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| Škoda Auto is the leading automobile manufacturer in the Czech Republic, now part of the Volkswagen Group (VAG). Skoda is a participant in the World Rally Championship, initially using the Octavia but now using the Fabia. |
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History
Established in 1895 as Laurin & Klement, the company started manufacturing bicycles. In 1899 it added motorcycles and in 1905 cars. The first model, Voiturette A, was a success and the company was established both within Austria-Hungary and internationally. During the First World War it was engaged in war production.
After the war it began producing trucks, but running into problems and hit by a fire in 1924 the company sought a strong partner. In 1925 it succeeded, merging with Skoda Works, the biggest industrial enterprise in Austria-Hungary and then Czechoslovakia. Most later production was under the Skoda name. After a decline during the economic depression, Skoda was again successful with models such as the Popular in the late 1930s.
Unfortunate years came for Skoda when Czechoslovakia was occupied and the whole Skoda works was turned into part of Hermann Göring Werke serving the German World War II effort.
After WWII economic freedom did not return to Czechoslovakia, Skodaa became part of the planned economy and was separated from parent Skoda company. In spite of unfavourable political conditions and losing contact with technical development in noncommunist countries, Skoda retained a good reputation until the 1960s, producing models such as the Skoda 440 Spartak, 445 Octavia, Felicia and Skoda 1000 MB. Skoda was internationally known for building very tough and reliable cars.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Skoda lost touch with world development, together with the whole of communist-governed Czechoslovakian industy going backward. In the late 1980s Skoda (then named Automobilové závody, národní podnik, Mladá Boleslav) was still manufacturing cars conceptually from the 1960s. In western Europe, the models from the 1980s and the early 1990s gave Skoda a poor reputation, a common joke of the time being "Q: How do you double the value of a Skoda? A: Fill the tank with petrol".
The turning point came in 1987 with the Favorit model. The Favorit's appearance was designed by Italian design company Bertone and with some motor technology licensed from western European companies, Skoda engineers succeeded in designing a car comparable to western production. The technological gap was still there, but began closing rapidly. While still the target of jokes in the West, the Favorits were very popular in Czechoslovakia and other Eastern Bloc countries.
The Velvet Revolution brought great changes to both the politics and economy of Czechoslovakia, and most industries were subject to privatization. In the case of Skoda automobile the government decided to go the fortunate way of bringing in a strong foreign partner. VAG was chosen in 1990 and on 16 April 1991 Skoda become the fourth brand of VAG. Example of other Eastern-Bloc automobile manufacturers such as Lada-AutoVAZ and Zastava, and of Skoda works, once Skoda auto parent company, prove this was the right decision. (Privatization to a major German company was somewhat controversial at the time the decision was made.)
Backed by VW knowhow and investments the design—both style and engineering—has improved greatly. The 1996 model Felicia was still based on the floorplan of the Favorit, but quality made huge improvements and in the Czech Republic the car was very popular as it was excellent value for money. The subsequent models Octavia and Fabia finally made their way to the demanding EU markets. They are built on common VAG floorpans, e.g. Octavia on the Golf floorplan and therefore directly related to the VW Golf, Audi A3 and SEAT León. Possibly the next challenge for Skoda was to maintain some independence of the parent Volkswagen group. It is hard to measure what portion of Skodas are still Skodas and what VW, but in 2004 it seems that a significant part of the engineering and development is still made in Mlada Boleslav.
Perception of Skoda in what was Western Europe has changed completely. While technical development went gradually, Skoda's image changed almost overnight, for some observers. Skoda now uses this change in reputation as part of their advertising, with the slogan: "It is a Skoda, honest." In a 2003 advertisement on British television, a new employee on the production line is fitting Skoda badges on the car bonnets. When some attractive looking cars come along he stands back, not fitting the badge, since they are too good to be Skodas.
Models
* Fabia
* Favorit
* Felicia
* Octavia
* Roomster
* Superb
* 422 (1929)
* 633 (1931)
* Popular (1934)
* Rapid (1934)
* Tudor (1946)
* Sedan (1952)
* Spartak (1955)
* MB1000/1100 (1964)
* S100/110 (1969)
* 105/120 (1975)
* 130-136
* Winnetou
Skoda Works
Skoda Works was the biggest industrial enterprise in Austria-Hungary and then Czechoslovakia and among the biggest in Europe. Founded by Emil Skoda in 1899 in Plzen( it soon became the leading arms manufacturer in the country producing heavy guns for navy, mountain guns or mortars as well as locomotives, aircraft, ships, machine tools, steam turbines, power-engineering equipment, etc. Skoda produced the world's first triple-barrelled gun turrets for the Viribus Unitis class of battleships of the Austro-Hungarian navy. Prior to World War II and during the occupation by Nazi Germany Skoda also produced LT-35 and LT-38 tanks, which are better known under their German labels Panzer 35(t) and Panzer 38(t).
Mountain guns produced by Skoda:
* Skoda 75 mm Model 15
* Skoda 75 mm Model 1928
* Skoda 75 mm Model 1936
* Skoda 75 mm Model 1939
* Skoda 100 mm Model 1916
* Skoda 100 mm Model 16/19
* Skoda 105 mm Model 1939
* Skoda 150 mm Model 1918
Other weapons produced by Skoda:
* Skodaa 37 mm Model 1934
* Skodaa 37 mm A7
* Skodaa 149 mm K-series
o Skodaa 149 mm K1 / Model 1933
o Skodaa 149 mm K4 / Model 1937
The present-day company specializes in heavy machinery (such as nuclear reactors and locomotives). Mismanagement and lack of technological progress had weakened the company to only a shadow of its past glory.
Pity
As an interesting aside, Skoda (i.e. the family name of Emil Skoda, the enterpreneur who bought the firm in 1869) happens to mean also damage or "pity" in Czech. Consequently, "To je Skoda" can mean either "It's a pity" or "That's a Skoda".
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Škoda". |
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