Weird History: AC/Delco & Paris Roubaix

[MattTuck]

A friend at work who is into cars just filled me in on this one. I had no idea.

Albert Champion won Paris-Roubaix in 1899. That race was motopaced (not sure if it was just that year, or that period) and his track cycling experience with motopacing allowed him to win....

After his cycling career, he "caught the car virus" just at the dawn of the automotive age, and went on to start several spark plug companies one of them being AC Spark Plugs which lives on to this day as AC/Delco.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Champion_%28cyclist%29

[christian]

I look forward to the commemorative derny-paced Paris Roubaix sportive.

[thirdgenbird]

I knew he had started both companies but never realized his cycling background.

[bikinchris]

Almost all of the early car guys were either bike mechanics or racers.

[AgilisMerlin]

Almost all of the early car guys were either bike mechanics or racers.

Would you have any links to that info

Curios

Thanks ahead of time

[AgilisMerlin]

I have read up on the puch and Austro Diamler links while reading about rolls royce Merlin engine, which they were sticking in planes also. Cannot remember the car it was coming out of but think it was called ghost'

Let me go back and figure out my path - European / japanese

[AgilisMerlin]

don't mean to hijack, pardon

got my time lines all criss crossed / try and backtrack and add to this as i go :eek:

rolls royce /

some of this story starts with diamler company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler_Company) (diamler, diamler-benz, autro diamler, bsa, puch)

rolls/royce - aston martin

http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/category/1900-1905/ (lot of info in this link)

http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/CharlesRolls-493x1024.jpg

The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls – aristocract, playboy, daredevil and co-founder of Rolls Royce – developed his love for speed at Cambridge University, where he won a cycling Half Blue, a university sporting award. Rolls had a collection of bicycles from solos up to four-man tandems. That’s him on the left, on a four-man tandem. I’ve cropped out the other riders and will print the full pic in the book.



http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/AstonMartinLogo.png

Another famous car racer was also a cyclist. And, in fact, remained a cyclist. Or, strictly speaking, a tricyclist. Lionel Martin was the co-founder of the famous motor marque Aston Martin, the British sports car driven by 007 James Bond. Martin was a racing cyclist and was the holder of a number of long-distance records, including tandem and tricycle records. He was a tricyclist to his dying day. Literally. He was killed in October 1945 after being knocked from his tricycle by a motorcar on a suburban ‘rat run’ road in Kingston upon Thames. Ironically, he got into motoring after being thrown from his tricycle in 1900 by a waywardly-driven motorcar. “I saw the monster approaching and I threw myself and ‘iron’ into the nearest ditch, counting myself lucky to escape with my life,” he later wrote. He and his business partner Robert Bamford became specialists in taking ordinary cars and ‘souping them up’ to go faster. The Aston Martin name came from a hill climb race at Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire (close to the modern day Aston mountain bike course in the Wendover woods). Martin drove a modified Singer car very fast up this climb and, when Bamford & Martin Ltd needed a name for their new car brand, they chose to combine the words Aston and Martin. Singer cars were produced by a company that, of course, had started life as a manufacturer of bicycles. George Singer’s bicycle company was one of the earliest, having been founded in Coventry in 1874, and produced high-wheelers at first and Safeties later. George Singer, while still a maker of bicycles, was Mayor of Coventry three years in succession from 1891-1893.

The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls – aristocract, playboy, daredevil and co-founder of Rolls Royce – developed his love for speed at Cambridge University, where he won a cycling Half Blue, a university sporting award. Rolls had a collection of bicycles from solos up to four-man tandems. That’s him on the left, on a four-man tandem. I’ve cropped out the other riders and will print the full pic in the book. I’ve licensed the pic from the Science Museum.



bsa/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Small_Arms_Company

Bicycles

According to Charles Spencer, BSA was manufacturing the "Delta" bicycle circa 1869. In 1880 the company was approached to manufacture the "Otto Dicycle". An initial contract was signed to produce 210 and a further contract followed for a further 200. In all it is believed that a total of 953 Otto machines were made. BSA then went into bicycle production on their own account, the first machines to their own specification being exhibited at the 1881 Stanley Show. BSA went on to design and manufacture a "safety" bicycle (patent:15,342 of 1884). BSA was also producing tricycles and a licence was obtained in 1885 to manufacture ball bearings. BSA ceased bicycle manufacture in 1887 because of the demand for arms. Bicycle component manufacture commenced in 1894 and BSA continued to supply the bicycle trade up to 1936. The company recommenced bicycle manufacture on their own account again in 1908 and these were exhibited at the Stanley Show in 1909.[32] Bicycle manufacture was what led BSA into motorcycles. BSA produced bicycles for both the police and military and notably a folding bicycle for the British Army during World War I[33] [1] and the more well known folding Paratroopers bicycle during World War II. BSA supplied the Irish Army with bicycles after 1922.

BSA manufactured a range of bicycles from utility roadsters through to racing bicycles. The BSA range of Sports bicycles expanded in the 1930s following the granting of a patent for a new lighter design of seat lug in 1929[34] and tandems were introduced into the BSA bicycle range as well. BSA had a reputation for quality and durability and their components were more expensive that either Chater-Lea or Brampton. BSA launched a high end club cyclists machine in the early 1930s initially branded as the "Super-eeze". Never slow to avail of publicity BSA sponsored the great Australian cyclist Hubert Opperman [2] and re-branded the top of the range machine the "Opperman" model [3][4]. A less expensive range of clubman lightweight machines was introduced from 1936 with the "Cyclo" 3 speed derailleur equipped "Clubman". Subtle changes were made to the range, most models being equipped with "Russ" patent forks [5] and some models were made for only two seasons. This all stopped around September 1939 with the outbreak of war. A revised catalogue with a much reduced range was issued in March 1940 which also saw the launch of the BSA "Streamlight" model [6]. A novel all white bicycle [7] was produced for the blackout but had disappeared from a severely reduced bicycle range the details of which were circulated to dealers from December 1941. BSA had ceased production of their 3 speed hub gear in 1939 and production appears to have started again by 1945 although with a black finish instead of chromium plating. BSA bought Sunbeam in 1943 and produced Sunbeam bicycles using up existing frames and parts and using BSA components for the missing bits. The first BSA produced Sunbeam catalogue was published in 1949[35]

Post war BSA expanded their bicycle range but faced problems of shortages of raw materials such as steel and was required to export a lot of their manufactured output in order to get a Government licence to purchase the necessary raw materials. The company moved bicycle production to the new Waverley Works after World War II. BSA continued to innovate introducing the 4 Star derailleur gear in 1949[36] along with an associated 4-speed 'unit' or cassette hub. The derailleur design was altered from 1950[37] and was certainly available up to 1953 but was not a great success. BSA bought New Hudson in 1950[38] and started to manufacture and sell New Hudson branded machines as well as Sunbeam. It appears that the top of the range BSA lightweight club cyclist machine was the "Gold Column" and this appears to have been changed into the BSA "Tour of Britain" model following the success of the BSA Professional Cycling Team in the 1952 Tour of Britain race. The "Tour of Britain" model was heavily promoted in the BSA 1953 sales literature. The factory made "Tour of Britain" model was not the same as those ridden by the professional team. Only eight machines were crafted for the professional team and none of the components appear to have been standard BSA parts. 1953 saw BSA separate the bicycle / motorcar and motorcycle business into different holdings.

The good times were coming to an end and demand for bicycles fell with the end of rationing in 1954 [8]. James Leek, managing director of BSA Cycles Ltd was suffering ill health and he retired in 1956, the same year the BSA Chairman, Sir Bernard Docker,[39] was removed from the BSA Board. Jack Sangster who had joined the BSA Board in 1951 following the purchase of his company Triumph Motorcycles became Chairman. The bicycle manufacturing business BSA Cycles Ltd was sold to Raleigh Industries in 1957.

bsa airborne bicycle on sherman tank

http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/BSA_airborne_bicycle_on_Sherman_3RiversRegt_Regalb uto.jpg

[AgilisMerlin]

Puch/Diamler/Porsche history

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/ADbicycle.html

motherload link... http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/styria_hbadge125316.jpg

" When I bought my Vent Noir II in 1981 the Austro-Daimler Puch company was a wholly owned subsidiary of the famous Steyr-Daimler-Puch consortium. The company history began more than one hundred years before then, in a time and in a Europe that would be wholly alien to those of us today. The nascent Austro-Daimler and Puch companies were formed in four cities; Wein, Graz, Steyr and Wiener-Neustadt in what the history books refer to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the 1890's.

To be concise, the origin was some decades before then in 1855 when Josef Werndl (b. 26 February 1831, Steierdorf Austria d. 29 April 1889), a gunsmith, took over the established family manufacturing company then making components for small arms. He improved manufacturing techniques and diversified their offerings. With his brother Franz Werndl the "Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten" (Weapons Factory Arms and Sawmill) was formalized on 16 April 1864 in Steyr, Austria. They would continue the manufacturing, but also develop the Werndl-rifle Model 1867 a new modern breech loading rifle system. Working with talented engineers including Ferdinand Mannlicher the company became the leading European producer of small arms. The company began producing bicycles in 1894, and "Steyr" brand automobiles in 1915. The company transitioned 1869 to "Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft" (OEWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), then in 1924 it was changed as "Steyr-Werke AG".

Right: Joseph Werndl, founder of what would become best known as Steyr (11,191 bytes).

Gottlieb The second member of the triad was founded by Gottlieb Daimler (b. 17 March 1834 Schorndorf, Kingdom of Württemberg Germany, d. 6 March 1900) an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist. Working with his partner and renowned engine designer Wilhelm Maybach (9 February 1846 Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, d. 29 December 1929) by 1885 they developed motorcyles and the first automobiles that were powered by compact high RPM gasoline powered engines. By March 1886 they successfully installed a gasoline engine and drivetrain into a coach thereby producing their first automobile, one year after Karl Benz. In 1890 they founded "Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft" (DMG) with their factory based in Wiener-Neustadt, a town located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Wein (Vienna).

Left: Gottlieb Daimler, founder of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. Image c. 1900 (11,209 bytes).

On 11 August 1899 DMG founded a subsidiary company to represent DMG in Austria, this was the Österreichische Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft Bierenz, Fischer & Co. (Austrian Daimler Motors Partnership Company Bierenz, Fischer and Co). Established with DMG's subscribed investment of 200,000 guilders, the company factory and offices were at Wiener-Neustadt and in Wein (Vienna). By establishing this subsidiary DMG became the first automotive multinational company. Eduard Bierenz, a friend of Gottlieb Daimler, was appointed to manage the company. Bierenz worked with co-founder Edward Fischer, owner of an iron foundry and engineering company in Austria. Österreichische Daimler marketed under the shortened Austro Daimler trade name.

Right: trademark of Österreichische Daimler Motoren, as affixed to radiator grille of an auto. The logo was also on corporate letterhead (197,796 bytes).
Click on image to see enlarged view (358,159 bytes).

The first designer employed by the firm was Paul Daimler, the son of Gottlieb Daimler. In May 1900 the company completed their first car, a four-seater with a four horsepower (yes, that was only 4) two-cylinder gasoline engine, manufactured at Wiener-Neustadt. In 1909 the Austro Daimler company was formally made an independent concern though with stock still stock held by Daimler, then in 1912 the Daimler company sold its shares in Austro Daimler. From from 1899 through 1934 Austro Daimler would produce motor vehicles including cars, trucks, buses, rail cars, and sold engines for aircraft and for marine applications too. Eduard Fischer would remain active in the company through 1 June 1920.

Elsewhere, mechanic and inventor Johann Puch (b. 27 June 1862 in Juršinci, then Georgendorf, Germany now in Slovenia) learned much about mechanical design and production while working for a locksmith in southern Austria. After his military service in 1885 he moved to Graz where by 1888 he was hired as a bicycle mechanic working for the large-scale bicycle manufacturer Albl & Co. at Lendplatz 14 in Graz, south eastern Austria. The company was owned by Benedict Albl but it was there he came upon the idea to set out and establish his own bicycle shop. On 2 February 1889 Puch requested a permit to set up his own bicycle repair shop on the premises of what had been a nursery, but that permission was declined owing to a conflict with fire regulations. By September 1889 the council agreed to issue a permit so that Puch could establish his small shop at Strauchergasse 18 in Graz, Austria for the repairing and manufacturing bicycles. By 1891 his company was officially registered as the "Johann Puch Erste Steiermärkische Fahrrad-Fabriks-Aktiengesellschaft" (First Styrian Bicycle Factory Corporation) with manufacturing based at Graz. He was soon selling his new bicycles bearing the trade name "Styria-Räder" (Styria-wheels), to customers within the Austrian Empire while also exporting to other European countries.

Puch autograph from 1891
Signature of Johann Puch from an 1891 bicycle bill of sale (32,677 bytes) Puch
Johann Puch, founder of Puch. Image circa 1890's (22,874 bytes)

Puch must have been a good engineer or mechanic or he knew to hire good employees; for either or both reasons his bicycles were becoming noteworthy among competitive cyclists in only a matter of a few years. By 1892 competitive and performing cyclists were endorsing the Puch bicycles in their own advertisements. Evidence of the superiority of the Puch bicycles includes: advertisements listing the accomplishments of riders who rode his bicycles in races, photos of bicycle club riders standing alongside Puch bicycles or with Puch promotional materials in the background, and these no doubt aided to the credibility of the new product at a time when bicycle popularity was just taking off. By 1894, after only a few years in business, Puch had also established sales offices in several cities across central Europe and with a business office in Wein (Vienna).

Puch advertisement from 1894 (102,092 bytes)
Johan Puch & Company advertisement from mid or late 1894 (102,092 bytes) "Styria"-Bicycle Works
Factory: Graz, Karl Strasse 26 - Office: Wien, I. Kärnthnerring 15.
What better proof is there for the goodness of "Styria"-wheels,
as the following won in 1894 the same success?

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/puch_styria_co_ad1899_1100702.jpg

Paris-Vienna (1300 Kilometers) in 5 days 13 hours without machine replacement.
Paris-Vienna (4 days 19 hours 30 minutes), Graz (1500 Kilometers) in 5 days 17 hours with no change of machines.
Big Graz trophy (1000 Mark Price) Carl Riedel, Vienna-Graz, 14 May
! World Record! 206,402 km in 6 hours (Record for all wheel genres).
! World Record! over 110 and 120 English miles.
! World Record! over 150 kilometers in 5 hours, 200 Kilometer drove Mr. von Franz Gerger, Graz, on 15 May 1894 in Graz.
Furthermore, 1894; 16 first, 19 second, 7 third prizes in Vienna, Szczecin, Graz, Gödring, Prague and Czernowitz.

1894 Price list on request and free.
Above: English translation of the advertisement shown at left. Lesser known cities mentioned are: Stettin now Szczecin in Poland, Gödring in Hungary, Czernowitz in Ukraine.
Styria The white and green colors of Puch derive from those of Styria, the Austrian state (or Bundesland) where the company was founded. The shade of green used on the Styrian flag is that of a fir-tree green reflecting the pride of the residents in their forests of fir trees. Head badges on Puch bicycles bear white and green colors, as would competitive teams sponsored by Puch.

Left: bicycle painted head badge "STYRIA" FAHRRAD WERKE - STYRIA - Joh.Puch&Comp. - GRAZ" (13,765 bytes).

By 1897 the Joh. Puch & Cie. Styria-Fahrradwerken (Johann Puch & Comp. Styria Bicycle Works) employed some 633 male and 83 female workers, with another 36 apprentices. But Johann Puch became embroiled in a legal dispute with the German Berlin Masschinenfabrik Dürkopp (Berlin machine factory). The result was he retained some interest in the company, but was essentially silenced and barred from contributing. So he and his former shop foreman Anton Werner (Werner & Co.) left to work on building a new company. Johann Puch was unable to market under his own name for legal reasons, so from 1897 to 1899 he marketed his bicycles under the trade name "Original Styria-Räder" (original Styria wheels). Thus two companies were competing then marketing essentially similar products: one as Styria, and the other as Puch managed by Puchs' former factory associate Victor Rumpf.

As bicycling and bicycling competitions evolved, not only were races developed for individual participants but team racing of a sort not seen today was explored whereby several riders could train another single rider by sharing the work and thereby increasing their endurance. One of the more amazing to see must have been the Sestupletta, where as many as six (6) bicyclists sharing one two-wheel bicycle frame, with a safety wheel at the rear, participate in training a competitive race with the seventh team member riding his own bicycle. Fokker D.VII (MÁG) of the k.u.k. Luftfartruppe (77,182 bytes)

Right: One of several versions of the basic post card of about 1998 promoting Styria-Fahrradwerken bicycles features champion racer Franz Gerger (b. 9 Apr. 1867, d. 25 Mar. 1938), who dominated racing from 1895 to 1897, following six racers in a tandem frame. The card translation: F. Gerger, champion of Styria trained by a Styria Sestupletta. (Sales) representative for Italy - I. Wollmann - Padua. (art/printed by) Kunstanstall Grimme & Hempell Act-Ges. Leipzig-Schleußig (62,894 bytes).
Click on image to see enlarged view (421,486 bytes).

The Styria-Fahrradwerke suffered from a five month long labor strike that spanned from 1907 into 1908, this caused enough losses so that the company failed.

While the Puch company was originally established to produce bicycles, by 1901 the company tooled up to begin the manufacture of small gasoline engines. In 1903 the company expanded into the production of motorcycles, and by 1904 it was also manufacturing small automobiles. Many brilliant engineers were to become affiliated with the Austro Daimler and Puch names, not the least of these was Ferdinand (Ferry) Porsche. Porsche was recruited by Austro Daimler in 1906 to work as their chief automobile designer and Technical Director, taking over those duties from Paul Daimler. Porsche's best known designed Austro Daimler car was introduced in 1910 as the Prinz Heinrich, a sporty model with a four speed transmission and powered by a water cooled 96 hp SOHC (Single Overhead Camshaft) in-line four cylinder engine; it was named after Wilhelm II's younger brother Prince Heinrich of Prussia.

Johann Puch retired in 1912 after then contributing in an Emeritus status. He would see the Puch company expand to some 1,100 employees by the time he died at age 52 on 19 July 1914 in Zagreb (German Agram). The company was changed to "Puchwerke Aktiengesellschaft" (AG), a publicly traded stock corporation. The Puch company continued to build motor vehicles throughout World War I.

Fokker D.VII (MÁG) of the k.u.k. Luftfartruppe (77,182 bytes) Ferdinand Porsche became Managing Director of Austro Daimler in 1916. As the Austro Daimler engines became more reliable and powerful new applications were found for them including their use in aircraft manufactured in the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the kuk Luftfahrtruppen (Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops), the air forces of the empire. There are advertisements of the period featuring some of the 2,400 or so Austro Daimler motors made for Seaplanes, Reconnaissance, and other aircraft made by companies including Österreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (Austrian Aircraft Factory Ltd., Oef or Oeffag). The engines made by Austro Daimler bore the military contractor code 'Dm'. A most notable endorsement featured their motors powering several of the famous Albatross (Oef) D.III types. Austro Daimler also made the 225 HP water-cooled motors destined for the feared Fokker D.VII fighters made late in 1918 by Magyar Általános Gépgyár (Hungarian General Machine Factory or MÁG) under license from the Fokker -Flugzeugwerke. Some one hundred fifty (150) of these D.VII aircraft were ordered but of these only nine (9) were completed prior to the end of the war, and none of these with their Austro-Hungarian crewmen were ready for combat before the war ended. The other D.VII's that were completed after November 1918 later saw service with the Hungarian and Czechoslovak military services with some remaining operational well into the 1920s.

Right: Fokker D.VII of the k.u.k. Luftfartruppe (Austro-Hungarian Air Service) in 1918. Manufactured by (MÁG) with the Austo Daimler 225 motor, this bears the Balkenkreuz (cross with the straight arms instead of curved arms) in black and white and is finished in lozenge pattern camouflage linen overall with natural metal cowl (87,545 bytes).
Click on image to see enlarged view (226, 390 bytes).

After the end of the war on 11 November 1918 the economic consequences were profound, the economic situation was especially dire in Germany and Austria and this took its toll on the companies. The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye signed on 10 September 1919 mandated the Austro-Hungarian Empire was to be dissolved, this included many other terms that would impose hardships including 'war reparations' and a ban on aircraft production. Oeffag converted its remaining production lines to fabricate car and bus bodies (coachwork) for Austro-Daimler chassis and motors. In 1920 Austro Daimler agreed to joint ventures with Fiat and with Puchwerken Graz. Employment at Austro Daimler Puchwerke dropped from a peak of about 5,500 employees in 1917 to 3,500 in 1920. With such limited resources and the poor economic climate in the post-war Europe, Austro Daimler Puchwerke focused its efforts to refine its automobile production at Wiener Neustadt with engine production also at Graz.

In 1922 the lightweight sporty "Sasha" model automobile was introduced. Developed under the leadership of Porsche, it was named after their friend and company benefactor Count Sascha Kolowrat-Krakowski. This car had some innovations that would find their way into later Porsche automobiles. Regardless, employment continued to decline plummeting again to only about 1,500 employees in 1923, then down to only 200 employees in 1924.

By 1923 the company was nearly bankrupt as Ferdinand Porsche left the company, being replaced by Karl Rabe as the firms' research director. Rabe started with the company in 1913 at age seventeen, by 1923 he succeeded Ferdinand Porsche. Porsche had indicated Rabe too was an extraordinary engineer.

It was in 1923 when the Italian engineer Giovanni Marcellino arrived at Austro Daimler Puchwerke. He had been hired to consult to the bankers who sought to liquidate the concern. Instead he settled in Graz and helped to rebuild the company with innovations to improve engines performance, and by building cooperative alliances with other manufacturers most notably with Skoda and Fiat. Among the most notable accomplishments by Marcellino was the his design of a new split-single (single cylinder with two pistons) engine with asymmetric port timing; this is a variant on the two-stroke engine but with two cylinders sharing a single combustion chamber. This proved especially significant in the advancement of motorcycles engines performance, culminating in the win by a Puch motorcycle with a supercharged split-single at the 1931 German Grand Prix.

Austro Daimler ADR of 1924 The Sasha was followed in 1923 by the successful ADM, a luxury car and quite a successful accomplishment by the days standards. The ADM was the first of the post-Porsche models, designed by the team led by Karl Rabe. Rabe followed the ADM with the ADR, the first of which incorporate a 2.54 litre 6 cylinder overhead cam engine; the R indicates this is built upon a Rohrrahmen (tubular frame) a stepping away from the Plattformrahmen (platform frame) arrangement as provided with its predecessors. Then just before the ADR cars came onto the market in 1927 however, Rabe was hired away by Porsche to work at his company. Rabe would remain employed at Porsche until shortly before his death in 1968.

Left: Austro Daimler ADR of 1924 (71,705 bytes).

Right: Austro Daimler Puchwerke radiator cap with the company logo from about 1931 (170,978 bytes). Note the original AD logo was the basis for the head badge of the production Austro Daimler Puchwerke trademarked bicycles introduced in the 1970's.
Click on the image to see an enlarged view....cont above link

[AgilisMerlin]

cont.

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/steyr_daimler_puch_hdbdg_1935_180245.png

" The original ADR autos would be followed by variants including the ADM 19/100 "Harrington Tourer", a 100 mph capable upscale automobile introduced in 1927. By 1928 Austro Daimler Puchwerke was back in the forefront of automobile technology with racing successes by their comparatively powerful ADM 19/100 model. Technically these cars were highly successful for their day with comparatively high horsepower engines, and efficient cooling mated to a well engineered chassis that provided a superior ride and good road handling manners. The 'ADM' and 'ADV' series motor cars continued to earn the company great acclaim throughout the 1920's, marketed as "The Car For The Connoisseur". Even today, some restored Austro Daimler autos win high honors at vintage car shows.

On 31 March 1928 Puch, the Austro Daimler Puchwerke bodywork plant, and Oeffag (the Austrian Aircraft Factory Ltd.) merged. On 28 December 1928 the new company "Austro Daimler Puchwerke Aktiengesellschaft" was entered in the Vienna register of companies. After the merger with Austro Daimler Puchwerke the production of automobiles by Puch was ended however, bicycles and motorcycles continued in production then bearing the Puch trademark. Motors continued in production, with engines large enough to power trains being produced bearing the Austro Daimler trade name and the AD logo shown above right.

The Great Depression that commenced in the USA in October 1929 impacted banking, customer demand for commodities, and employment. The crisis spread overseas too so that by 1930 Europe was enveloped by the Great Depression and their markets for the more upscale automobiles were adversely impacted thus causing a dramatic retraction by production throughout the industry. Regardless of the economic situation in 1930, the first of two new luxurious Austro Daimler Puchwerke motor cars were introduced: the ADR 8, which was followed in 1931 by the ADR 6. Both of the ADR cars were well engineered and stylish. The ADR 8 Alpine features a 4,624 cc (4.6 litre) straight 8 cylinder SOHC gasoline engine producing 121 hp. Some fifty of the ADR 8 were made through the 1935 model year in the customers choice of either a Tourer (2 doors, 2+2 seating with a retracting top), or a Limousine (4 doors and 4 seats), a Cabriolet (2 doors, 2 seats convertible), or Saloon (4 doors, 4 seats). The ADR 6 Bergmeister, introduced in 1932, was a lighter weight model at about 3,200 lbs. Even with its 3,613 cc (3.6 litre) straight 6 in line SOHC engine, the ADR 6 was faster and with a 94 mph top speed, and better at climbing hills (hence 'mountain master') than the ADR 8. The ADR 6 was offered as Cabriolet, Tourer, or Saloon configuration with about fifty of these being completed. These were the last great civilian motor cars introduced under the Austro Daimler Puchwerke trademark.

Steyr-Daimler-Puch headbadge (147,641 bytes) Steyr trademark The Great Depression had such a long-term impact that Austro Daimler Puchwerke wound down and then suspended all production by 30 June 1934. Austro Daimler Puchwerke then merged with Steyr-Werke AG to form "Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG". This merger was registered in Vienna on 12 October 1934, then on 10 May 1935 the Austro Daimler Puchwerke Aktiengesellschaft (corporation) was delisted from the commercial register. The merger that produced Steyr-Werke AG made this one of the three largest manufacturing concerns in Austria in the 1930's.

Right: Steyr-Werke AG trademark (11,137 bytes).

While the Depression no doubt limited the demand for the ADR 6 and ADR 8 motor cars they continued to be available into 1935, even after the merger with Steyr. After the ADR production stopped in 1935, all automobile production by Austro Daimler Puchwerke was ended as the facilities transitioned solely to the production of motors, and trucks as large as the ADGR a 6x6 (six wheel drive) chassis, lorries (small towing or personnel carrying trucks), motorcycles, and of course bicycles. While Steyr continued with the production of consumer and military passenger vehicles and trucks.

Left: Steyr-Daimler-Puch head badge from a 'Silver Wheel' bicycle made after 1934 (21,206 bytes).

After the merger of 1934, their bicycles were marketed under either the Austro Daimler or Puch trade names though they may bear "Steyr-Daimler-Puch Aktiengesellschaft" or "Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG" engraved on the head badge, and this was embossed on some accessories too. The motorcycles manufactured for the consumer market were assembled at the factory in Graz and after the merger were marketed under the Puch trade name. The economic situation of many people in Europe was still not good owing to the residual effects of The Depression. So there were markets for more affordable modes of transportation, the Volkswagon for example came about in response to this perceived demand. So when Puch attended the Vienna International Spring Fair in March of 1938 they revealed their vision of economical two wheel motor transport, then selling for only 390 Austrian Shillings: the Puch STYRIETTE. The Styriette resembles a motorized bicycle, it features a lightweight lugged and brazed steel frame riding on 26 inch wheels, both with drum brakes, and incorporating an 60 cc 1.3 hp two-stroke air-cooled engine (that consumed only 1.5 liters of gasoline per 100 km) and with pedals too; these would become known to the world as the Moped. It was of particular interest to those aged 16 or less since the law demanded no liability insurance or drivers license to operate the Styriette. Some 2,300 or so of these innovative machines were manufactured before international events would override Steyr Daimler Puch in the Spring of 1938, and production of the Styriette halted. Of course production of motorcycles continued too including their flagship Type 350 GS. In 1936 Puch introduced its largest motorcycle, the Puch 800, a 430 lb four-speed model powered by a 20 HP four cylinder four stroke 792 cc motor; some 550 or so of these would me made into 1938.

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/Steyr_logo200196.gif

Among the last bits I came upon when researching for this article was the following information, that somewhat diminishes my former fascination with the Steyr-Daimler-Puch brand even though I doubt any of the craftsmen who built my bicycle were war criminals. The history of this traumatic time is conspicuously absent when reading about German and Austrian companies at their Web sites and in their publications; reading their literature it's like their histories spanned from 18xx to 1935 or so and then pick up again in 1948, so I decided to help them:

Steyr under Nazi Germany Anschluss and Slave Labor Austria was annexed to the German Third Reich on 12 March 1938, becoming a part of the Großdeutschen Reiches (Greater German Empire). That was just one day before a national referendum was to be held so that Austrians could vote to declare whether or not they wanted to remain independent, or merge with Nazi Germany. The changes at Steyr-Daimler-Puch are a prime example of how major industrial companies would be transformed in the greater Germany - in all aspects. From then and throughout World War II Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG were a noteworthy part of the German manufacturing base providing bicycles, motor vehicles, engines, weapons and other components for the war effort much as General Motors, Ford and other large corporations transitioned to war time production - but the similarities ended there if we do not count how the US treated its Japanese-American population during the war. Labor unions were banned and Jewish management employees were expelled, including the Generaldirektor (General Director) of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, Paul Goetzl - a Jew. Soon after then Jewish laborers too would be fired.

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/Steyr&Swastika240240.gif

"Die Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH" (The German Earth and Stone Works Ltd.), known as DESt, was an SS owned company incorporated in Berlin on 29 April 1938. DESt's original mission was to operate stone quarries and brickworks to provide building materials for state construction projects. Its headquarters were in Sankt Georgen an der Gusen, a small town in Austria where it was convenient to manage operations of the original stone quarries at Gusen (nearby Steyr). At DESt facilities the pernicious principle of "Vernichtung durch Arbeit" was applied; the destruction of laborers through excessive hard work and poor conditions were conducted.

Georg (38,166 bytes) Dr. Georg Meindl (b. 1 March 1899 in Uttendorf, Austria; d. probably 10 May 1945 in Steyr) was among the many enthusiastic Austrian National Socialist Party members who were promoting a closer affiliation if not unification with Nazi Germany. While he was certainly not the only Nazi Party member in Austria, Meindl had been acquainted with Hermann Göering since about 1922 and made some effort to become know many of the higher-ups hence he was considered to be among the 'Old Guard' of the Austrian Nazis. Having completed his University eduction in business and political science, he was hence Dr. Meindl. Throughout the 1930's Meindl was employed by and prompted quickly within several industrial Austrian corporations, attaining notable positions including a term from 1936 to 1938 on the Board of Directors of the Österreichisch-Alpine-Montan-Gesellschaft (Austria Alpine Mining Company). Meindl had also become a member of the Upper Austrian parliament. Meindl came to be recognized as intelligent, resourceful, and ruthless too. In recognition of his work for the Nazis Georg Meindl was appointed Generaldirektor of Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG on 15 March 1938. Meindl joined the Allgemeine-Schutzstaffel (the "General SS") as member No. 308208, and an honorary SS officer rank was also conveyed to the CEO of Steyr.

Right: Georg Meindl, Generaldirektor of Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG 1938-1945 (81,610 bytes).

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/georg300225.jpg

In 1938 the majority of Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG stock was owned by Creditanstalt-Bankverein (Credit Institution Bank Corporation). As the Steyr-Werke celebrated its 75th anniversary on 15 July 1939, Creditanstalt was being coerced into selling the arms company to Hermann Göering Works, and on 9 August 1938 Steyr-Daimler-Puch became a Reichwerke (government-owned) company. With the acquisition a new Board of Directors was instated with Dr. Wilhelm Voss as President and with Paul Pleiger appointed Vice President. The General Directorate relocated from Vienna to Steyr, and on 18 October 1938 Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG decided, at an extraordinary general meeting, to transfer the company's headquarters from Vienna in eastern Austria to Steyr. This relocation placed Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG management nearer to Germany and to other major German industrial companies. Part of this too was motivated by the sense at the time that Linz, the birthplace of Adolf Hitler, was to be reborn as a new major city with monumental projects that would have Linz rivaling Vienna and Budapest among other great European cities.

Meindl nurtured his access to even more of those in the Nazi hierarchy, most notably fellow Austrian Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner (b. 4 Oct. 1903, d. 16 Oct. 1946). Kaltenbrunner born at Ried im Innkreis, near Braunau in Upper Austria. He was the son of a lawyer, educated in chemistry and then law at the State Realgymnasium in Linz and at Graz University. He graduated in 1926 with a Dr. jur hence he was Dr. Kaltenbrunner. Kaltenbrunner worked as a lawyer-candidate (apprentice), first at Salzburg and after 1928 at Linz. Joining the Austrian Nazi Party on 31 August 1931, the intelligent, tall (6'7") and imposing Kaltenbrunner promoted fast so that by mid 1935 he was appointed to head the Austrian SS. He assisted in the advance work for the Anschluss, and in recognition of his services on the day the Anschluss was secured Hitler (also Austrian born) promoted Kaltenbrunner to SS-Brigadeführer (Brigadier General) heading the SS Oberabschnitt Donau (SS Upper Danube section). Among his first tasks was to assist the development of a new prison camp at Mauthausen. Kaltenbrunner was promoted yet again on 11 September 1938 to SS-Gruppenführer.

[AgilisMerlin]

more war history in link but then bikes and mopeds at end...... http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/ADbicycle.html

http://www.company7.com/bosendorfer/graphics/steyr_puch_100decals832527.jpg

snippet,

" By 1949 cooperation agreements were being signed by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG with manufacturers in western bloc nations, among the first of these was one with Fiat of Turin, Italy. Puch had been producing motorcycles since 1903, introducing their popular two-stroke motor in 1923. In 1949 the motorcycle production line was turning out the the 125 TT that would remain in production and basically unchanged through 1952. By 1950 the production line included their then largest 250 TF, built upon a 250cc motor.

Right Puch 125 TT, as manufactured between 1949 and 1952. Advertisement by Steyr Daimler Puch AG (37,972 bytes).

Steyr head badge In October 1953 Puch introduced two new motorcycles including the two-stroke 250 SGS (Schwinggabel-Sport or fork sports model), joining the 125 RL, 150 TL and 250 TF models then in production. The 250 SGS was powered by an improved 16.5 HP version of the split-single two-stroke engine developed by Giovanni Marcellino in the 1920's. This was so successful a motorcycle that it would remain in production through 1970. In 1954 Puch introduced their first 'Moped' the MS 50, this economical two wheeled vehicle was well suited for the needs of European urban living at the time and this was the first of a decades long success story for the company. In May 1955 full independence by Austria was regained, and by then and throughout the next decade all of the Puch bicycles and Mopeds were manufactured in Graz, Austria. Bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles manufactured for sale domestically as well as for export in Europe and to the USA bore either the Puch and Steyr-Daimler-Puch trade names. Their offerings including other engine sizes with suffixes indicating their function or arrangement such as the 175 SV (Schwingarm-Vollnabenbremsen or full swing arm brake hubs), and 250 SG (Schwinggabel).

The postwar bicycle models initially produced well into the 1960's still resembled their prewar and wartime designs. The frame and many components were made by Puch and with spring suspension saddles by SMP, tires by Semperit, the kickstand by Pletscher (ESGE). In 1955 the assigned frame serial numbers surpassed 1,100,000. The Puch bicycle catalog of 1956 shows seven basic models in production with many models available in any one of numerous size frames.

Left: Embossed aluminum head badge of a Steyr bicycle, probably built about 1970 (92,616 bytes).

Some retailers ordered bicycles from Steyr and imported them for sale under their own retailers trademark, or with their respective brands or trade names. The largest distributor in the USA of the Steyr made bicycles, compact scooters, mopeds and motorcycles was "Sears, Roebuck & Company", then the world's largest department store chain and mail-order catalog retailer. Sears also offered bicycles made for them by other vendors too. The relationship started at least as far back as 1954 with Sears importing Puch mopeds then under the Sears 'Allstate' brand, a trade name Sears has been using for automotive products since 1926 and later for insurance too For example the 250 SGS was marketed in the US by Sears as the "Allstate 250" or "Twingle".

Sears 'Free Spirit' bike advertisement of late 1973 (34,652 bytes) Sears, Roebuck & Company bicycles offered by the early and mid 1960's could be found bearing the label "MADE IN AUSTRIA, STEYR - DAIMLER - PUCH, A.G. - GRAZ" or later with decals and a head badge reading SEARS ROEBUCK AND CO. MADE IN AUSTRIA. Sears bicycles made by Steyr were also marketed under several brand names including: 'Allstate', or 'JC Higgins'. The Higgins trade name was used by Sears for many products they sold through 1961. Their use of the JC Higgins trade name was dropped after 1961, and from 1962 on some Sears bikes made by Puch bear the trade name 'Ted Williams Brand' named after the popular baseball player. The Williams trade name was used by Sears on several of their top of the line sporting goods sold through 1974. Amazingly enough, some of the better models labeled with the Ted Williams brand incorporated some of the better bicycle components of the time including Campagnolo Record derailleurs.

Among the more popular of the Steyr-made bicycle models imported to the USA by Sears between the late 1960's and into the mid 1970's was the upright Free Spirit model; this too was available in a variety of sizes and in a choice of either a conventional or women's frame. The Free Spirit is among those models that may be found either bearing the 'Sears Made In Austria' or the 'Ted Williams' head badge label. Offered in a 3 speed configuration late in the 1960's, by 1973 the Free Spirit was also made in a 10 speed configuration advertised as the "10-speed. It gets you there."

Right: Sears 'Free Spirit' 10 speed bicycle magazine advertisement from late 1973 featuring the women's model, and offering a free jacket patch.
Click on image to see a readable enlarged view, then click on enlarged image to scale it up to full size (411,481 bytes).

I have been informed the handle bar end plugs on the Free Spirit bicycles of that era read "Puch" however, the mandatory "Made in Austria" tags were usually peeled off by the employees who assembled the bicycles at the retail stores.

Steyr-Puch 100 Years and Steyr-Puch 100 Jahre decals As mentioned earlier in this article, Austro-Daimler Puch was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch consortium. The oldest-lived company of this group was formalized when Josef Werndl and his brother Franz Werndl registered their "Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten" (Weapons Factory Arms and Sawmill) on 16 April 1864 in Steyr, Austria. As recognition of their 100 year anniversary the Steyr-Daimler-Puch branded bicycles sold from 1964 to around 1972 may bear a decal on the seat tube commemorating the 1864 to 1964 centenary. This decals on bicycles made for sale in English-speaking nations will read STEYR PUCH 100 YEARS, or STEYR PUCH 100 JAHRE for those sold in Austria and other countries in Europe. There is another variant of this labeling; some bicycles made about this period bearing the PUCH head badge may bear a PUCH 100 YEARS decal, this will be affixed to the down tube of the frame.

Right: Steyr-Puch 100 Years and Steyr-Puch 100 Jahre anniversary decals on Puch bicycles seat tubes (58,459 bytes).
Click on image to see enlarged view (188,698 bytes).

By 1966 BMX ('bicycle motorcross') models for off road use had entered the line-up too, so at the turn of the 1970's the Steyr-Daimler-Puch company was marketing entry level road and BMX bicycles. Each Steyr or Puch trademarked bicycle frame was being manufactured and assembled at Werk Graz-Thondorf, the Steyr-Daimler-Puch factory in Graz, Austria. By then the bicycles were being marketed on several continents and under one or more of the company brand names simultaneously: Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and Puch. To facilitate distribution they set up companies in several countries; for example sales and service in the United Kingdom were managed by Steyr-Daimler-Puch (Great Britain) Ltd., at Steyr-Puch House, 211 Lower Parliament Street in Nottingham.

Steyr trademarked bicycles made into the early 1970's included simpler frames with geometries dating to the pre-war era and of steel construction, these bore the head badge similar to that shown above at left. But even their best bicycle products at that time were less than impressively built, comparatively heavy and with contracted lower-end components branded Altenburger for example.

The Puch branded bicycles was initially reserved for frames sold in Austria or exported for sale in other European countries (Germany, France, England, etc.). The Puch branded offerings also included BMX models sold in Europe and destined for sale in the USA.

Puch head badge (100,159 bytes) The Booming 1970's And USA Distribution The USA experienced a dramatic bicycle sales boom starting in 1965. This period saw baby boomers children buying bicycles while adult cycling too increased in popularity dramatically. In two years around 1970 bicycles sales doubled nationwide. The Time Magazine issue of 14 June 1971 referred to this as "the bicycle's biggest wave of popularity in its 154-year history" By May 1971 Schwinn, the largest manufacturer, had sold all its planned production for the year!

Right: Embossed aluminum head badge of a Puch bicycle that was riveted onto the Head Tube, probably built about 1970 (100,159 bytes).

The upsurge in bicycle sales from 1965 and into the early 1970's prompted the consortium to consider the production of mid and upper level bicycles, more sophisticated than those that had been their hallmark. The Arab Oil Embargo of October 1973 to March 1974 persuaded Steyr-Daimler-Puch management they might have a much larger market for their products in the USA, and so the Steyr-Daimler-Puch of America Corporation (SDPA) was established in Greenwich, Connecticut to manage the representation of their product lines and to provide constructive feedback to Austria. The importation and distribution of their products (including Mopeds, bicycles, and of Steyr firearms) in the USA was to commence from locations in Secaucus, New Jersey and in Jacksonville, Florida.

The bicycle product line would be marketed under the trade name "Austro-Daimler", this trade name was or would also be used in other english-speaking countries including the United Kingdom. Sales in most of Europe and other markets continued under the 'Puch' trade name. For most consumers the expectations were high when buying a bike associated with those great Austrian and German names!

Left: Embossed aluminum head badge of a Austro-Daimler bicycle, probably as built about 1980 (123,228 bytes).

In order to better negotiate the complicated US marketplace and improve their offerings for the European market too, Steyr-Daimler-Puch America explored developing relationships with established bicycle distributors in the USA. First and foremost in their minds was Lifecycle, Inc., a well regarded and proved cycling retailer and distributor then located at 1005 Massachusetts Avenue, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The proximity of Lifecycle to the Steyr-Daimler-Puch offices in Greenwich, Connecticut added the benefit of convenience. Lifecycle distributed products to some 125 bicycle retail shops throughout New England and in California.

Lifecycle was founded by the late Eugene (Gene) Ritvo, the company integrated a highly experienced team of technical and sales people. Among their many kudos Lifecycle had over many years developed a special relationship, beyond that of a typical regional distributor, with Fuji America based in New York City. Lifecycle helped to make the Nichebei Fuji group product an acclaimed and financially successful line - the first such Japanese bicycle manufacturer success story in the USA. Up to then imported bicycles were usually entry to mid level models marketed under westernized names, or made for American manufacturers to distribute under their own names. Fuji's business strategy differed, this was the brainchild of Ken Mizugaki, President of Fuji USA and a graduate of Reed College in the States. He and his closest, loyal, and competent associates (Ken Moriya, Yoshi Kitazumi, Katz Nishimura, Maury ****anisi) stuck with their business plan to develop a premium line of bicycles and components made in Japan and retaining their Japanese identity, even while taking ridicule from fellow importers and distributors. The components makers included: Dia-Comp, Sun Tour, Nitto, Pearlizumi, Shimano, Silver Star, Sugino whose items were clearly identified. Gene had been so instrumental at improving the Fuji line by helping to determine production frame sizes, frame angles, tubing choice, and component groups that to this day he is considered by many to be the father of the Fuji line in the United States. By the early 1970's Consumer Reports magazine's "Best Buy" pick was the Special Road Racer, though the bike Fuji became best known for was the later version designated the S10-S, the 27 lb. ten-speed road touring bicycle introduced in 1971 selling for about $210. The successes eventually earned for the Fuji trademark the cache of Sony, Nikon, Seiko and the like. Lifecycle had a display wall lined with wonderful bikes by makers including: Masi, Cilo, Cinelli, Bob Jackson, Harry Quinn, Colnago, Fisher, Mooney, Merckx, Paramount, Teledyne Titan and several other state of the art frames for that 70's into the 80's era. Among the newcomers was Gary Klein, an MIT student who retailed his first Klein bicycles with boron-reinforced aluminum frames through Lifecycle. So the credentials of the team at Lifecycle were obvious.

Steyr-Daimler-Puch America representatives arranged an introductory meeting with the principals of Lifecycle. Those attending included Lifecycle founders Gene, Thomas Manning, and Warren Koebler who has as much knowledge about bicycles, design, and cycle trivia as anyone in the business. Attending representatives of Steyr-Daimler-Puch included Robert Yung a Chinese American marketing fellow here by way of Brazil, Helmut Quindt from Graz who was technically knowledgeable and represented the manufacturing side of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and Silvio Simon an advertising specialist from France. The meeting conveyed how Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Austria intended to develop a new product line of bicycles with the better components, more upscale than those they were known to have manufactured up that time. These bicycles would bear the Austro-Daimler tradename and continue within the production serial number sequence* already in effect at the factory, hence there was nothing in the serial number to distinguish a Puch frame from one to be marketed as Austro-Daimler; these new bicycles were to be seen as among the best that Europe could offer. In time there would be Puch trademarked road bikes, these offerings were to represent the lower priced offerings of the maker. While there was some some minor overlap of the features between the trademarks road bikes

[AgilisMerlin]

Rover company/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_Company

http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/starley-rover-safety-bicycle1884.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/nightfire800/FritsWiersma1913.jpg
The Dutch racer Frits Wiersma on a Rover racing bicycle in 1913.

http://www.rover-forum.thersr.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=15&sid=dfaccdaecf335cd28732453abc8385bd (bicycles and old motorcycles)

The Rover Company is a former British car manufacturing company founded as Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry in 1878. The company traded as Rover, manufacturing cars, between 1904 and 1967, when it was sold to Leyland Motor Corporation, becoming the Rover marque. The marque went through several lifetimes before its liquidation in 2005.

After developing the template for the modern bicycle with its Rover Safety Bicycle of 1885, the company moved into the automotive industry. It started building motorcycles and Rover cars, using their established marque with the iconic Viking Longship, from 1904 onwards. Land Rover vehicles were added from 1948 onwards, with all production moving to the Solihull plant after World War II.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Rover_500_cc_1920.jpg/800px-Rover_500_cc_1920.jpg
1920 rover 500cc

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/nightfire800/1916Rover.jpg

In 1899 John Starley imported some of the early Peugeot motorcycles from France in for experimental development. His first project was to fit an engine to one of his Rover bicycles. Starley died early in October 1901 aged 46 and the business was taken over by entrepreneur H. J. Lawson.[1]
1912 Rover 3-speed

The company developed and produced the Rover Imperial motorcycle in November 1902. This was a 3.5 hp diamond-framed motorcycle with the engine in the centre and 'springer' front forks which was ahead of its time.[2] This first Rover motorcycle had innovative features such as a spray carburettor, bottom-bracket engine and mechanically operated valves. With a strong frame with double front down tubes and a good quality finish, over a thousand Rover motorcycles were sold in 1904. The following year, however, Rover stopped motorcycle production to concentrate on their 'safety bicycle' but in 1910 designer John Greenwood was commissioned to develop a new 3.5 hp 500 cc engine with spring-loaded tappets, a Bosch magneto and an innovative inverted tooth drive chain. It had a Brown and Barlow carburettor and Druid spring forks. This new model was launched at the 1910 Olympia show and over 500 were sold.

In 1913 a 'TT' model was launched with a shorter wheelbase and sports handlebars. The 'works team' of Dudley Noble and Chris Newsome had some success and won the works team award.[2]
1920 Rover 500 cc

Rover supplied 499 cc single cylinder motorcycles to the Russian Army during the First World War.[2] The company began to focus on car production at the end of the war, but Rover still produced motorcycles with 248 cc and 348 cc Rover overhead valve engines and with J.A.P. engines, including a 676 cc V-twin.[3] In 1924 Rover introduced a new lightweight 250cc motorcycle with unit construction of engine and gearbox. This had lights front and rear as well as a new design of internal expanding brakes.[2]

Poor sales of their motorcycles caused Rover to end motorcycle production and concentrate solely on the production of motor cars. Between 1903 and 1924 Rover had produced more than 10,000 motorcycles.[3]
Early Rover cars
Rover, 1905.
The Rover Six in a 1910 advertisement—£155.
Rover Tourer, 1926.
1936 Rover 10.

In 1888, Starley made an electric car, but it never was put into production.

Three years after Starley's death in 1901, and H. J. Lawson's subsequent takeover, the Rover company began producing automobiles with the two-seater Rover Eight to the designs of Edmund Lewis, who came from Lawson's Daimler. Lewis left the company to join Deasy in late 1905. He was eventually replaced by Owen Clegg, who joined from Wolseley in 1910 and set about reforming the product range. Short-lived experiments with sleeve valve engines were abandoned, and the 12hp model was introduced in 1912. This car was so successful that all other cars were dropped, and for a while, Rover pursued a "one model" policy. Clegg left to join the French company Darracq in 1912.

During the First World War, they made motorcycles, lorries to Maudslay designs, and, not having a suitable one of their own, cars to a Sunbeam design.
Restructure and re-organization



The business was not very successful during the 1920s and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid-1930s. In December 1928 the chairman of Rover advised shareholders that the accumulation of the substantial losses of the 1923-1928 years together with the costs of that year's reorganisation must be recognised by a reduction of 60% in the value of capital of the company.[4][5]

During 1928 Frank Searle was appointed managing director to supervise recovery. Searle was by training a locomotive engineer with motor industry experience at Daimler and, most recently, had been managing director of Imperial Airways. On his recommendation Spencer Wilks was brought in from Hillman as general manager and appointed to the board in 1929. That year, Searle split Midland Light Car Bodies from Rover in an effort to save money[6] and instructed Robert Boyle and Maurice Wilks to design a new small car.

This was the Rover Scarab with a rear-mounted V-twin-cylinder air-cooled engine announced in 1931, a van version was shown at Olympia, but it did not go into production.[7] During this time the Rover 10/25 was introduced, with bodies made by the Pressed Steel Company. This was the same body as used on the Hillman Minx. Prior to this time Rover had been a great supporter of the very light Weymann bodies that went suddenly out of fashion with the demand for shiny coachwork and more curved body shapes. Weymann bodies remained in the factory catalogue until 1933.

Frank Searle and Spencer Wilks set about reorganising the company and moving it upmarket to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to Fords and Austins. In 1930 Spencer Wilks was joined by his brother, Maurice, who had also been at Hillman as chief engineer. Spencer Wilks was to stay with the company until 1962, and his brother until 1963.

The company showed profits in the 1929 and 1930 years but with the economic downturn in 1931 Rover reported a loss of £77,529. 1932 produced a loss of £103,000 but a turn around following yet more reorganization resulted in a profit of £46,000 in 1933.[8] The new assembly operations in Australia and New Zealand were closed.

Frank Searle left the board near the end of the calendar year 1931, his work done.[6]

Building on successes such as beating the Blue Train for the first time in 1930 in the Blue Train Races, the Wilks Brothers established Rover as a company with several European royal, aristocratic, and governmental warrants, and upper-middle-class and star clients.[9]

Second World War and gas turbines

In the late 1930s, in anticipation of the potential hostilities that would become the Second World War, the British government started a rearmament programme, and as part of this, "shadow factories" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies. Two were run by Rover: one, at Acocks Green, Birmingham, started operation in 1937, and a second, larger one, at Solihull, started in 1940. Both were employed making aero engines and airframes. The original main works at Helen Street, Coventry, was severely damaged by bombing in 1940 and 1941 and never regained full production.

In early 1940, Rover was approached by the government to support Frank Whittle in developing the gas turbine engine. Whittle's company, Power Jets, had no production facilities; however, the intention was for Rover to take the design and develop it for mass production. Whittle himself was not pleased by this and did not like the design changes made without his approval, but the first test engines to the W2B design were built in an unused cotton mill in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, in October 1941. Rolls-Royce took an interest in the new technology, and an agreement was reached in 1942 in which they would take over the engines and Barnoldswick works—and in exchange, Rover would get the contract for making Meteor tank engines, which actually continued until 1964.

After the Second World War, the company abandoned Helen Street and bought the two shadow factories. Acocks Green carried on for a while, making Meteor engines for tanks, and Solihull became the new centre for vehicles, with production resuming in 1947. This was the year Rover produced the Rover 12 Sports Tourer. 200 cars were built for the export market but all had RHD so many cars stayed in the UK. Solihull would become the home of the Land Rover.
Experimental cars
Rover gas turbine experimental car.

In 1950, designer F.R. Bell and chief engineer Maurice Wilks unveiled the first car powered with a gas turbine engine, based upon the designs of Frank Whittle's Power Jets company. The two-seater JET1 had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car, and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the car reached top speeds of 88 mph (140 km/h), at a turbine speed of 50,000 rpm. The car ran on petrol, paraffin, or diesel oil, but fuel consumption problems proved insurmountable for a production car. It is currently on display at the London Science Museum. Rover and the BRM Formula One team joined forces to produce the Rover-BRM, a gas turbine-powered sports prototype that entered the 1963 24 hours of Le Mans, driven by Graham Hill and Richie Ginther. It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km/h) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h).

Rover also ran several experimental diesel engine projects in relation to the Land Rover. The 2-litre, 52 horsepower (39 kW) diesel unit designed and built by Rover for its 4x4 had entered production in 1956 and was one of Britain's first modern high-speed automotive diesel engines. Experimental projects were undertaken to improve the engine's power delivery, running qualities, and fuel tolerances. British Army requirements led to the development of a multifuel version of the 2.25-litre variant of the engine in 1962, which could run on petrol, diesel, Jet-A, or kerosene. However, the engine's power output when running on low-grade fuel was too low for the Army's uses. Rover developed a highly advanced (for the time) turbodiesel version of its engine in the mid-1960s to power its experimental '129-inch' heavy duty Land Rover designs. This 2.5-litre engine used a turbocharger built by Rover's gas turbine division as well as an intercooler. This was one of the first times these features had been incorporated on such a small-capacity diesel unit, but they were not adopted.

After the Leyland Motor Corporation takeover, the Rover Gas Turbine was used in a number of Leyland trucks, including one shown at the 1968 Commercial Motor Show. Rover gas turbines also powered the first Advanced Passenger Train.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Rover.jet1.jpg/800px-Rover.jet1.jpg
Rover Jet1 Gas Turbine car, on display at the Science Museum London

Golden years
1962 Rover 80 (P4).

The 1950s and '60s were fruitful years for the company. The Land Rover became a runaway success (despite Rover's reputation for making upmarket saloons, the utilitarian Land Rover was actually the company's biggest seller throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s), as well as the P5 and P6 saloons equipped with a 3.5L (215ci) aluminium V8 (the design and tooling of which was purchased from Buick) and pioneering research into gas turbine-fueled vehicles.
Rover 2000 (P6).
Mergers to LMC and BL
Main article: British Leyland
File:Rover P6BS mid engine prototype 1967.JPG
This Rover prototype for a midengined sports car was shown to the press in 1967, but politics in the wake of the BLMC merger got in the way, and the model never entered production.

In 1967, Rover became part of the Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), which already owned Triumph. The next year, LMC merged with British Motor Holdings (BMH) to become the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC). This was the beginning of the end for the independent Rover Company, as the Solihull-based company's heritage drowned beneath the infamous industrial relations and managerial problems that beset the British motor industry throughout the 1970s. At various times, it was part of the Specialist Division (hence the factory designation SD1 for the first—and in the event, only—model produced under this arrangement), Leyland Cars, Rover-Triumph, and the short-lived Jaguar Rover Triumph.
Current Status

Legally the Rover marque is the property of Land Rover under the terms of Ford's purchase of the name in 2006. Land Rover is currently part of Jaguar Land Rover having being sold by Ford to Tata Motors in 2008. As part of the deal with Tata the Rover marque had to remain as property of Land Rover.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Rover_80_built_1960.jpg

[AgilisMerlin]

for some strange reason, this is what got me got me looking into cars/bicycle manufacturers histories, i think

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Merlin

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/features/news/1107_honda_takes_flight/31279055+w968/rolls-royce-merlin-engine.jpg

http://wwiimodeller.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/Supermarine-Spitfire-Mk-XVIE-Rolls-Royce-Merlin-Engine-11.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Fitters_working_on_the_Rolls-Royce_Merlin_engine_of_a_Boulton_Paul_Defiant_of_N o._125_Squadron_RAF_at_Fairwood_Common,_Wales,_Jan uary_1942._CH4607.jpg

The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after birds of prey.

The PV-12 first ran in 1933 and, after several modifications, the first production variants were built in 1936. The first operational aircraft to enter service using the Merlin were the Fairey Battle, Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. More Merlins were made for the four-engined Avro Lancaster heavy bomber than for any other aircraft; however, the engine is most closely associated with the Spitfire, starting with the Spitfire's maiden flight in 1936. A series of rapidly applied developments, brought about by wartime needs, markedly improved the engine's performance and durability.

Considered a British icon,[2] the Merlin was one of the most successful aircraft engines of the World War II era, and many variants were built by Rolls-Royce in Derby, Crewe and Glasgow,[3] as well as by Ford of Britain at their Trafford Park factory, near Manchester.[4] The Packard V-1650 was a version of the Merlin built in the United States. Production ceased in 1950 after a total of almost 150,000 engines had been delivered, the later variants being used for airliners and military transport aircraft.

In military use the Merlin was superseded by its larger capacity stablemate, the Rolls-Royce Griffon. Merlin engines remain in Royal Air Force service today with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and power many restored aircraft in private ownership worldwide.

and this car started it. It comes up from florida during the summer months and cruises around my town

rolls royce ghost'/phantom - it is a mile long'

http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/history/ (Merlin engine)
"After the war Rolls-Royce resumed car production and opened its first US factory in 1921. The 'R' engine was developed for Britain's entry in the 1929 Intercontinental Schneider Trophy seaplane contest. Royce reputedly sketched its design in the sand at West Wittering with his walking stick. As well as winning the trophy, the engine also set a new world air speed record. This engine developed into the legendary Merlin, which later powered allied aircraft such as the Spitfire and Hurricane."



phantom -

original
http://www.instablogsimages.com/1/2012/07/09/the_1927_rolls_royce_phantom_i_playboy_roadster_wi th_a_great_hollywood_history_up_for_auction_2xd7n. jpg

http://i.imgur.com/e2BjY.jpg



http://www.thesupercars.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Rolls-Royce-Phantom-VI.jpg

today's -
http://trendconceptcar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rolls-Royce-Phantom_wide.jpg



shadow -

http://stwot.motortrend.com/files/2012/01/Rolls-Royce-Silver-Shadow-Standard-Saloon-1024x640.jpg

[bikinchris]

Would you have any links to that info

Curios

Thanks ahead of time

Mostly from a well written book. A Social History of the Bicycle.

[AgilisMerlin]

http://www.amazon.com/social-history-bicycle-early-America/dp/0070584575

thanks, will read

[retrogrouchy]

A friend at work who is into cars just filled me in on this one. I had no idea.

Albert Champion won Paris-Roubaix in 1899. That race was motopaced (not sure if it was just that year, or that period) and his track cycling experience with motopacing allowed him to win....

After his cycling career, he "caught the car virus" just at the dawn of the automotive age, and went on to start several spark plug companies one of them being AC Spark Plugs which lives on to this day as AC/Delco.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Champion_%28cyclist%29

The lore is that when he arrived at Ellis Island they asked "name?" and he replied: "Al-bear."

"Yeah, Albert what?"

"Al-bear, zee champion!"

"OK, Albert Champion. Next!" :cool:

[retrogrouchy]

Almost all of the early car guys were either bike mechanics or racers.

Not to mention some rather notable early aviators and aircraft builders! :bike:

[Mark McM]

Not to mention some rather notable early aviators and aircraft builders! :bike:

Which do mean - early aviators were car guys, or early aviators were bicycle mechanics? Because both were true, of course. The most important early American aviators were the Orville and Wilbur Wright (bicycle mechanics) and Glenn Curtiss (auto builder and racer).

Of course, we now know that the first person to fly a manned, powered heavier than air aircraft was actually Gustave Whitehead, an engine builder from Bavaria who emigrated the US, who flew his airplane 2 years before the Wright brothers (http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/03/13/first-in-flight-wright-brothers-flew-2-years-after-gustav-whitehead/).