Vehicles Introduced in 1950 - Volkswagen Type 2, Ford Zephyr, Mercury Monterey, Bandini 750 Sport Siluro, Lancia Aurelia, Alfa Romeo 1900 (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 32. Chapters: Volkswagen Type 2, Ford Zephyr, Mercury Monterey, Bandini 750 sport siluro, Lancia Aurelia, Alfa Romeo 1900, Henry J, DKW F89, Jaguar Mark VII, Goliath GP700, Aston Martin DB2, Austin A40 Sports, Volkswagen Transporter, Jowett Jupiter, Renault Colorale, Fiat 1400, Morgan +4, Hotchkiss Gregoire, Alvis TA 21, Marauder Cars, Jensen Interceptor, DKW F10, Yank. Excerpt: The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or Kombi (campers, short for Kombinationskraftwagen) informally as Bus (US) or Camper (UK), was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model - following and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle), it was given the factory designation Type 2. As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to competitors in the United States and Europe, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. European competition included the Renault Estafette and the Ford Transit. As of January 2010, updated versions of the Type 2 remain in production in international markets- as a passenger van, as a cargo van, and as a pickup truck. Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus," "minibus," and, due to its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, "hippie van." The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to Holland, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Typ...