Ford Transit: Books - History and Models

Ford Transit - The Making of an Icon

The Ford Transit is one of the most successful commercial light vans of all time and it has been the best selling light van in the UK and other parts of the world for over fifty-two years.

In this invaluable book, Peter Lee discusses the entire Transit range, including the wide variety of body types from 1957, when project planning was put into place, through to the present day with a peek into the future of Ford's famous van.

Written by a leading expert and promoter of the Ford Transit and including many previously unpublished photographs and rare designs, this book is an essential read for anyone with an interest in the history of Ford Transits, and of light commercial vehicles in general.

Ford Transit - Fifty Years

A commemorative history of fifty years of the iconic Ford Transit van, from the launch of the first-generation Transit in 1965, right up to the present day. Covering the full range of Transit models and with over three hundred photographs (including previously unpublished pictures from Ford's picture archive), "Ford Transit - Fifty Years" is an ideal resource for anyone with an interest in this world-beating commercial vehicle.

Written by acknowledged Ford Transit expert Peter Lee, the book covers:
- The development era - light commercial vehicles in the 1950s, the 'Project Redcap' prototypes and the first Transit
- Production and development of all eight generations and variants of Transits, including custom vans, camper vans, minibuses and special vehicle options
- Specification guides, awards, sales figures are all included as well as marketing worldwide
- Interviews with designers, engineers and Ford employees, along with owners' experiences.

Ford Taunus Transit: Die Geschichte vom Rotkaeppchen und seinen Verwandten

Ford FK 1000, 1250, 1500 or 800, Taunus Transit, Econoline or Thames 400E. They all have one thing in common: they close the gap between the estate car and the truck.
For transporting goods or people and with countless superstructures or special shapes, they were valuable helpers during the period of reconstruction, the economic miracle and right up to the present day.

Apart from Volkswagen, only Ford was able to compete successfully in the van market. With over seven million units of the Transit, one can speak of success. But how did this come about? What van types of past eras were there - and what does all this have to do with Little Red Riding Hood?

Text in German.

Ford Design in the UK - 70 Years of Success

Exploring Ford UK's design studios during the past 70 years, this book provides a unique insight into the company's history, its UK studio locations, and delves into the lives of the designers, modellers and studio engineers.
As a profession, automotive design has changed hugely over the past century and continues to evolve as new processes are developed.

This book charts the development of Ford projects in the UK, particularly those designed in the Dunton studio, which opened in 1967 and is still a key part of Ford's design resource in Europe.

From the early days of chalk drawings and wooden models for the Consul to today's digital renderings and milled clays for the latest Transit, Ford's designers and technicians have never been short of creativity.

This book tells their story, in their own words.

Features:
- Early Briggs days in Dagenham - the Consul, Zodiac and Classic
- Cortina, Corsair, Escort and Capri development in the Aveley studio
- The opening of Dunton and expansion of design activities
- The problems and politics behind Ford of Europe in the 1960s
- The eight generations of Ford Transit, 1965 to today
- The Uwe Bahnsen years - Granada, Sierra, Scorpio and Cargo truck
- New Edge design and the politics of the 1990s
- The story behind the Mondeo, Ka and Puma
- From New Edge to Kinetic Design - the 2000s
- How current digital design methods have revolutionised the design studio.

Models covered: Ford Consul (1950-62), Zephyr (1950-72), Zodiac (1950-72), Classic (1961-63), Anglia (1959-67), Cortina (1961-82), Corsair (1963-70), Escort (1967-98), Capri (1969-84), Granada (1972-85), Granada Scorpio (1985-98), Fiesta (1976- current), Sierra (1982-93), RS200 (1985-86), Ka (1996- current), Puma (1997-2001), Focus (1998- current), Mondeo (1993- current), Transit (1965- current), Transit Connect (2002 - current).

Le Ford Transit de mon père

Le 20 juin 2013, à Nanchang en Chine, Ford fêtait l'assemblage du 7 millionième Transit. Depuis un demi-siècle le Ford Transit occupe le devant de la scène dans sa catégorie. Une telle performance n'est pas le fruit du hasard. Cette longévité de carrière débute en Europe, au seuil des années 60, lorsque Ford à Dearborn impulse l'idée qu'un «van à vocation européenne» devait être créé.

Les ingénieurs anglais et allemands sont invités à mettre en commun leur savoir-faire au sein d'un projet intitulé «Redcap». En octobre 1965 cette collaboration aboutit à la réalisation d'un véhicule européen avant même la naissance d'une entité Ford Europe !
Commercialisé sous l'appellation Ford Transit, cet utilitaire va se hisser au premier rang européen dans sa catégorie et le marché français ne sera pas en reste. Le Ford Transit va s'installer dans notre paysage national et va poursuivre son implantation avec la génération suivante (MK II 1978-86).

• Richement illustré, cet ouvrage est consacré aux camionnettes Ford Transit Mk 1 et Mk 2.
• Retrace en détail l'historique et l'évolution des modèles Ford Transit Mk 1 (1965-1978) et Transit Mk 2 (1978-1986).
• Ce tome de la collection "La voiture de mon père" n'est pas seulement une source d'information profonde pour le propriétaire, mais aussi un guide d'originalité concis.
• La technique, les variants, les modifications et les versions spéciales sont décrites d'une manière détaillée.
• Contient plus de 220 photos d'époque, souvent inédites.

Ford Transit - Eine europäische Transporter-Legende

Der Ford Transit ist Kult-Transporter, Reisemobil-Plattform, schicker Van und vieles mehr. Ihn gibt es als Kastenwagen, Kombi, Nugget, Pritsche, Reisemobil, mit Vorder-, Hinter-, Allradantrieb. Er ist ein Millionen-Bestseller, gebaut in Europa, Asien und Amerika, verkauft wurde er in mehr als 100 Ländern.

65 Jahre lang gebaut unter Kabbeleien zwischen britischen und deutschen Entwicklern, aber mit technischen Pionierleistungen und auch einigen Kuriositäten. Heute besitzt diese Transporterlegende raffinierte Assistenzsystheme, Hightech-Motoren, es gibt ihn mit Hybridantrieb, Zehngang-Automatik statt dem Overdrive von vorgestern.

Dieses Buch umspannt die Geschichte von fünf Transit-Generationen: von den Vorläufermodellen Ford FK über die kultige Generation zwischen 1965 und 1985, die schnittigen Transporter ab 1986, die vielseitigen Transporter und Lieferwagen von heute.
Von der Entwicklungsgeschichte, über Technik und Design sowie die zahlreichen Einsatzmöglichkeiten werden alle Generationen detailliert mit technischen Daten, viel Bildmaterial und Zeitcolorit portraitiert.

Der Transporter-Experte Randolf Unruh hat ein umfassendes und fundiertes Buch geschrieben, dass zum Eintauchen in alle Epochen der Transit-Geschichte einlädt und alle wichtigen Informationen über die Transporterlegende enthält.