The Launch
In 1982 Ford of Brazil launched the pickup based on the Ford Corcel II. It was the second such vehicle in the segment, then after the Fiat Fiorino (known at the time as the City), pickup derived from the Fiat 147. The name Pampa alludes to a horse, that has the body all threshed. The Pampa had the comfort of a car in the cabin but the robustness of a utility vehicle with a more superior load capacity than its smaller competitor. It had the front of a Corcel II and a loading bay inspired by the much larger US-style F-1000 pickup of the time. The difference between the Fiat pickup and the Ford is that the former used the same independent back suspension of Fiat 147 whereas the Ford had a rigid rear axle and adopted semi-elliptical springs in place of coil springs, more suitable for carrying heavy loads. Due to its success, other brands soon followed suit in launching their own derivatives, Volkswagen with the Saveiro (appearing in the same year, it was derived from the Volkswagen Gol hatchback) and Chevrolet with Chevy 500 (derived from the Chevette) in 1983.
Read more about this topic: Ford Pampa
Famous quotes containing the word launch:
“I had often stood on the banks of the Concord, watching the lapse of the current, an emblem of all progress, following the same law with the system, with time, and all that is made ... and at last I resolved to launch myself on its bosom and float whither it would bear me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Now launch the small ship, now as the body dies
and life departs, launch out, the fragile soul
in the fragile ship of courage, the ark of faith
with its store of food and little cooking pans
and change of clothes,”
—D.H. (David Herbert)