Trucking Milestones: in 1975 an LP 1319 makes car drivers happy

Series: Trucking milestones

Piggyback.

The car transport specialist Mosolf celebrates its 65th anniversary. Reason enough to turn back the clock – to the year 1975 and the LP 1319.


Who is on-hand when family man Jan Vermeer from Antwerp ordered a Mercedes‑Benz 280 S and Executive Secretary Joke van den Berg from Rotterdam ordered a 200 Automatic? A question which "Transport" magazine was able to answer in 1975 in one of their reports: haulage company Mosolf from Kirchheim unter Teck in Germany, with their special vehicle based on the LP 1319.

Four and a half decades later, car transport specialist Mosolf is more active than ever before, operating several locations and a fleet of 1000 trucks. Back in 1975, they had 60 trucks, all of which bore the three-pointed star at the front. The LP 1319 was number one in the fleet – and overall a successful vehicle: From 1970 onwards, Mercedes‑Benz sold over 9000 units in its mere six years of production.


Here's how it all started: in the first years of the company from 1955, Mosolf's car transporters were on the road with closed bodies – for example this LP 322.
Here's how it all started: in the first years of the company from 1955, Mosolf's car transporters were on the road with closed bodies – for example this LP 322.
Here's how it all started: in the first years of the company from 1955, Mosolf's car transporters were on the road with closed bodies – for example this LP 322.
Here's how it all started: in the first years of the company from 1955, Mosolf's car transporters were on the road with closed bodies – for example this LP 322.

"Durable, robust and economical".

"We need trucks that are durable, robust and economical," company founder Horst Mosolf was quoted as saying in "Transport" magazine. No wonder really – at the time, each of his trucks clocked up some 200,000 kilometres a year to supply Jan Vermeer, Joke van den Berg and all the other avid petrolheads. In case of an emergency, in-house mechanics were on standby, and a well-stocked spare parts warehouse had been set up in collaboration with the then Mercedes‑Benz dealership in Kirchheim unter Teck.

The pictures corroborate the story: in 1975, Horst Mosolf's trucks transported their four-wheeled freight mostly on double-decker trailers – just like today. But this wasn't always the case, as the entrepreneur put on record: when he started his business in 1955, he used a vehicle with a closed body – a single L 6600 model.


Photos: Daimler & Mosolf

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