Dipster:
So my question is “What went wrong?” I have never heard of this vehicle. So I imagine it was not a success. Was it so bad? Was it over-priced?
Good point and history (later) beats back…
No idea on quality (Hercules was not bad at all) nor price, but competition on vans etc became strong
with Volkswagen and others…and to my humble opinion DAF ‘struggled’ with choices as since 1928 (the
year Van Doorne Brothers started their activities) many inventions were production-ready on the shelves
but at a certain moment (DAF started production/introduction of lorries in 1949) lorries (read military purposes) and busses became high in demand. Production of trailers was separate and also the demand for
cars was planned in the begin of the fifties. So…in fact choices of allocation of workforce, production-facilities etc.
The pick-up was nicknamed project 300 and 400, later (1980-1990) to be continued with the 500 and 600 as we all recall the Leyland Sherpa in DAF-jacket.