Thread: 65 Aastat hiljem VW Beetle & Bus harrastajatele peaks Tänan Ben Pon

Ben Pon (vasakul) ja esimene VW Beetle USAsse imporditud

Ühes neist imelik kokkusattumustest Volkswagen Ameerika tähistab 65 aastapäeva Beetle niisama viimase VW tüüp 2 (aka Volkswagen buss) USAs kunagi tehtud, mis oli monteeritud Brasiilia 20 Detsember 2013 saabus vintage sõiduki muuseumi VW tarbesõidukite peakorter Saksamaal Hannoveris. Kokkulangevus on see, et importiva VW mardikad Ameerikasse ja hoone VW bussi olid mõlemad ideed, mis pärineb üks mees, keegi, kes ei tööta isegi Volkswagen, Hollandi autokauplus Ben Pon meeles.
Ben Pon Sr, isa VW Microbus ja Volkswagens Ameerikas

Ben Pons isa Mijndert avanud Amersfoortis kauplus õmblusmasinate müük 1898. Mõned aastad hiljem lisas ta Opel jalgrattaid, mõlemad pedaaliga juhitav ja mootoriga kauplused rivistuse ja firma alustas müüa Ford ja Opel autod koos mandri rehvid 1920. 1931, Ben ja tema vend Wijnand hõivas poes ja ümber ta Pons Automobielhandel. Pärast II maailmasõda, vajavad transpordi Briti okupatsioon valitseva konkurentsi Volkswagen teoste Wolfsburg uuesti. Muljet kvaliteedi VW tüüp 1 sedaan, aka der Käfer, mardikas, Ben Pon korraldatud töötab Briti ametivõimud kohtumine Volkswagen Aprill 1947, lootes, et importida VWs Madalmaades. Sellel aastal hiljem augustis, mis riik sai VWs esimene ekspordituru kui Pons ehk sild olid nimega üldise importija brändi, tuues 51 mardikad kõnealusel esimesel aastal müüa müüa väljaspool Saksamaa esimene Volkswagens. Järgmisel aastal nad ka alustatud, importides Porsches.
VW Plattenwagen tehase utiliidi sõiduki

1949, sõjajärgne USA majandust oli hakanud boom ja ettenägelikuks Ben Pon otsustasin proovida kätt müüvad autode Ameerika Ühendriikides. Ta eksporditud esimene Beetle, mis oli lähetatud U. S. ja kaasneb see, loodab teha jaotus toime. Kahjuks ta ei suutnud leida partner. Kuigi ei ole tõestatud, et Pon müüdi esimene Volkswagen U. S., VW pärimuse on lugu, mida ta kasutas ta importis Beetle katteks arve on tasumata makse. Pon tagasi Hollandisse, kus müüb mardikad ja lõpuks Microbuses Hollandi tegi temast, üks rikkamaid inimesi Hollandis. Pärast üles Pons idee, New York põhineb Max Hoffman hakkasid importima mardikad tõsiselt U. S. 1950, on õnnestunud luua brändi, mis loodi Ameerikas Volkswagen ja tehas võttis üle importimine ja jaotavad mardikad siin.
Ben Pons Algne aprill 1947 sketch mida sai VW Microbus

Tulles tagasi selle 23. aprillil 1947 kohtumine töötab Volkswagen ajal VW töötab kell Brits, märkas ta Plattenwagen, juhusliku vaadates laugpära kastiga, põhineb tüüp 1 mechanicals. Nagu ta oli läbirääkimiste impordi tegeleda, ta võttis välja oma sülearvuti ja hakkas joonistamine. Euroopa ülesehitamise ja oli vaja külmutusseadmed. Sobib taastamiskava majandusele, väike van võiks olla ideaalne firmad lihtsalt jalad alla saada. Pon juhtis välja kujundanud salongi üle tagumise ottomootoriga Beetle kere, kast, pannes juhi ja reisija cabover olukorras äärmise ees sõiduki. Samas suur sõiduk, sellele võiks korraldada tohutu lasti (või reisijate) ruumi vahel juht ja Vedav sild. Pon määratud, et pole tühi kaal 750 kg võimsus on võrdne lasti. Ta andis oma sõbralisti kell VW visandi. See oli lihtsalt idee ajal oli tehases Wolfsburg töökiirus suutlikkuse suurendamise mardikad.
VW tüüpi 2 prototüüp eskiis

Poolt 1949, Heinrich Nordhoff toimis Volkswagen. Nordhoff ja tehniline direktor Alfred Haesner meeldis Pons idee põhineb Beetle van. Arenduskulude oleks madal, sest ta jagada palju komponente tüüp 1 ja nad andsid projekti roheline tuli. Kuna mingil määral oli vabanevad tuntud tüüp tagasi prototüüp oli fabritseeritud vaid kolm kuud. Osutus olema veidi kallim teha kui oodata, kuna varude tüüp 1 platvormi šassii ei olnud piisavalt tugev ja uue redeli šassii põhine unibody töötati. Stock 25 hobujõudu 3000 lb sõiduki võimule korter nelja VW lubamiseks VW insenerid hädavajalikke uuesti kasutatav tüüp 81 sõjaaja Kubelwagen vähendamise varustus.
Tuuletunnelis katseid tehtud esimene tüüp 2 rohkem aerodünaamilisi kui mardikas

Kuigi esialgsed prototüübid oli kohutav aerodünaamika, tuuletunnelis katsetamine mis keha muutunud nagu esiklaas split vee tootmise tüüp 2 olnud cd 0. parem kui mardikad 0 44. 48. Nordhoff kirjutati tootmise mai 1949 ja esimene tüüp 2 valtsitud välja konveieri 12 November 1949, muutes sel aastal ka VWs esimene toodang väike van 65 aastapäeva.
Esimene VW bussi tüüp 29 prototüüp

Kaks mudelit pakuti esialgu, Kombi, kelle külgakende ja eemaldatav istmed pagasiruumi, ja kaubandus, mis oli pool klaasi ja oli rangelt lasti van. Selle Microbus lisati Mai 1950, liitusid Deluxe Microbus ja kiirabi mudel järgmisel aastal, koos ühe kabiini pickup versioon 1952.

Varajane õhkjahutusega Volkswagens on saada tõsiseid raha barndoor tüüp 2s ja 21-23 akna Samba versioonid edev tõeliselt rumal kuue-joonis hinnad Microbus viimastel oksjonitel. Ben Pon oleks ilmselt naeratus ta kaitses ökonoomne sõidukite saab nõuda täna hindadega. Ta lihtsalt tahab pakkuda lihtne transport inimesed ja ettevõtted sõjajärgse Euroopa ja hiljem Ameerika Ühendriikidesse. Toimides nii hes õigustatult krediteeritud kaks autotööstuse ideid XX sajandi. Asjakohaselt, sel kevadel esimese Barndoor kogumise & aastakäigu VW Näita toimub Ben Pons kodulinnas Amersvoort.
Viimase VW tüüp 2, tehtud Brasiilia, saabub VWs kommertssõidukite museum Hannover, 67 aastat pärast seda, kui Ben Pon visandatud esimene.

Ben Pon (left) and the first VW Beetle imported to the United States

In one of those weird coincidences, Volkswagen of America is celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Beetle in the United States just as the last VW Type 2 (aka the Volkswagen bus) ever made, which was assembled in Brazil on December 20, 2013, arrived at the vintage vehicle museum in VW Commercial Vehicles headquarters in Hanover, Germany. The coincidence is that importing VW Beetles to America and building the VW bus were both ideas that originated in the mind of one man, someone who didnt even work for Volkswagen, Dutch car dealer Ben Pon.
Ben Pon Sr, the father of the VW Microbus and Volkswagens in America

Ben Pons father Mijndert opened up a shop in Amersfoort selling sewing machines in 1898. A few years later he added Opel bicycles, both pedal operated and motorized, to the stores lineup and in the 1920s the firm started selling Ford and Opel automobiles along with Continental tires. In 1931, Ben and his brother Wijnand took over the shop and renamed it Pons Automobielhandel. After the end of World War II, in need of transportation the British occupation forces put the Volkswagen works in Wolfsburg back into production. Impressed with the quality of the VW Type 1 sedan, aka der Käfer, the Beetle, Ben Pon arranged a meeting with the British authorities running Volkswagen in April 1947, hoping to import VWs to the Netherlands. Later that year, in August, that country became VWs first export market when the Pons were named general importer for the brand, bringing in 51 Beetles in that first year, selling the first Volkswagens to be sold outside of Germany. The following year, they also started importing Porsches.
VW Plattenwagen factory utility vehicle

By 1949, the postwar American economy was starting to boom and the farsighted Ben Pon decided to try his hand at selling cars in the United States. He exported the first Beetle that was shipped to the U. S. and accompanied it, hoping to make a distribution deal. Unfortunately he could not find a partner. While it cannot be proven that Pon sold the first Volkswagen in the U. S. , part of VW lore is a story that he used the Beetle that he had imported as payment to cover an unpaid hotel bill. Pon returned to Holland where selling Beetles and eventually Microbuses to the Dutch made him one of the richest people in the Netherlands. Following up on Pons idea, New York based Max Hoffman started to import Beetles to the U. S. in earnest in 1950, being successful enough in establishing the brand that Volkswagen of America was set up, and the factory took over importing and distributing Beetles here.
Ben Pons original April 1947 sketch for what became the VW Microbus

Going back to that April 23, 1947 meeting with the Brits running Volkswagen at the time, while at the VW works, he noticed a Plattenwagen, an odd looking utility vehicle with a flatbed, based on Type 1 mechanicals. As he was negotiating an import deal, he took out his notebook and started sketching. Europe was rebuilding and there was a need for commercial vehicles. Suitable for a rebuilding economy, a small van would be perfect for companies just getting off the ground. Pon drew out a box shaped cabin over the rear engined Beetle chassis, putting the driver and passenger in a cabover position at the extreme front of the vehicle. While not a large vehicle, it could carry a large amount of cargo (or passengers) in the space in between the driver and the drivetrain. Pon specified that it should have an empty weight of 750 kilograms with an equal freight capacity. He gave the sketch to his contacts at VW. At the time it was just an idea, the Wolfsburg factory was operating at capacity building Beetles.
VW Type 2 prototype blueprint

By 1949, Heinrich Nordhoff was running Volkswagen. Nordhoff and technical director Alfred Haesner liked Pons idea of a Beetle based van. Development costs would be low because it would share many components with the Type 1 and they gave the project a green light. When some capacity was freed up a prototype known at the Type 29 was fabricated in just three months. It proved to be a little more expensive to make than anticipated since the stock Type 1 platform chassis was not strong enough and a new ladder chassis based unibody was developed. To allow the stock 25 horsepower VW flat four to power a 3,000 lb vehicle, VW engineers re-purposed the reduction gear used in the Type 81, the wartime Kubelwagen.
Wind tunnel testing made the first Type 2 more aerodynamic than the Beetle

Though the early prototypes had terrible aerodynamics, with wind tunnel testing that resulted in body changes like the split vee windshield, the production Type 2 had a cd of 0. 44, better than the Beetles 0. 48. Nordhoff signed off on production in May of 1949 and the first Type 2 rolled off the assembly line on November 12, 1949, making this year also the 65th anniversary of VWs first production small van.
The first VW Bus, the Type 29 prototype

Two models were initially offered, the Kombi, which had side windows and removable seats in the hold, and the Commercial, which had no side glass and was strictly a cargo van. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus and an ambulance model the following year, along with a single cab pickup version in 1952.

Early air-cooled Volkswagens have been getting serious money in recent auctions, with barndoor Type 2s and the 21 and 23 window Samba versions of the Microbus fetching truly silly six-figure prices. Ben Pon would probably smile at the prices the economical vehicles that he championed can demand today. He was just trying to provide simple transportation to the people and businesses of postwar Europe and later the United States. In doing so hes justifiably credited with two of the best automotive ideas of the 20th century. Appropriately, this spring the first Barndoor Gathering & Vintage VW Show will be held in Ben Pons hometown of Amersvoort.
The last VW Type 2, made in Brazil, arrives at VWs commercial vehicle museum in Hanover, 67 years after Ben Pon sketched the first.