DKW was a German car- and motorcycle-marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto Union in 1932 and thus became an ancestor of the modern-day Audi company.
Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today.
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Horch was a German car manufacturer, which traced its roots to several companies founded in the very late 19th and early 20th century by August Horch.
Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau, usually abbreviated as IFA, was a conglomerate and a union of companies for vehicle construction in the former East Germany.
The Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE) was an automobile manufacturer in Eisenach, Germany.
The DKW Schnellaster, also known as the DKW F89 L, was a van produced by DKW from 1949 to 1962. Alongside the DKW F89 passenger car, it was the first vehicle to be manufactured by the new Auto Union conglomerate in Ingolstadt following the re-establishment of the business in West Germany. The model name Schnellaster translates from German to English as Rapid Transporter.
The BMW 340, subsequently rebadged as the EMW 340, is a large six-cylinder four-door passenger saloon produced at Eisenach initially in the name of BMW. Five-door 340 station wagons were also manufactured. It was described in 1948 as the first new car model produced in Germany after the war: despite new body panels, under the skin it was a modified version of the BMW 326 with which it shared its engine and wheelbase, and which had originally been commercialised in 1936. The 326 had nevertheless been an innovative and well regarded product and the 340, which incorporated several improvements, was seen as a desirable car well into the 1950s. Early years were dogged by disputes centred on ownership of the plant where it was assembled and its manufacturers’ rights to use the BMW name. The cars later appeared badged as EMW 340s, and it was under this name that 340s continued to be sold until at least 1953.
The DKW 3=6 is a compact front-wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union GmbH. The car was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in March 1953 and sold until 1959. It carried the name Sonderklasse on the right hand fender of all steel bodied models – this being part of the model name for this range. The first model in the range was named by factory project number, DKW F91, which was replaced by the F93 and F94 models from the 1956 model year. The F93 and F94 models were referred to by Auto Union as the "Big DKW 3=6". By 1958 the car's successor, the Auto Union 1000 Coupe de Luxe, was being sold and the older car had become, in essence, a ‘run-out’ model; it was known more simply as the DKW 900.
The DKW Meisterklasse, also known as the DKW F89, is a compact front-wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union GmbH between 1950 and 1954. It was the first passenger car to be manufactured by the new Auto Union company in West Germany following the re-establishment of the business in the west in 1949.
The DKW F8 is a compact front-wheel drive two-stroke engined saloon, introduced in 1939. The F8 was slightly shorter than its predecessor despite having a marginally increased wheelbase. The base model, known as the Reichsklasse, was manufactured only till 1940 but the Meisterklasse sedan continued in production until 1942. In addition to the saloons, cabriolet versions were offered.
The DKW F9 was the prototype of a car Auto Union intended to launch as a successor to the DKW F8.
The DKW F7 is a front-wheel-drive, two-stroke, subcompact family car produced by Auto Union’s DKW division from 1937 to 1938, succeeding their DKW F5 range. In the F7 update, the slightly smaller entry-level 'Reichsklasse' body was dropped – instead all F7s, including the base trim, now got the slightly longer body previously reserved for the 'Meisterklasse' model.
The DKW Junior is a small front wheel drive saloon manufactured by Auto Union AG. The car received a positive reaction when first exhibited, initially badged as the DKW 600, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in March 1957. The ‘Junior’ name was given to the DKW 750 in 1959 when the car went into volume production, but failed to survive an upgrade in January 1963, after which the car was known as the DKW F12. In addition to the saloon, a pretty ‘F12 Roadster’ was produced in limited numbers.
The automotive industry in Germany, is one of the largest employers in the world, with a labor force of over 857,336 (2016) working in the industry.
The Wartburg 311 is a car produced by East German car manufacturer VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach from 1956 to 1965. The 311 model was manufactured in a number of variations, including pickup, sedan, limousine, coupé, and as a two-seat roadster. The two-stroke engine was enlarged to 992 cc in 1962. An interim model, called the Wartburg 312 and featuring the chassis developed for the succeeding 353, was built from 1965 until 1967.
The Audi Type P was a small two-door sedan/saloon car introduced by Audi in 1931. It was discontinued by 1932.
The DKW F1 was a small car produced by DKW between 1931 and 1932. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1931.
The DKW Typ 4=8 is a small rear-wheel drive two-stroke V4 engined car produced at the company's Spandau plant by DKW. It was launched at the Berlin Motor-show in 1929 as a successor to the DKW Typ P built at the same factory, although the DKW Typ P 4=8 was significantly larger than the Typ P: in terms of market positioning a more direct successor to the DKW Type P was probably the DKW F1 produced in Zwickau from 1931.
The Lloyd 300 was a small car produced by the Borgward Group's Lloyd Motoren Werke GmbH in Bremen between 1950 and 1952.
