Automotive Manufacturers by RoseM

This old auto manufacturer began production in the 19th century with steam powered tricycles before switching over to four-wheeled vehicles and internal combustion engines. The brand’s 403 model is recognizeable as the car driven by Peter Falk’s Columbo. Identify the company, which, in 1975 bought out their failing countrymen through their acquisition of Citroen to make them what is presently Europe’s second largest automaker by volume.

Czech it out! Two dudes named Vaclav founded this company in 1895 when Vaclav Klement couldn’t find parts to repair his German bicycle. The company adopted its current name when it was acquired by an arms manufacturer seeking to diversify in the 1920’s only to be turned into part of the Reichswerke Hermann Göring during WW II. After the fall of communism, it retained this name while being absorbed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen. Name this largest auto maker in the Czech republic whose popular Octavia is sold throughout Europe and whose Yeti, far from being a rarely seen sight, is a passable knock-off of a Subaru Forester.

This car manufacturer’s Viano is, in all veritas, the perfectly sized European van to fit between the maker’s Vito and much better known Sprinter models. Sadly, it will never make it to America because it is a van with a manual transmission and very little in the way of the luxury features Americans are accustomed to associate with the brand.

This company was founded in 1945 as a locomotive manufacturer. While their Nano claims to be “the worlds most affordable car” at a new price of 1600 dollars, if driving something that cheap stresses you out, the company’s Indica offers a more robust 70 to 90 horsepower that makes it a rival to the Nissan Micra.

While this company’s corporate history includes the manufacture of GM automobiles for the Eurasian market, they officially ceased the manufacture of Chevrolets and Pontiacs in favor of their regional nameplate in 1968, close ties remain as their Monaro coupe was only mildly reworked and sold in America in the 2000’s as the Pontiac GTO.

This company, which is enjoying a recent resurgence in the American market, is still best known worldwide for its 124 model that was licensed for manufacture in India, Egypt. Spain, Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey where it was built in Bursa as the Murat 124. Identify the company that introduced its 124 to the world in a fast and furious fashion by dropping it from an airplane with a parachute in 1966.

If you live in Britain or have visited, you may have the opportunity to drive a Vauxhall. If so, you may have noticed a striking similarity to products like the Vectra, Corsa and Astra from this continental car manufacturer based in Rüsselsheim, Germany. Identify this car maker with the sideways lightning bolt insignia.

Now a subsidiary of Renault, this Romanian automaker is a major supplier of vehicles in Eastern Europe, and North Africa. Their Sandero and Duster models are ubiquitous throughout places like Bulgaria and Poland. The company’s name may be best known to people outside of their main market regions through its etymological link to the Roman name for Romania and Trajan’s wars to conquer the region commemorated on his column in Rome.

This automaker of primarily small cars claims to be Japan’s oldest. Its Midget three-wheelers from the 1950’s can still be found in the Caribbean carrying produce to market. Iit sold its Charade model with some success in America the 1980’s and 90’s, but they ceased sale in Europe 2013 and can only be purchased in the US through Toyota dealerships.Identify this Japanese automaker whose name is derived from the initial characters of the words “Osaka Engine Manufacturer.”

Founded in 1997, this Chinese national corporation has already been sued numerous times for patent infringement—including claims by Volkswagen that the Chinese brand was making knock-off Jettas—and it settled litigation with General Motors claiming that the brand’s QQ model copies patented attributes of the GM-Daewoo Matiz. Identify this company, China’s largest automotive exporter.

This car company recently made light of its struggle for brand recognition in Britain by placing a debadged version of one of its latest models in downtown London and challenging pedestrians to guess the car’s manufacturer. Identify this manufacturer of both the 61 mpg Tourneo, the Transit and the appropriately named Galaxy seven passenger van.

This European manufacturer of the Leon, Ibiza, and Toledo is yet another subsidiary of the Volkswagen group whose cars are more spartan and economical versions of familiar Audi/VW products like the A3 and Golf that are sold downmarket from their German cousins in Eastern Europe and widely on the Iberian peninsula.