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English   From landau to low-frame bus: passenger transportation from 1885 to 1926
22.06.2010 von admin


The smallest bus model in Daimler’s first bus range was designed for six passengers and 200 kilograms of luggage; the biggest bus accommodated 14 to 16 passengers and 450 kilograms of luggage. Cruising speed was between four and 16 km/h; if the engine was powerful enough the bus could take gradients of as much as twelve percent. The curb weight of the lightest variant was 1.1 tons; the heaviest bus tipped the scales at 2.5 tons. The net price for the six-seater was 6800 marks; the bigger models cost 8000, 9200 and 10,500 marks, respectively.

Not included in the price was the heating for the driver’s seat and the passenger compartment, which was as simple as it was effective: the system let the engine coolant circulate under the floor and carried a price tag of 180 to 260 marks depending on model. Also available, for an additional charge of 500 to 600 marks, were rubber tires, “but they only can be recommended for smaller vehicles.” For heavier models with curb weights over two tons the manager recommended ordinary wood wheels fitted with iron hoops.


More easily Daimler hotel bus with pneumatic tires of 1907

“These motor vehicles can be put into operation within three minutes,” the sales brochure announced further. Other figures that were worth mentioning in those days included the specific weight of the gasoline and a consumption of 0.36 to 0.45 kilograms of fuel per hour and horsepower at wide-open throttle. At the stated top speed of 16 km/h, in purely mathematical terms this equates to fuel consumption of about 20 to 30 liters per 100 kilometers (8-12 mpg). But since only a very few people will have been familiar then with such comparative values, for the customer the information that fuel cost ten pfennigs per horsepower and kilometer surely was more important.

In every respect, DMG was at pains to emphasize operating safety and reliability. The tank, dimensioned for ten hours’ driving time, was “in a protected position underneath the vehicle,” DMG said, and the water cooling worked efficiently also in winter, “absolutely safely and reliably.” The manufacturer stressed that shifting “is done in a very secure way” and that the foot-operated brake would bring the vehicle “quickly and safely to a full stop.” Nevertheless, the company was not content merely with claims, but granted a three-month guarantee on all parts.


A 6 hp Daimler bus for twelve persons built in Berlin-Marienfelde, 1900.


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