On October 1930, 1925, Henry Ford and Conrad Adenauer, then mayor of Cologne and later prime minister, became equally construction workers. They laid the foundation stone for the new Ford factory in - yes - Cologne. Ford was not new to Germany, but the Cologne location was. As early as XNUMX, T Fords and A Fords had been assembled in Berlin. But in Cologne, Ford would go for the top: cars would really be made. German cars. The B Ford with its four-cylinder of more than three liters was the last kit model. But the subsequent Y Ford was already completely Made in Germany.
Ford Germany's approach was fairly subdued
The Ford had a four-cylinder of 900 cc that produced something like twenty horsepower. That first Genuine German Ford remained in production until 1933. By that time Hitler had already decided that the brand should be 'Kӧln'. After all, non-German names had little right to exist from that point on in the run-up to the Third Reich, which by no means reached the planned lifespan of 1000 years. The A Fords assembled in Germany were called 'Rheinland'. Because German. So good. Just in the margin: Both Hitler and Ford hated Jews. And that is reminiscent of the joke that Rabbi Soetendorp once made: An anti-Semite is someone who hates Jews more than average. Jewish humor is unique.
Within Germany, the Eifel was introduced in 1935, which was for sale as a sedan and convertible. There was also an all-German 8 hp V90 that remained in production until the outbreak of the war.
The Ford Taunuses were quite successful
More than 1939 were made between 1942-7000. But it was not until the end of 1948 that production really took off. Because almost 74.000 were made. In 1952 the 12 M was presented and then the counter really started to run. Until it became too old-fashioned in 1957, over 2.000.000 were released from the band.
Inspired by America
In 1957 it was time for the Taunus 17 M line with its OHVs of almost 1700 cc, inspired by the American Fords. That block produced a nice 60 hp at the time and almost 240.000 copies were made. The streamlined P1960 Taunus 3 M was launched in 17. More than 650.000 of this series were made in four years and these Fords were once almost iconic in the street scene at the time. The R4 Taunus 12 M from 1962 had the pleasantly messy humming 4 cc V1200 as used in Saabs. The Ford had front-wheel drive and looked simply chic in its Coupe version.
All these Fords were not planned investment objects
They were bulk goods with a - due to rust - limited lifespan. And that makes good, beautiful copies quite rare at the moment. Fortunately, it is not the case that they have become unaffordable.
The 12 Ford Taunus 1964m Coupe in the pictures is for sale at Jelle Blom.
My father had a light blue Taunus 12M TS at the time. The TS had a more luxurious look (I remember the chrome strips along the windows and the whitewall tires), but I think also the stronger 1500 V4 engine, although I'm not 100% sure about the latter. What I do know for sure is that my father was very proud of his beautiful Taunus
My sister and brother-in-law had registered a Taunus 17 M, JD-46-69.
Strange that I still remember that. It was a beautiful red car and was later called the "bathtub" model.
Regards,
arco.
Have had two in the past, a white with red trim and a red with black roof. Nice cars, where the Ford brand name was nowhere to be found. They were simply called Taunus ...
The neighbors across the street did have the 12m. Light blue, the Fred Flinstone variant. There was very little sheet metal under the rubber mats. You had to be careful where you put your feet. He was therefore already 10 years old.
In the 15m was the same V4 block as in the Saab 95 and 96. (Saab one of my other loves but a 99)
Once, around 2000, I called the Ford local garage to see if there were any parts for the 15m and its reliability.
Parts were certainly there and the block could run 300.000 km in normal use. That is in line with the experiences in the Saabs. Indeed block makes such a nice chaotic rumbling hum.
My father had bought a beige 69m in '15 with that (enlarged) 1500cc engine, black vinyl upholstery was in it. Dashboard and steering wheel were unfortunately boring. Still nice memories of that car. Driving together on a Saturday to the small pump at the end of the Veenweg in the polder of Nootdorp our village. Funny that you remember something like that. A wonderful outing together on your 7th. In '74 there was a Taunus 1,6XL green metallic with vinyl roof. The 15 had clearly given birth.
One of my uncle's also had a Taunus, but pale red with a dull black roof. I polished it for two days, the car looked like new again. The first car that I secretly drove at the age of 15. But yes, for what belongs something.
Beautiful cart, enjoy it.
The derivatives of those V-blocks were used in the European Fordjes for a long time, right? Also in the Transits. I didn't really find anything messy about the running of those motors. With little sound insulation they could be heard more than average. Yes, hi. They certainly were full of character.
Saab never used the Ford V4 1200 cc in the 96, but the 1500 and 1700
Saab certainly had the 96 in the very first series 1200, but these were far too light in this, hence actually very quickly to the 1500 engines, 1700 was only delivered in the 97.