Standard Atlas
All of Britain’s Big Five car manufacturers of the 1950s made forays into the light commercial vehicle sector. Some of the offerings were derived from the saloon cars of the period, while purpose-built designs were developed for the heavier 75-cwt to 1-ton sector. None of the offerings was a shining star, driver comfort and easy engine access being low priorities. A lack of pulling power, quirky gearboxes and dodgy braking were other attributes. Perhaps the best of an indifferent bunch was the Bedford CA, the market leader in this sector, its engine easily accessed from a front bonnet - contrast with the cab-over-engine layout of the rival products.
Financially straitened Standard Motor Co. was a late entrant to the market in 1958, when it launched the Atlas van. Initially with a 948cc engine, it was singularly underpowered. Sales were feeble, although some were adapted as mobile caravans and minibuses (as modelled by Dinky Toys and this example at the Coventry Transport Museum).
Under Leyland Motors ownership, the Standard marque was phased out, and the Atlas became a Leyland model. Production had ceased by 1965, the year in which Ford shook up the van market with its revolutionary Transit model.
Standard Atlas
All of Britain’s Big Five car manufacturers of the 1950s made forays into the light commercial vehicle sector. Some of the offerings were derived from the saloon cars of the period, while purpose-built designs were developed for the heavier 75-cwt to 1-ton sector. None of the offerings was a shining star, driver comfort and easy engine access being low priorities. A lack of pulling power, quirky gearboxes and dodgy braking were other attributes. Perhaps the best of an indifferent bunch was the Bedford CA, the market leader in this sector, its engine easily accessed from a front bonnet - contrast with the cab-over-engine layout of the rival products.
Financially straitened Standard Motor Co. was a late entrant to the market in 1958, when it launched the Atlas van. Initially with a 948cc engine, it was singularly underpowered. Sales were feeble, although some were adapted as mobile caravans and minibuses (as modelled by Dinky Toys and this example at the Coventry Transport Museum).
Under Leyland Motors ownership, the Standard marque was phased out, and the Atlas became a Leyland model. Production had ceased by 1965, the year in which Ford shook up the van market with its revolutionary Transit model.