Panhard is a French motor vehicle manufacturer, who now specializes in light tactical and military vehicles. It was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under PSA ownership for 40 years. The combined company now uses the Panhard name.

Panhard was originally Panhard et Levassor and was established as a car manufacturing concern in about 1890 by René Panhard and Emile Levassor. Benz and Daimler, both of Germany, produced pilot models before this time, and Benz was in production by about 1888 with his three-wheeler. Emile Roger of Paris obtained a license to produce this car, and ended up producing more than Benz, due to the ready acceptance of automobiles by the French. Daimler began producing cars in small series circa 1890/91.
The company was founded when René Panhard and Emile Levassor decided to move from making woodworking machines to automobiles. Their first car used a Daimler engine and was offered in 1890.
Daimler’s Stahlradwagen prototypes of 1889 inspired Levassor to manufacture cars. He obtained a licence to produce Daimler’s engine from a friend who already had this licence: a Belgain called Sarazin. Upon Sarazin’s death in 1887, Sarazin’s widow married Levassor, and the deal was cemented. Daimler and Levassor became fast friends, and shared improvements with one another.
These first vehicles set many modern standards, but each was a one-off design. They used a clutch pedal to operate a chain-driven gearbox. The vehicle also featured a front-mounted radiator. A 1895 Panhard is credited with the first modern transmission.
The company’s Systeme Panhard consisted of four wheels, a front-mounted engine with rear wheel drive, and a sliding-gear transmission. This was to become the standard layout for automobiles for most of the next century.
Panhard shared their Daimler engine license with Armand Peugeot, who formed his own company, Peugeot, in 1891.
Arthur Krebs succeeded to Levassor as Panhard-Levassor’s General Manager from 1897 to 1916. He turned the Panhard-Levassor Company into one of the largest and profitable manufacturer of automobiles before WWI.
Panhards won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. Panhard developed the Panhard rod, which became used in many other types of automobiles as well.
From 1925 the motors used the Knight Engine technology of using sleeve valves. That year a 4.8 litres got the world record for the hour fastest run at an average of 185.51 km/h.
After World War II the company produced light cars such as the Dyna X, Dyna Z, PL 17, 24 CT and 24 BT. The company managed to get around a steel-saving government regulation forbidding new car models by making the bodies and several other components out of aluminum, which of course helped the performance. The Dyna X and the Dyna Z 1 had an aluminum body. The later Dyna Z and the PL 17 bodies were made in steel. The bodies had smooth rounded forms which made the cars stand out in any post-war parking lot. The 24 CT was a beautiful 2+2 seater; the 24 BT with a longer wheelbase had enough space for four persons. The Panhard based Deutsch Bonnets (”DB Panhard”) dominated the “Index of Performance” class at Le Mans and other small-engine racing classes.
The last Panhard passenger car was built in 1967. From 1968 on, Panhard has only made armored vehicles — the civilian branch was absorbed by Citroën in 1965, and the marque was retired.
In 2004, Panhard lost a competition to another manufacturer of military vehicles, Auverland, for the choice of the future PVP of the French Army. This allowed Auverland to purchase Panhard in 2005, which was at that time a subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroën. However, the fame of the Panhard being greater, it was decided that the company would take the name Panhard and that the PVP designed by Auverland would bear a Panhard badge.

Source: Wikipedia

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by Chris Shunk

In the history of big business, few mergers and takeovers can hold a candle to the $36 billion “merger of equals” that Daimler pulled off in 1998. When the dust settled, DCX stock was up in the stratosphere, and German executives were hailed as conquering heroes. Only nine years later, the folks from Stuttgart were so anxious to dump the albatross that was Chrysler, that they paid Cerberus $673 million to take the legacy cost-laden automaker off their hands. Sure, the initial reports stated that Cerberus had to pay $7.4 billion for the right to own the Pentastar, but all that money went directly to the Chrysler brand, which Cerberus will own as of July.

If it seems like Daimler lost out huge, take the following into consideration. First, the Benz boys rid themselves of over $18 billion in future pension costs, which is a monumental amount of money for any company to have hanging around their neck. Second, Daimler retains 19% ownership of the Chrysler Group, which means Daimler can continue to achieve economies of scale on technologies like diesel engines. Third, and perhaps most importantly, DCX stock spikes have catapulted the market value of the German automaker by a staggering $27.7 billion.

Of course Cerberus basically got a free, multinational corporation whose assets are probably still worth more than its considerable liabilities. Plus, a looming showdown with the UAW could result in some relief from the monumental legacy costs that scared off Daimler in the first place. We’re with the Detroit News on this one, it looks like a win for both companies. Now lets hope that Cerberus knows some designers that know how to make good-looking interiors.

[Source: Detroit News]

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by Damon Lavrinc

SunRed, an automotive development company based in Spain, made news recently when they revealed one of the strangest solar-powered motorcycles ever. But the company isn’t just into two-wheeled conveyances. When they unveiled their bike at the Barcelona Motor Show, they also debuted their next foray into extreme machines: the SR08.

The firm’s new supercar is being developed to campaign in the FIA GT1 series, with a limited run of 10 vehicles to reach homologation requirements. The carbon fiber monocoque stretches over 16 feet long and about three and a half feet tall, and gets motivation courtesy of a 500 HP V10 mounted amidships. Carbon ceramic brakes, with 380 mm discs and six-piston calipers, put the kibosh on kinetic energy, while adjustable Ohlins ensure that body roll is kept to an absolute minimum.

With a power to weight ratio of 4.85 lbs./hp, the SR08 can theoretically reach 60 in under three and a half seconds, and on to a top speed of 300 km/h.

Renderings of the SunRed SR08 are available in the gallery and you can check out some live shots by following the “Read” link below.

[Source: Omni Auto via MotorAuthority]

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Packard was a United States based brand of luxury automobile built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899 and the brand went off the market in 1958. Packard automobiles are highly sought after by collectors today, and the marque enjoys an active collectors club system.
Packards were advertised with the slogan “Ask the Man Who Owns One”.

Packard was founded by brothers James Ward Packard (Lehigh University Class of 1884), William Doud Packard and his partner George Lewis Weiss in the city of Warren, Ohio. James Ward believed that they could build a better horseless carriage that the Winton cars owned by Weiss (An important Winton stockholder) and James Ward, himself a mechanical engineer, had some ideas how to improve on the designs of current automobiles. By 1899, they were building vehicles. The company, which they called the Ohio Automobile Company, quickly introduced a number of innovations in its designs, including the modern steering wheel and years later the first production 12-cylinder engine.
While Henry Ford was producing cars that sold for $440, the Packards concentrated on more upscale cars that started at $2,600. Packard automobiles developed a following not only in the United States, but also abroad, with many heads of state owning them.
In need of more capital, the Packard brothers would find it when Henry Bourne Joy, a member of one of Detroit’s oldest and wealthiest families, bought a Packard. Impressed by its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of investors that included his brother-in-law, Truman Handy Newberry. On October 2, 1902, Ohio Automobile Company became Packard Motor Car Company, with James as president. Packard moved its automobile operation to Detroit soon after and Joy became general manager and later chairman of the board. One of the original Packards is still located at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio on Mahoning Avenue. The original is located at Lehigh University in Packard Lab.
The Packard’s factory on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit was designed by Albert Kahn, and included the first use of reinforced concrete for industrial construction in Detroit. When opened in 1903, it was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the world and its skilled craftsmen practiced over eighty trades.
The 3.5 million ft2 (325,000 m²) plant covered over 35 acres (142,000 m²) and straddled East Grand Boulevard. It was later subdivided by eighty-seven different companies. Kahn also designed The Packard Proving Grounds at Utica, Michigan.

Source: Wikipedia

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by Chris Shunk

The crossover segment is quickly overpopulating many automaker’s lineups (think Mazda and Ford), and Toyota is the latest to join the fray. The folks from Aichi Japan are only a couple months away from launching a production version of the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show’s FSC concept in their home market. The concept blended SUV utility and station wagon styling queues with a platform that’s based on the Camry to give Toyota another entry in what may be the hottest segment in the industry. The for-sale vehicle will be named Mark X Zio in Japan, and it will cart around six or seven passengers via the power of a 2.4- or 3.5-liter engine.

No word yet on whether the Mark X Zio will ever be made available in the US market, but if does ever grace our shores, we doubt the awkward name will make the trek.

[Source: Winding Road]

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Adam Opel GmbH (commonly known as Opel) is an automobile manufacturer based in Germany. The company was founded on January 21, 1863 and began making automobiles in 1899. Opel was acquired by General Motors in 1929 and continues as a subsidiary. Opel is GM’s largest European brand and with Vauxhall forms GM’s core European business.

The company was founded on January 21, 1863 by Adam Opel, and at first made household goods, and was a major maker of sewing machines. The founder died in 1895, with his company the leader in European sewing machines sales and producing over 2,000 bicycles yearly. They made their first cars in 1898 having bought the rights to the Lutzmann and sold them as Opel-Lutzmann. However, two years later, following the dissolution of the partnership, Opel’s son signed a licensing agreement with Automobiles Darracq S.A. of France to manufacture vehicles under the brand name “Opel-Darracq.” The vehicles were Opel bodies mounted on a Darracq chassis, powered by a 2-cylinder engine.
In 1906 they started to make cars to their own design which they had first shown in 1902 at the Hamburg Motor Show and from 1907 stopped making the Opel-Darracqs.
In 1911 the factory was virtually destroyed by fire and a new one was built with more up to date machinery and the manufacture of sewing machines dropped. Production now consisted of bicycles, cars and motor cycles. By 1913 they were the largest car maker in Germany.

Source:Wikipedia

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