RE: AWD systems from Steyer Daimler Puch

[Eaton Dave <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

steyer daimler puch make some of the most awesome off-road machines on the
planet.

about 5 months ago i was well down a track in the coromandel ranges on the
way to a beautiful and secluded beach with my buddies awd (nissan
pathfinder) and was getting a little worried as the terrain got worse and
worse.  the pathfinder was coping well (better than my old landrovers would
have), but i was worried about the glowering sky and knew that rain would
make it a lot harder to get out.  not that i told tracy any of this you
understand...

anyway, at the end of the track we arrived at the beach which the farmer
usually had all to himself.  he turns up in a (steyer daimler puch)
pinzgauer!  which, for those who don't know is one of the best 4wd's known
to man.  forward control, backbone chassis with swing axles and coil
springs(excellent axle reticulation), spur (drop) gears, locking diffs.
each "axle" has it's own central diff, and each of the half shafts
effectively has it's own crown wheel, so there is no cv joints on the half
shafts. unbreakable and low maintenance.  awesome.  the thing was an
absolute heap with a pretty bad case of cancer though.  the farmer,
typically laconic, observed the weather, the chances of rain, and my chances
of getting our again.  he told me that if i needed a tow, it would cost me
some beer.  he was pleased to have someone recognise his taste in vehicles
though.

although i've seen a haflinger before, this is the only time i've seen a
pinzgauer.

although the early models used air-cooled engines (same as the haflinger
did), newer pinzgauer use a vw 6-cylinder turbo-diesel afaik...

i think that the pommy army has replaced it's landrover forward control
101's with pinzgauers (with the vw turbo diesel).  i'm not sure whether it
is the 4wd or 6wd model.  phil??

the only comparable 4wd machine for serious intent would be the unimog or
the hummer.

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

	-----Original Message-----

	Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 08:39:14 -0600
	From: "Cordeiro, Alan" <Alan.Cordeiro@mts.com>
	Subject: AWD systems from Steyer Daimler Puch

	Steyer Daimler Puch, ( perhaps Stuer ??) most common North
	American claim to fame is that they supplied the AWD system for
	Chrysler minivans since 1991. The system serves its purpose
	reasonably well, and at least two other listers have one of these
	versions of the minivan. It may be a co-incidence that they are
	located in Graz, Austria, and that Chrysler has a minivan
	manufacturing plant there as well.