Thread: 65 Let kasneje VW, hrošč, in avtobusni navdušenci zahvaliti Ben Pon

Ben Pon (levo) in prvi VW Beetle, uvoženih v ZDA

V eni od teh čudno naključij, Volkswagen Amerike praznuje 65 obletnici hrošča v Združenih državah samo kot zadnji VW tipa 2 (aka Volkswagen avtobus) doslej, ki je bila sestavljena v Braziliji na 20 December 2013, prispeli v muzeju letnik vozila VW gospodarska vozila sedež v Hannovru, Nemčija. Naključje je, da uvoz VW hroščev v Ameriko in gradnjo VW avtobus, so bili tako ideje, ki izvira v mislih en človek, nekdo, ki ni tudi delo za Volkswagen, nizozemski avto preprodajalec Ben Pon.
Ben Pon Sr, oče VW Microbus in Volkswagens v Ameriki

Ben Pons oče Mijndert odprla trgovino v Amersfoortu prodaja šivalnih strojev leta 1898. Nekaj let kasneje je dodal Opel kolesa, pedala tako upravljani in motoriziran, črta trgovin in leta 1920, družba začela prodaja avtomobilov Ford in Opel skupaj s celinsko pnevmatike. Leta 1931, Ben in njegov brat Wijnand prevzel trgovini ter preimenovati to Pons Automobielhandel. Po koncu prve svetovne vojne, ki potrebujejo prevoz britanska okupacija sil dal Volkswagen dela v Wolfsburg nazaj v proizvodnjo. Navdušil s kakovostjo VW tipa 1 limuzina, aka der Käfer, hrošč, Ben Pon urejeno srečanje z britanske oblasti izvajajo Volkswagen v April 1947, v upanju, da uvoz VWs na Nizozemskem. Kasneje tistega leta, v avgustu, ki so države postale VWs prvi izvozni trg ko Pons so bili imenovani generalni uvoznik za blagovno znamko, prinaša v 51 hrošči v tem prvem letu, prodaja prvi Volkswagens, ki se prodajajo izven Nemčije. Naslednje leto, so tudi začel uvoz Porsches.
VW Plattenwagen tovarne terenskih vozil

Do leta 1949, povojne ameriške zaganjal boom in vizionarski Ben Pon odločil, da poskusite svojo roko na prodaja avtomobilov v ZDA. Je izvozila prvi hrošč, ki je bil poslan v U. S. in skupaj, v upanju da porazdelitev, ki se ukvarjajo. Na žalost je ni bilo mogoče najti partnerja. Medtem ko ni mogoče dokazati, da prodajajo Pon prvi Volkswagen v U. S., del VW lore je zgodba, da je uporabil hrošč, ki je bilo uvoženo kot plačilo za pokrivanje računa neplačane hotel. Pon vrnil v Holland, kjer prodajajo hrošči in sčasoma Microbuses za Nizozemsko, ki ga je eden od najbogatejših ljudi na Nizozemskem. Naslednji na Pons ideja, New York temelji Max Hoffman začeli uvažati hrošči za U. S. zares leta 1950, bil uspešen dovolj v uvedbi blagovne znamke Volkswagen Amerike je bila ustanovljena, in tovarno prevzel uvoz in distribucijo hrošči tukaj.
Ben Pons izvirno aprila 1947 skico za kaj postal VW Microbus

Vrnemo na tem sestanku 23 aprila 1947 z Britanci, ki teče Volkswagen v času, na VW dela, je opazil Plattenwagen, čudno videti terenskih vozil z zaboja, ki temelji na mechanicals tipa 1. Kot je bil pogaja za uvoz, je vzel svojo beležko in začel risati. Evropa je bila obnova in je bilo potrebno za gospodarska vozila. Primerna za obnovi gospodarstva, majhnemu kombiju bi bilo kot nalašč za podjetja, ki je pravkar dobili od tal. Pon narisal polje oblikovani kabini čez zadnje z motorjem hrošč šasija, dajanje voznika in sovoznika v cabover položaj na skrajni sprednji del vozila. Ko ni veliko vozilo, lahko prenašajo velike količine tovora (ali potnikov) v prostor med voznika in drivetrain. Pon določeno, da mora imeti prazen teža 750 kg enaka tovora zmogljivosti. Je dal skico njegovih stikov v VW. V času, je bilo samo idejo, Wolfsburg tovarna je poslovala zmogljivosti hrošči.
VW tipa 2 prototip blueprint

Do leta 1949, Heinrich Nordhoffa tekel Volkswagen. Nordhoffa in tehnični direktor Alfred Haesner všeč ideja Pons van hrošč, ki temelji. Stroške razvoja bi bila nizka, ker je delil mnoge sestavine s Type 1 in projekt dali zeleno luč. Kdaj je nekaj zmogljivosti osvobojenec ki gre gor prototip znan na vrsto 29 je bila narejena v samo treh mesecih. Izkazalo, da je malo dražje, da bi, kot je bilo pričakovano, saj ohišje zalog tipa 1 platformo ni bila dovolj močna in novi lestve šasija osnova unibody razvili. Omogočiti zalog 25 konjskih moči VW ravno štiri moč 3000 lb vozilo VW inženirji ponovno purposed zmanjšanje orodje, ki uporabljajo tip 81, vojni Kubelwagen.
Testiranje v vetrovniku narejen prvi tipa 2 bolj aerodinamično kot hrošč

Čeprav je prototipe imel grozno aerodinamike, z testiranje v vetrovniku, ki telo spremenili kot split vee vetrobransko steklo, proizvodnje tipa 2 je cd 0. 44, bolje kot hrošči 0. 48. Nordhoffa podpisan izklop na proizvodnjo v maja 1949 in prvi tip 2 zapeljal traku na 12 November 1949, izdelava letos tudi 65 obletnici VWs prvi proizvodnje majhnemu kombiju.
Prvi VW Bus, vrsta 29 prototip

Dveh modelov so bili sprva Kombi, ki je stranska okna in demontažnimi sedeži v podpalubju, in ponudi komercialnih, ki imel nobene strani stekla in bila strogo tovornih kombi. Na Microbus je bil dodan v maj 1950 pridružila Deluxe Microbus in ambulante model naslednje leto, skupaj z eno kabino pickup različico leta 1952.

Zgodnje zračno hlajeni Volkswagens so dobili resne denarja v zadnjih dražbe, z barndoor vrsto 2s in 21 in 23 okno Samba različice Microbus pridobivam resnično neumno šest-slika cene. Ben Pon bi verjetno nasmeh na cene lahko ekonomično vozila, ki se je zavzemal povpraševanja danes. On je samo poskuša zagotoviti enostaven prevoz do ljudi in podjetja Evropske in kasneje ZDA. Pri tem tako hes upravičeno zaslužen dve avtomobilski idej dvajsetega stoletja. Ustrezno, to pomlad je prvo srečanje Barndoor & Vintage VW Prikaži bo potekala v rodnem mestu Ben Pons Amersvoort.
Zadnji VW tipa 2, v Braziliji, prispe v muzeju VWs komercialnih vozil v Hannovru, 67 let, ko Ben Pon narisal prvi.

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.