The Ford Köln is an automobile that was produced by

Ford Germany Ford-Werke GmbH is a German car manufacturer headquartered in Niehl, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, which operates two large manufacturing facilities in Germany, a plant in Cologne and a plant in Saar ...

from 1933 until 1936 at its

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

plant.

Origins

The English Ford company had developed the car and introduced it in 1932 as the

Ford Model Y The Ford Model Y is an automobile that was produced by Ford Britain, Ford SAF and Ford Germany from 1932 to 1937. It was the first Ford automobile specifically designed for markets outside the United States, replacing the Model A in Europe. Prod ...

. The German-built version, renamed Ford Köln to stress the vehicle's German provenance, was first seen at the 1933 Berlin Motor Show. The name came from the German name for the city of

. The early cars were built with components and other support from the company's English associate, but during the first year of production componentry was increasingly sourced locally.

Evolution

Subsequently the German company offered alternative bodied cars of its own design, including notably, for 1934/35, a cheap open topped "Cabrio-Limousine" that used timber frame construction with synthetic leather covering after the manner of some of the smaller

DKW DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...

s and Adlers. This bargain basement special was promoted as a "car for everyman" ("''Wagen für Jedermann''") and priced in 1935 at 1,850 Marks, which was 360 Marks less than the manufacturer's advertised price for the normally bodied two-door sedan/saloon.

Technical specification

The Köln had a four-cylinder, four-stroke engine of 933 cc giving 21 hp (16 kW) at 3400 rpm. The top speed was . It had a three-speed

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

(plus reverse) with synchromesh on second and third gear. It was a small car weighing, in bare chassis form, only : an empty car with a body fitted weighed between and .

Commercial

Public response to the car was lukewarm due to a rigid axle based front suspension and a perpendicular body style which was by now perceived as old fashioned. In its class the car faced heavy competition, mainly from

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

and Adler: commercially the Ford Köln, with 11,121 cars produced between 1933 and 1936, was not a great success. Adler produced 24,013 of their similarly sized Trumpf Juniors in less than two years between 1934 and 1935. Ford Köln volumes were also disappointing when compared with the 153,117 produced by Ford of Britain of the equivalent model. In 1935 the Ford Köln was replaced by the

Ford Eifel The Ford Eifel is a car manufactured by Ford Germany between 1935 and 1940. It initially complemented, and then replaced, the Ford Köln. It was itself replaced by the Ford Taunus. Between 1937 and 1939, it was also assembled in Hungary and D ...

which was a larger car (based on the British Model C).

References

Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford Koln

Koln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

Cars introduced in 1932