1931 Goliath Pionier
From 1924 on Carl Borgward produced small three-wheeler trucks, but during the depression in the beginning of the 1930s he changed the design, and produced two-seater passenger cars with one-cylinder two-stroke engine. The so called Cycle-Cars had a wooden frame with artificial leather trimming and were designed to auto mobilize ordinary Joe. With a kerb weight of less than 350 kg (771.6 lb), only 198 cc and a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph)the Goliath Pionier was tax free and not even a license was needed to drive it. It was just the right car for beginners. And there were even different versions available. With a spare seat in the rear there was even enough room for a small family. But even though the Goliath Pionier was called to be the smallest saloon car in the world, it didn’t sell very well and from 1931 to 1934 only 4000 cars were manufactured by Goliath-Werke Borgward & Tecklenborg, Bremen.
Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all the readers of this page.
This is a video I recently found. London in 1927, even in colour and with a few classic cars of course 
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Scootacar Mk 1 and Mk 2
The Scootacar was a small car built by Scootacars Ltd, a division of the Hunslet Engine Company. According to the wishes of the wife of one of the directors, who wanted a car that was easier to park than her Jaguar, Henry Brown designed the car by sitting on a Villiers engine and making an assistant to draw an outline around him. The first car was the Mk 1fitted with a Villiers 197 cc two –stroke engine. It was a 3-wheeler (two front wheels and one rear wheel) with a steel floor, a fibre-glass body and a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). It was roomy enough for two people, one in the front the other one in the rear. The car only had one large door on the left side. In 1959 the model was totally redesigned to improve it. The body shell of the Mk 2 was larger, the engine was placed under a rear bench and the driver’s seat could be tipped forward. It had room for three people now and a top speed of 55 mph (89 km/h). In 1962 a few Mk 3 were sold with a 250 cc engine and a top speed of 68 mph (109 km/h) The car didn’t sell too well and after a total of about 1000 Scootacars were manufactured the production ended in 1964.
Opel 4/12 PS
The Opel 4/12 PS, manufactured by Opel in Ruesselsheim from 1924 to 1931, was the first German car produced on assembly lines. The popular 2-seater was known as the “Laubfrosch” (German for tree frog) because it was available in green only, to keep the costs low. The small car with a kerb weight of 570 kg and a straight-4 engine had a top speed of 60 km/h. The Opel 4/12 PS resembled the Citroën 5 CV that was mainly painted in yellow. The only differences were that the Opel’s wheelbase was longer by 5 mm, the radiator looked different, the water cooled 4-cylinder engine was bigger, and a 12-volt electrical system was used instead of the commonly used 6-volt system. It never was clear whether in Ruesselsheim the Citroën was produced under license or the design was simply copied by Opel. About 120,000 units were produced before the successor the Opel 1.2 Liter was introduced in 1931.
1935 Hillman Minx
The Hillman Minx of which 92,095 cars were manufactured from 1935 to 1939 certainly was neither a fast nor an extremely beautiful car. But it was remarkably cheap and roomy. It was a reliable family car that could carry four or even five adults. The most popular version therefore was the 4-door saloon. The Hillman Minx was produced by Roots Ltd. after having purchased Hillman in 1928. Mechanically the car was rather conventional, with a 4-cylinder side-valve front engine with Solex carb and a top speed of 60 mph. It had a separate chassis and beam-axle front and rear suspension. Significant might be that Bill Heynes (later working for Jaguar) as well as Alec Issigonis (the designer of the Mini) were employed at Roots at the time of the construction of the Hillman Minx.
Volvo, A Short Story
In 1924 Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson founded the Volvo car company in Sweden. It was the first Scandinavian car company. The first Volvo (Latin for I roll), the ÖV4, also called Jakob, left the factory. ÖV stands for the Swedish öppen vagn, which mean open top car. As it, due to the fairly high price, didn’t sell to well, the company also produced a saloon version, the PV4. The cars, with 4-cylinder engines, were able to withstand the cold Swedish climate much better than the imported American cars. In addition to the passenger cars, trucks and busses were built and dominated the production in the first decades. In 1929 the PV651 was introduced. It had a 6-cylinder engine and was wider and longer than the Jakob. The PV651 was more successful and as it was a 5-seater, often used as a taxi. In 1932 10,000 Volvo cars were produced. The PV444, introduced in autumn 1944, was a car that had not only American flair but also a European size, and it was an instant success. During WW2 Volvo produced vehicles mainly for military use. Through to the 1960s the PV444 and the PV544 dominated the Swedish car production. Another very successful car was the Volvo 120, also called Volvo Amazon, which was introduced in 1956. In 1959 The PV544 and the Amazon were the first cars world wide to be equipped with 3-point safety belts as standard. Accident protection and safety were always very important factors of the Volvo car design. The first sports car created by Volvo was the P1800, well known from the TV series “The Saint” with Roger Moore behind the wheel. In 1966 the first cars of the 144 Series were introduced, first as saloon cars and later also as estate versions. The cars were equipped with disc brakes on all 4 wheels, a safety steering column and crumple zones in the front and in the rear. The Volvo 240 was the first car worldwide with lambda sensor and catalytic converter.
Car Parts English-German Part 3
This is the third part of my car parts dictionary. Next month I will add more.
| English | German |
| engine | Motor |
| engine compartment, under bonnet area | Motorraum |
| engine cooling system | Motorkühlanlage |
| engine number, engine identification number | Motornummer |
| engine oil | Motoröl |
| estate car, station wagon | Kombi |
| exhaust | Auspuff |
| exhaust system | Auspuffanlage |
| fan, fan wheel | Lüfterrad |
| five-speed-gearbox | Fünf-Gang-Getriebe |
| floor pan | Bodenblech |
| fog light | Nebelscheinwerfer |
| forward gear | Vorwärtsgang |
| four-wheel-drive | Vierrad-Antrieb |
| front axle | Vorderachse |
| front track | Spurweite, vorn |
| front wheel | Vorderrad |
| fuel consumption | Kraftstoffverbrauch |
| fuel filter | Kraftstofffilter |
| fuel filter element | Kraftstofffiltereinsatz |
| fuel gauge | Tankanzeige |
| fuel pump | Kraftstoffpumpe |
| full beam, main beam | Fernlicht |
| fuse | Sicherung |
