I didn't raise the point in order to kick anyone out of this forum!! And anyone who knows me will tell you how much I like Heb's. I just think its an interesting point.
Gilles and I swapped emails on the subject a little while back and basically at that point we agreed - because Hebs & Karmann's were built on a production line from pressed panels then technically they weren't
real coachbuilts. But after doing a little research now I'm not so sure. :?
It seems that the distinction between a car manufacturer and a coachbuilder is that the coachbuilders only manufacture the body not the rest of the car, its not related to the amount of hand-crafted components that go into the process. So, based on that logic then Hebs & Karmann's
are coachbuilt cars. (welcome back everybody)
Now just to muddy the waters a little, there is a huge US manufacturer called Fisher Bodies. They're a coachbuilding company from the 1800's who moved into automotive bodies. They hooked up with GM and provided all the bodies for Chevrolet cars all through the 40's, 50's, 60's & 70's (not sure but they may still do). But nobody really thinks that a 55 Chevy is a coachbuilt car...
I suppose this is a bit off-topic really, but it certainly does change the numbers :!:
Rob Amos
Happiness is a stock VW