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{{Other uses|Neckar (disambiguation)}} {{Other uses|Neckar (disambiguation)}}
{{unreferenced|date=April 2008}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox Defunct Company
{{Infobox company
| company_name = Neckar
| name = NSU-Fiat/Neckar
| company_logo = ]
| fate = unknown | logo =
| fate = Complete takeover by Fiat
| successor = unknown
| successor = ]<br />]
| foundation = 1957 | foundation = 1957
| defunct = 1971 | defunct = 1971
| location = ] | location = ]
| industry = ] | industry = ]
| key_people = ], founder | key_people = ], founder
| products = ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | products = ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
Line 17: Line 18:
}} }}


'''NSU-Fiat''' was a ] ] manufacturer which produced ] vehicles under license at a plant acquired from NSU in ] from 1929 to 1957. '''NSU-Fiat''' was a German ] manufacturer which produced ] vehicles under license at a plant acquired from NSU in ] from 1929 to 1957.


In 1957, following a complicated litigation process over the right to use the by now increasingly high profile "NSU" name on passenger cars, the name used for the Fiat designed cars was changed to '''Neckar''', and with this name the company continued to produce Fiats in Germany until 1971. In 1957, following a complicated litigation process over the right to use the by now increasingly high profile "NSU" name on passenger cars, the name used for the Fiat-designed cars was changed to '''Neckar''', and with this name the company continued to produce Fiats in West Germany until 1971.


== History == == History ==
] sold its then recently completed ] car factory (near the river ]) in 1929 to ] for one Million Marks, following financial problems resulting from the ]. The deal resulted from an initiative by NSU's bankers, ].<ref name=Spiegel361956/> ] sold its then recently completed ] car factory (near the river ]) in 1929 to ] for one Million Marks, following financial problems resulting from the ]. The deal resulted from an initiative by NSU's bankers, ].<ref name=Spiegel361956/>


=== Two separate manufacturing businesses both using the NSU name for their motorised vehicles === === Two separate NSU businesses ===
The 1929 deal left two businesses producing petrol driven vehicles with similar names located barely 7 kilometers (4 miles) apart: the two were frequently confused with one other. "NSU Automobil-AG" was a subsidiary of Fiat, manufacturing Fiat passenger cars carrying a "NSU-Fiat" badge and located in ], while NSU Werke AG in nearby ] produced motor-bikes, becoming during the 1950s one of the largest motor-bike manufacturers in the world.<ref name=Spiegel361956>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43063929.html#Die|title=Scheidung von Fiats Tochter|accessdate=2013-05-18 |publisher=SPIEGEL-ONLINE|author= ] (proprietor & managing editor)| volume =36/1956 | page =39|date=5 September 1956}}</ref> The 1929 deal left two businesses producing petrol driven vehicles with similar names located barely 7 kilometers (4 miles) apart: the two were frequently confused with one other. "NSU Automobil-AG" was a subsidiary of Fiat, manufacturing Fiat passenger cars carrying a "NSU-Fiat" badge and located in ], while NSU Werke AG in nearby ] produced motor-bikes, becoming during the 1950s one of the largest motor-bike manufacturers in the world.<ref name=Spiegel361956>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43063929.html#Die|title=Scheidung von Fiats Tochter|accessdate=2013-05-18 |publisher=SPIEGEL-ONLINE|editor-first = Rudolf |editor-last = Augstein | editor-link = Rudolf Augstein | issue = 36/1956 | page =39|date=5 September 1956}}</ref>


=== "NSU-Fiat" === === NSU-Fiat ===
Fiat's German subsidiary started to produce ]s and ] models under license in the Heilbronn factory under the brand "NSU-Fiat". (The same Fiat designed models were also produced under license in Nanterre, France by ] the cars subsequently becoming known simply as "Simcas".) Fiat's German subsidiary started to produce ]s and ] models under license in the Heilbronn factory under the brand "NSU-Fiat". (The same Fiat-designed models were also produced under license in Nanterre, France by ] the cars subsequently becoming known simply as "Simcas".)


The Heilbronn plant had been built in 1926 by NSU, then a motor bike manufacturer, in order to break into the passenger car market, but the project had failed and by 1929 NSU had no ambitions to produce passenger cars, and therefore no reason to object when Fiat, having bought the plant, used it to manufacture cars badged as NSU-Fiats. In 1929 friendly collaboration between NSU and the nearby Fiat subsidiary was agreed, with NSU supplying parts for the Heilbronn built Fiat models. A year later, however, relations had cooled as Fiat preferred to supply parts to its Heilbronn factory from its own ] plant beyond the Alps, and also used the Heilbronn as a bridgehead to facilitate the importation to Germany of fully assembled new cars from Italy.<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The Heilbronn plant had been built in 1926 by NSU, then a motor bike manufacturer, in order to break into the passenger car market, but the project had failed and by 1929 NSU had no ambitions to produce passenger cars, and therefore no reason to object when Fiat, having bought the plant, used it to manufacture cars badged as NSU-Fiats. In 1929 friendly collaboration between NSU and the nearby Fiat subsidiary was agreed, with NSU supplying parts for the Heilbronn built Fiat models. A year later, however, relations had cooled as Fiat preferred to supply parts to its Heilbronn factory from its own ] plant beyond the Alps, and also used the Heilbronn site as a bridgehead to facilitate the importation to Germany of fully assembled new cars from Italy.<ref name=Spiegel361956/>


=== Post war sporting success for the "NSU" brand === === Post war sporting success for NSU ===
Success by NSU Werke AG in motor-bike racing in the decade after 1945 greatly enhanced the appeal and therefore the value, especially in Germany, of the "NSU" name. With the "NSU" name more frequently in the public eye, confusion between "NSU-Fiat" and "NSU Werke" became more frequent among the general public which also affected business professionals with whom the businesses had dealings. The 1950s found NSU Werke's General Director, ], complaining that customers were being deceived ("''grobe Kundentäuschung''") because Fiat Germany were using the NSU-Fiat name to exploit the glory of the racing successes and speed records of the NSU motorbikes.<ref name=Spiegel361956/> Success by NSU Werke AG in motor-bike racing in the decade after 1945 greatly enhanced the appeal and therefore the value, especially in Germany, of the "NSU" name. With the "NSU" name more frequently in the public eye, confusion between "NSU-Fiat" and "NSU Werke" became more frequent among the general public which also affected business professionals with whom the businesses had dealings. The 1950s found NSU Werke's General Director, ], complaining that customers were being deceived ("''grobe Kundentäuschung''") because Fiat Germany were using the NSU-Fiat name to exploit the glory of the racing successes and speed records of the NSU motorbikes.<ref name=Spiegel361956/>


=== Re-entry into automobiles ===
=== Plans for the "NSU" motor-bike business to (re-)enter the passenger car business ===
In 1955 it was reported that the motorbike manufacturer NSU Werke were planning to produce a passenger car in the "approximately 400cc" class and proposed to badge the little car simply as an "NSU". This seemed likely to create even more confusion in the market place affecting Fiat's smaller "NSU-Fiat"s based on the ], already produced in Turin since 1955 and scheduled for imminent launch as a Heilbronn produced model (with the still smaller ] already in the development pipeline).<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The Heilbronn built Fiat 600 was duly launched in 1956, but because of the dispute it was badged not as an NSU-Fiat but as the "Jagst" while one class up, the new Heilbronn built ] also intriduced in 1956 was advertised as the "Neckar".<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The NSU offering, when it appeared on the market in 1958 as the ] would indeed compete in the same market segment as the baby Fiats. In 1955 it was reported that the motorbike manufacturer NSU Werke were planning to produce a passenger car in the "approximately 400cc" class and proposed to badge the little car simply as an "NSU". This seemed likely to create even more confusion in the market place affecting Fiat's smaller "NSU-Fiat"s based on the ], already produced in Turin since 1955 and scheduled for imminent launch as a Heilbronn produced model (with the still smaller ] already in the development pipeline).<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The Heilbronn built Fiat 600 was duly launched in 1956, but because of the dispute it was badged not as an NSU-Fiat but as the "Jagst" (shortly thereafter lengthened to "Neckar-Jagst") while one class up, the new Heilbronn built ] also introduced in 1956 was advertised as the "Neckar".<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The NSU offering, when it appeared on the market in 1958 as the ] would indeed compete in the same market segment as the baby Fiats.


=== Dispute about the "NSU" brand === === NSU brand dispute ===
Acrimony had mounted, involving robust exchanges of lawyers' letters, and legal hearings ensued. Arguments centred on what had been agreed about rights to the "NSU" name and, in particular, whether an arguably informal letter dated 5th January 1929 on the subject had long-standing contractual force.<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The judge decided that that the 1929 letter could not have the contractual force necessary to bind the parties over use of the "NSU" name, because of a danger that its effect, if valid, would be to damage marketplace competition and thereby run counter to the public interest.<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The Fiat licensee therefore felt obliged, in 1957, to rebrand all its Heilbronn assembled cars: NSU-Fiat badged cars became '''Neckar'''s. Acrimony had mounted, involving robust exchanges of lawyers' letters, and legal hearings ensued. Arguments centred on what had been agreed about rights to the "NSU" name and, in particular, whether an arguably informal letter dated 5 January 1929 on the subject had long-standing contractual force.<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The judge decided that the 1929 letter could not have the contractual force necessary to bind the parties over use of the "NSU" name, because of a danger that its effect, if valid, would be to damage marketplace competition and thereby run counter to the public interest.<ref name=Spiegel361956/> The Fiat licensee therefore felt obliged, in 1957, to rebrand all its Heilbronn assembled cars: NSU-Fiat badged cars became '''Neckars'''.


=== Fiat designed models branded as "Neckar"s === === Fiat-designed models branded as Neckars ===
Neckar was in the late 1950s producing fewer than 25,000 vehicles a year, ] (Neckar Weinsberg), ] (Neckar Jagst) and ] (Neckar Europa) slightly modified, often more luxurious and sporty than the Fiats produced in ]. Neckar was in the late 1950s producing fewer than 25,000 vehicles a year, ] (Neckar Weinsberg), ] (Neckar Jagst) and ] (Neckar Europa) slightly modified, often more luxurious and sporty than the Fiats produced in ].
⚫ The launch of the ] in 1961 and of the Neckar Panorama (derived from the ]) allowed Neckar to reach a yearly production of 50,000 units in 1962. A coupe derived from the 1500 and called the Neckar Mistral was designed. A coupe and a convertible based on the Fiat 600 was produced as the Neckar Riviera. The ] (as the Neckar Adria) was the last model produced by Neckar.


⚫ The launch of the ] in 1961 and of the Neckar Panorama (derived from the ]) allowed Neckar to reach a yearly production of 50,000 units in 1962. A coupé derived from the 1500 and called the Neckar Mistral was designed. A coupé and a convertible based on the Fiat 600 were produced as the Neckar Riviera. The ] (as the Neckar Adria) was the last model produced by Neckar.
== Withdrawal of the Fiat subsidiary from German automobile manufacturing ==
⚫ The high cost of the German workforce, supported by German government determination to sustain what some thought was a high value for the ], doomed Neckar. Fiat refused to sell the license of the new ], ] and ] to Neckar. Production of Neckar slowed down from 1963. 50,000 cars were produced in 1962, down to 44,000 units in 1963, 22,000 in 1964, 18,000 in 1967 and 12,000 in 1970. Neckar closed in 1971 having produced 370,000 cars in total.


==Models== == Closure ==
⚫ The high cost of the German workforce, supported by the German government’s determination to sustain what some thought was a high value for the ], doomed Neckar. Fiat refused to sell the license of the new ], ] and ] to Neckar. Production of Neckar slowed down from 1963. 50,000 cars were produced in 1962, down to 44,000 units in 1963, 22,000 in 1964, 18,000 in 1967 and 12,000 in 1970. Neckar closed in 1971 having produced 370,000 cars in total.
⚫ ]
]


==Models==
{| class="wikitable" <hiddentext>generated with ] V1.7<\hiddentext> {| class="wikitable" <hiddentext>generated with ] V1.7<\hiddentext>
|- style="font-weight:bold" |- style="font-weight:bold"
| width="113" height="14" | Model | width="113" height="14" | Model
| width="150" | Variant of | width="150" | Variant of
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar Weinsberg | height="14" | ]
| ] | ]
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar Jagst | height="14" | Neckar Jagst
| ] | ]
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar Europa | height="14" | Neckar Europa
| ] | ]
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar 1100 Millecento<ref name="AR67">{{cite journal | ref = AR67 | title = Automobil Revue Modelle 1967/Revue Automobile modèles 1967 | editor1-last = Braunschweig | editor1-first = Robert | language = German, French | publisher = Hallwag AG | page = 364 | location = Berne, Switzerland | volume = 62 | date = 9 March 1967 |display-editors=etal}}</ref>
| ]
|-
| height="14" | Neckar Panorama | height="14" | Neckar Panorama
| ] | ]
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar Adria | height="14" | Neckar Adria
| ] | ]
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar Mistral | height="14" | Neckar Mistral
| ] | ] Coupé
|- |-
| height="14" | Neckar Riviera | height="14" | Neckar Riviera
| ] | ]
|} |}
⚫ {{-}}


<gallery widths="200px" heights="150px">
⚫ {{Reflist}}
⚫ Fiat Nsu 1100 Neckar 4-Door Sedan 1959.jpg|1959 Neckar Europa 4-Door Sedan
Neckar Jagst 770.JPG|1965 Neckar Jagst 770
Fiat Coupé (40319403435).jpg|Neckar Mistral
</gallery>

⚫ {{Clear}}

==References==
⚫ {{Reflist}}


==Bibliography== ==Bibliography==
* Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos Band 2 - 1920-1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-613-02170-6. * Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos Band 2 - 1920-1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, {{ISBN|3-613-02170-6}}.
* Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos 1945−1990, Band 4, 1. Auflage, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02131-5 * Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos 1945−1990, Band 4, 1. Auflage, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, {{ISBN|3-613-02131-5}}


== See also == == See also ==
Line 92: Line 101:
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]

==External links==
* {{PM20|FID=co/044062|TEXT=Clippings about|NAME=}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Neckar (Car)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Neckar (Car)}}
] ]
] ]
]

Latest revision as of 06:13, 19 August 2024

For other uses, see Neckar (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Neckar" car – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
NSU-Fiat/Neckar
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1957
Defunct1971
FateComplete takeover by Fiat
SuccessorFiat
Audi
HeadquartersGermany
Key peopleHans-Theodor Schütmann, founder
ProductsNeckar Weinsberg, Neckar Jagst, Neckar Europa, Neckar Panorama, Neckar Adria, Neckar Mistral, Neckar Riviera
ParentNSU

NSU-Fiat was a German automobile manufacturer which produced Fiat vehicles under license at a plant acquired from NSU in Heilbronn from 1929 to 1957.

In 1957, following a complicated litigation process over the right to use the by now increasingly high profile "NSU" name on passenger cars, the name used for the Fiat-designed cars was changed to Neckar, and with this name the company continued to produce Fiats in West Germany until 1971.

History

NSU Motorenwerke (subsequently NSU Werke) AG sold its then recently completed Heilbronn car factory (near the river Neckar) in 1929 to Fiat for one Million Marks, following financial problems resulting from the economic crisis. The deal resulted from an initiative by NSU's bankers, Dresdner Bank.

Two separate NSU businesses

The 1929 deal left two businesses producing petrol driven vehicles with similar names located barely 7 kilometers (4 miles) apart: the two were frequently confused with one other. "NSU Automobil-AG" was a subsidiary of Fiat, manufacturing Fiat passenger cars carrying a "NSU-Fiat" badge and located in Heilbronn, while NSU Werke AG in nearby Neckarsulm produced motor-bikes, becoming during the 1950s one of the largest motor-bike manufacturers in the world.

NSU-Fiat

Fiat's German subsidiary started to produce Fiat Topolinos and Balillas models under license in the Heilbronn factory under the brand "NSU-Fiat". (The same Fiat-designed models were also produced under license in Nanterre, France by SIMCA-Fiat the cars subsequently becoming known simply as "Simcas".)

The Heilbronn plant had been built in 1926 by NSU, then a motor bike manufacturer, in order to break into the passenger car market, but the project had failed and by 1929 NSU had no ambitions to produce passenger cars, and therefore no reason to object when Fiat, having bought the plant, used it to manufacture cars badged as NSU-Fiats. In 1929 friendly collaboration between NSU and the nearby Fiat subsidiary was agreed, with NSU supplying parts for the Heilbronn built Fiat models. A year later, however, relations had cooled as Fiat preferred to supply parts to its Heilbronn factory from its own Turin plant beyond the Alps, and also used the Heilbronn site as a bridgehead to facilitate the importation to Germany of fully assembled new cars from Italy.

Post war sporting success for NSU

Success by NSU Werke AG in motor-bike racing in the decade after 1945 greatly enhanced the appeal and therefore the value, especially in Germany, of the "NSU" name. With the "NSU" name more frequently in the public eye, confusion between "NSU-Fiat" and "NSU Werke" became more frequent among the general public which also affected business professionals with whom the businesses had dealings. The 1950s found NSU Werke's General Director, Dr. von Heydekampf, complaining that customers were being deceived ("grobe Kundentäuschung") because Fiat Germany were using the NSU-Fiat name to exploit the glory of the racing successes and speed records of the NSU motorbikes.

Re-entry into automobiles

In 1955 it was reported that the motorbike manufacturer NSU Werke were planning to produce a passenger car in the "approximately 400cc" class and proposed to badge the little car simply as an "NSU". This seemed likely to create even more confusion in the market place affecting Fiat's smaller "NSU-Fiat"s based on the Fiat 600, already produced in Turin since 1955 and scheduled for imminent launch as a Heilbronn produced model (with the still smaller Fiat 500 already in the development pipeline). The Heilbronn built Fiat 600 was duly launched in 1956, but because of the dispute it was badged not as an NSU-Fiat but as the "Jagst" (shortly thereafter lengthened to "Neckar-Jagst") while one class up, the new Heilbronn built Fiat 1100 also introduced in 1956 was advertised as the "Neckar". The NSU offering, when it appeared on the market in 1958 as the NSU Prinz would indeed compete in the same market segment as the baby Fiats.

NSU brand dispute

Acrimony had mounted, involving robust exchanges of lawyers' letters, and legal hearings ensued. Arguments centred on what had been agreed about rights to the "NSU" name and, in particular, whether an arguably informal letter dated 5 January 1929 on the subject had long-standing contractual force. The judge decided that the 1929 letter could not have the contractual force necessary to bind the parties over use of the "NSU" name, because of a danger that its effect, if valid, would be to damage marketplace competition and thereby run counter to the public interest. The Fiat licensee therefore felt obliged, in 1957, to rebrand all its Heilbronn assembled cars: NSU-Fiat badged cars became Neckars.

Fiat-designed models branded as Neckars

Neckar was in the late 1950s producing fewer than 25,000 vehicles a year, Fiat 500 (Neckar Weinsberg), 600 (Neckar Jagst) and 1100 (Neckar Europa) slightly modified, often more luxurious and sporty than the Fiats produced in Turin.

The launch of the Fiat 1500 in 1961 and of the Neckar Panorama (derived from the Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica) allowed Neckar to reach a yearly production of 50,000 units in 1962. A coupé derived from the 1500 and called the Neckar Mistral was designed. A coupé and a convertible based on the Fiat 600 were produced as the Neckar Riviera. The Fiat 850 (as the Neckar Adria) was the last model produced by Neckar.

Closure

The high cost of the German workforce, supported by the German government’s determination to sustain what some thought was a high value for the Deutsche Mark, doomed Neckar. Fiat refused to sell the license of the new Fiat 124, 125 and 128 to Neckar. Production of Neckar slowed down from 1963. 50,000 cars were produced in 1962, down to 44,000 units in 1963, 22,000 in 1964, 18,000 in 1967 and 12,000 in 1970. Neckar closed in 1971 having produced 370,000 cars in total.

Models

Model Variant of
Neckar Weinsberg Fiat 500
Neckar Jagst Fiat 600
Neckar Europa Fiat 1100
Neckar 1100 Millecento Fiat 1100R
Neckar Panorama Autobianchi Bianchina
Neckar Adria Fiat 850
Neckar Mistral Fiat 1300/1500 Coupé
Neckar Riviera Fiat 600
  • 1959 Neckar Europa 4-Door Sedan 1959 Neckar Europa 4-Door Sedan
  • 1965 Neckar Jagst 770 1965 Neckar Jagst 770
  • Neckar Mistral Neckar Mistral

References

  1. ^ Augstein, Rudolf, ed. (5 September 1956). "Scheidung von Fiats Tochter". SPIEGEL-ONLINE. p. 39. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. Braunschweig, Robert; et al., eds. (9 March 1967). "Automobil Revue Modelle 1967/Revue Automobile modèles 1967" (in German and French). 62. Berne, Switzerland: Hallwag AG: 364. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Bibliography

  • Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos Band 2 - 1920-1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-613-02170-6.
  • Werner Oswald: Deutsche Autos 1945−1990, Band 4, 1. Auflage, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02131-5

See also

External links

Categories: