Beloved by bands and bank robbers, the Ford Transit turns 60

Theo LeggettInternational Enterprise CorrespondentBBCTheo Leggett on the wheel of the oldest Ford Transit nonetheless in existenceClimbing right into a 1965 Ford Transit is like stepping right into a time capsule on wheels. Overlook your fashionable high-tech nicknacks like satnavs and touchscreens. All you get here’s a steering wheel, a giant chrome-lined speedometer dial and a chunky heater management. There is not even a radio.Out on the street, it rattles and bangs and sometimes jumps out of substances. Disconcertingly, there is not any seatbelt, the seat itself has an alarming tendency to maneuver round, and the brakes do not appear to do very a lot in any respect. Lovely as it’s, it is onerous to think about that this aged machine was ever cutting-edge.But when the unique Transit first rolled off the manufacturing line at Ford’s plant in Langley, Berkshire, on 9 August 1965, it was a revelation. By the requirements of the day, it was remarkably spacious, highly effective and sensible. It was comfy, had sharp dealing with, and put current vans such because the Morris J4 firmly within the shade.Sixty years later, the Transit has been redesigned many instances, however the model itself continues to be going robust. It stays a staple for a lot of small companies, even in an age when “white vans” are ten a penny, and the market is rife with competitors. It’s the world’s best-selling van – and greater than 13 million have been constructed thus far.”There are many iconic automobiles: the Morris Minor, the Mini, the Land Rover, the VW Beetle, however there’s just one iconic van, and that is the Transit,” says Edmund King, president of the AA.”It is in all probability the one van that folks actually know”.Erica Echenberg by way of Getty ImagesPunk ban The Damned had been one of many teams to make use of Ford Transit’s on tour, seen right here in 1977Originally a collaboration between Ford’s engineers within the UK and Germany, and primarily aimed on the British and European markets, the Transit was designed to be as versatile as doable. It quickly grew to become a staple for tradespeople, together with builders, carpenters, electricians and supply drivers.However it additionally appealed to others in search of spacious, low-cost transport – together with aspiring rock bands. It was nearly a ceremony of passage. Amongst those that hung out on the street in a single had been Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Small Faces and Slade.”It was the liberty to go the place you need, while you need. Petrol was loads cheaper than it’s now,” says Peter Lee, founding father of the Transit Van Membership.”I ended up in Spain, lived in a single for 13 months as a hippy on a strawberry farm, then got here again and began a enterprise. Earlier than you recognize it, I had 180 employees in 28 Transit vans driving round London.”‘Britain’s most wished van’The Transit’s velocity and loading area additionally appealed to folks on the unsuitable aspect of the regulation.In 1972, so the story goes, a Metropolitan Police spokesman claimed Transits had been being utilized in 95% of financial institution raids, including that its velocity and loading area meant it had turn out to be the right getaway automobile. This, he commented drily, made it “Britain’s most wished van”.In the meantime the stereotype of the bullying “white van man”, outlined by Sunday Instances reporter Jonathan Leake in 1997 as “a tattooed species, usually with a cigarette in his mouth, who’s susceptible to flashing his lights as he descends on his prey”, didn’t particularly goal Transit drivers. However given what number of of them had been on the street by then, it’s a honest wager they had been implicated.Made in TurkeyFor practically half a century, Transits had been inbuilt Britain – first at Langley, then at a manufacturing unit simply exterior Southampton. However this closed in 2013, as Ford eliminated manufacturing to Turkey, the place it mentioned prices had been “considerably decrease”. It was a controversial transfer that put a whole lot of workers out of labor. It was described by unions as a ‘betrayal’.Bloomberg by way of Getty ImagesFord Transit manufacturing moved to Turkey in 2013Today, Ford continues to spotlight each the Transit’s British heritage and the work that also takes place right here, particularly at its UK headquarters in Dunton, Essex.”Dunton is the house of the Transit,” insists Ford of Britain’s managing director, Lisa Brankin”It is the place we handle all of the engineering and design work for the brand new vans. However we additionally construct our diesel engines in Dagenham, simply down the street, and we make energy packs for electrical vans in Halewood, close to Liverpool.”Many of the firm’s European manufacturing stays in Turkey, and that appears unlikely to alter. “It is about effectivity and simply centring manufacturing into one place, slightly than having a number of websites throughout Europe,” Ms Brankin explains.Bloomberg by way of Getty ImagesFord promotes its electrical vans at business automobile festivals around the globe A lot of the exercise at Dunton now could be centered on what the subsequent era of Transit vans will convey. However will there ever be one other radical game-changer like the unique mannequin?”We’re engaged on it,” says director of business automobile improvement Seamus McDermott, after I ask him that query.He believes that what prospects need from a van has probably not modified in 60 years. It’s nonetheless all about having a dependable set of wheels that’s versatile and low-cost to run. However the best way that aim is achieved is now very totally different.”Electrical autos are cheaper to run and cheaper to restore,” he says. “Additionally, once we convey in additional software program outlined, ‘smarter’ autos, the flexibility to handle fleets remotely will assist convey down prices as nicely. So the revolution shall be about propulsion and software program.”However whereas the Transit model has already endured for 60 years, right this moment it’s heading into an unsure future, in response to AA president Edmund King.”Within the 60s, 70s and 80s, if somebody’s father had a Transit, they might get a Transit,” he says.”I believe that is altering now. There’s extra competitors throughout the van market, and due to this fact model loyalty is definitely not as robust because it was.”