Cars - Poland: books - history and models

Polskie fabryki samochodów 1946-1989

This publication describes the various Polish manufacturers of passengers cars, vans, trucks and buses. The chapters contain information about their history and achievements in the period from the end of World War II to the fall of the communist system in 1989.
The descriptions of the factories are preceded by introductory chapters containing information about the beginnings of the Polish car industry and its situation in the socialist People's Poland. Manufacturers of specialized and special bodies are also mentioned.

After the political transformation of the state and the introduction of the free market, the factories in question did not cope with external competition. Various organizations, including foreign ones, took them over or they simply collapsed.
However, it is worth remembering the achievements of those factories that were grouped in ZPMot and bearing the Polmo logo. They formed a large socialist automotive concern - which was then an important branch of the Polish industry.

The book includes, among others, descriptions of vehicle factories in Lublin, Starachowice, Bielsko-Biała, Warsaw, Poznań, Jelcz, Sanok, Mielec and Nysa.

Text in Polish.

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Samochody ze Śląska 1971-2018

This richly illustrated monograph presents vehicles produced in Bielsko-Biała and Tychy by WSM (Wytwórnia Sprzętu Mechanicznego), FSM (Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych) and Fiat Auto Poland / FCA Poland. It also includes projects, prototypes, and scale models developed at the Small Car Research and Development Center and later at BOSMAL.

The book covers the history, technical development, and key specifications of these vehicles. It spans 1971-2018 and contains many archival, previously unpublished photographs and drawings.

Highlighted models include:
- WSM/FSM Syrena
- Polski Fiat 126p, Polski Fiat 127p
- Beskid, Fiat Cinquecento
- Fiat Uno, Fiat Siena/Palio Weekend, Fiat Seicento, Fiat Panda II, Fiat 500/500C
- Abarth 500/595/695
- Ford Ka II
- Lancia Ypsilon II

Limited editions and equipment variants of each model are also described. The book provides an essential reference for automotive enthusiasts, historians, and collectors, presenting the full range of cars produced in the Silesian-Beskid region and their technical evolution over more than four decades.

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Karetki pogotowia ratunkowego PRL

This volume is part of the series "History of Motor Vehicles in the Polish People's Republic". It provides detailed descriptions of all types of ambulances and other vehicles designed and built for medical services, including prototypes and models that remained only on the drawing board.

The book also covers military ambulances and buses that, in case of disasters or war, could be adapted for transporting the wounded by removing seats and adding stretcher supports.

Illustrated with several hundred photographs and technical drawings, many of which have never been published before, this book offers a comprehensive view of the design, construction, and use of emergency vehicles in Poland during the PRL period.

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Montownie samochodów w II Rzeczypospolitej

Car assembly plants were an important part of Poland's automotive industry in the interwar period. This book presents their origins, operations, and production programs. It is a pioneering study, revealing many little-known facts from Polish automotive history, with some illustrations published for the first time.

In addition to plants within the Second Polish Republic, the book covers the Hudson and Essex assembly (Hudsexway) in the Free City of Gdańsk. Technical data and production statistics for the described models complement the text.

Materials were drawn from contemporary domestic and foreign sources, as well as original press, company, and advertising publications.

Contents:
- Author's note
- "Elibor" 1920-1927
- Towarzystwo Budowy Samochodów "As" 1926-1930
- Zjednoczone Fabryki Maszyn i Samochodów "Oświęcim-Praga" SA 1929-1938
- General Motors in Poland 1928-1931
- Polskie Towarzystwo Samochodów Citroën 1930-1934
- Polski Fiat 1932-1935
- Lilpop, Rau & Loewenstein 1936-1939
- Zakłady Samochodowe Wspólnoty Interesów SA 1939
- Hudsexway, Free City of Gdańsk 1928-1933
- Fablok SA 1939
- Summary
- Bibliography
- Index of names

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Pierwsze były Stary: Historia produkcji pojazdów w Polsce Ludowej

The first comprehensive and detailed history of the Polish automotive industry from 1945 to 1990. The author chronicles all serially produced vehicles and prototypes, beginning with the 1948 Star 20 trucks.
The coverage extends across various types of trucks, personal cars, delivery and agricultural vehicles, special-purpose vehicles (ambulances, tankers, fire trucks, garbage trucks, tippers, and more), buses, motorcycles, and scooters.
Complemented by detailed technical data for numerous vehicle types, the text features 350 photographs and technical drawings.

Zdzislaw Podbielski, a leading automotive journalist with extensive experience, has written thousands of press materials and authored 30 books. His expertise stems from years of work at the Industrial Institute of Motorization in Warsaw.

Text in Polish.

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Producenci nadwozi samochodowych w II Rzeczypospolitej

This richly illustrated book presents an overview of car body manufacturers in the Second Polish Republic, preceded by a summary of the global automotive body industry up to World War II, including the development of design and technology.

Featured plants include:

- Brzeskiauto (1925-1941)
- Zakłady Mechaniczne Plage i Laśkiewicz (1924-1933)
- Szydłowiecka Fabryka Braci Węgrzeckich (1923-1934)
- Zakłady Przemysłowe "Bielany" SA (1931-1944)
- Wytwórnia Karoserii i Przyczep Samochodowych Józef Zagórski (1938-1939)
- Centralne Warsztaty Samochodowe (CWS) (1918-1928)
- Państwowe Zakłady Inżynierii (PZInż.) (1928-1939)
...and other Polish and Gdańsk-based body builders.

The book explores the origins, development, and production programs of these companies, revealing many lesser-known facts from Poland's automotive history. Numerous illustrations, including some published for the first time, support the text.

Materials were drawn from contemporary domestic and foreign sources, press articles, corporate records, and advertising publications. This work will appeal to enthusiasts of Polish motoring, vintage cars, and those interested in the economic and industrial history of the Second Polish Republic.

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Samochody PRL-u

Reading "Samochody PRL-u" will take us on a fascinating journey to a time when the Polish automotive industry produced several hundred thousand vehicles every year. They were produced in a dozen or so factories. Dozens, if not hundreds, more factories made individual components, thus creating this branch of the national economy.

The book presents iconic Polish vehicles including the Mikrus, Warsaw, Syrena and Fiat 126p. It presents descriptions of trucks, vans and buses. One of the chapters is devoted to agricultural vehicles - tractors and harvesters.
The publication also presents prototypes of cars which unfortunately did not went into production, but which often - both in terms of styling and technical parameters - did not differ from the world standards of the time.
Thanks to the cooperation with the factories producing cars in the times of the People's Republic of Poland and their contemporary successors, the book has been enriched with hundreds of interesting photographs.

Text in Polish.

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Samochody z Wielkopolski 1971-2020

A richly illustrated book devoted to the behind-the-scenes development of prototype cars for agriculture and the launch of the production of the Tarpan 233 model and its derivative variants in Swarzędz near Poznań, the capital of Wielkopolska (Great-Poland).
It presents the various versions of the Tarpan agricultural car and its successor, the off-road Tarpan Honker.
Many previously unpublished photographs of the described vehicles are included.

The book also describes the takeover of the bankrupt Agricultural Car Factory by Volkswagen AG, which implemented there first the assembly and later the full production of VAG cars and vans.
Models of Skoda, Seat, Volkswagen and Audi have been assembled in Wielkopolska. They are included in this book, as well as the VW Caddy, VW Transporter and VW Crafter commercials, plus the MAN TGE, which were later produced in newly built factories in Swarzędz and Września.

Text in Polish.

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