65 År Senere VW, Beetle, & Bus-Entusiaster Bør Takke Ben Pon

Ben Pon (til venstre) og den første VW Beetle, der importeres til Usa

I en af de mærkelige tilfældigheder, Volkswagen i Amerika fejrer 65 årsdagen for Bille i USA netop som den sidste VW Type 2 (aka Volkswagen bus) nogensinde er lavet, som var samlet i Brasilien på 20 December 2013, ankom til vintage køretøj museum i VW erhvervskøretøjer hovedkvarter i Hannover, Tyskland. Sammenfaldet er, at importere VW biller til Amerika og bygning VW bus var begge idéer, der opstod i sindet af en mand, en person, der ikke selv arbejde for Volkswagen, hollandsk bilforhandler Ben Pon.
Ben Pon Sr, faderen til VW Microbus og Folkevogne i Amerika

Ben Pons far Mijndert åbnet en butik i Amersfoort sælger symaskiner i 1898. Et par år senere tilføjede han Opel cykler, både pedal betjent og motoriserede, til butikker lineup og i 1920 ' erne virksomheden begyndt at sælge Ford og Opel biler sammen med Continental dæk. I 1931, Ben og hans bror Wijnand overtog butikken og omdøbt det Pons Automobielhandel. Efter afslutningen af anden verdenskrig, har behov for transport den britiske besættelse sat kræfter Volkswagen værker i Wolfsburg tilbage i produktion. Imponeret over kvaliteten af VW Type 1 sedan, aka der Käfer, Beetle, Ben Pon arrangeret et møde med de Britiske myndigheder, der kører Volkswagen i April 1947, i håb om at importere VWs til Holland. Senere samme år i August, at landet blev VWs første eksportmarked når Pons blev opkaldt generelle importør for mærket, at bringe i 51 biller i det første år, sælge de første folkevogne til salg uden for Tyskland. Det følgende år, begyndte de også at importere Porscher.
VW Plattenwagen fabrik utility køretøj

Af 1949, den efterkrigstidens amerikanske økonomi var begyndt at boom og fremsynede Ben Pon besluttede at prøve sin hånd på salg af biler i USA. Han udførte den første Bille, der var sendt til U. S. og ledsaget det, håber at gøre en distribution beskæftige sig. Han kunne desværre ikke finde en partner. Mens det ikke kan bevises, at Pon solgt den første Volkswagen i U. S., en del af VW lore er en historie, at han brugte Beetle, som han havde importeret som betaling til dækning af en ulønnet hotelregning. Pon vendte tilbage til Holland hvor sælger biller og til sidst Microbuses til hollandske gjort ham til en af de rigeste mennesker i Nederlandene. Opfølgning på Pons idé, biller New York baseret Max Hoffman begyndte at importere biller til U. S. for alvor i 1950, at være en succes nok i etablering af det mærke, at Volkswagen of America blev oprettet, og fabrikken overtog import og distribution af her.
Ben Pons oprindelige April 1947 skitse for hvad blev VW Microbus

Går tilbage til 23 April 1947 mødet med briterne kører Volkswagen på tidspunktet, samtidig med at VW værker, han lagde mærke til en Plattenwagen, en mærkelig ser utility køretøj med en flatbed, baseret på Type 1 mekanikere. Som han var at forhandle en import deal, han tog sin notesbog og startet skitsering. Europa genopbygningen og der var et behov for erhvervskøretøjer. Velegnet til en ombygning økonomi, en lille varevogn ville være perfekt til virksomheder lige ved at komme væk fra jorden. Pon trak en boks formet hytte over den bageste motor Beetle chassis, sætte fører og passagerer i en cabover position på den ekstreme foran på køretøjet. Mens ikke et stort køretøj, kunne det bære en stor mængde af lasten (eller passagerer) i rummet mellem føreren og drivetrain. Pon angivet, at det bør have en tom vægt på 750 kg med en lige fragt kapacitet. Han gav Skitsen til sine kontakter på VW. På det tidspunkt var det bare en idé, opererede Wolfsburg fabrikken på kapacitetsopbygning biller.
VW Type 2-prototype-plan

Af 1949 kørte Heinrich Nordhoff Volkswagen. Nordhoff og teknisk direktør Alfred Haesner lide Pons tanken om en Bille baseret van. Udviklingsomkostninger ville være lav, fordi det ville dele mange komponenter med Type 1 og de gav projektet et grønt lys. Når nogle kapacitet blev frigjort en prototype kendt på den Type 29 blev fabrikeret i blot tre måneder. Det viste sig at være lidt dyrere at lave end forventet siden stock Type 1 platform chassiset var ikke stærk nok, og en ny stigen chassis baseret unibody blev udviklet. Hvis den bestand 25 hestekræfter VW flad fire til magten en 3.000 lb køretøj, agtede VW ingeniører re reduktionsgear anvendes i Type 81, krigstidens Kubelwagen.
Vindtunnel test foretaget den første Type 2 mere aerodynamisk end Bille

Selvom de tidlige prototyper havde frygtelige aerodynamik med vindtunnel test der resulterede i krop ændringer som split vee forruden, havde produktion Type 2 en cd med 0. 44, bedre end biller 0. 48. Nordhoff underskrevet ned på produktionen i maj 1949 og den første Type 2 rullede af samlebåndet på 12. November 1949, at gøre dette år også 65 årsdagen for VWs første produktion lille varevogn.
Den første VW-Bus, Type prototype 29

To modeller blev i første omgang tilbudt, Kombi, som havde sideruder og aftagelige sæder i hold, og det Kommercielle, som ikke havde nogen side glas og var strengt, en cargo van. Microbus blev tilføjet i Maj 1950, tiltrådt af Deluxe Microbus og en ambulance model følgende år, sammen med en single cab pickup version i 1952.

Tidlig luftkølede folkevogne har været at få alvorlige penge i de seneste auktioner med barndoor Type 2s og de 21 og 23 vindue Samba versioner af Microbus henter virkelig dumt sekscifret priser. Ben Pon ville sandsynligvis smile til de priser de økonomiske køretøjer, han forsvaret kan kræver i dag. Han var bare forsøger at give enkel transport til mennesker og virksomheder i efterkrigstidens Europa og senere USA. I den forbindelse så hes med rette krediteret med to af de bedste automotive ideer af 1900-tallet. Forårets første indsamling af Barndoor & Vintage VW Vis vil hensigtsmæssigt, afholdes i Ben Pons hjemby Amersvoort.
Den sidste VW Type 2, lavet i Brasilien, ankommer til VWs erhvervskøretøj museum i Hannover, 67 år efter Ben Pon skitseret først.

https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/223.jpgBen 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.
https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/225.jpgBen 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.
https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/227.jpgVW 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.
https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/229.jpgBen 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.
https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/231.jpgThe 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.
https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/233.jpg
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.
https://autorepmans.com/extimages/2014/02/236.jpgThe last VW Type 2, made in Brazil, arrives at VWs commercial vehicle museum in Hanover, 67 years after Ben Pon sketched the first.

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