Ford Transit celebrates its 50th birthday - but why is the 'backbone of ... - The Independent
Five decades later, the Ford Transit is something of an icon and has – for better or worse – become forever associated with the phrase “white van man”. “The wonder of the Transit van was that it wasn’t just a van, but a way for the working man to earn his crust and keep a roof over his head,” said Peter Lee, the founder of the Transit Van Club and owner of 13 Ford vans, including just one of... “People love it because it made fortunes and built businesses, and over the past 50 years it has transformed from a fairly basic van to an office on wheels that’s as comfortable as most cars. But according to Mr Lee and fellow admirers, it was years ahead of the primitive post-war vans that dominated Britain’s roads. Nonetheless, not even Mr Lee could have predicted the Transit’s longevity. I have a barn for my Transit vans and a special temperature-controlled room for my 25,000 pieces of Transit memorabilia, which includes every brochure dating back to 1965,” Mr Lee said. The club has 1,500 members, and between us we own more than 6,000 vans ranging from mini-buses to milk floats and prison vans. Like many Transit fans, Mr Lee, 65, whose collection includes 18,000 diecast models, fell in love with the boxy van when he worked at the Langley plant in Berkshire in 1969. “We have doctors, consultants and all sorts in. Source: www.independent.co.uk
