Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Tatra Cars shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Tatra Cars offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Tatra Cars at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Tatra Cars? Wrong! If the Tatra Cars is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Tatra Cars then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Tatra Cars? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Tatra Cars and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Tatra Cars wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Tatra Cars then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Tatra Cars site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Tatra Cars, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Tatra Cars, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Company| company_name = Tatra| company_logo = | company_type = Private| foundation = 1850, [Czech Republic (founder)
Ronald Adams (CEO)
von Roslerstam (designer)
[Hans Ledwinka (designer)]| products = Automobiles, wagons, carriages, trucks]6.06 1000000000 (number) (2006)| operating_income =| net_income =| num_employees = 3,500 (2006)| parent =| subsid =| slogan =| homepage = www.tatra.cz-->

Tatra is a vehicle manufacturer in Kopřivnice, Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1850 as Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a wagon and carriage manufacturer, and produced the first motor car in central Europe in 1897, the Präsident. In 1919 it changed its name to Tatra after the Tatra mountains. Tatra is the "third oldest automaker in the world after DaimlerChrysler and Peugeot". Production of Tatra cars ceased in 1999 but the company still produces a successful range of primarily all-wheel-drive 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 10x10 and 12x12 trucks.

Early years , founder of the companyIgnác Šustala (1822 - 1891), founder of the company in Kopřivnice (), Moravia, started the production of horse-drawn vehicles in 1850. In 1891 he branched out into railway wagon manufacture naming the company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft and employed Hugo Fischer von Roslerstam as technical director in 1890. After the death of Šustala, von Roslerstam took over running the company and in 1897 he bought a Benz automobile. Using the Benz for inspiration the company made its first car, the Präsident which was exhibited in 1897 in Vienna. Orders were obtained for more cars and under the direction of a new young engineer called Hans Ledwinka (1878-1967) ten improved cars were made.



The first car to be totally designed by Ledwinka came in 1900 with the Type A with rear mounted 2714 cc engine and top speed of 40 km/h of which 22 were made. This was followed by the Type B with central engine in 1902 but then Ledwinka left the company to concentrate on steam engine development. He returned in 1905 and designed a completely new car, the Type S with 3308 cc 4 cylinder engine. Production was badly hit in 1912 with a 23 week strike and Hugo Fischer von Roslerstam left the company.

Tatra concept

After the World War I Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau was renamed Kopřivnice vozovka and in 1919 the name Tatra was given to the car range. Leopold Pasching took over control and Hans Ledwinka once more returned in 1921 to develop the revolutionary Tatra 11.

The new car, launched in 1923 featured a rigid backbone tube with swinging semi-axles at the rear giving independent suspension. The engine, front mounted, was an air cooled two cylinder unit of 1056 cc. It was replaced in 1926 by the similar T 12 which had four wheel brakes. A further development was the 1926 T 17 with a 1,930 cc water cooled six cylinder engine and fully independent suspension.

In 1927 the company was formally renamed as Tatra a.s..

Prewar streamliners Tatra's specialty was luxury cars of a technically advanced nature, going from aircooling flat-twins to fours and sixes, culminating (briefly) with the overhead cam 6 liter V12 in 1931.Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985) In the 1930s, under Austrian engineer Hans Ledwinka and his son Erich, and protected by a high tariff and absence of foreign assemblers,Georgano. Tatra started building advanced, streamlined cars, starting with the large Tatra T77 in 1934, the world's first production aerodynamic car. The fastback T77's drag coefficient of 0.212 is rarely bettered even by the sleekest modern cars. It featured, as did almost all subsequent big Tatras, a rear-engine design, aircooling V8 engine, very technically sophisticated for the time.

Ledwinka discussed his ideas with Ferdinand Porsche who used many Tatra design features in the 1938 Kdf-Wagen, later known as the VW Beetle. This is particularly evident when compared with the smaller Tatra T97 model which had a rear-mounted, air-cooled, flat-4 engine and rounded body styling. Tatra immediately started legal action, but the matter was not resolved until 1961 when Volkswagen was ordered to pay 3,000,000 German mark in damages.

War years After the 1938 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, Tatras continued in production, largely because Germans liked the cars. However, many German officers met their deaths when pushing heavy, rear-engine design Tatras faster around corners than they could car handling. In fact, the Tatra became known as the Czech Secret Weapon for the scores of officers who died behind the wheel; at one point official orders had to be issued forbidding German officers from driving Tatras.

Postwar Communist control The factory was nationalised in 1946 after the Communist Party was elected to power. Although production of prewar models continued, a new model, the Tatra T600 Tatraplan was designed -- the name celebrating the new Communist planned economy. It went into production in 1947. In 1951, the state planning department decided that the Tatraplan should henceforth be built at the Skoda Auto plant in Mladá Boleslav, leaving Tatra free to concentrate on trucks, buses and railway equipment.

The Tatra T603 A mere three years later, amid much dissatisfaction among officialdom about the poor-quality official cars imported from Russia, Tatra was again given permission to produce a luxury car, the famous Tatra T603. A fair successor to the prewar cars, it was also driven by a rear-engined, air-cooled V8 and had the company's trademark aerodynamic styling. Uniquely, the Tatra T603 featured three headlights, and the first prototypes had a central rear stabilising fin, though this was lost for production. Fitted with almost Passenger vehicles in the United States-style thick Chrome plating Bumper (automobile)s with bullets (a.k.a. Dagmar bumpers), the Tatra T603 was an amazing looking car for 1955. Looks weren't all it had going for it; performance was spritely for a large, six-seater car, and the ride was smooth as glass. Almost entirely hand-built, Tatras were not for everybody; normal citizens could not buy them. They were reserved for Party elites, Communist officials, factory presidents and other notables, as well as being exported to most other Communist nations as official cars. Even Fidel Castro had a white Tatra T603, custom-fitted with air conditioning.

Tatra T603s were built until 1975, a twenty-year reign as Communism's finest car. Numerous improvements were made over this time, but not all the new cars built in this period were actually new. When a new Tatra replaced an old, the old vehicle was returned to the factory. There, it was upgraded to modern condition, refinished, dubbed new and sent out again as a putatively new vehicle to replace another older Tatra. This makes it hard to trace the history of surviving vehicles.

The T603 appeared in the 2005 movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events as the other car that looks odder than the Chrysler Imperial.Image:Tatra_603.jpg|Tatra T603 (side view)Image:Voiture-603-p1010139.jpg|Tatra T603 (front)Image:Tatra-603-p1010140.jpg|Tatra T603 (rear)Image:Tatra T603 Engine.jpg|Tatra T603 (engine)Image:Tatra T87.jpg|Tatra T87

1970s makeover—the Tatra T613 In 1968 a replacement was developed; the Tatra T613. It was styled by the Italy styling house of Vignale and was a more modern, less rounded shape. It was not until 1973 that any were actually produced by the factory, and volume production did not begin until the following year. Although the layout remained the same, the body and engine were all new, the unit being equipped with 4 overhead camshafts, a greater volume (3495 cc) and delivering close to 165 bhp. In addition, it had been moved somewhat forward for improved balance. These cars were built in 5 series and several modifications until 1996. It is a tribute to Vignale's excellent styling that they did not look outdated until rather late in that time period. Over 11,000 cars were built, slowing to a trickle of but a few dozen a year towards the end as Tatras began to seem more and more outdated.

Recent years With orders and production almost at a standstill after the fall of Communism, Tatra decided to stop building the Tatra T613 in 1996. An attempt was made to produce an updated version, the Tatra T700; it was largely based on the old car, with updated body panels and detail. Sales were poor, and in 1999 Tatra abandoned the manufacture of cars.

During the history of production of cars Tatra produced 90,000 vehicles.

No such fate has met Tatra's truck production, which is quite successful.

The United States Terex Corporation acquired the majority ownership (71%) of Tatra in late 2003. However, as of late 2006, the majority ownership(80.51%) lies in the hands of Tatra Holdings s.r.o., an international consortium comprising of Vectra Limited of U.K., Sam Eyde of the U.S., KBC Private Equity of Belgium, Meadowhill s.r.o. of Czech Republic and Ronald Adams of the U.S. On 15 December 2006, a contract was signed between Tatra and the Czech Republic for 556 trucks at roughly $130,000,000 U.S., or 2,600,000,000 Czech Crowns. This contract was signed in lieu of replacement of older military vehicles.

In April 2007 Tatra announced that it had already matched its production in 2006 and produced 1,600 vehicles. In 2007 Tatra plans to produce between 2,300 and 2,500 vehicles. In contrast to previous years, Tatra has increased employment by the hundreds within the past two quarters. Additionally, it has reversed previous errors and is growing again. Although there have been many struggles in the past decade, the company still remains one of the great prides of Czech industry and has proven to be a valuable asset to international engineering, with its unique assembly and production methods and designs.

Models Passenger cars

Trucks



See also

Literature

External links

{{Infobox Company| company_name = Tatra| company_logo = | company_type = Private| foundation = 1850, [Czech Republic (founder)
Ronald Adams (CEO)
von Roslerstam (designer)
[Hans Ledwinka (designer)]| products = Automobiles, wagons, carriages, trucks]6.06 1000000000 (number) (2006)| operating_income =| net_income =| num_employees = 3,500 (2006)| parent =| subsid =| slogan =| homepage = www.tatra.cz-->

Tatra is a vehicle manufacturer in Kopřivnice, Czech Republic. The company was founded in 1850 as Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft, a wagon and carriage manufacturer, and produced the first motor car in central Europe in 1897, the Präsident. In 1919 it changed its name to Tatra after the Tatra mountains. Tatra is the "third oldest automaker in the world after DaimlerChrysler and Peugeot". Production of Tatra cars ceased in 1999 but the company still produces a successful range of primarily all-wheel-drive 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 10x10 and 12x12 trucks.

Early years , founder of the companyIgnác Šustala (1822 - 1891), founder of the company in Kopřivnice (), Moravia, started the production of horse-drawn vehicles in 1850. In 1891 he branched out into railway wagon manufacture naming the company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriksgesellschaft and employed Hugo Fischer von Roslerstam as technical director in 1890. After the death of Šustala, von Roslerstam took over running the company and in 1897 he bought a Benz automobile. Using the Benz for inspiration the company made its first car, the Präsident which was exhibited in 1897 in Vienna. Orders were obtained for more cars and under the direction of a new young engineer called Hans Ledwinka (1878-1967) ten improved cars were made.



The first car to be totally designed by Ledwinka came in 1900 with the Type A with rear mounted 2714 cc engine and top speed of 40 km/h of which 22 were made. This was followed by the Type B with central engine in 1902 but then Ledwinka left the company to concentrate on steam engine development. He returned in 1905 and designed a completely new car, the Type S with 3308 cc 4 cylinder engine. Production was badly hit in 1912 with a 23 week strike and Hugo Fischer von Roslerstam left the company.

Tatra concept

After the World War I Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau was renamed Kopřivnice vozovka and in 1919 the name Tatra was given to the car range. Leopold Pasching took over control and Hans Ledwinka once more returned in 1921 to develop the revolutionary Tatra 11.

The new car, launched in 1923 featured a rigid backbone tube with swinging semi-axles at the rear giving independent suspension. The engine, front mounted, was an air cooled two cylinder unit of 1056 cc. It was replaced in 1926 by the similar T 12 which had four wheel brakes. A further development was the 1926 T 17 with a 1,930 cc water cooled six cylinder engine and fully independent suspension.

In 1927 the company was formally renamed as Tatra a.s..

Prewar streamliners Tatra's specialty was luxury cars of a technically advanced nature, going from aircooling flat-twins to fours and sixes, culminating (briefly) with the overhead cam 6 liter V12 in 1931.Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985) In the 1930s, under Austrian engineer Hans Ledwinka and his son Erich, and protected by a high tariff and absence of foreign assemblers,Georgano. Tatra started building advanced, streamlined cars, starting with the large Tatra T77 in 1934, the world's first production aerodynamic car. The fastback T77's drag coefficient of 0.212 is rarely bettered even by the sleekest modern cars. It featured, as did almost all subsequent big Tatras, a rear-engine design, aircooling V8 engine, very technically sophisticated for the time.

Ledwinka discussed his ideas with Ferdinand Porsche who used many Tatra design features in the 1938 Kdf-Wagen, later known as the VW Beetle. This is particularly evident when compared with the smaller Tatra T97 model which had a rear-mounted, air-cooled, flat-4 engine and rounded body styling. Tatra immediately started legal action, but the matter was not resolved until 1961 when Volkswagen was ordered to pay 3,000,000 German mark in damages.

War years After the 1938 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, Tatras continued in production, largely because Germans liked the cars. However, many German officers met their deaths when pushing heavy, rear-engine design Tatras faster around corners than they could car handling. In fact, the Tatra became known as the Czech Secret Weapon for the scores of officers who died behind the wheel; at one point official orders had to be issued forbidding German officers from driving Tatras.

Postwar Communist control The factory was nationalised in 1946 after the Communist Party was elected to power. Although production of prewar models continued, a new model, the Tatra T600 Tatraplan was designed -- the name celebrating the new Communist planned economy. It went into production in 1947. In 1951, the state planning department decided that the Tatraplan should henceforth be built at the Skoda Auto plant in Mladá Boleslav, leaving Tatra free to concentrate on trucks, buses and railway equipment.

The Tatra T603 A mere three years later, amid much dissatisfaction among officialdom about the poor-quality official cars imported from Russia, Tatra was again given permission to produce a luxury car, the famous Tatra T603. A fair successor to the prewar cars, it was also driven by a rear-engined, air-cooled V8 and had the company's trademark aerodynamic styling. Uniquely, the Tatra T603 featured three headlights, and the first prototypes had a central rear stabilising fin, though this was lost for production. Fitted with almost Passenger vehicles in the United States-style thick Chrome plating Bumper (automobile)s with bullets (a.k.a. Dagmar bumpers), the Tatra T603 was an amazing looking car for 1955. Looks weren't all it had going for it; performance was spritely for a large, six-seater car, and the ride was smooth as glass. Almost entirely hand-built, Tatras were not for everybody; normal citizens could not buy them. They were reserved for Party elites, Communist officials, factory presidents and other notables, as well as being exported to most other Communist nations as official cars. Even Fidel Castro had a white Tatra T603, custom-fitted with air conditioning.

Tatra T603s were built until 1975, a twenty-year reign as Communism's finest car. Numerous improvements were made over this time, but not all the new cars built in this period were actually new. When a new Tatra replaced an old, the old vehicle was returned to the factory. There, it was upgraded to modern condition, refinished, dubbed new and sent out again as a putatively new vehicle to replace another older Tatra. This makes it hard to trace the history of surviving vehicles.

The T603 appeared in the 2005 movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events as the other car that looks odder than the Chrysler Imperial.Image:Tatra_603.jpg|Tatra T603 (side view)Image:Voiture-603-p1010139.jpg|Tatra T603 (front)Image:Tatra-603-p1010140.jpg|Tatra T603 (rear)Image:Tatra T603 Engine.jpg|Tatra T603 (engine)Image:Tatra T87.jpg|Tatra T87

1970s makeover—the Tatra T613 In 1968 a replacement was developed; the Tatra T613. It was styled by the Italy styling house of Vignale and was a more modern, less rounded shape. It was not until 1973 that any were actually produced by the factory, and volume production did not begin until the following year. Although the layout remained the same, the body and engine were all new, the unit being equipped with 4 overhead camshafts, a greater volume (3495 cc) and delivering close to 165 bhp. In addition, it had been moved somewhat forward for improved balance. These cars were built in 5 series and several modifications until 1996. It is a tribute to Vignale's excellent styling that they did not look outdated until rather late in that time period. Over 11,000 cars were built, slowing to a trickle of but a few dozen a year towards the end as Tatras began to seem more and more outdated.

Recent years With orders and production almost at a standstill after the fall of Communism, Tatra decided to stop building the Tatra T613 in 1996. An attempt was made to produce an updated version, the Tatra T700; it was largely based on the old car, with updated body panels and detail. Sales were poor, and in 1999 Tatra abandoned the manufacture of cars.

During the history of production of cars Tatra produced 90,000 vehicles.

No such fate has met Tatra's truck production, which is quite successful.

The United States Terex Corporation acquired the majority ownership (71%) of Tatra in late 2003. However, as of late 2006, the majority ownership(80.51%) lies in the hands of Tatra Holdings s.r.o., an international consortium comprising of Vectra Limited of U.K., Sam Eyde of the U.S., KBC Private Equity of Belgium, Meadowhill s.r.o. of Czech Republic and Ronald Adams of the U.S. On 15 December 2006, a contract was signed between Tatra and the Czech Republic for 556 trucks at roughly $130,000,000 U.S., or 2,600,000,000 Czech Crowns. This contract was signed in lieu of replacement of older military vehicles.

In April 2007 Tatra announced that it had already matched its production in 2006 and produced 1,600 vehicles. In 2007 Tatra plans to produce between 2,300 and 2,500 vehicles. In contrast to previous years, Tatra has increased employment by the hundreds within the past two quarters. Additionally, it has reversed previous errors and is growing again. Although there have been many struggles in the past decade, the company still remains one of the great prides of Czech industry and has proven to be a valuable asset to international engineering, with its unique assembly and production methods and designs.

Models Passenger cars

Trucks



See also

Literature

External links



 

Tatra Cars



 
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