine 680 hp at 8200 rev / min, operated by four wheel drive and steering.
The Ion (1994) and Tulip (1996) concept of electric cars
The Asphalt (1996): two-seater racing car whose characteristic is its single rear wheel.
The Touareg (1996) all-terrain vehicle leisure electric propulsion.
In 1988 , the Peugeot Adventure Museum was founded by the Peugeot family on its historical industrial site Sochaux in Franche-Comté with over 100,000 visitors per year, 450 vehicles a hundred presentations, including 300 cycles and motorcycles fifty presentations 3000 items stamped with the brand, 45,000 m² of which 10,000 m² exhibition open to the public and more than5 km of archives.
Peugeot returned to rally in the WRC championship in late 1998. Brand three times won the manufacturer championship in 2000, 2001, 2002 and twice in the drivers’ championship in 2000 and 2002 with Marcus Grönholm. In 2004, the 206 WRC gives way to the 307 WRC which fails to do as well. At the end of 2004, Peugeot announced its withdrawal from competition at the end of the season in 2005 .
The following seasons will be an Audi victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 while 908 finished second, third and fifth. A victory for Peugeot in2009 thanks to a double car number 9 and 8 and an Audi victory in 2010 with the abandonment of three 908 incurred. In parallel, Peugeot won again in 2010 the Le Mans Series and the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans .
In 2011, the Peugeot n o 9 driven by Simon Pagenaud , Sebastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy fails in second place in 13.854 seconds the Audi n o 2, the only survivor of the German mark.The other two official Peugeot eventually third and fourth ahead of the Peugeot loaned to team Oreca Matmut. Peugeot also won that year the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup drivers side and manufacturers side by winning all races but one, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Through a statement issued on 18 January 2012, Peugeot announced its decision to stop Endurance with immediate effect, and therefore do not run the new World Endurance Championship in 2012 or the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2012.
Grand Prix
Jordan Peugeot 197
In 1894, Peugeot motor quadricycles are the first places of the Paris-Rouen race.
From 1912, Georges Boillot, Jules Goux, Arthur Duray, and Paolo Zuccarelli form the Peugeot team Grands Prix. Within a small autonomous structure based in the Paris region and nicknamed “The Charlatans” by the technicians of the factory Peugeot (themselves using the term “Wizards” them) is designed with the revolutionary Peugeot L76 for the first time ever double camshaft in head and four valves per cylinder (mainly due to pencil stroke Swiss engineer Ernest Henry). The Grand Prix ACF 1912 in Dieppe won by Boillot average of 110.26 km/ h among the many victories of the car, the most famous of them being that of Goux the United States in 1913 in the Indianapolis 500 before Dario Resta1916, which also won the Vanderbilt Cup in 1915 and 1916, still on Peugeot) and Howdy Wilcox (1919) bringing to three the success of the brand in the test. In 1916 Johnny Aitken wins Harvest Auto Racing Classic still in Indianapolis, AAA Champ Car.
Peugeot was also present without great success as an engine supplier in Formula 1 from 1994 to 2000 , including equipping teams McLaren (1994),Jordan (1995 to 1997) and Prost Grand Prix (1998 to 2000). To make matters worse, the best result in F1 during the first season with Jordan in 1995 Canadian GP (Jordan Peugeot 2 e and 3 e) has been completely overshadowed by the fact that France was also that day’s first victory, and the only one of Jean Alesi, a French on Ferrari . Bad luck also, the team Jordan won his first GP in the year following the departure of Peugeot as motorist. Finally, the Peugeot engines have obtained fourteen podiums in F1, five second places.
Peugeot has been present in the touring car championships, winning several titles in the 1990s in France and a championship title in Germany.Peugeot was also present in other countries through importers ( UK , Denmark , Brazil …), with more or less success.
If the Peugeot brand is known for its “mills” (as slang to describe engines) cars, the firm also stood for over one hundred and sixty years in the manufacture of domestic mills: coffee grinder , mills in salt and pepper , to nutmeg … (become objects collectors highly sought) displayed and sold atthe Peugeot Adventure Museum in Sochaux in Franche-Comté . Peugeot at mealtime: Many restaurants around the world offer their table a pepperPeugeot. (See some photos … ). These mills are now manufactured by Peugeot PSP with headquarters and main factory are Quingey (Doubs).
Peugeot tools
Peugeot has released many other tools and objects (including saws , drills , etc.).
Pioneer in the mass production of bicycles (production in 1882 of large bi-“The French”), Peugeot will remain until the end of the xx th century a major player in the manufacture of cycles.
Working with the best equipment of its time (Simplex derailleurs, Rigida rims, crankset Stronglight double plates, brakes mafac-Racer center pull), Peugeot sells high quality bicycles and beautiful Half-Course Type PL8 10-speed 1976 lightweight steel frame of the Lion brand symbolizes quality French and the dream of all teens this time.
Peugeot is also a major sponsor of the first cycling champions, and so won nine Tours de France, before finally retiring squads in 1989, after100 years of presence at the highest level.
Other brands
Peugeot also produced cycles under brand “secondary” or as Griffon Aiglon (brand created in 1902 by Mr. Debarelle at Argenteuil, and acquired by Peugeot in 1922).
Following the abandonment of mopeds in favor of scooters by customers, Peugeot has directed its construction to this product. The brand achieved some of its manufacturing site Mandeure(500 employees). She has developed large displacement scooters ( 125cc and above), in addition to its entry-level models (Ludix), which it announced from 2008 relocation to China 57 .Peugeot scooters are mainly prevalent in Switzerland and France.
In 1930, Peugeot took control ‘of Automoto who was a pioneer in the field of motorcycles and scooters.
It is unusual to see circulate motorcycles brand outside France. Mopeds of 50 cc are widespread in France for several reasons: national nature of the market, prices slightly lower than the competition, equipment motorcycles AM6 engine Minarelli , like many other manufacturers, which facilitates repairs and lowers their prices. The price opportunities is significantly lower than most manufacturers, which causes an energizing effect for the market.
Before the famous XP6 and XPS , which appeared in 1997, motorcycles 50cc bore the name of XP dating back to 1986 (automatic motorcycle?) and TLX 1982. Alternative models of higher displacement existed in 1985, as the 125 XLC, but it remains today more than XPS CT 125 (of 125 cm ³ ).
Other models rating: GL10, GT10, TSA, TLX, XP, SX5, SX8, BB P107 TYPE 55.
Panhard is a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA (after the 1974 Peugeot Citroën merger), for 40 years. The combined company now uses the Panhard name; this was decided based on studies indicating that the Panhard name had better brand recognition worldwide than the Auverland name. Panhard once built civilian cars but ceased production of those in 1968. Many of its military products however end up on the civilian market via third sources and as military/government surplus vehicles. Panhard also built railbuses between the wars.
History
Panhard was originally called Panhard et Levassor, and was established as a car manufacturing concern by René Panhard and Émile Levassor in 1887.
Early Years
Panhard et Levassor sold their first automobile in 1890. based on a Daimler engine license. Levassor obtained his licence from Paris lawyer Edouard Sarazin, a friend and representative of Gottlieb Daimler’s interests in France. Following Sarazin’s 1887 death, Daimler commissioned Sarazin’s widow Louise to carry on her late husband’s agency. The Panhard et Levassor license was finalised by Louise, who married Levassor in 1890. Daimler and Levassor became fast friends, and shared improvements with one another.
These first vehicles set many modern standards, but each was a one-off design. They used a clutch pedal to operate a chain-driven gearbox. The vehicle also featured a front-mounted radiator. An 1895 Panhard et Levassor is credited with the first modern transmission. For the 1894 Paris–Rouen Rally, Alfred Vacheron equipped his 4 horsepower (3.0 kW; 4.1 PS) with a steering wheel, believed to be one of the earliest employments of the principle.
In 1891, the company built its first all-Levassor design, a “state of the art” model: the Systeme Panhard consisted of four wheels, a front-mounted engine with rear wheel drive, and a crude sliding-gear transmission, sold at 3500 francs. (It would remain the standard until Cadillac introducedsynchromesh in 1928.) This was to become the standard layout for automobiles for most of the next century. The same year, Panhard et Levassor shared their Daimler engine license with bicycle maker Armand Peugeot, who formed his own car company.
In 1895, 1,205 cc (74 cu in) Panhard et Levassors finished first and second in the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race, one piloted solo by Levassor, for 48¾hr. Arthur Krebs succeeded Levassor as General Manager in 1897, and held the job until 1916. He turned the Panhard et Levassor Company into one of the largest and most profitable manufacturer of automobiles before World War I.
Panhards won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. Panhard et Levassor developed the Panhard rod, which became used in many other types of automobiles as well.
From 1910 Panhard worked to develop engines without conventional valves, using under license the sleeve valve technology that had been patented by the American Charles Yale Knight. Between 1910 and 1924 the Panhard & Levassor catalogue listed plenty of models with conventional valve engines, but these were offered alongside cars powered by sleeve valve power units. Following various detailed improvements to the sleeve valve technology by Panhard’s own engineering department, from 1924 till 1940 all Panhard cars used sleeve valve engines.
The First World War
Under the presidency of Raymond Poincaré, which ran from 1913 till 1920, Panhard & Levassor’s 18CV and 20CV models were the official presidential cars.
During the war Panhard, like other leading automobile producers, concentrated on war production, including large numbers of military trucks, V12-cylinder aero-engines, gun components, and large 75 and 105 diameter shells.
The military were also keen on the sleeve valve engined Panhard 20HP. General Joffre himself (not, till December 1916, promoted Marshal of France) used two 35HP Panhard Type X35s with massive 4-cylinder 7,360cc engines for his personal transport, and these were frequently to be seen by Parisians carrying military leaders between the front-line and the Élysée Palace.
Between two world wars
Following the outbreak of peace in 1918, Panhard resumed passenger car production in March 1919 with the 10HP Panhard Type X19 which used a 4-cylinder 2,140cc engine. This was followed three months later by three more 4-cylinder models which will have been familiar to any customers whose memories pre-dated the war, but they now incorporated ungraded electrics and a number of other modifications. For the 15th Paris Motor Show, in October 1919, Panhard were displaying four models, all with four cylinder engines, as follows:
Panhard Type X19 2,150 cc / 10 HP
Panhard Type X31 2,275 cc / 12 HP
(This replaced the 12 HP Panhard Type 25 for 1920.)
Panhard Type X28 3,175 cc / 16 HP
Panhard Type X29 4,850 cc / 20 HP
By 1925, all Panhard’s cars were powered by Knight sleeve valve engines that used steel sleeves. The steel sleeves were thinner and lighter than the cast iron ones that had been fitted in Panhard sleeve valve engines since 1910, and this already gave rise to an improved friction coefficient permitting engines to run at higher speeds. To reduce further the risk of engines jamming, the outer sleeves, which are less thermally stressed than the inner sleeves, were coated on their inner sides with an anti-friction material, employing a patented technique with which Panhard engineers had been working since 1923. This was one of several improvements applied by Panhard engineers to the basic Knight sleeve-valve engine concept.
In 1925 a 4.8 litre (292ci) model set the world record for the fastest hour run, an average of 185.51 km/h (115.26 mph).
A surprise appeared on the Panhard stand at the 20th Paris Motor Show in October 1926, in the shape of the manufacturer’s first six cylinder model since before the war. The new Panhard 16CV “Six” came with a 3445cc engine and sat on a 3540 mm wheelbase. At the show it was priced, in bare chassis form, at 58,000 francs. Of the nine models displayed for the 1927 model year, seven featured four cylinder engines, ranging in capacity from 1480cc (10CV) to 4845cc (20CV), and in price from 31,000 francs to 75,000 francs (all in bare chassis form). Also on show was an example of the 8-cylinder 6350cc (35CV) “Huit” model which Panhard had offered since 1921 and which at the 1926 show was priced by the manufacturer in bare chassis form at 99,000 francs.
Panhard et Levassor’s last pre-war car was the unusually styled monocoque Dynamic series, first introduced in 1936.
After World War II the company was renamed Panhard (without “Levassor”), and produced light cars such as the Dyna X, Dyna Z, PL 17, 24 CT and 24 BT. The company had long noted the weight advantages of aluminum, and this as well as postwar government steel rationing (designed to limit new car models to ensure an orderly return to production at the major firms), encouraged the firm to proceed with the expensive alternative of making the bodies and several other components out of aluminum; thus the Dyna X and early Dyna Z series 1 had aluminum bodies. Unfortunately, cost calculations by Jean Panhard himself, inheriting son and managing director of the firm, failed to account fully for all of the extra cost of aluminum vs steel, as his calculation were made for the sheet metal panel area actually utilized per body shell, and erroneously did not account for the cut offs and scrap of each of the stampings making up the shell. Once in production, a re-examination cost analysis showed a cost of 55,700fr for aluminum shells and only 15,600fr for steel. The use of aluminum had pushed the firm perilously close to bankruptcy, and a rush engineering job saw the firm return to steel. Thus, the later Dyna Z (from mid September 1955) and the successor PL 17 bodies were steel, and the major stampings retained the heavier gauge intended for durability with aluminum, so as to avoid complete replacement of the stamping dies.
The air-cooled flat-twin engine of the Dyna was also used by Georges Irat for his “Voiture du Bled” (VdB) off-road vehicle, built in Morocco in small numbers in the early 1950s.
The styling of the Dyna Z was distinctively smooth and rounded, with an emphasis on aerodynamics and an overall minimalist design. The 24 CT was a later (fr summer 1963-on) stylish 2+2 seater; the 24 BT being a version of the same with a longer wheelbase and space for four.
For a period after the war, the Panhard-based Monopole racing cars received unofficial support from Panhard (as did DB and other clients such as Robert Chancel), using it to good effect in winning the “Index of Performance” class at Le Mans in 1950, 1951, and 1952. In 1953, Panhard moved on to a more direct involvement with Chancel, which however came to an end after the deadly 1955 Le Mans. In the latter half of the fifties and the early sixties, the Deutsch Bonnet racers (“DB Panhard”) picked up this mantle and went on to dominate the “Index of Performance” as well as other small-engine racing classes.
The last Panhard passenger car was built in 1967. After assembling 2CV panel trucks for Citroen in order to utilize capacity in face of falling sales, and raising operating cash by selling ownership progressively to Citroën (full control as of 1965), in fall of 1967 the civilian branch was absorbed by Citroën, and the marque was retired. Since 1968 Panhard has only made armored vehicles.
In 2004, Panhard lost a competition to another manufacturer of military vehicles, Auverland, for the choice of the future PVP of the French Army. This allowed Auverland to purchase Panhard in 2005, then a subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroën. However, the fame of Panhard being greater, it was decided to retain the name; the PVP designed by Auverland would bear a Panhard badge.
Panhard has supplied more than 18,000 military wheeled vehicles to over 50 countries with a range of combat vehicles weighing less than 10 tonnes, as follows:
2,600 mm (102 in)
2,800 mm (110 in)
3,000 mm (118 in)
Length
4,750 mm (187 in) to 5,150 mm (203 in)
Width
1,900 mm (75 in)
The Panhard et Levassor Dynamic is a large car introduced by the French auto-maker Panhard et Levassor as a replacement for the company’s CS model at the Paris Motor Show in October 1936.
1939 Dynamic 140 six-light Berline(X81)
A Dynamic 140 Coupé Major
The bodies
For the Dynamic, Panhard et Levassor’s in-house designer Louis Bionier came up with a streamlined design, featuring half-covered rear wheel arches, an eye-catching three-piece front windscreen with three wipers, and headlights integrated into the front wings. All these features caught on with other auto-makers in subsequent years, and headlights integrated into the bodywork became mainstream, but in 1936 they gave the car a very modern look.
The bodies were also of great technical interest. Despite its size, the Dynamic offered little comfort to traditional coachbuilders, being the first French car in the luxury class to feature a steel body electrically welded together and constructed as a monocoque, without a separate chassis.
A “six-light” four-door saloon/sedan bodied version was offered with a long passenger cabin, but no trunk/boot. This version, introduced in the fall of 1937, could seat nine. A four-door saloon/sedan (“berline”) was also available with a shorter passenger cabin, but with a protruding boot/trunk. The car was also unusually wide, allowing for three abreast seating: on early cars, Panhard et Levassor positioned the steering wheel in the middle of the front panel. It was hoped that this would provide a superior view out. The centrally mounted steering was probably the feature that attracted the most comment when the car appeared at the 1936 Paris Motor Show, and Panhard et Levassor advertised it as a “common sense” solution during a period when French automakers were switching over from right hand drive (which had been virtually universal in France twenty years earlier) to left hand drive (which would be virtually universal in France twenty years later).However, the market-place found the central steering wheel an innovation too far and drivers complained about the contortions necessary to slide from the side of the wide car to the central position necessary to control it. From 1938 the Panhard et Levassor Dynamic featured a conventionally positioned steering wheel.
There were also two-seater coupé versions and a cabriolet version offered, but by the end of 1938 these “minority“ models had accounted for only 358 cars.
Engines
A first prototype, known as the Dynamic 20 CV, was presented in March 1936. This was powered by a six-cylinder in-line engine of 3,485 cm3 with cylinder diameters that indeed corresponded with the French 20 hp taxation class. However, the car that entered production and was offered for sale from May 1935 as the Dynamic 130 came with the six-cylinder in-line sleeve-valve engine of 2,516 cc from the predecessor model, the Panhard et Levassor CS. This placed it in the French 14 CV taxation class. The “130” in the name was to indicate a claimed top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph).
Along with the Dynamic 130, Panhard et Levassor offered a Dynamic 140, which shared its engine with the (initially still in production) “CS Spécial” model. The engine size on this version was 2.861 cc (16 CV). Actual claimed horsepower was 75 hp (55 kW) and it was this “Dynamic 140” that was the most popular with customers, 2,230 having been produced by 1940 when war brought production to an end. By this time the car had become the last production sleeve-valve-engined car in the world.
Variants
While three wheelbases were available, the shortest was largely restricted to the (soon discontinued) Coupé Junior model and the longest to the Berline. Most Dynamics (Majors) ended up having the 280 cm wheelbase. In 1937 Panhard et Levassor introduced a range topping “Dynamic 160”, as a successor to the Panhard et Levassor DS. This car was fitted with a 3,834 cc (22 CV) version of the Panhard et Levassor six-cylinder in-line engine, with 100 PS (74 kW). 153 had been produced by 1938.
Commercial
Panhard et Levassor Dynamics were never particularly cheap, which reflected the technological progress that they represented. However, less than six months after the October 1936 launch Panhard et Levassor updated their price list, many the prices published in February 1937 involving eye-watering increases of more than 20%. After February 1937 the short wheelbase “Junior 130” (coupe) 14CV Dynamic was priced at 53,850 Francs while prices for the four door “Berline 130” started at 58,850 Francs. For comparison, the Renault Primaquatre, admittedly an older and less flamboyant design from a manufacturer who still fitted side-valve engines in all its models, but nonetheless with an engine size and wheelbase length that also placed it squarely in the same 14CV category as the Panhard et Levassor, was priced at 22,500 Francs for a “Berline” (saloon/sedan) in October 1936, which had risen to 25,500 Francs in October 1937 Price lists from Talbot, whose Minor was launched in October 1937 with a list of 42,500 Francs for a 13CV four seater compact four door “Berline” from a manufacturer with a more modern model range, also left the listed prices for the Panhard et Levassor Dynamic looking optimistically high.
Wartime production
In September 1939 France declared war on Germany and in June 1940 the German army rapidly invaded and occupied Northern France. Before September 1939, unlike Renault, Panhard et Levassor had not supplied cars to the French army, but with the outbreak of war Panhard et Levassor received an order for 180 of the larger-engined Dynamics, with the emphasis on the long cabined “six-light” sedans/salons. The army cars, generally reserved for senior ranks, are in most instances recognisable from the spare wheel mounted on the outside of the rear panel. Civilian versions, even with the long cabin body, kept the spare wheel inside the car.
As the war progressed, Panhard et Levassor found it prudent to transfer production to their site at Tarbes in the extreme southwest, and a gazogene powered version of the Dynamic was produced albeit only in small numbers. However, following the defeat of France in June 1940 Panhard et Levassor, along with other auto-makers was increasingly obliged to manufacture military supplies.
VDL Bus Venlo (voorheen VDL Kusters) produceert mini- & midibussen voor tour- en openbaar vervoer, politievoertuigen, taxibussen, luchthavenvervoer en speciaal vervoer zoals bussen voor gehandicaptenvervoer en VIP-bussen in alle mogelijke uitvoeringen. Het bedrijf is tevens gespecialiseerd in de reparatie van autoschade aan personen- en bedrijfswagens.
Kusters werd opgericht in juli 1921 als koetsenfabriek aan de Zuidsingel te Venlo. Later werden dit houten carrosserieën voor bussen ten behoeve van het vervoer van mijnwerkers. Na het sluiten van de mijnen moest dit bedrijf zich aanpassen aan de markt. Het bedrijf heeft zich in de loop der jaren gespecialiseerd in het ombouwen en inrichten van mini- en midibussen van 8 tot 30 personen en voert bovendien schadeherstel uit.In 1992 werd Kusters overgenomen door de Berkhof Groep, dat in 1998 werd overgenomen door de VDL Groep. Sinds 2005 is het onderdeel van de busdivisie VDL Bus & Coach. De merknaam Kusters is in 2010 verdwenen en vervangen door het merk VDL.
2010 Jonckheere Transit 2000 bus in Belgium. De Lijn operator
JONCKHEERE
is een autobusfabriek in het BelgischeBeveren bij Roeselare. Tot 2011 voerde het bedrijf de naam Jonckheere, Nu is het een onderdeel van VDL (van de Roeselare) Daarover bij de V.
Geschiedenis
1930 Jonckheere Willeme
Henri Jonckheere
Het bedrijf startte in 1881 als koetsenatelier. De oprichter was Henri Jonckheere (1851-1910). Het atelier kwam er op de plaats waar hij voordien een herberg met smidse uitbaatte. Voor de bouw van paardenwagens en koetsen stelde hij heel wat mannen uit het dorp tewerk. Vanaf 1902, met de opkomst van de automobiel, werden ook koetswerken voor auto’s gemaakt. Aanvankelijk waren dit houten koetswerken die op het chassis van beroemde auto’s zoals Minerva, Rolls Royce en FN werden gebouwd. Jonckheere was daarmee één van de oudste Europese carrosseriebouwers.
1930 Citroën T45 Jonckheere
In 2005 werd de Brabantstraat waar een deel van het latere bedrijf Jonckheere gevestigd was, omgedoopt tot de Henri Jonckheerestraat als verwijzing naar de stichter van een van de belangrijkste bedrijven uit Beveren.
Joseph Jonckheere
1930 jonckheere mercedes benz
Vanaf 1922 richtte zoon en opvolger Joseph Jonckheere zich meer op het bouwen van autobussen en touringcars. In de jaren 1930 werd de productie van automobielkoetswerken stopgezet. In Beveren zelf waren er dan meerdere carrosseriebedrijven waardoor de concurrentie er moordend was. Het bedrijf hield zich toen niet alleen met carrosserieën bezig, maar waagde zich ook aan lichte en zware plaatconstructies. Voor die deeltak richtten Joseph en zijn zoon Henri in 1947 de firma Sadef in Gits op. Het bedrijf in Beveren zou zich daarna weer op carrosserieën toeleggen. Het was ondertussen Belgisch marktleider voor autobussen geworden. Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog nam de behoefte aan wegtransport toe. Jonckheere speelde hierop in en het productengamma werd verder gediversifieerd.
Henri Jonckheere
1936 minervabus Jonckheere
Vanaf 1964 leidde Henri Jonckheere, kleinzoon van de stichter, het bedrijf. Het honderdjarig bestaan van het bedrijf werd in 1981 gevierd met een nieuwe touringcar die de naam ‘Jubilee’ mee kreeg. De opvolgers ‘Deauville’ en ‘Mistral’ werden eveneens succesvol.
VDL
1946 Jonckheere Ford v8 b
In 1994 werd het bedrijf opgekocht door de Berkhof Groep. Die groep werd in 1998 opgekocht door de VDL Groep. In 2003 voerde de VDL Groep naamsveranderingen door, waardoor het busbouwbedrijf werd ingelijfd bij de ‘VDL Bus Groep‘ en vanaf nu werd aangeduid als ‘VDL Jonckheere’. De busjesbouwer Denolf en Depla, die sinds 1991 onderdeel was van de Berkhof Groep en in 1993 nog een nieuwe vestiging kreeg, werd opgeheven en de productlijn ging op in de Jonckheere-fabriek. Op 25 september 2010 veranderde de naam ‘VDL Bus Groep’ in de naam ‘VDL Bus & Coach’. De naam Jonckheere is in 2011 geheel komen te vervallen. Bussen die in de fabriek worden geproduceerd, krijgen nu de merknaam VDL.
He also created a subsidiary company for the production of buses, which was later sold.
Towards the end, however, the main product of Heuliez is the retractable roof made for the Peugeot 206 CC.
(The Peugeot 206 CC (sometimes spelled as 206CC) was formally launched at the Paris Motor Show in September 2000 and was based on the Peugeot Two-oh-heart concept car, revealed two years before at the Geneva Motor Show. It is a coupé cabriolet featuring a powered fold-away roof based on the Georges Paulin system, first seen on the 1935 Peugeot 402 Eclipse coupe.
It was produced in Cerizay, France, by the French company Heuliez, which is specialized in producing short series for niche markets, such as convertibles or station-wagons. Production was stopped in early 2008, and it has since been replaced by the 207 CC )
350,000 units have been produced. It also produced entire cars, such as the Opel Tigra.
(After an absence of four years, Opel resurrected the Tigra nameplate in 2004 for a new sports car based on the third generation Opel Corsa.[3] The Tigra TwinTop, as it was called in Opel markets, was a two-seater coupé convertible with a retractable hardtop in the fashion of the Peugeot 206 CC. It was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2004 and was produced by French coachbuilderHeuliez)
Since 1985, Heuliez has produced more than 450,000 cars, with a staff of over 2,000. More recently, however, poor sales of the Tigra forced Heuliez to reduce its staff by 541 and Opel asked Heuliez to reduce its output from 200 to 50 cars/day until the end of 2006.
In October 2007, Heuliez asked for protection from creditors. In July 2008 Argentum Motors committed to investing ten million Euros in the business with a further ten million Euros during the ensuing five year in return for 60% pf the company’s capital, but the agreement was not followed through.
Heuliez is trying to put a four-door convertible, similar to the Peugeot 407 Macarena prototype, into production within the next five years.
2007 Peugeot 407 Heuliez Macarena
The main production plant is located in Cerizay in the Deux-Sèvresdépartement. The president of Heuliez is Paul Quéveau.
Since 2010, Heuliez went out of convertible roof top making business.
Business activity ended on 31 October 2013. The company’s plant and buildings have been taken over by the “Fabrique régionale du Bocage”, a quasi-company which has the regional government of Poitou-Charentes as its majority share-holder.
I’m going to show you al lot of models Heuliez made in it’s history.
Gräf & Stift was an Austrian manufacturer of automobiles, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, from 1902 until 2001, latterly as a subsidiary of MAN. Founded in 1902 by the brothers Franz, Heinrich and Karl Gräf, and the investor, Wilhelm Stift. Before the Second World War, the company was a well-known manufacturer of luxury automobiles, including the one that famously took part in the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. By the 1930s Gräf & Stift had begun making trucks and buses, and it ceased car manufacturing in 1938. The company merged with Österreichische Automobil Fabriks-AG (ÖAF) in 1971, becoming ÖAF-Gräf & Stift AG, and later the same year was taken over by MAN AG. It continued in business as a subsidiary of MAN, and the Gräf & Stift name remained in use as an MAN brand for the Austrian market and for trolleybuses until 2001, when ÖAF-Gräf & Stift AG was renamed MAN Sonderfahrzeuge AG. It was located in Vienna, and the production facilities continue in use there, but no longer using the Gräf & Stift name.
1961-75 A Gräf & Stift double-decker bus in service in Vienna
The beginnings
The Gräf brothers started a bicycle service workshop in Vienna in 1893, quickly branching out into bicycle manufacturing. Their bicycles sold well, requiring the company to relocate to be able to increase capacity. While the bicycle business in Europe was booming, the brothers also saw potential in the fledgling automobile, and commissioned Josef Kainz to design one. The result was an unusual voiturette with by a one-cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine fitted in front of the vehicle, powering the front axle, built sometime between 1895 and 1898, according to various sources. It was thus arguably the world’s first front-wheel drive automobile, but it never saw mass production, with only one copy ever made, even though the technology was eventually patented in 1900. However, the voiturette remained in regular use until 1914 and was in working condition yet at the dawn of the 1970s.
Partnership with Willy Stift
In 1901, the brothers started cooperating with the Austrian businessman Wilhelm (Willy) Stift, an automobile importer who had already ventured into automobile manufacturing under the marqueCeleritas. Celeritas automobiles were then assembled using French engines at the Gräf workshops, and in 1904 the gentlemen founded a joint company, named Gräf & Stift. Later, the company manufactured automobiles for the Spitz brand, owned by the automobile vendor Arnold Spitz. When Spitz went bankrupt in 1907, Gräf & Stift started building automobiles under their own brand.
The company concentrated on large, sophisticated and luxurious cars, which became popular with the Austrian aristocracy and even the Habsburg royal family. Apart from luxury cars, Gräf & Stift also became an important manufacturer of buses as well as tram bodies.
Assassination in Sarajevo
The 1911 Gräf & Stift Double Phaeton in which the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding at the time of his assassination on June 28, 1914
One of the Gräf & Stift luxury limousines, a Double Phaeton (engine no. 287), was bought by Count Franz von Harrach on 15 December 1910. Harrach’s car was fitted with a four-cylinder engine delivering 32 PS. In 1914 in Sarajevo, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife rode together with Harrach in this car, whenGavrilo Principassassinated the Archduke. The assassination provoked a series of diplomatic manoeuvres that quickly led to declarations of war and the onset of the First World War.
Between the wars
1928 Gräf & Stift.
As the war broke out, Gräf & Stift started manufacturing trucks in order to meet wartime demand, which, together with buses and special vehicles, became the company’s main business and enabled it to flourish in a rather difficult time. Manufacturing of passenger cars was resumed only in 1920, with a 2-litre intermediate-size model, Typ VK. The VK remained in production until 1928 (since 1926 as the modernized VK 2), but already in 1921 Gräf & Stift returned to making luxury cars, with a range of large six-cylinder models available through the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1930, the company presented its first eight-cylinder car, the sumptuous Typ Sp 8, in 1937 superseded by the Sp 9.
To acquire necessary volume to assure the profitability of carmaking business, Gräf & Stift also launched smaller models, badged G 35, G 36 and G 8, powered by a 4.6-litre eight-cylinder engine. To cater for lower segments of the market, the company entered an agreement with Citroën, assembling one of the French automaker’s models as the MF 6 in 1935-36 (it had a 2.65-litre six-cylinder engine, with Gräf & Stift having had ceased the manufacturing of their own six-cylinders in 1935). Later, a joint-venture was started with Ford of Cologne, which provided for eight-cylinder Ford-licensed vehicles, badged Gräf-Ford V8, to be assembled by Gräf & Stift.
Neither of those ventures proved successful enough to assure the profitability of the passenger car business of Gräf & Stift, so the company decided to pull out of it. Its last own model was the rather modern C 12, fitted with a new twelve-cylinder engine, which was only made in very limited numbers in 1938, when the company ceased automobile production to concentrate on truck and bus manufacturing.
After World War II
Gräf & Stift remained in the truck and bus manufacturing business after 1945, continuing as a family-owned enterprise, being run by members of the Gräf family. The company built its first trolleybuses in 1948.
MAN subsidiary
A 1980-built Gräf & Stift trolleybus in service in 2003 in Romania
In 1971 the company merged with Österreichische Automobil Fabriks-AG (ÖAF) to form ÖAF-Gräf & Stift AG, which in turn was taken over by MAN AG the same year. ÖAF-Gräf & Stift AG continued manufacturing under that name, as a subsidiary of MAN. Still based in Vienna, it was focused on supplying trucks and buses for the Austrian market, mostly based on MAN designs, and additionally specialised in trolleybuses. It was MAN’s main trolleybus producer in the 1980s and 1990s, and these were sold under the Gräf & Stift name, with trolleybuses’ being supplied to several European cities, including Salzburg, Solingen and Bergen(Norway), among others.
As of 31 December 2000, ÖAF-Gräf & Stift AG had 897 employees, and its sales for the six-month period from 1 July 2000 through 31 December 2000 (the company’s “Short Fiscal Year 2000”) totalled €111 million.
Use of the longstanding Gräf & Stift name ended in 2001, when MAN renamed the company MAN Sonderfahrzeuge AG, as part of reorganizations following its June 2001 acquisition of Neoplan. This in turn became MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Österreich AG in 2004. In that year, MAN built a new plant on Gräf & Stift’s original site in the Liesing district of Vienna and continues to be the biggest employer in the area.
ÖAF is an initialism for Österreichische Automobil-Fabrik, previously known as Österreichische Austro-Fiat, an Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) car and truck manufacturer.
Austro-Fiat
ÖAF was created by FIAT in 1907 and is now part of the German MAN group. The manufacture of automobiles began in the new plant built for the occasion in Vienna in 1908, while the number was only 50 employees. A truck of 4 tonnes, similar to the Italian Fiat model was manufactured from 1911. It was originally Austro-Fiat, which during the First World War began to develop their own products.
In 1925 the Austro-Fiat brand expired and the company became Osterreichische Automobil Fabrik AG, under the abbreviation ÖAF, with preservation of the trademark filed earlier. Also in 1925, a separate company took over sales of Italian FIAT cars, and Austro-Fiat became affiliated with Austro-Daimler and Puch. The last private car, Type 1001A, was different from the earlier Type 1001, having 34 bhp (25 kW) engines and conventional rear axles.
The latest model Fiat’s truck was TS 1924, equipped with a 45 hp (34 kW) Fiat engine. The company began production of other models in Austria, which has enabled the company to begin developing its own models. The most popular submitted in 1925 was the AFN light truck AFN with 1.75 tons of payload. This truck used a 42 hp 4 Cylinder Fiat engine 2850 cc, it also used gimbals and real tires, not solid tires, which allowed for a speed of 65 km/h. In 1928, the AF2 appeared and the following year a bus called the Austro-Fiat-1001. It is from this time that the company discontinued the manufacture of passenger cars to concentrate on commercial vehicles, trucks, vans and buses. This allowed the AFL/AFY to be manufactured from 1930 to 1937.
In 1938, when Austria was annexed by the Third Reich, German MAN obtained the majority of shares owned by Fiat in ÖAF, reducing the Italian firm’s share to 15%. ÖAF had begun equipping some of its trucks with diesel engines from MAN in 1934.
After the Second World War, the Floridsdorf factory was in the Russian zone and the plants were used for Russian reparations. In 1955, ÖAF was released from these payments and the factory began producing trucks again. They went to Austria to build military trucks but the Austrian army eventually selected rival Steyr for its famous Pinzgauer. The Tornado was ÖAF’ s challenger, best-selling truck in Austria.
In 1970, the company was privatized again; MAN then let it merge with Gräf & Stift, out of which ÖAF Gräf & Stift arose which in 1971 was fully taken over by MAN.
Na een onderbreking van maanden waarin ik alle blogjes weer in het nieuwe http://www.myntransportblog.wordpress.com gestopt heb wil ik nu toch het hoofdstuk DAF afmaken. We zitten in begin 1969. De DAF 55 is nog tot 1972 in productie, en de 66 moet nog komen als opvolger, en dan komt het Volvo hoofdstuk.
1969 Daf 33 tekening
1969 DAF 44 Variomatic Brochure
1969 DAF 55 coupé
1969 DAF 44 Station Wagon (1969-74)
1969 DAF 44 YA 1
1969 DAF 55 estate
1969 DAF 55 rallyauto 1300 cc – 130 PS
1970 DAF 33 Dit was ‘m, het DAFje wat ik in 1980 kocht, opknapte, beschilderde tot actieauto, Dodewaard, Borsele, Almelo, Kalkar, Woensdrecht en nog veel meer plaatsen mee heb bezocht, waar ik mee door Africa gezworven heb en wat ik jaren later voor 350 gulden doorverkocht nadat ik er driehonderdduizend km mee gereden had. 44 setjes aandrijfriemen verder en regelmatig onderhouden bij Jules Karthaus in Nijmegen, de DAF specialist aldaar.
Een echte foto heb ik niet meer, maar het gebroken geweertje achterop, het atoomteken voorop en de wind en watermolen rechts zijn min of meer zichtbaar.
Ik merk dat ik teveel foto’s heb om daar nog uit te komen. Ik zet de overgebleven foto’s op Facebook en laat de lezers dan zelf snuffelen, anders loopt deze reeks nog tot DAF X
Er volgt hier nog een stukje uit de Wikipedia tot VDL in Eindhoven weer start met Engels uitziende BMW’s
DAF 1602-lijnbus met de motor staand achterin, nu ondergebracht bij het Nationaal Bus Museum.
Eind jaren veertig begon DAF met de productie van chassis voor autobussen. De B-series (voor frontstuurbussen) en TB-series (van het trambusmodel) waren nog gebaseerd op vrachtautochassis en hadden een staande motor voorin. Als krachtbron werden Hercules–benzinemotoren en Perkins (en) – en Leyland–dieselmotoren toegepast. Vanaf 1958 fabriceerde DAF de dieselmotoren zelf, eerst nog in licentie van Leyland, later naar eigen ontwerp. Het eerste speciaal voor autobussen gebouwde DAF-chassis was de SB1600, met staande heckmotor achterin. Dit type is vooral voor touringcars en bussen voor het streekvervoer tot in de jaren tachtig in productie gebleven.
In 1966 introduceerde DAF het SB200DOL-chassis, met liggende heckmotor achterin, voor de bouw van autobussen. In de periode 1966-1976 werden hierop vele honderden wijnrode standaard-stadsbussen (Commissie Standaardisering Autobusmaterieel) gebouwd door carrosseriebouwerHainje te Heerenveen. In 1977 introduceerde DAF een verbeterde versie, het SB201DKDL-chassis. Op dit chassis werden tot 1983 door Hainje wijnrode standaard-stadsbussen gebouwd. In de periode 1983-1988 bouwde Hainje de tomaatrode stadsbussen van het type CSA-II op dit chassis. In 1988 werd het SB201DKDL-chassis vervangen door het SB220-chassis.
In 1982 introduceerde DAF het MBG200-chassis met underfloormotor voor de bouw van gelede bussen op basis van de standaard streekbus. In 1988 werd het MB200-chassis vervangen door het MB230-chassis met underfloormotor en het SB220-chassis met heckmotor. Voor de bouw van gelede bussen kon DAF het SBG220-chassis, met heckmotor in de aanhangwagen, leveren. De nieuwe streekbussen op het nieuwe chassis waren van het type Den Oudsten B88 en Den Oudsten B89 Alliance. Den Oudsten leverde deze typen echter voor het merendeel niet op DAF-chassis, maar als zelfdragende (integrale) bus met DAF-componenten, waardoor een aanzienlijke gewichtsbesparing werd bereikt.
Het bedrijf was onderdeel van vrachtwagenbouwer DAF, maar werd in 1990 losgekoppeld, en ging als DAF Bus International samenwerken met de industriële groep United Bus, waar onder andere Den Oudsten en BOVA deel van uitmaakten. Dit samenwerkingsverband was echter geen succes, en na het faillissement in 1993 werd DAF Bus overgenomen door de VDL Groep, sinds 5 september 2008 onder de naam VDL Bus Chassis.
Hoewel DAF al voor de Tweede Wereldoorlog constructies maakte voor het Nederlandse leger, met name het van de zogenaamde Trado-constructie voorzien van vrachtwagens
1935 DAF-TRADO
, de bouw van een prototype van een amfibievoertuig en de productie van de DAF M39 pantserwagen, zou het pas in de jaren vijftighofleverancier van het Nederlandse leger worden. Niet in geringe mate heeft het verkrijgen van deze opdrachten van de overheid het mogelijk gemaakt om de productiefaciliteiten uit te bouwen en zo de groei van DAF als truckfabrikant te bewerkstelligen. In totaal ontving DAF tussen 1951 en 1956 meerdere orders met een totaal bedrag van 393.583.005 gulden, voor de bouw en levering van drie typen trucks. Zo zijn er van de vierwielaangedreven 1-tonner, de DAF YA-126 zo’n 3.500 voertuigen gebouwd, van de DAF YA-314 ± 4.500 en van de zeswielaangedreven drietonner, de DAF YA-328 liepen er in de periode tussen 1952 en 1958 4.510 exemplaren uit de fabriek.
Gebaseerd op de YA-328 werd een pantserwagen ontwikkeld, de DAF YP-408. Dit pantservoertuig bleef tot 1988 dienstdoen in het Nederlandse leger, waarna in het kader van internationale ontwapeningsverdragen nagenoeg alle YP-408 voertuigen zijn vernietigd.
In de klasse zware vrachtauto’s werd de YA 616/626 serie ontwikkeld en aan de KL geleverd.
DAF heeft ook de opvolgers van deze trucks gebouwd. In de jaren 70 en 90 van de 20e eeuw zijn er ± 13 400 stuks van het type YA 4440/4442 in diverse uitvoeringen geleverd. Daarnaast was er de “jarretel jeep”, deze werd in soldatentaal zo genoemd vanwege de riemaandrijving. Deze 0,4 tons “vrachtwagen” luisterde naar de naam DAF YA-66 en was gebaseerd op de DAF 66. Voorzien van enkel achterwielaandrijving waren deze “jeeps” niet geschikt voor het onverharde terrein. In totaal zijn er 1 201 van deze multifunctionele auto’s gebouwd, voornamelijk voor ordonnanstaken.
In de zware tanktransporter klasse heeft DAF in het eerste decennium van deze eeuw een serie DAF YTZ 95 480 en 95 530 trekkers aan de Koninklijke Landmacht geleverd.
In oktober 2010 vierde DAF dat de onderneming al 75 jaar leverancier is van de Nederlandse krijgsmacht. De eerste order van het toenmalige Departement van Defensie werd in 1935 geplaatst. Sindsdien heeft DAF meer dan 35 000 voertuigen geleverd waaronder vrachtwagens, trekkers, aanhangwagens en pantser- en bergingsvoertuigen.
Militaire prototypen
De DAF-fabrieken hadden hun legervoertuigen meerdere malen aan de NAVO-partners gedemonstreerd en in dat kader waren er regelmatig Spaanse legerofficieren op werkbezoek geweest. Er ontstond belangstelling voor de DAF YA-314 maar dan wel in een 4-tons uitvoering. Met gebruikmaking van de onderdelen van de YA-314 ontstond in 1968 een prototype; de YA 414. Na goedkeuring werd besloten de YA-414 in Spanje bij Pegaso in licentie te bouwen met als typeaanduiding: Pegaso 3020 ‘Todo Terrano’.
Zo ook, ontwikkelde men de DAF YP-104, een gepantserd verkenningsvoertuig. Van dit model zijn twee prototypen gebouwd. Een ervan is vernietigd (volgens verhalen ligt deze onder de DAF-fabriek in het beton); de andere staat bij de “Geschiedkundige Verzameling Technische Dienst” in Soesterberg. Deze verkeert nog in rijdende staat.
Verder was er in 1951 ook nog een prototype van een jeep, de DAF YA-054. Deze is niet in productie gegaan. Maar de ontwikkeling stopte niet. Zo ontwikkelde DAF Special Constructions in 1996 de Fennek.
Aan het begin van de 21e eeuw ontstond er bij de KL de behoefte aan een all-purpose militaire truck. Ook DAF Special Constructions werd uitgenodigd bij de ontwikkeling maar is afgehaakt omdat de overheid, in de vorm van het leger, de eisen steeds bijstelde. Voor DAF was het niet meer rendabel de truck te gaan produceren. De order ging uiteindelijk naar Scania.
Hoewel voor de oorlog al voorzichtig met trucks op basis van Ford begonnen werd, werd pas na de oorlog werkelijk een eigen vrachtwagenproductie opgezet. Men begon met de DAF A30, DAF A50 en de bestelwagen DAF A10. De eerste trucks waren uitgerust met Leyland– en Perkins-motoren.
2600
In 1963 verbaasde DAF de wereld met de DAF 2600, de eerste moderne truck, die alle op dat moment in productie zijnde trucks vooroorlogs deed lijken. In 1968 werd een kantelcabine geïntroduceerd. Deze cabine was zo bijzonder omdat men door het bouwdoossysteem met een beperkt aantal componenten een groot aantal verschillende cabines kon bouwen, van lichte distributietrucks tot internationale transporttrucks.
Moeilijkheden
De jaren 70 werden ingegaan met goede moed: op dat moment dacht men dat het grootste probleem het vinden van goed gekwalificeerd personeel was. Er braken moeilijke tijden aan voor DAF en de personenwagendivisie werd overgedragen aan Volvo. De truckproductie bleef echter en DAF werd opgenomen in International Harvester. IH had ook Atkinson en Pegaso onder haar vleugels. Het uitblijven van investeringen onder IH deed DAF besluiten uit de combinatie te stappen.
Het einde en een nieuw begin
In 1987 werd Leyland overgenomen. Door de fusie met Leyland kreeg DAF ineens twee thuismarkten, Engeland en Nederland. Bovendien kreeg DAF er een gigantische productiecapaciteit bij, wat goed uitkwam toen de in 1988 geïntroduceerde DAF 95 een groot succes bleek te zijn. Met dit model behaalde DAF haar eerste “truck van het jaar” titel. In de jaren daarna werd deze serie uitgebreid met de 45/55 en de 65/75/85. Door de overname schoof DAF flink op in de ranglijst van truckfabrikanten en stond nu vierde, na Scania, Volvo en MAN.
Na de volledige overname van Leyland probeerde DAF ook het SpaansePegaso over te nemen. Voor Pegaso was het pure noodzaak, omdat het verlies leed. Pas in 1989 kwam DAF met een serieus bod. De overname zou spaak lopen en Iveco nam Pegaso op in haar concern. Wel zou uit de samenwerkingsgesprekken de Pegaso Troner, met DAF-componenten, voortkomen.
Intussen was men in Eindhoven van plan om een nog belangrijkere rol te gaan spelen op de West-Europese bedrijfswagenmarkt. De voorwaarden daarvoor had DAF in ieder geval al geschapen. Het bedrijf ging naar de beurs.
Voor een nieuwe lijn voor lichte vrachtwagens had DAF een deal gesloten met Leyland. De Britse vrachtauto- en motorenfabrikant ging de lichtere vrachtauto’s in licentie voor DAF bouwen. Uit de overname kwam ook FreightRover mee, een doorontwikkeling van de Leyland Sherpa, die als DAF 200 en later ook de zwaardere DAF 400 op de markt kwam. De Leyland Roadrunner werd aanvankelijk als DAF 800 op de markt gezet, maar al snel tot DAF 45 omgedoopt. Op basis van deze werd de 55 ontwikkeld. Toen de vrachtwagenmarkt plotseling in elkaar zakte moest DAF haar faillissement in 1993 aanvragen. Het bedrijf kon in hetzelfde jaar een doorstart maken onder de naam DAF Trucks N.V., waarna het in 1996 werd overgenomen door Paccar. De bestelwagendivisie werd zelfstandig voortgezet onder de naam LDV (Leyland-DAF Vehicles).
Overname door Paccar
In 1996 werd DAF overgenomen door Paccar en in 1998 zou het voor de tweede keer in haar geschiedenis de titel “truck van het jaar” krijgen. In 1998 was het de beurt aan de opvolger van de DAF95, de DAF 95 XF. De serie werd weer uitgebreid met de DAF CF en in 2001 met de DAF LF, die tot truck van het jaar werd verkozen. In 2002 werd de XF licht gewijzigd en werd hij leverbaar met de AS-tronic automatische versnellingsbak. Eind 2005 maakte DAF de XF105 bekend, een nog zwaardere truck, voorzien van compleet nieuw ontworpen motoren die voldoen aan de Euro 5 norm. In 2006 kwamen ook een gewijzigde CF en LF op de markt.
Voor 2007 kreeg DAF opnieuw de prestigieuze titel “Truck van het jaar”, ditmaal met haar XF 105. Op 19 april van dat jaar was de 750.000e vrachtwagen van de band gerold.
Begin 2011 brengt DAF Trucks een primeur uit met een hybride vrachtwagen LF Hybrid. Deze 12 tons vrachtwagen voor distributieverkeer is naast een dieselmotorvan 118 kW voorzien van een elektromotor van 44 kW. Deze drijft de vrachtwagen aan in de groene zones van grote steden. Na twee jaar proefrijden met diverse prototypes is de tijd rijp voor een marktintroductie. Praktijktests wijzen op een brandstofbesparing van 10 tot 20 procent.
Op dit moment bouwt Daf een nieuwe fabriek in Ponta Grossa, Brazilië. Om haar markt in Brazilië en Latijns-Amerika uit te breiden.
Parijs-Dakar
DAF deed vanaf 1981 mee aan de rally Parijs-Dakar met de Mighty Mac.
In 1982, met de intrede van coureur Jan de Rooy, komen de successen. Jan de Rooy deed een vinding waarmee de DAF-truck zelfs met de auto’s kon meestrijden: 2 motoren die elk een as aandreven. De laatste versie (uit 1988) had meer dan 1000 pk en stond zo nu en dan zelfs derde in het totaalklassement en was vaak sneller dan de op dat moment onverslaanbare Peugeots 405. Het noodlot sloeg toe. DAF had een tweede team ingeschreven waarvan de rijder minder ervaring had dan De Rooy. Dit team sloeg over de kop waarbij bijrijder Kees van Loevezijn om het leven kwam. DAF trok zich hierop terug uit de rally.
De Rooy ging in 2002 weer deelnemen aan de rally. Het jaar daarop kwamen twee DAF’s aan de start waarvan de tweede werd bestuurd door zoon Gerard de Rooy. Beide vrachtwagens streden vooraan mee totdat Gerard uitviel door een ongeluk waarbij niemand letsel opliep. In 2004 werd Gerard derde en viel Pa Jan uit. In de Dakar-rally van 2006 deed er geen DAF-truck mee, omdat de FFSA, de Franse automobielbond, niet akkoord ging met de nieuwe rallytruck waarmee de familie de Rooy zou rijden (terwijl de truck eerder door dezelfde bond goedgekeurd was).
VDL NedCar is de enige autoproducent van seriemodellen in Nederland. Het bedrijf is gevestigd in Born en is sterk geautomatiseerd. Begin 2012 telde VDL NedCar 1.500 medewerkers.
Geschiedenis
NedCar werd in 1967 opgericht door DAF als een personenwagenfabriek, aangezien er in de hoofdvestiging te Eindhoven te weinig productiecapaciteit bestond. De oprichting maakte deel uit van de inspanningen om het verlies aan werkgelegenheid ten gevolge van de mijnsluiting in Limburg te compenseren. De Staatsmijnen namen een minderheidsbelang in de fabriek. Aangezien DAF te klein was om zelfstandig nieuwe modellen te ontwikkelen werd een partner gezocht, en dit werd Volvo. Deze nam in 1972 een belang van 1/3 van de aandelen. In 1975 had Volvo een meerderheidsbelang verworven en ging de autofabriek verder als Volvo Car B.V.. Om de fabriek rendabel te houden moesten er echter méér auto’s geproduceerd worden dan het maximale aantal van 120.000 per jaar, dat Volvo nodig had. Daartoe werd een nieuwe partner gezocht, en dit werd Mitsubishi. De nieuwe joint venture zou NedCar gaan heten.
NedCar werd in 1991 als joint venture opgericht door Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Volvo AB en de Nederlandse Staat. In 1999 droeg de Nederlandse Staat haar aandelen over aan Mitsubishi en Volvo, waarmee NedCar een zelfstandig bedrijf werd. Er werden toen 262.196 auto’s per jaar geproduceerd, wat het hoogste aantal ooit zou worden. Mitsubishi kocht Volvo twee jaar later uit, en werd daarmee 100% eigenaar van NedCar. De ontwerpafdeling in Helmond, waar de in Born geproduceerde modellen waren ontwikkeld, werd afgesplitst van het bedrijf en werd verkocht aan Benteler, een toeleverancier voor de auto-industrie. Deze afdeling ging verder onder de naam PDE Automotive. Vanaf 2004 werd voor DaimlerChrysler de Smart For Four geproduceerd, en in hetzelfde jaar werd de productie van de Volvo-modellen verplaatst naar Gent.
NedCar werd in feite een zelfstandige autofabrikant die op een bepaald chassis diverse merken en typen in opdracht kon bouwen. Dit alles gelijktijdig, op dezelfde productielijn. Just-in-time en lean production werden daarbij bepalende factoren. Motoren werden geleverd door Renault. Van de werknemers werd het uiterste aan flexibiliteit verlangd, en onzekerheid omtrent de toekomst van het bedrijf bleef de werknemers vergezellen.
In december 2010 werd bekendgemaakt dat de opvolger van de Colt niet bij NedCar zou worden geproduceerd. Dit bracht nieuwe onzekerheid voor de werknemers. Gevreesd werd dat de fabriek slechts alsschroevendraaierfabriek (eindmontage van assemblagepakketten) zou gaan fungeren, of misschien zelfs in haar voortbestaan zou worden bedreigd. De toeleveranciers hadden ondertussen hun afhankelijkheid van NedCar reeds teruggebracht door zich te richten op de nabije Duitse markt.
Mitsubishi staakt autoproductie bij NedCar
Begin februari 2012 liet aandeelhouder Mitsubishi Motors Corporation weten dat vanaf 2013 NedCar geen nieuwe modellen meer zou produceren. Dit bericht kwam niet geheel onverwacht. In december 2010 had Mitsubishi al laten weten de productie van de Colt en de Outlander eind 2012 te zullen stoppen. Een onderzoek naar mogelijkheden om de productie vanaf 2013 toch voort te zetten werd zonder succes afgerond. NedCar zelf zou, met de steun van Mitsubishi, verder zoeken naar nieuwe opdrachtgevers opdat de fabriek kan blijven voortbestaan. Bij NedCar werken circa 1.500 mensen.
In februari 2012, tijdens een bezoek van minister Verhagen aan Japan en Mitsubishi, heeft de autofabrikant toegezegd mee te zoeken naar een kandidaat om de fabriek over te nemen. Mitsubishi heeft verder harde toezeggingen gedaan, in geval een overname niet succesvol wordt afgerond, het sociaal plan volledig uit te voeren. De minister sluit uit dat de Nederlandse overheid zelf NedCar zal overnemen. Wel bestaan mogelijkheden overheidssubsidies te verstrekken aan een overnamekandidaat doordat de fabriek in een door de Europese Commissie aangewezen steunregio ligt.
Begin maart 2012 liet het Zwitserse bedrijf Q-PM weten dat het NedCar van Mitsubishi wilde overnemen. Q-PM zou in de fabriek wankelmotoren willen produceren. Daarnaast toonde Nissan interesse in een gedeeltelijke overname. NedCar zou dan onderdelen moeten gaan produceren.
Nedcar gaat Mini’s produceren
Begin juli 2012 werd bekendgemaakt dat de Eindhovense VDL Groep het bedrijf NedCar wil gaan overnemen. Tevens werd bekend dat NedCar vanaf tweede helft van 2014 BMW Mini’s gaat bouwen.
Tussen het staken van de productie voor Mitsubishi en de opstart voor BMW ligt circa 1,5 jaar. NedCar gaat dit najaar collectief ontslag aanvragen voor alle 1.500 werknemers, maar zij krijgen wel een baan- en terugkeergarantie als de productie start van de Mini. Met de ombouw van de nieuwe productielijnen is een investering nodig van € 200 miljoen. BMW zal jaarlijks 60.000 tot 90.000 Mini’s laten produceren tot het jaar 2020. NedCar blijft wel op zoek naar andere opdrachtgevers om niet afhankelijk te zijn van één klant. Op 1 oktober 2012 is de overname van NedCar door de VDL Groep afgerond. De effectieve overdracht van de aandelen van Mitsubishi naar VDL zal plaatsvinden op 14 december 2012. Vanaf 1 januari 2013 gaat het bedrijf verder onder de naam VDL Nedcar en zal in opdracht van derden auto’s gaan produceren. VDL verwacht dat Nedcar tot medio 2017 meer Mini’s gaat produceren dan de fabriek in de afgelopen jaren heeft gerealiseerd. Op basis van deze verwachting zal VDL Nedcar vanaf 2015 meer dan 500 werknemers nodig hebben boven de huidige 1500 medewerkers.
Op 18 september2007 werd bekendgemaakt dat Mitsubishi in 2008 de productie van de Outlander voor Europa verplaatst naar Nedcar. Het zou gaan om 20.000 exemplaren te bouwen in 2008. De productie van de Outlander zou in Born blijven tot het model uit productie zou worden genomen. De Outlander was in Europa een goed verkocht model, en Mitsubishi wilde aan de stijgende vraag blijven voldoen. Met ingang van januari 2009 werd ook de productie van de Peugeot 4007 en de Citroën C-CrosserSUV‘s voor de Europese markt verplaatst van de Japanse productielocatie Mizushima naar Nedcar. De productie voor types bestemd voor buiten Europa werd verplaatst naar de Nagoya-fabriek in Okazaki. Door de economische crisis werd dat besluit terug gedraaid. Er is nooit een Peugeot of een Citroen van de band gerold bij NedCar.
Op vrijdag 16 november 2012 rolde de laatste auto van de productieband, een Mitusbishi Colt. De fabriek wordt de komende 18 maanden omgebouwd en zal vanaf medio 2014 BMW Mini’s gaan produceren.
Sinds 1967 zijn er bij Nedcar in totaal 4,76 miljoen personenwagen gebouwd, waarvan 2,1 miljoen Volvo’s en ruim 1,1 miljoen Mitsubishi’s. Hieronder volgt een overzicht van de productie naar model en bouwjaren:
Op vrijdag 31 maart2006 zou Mitsubishi bekendmaken of het na 2010 nog auto’s zou produceren in Born. Maar de bekendmaking bleef uit, met het gevolg dat onder de werknemers van NedCar grote arbeidsonrust ontstond. Vanaf die datum werd er topoverleg gehouden tussen vakbonden, Mitsubishi, de ondernemingsraad en de Raad van Commissarissen van het automobielbedrijf. Dit alles gebeurde tegen de achtergrond van de afkondiging van een productiestop van de Smart For Four die ook bij NedCar werd geproduceerd. Volgens de werknemers moesten ze het nieuws “uit de krant” vernemen. Het nieuws werd pas op zaterdag 25 maart2006 door het concern naar buiten gebracht. De werknemers hoorden officieel van deze productiestop de maandag daarop via een nieuwsbrief. Het stoppen van de Smart zou voor NedCar betekenen dat er honderden banen zouden verdwijnen.
Een werknemer van NedCar riep via de televisie op om massaal naar NedCar te komen om te demonstreren voor het behoud van de werkgelegenheid. Op zondag 2 april2006 werd een 200 tal actievoerders voor de poort van NedCar gesignaleerd. Er werd openlijk gevreesd voor de banen van 3000 werknemers, en de landelijke politiek werd gevraagd – in de persoon van minister Brinkhorst van Economische Zaken – om in te grijpen en te zorgen voor het behoud van de werkgelegenheid. Sluiting van NedCar zou een ramp betekenen voor de economie van de provincie Limburg, die sinds de sluiting van de mijnen in de jaren zestig van de 20e eeuw erg veel geïnvesteerd heeft om nieuwe economische trekpaarden naar de regio te krijgen.
First I start with pictures with a date. The first Citroën’s are from 1905 but I couldn’t find pictures from Buses starting before 1915. Citroën started makeing buses in 1919.
Enjoy your watch:
1919 Citroën
1919 Citroën
1926 Citroën s van de LTM
1935 Citroën Amersfoort NL
1935 Citroën Kerklaan met bushalte van de stadsdienst Robart NL
1930 Citroën
1930 Citroën
1931 Citroën Transports C6G1 bus au garage et ateliers à Paris
1932 Citroën C5G – Verheul, Waddinxveen A’dam
1932 Citroën C6 G-car-1
1932 Citroën C6 serie G 1932-car-2
1932 Citroën C6G1 Lourdes
1932 Citroën C6G1 6cyl 2650cc
1932 Citroën CG6i France
1933 Citroën bedrijfsauto, autobus
1933 Citroën C6 Long
1934 Citroën carr. Postma Rottevalle B-17573 NL
1934 Citroën Lijn L Bus 17 Buisloterweg A’dam NL
1934 Citroën mcr
1934 Citroën Type 11U 4cyl 1911cc
1935 Citroën RC40 Den Oudsten-Domburg ATO-06 NL
1935 Citroën type 32 bus
1935 Citroën-bus 28 zitplaatsen VAD 012 NL
1936 Citroën U23 bus
1936 Citroën U23 bus
1936 Citroën U32
1937 Citroën Type 23 Besset
1938 Citroën T23 – van Leersum – ETAO 2
1939 Citroën C59 – Verheul, Waddinxveen Adam bus serie 21 NL
In 1907 werd door drie broers Jules, Gaston en Paul Chausson te Asnières-sur-Seine opgericht de Firma Ateliers Chausson Frères, in latere jaren werd de naam gewijzigd in Société des Usines Chausson. In deze eerste beginjaren hield men zich bezig met de opbouw van koetswerken op wagens, van echte carrosserieën zoals wij dat tegenwoordig kennen was nog geen sprake. Naast de koetswerken hield Chausson zich ook bezig met de bouw van water gekoelde radiateurs, brandstoftanks, buizen, inlaatspruitstukken en uitlaten. In 1942 waren er twee belangrijke aandeelhouders in het bedrijf, t.w. Renault en Peugeot.
Hoewel men in 1945 begon aan de ontwikkeling van een kleine personenauto voorzien van een water gekoelde één cilinder-tweetact motor van 10 PK, waarbij de open carrosserie plaats bood aan twee personen, kwam de serie productie niet op gang, en werd het project afgeblazen.
Men ging zich vanaf 1946 richten op de bouw van autobussen, en niet zonder succes. Door hun uiterlijk met de voor uitstekende radiateur (koeler grill), maakte deze bussen wereld beroemd. In Frankrijk kregen ze naam „nez de cochon“, vrij vertaald tot „varkensneus“. Deze grill vond men ook terug in de Peugeot 1 tons bestelwagen.
Bussen Chausson 47-270348 Hotschkiss 1947 Groote Markt Den Haag
In de latere modellen werd de radiateur binnen de carrosserie verwerkt, en kreeg de grill meer de vorm van een visbek.
De Firma Chausson genoot vooral in het begin van de jaren 1950 een groot succes, in vrijwel geheel Frankrijk waren deze bussen gemeengoed geworden. Door dit succes kon de firma zich expanderen en kon men de firma Chenard & Walcker overnemen. Ook werd er van de Locomotiefbouwer Brissonneau & Lotz nog een afdeling, die auto onderdelen fabriceerde, overgenomen.
In de goede jaren werkten bij Chausson 15.000 medewerkers, werkzaam in de hoofdvestiging Asnières-sur-Seine, en in de nevenvestigingen Creil, Gennevilliers, Laval, Maubeuge, Meudon en Reims.
CHAUSSON EMA 48 Mercedes Benz
In 1959/1960 werd Chausson geheel overgenomen door Renault, eerst nog onder de naam Saviem-Chausson, doch na een paar jaar onder de naam Saviem. Dit merk was al reeds door Renault overgenomen. Maar in de jaren zeventig verdween ook de naam Saviem, en werd Renault zo langzamerhand de enige fabriek van zware bedrijfswagens en autobussen in Frankrijk. Daarmee was niet alleen de tijd van Chausson en Saviem voorbij, maar ook die van Berliet, Citroën (alleen zwaar materieel), Somua ,Unic en Willéme. De Chausson bussen waren vlak na de oorlog zo populair in Nederland omdat het nogal „grote“ bussen waren ten opzichte van al het beschikbare „nood“ materieel. Bovendien liet de Nederlandse importeur Adriaan Beers uit Den Haag in een advertentie weten dat Chausson bussen binnen 3 weken, of wellicht nog korter, leverbaar waren.
CHAUSSON HTM 48 uit 1946
In het boek „La grande aventure des cars Chausson“ in 1988 geschreven door Nicolas Tellier, werd beschreven dat er in 1947 110 stuks complete Chausson autobussen aan Nederlandse bedrijven zijn geleverd. Nu wou ik gaan uitzoeken welke bussen dat zijn geweest, en dan op volgorde van de eerste eigenaar, maar zo U ziet is mijn lijst niet compleet. Ik heb er zelfs meer dan 110 stuks, maar kennelijk is niet altijd de 1e eigenaar bekend, of het kan ook heel goed zijn dat de schrijver misschien circa 110 stuks bedoelde. Opmerkelijk is de afwijkende Snelle Vliet 23 met zijn bergruiten. De meeste Chausson’s in Nederlanden werden geleverd met een Hotchkiss motor (type AH), een enkele kreeg een Panhard (AP) motor. EMA in Valkenswaard, die tevens Mercedes dealer was, verving de Franse motoren door er een Mercedes-Diesel in te plaatsen. Omdat deze motoren veel compacter waren kon de radiateur binnen de carrosserie gebouwd worden, en verviel het authentieke varkensneusje die deze Chausson’s zo kenmerkten. Een ander opvallend detail waren de achterwielen, die waren n.l. enkellucht gemonteerd, d.w.z. de achteras bevat slechts twee wielen, aan beide zijden slechts één wiel. Dit kwam echter op meerdere Franse bussen voor, o.a. bijv. Saviem, Renault, Somua en Isobloc. Met dank aanhttp://www.openbaarvervoerinboskoop.nl/rubrieken/gerritgunnink/Deel167.html voor deze info in het nederlands.
CHAUSSON HTM 54
De Franse Chausson, een bus die zijn tijd ver vooruit was.
Op verzoek van diverse bezoeker/lezers, een uitleg over deze toch zeer bijzondere bus.
In dit geval schrijven we over een heel bijzondere bus, een type dat bij HTM kwam als een pleister op de wonde, toen men een chronisch gebrek had aan materieel.
Na de oorlog werd door HTM zeer veel moeite gedaan de volledig ontmantelde busdienst zo snel mogelijk weer op gang te brengen. Nu was de grote moeilijkheid hierbij dat vrijwel het gehele wagenpark of geroofd of onbruikbaar was. En….dit was niet alleen bij HTM het geval, bijna alle vervoersbedrijven hadden met de zelfde problemen te kampen.
Zo stonden in de garage een aantal bussen zonder banden en andere belangrijke onderdelen. Men stond dus voor een vrijwel hopeloze taak, temeer daar de onderdelenvoorziening zo vlak na de oorlog ook niet of nauwelijks functioneerde.
GTW 47 Chausson-2
HTM was dus zeer verheugd dat zij erin slaagde in Frankrijk een aantal bussen te bestellen. Deze bestelling vond plaats in december 1945 en toen in februari 1946 als eerste lijn ’T’ weer op straat verscheen waren reeds 4 Chaussons voor deze dienst beschikbaar.
Deze Chaussons hadden een typisch Frans uiterlijk met een klein neusje en waren nog voorzien van een benzinemotor die wist waar de brandstof moest blijven.
Hoewel HTM al voor de oorlog haar wagenpark gestandaardiseerd had op dieseltractie had men gewoon geen keus en was men al met al toch zeer verheugd met deze helpers uit de nood.
Chausson APH252 Nantes
De 41 t/m 50 werden afgeleverd in een grijze kleur.
Deze wagens hadden aanvankelijk een lopende conducteur en er werd ingestapt door een klapdeur aan de achterzijde van de bus.
In juli en augustus 1946 werd een vervolgserie afgeleverd met de nummers 51 t/m 54.
Deze waren in een groene kleur bij HTM afgeleverd.
De toenmalige pers bezong deze Franse bussen als een zee van ruimte waarin maar liefst 70 passagiers vervoerd konden worden.
Eind mei 1946 waren voor de lijnen ‘G’, ‘K’ en ‘T’ 22 Kromhout-bussen en 10 Chaussons beschikbaar met nog enige Kromhouts in herstelling.
HTM besloot de Franse bussen, die tot nu toe provisorisch voor de dienst geschikt waren gemaakt, te verbouwen tot volwaardige stadsbussen.
Begin 1946 verscheen de ‘41′ in de bekende HTM-uitmonstering. Deze wagen had nu een zitplaats voor de conducteur tegenover de ingang. Van deze ingang was de klapdeur vervangen door de gebruikelijke vouwdeuren. Tevens was een optische signaalinrichting aangebracht.
Hoewel daar wel de mogelijkheden toe aanwezig was werden deze bussen niet voorzien van richtingsfilms. Nadat eerst alleen aan de voorzijde door middel van een bordje de lijnaanduiding werd aangegeven, kregen de 41 t/m 54 tijdens de verbouwing aan de blinde zijde, achterop en vlak voor de achteringang eveneens het bekende bordje met de lijnletter.
Chausson
Als laatste verbouwde Chausson kwam de 46 op 11 januari 1947 weer in dienst.
Voor het stadsbedrijf bleken deze benzinebussen echter toch weinig geschikt.
Er deden zich zeer veel storingen voor. Vooral in de strenge winter van 1946/1947 was het voor de passagiers duwen geblazen. Een constant gebrek aan onderdelen was er de oorzaak van dat vele Chaussons vaak langere tijd gedwongen buiten dienst stonden.
In november 1947 waren deze problemen opgelost en reden alle Chaussons weer, uitgezonderd van de ‘48′ die pas begin 1948 weer rijvaardig was.
HTM bracht in het najaar van 1947 nog richtingsaanduidingen aan boven de voorruit van deze bussen. Vlak onder de niet gebruikte filmkast werd een frame gemonteerd waar de lijnletter- en bestemmingsborden ingeschoven konden worden.
Deze richtingsborden waren bruin van kleur met witte- en gele letters.
Toen er nieuwe bussen voor de dienst beschikbaar kwamen verhuisden de Chaussons al snel naar het tweede plan. Een grote handicap van deze wagens was het zeer grote benzineverbruik waardoor het niet mogelijk was dat deze bussen een hele dienst reden. Onderweg moest dan worden bijgetankt bij de garage of bijvoorbeeld op lijn ‘G’ bij het tankstation op de Sportlaan bij de Houtrustbrug.
De Chaussons kwamen nu op de “korte” lijn ‘N’ (Vreeswijkstraat-Grote Markt), op spitsuurdiensten en later op lijn ’Y’ (Hollandse Spoor- Ypenburg).
In november 1949 kwam het moment dat HTM de gewaardeerde Franse hulpen kon missen en werden zij verkocht aan diverse touringcarondernemers in het gehele land die nog jaren plezier van deze wagens hebben gehad. Voordat deze ondernemingen de ex-HTM-Chaussons in dienst stelden werden zij grondig verbouwd en van een toerwageninterieur voorzien.
Hoewel deze serie uiteindelijk toch niet zo’n grote rol in het HTM-gebeuren heeft gespeeld waren zij zo vlak na de oorlog toch van onschatbare waarde.
Het Haags Bus Museum was dan ook zeer verheugd dat zij in 1980 in Frankrijk een dergelijke bus konden aankopen, een wagen die ooit als HTM-48 de Haagse straten zo nu en dan weer zal mogen sieren.
Deze bus werd toentertijd in Bourges in Frankrijk aangekocht en werd ruim dertig jaar later op een dieplader van de firma Gordijn naar Nederland gehaald.
Het heeft veel energie en vakmanschap gekost om deze bus weer in oude luister bij te zetten en heden ten dage horen we bij de regelmaat van de klok deze bus weer, met zijn typische rokende dieselmotor, weer door ons Haagje rijden.
Citroën U55 Cityrama Currus: Parisian spaceship from the 1950s!
(image via, original Joel Katcoff) This Cityrama vehicle is a fitting tribute to a certain joie de vivre and artistic flair of Paris… Esprit de Paris, if you like, the City of Lights. Paris is also known as the City of Love, and so it’s easy to imagine cuddling up to your girl inside this bus, chatting about sweet nothings, while watching the marvelous panorama unfold outside. It looks wild and… strangely attractive. And it was super comfortable, too.(image credit: LIFE Magazine) A large section of the upper deck roof was removed in good weather, turning it into more conventional tour bus. Here are better views of this Parisian spaceship from the 1960 film “Zanzie dans le Métro”: Apparently quite a few of them were made, making them easy to spot in the 1950s Paris (these lucky Parisians!)
De Algemeene Transport Onderneming is niet echt een merk maar een Onderneming. ATO werd in 1927 opgericht als dochterbedrijf van de NS. ATO had als taak om te concurreren met de opkomende vervoerbedrijven die per autobus concurreerden met de Nederlandse Spoorwegen en een flinke winstdaling van het reizigersvervoer van de NS veroorzaakten tussen 1921 en 1927. In deze periode daalden de inkomsten uit reizigersvervoer van 90.000.000 gulden tot 75.750.000 gulden.
ATO 16 pers. Mercedes-Benz met struikelinstap 1936
Het plan van NS was om voor ATO veel vergunningen binnen te halen, eventueel ten koste van plaatselijke vervoerders, om zo een uitgebreid samenhangend netwerk van buslijnen op te zetten. Ze wilden daarmee het model van Zwitserland volgen, waarin de bussen zorgden voor goed voor- en natransport op de treinen. Ook dacht NS, door buslijnen parallel aan spoorverbindingen te starten, enkele kleine niet-rendabele stations op te kunnen heffen.
Deze plannen, met name het verdringen van particuliere bedrijven en het opzetten van een monopolie, maakten ATO al snel impopulair en zorgden ervoor dat de particuliere ondernemingen zich aaneensloten tot de Nederlandsche Bond van Autobusondernemers(NBA).
ATO 16 RD65 Nova 1941
NS bracht in 1928 ook de Commanditaire Vennootschap Algemeene Expeditie Onderneming Van Gend en Loos, H. Colignon & Cie(kortweg Van Gend & Loos) – die tot dan toe de aan- en afvoer van goederen bij stations had verzorgd – onder bij de ATO, met als nieuwe naam NV Expeditie Onderneming Van Gend & Loos. De gehele inventaris van het oude bedrijf ging naar ATO en werd verhuurd aan de nieuwe NV. Van Gend & Loos ging zich verder bezig houden met goederenvervoer, terwijl ATO de taak had om personenvervoer op de weg te zetten.http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algemeene_Transport_Onderneming
ATO 466 de Rijnstreek Opel 1936
ATO Chevrolet R92 1940
ATO Ford V8 met verduisterde koplampen 1940
ATO Rijnstreek met gasgenerator in Bodegraven 1942
ArbúciesSelvaGirona, CataloniaVandaag gaan we naar Spanje. Een bedrijf dat al lang geleden in 1934 gestart is door Ramón Beulas and Narcis Pujol in Arbúcies, een dorpje in het Selva land van de provincie Gerona te Catalonië te Spanje. Ook bij deze bussen is het weer zo dat hoofdzakelijk de oude modellen tot de verbeelding spreken, want de nieuwe hededaagse generatie bussen lijken wederom allemaal op elkaar en bieden alle mogelijke luxe, maar mooi, mij persoonlijk zeggen ze maar weinig. We gaan lekker met de foto’s beginnen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beulas
Beulas Ramón Beulas y Narcis Pujol 1934-1936
Een buitenmodel in samenwerking met GMC, Citroën, Pegaso en Beulas 1934-1936
Het is reuze lasig iets over AS te vinden. Dit stuk is dan ook een samenraapsel van verschillende sites. Die van Conam, die van OVBoskoop en een stukje uit een oude krant. Met dank, en linkjes naar de betreffende sites.Deze Asjes bus reed tussen Hilversum en Utrecht. Gebouwd door Asjes in Alkmaar op een Minerva Chassis en met een Kromhout motor.
AS-Asjes 1932 Asjes(Alkmaar) carrosserie op A.S.Chassis
http://www.conam.info/carrosseriebouwers-beschrijvingen/asjes-alkmaar-bergen De nieuwe bussen nu waren bestemd voor de verbinding van Graft en De Rijp met Purmerend, waar men dus kon overstappen op de stoomtram naar Amsterdam, welke het volgende jaar geheel geëlektrificeerd zou zijn. Deze bussen (de nummers 1, 2 en 3) hadden een Republic-chassis met Lycoming-zes-cylinder benzinemotor van 65 pk, terwijl de door de firma Asjes te Alkmaar vervaardigde carrosserie geschikt was voor het vervoer van zeventien zittende en vier staande passagiers.
Binnenkant eerst A.S. bussen met carrosserie v d firma Asjes 1932
In het Maandblad voor het NZH-personeel van december 1931 stond het volgende geestdriftige verslag :Alles glom en glansde, tot zelfs de knopen op de nieuwe uniform van den chauffeur! Mooi van lijn en kleur, natuurlijk grijs en blauw,. de bekende NZH-kleuren, nodigt deze bus reeds door zijn keurig uiterlijk tot een ritje uit.De zittingen zijn ruim en met ieder bekleed en staan geschaard langs den wand als in een balzaal. De lampen in het helderwit geschilderde plafond werpen een overvloedig licht omlaag, hetgeen door de reizigers, die hun reis met lectuur willen bekorten, ten zeerste wordt gewaardeerd.Men ziet dat de schrijver zo trots was als een vader op z’n eerste drieling!Toen eenmaal deze drie schaapjes over de brug waren volgde er weldra een hele troep, want in 1932 werd te Haarlem de eerste buslijn geopend, van de Leidsevaart bij de Munterslaan naar de Javalaan in Heemstede. Hiervoor werden twee A.S.-bussen aangeschaft. Ook deze hadden Lycoming-benzine-motoren (85 pk) en een carrosserie van de firma Asjes, thans echter voorzien van normale dwarszitbanken, 26 zit- en 5 staanplaatsen. In 1933 werden deze gevolgd door nummer 6, geheel gelijk aan de vorige twee, en door de nummers 7, 8 en 9. Deze laatste hadden ook een A.S.-chassis en een carrosserie welke door de firma Beijnes, toen nog aan het Stationsplein te Haarlem, was gebouwd. Dit waren de eerste bussen van deze fabriek, die zich tot die datum tot spoor- en tramwegmaterieel had beperkt.
2 bijeenraapsel bussen voor 4400,- gulden in 1932
In 1934 kwamen de lijnen naar Bloemendaal en Overveen en ook die van Overveen via de Zeeweg naar Zandvoort, erbij. Mede door de in 1935 gehoudenFlorabloemententoonstelling in Groenendaal ging het aantal bussen met sprongen omhoog. De voor die tijd “grote” serie van negen A.S.-bussen (nrs. 10 t/m 18) waren de eerste NZH-bussen voorzien van dieselmotoren. De eerste zes van deze serie hadden ook weer carrosserieën van de firma Asjes, die haar fabriek naar Bergen had overgeplaatst Om deze bussen tijdig afgeleverd te krijgen, heeft toen een groot aantal personeelsleden van de NZH daaraan in die fabriek meegewerkt De nummers 16, 17 en 18 hadden een zelfde chassis, doch de carrosserieën waren van de firma Hainje in Heerenveen. De toegepaste dieselmotor was een Kromhout van het type 3LW Men had in die tijd nog weinig ervaring met de ophanging van zo’n driecilinder dieselmotor, die met zijn laag toerental er de oorzaak v:an was, dat de chassis door de hevige trillingen veelvuldig stukscheurden.
Ten behoeve van de bewoners van Zwanenburg werd een lijntje naar Halfweg geopend, waar men op de tram kon overstappen.Hiervoor werden vier Citroënbusjes (31 tJm 34) van “Stadsverkeer” te Leiden overgenomen. Ze hadden een carrosserie van Verheul. Voor de verwachtte grote drukte tijdens de Flora 1935 werden nog twee grote bussen overgenomen. Dit waren de nummers 35, een Mercedes van de WSM, en 36, een Guy van de firma Tensen te Soest. Erg gelukkig is de NZH met deze twee bussen niet geweest.Er waren maar een paar chauffeurs die met deze “buitenbeentjes’. konden rijden en ook de monteurs hadden er een hele kluif aan. Ze stonden dan ook meer in de garage dan dat ze reden. In 1937 werden ze weer verkocht. Inmiddels waren in 1934 nog in dienst gesteld drie Indianabussen met 3LW-Kromhout-Dieselmotoren en een carrosserie van Hainje (19, 20 en 21), terwijl er in 1935 nog bij kwamen vijf Mercedesbussen met viercilinderdieselmotoren en eveneens een carrosserie van Hainje (22 t/m 26).
NZH Vloot met divers materieel in Leiden langs Leidsche Vaart
Nauwelijks was het drukke jaar 1935 achter de rug of in het volgende voorjaar kwamen er de vier bussen 37 t/m 40 bij. Dit waren Fordbussen met 75 pk benzinemotor, welke aanschaffing om financiële redenen de voorkeur had gekregen boven een chassis met dieselmotor. Om een idee te geven van de destijds geldende prijzen vermelden wij dat zo’n Fordchassis, geheel compleet, slechts achttienhonderd gulden bedroeg. De Beynes-carrosserie voor de 37 en 38 met 23 zitplaatsen kostte 2000 gulden, zodat deze bussen, kant-en-klaar voor het gebruik, minder kostten dan nu een Dafje! De 39 en 40 waren door Hainje gecarrosseerd.In 1936 werden verder nog aangeschaft twee Kromhoutbussen (de 27 en 28) met 4LK-dieselmotor en een carrosserie van Hainje welke aan 27 zittende en 5 staande passagiers plaats bood. In 1937 kwam de Mercedes 29 bus nummer 1 van de Waterlandse lijn vervangen.Heel wat duurder dan de hiervoor genoemde Fordjes waren de vier grote Mercedes-Benzbussen, de uit 1938 daterende 41 t/m 44, die voorzien waren van een 80 pk dieselmotor en een carrosserie (31 zitplaatsen) van de firma Den Oudsten en Domburg te Woerden. Hierbij viel de staanplaatsruimte voor in de wagen bijzonder op. Langs de wanden aangebrachte klapbankjes konden als zitplaats worden gebruikt. De zittingen hadden voor het eerst trijpbekleding :het geheel was voor die tijd luxueus ingericht. De carrosserieën waren zeer solide en de eerste bus trok op de RAI sterk de aandacht. Het was met deze bussen, dat de NZH haar eerste toerritten naar de Hoge Veluwe ging maken. Tot slot kwamen in 1939 de bussen 35 en 36 het vooroorlogse wagenpark verstevigen. De oude wagens met deze nummers waren, zoals hiervoor vermeld, reeds verkocht.De 35 had een Kromhout-chassis met Hercules zescilinders dieselmotor, terwijl de 36 een A.S.-chassis bezat, eveneens met Herculesmotor. Het waren de eerste voorbesturingsbussen bij de NZH en als zodanig kunnen ze beschouwd worden als de voorlopers van de naoorlogse Crossley’s. Ook bij dezen twee bussen trof men voorin een grote ruimte aan voor 12 staanplaatsen, verder waren er 24 zitplaatsen. Er waren hier twee luchtbediende deuren voor in- en uitstappen.Met één enkele speciaal hiervoor ontworpen luchtkraan kon de chauffeur beide deuren naar willekeur bedienen. De vormgeving verleende deze vooroorlogse bus een modern aanzicht. Meer over de Geschiedenis van het OV en het NZH in speciaal op http://www.openbaarvervoerinboskoop.nl/busgeschiedenis/nzh/NZH02.htm waar ook een groot deel van de info uit dit stuk vandaan komt.
A.S. bus v d GTW met van Eerten carrosserie , gefotografeerd op de Edesche Heide tussen Ede en Arnhem, 1934
De A.S. Fabriek leverde zijn laatste bus af in 1954 en deze werd in 1964 alweer afgevoerd. Het lijkt er op dat er geen een is overgebleven. We zullen het dus met deze foto’s moeten doen. Dat was het weer!
Het is nu zondagmiddag en ik heb een beetje zin om een blog te schrijven. In ieder geval geen moeilijke of ingewikkelde want ik ben moe, héél moe. Dus neem ik een oud getrouw thema. We hebben
Alfa Romeo Montreal
nog een groot aantal oude auto’s in ons foto archief staan die we de afgelopen tijd op de gevoelige plaat hebben gezet,
Roze Cadillac in Groningen
zoals ze dat vroeger zeiden. De gein voor mij is dat ze vroeger toch meer smoel hadden. Zelfs ik als leek kon bepaalde merken van verre herkennen. Nu letten ze meer op aerodynamiek en daardoor lijken al die merken op elkaar. Je moet duidelijk een kenner zijn om er plezier aan te beleven. De originaliteit zit nu meer in de programmatuur Zoals bv een meedenkende auto, zo een die remt als het te strak qua timing wordt enz.
Maar die oude zijn stralend van orginaliteit en je ziet de lol van de ontwerpers om iets van zichzelf te laten zien.
Mercedes 205 Diesel terug in Oostrum na Marokko 1988 with Hot in Djilaba
Toch hebben we vandaag nuttige dingen gedaan. Onze hele platenverzameling in tassen gepakt, de pick up is losgekoppeld.
Rollce Royce Corniche
Morgen worden ze opgehaald door de vrouw van een mede zwemmer uit de groep van Hot. De mede zwemmer Herman, geloof ik,
Opel olympia 1955 eerst auto Pa Hot
MG 3
heeft een tia gehad en ziet daardoor heel erg slecht. Hij kan nog wel de muziek van de plaat in de computer voeren en deze weer op een MP3 zetten. Dus in de toekomst kunnen we enkele MP3 schijfjes in ontvangst nemen en weer genieten van onze oude platen.
MG Open
Deze zijn met liefde bijeen gesprokkeld. Een aantal in de winkel gekocht en een groot aantal tweede hands. Als ik mijn ogen dicht doe zie ik mezelf aan het zoeken in de markt.
Citroën Ami 6 [1963] JV-24-80
Ik bekijk dan de hoes, hoe ziet hij eruit? Dan haalde ik de plaat zachtjes uit de hoes en ook de binnenhoes en pak deze met zachte hand aan de zijkant vast want ik wil er geen vetvlekken op krijgen. Daarna draai ik de plaat zachtjes om terwijl ik naar de oppervlakte tuur, bekijk of er zo min mogelijk krassen opzitten.
Cadillac in the Night
Als ik die kan tellen dan doe ik de plaat weer in beiden hoezen en pak weer een andere.
Cadillac Hearse
Ik ben hier, al zeg ik het zelf, goed in geworden en dus is onze collectie met perfecte platen gevuld. Normaliter ben ik niet zo precies, Hot is hier beter in.
1948 Cadillac Fleetwood. Origineel deense auto. Haalt brute 152 pk uit een 5,7 liter V8
Doch mijn platen, juweeltjes en ik hoop dus dat Herman er goed voor zal zorgen. Alweer is er een stukje verleden losgelaten.
1929 Cadillac modelo Town Car por Derham
Op een van de foto’s bij de bus staat Hot in zijn jonge jaren. Ongeveer in deze tijd heb ik hem leren kennen. Wat een snoepje!!!
Opel Rekord Diesel + Hot your host met taxipech over de Waalbrug in Nijmegen
Cadillac’s Eureka, Fisher, Miller-Meteor, Smit, Superior, Visser coachbuilders
1971 Checker Taxi Ambulance
checker-swiss ambulance CH
Checker Ambulances, Medicars 
Chenard Walcker ambulance
All Different Chenard & Walcker’s Ambulances
All Different Chevrolet Ambulances
Several different Chrysler Ambulances since 1928 till now
Citroën Ambulances
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
1957 Riley two-point-six 1957 207 CWL
42,100 units (2016)
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