Car Manufacturers - Germany: Books - History (2/2)

Messerschmitt (1954-1964) - Brooklands Portfolio

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Messerschmitt models from the years 1954-1964. Describes the Messerschmitt KR175, KR200, KR201, Cruisette, TG500, FMR, Super and Sport Cabriolet.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

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Von Brennabor zu ZF - Fahrzeugindustrie in Brandenburg an der Havel

After 1871, vehicle construction developed as the dominant branch of industry in Brandenburg an der Havel. Important factories such as Brennabor and Corona were built, which shaped the work and life of the city and region. Bicycles, motorcycles, strollers and cars came from here. ZF is now continuing the tradition.
160 largely unpublished images provide fascinating insights into this success story.

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Fahrzeugspuren in Chemnitz (Teil 1) - Zur Historie des Fahrzeugbaues

Frieder Bach has been following the traces of vehicle construction in Chemnitz for years, from bicycles to motorcycles and automobiles. He goes back to the 19th century.

Milestones include names such as Tuchscherer, Presto, Schüttoff, Diamant, Wanderer, Auto Union, Barkas, Moll-Fahrzeuge, ESWECO, Pöge, Häckel, Riemann, Balaco, VEB Fahrzeugelektrik, Marklin, ALNO, Rasmussens Boat Motors, Motap, Oscar Winter, Braunsdorfer Maschinenfabrik, Motorenhaus Köhler; Hofmann & Kühn, Oswald Preußer, Alfred Niebl, Deutsche Dynamo-Werke, Hubert Hottek, Seyfert & Butscher, Heinrich Illgen, Hofmann shock absorbers, Wachsmut company, Schaumberger & Hempel company, R. Neubert company, B. Gerstenberger company, Dietrich & Hannak company, DKW-Simson, Erich Reif, Endig company, Thranitz company, Hans Franke, "Gustl" Sieper, "RIKS", "Ehrlich", Münch company, Bräunig company, "Elan".

Frieder Bach creates before the reader the atmosphere of a time in which enthusiasts with a traditional craft developed a completely new vehicle technology. Bach does not hide the fact that technological creativity in small companies sometimes required a spartan lifestyle.
But it was the network of small family businesses that was able to combine tradition and innovation in the Chemnitz area.

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Fahrzeugspuren in Chemnitz (Teil 2) - Fahrzeugschicksale

Today, the lifespan of a new vehicle is determined when it is designed. After a pre-planned period of use, the car ends up in the scrap press.
In the 1920s and 1930s, owning a car was still considered a special luxury. In addition, in the years after the Second World War, the useful life of cars and motorcycles was extended beyond measure by having them overhauled or rebuilt using third-party parts, despite being a "total loss" due to an accident or reaching the age-related wear limit.

In the immediate post-war period, this primarily affected small trucks and delivery vans. When newer series vehicles began to replenish the stock, the "homemade" ones were also scrapped. Only very few survived as witnesses to the times and enliven today's classic car scene.

For many years, these vehicles did not fit the image of the "classic car restored as faithfully to the original as possible". The change in thinking came too late for many of the non-original, but often original vehicles. However, since they played an important role in the post-war reconstruction of our country, this second part of the Chemnitz vehicle trail should finally "drive" them into the spotlight of our attention.

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Fahrzeugspuren in Chemnitz (Teil 3) - Motorsport. 1900 bis 1990

In volume 1 of the Fahrzeugspuren series, many names of Chemnitz directors, company bosses and craftsmen who were active in motorsports appear. In part 2, you can see vehicles whose builders, often hobbyists, then built racing machines based on these vehicles and often drove them themselves.

In the final part 3, the author presents more than 400 racing drivers with text and more than 1500 illustrations. The enthusiasm of the people gave rise to motorsports in this form, for which Chemnitz was also a special center during its time as "Karl-Marx-Stadt".
On the one hand as a "non-Olympic sport", on the other hand as a kind of "underground craft scene" which made it clear during the time of the state monopoly that in the cradle of German vehicle construction, family businesses could be suppressed, damaged and hindered, but not eliminated.

With this book, Frieder Bach succeeds in remembering several generations of racing drivers and also paying homage to the family business, which combines livelihood security, technological creativity and love of the job and which today lives on in part in the classic car sector.

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