The pickup version of the Volvo PV444/544 is a very rare sight, and always has been. In the late 1940s, early 1950s body variants like pickups, station wagons, special vehicles and the odd convertible were not produced by the Swedish make itself. These were made by external coachbuilding companies like Klippan, based on a Volvo-supplied rolling […]
Even in times of hardship the French know how to add a touch of elegance to articles for everyday use, even to utility vehicles. Please note the beautiful, soft lines of this commercial version of the Simca Aronde, called the Messagère (messenger). It targeted merchants who wanted to express distinction to their clients without showing […]
The little French Citroën 2CV could be considered ‘minimalist’, but during the years of austerity that followed the war, the ‘umbrella on wheels’ became a real success and later even got cult status. Although prototypes were made in the 1930s, production of the saloon started in 1949, followed in 1951 by a panel van, the […]
Beautifully restored Fiat 1100-103 Industriale pickup, delivered new in Genoa, Italy, in 1955 and one of only a few vehicles of its kind in The Netherlands. Note the backward-opening doors, commonly used on Italian and French cars in the 1950s and ‘60s. These made stepping in and out of the car easier, but when hit […]
Although this cute small aerial ladder truck (‘Autoscala’ in Italian) looks like a fire engine, it was built for a different purpose. A local electricity company in Austria used this Italian-built conversion of the Fiat 600 Multipla for the maintenance of street lamps. It was quite dangerous to climb the (manually operated) ladder, especially when […]