Audi Enthusiasts Learn About The History Of This Auto Manufacturer

Audi is one of the premier and the most luxurious manufacturers of automobile systems in Germany. They are the producers of the Audi Cars which is a famous car in the world. Besides they believe in innovation too.
History and Origin: The origin of the company can be traced to 1899 and the founder is August Horch. The founder had problems with the company that he was working with. So he was forced to leave the company and he soon started his own brand under his own name. But copyright issues were raised and he was forced to remove the family name in his brand. There he christened the name as Audi for his automobile company. The word Audi actually means in Latin to listen.
They initially started with Audi 2612 cc and they subsequently increased the efficiency more and more. They were mostly used in sporting events. Thus the brand of cars started developing over time and today we are seeing an entirely different world of cars being manufactured by Audi!
Auto Union: An Auto Union was formed when Audi entered in to collaboration with Horch, DKW and Wanderer. This Union was responsible for the production of the Audi Badge that we see today. These were used in Auto Racing Cars with different brand names. As the technology became more and more complex, more and more models were designed. These engines were used by Germany in the Second World War. The other vehicle which was used for the same purpose is the Kraftfahrzeug (KFZ 11) or the Horch Type 80 which was again used by the military.
Audi Logo: The logo consists of four overlapping rings which represents the four marques of Auto Union. Their logo reflects the fact that they are merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer. The logo is beautifully crafted in such a way that the first ring represents Audi, the second one represents DKW, third one represents Horch, and the fourth and last ring represents Wanderer.
Earlier Times: After the second world war the Auto Union was heavily bombed. The Audi factory then turned into the socialist company “VEB Automobilwerk Zwickau” (AWZ). Post the World War II, many companies like Volkswagen and others rose and started the Auto Union again. By 1960 customers were attracted towards Four Stroke Engines and they became popular. The brands like Audi 72, 75 were invented when Volkswagen renamed their brand as Audi. Until 1972 models from Audi like Audi 60, 70, 80 and Super 90 were developed and they came back again in to the picture very strongly.
In 1969, the Auto Union saw the entry of one more member NSU, which was one of the world’s largest producers of motorcycles. They went on to produce new small cars which are light in wait and safe to drive but still had some problems in their rotary engines.
The Modern Audi: The period after 1970, especially years after the Second World War saw the emergence of Audi as a really competitive brand. It was first introduced in the United States in the post 1970 era. In 1968 saw the entry of the brand Audi 100. It was soon followed by another one in the name of Audi 80/Fox and Audi 50 in 1974. The Audi 50 was very popular in those days as it was invented on the basis of the Golf/Polo concept and it was a huge success all over the world because of its unique design and it is still very much remembered.
The inventions at that time and a proposal from a Chassis Engineer Jorg Bensinger, who promised to develop four wheel technologies. Soon it replaced the Audi brand cars and the racing cars too. The performance car which was developed in 1980 was named as Audi Quattro. Also it was the first German large-scale production vehicle which featured with permanent all-wheel drive through a center differential.
It is commonly referred to as Ur- Quattro in German, where Ur in German means original and unique. Also this prefix is used for other Audi Brands like S4 and S6 brands called as Ur4 and Ur6. These cars were used fro rallying and racing purposes and they soon became very famous. This marked not only the entry of Audi, but also advances in the Automobile World!
In 1985 the companies like NSU and the Auto Union fell and Audi came to be known as Audi AG. In 1986 the Audi 80 brand started developing a very good model which was famously called as the Grandfather’s Image in those days. The great thing about that model is the fact that it sold extremely well in no time. However the engine in the car was not that great even though it had great interior design and good performance. So to counter the shortcomings, Audi came up with a new model Audi 90 which had a superior design and was regarded as a good and an efficient model.
In Early 1990s the sales of the model Audi 80 declined as it said that some basic construction problems was not like by the buyers. This according to a US survey was due to unintended acceleration which happened when the break pedal was pushed. Many say that this problem was mainly attributed to the closeness of the accelerator and the break pedal. However this problem was not raised in any of the European countries as they had the experience of driving in the cars like that and their counterpart’s inexperience to drive in such cars.
However the aftermath was so severe that the US people did not buy Audi cars at all and the sales came down very badly. This led to the renaming of the affected model by Audi as 100/200, but the real name of the company was 5000. Audi had even planned to remove their models but sales went up again in the mid-1990s. The sales began to go on a upswing, thanks to a new model from them A4 in 1996 and the subsequent releases of the models like A4/A6/A8 series, which was developed in collaboration with VW and other sister brands of that time. So dozens of cars were coming from the innovative Audi.
Their Confidence to rule the world in automobile industry grew to such an extent that they started to claim world records, like Top Speed Endurance. The company had always maintained its premier racing game, The Silver Arrows. Even today their sales are in the skies as it is touching new heights day by day.

Tags: About, Audi, Auto, Enthusiasts, History, Learn, Manufacturer, This

The History of Aston Martin

The Aston Martin is the English alternative to the Bugatti and Ferrari.  The company was founded in 1913 by mechanical engineer Robert Bamford and wealthy Lionel Martin.  The two had met in 1905 as members of a cycling club and progressed during the Edwardian era to classic trials and hill climbs using the Singer sports car.

Bamford thought he could improve the car, and soon began to build cars which took the Aston Martin name (from Martin’s exploits at the Aston Clinton hill climb in Buckinghamshire).

However, the partnership was not to last and Martin bought out Bamford in 1922.  Soon the company being asked for replicas, but being English, they didn’t like to make a profit from their friends and the firm nearly went bust in 1925.  It was saved by Lord Charnwood and Hon. John Benson, who appointed Italian born Augustus Cesari Bertelli as Managing Director.

The many wealthy and often aristocratic customers would breeze into the works greeting him with “I say, Bertie, old chum….”

The company built the Ulster between 1934 and 1935 which had an in line 4 cylinder 1495cc, single overhead camshaft which featured an advanced dry sump engine.  It produced 80bhp at 5250rpm, had a top speed of 100mph, and named after the Ulster TT road race.  The Ulster was the best performing of the pre war Astons.

Following the war, many manufacturers were suffering financial difficulties.  David Brown (famous for tractors) acquired Aston Martin in 1947 for £20,500, and in 1948, purchased Lagonda for £52,000.

He made something of a false start with the underpowered four cylinder Aston Martin DB1 in 1948.

Despite the cars appreciation in value, the company was often financially troubled.  In 1972, it was sold to a company called Company Developments Ltd, backed by a Birmingham based consortium and chaired by William Wilson.  The company was then resold in 1975 to Peter Sprague and George Minden.  The new owners pushed the company into modernising its line.

In 1980, Aston Martin had plans to buy MG, which did not materialise.

As worldwide sales of Astons shrank to three per week, Alan Curtis (chairman) together with fellow shareholders Sprague and Minden, had almost chosen to shut down the production and concentrate on service and restoration.  Curtis attended the 1980 Pace sponsored Stirling Moss benefit day at Brands Hatch and met Victor Gauntlett.

Gauntlett bought a 12.5% stake in the company for £500,000 with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share.  They then took over 50/50 ownership at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman.  He also led the sales team, and after some development and a lot of publicity, was able to sell with success the Aston Martin Lagonda to Persian Gulf States.

They continued sponsoring racing events and all Aston Martin Owners Clubs events.

As trading became tighter in the petroleum market, and Aston required more time and money, Gauntlett agreed to sell his company ‘Pace’ to the Kuwait Investment Office in September 1983.  He also agreed to sell his share holding to Peter Livanos.

September 1987 saw Ford take a share holding in the company.  They placed Aston in the Premier Automotive Group, and substantially invested in new manufacturing and quickly ramped up production.  In 1994, they opened a new factory at Banbury Road in Bloxham.

In 2006, under mounting pressure, an internal review of costs and realisable value on investment led Ford to consider divesting itself of parts of its Premier Automotive Group.  After suggestions of selling Jaguar, Land Rover or Volvo, Ford decided to sell Aston by auction.  At the end of August 2006, Ford announced that it would be willing to sell all or part of Aston.

The first round of the auction closed on 30 November 2006.  On 12 March 2007, a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased Aston for £475m/$848m.  Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal, and Ford kept a stake in the company valued at £40m/$70m.  The consortium also consisted of John Sinders and two Kuwaiti investment companies.

On 19 July 2007, the last car, a Vanquish S was produced at Newport Pagnell.  Nearly 13000 cars had been produced their and all production was concentrated at Gaydon.

In January 2009, Aston announced that it would be entering the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours race as a factory team in the LMP1 division.  The company finished 13th.

Tags: Aston, History, Martin

Audi History

Audi Servicing And Maintaining Engineering Excellence

Audi – a reputation built on engineering innovation and quality

As an experienced driver, you know the importance of keeping your Audi in tip-top condition. Regular car servicing will extend your car’s life and identify defects before they become catastrophic.

When you consider the history of Audi and how the Company has built its global reputation for quality and performance, booking an Audi service that is conducted with care and precision is vitally important in retaining the characteristics of this prestige car.

Audi facts you may not know

Audi is one of Germany’s oldest car manufacturers with the Audi name originating in 1910 as Audiwerke GmbH.

Audi began in 1889 when August Horch established A Horch & Cie and launched the first Horch car in 1901. In 1904 the company issued shares in order to raise capital for expansion, but this ultimately led to August Horch leaving the company in 1909 following a dispute with the board.

Horch set up a new company in 1909 and created the Audi brand in 1910, under his new company Audiwerke GmbH. The Audi name is the Latin translation for Horch, that in English means hark.

The Audi brand was created, because Horch lost a legal dispute with his former company on the use of the Horch name.

In 1912 Audiwerke test drove their first car, the Wanderer, which had a four cylinder engine. After successful trials, the car went into production in 1913 and in 1914 Audi won the Alpine Challenge Trophy, one of the most famous races of the era.

In 1921, Audi launched the first German manufactured left hand drive car, the Audi Type K. The improved driver visibility meant that left hand drive cars became well established by the end of the decade.

In 1928, the Audi name was effectively bought by J S Rasmussen, who acquired a majority shareholding in Audiwerke AG. Four years later Audi merged with four other German car manufacturers from the Saxony area. Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer all became Auto Union AG in 1932. The larger company was able to supply passenger vehicles across the market, from motorcycles to luxury saloons.

The Audi logo, consisting of four rings, symbolised the joining of these four historic names in German motor manufacturing.

However, the Audi name was in danger of disappearing in post-war Germany. In the 1930′s Auto Union AG developed and produced military vehicles and during the Second World War, civilian production was halted and the company exclusively manufactured military vehicles.

Post-war, the Soviet administration dismantled the production plants of Auto Union in 1945 as reparations and, in 1948 Auto Union AG was removed from the Commercial Register.

However, backing by the Bavarian government and Marshall Plan aid meant that the Audi name survived. In 1949, Auto Union GmbH Audi was formed in Ingolstadt and in 1950 the new company produced its first car, the DKW Meisterklasse.

In 1958, Daimler-Benz acquired Auto Union and in 1966 the company was bought by Volkswagenwek AG, and this saw production focused on the four-stroke engine, as developed previously under Daimler-Benz. In 1965, this engine was married with the DKW F 102 and launched under the Audi name.

In 1968, the Audi 100 was launched. This quickly became a top seller amongst upper mid-sized cars, and became the building block for a new Audi range. In 1972 the Audi 80 was launched.

The Audi 80 became a huge success and over one million were built within six years and its four cylinder engine was adopted by the Volkswagen Group.

In 1974, the Audi 50 was launched into the small car market. Six months later, production synergies were exploited with the Volkswagen brand and the VW Polo was launched, based on the Audi 50.

In 1980, the now famous Audi Quattro was launched, as the first performance car with four-wheel drive.

The company officially became known as Audi AG in 1985, which is testimony to the success of the Audi brand.

Audi has a history of engineering innovation and quality, and their design-led strategy has enabled Audi to challenge BMW and Mercedes in today’s prestige car market.

Book your Audi service with confidence

So when you book your next Audi service, you can be confident that Service A Car understands the heritage of Audi and conducts Audi servicing with the passion and precision the car deserves.

Happy motoring,

Howard.

Chairman Service A Car

Tags: Audi, History