Motors A-Z Models

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as "Darracq Italiana" in 1907 by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq.

The firm initially produced Darracq cars in Naples, but after the partnership collapsed Stella and the other Italian co-investors moved production to an idle Darracq factory in the Milan suburb of Portello, and the company was renamed ALFA.

Acura is a Japanese brand name used by Honda in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Hong Kong since March 1986 to market luxury automobiles and near-luxury vehicles. The brand will be expanded to the Chinese market in 2006 and the Japanese domestic market in 2008. Acura is credited with creating or being the first to tap into a market for luxury Japanese cars outside Japan. Before Acura, automobiles from Japan were primarily economical and were seen as reliable above all else.

Other Japanese luxury brands (Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti) sprang up in North America shortly after Acura's introduction of the Legend, a V6-powered coupe and sedan, and the Integra, which was offered with a 4-cylinder engine only. Automotive journalists were impressed particularly by the Acura Legend...

The Allard Motor Company was an English car manufacturer founded in 1936 by Sydney Allard. The company, based in Putney, London until 1945 and then in Clapham, London, produced approximately 1900 cars until its closure in 1966.

Allards generally featured a large American V8 engine in a small, light British sports car body, giving a high power-to-weight ratio and foreshadowing the more famous AC Cobra - in fact, Carroll Shelby drove an Allard in the 1950s, and it was doubtless an inspiration.

American LaFrance (ALF) is an emergency vehicle manufacturer, formerly based in Ladson, South Carolina. Focusing primarily on fire engines and fire trucks (ladders), although they also sell rescue vehicles and ambulances. ALF was founded in 1873 by Truckson LaFrance and his partners as the "LaFrance Manufacturing Company," selling hand powered equipment. In 1995, the company was bought by Freightliner LLC, which is a subsidiary of Daimler-Chrysler. Freightliner continued to utilize American LaFrance's original nameplates and designations. However, most of their products are now built on Freightliner M2 or Sterling Acterra chassis. ALF has manufacturing facilities in Hamburg, NY and Casper, WY. As of 2005, they are the fifth largest manufacturer of emergency vehicles in North America.

In December 2005, it was announced that Freightliner had transferred the ownership of American LaFrance to the New York-based investment firm, Patriarch Partners, LLC. The headquarters and main plant in Ladson, South Carolina are not included in the transaction. However, Patriarch Partners will be allowed to use the plant until early 2007, when DaimlerChrysler will utilize the plant for assembly of the 2007 Dodge Sprinter.

Aston Martin was founded in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces the previous year to sell cars made by Singer. Martin raced specials at the Aston Hill Hillclimb near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. They acquired premises at Abingdon Road in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915.The company name was derived from Aston Hill and Lionel Martin.

After the war hiatus, the company was revitalised with funding from Count Louis Zborowski. In 1922, Aston Martin produced cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, and the cars set world speed and endurance records at Brooklands. Lionel Martin left in 1925; the following year, a number of rich investors, including Lord Charnwood, took control of the company as Aston Martin Motors, and moved the firm to new premises in Feltham. The 1929 Aston Martin International was another successful racer and was followed by the Le Mans and the Ulster. In 1936, the company, now owned by Sir Arthur Sutherland, decided to concentrate on road cars. The advent of World War II halted work, and the company languished throughout the war's duration.

The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau, in former East Germany. In 1910, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and a German court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name in his new car business. As the word "horch!" translates to "listen!" in German, August Horch settled on the Latin equivalent of his name - "audi!". It is also popularly believed that Audi is an acronym which stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt". Audi produces over 2 million vehicles annually at its main production site in Ingolstadt. Audi has another production plant in Neckarsulm.

Audi started with a 2612 cc model followed by a four cylinder model with 3564 cc, as well as 4680 cc and 5720 cc models. These cars were successful even in sporting events. August Horch left the Audi company in 1920. The first six cylinder model (4655 cc) appeared in 1924. In 1928, the company was acquired by J S Rasmussen, owner of DKW, who bought the same year the remains of the US automobile manufacturer, Rickenbacker including the manufacturing equipment for eight cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six cylinder and a small four cylinder (licensed from Peugeot) models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork.

The marque was established through a joint venture arrangement set up in 1952 between Leonard Lord of the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation and Donald Healey, a renowned automotive engineer and designer.

Austin-Healey produced cars until 1972 when the 20-year agreement between Healey and Austin came to an end. Donald Healey left the company in 1968 when the British Motor Corporation (Austin had merged with Morris in 1952 to form BMC) was taken over by British Leyland.

Bentley Motors Limited is a British based manufacturer of luxury automobiles and Grand Tourers. Bentley Motors was founded in England on January 18, 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley, known as W.O. Bentley or just "W.O." (1888–1971).

He was previously known for his successful range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel. The company is currently owned by the Volkswagen Group.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. BMW is the parent company of the MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands. It is also one of the leading German car manufacturers.

BMW was officially founded as a public company in 1922, but traces its origins to the pioneering days of German aviation all the way back to 1913. Two of these pioneering men, Karl Rapp and Gustav Otto, are credited by BMW as the "founding fathers". However, BMW owes its actual founding by three men- Josef Popp, Max Friz, and Camillo Castiglioni. These men brought BMW through many turbulent times in the company's early life, as well as taking the company public in 1922 to form BMW AG...

Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.

Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën (1878–1935), Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that complements the motor car. Within eight years Citroën had become Europe's largest car manufacturer and the 4th largest in the world.

Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of cars, especially compact/small cars.

These cars are also known as kei jidosha in Japan. Daihatsu researches hybrid vehicles and two stroke diesel engines.collaborations with Toyota...

Datsun is a former brand used by what is now Nissan, in order to sell their automobiles in North America and Australia...Datsun is an automobile marque.

The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. took control of DAT Motorcar Co., the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "in Japanese, and also to honour the sun depicted in the national flag, hence the name "Datsun"

Dodge is a brand name of automobiles and light to heavy-duty trucks. From 1914 to 1927, the company was named the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company.

The Chrysler Corporation acquired the Dodge company in 1928. In 1998, Dodge along with all other Chrysler subsidaries, merged with Daimler-Benz...

Eagle was a short-lived marque of the Chrysler Corporation that was made from the remains of American Motors Corporation, aimed at the enthusiast driver.

Even though the brand was short-lived, the Vision sold in respectable numbers, while the Talon sold more than 115,000 units. Eagle ran for 10 years, 1988 to 1998.

Ferrari is an Italian automotive manufacturer in the Formula One World Championship, also involved in high-end and high-performance race cars, supercars, and sports cars. The company was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929.

At first, Scuderia Ferrari sponsored drivers and manufactured racecars; the company went into independent car production in 1946, eventually became Ferrari S.p.A., and is now controlled by the Fiat group. The company is based in Maranello, near Modena, Italy.

FIAT Group, or Fiat S.p.A. is a European automobile manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin, Northern Italy; founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli

The company name is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Car Factory of Turin).

The Ford Motor Company (usually called Ford; sometimes called FoMoCo), is an American multinational corporation that manufactures automobiles. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, United States (where the company is currently headquartered), and incorporated in 1903.

In its twentieth century heyday, Ford, along with General Motors and Chrysler, were known as Detroit's "Big Three" automakers, companies that dominated the American auto market. Toyota surpassed Ford in revenue starting in 2004. Ford remains one of the world's ten largest corporations by revenue.

GMC is a manufacturer of trucks, vans, military vehicles, and Sport utility vehicles marketed in North America and the Middle East by General Motors. In January 2007, GMC was GM's second-largest-selling North American vehicle division after Chevrolet, ahead of Pontiac.

General Motors was founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908, as a holding company for Buick. In 1909, GM purchased the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, forming the basis of the General Motors Truck Company, from which the "GMC Truck" brand name was derived. (Rapid was established on December 22, 1901, by Max Grabowsky.

The company developed some of the earliest commercial trucks ever designed, and utilized one-cylinder engines.) The Reliance Motor Car Company (another independent manufacturer) was also purchased that same year by GM. Rapid and Reliance were merged in 1911, and in 1912 the marque "GMC Truck" first appeared on vehicles exhibited at the New York International Auto Show.

Honda Motor Company, ) is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.

Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959,as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year.Honda surpassed Nissan in 2001 to become the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer.

As of August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States.Honda was the seventh largest automobile manufacturer in the world behind Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Group, Ford, and Nissan in 2010.

The Oldtimer Grand Prix on the Salzburgring near Salzburg, Austria, had been brought into being by Prof. Dr. Helmut Krackowizer, the famous Austrian journalist and ex-motorcycle racer.

After his retreat in 1955 from active motorcycle racing he started to search for historical motorcycles throughout Europe. Some of these discoveries he kept to himself; having let them be restored, he exchanged and sold them. In 1967 he founded one of the first vintage motor clubs in Austria and for a short period he was president of the Austrian Vintage Club Association in 1976.

Hyundai was founded as a small construction firm by Chung Ju-yung in 1947. Hyundai Construction began operating outside of South Korea in 1965, initially entering the markets of Guam, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967.Hyundai Heavy Industries was founded in 1973,and completed the construction of its first ships in June 1974.

In 1983 Hyundai entered the semiconductor industry through the establishment of Hyundai Electronics renamed Hynix in 2001.

Jaguar Cars Limited is a British luxury car manufacturer, with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England. It was founded as SS Cars Ltd in 1922 and changed its name to Jaguar in 1945. The company has been owned by Ford since 1990. Jaguar also has an engineering division in Whitley, Coventry.

Jaguar's main competitors include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac, Infiniti and in the past Rover.

The colloquial "Jag" is acceptable in both countries (USA and UK)...

Jeep is an automobile marque and registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler. The marque, like all other Chrysler subsidiaries, became part of DaimlerChrysler when Daimler-Benz merged with the Chrysler Corporation in 1998.

Roads that are only suitable for off-road vehicles are often called jeep trails. The most famous is the Rubicon Trail located near Lake Tahoe in central California.

Jensen Motors, Ltd was a British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles, based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands west of Birmingham.
Jensen began as a small coachbuilding firm run by brothers Richard and Alan Jensen; they bought out the body works of W.J. Smiths & Sons where they worked after the owner's death and renamed it Jensen Motors in 1934.

They built exclusive customised bodies for standard cars produced by several manufacturers of the day including Morris, Singer, Standard, and Wolseley. In 1934 they were commissioned by American film actor Clark Gable to design and build a car for him based on a Ford V-8 chassis.

The resultant car won them much acclaim and stimulated huge interest in their work including a deal with Ford to produce a run of Jensen-Fords with Jensen bodywork on a Ford chassis. In 1934 they also started to design their first true production car under the name White Lady. This evolved into the Jensen S-type which went into production in 1935.

Lada is the trademark of AutoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer. It was chosen for exports over the domestic Zhiguli brand, but since the 1980s the name has been used in Soviet and later Russian market as well.

Lada made its name in Western Europe selling the Lada Riva in large quantities during the 1980s, but subsequent models have not enjoyed the same success as the Riva. Its headquarters are in Togliatti Samara Oblast or province.

Automobili-Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini, is a subsidiary of German car manufacturer Audi AG.

It is a manufacturer of high performance sports cars based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna. The company was founded in 1963 by businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini April 28, 1916 February 20, 1993, who owned a successful tractor factory, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A..

Lancia is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Modern Lancias are renowned for presenting a more luxurious alternative to the models in the Fiat range upon which they are based.

One of the firm's trademarks is the use of letters of the Greek alphabet as the names of its models. Lancia is also famous for many innovations concerning the automobile sector. These include the first full-production V6 engine, in the 1950 Aurelia, and earlier experiments with V8 and V12 engine configurations.

Land Rover is a British all-terrain vehicle and sport utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturer, based in Solihull, England. Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle, a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on April 30, 1948 at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all four-wheel drive.

Starting out as an internal division of Rover, Land Rover has designed and manufactured a range of four-wheel drive vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW.

Today, the marque is part of the Premier Automotive Group, a division of the Ford Motor Company, and one of the best internationally known and longest lived nameplates of rugged SUVs together with the U.S. Jeep.

Lincoln is an American luxury automobile brand, operated under the Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1917 by Henry M. Leland and acquired by Ford in 1922, Lincoln has been manufacturing vehicles intended for the upscale markets since the 1920s. Ironically Lincoln's prevalent competitor Cadillac, was also founded by Henry M.

Leland having acquired the assets of The Henry Ford Company. While Lincoln was the best selling luxury marque in the United States as recently as 2002, Lincoln lost ground to its competitors. To combat this recent slide in sales Lincoln has unveiled three new models, the MKZ sport sedan, MKS luxury sedan, and MKX crossover sport utility vehicle.

Maserati is a famous Italian manufacturer of racing cars and sports cars, established in 1914 in Bologna.

The company's headquarters are now in Modena, and their emblem is a trident. Today, Maserati is owned directly by the Italian car giant Fiat, after having been a part of Ferrari for some years...

Mazda Motor Corporation Matsuda Kabushiki-kaisha? is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Hiroshima, Japan.

As of 2006, the company is expected to produce 1.25 million vehicles per year with sales evenly divided among Japan, Europe, and North America. The Ford Motor Company owns 33.4% of Mazda.

McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren 1937–1970, is a racing team based in Woking, England, which is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, Canadian-American Challenge Cup, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team is managed by Ron Dennis and is controlled by McLaren Racing, a member of the McLaren Group.

In 1990 McLaren Cars was founded to produce road going cars based on the team's racing expertise.McLaren is one of the most successful teams in Formula One, having won more Grands Prix than any constructor except Ferrari and numerous World Drivers' and World Constructors' Championships.

When account is taken of the period of competition, McLaren emerge as the most successful team with 11 drivers' and 8 constructors' championships since 1966.

Mercedes-Benz sometimes shortened to just Mercedes or Benz is a German brand name of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks created for Daimler-Benz AG and now owned by DaimlerChrysler AG. The Daimler-Benz company originated on June 28, 1926 when two companies, Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG), the inventors of the automobile, merged.

Established in 1871, Benz & Cie. was the most important of several companies founded by Karl Benz. DMG was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and his partner Wilhelm Maybach in 1890, but Daimler died in 1900 and Maybach left DMG in 1907, by which time the two companies were rivals.

In 1924, owing to economic necessity after World War One, they entered into an Agreement of Mutual Interest valid until the year 2000, however, this initial agreement still allowed each company to manufacture and sell their products under their original brand names. It was only after the 1926 official merger, that the brand Mercedes-Benz was created and used.

The MG Owners Club was formed in 1973 to serve the growing needs of the MG sports car enthusiast. Over the last 39 years the MGOC has concentrated on making it easier, cheaper and more enjoyable to own an MG.

Our vast membership base has helped earn us the reputation of being the World's largest single marque car club.

NSU Motorenwerke AG, normally just NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873.

It was acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969. VW merged the company with Auto Union, to eventually evolve into Audi as it is known today.

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. The company survived in the post-war era, undergoing a number of mergers and changing its name from Messerschmitt before being bought by DASA in 1989.

After World War II, the company was not allowed to produce aircraft. One alternative the company came up with was the three wheeled motorcycle/bubble car or Kabinenroller (cabinscooter) KR175 / KR200.

According to an urban legend, it was made with old aeroplane parts. This is not true but as it was designed by an aircraft engineer, Fritz Fend, it is probably no coincidence it looks somewhat like an aeroplane.

The Mini is a small economy car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000.

The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel drive layout allowing 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage influenced a generation of car makers.

The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T.

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...

Officine Specializzate Costruzioni Automobili - Fratelli Maserati SpA, is usually abbreviated to O.S.C.A. and sometimes spelled OSCA or Osca, was an Italian brand of sports car automobiles.

It was founded 1947 by Ernesto Maserati, Ettore Maserati, and Bindo Maserati, brothers who left Maserati as their ten-year contract with Adolfo Orsi had then terminated.

Ten year earlier, in 1937, the remaining Maserati brothers from the original company bearing their name and founded in 1926, had sold their shares in the company to the Orsi family, who, in 1940, had relocated the company headquarters to their hometown of Modena, where it remains to this day.

Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën.It is the second largest automaker in Europe, behind Volkswagen. Peugeot's roots go back to bicycle manufacturing at the end of the 19th century. Its headquarters are in Paris, Avenue de la Grande Armée.

Although the Peugeot factory had been in the manufacturing business for some time, their entry into the world of wheeled vehicles was by means of the bicycle. Armand Peugeot introduced the Peugeot "Le Grand Bi" penny-farthing in 1882 and a range of bicycles.

Peugeot bicycles have been built until very recently, although the car company and bike company parted ways in 1926.

The Plymouth automobile was introduced on July 7, 1928. It was the Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field, which at the time was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouths were actually priced a little higher than the competition, but they offered standard features such as hydraulic brakes that the competition did not provide. Plymouths were originally sold exclusively through Chrysler dealerships.

The origins of the first Plymouth can be traced back to the Maxwell automobile. When Walter Chrysler took over control of the trouble-ridden Maxwell-Chalmers car company in the early 1920s, he inherited the Maxwell as part of the package. After he used the company's facilities to help create and launch the Chrysler car in 1924, he decided to create a lower-priced companion car.

So for 1926 the Maxwell was reworked and rebadged as a low-end Chrysler model. Then at the end of the decade this model was once again reworked and rebadged, this time to create the Plymouth.

Pontiac is a marque of automobile produced by General Motors and sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico from 1926 to the present.The Pontiac brand was introduced by General Motors in 1926 as the 'companion' marque to GM's Oakland Motor Car line. The Pontiac name was first used in 1906 by the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works and linked to Chief Pontiac who led an unsuccessful uprising against the British shortly after the French and Indian War.

The Oakland Motor Company and Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works Company decided to merge together in November 1908 under the name of the Oakland Motor Car Company. The operations of both companies were joined together in Pontiac, Michigan to build the Cartercar. Oakland was purchased by General Motors in 1909.

The first General Motors Pontiac was conceived as an affordable six cylinder that was intended to compete with more inexpensive four cylinder models. Within months of its introduction, Pontiac outsold Oakland. As Pontiac's sales rose and Oakland's sales began to decline, Pontiac became the only 'companion' marque to survive its 'parent', in 1932.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, often shortened to Porsche AG, or just Porsche, is a German sports car manufacturer, founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer who also created the first Volkswagen. The company is located in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.

The first Porsche, the Porsche 64 of 1938, used many components from the Volkswagen Beetle.

The second Porsche model and first production automobile, the Porsche 356 sports car of 1948, was built initially in Gmünd, Austria, the location to which the company was evacuated during war times, but after building forty-nine cars the company relocated to Zuffenhausen.

Renault is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans, tanks, and also buses/coaches.

Its alliance with Nissan makes it the fourth-largest automotive group. Together Renault and Nissan are leading electric car development among major car companies.

The Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1905. After 1935,

it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.

Yamaha Motor Company Limited TYO: Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company, initially part of the Yamaha Corporation. After expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized vehicles in July 1, 1955.

Yamaha Motors is the world's second largest producer of motorcycles. It also produces many other motorized vehicles such as ATVs, boats, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft.In 2000 Toyota bought 4% of Yamaha Motor from the Yamaha Corporation, the largest shareholder in Yamaha Motor, for about $97.6 million.

Yamaha and Yamaha Motor each bought 500,000 shares of Toyota stock in return.In 2005 Yamaha announced the creation of 'Star Motorcycles', a new standalone brand name for its cruiser series of motorcycles. Although a separate brand, Star motorcyles continue to be sold in Yamaha dealerships.

The Ford Zephyr was a car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom. It was a larger saloon to complement the Ford Consul. The Zephyr and its luxury variant, the Zephyr Zodiac which appeared in 1955, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 to 1971 before being replaced by a larger Ford Consul and Granada.

The Mk III range was made from 1962 until the completely new Zephyr/Zodiac Mk IV was released in 1966. This car was a design that more resembles one of the later Consul/Granada range with V-engines and individual rear suspension.Model numbers 213E, 214E right-hand drive and left-hand drive.The Zephyr / Zodiac Mark III shared some of its mechanical components, as well as the basic chassis design, with the Mark II, but had a stronger overall body construction.

The exterior was designed by Canadian Roy Brown who also designed the Edsel and the Cortina, though the rear of the body was inspired by a design proposal by Frua. Unlike the Zephyr 4, the Zephyr 6 had a full width grille including the headlight surrounds: overall body length and width were the same for both Zephyr III versions, however. With the same 2,553 cc (156 cu in) displacement as before, the Mark III model had higher compression ratio resulting in some 20 hp (15 kW) higher output as well as a broader torque range.

Deutschland von 1950 bis 1958 Automobilbau ZÜNDAPP, Nürnberg und München Zündapp was a famous German motorcycle brand.

The company was originally founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau GmbH" as a producer of detonators.

In 1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company and two years later, he diversified into the construction of motorcycles. The company folded in 1984.