Ford Taunus FK1000/1250

History

Predecessor of the British and German-built Transit, the first production Ford to wear the "Transit" badge was a van built in Ford's Köln (Cologne) plant in Germany. It was introduced in 1953 as FK 1000 (carrying 1,000 kg) with a 1.2-litre inline-four engine from the contemporary Taunus. In 1955 the engine capacity was enlarged to 1.5 litres. From 1961, this vehicle was called the Ford Taunus Transit. Production of this model ceased in 1965.

On 9 May 1945, the day after the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht in the Second World War, production at the German Ford-Werke AG in Cologne resumed. Because the production of civilian cars in the occupied zone was reserved for the British (for instance for Ford of Britain), Ford-Werke AG limited itself to the production of trucks (until 1948). Those trucks based on the slightly modified war models V 3000 S, B 3000 S und V 3000 A as they were already produced before and during the 2nd World War in the Ford production facilities in the Third Reich. Those trucks were now called "Rhein" and "Ruhr".

In 1951 Ford Werke AG launched the FK commercial vehicle series, FK standing for Ford Köln, with different-sized vehicles (FK2000 with 2 tons payload, FK3000 with 3 tons payload, FK3500 with 3,5 tons payload, etc.). The FK series was successor of the "Rhein" and "Ruhr" trucks. In 1953, the FK series were rounded off with the light delivery van FK1000/FK1250 (1ton/1,25tons payload), in competition to the Volkswagen Type 2 VW Bus, the DKW Type F89L Schnellaster or the Vidal & Sohn Tempo Matador.

As usual in the Anglo-Saxon countries in those days, Ford's marketing experts attached more importance to the model/series designation than to the "Ford" label as a brand. Rumors that Ford banned the German Ford-Werke AG from using the Ford logo and instead introduced the Taunus brand are untenable. Also most British Ford products had no Ford emblem.

The commercial vehicles produced at Ford-Werke AG were marketed with the FK logo, while the passenger cars produced from 1948 onwards were offered under the name Taunus referring to the re-produced pre-war model Ford Taunus G93A.

Due to continental European habits, the original series and model designations "FK" and Taunus mutated into real brands, each with its own emblem and different models, comparable with Daimler Benz Mercedes models or Genereal Motors Opel models. The FK emblem consists of two slightly overlapping ovals with the "F" from the well-known Ford emblem in the first and a "K" in the same font in the second oval. The Taunus emblem first depicted the Cologne Cathedral; from 1953 on until its discontinuation in 1967, Cologne's city flag inspired the Taunus emblem.

In 1961, Ford discontinued the entire truck production in Germany and took the FK brand off the market due to serious defects and therefore strongly decreasing demand. The van FK1000/FK1250, not affected by these defects due to its completely different construction-design, continued to sell well and was now offered under the successful Taunus brand with the model name Transit in addition to the cars Taunus 12M/15M and the Taunus 17M. A comparable program to Volkswagen, that offered its vehicles VW Beetle, VW 1500 and VW Bus the same way on the continental European market. The "new" Transit Taunus van was now labelled with the Transit model name (instead of the FK logo) in big chrome letters and a big "Taunus" emblem as well as a small Taunus lettering which was also mounted on the back of the vehicle. New, however, was a small Ford logo underneath the right B-column.

From 1957 onwards, with the launch of the Ford Thames 400E by Ford of Britain, the situation arose that Ford, together with the FK1000/FK1250 by Ford Werke AG, was now present on the continental European markets with two competing products. For example, the British Ford Thames 400E was also assembled and improved as a left-hand drive version in the Ford assembly plants in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as the German FK1000 was assembled in Azambuja, Portugal too. In the French, Spanish, Italian, Swiss, Benelux and Scandinavian markets, both products were found. This turned out to be disadvantageous and cost-intensive especially after the fall of various trade barriers within the newly founded EEC.