Daf Trucks

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{{Infobox_Company | company_name = DAF Trucks NV| company_logo = ]| company_type = Subsidiary of [PACCAR since [| company_slogan = | foundation = | location = {{flagicon|Netherlands--> [Eindhoven, [Netherlands| key_people = Aad Goudriaan, President| num_employees = | industry = [Manufacturing| products = [Trucks| revenue = | homepage = http://www.daf.com/ www.daf.com -->DAF Trucks NV is a Netherlands truck manufacturing company and a division of PACCAR. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assembly are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium. Some of the truck models sold with the DAF brand are designed and built by Leyland Trucks at their plant in England.

History used by UNIFILIn 1928 Hub van Doorne founded the company as Commanditaire Vennootschap Hub van Doorne's Machinefabriek. His co-founder and investor was Huenges, managing director of a brewery. Van Doorne had repaired Huenges's car several times. Huenges was so pleased with his work that he offered to lend him money if he wanted to start for his own. Hub started to work in a small workshop on the grounds of the brewery. In 1932 the company, now run by Hub and his brother, Wim van Doorne, changed its name to Van Doorne's Aanhangwagen Fabriek (Van Doorne's Trailer (vehicle) Factory), abbreviated to DAF. Huenges left the company in 1936 and the DAF company was now completely in the hands of the van Doorne brothers.

After the Second World War, luxury cars and trucks were very scarce. This meant a big opportunity for DAF. In 1949 the company started making trucks, trailers and buses, changing its name to Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (Van Doorne's Automobile Factory). The first truck model was the DAF A30.

In the winter of 1954 Hub van Doorne had the idea to use belt drive, just like many of the machines in the factory that were belt-driven, to drive road vehicles. In 1955 DAF produced its first technical drawings of a car belt drive system. Over the next few years the design was developed and refined. In February 1958 DAF demonstrated a small belt-driven four-seater car at the Dutch car show (the AutoRAI). The public reaction was very positive and 4000 cars were ordered. In 1959 DAF started selling the world's first car with a continuously variable transmission, the small four-seater DAF 600. This was the first of a series of models to be released in subsequent years, including the DAF 33, DAF 44, DAF 55 and DAF 66, all using the innovative Variomatic transmission system.

In 1967 DAF opened a new plant in Born (Netherlands) for car production. The 44 was the first model to be produced there.{{cite book|title=Between Initiation and Innovation: Transfer and Hybridization of Productive Models in the International Automobile Industry|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|id=ISBN 0198293682-->

DAF sold its passenger car division, along with what is now the NedCar factory in Born, in 1975 to the Sweden company Volvo Cars, leaving DAF to concentrate on its successful line of trucks.

In 1987 DAF merged with the Leyland Motors Ltd division of MG Rover Group, and was floated on the Dutch stock exchange as DAF NV. The new company traded as Leyland DAF in the UK, and as DAF elsewhere.

DAF's successful 95 series was introduced in 1988, bringing DAF their first International Truck of the Year title. This series of trucks was expanded, with the 85, 75, 65, 45 and later the 55.

DAF Bus was split off of in 1990 to become a part of United Bus.

Following difficulties in the British market, DAF NV went bankrupt in 1993. A new company, DAF Trucks, appeared in the Netherlands as a result of a management buy-out of the Dutch operations, as did Leyland Trucks and LDV Limited (vans) in the UK.

In 1996 PACCAR acquired DAF Trucks. Interestingly, DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks came together again in 1998 when PACCAR also acquired Leyland Trucks.

Car business The first passenger car, assigned the model number DAF 600, created a sensation when a prototype was presented in 1958. The car featured a unitary steel construction, with a front mounted, aircooled two cylinder boxer engine driving the rear wheels through a centrifugal clutch and the Variomatic CVT transmission. The way this was constructed it eliminated the need for a differential, with the drivebelts taking up the difference of speed in the corners. This acted as a limited slip differential. The car had independent suspension all round, with McPherson struts and a transverse leaf spring at the front, and a coil sprung semi trailing arm design at the rear. The first 600s rolled off the production line in the following year. The next model was the DAF 750, featuring a larger 749 cc twin.

Later, DAF produced a more luxurious type called the Daffodil, divided into three models assigned the numbers DAF 30, DAF 31 and DAF 32. The designation 32 was changed to 33 upon the 1966 release of the DAF 44, a larger middle-class vehicle designed by Michelotti.It featured a completely new design aesthetically as well as mechanically, but was of the same layout as the "A-type's" (the 600,750,30,31,32 and 33), with the main difference being its 850 cc two cylinder engine, and its full swingaxle rear axle design as opposed to the A-type semi-trailing arms.

The 1968 DAF 55 carried a bigger watercooled 1108cubic centimetre OHV four cylinder engine derived from the Renault 8 Cleon engine. Its body design was altered from the 44 by a new front which accommodated the longer engine and radiator, bigger taillights, and a more plush interior. The front suspension was changed from a transverse leaf spring to McPherson struts with torsion springs and an antiroll bar.

The DAF 66 was introduced as a successor to the 55. It featured new, boxy styling of the front, and a new rear axle design. The two drive belts now powered a differential, and the axle was changed from a swingaxle design to a leaf sprung de Dion-axle. It was a major improvement over the (tricky) handling of the swing axles of the earlier 33,44 and 55 models.

Volvo Cars gained a large interest in DAF in the early 70's, taking over the company and the NedCar plant in 1975. It dropped the 33 and 44 models, and rebadged the DAF 66 as the Volvo 66), with bigger bumpers and a safety steering wheel. The DAF 46 was developed under Volvo, and was basically a 44, with the rear axle of a 66 and a single-belt variomatic (half the 66's transmission). The Volvo 300 series, introduced in 1976 had been designed as a DAF, with a Variomatic transmission similar to that of a 66.

Prototypes and special cars For a small company, DAF made a huge amount of prototypes. Also, famous coach builders like Michelotti and OSI made cars based on the DAF technique. For instance, the OSI City Car, which turned into a miniature. DAF's last prototype, the DAF 77, became the Volvo 340, which sold about 1.3 million units.

Truck business DAF produced their first truck, the DAF A30, in 1949. This truck was upgraded in the following years. Their first attempt into the international market was a failure, the DAF 2000DO. Their next truck was the DAF 2600, which became a big seller. They also produced a so-called torpedo-front tractor.

In the 1970s a new body style was introduced, which was upgraded into the late 1980s. DAF was also one of the first to introduce a turbocharger diesel engine into their trucks, which in these years became very evident with their DAF 3600.

There is a DAF LF45 hybrid truck.

Sport Cars DAF cars had the image of being slow. The company tried to change this image with entries in auto racing, such as their entry in the London-Sydney Marathon. This led to an increase in sales, but not as much as the management had hoped for. The company also competed with a Formula 3 car.

1993: A Williams Formula 1 car was not allowed to race, because it had the Van Doorne's CVT drive. If that car had raced, it would have been more than a full second per lap faster than the competition. As Williams was the leading team already at the time, the F1 management decided to forbid the technology. It would have been the first time a technical development introduced in a road car would be used in a race car, instead of the other way round.

Trucks

1980s: DAF trucks started with the Dakar Rally, winning in 1982, 85 and 87. In the later years, they had a twin engine truck, with a combined power output of more than 1000 hp.
1988: Two trucks were entered into the Paris-Dakar rally. Jan de Rooy's truck was at a certain stage at the third place overall (!), beating the Peugeot 405 T16's on speed. The other truck, driver by Kees Van Loevestijn, was involved in a car accident in which he died, and almost taking the lives of the other 2 occupants of the truck. DAF wikt:withdrew.
1996: DAF started competing in the European Truck Race series, first not very successful, but by 1999 almost champion. To everyone's surprise, they wikt:withdrew.
2002: DAF competed in the Dakar Rally, with Jan de Rooy and his son Gerard. It was a learning year.
2003: DAF competed in the Paris-Dakar rally, winning numerous stages, but Gerard crashed out and Jan had a lot of problems.
2004: DAF competed in the Paris-Dakar rally, powering six racetrucks. Jan en Gerard de Rooy, the team Tridec, The team Hans Bekx with 2 teams and the GINAF Rally Power team (Note that 4 trucks were built by DAF, 2 by GINAF).
2005: Hans Bekx almost became second overall in the truck division, before being wikt:thrown out of the list because of an irregularity, something which the (especially Dutch) racing fans could not imagine.
2006: Jan and Gerard de Rooij were excluded from the Dakar because of paperwork issues. Numerous rumours claim that the Kamaz team has used its influence in the Dakar organisation in this matter. It led to a huge fall in popularity of the event in the Benelux.

Current models

DAF CF
DAF XF
DAF LF