Earls Court 1962 edit
| Year | Show | New cars announced for this show | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 17 October to 27 October 1962 Earls Court, London 47th International Motor Show Summer trunk roads have a 50 mph speed limit at weekends A "spectacular" Whit Sunday has 70 miles of traffic jams It is proposed to fit all new cars with safety belts and require motor-cyclists to wear crash helmets First 28 miles of M5 opened One-year car tests to be compulsory The Paris salon opened in early October in by government decree the Palais des Expositions instead of the Grand Paris where it had been since 1895. For the first time all French manufacturers are given pride of place instead of allocation by size of business and ballot. The British industry claimed this was a foretaste of the Common Market. The intended release of new British cars was delayed until Earls Court. However twin-paired headlights and lowered radiator shells were displayed on Rolls-Royce and Bentley coachwork exhibits It was expected that by the end of the year BMC alone would have exported 100,000 vehicles to Europe, more than 3 times as many as the Europeans would sell in UK Attendance: 474,086 and 21,199 more from overseas. It was noted the paid attendance was 103,948 less than last year |
|
.jpg) .jpg) .jpg)  |
Van den Plas edit
Carrosserie Van den Plas S. A. was a coachbuilder in Brussels and Antwerp Belgium. Its business operated from 1870 until 1949 under the names V.D.P., Van den Plas and Carrrosserie Van den Plas. It also operated in France under the name Willy van den Plas between 1924 and 1934.
Wheelwrights edit
.jpg)
The business belonging to Carrosserie Van den Plas began in Brussels in 1870 as V.D.P. wheelwrights. Then the manufacture of axles for horse-drawn vehicles was added and, from 1902, horse-drawn carriages. It was founded by Guillaume van den Plas, a blacksmith, and his three sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy who later set up a branch in Paris. In 1884 they moved from Brussels to Antwerp. With increased business they opened a branch in Brussels again in 1890. By 1900, they worked with De Dion Bouton, Berlier, Germain, Packard. By 1908 Carrosserie Van den Plas had a workforce of 400 men producing 300 special bodies a year and this soon increased to over 750.[1] The Belgian business ceased production in 1934 and its French branch with it.
Coachwork edit
V.D.P. Rue Saint-Michel 32, Bruxelles 1000 Van den Plas Carrrosserie Van den Plas
La carrosserie Van den Plas, rue (du Collège) Saint-Michel Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (fancy suburb)
Locations edit
Brussels Antwerp France
London edit
The coachbuilder's name first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1906 when Métallurgique cars were imported with Carrosserie Van den Plas coachwork. The first Vanden Plas company in England was established by Warwick Wright (now Peugeot dealers) in 1913, building bodies under license from Carrosserie Van den Plas Belgium.