Panhard was another manufacturer that was at the very beginning of the automotive industry and were based in France, in fact as you will see, they were associated with many of the leading French brands of the century. Rene Panhard, the son of a saddler and coach-builder, and his associate Emile Levassor founded their company in 1887. They had both worked at a wood-working … [Read more...]
DAF
The history article this week is about DAF, a truck maker who branched out into car making after thinking about how they use the propulsion methods of their metal working machines. The company was founded in 1928 by Hubert Van Doorne and his brother, Wim, as a metalworking shop and were financed by a local businessman to start manufacturing commercial vehicles. Hubert had … [Read more...]
Tatra
Tatra is claimed to be one of the oldest living automotive manufacturers even though they don’t make cars anymore, just trucks. The company that started the legacy, Ignatz Shustala and Company, was founded in 1850 to make horse-drawn carriages before branching out into railway wagons and carriages. In those days the Czech Republic didn’t exist - the area was inside the … [Read more...]
Crossley
In this article we will describe one of the true pioneers of the motor industry: Crossley. The company was founded in 1867 when Francis Crossley bought an engineering business in the UK that made pumps and other mechanical devices including small steam engines. Francis had undertaken an apprenticeship at the Robert Stephenson Company and soon after the company started, Francis … [Read more...]
Gilbern
Gilbern was one of my favourite cars when I was younger - mainly because I was born and raised in Wales and this company was for a time, a local success. Gilbern was one of a handful of cars manufactured at a time when many low volume manufacturers used glass fibre for the body shells. In the 1960s and 1970s there were many kit car builders in the UK and many moved to volume … [Read more...]