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I found this interesting story in Transhelvetica (Swiss travel magazine) about the Swiss retail company Migros. The company started off selling goods out of a small fleet of TT vans.

https://www.baremuenze.ch/klapprige-las ... s-erfolgs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migros

Wow, a contribution to a Model TT story from Switzerland here on MTFCA! That makes me happy.

Today the Model T is quite rare with us and I rely on help and tips from overseas to hopefully get my 1926 Touring back on the road.


I have briefly studied the history of Migros and will write a few words about its early days...


In August 1925, Gottlieb Duttweiler sent the first five Migros AG sales vehicles onto the streets of Zurich. They initially only sold six products: coffee, soap, rice, coconut oil, sugar and pasta. The packaging was larger and the prices were 10 to 30 percent lower than the competition. Thanks to the Ford TT, he was spared the costs of sales outlets.
Gottlieb Duttweiler was a great supporter of the rationalization of work processes, as propagated by the car manufacturer Henry Ford. In order to save time and money when loading the sales carts every day, he invents an ingenious system. He once says that he applies “Ford’s principles” to his business.
The later Ford A cars can be loaded in just 20 minutes thanks to a one-way system with sliding shelves. The peak was in the mid-1960s. At that time, 144 vehicles were in use across Switzerland.
In addition to a growing branch network, Migros maintained the sales cart system for almost 80 years. The last two sales buses were taken out of service on November 30, 2007.

Here you can see some more pictures of the TT's.

More pictures...

And at the end the last bus...

Greetings from Switzerland

....by the way, this is my favorite....

Awesome presentation of a thing that was unknown to anyone in the U.S. prior to now.
Thank You Very Much!!

Interesting! We had a man from Switzerland at one of our national tours here in San Diego. I forget his name. It was at least 10 years ago or maye 20. He ordered an auxiliary transmission and had it shipped here. He took it home with him in his check in luggage on the plane.
Norm

Beat, thank you for the additional photos and information on Migros. I found it interesting that Migros is a co-operative, we could use a system like that here in Australia (along with the fantastic bread you guys have).

By the way, a very original 1912 Zedel came up for sale in Sydney last year, a really nice looking brass car.

Thanks for the feedback.

John, you teach me Swiss automotive history. I had never heard of a Zedel before. I'm fascinated, there were around a hundred car manufacturers in little Switzerland and I found a register. The Zedel is also in it.

Even if they aren't Model T's, maybe someone will be interested. I just find the pictures interesting. Here is the link.....

https://www.swisscarregister.ch/swiss-m ... ersteller/


The translation of the text at the top of the page...

Who still knows today that there were around a hundred car manufacturers in Switzerland during the first heyday of the automobile from the end of the 19th century until the First World War? – The first self-propelled road vehicle in Switzerland was manufactured by two apprentices in Geneva in 1878: a three-wheeled, steam-powered car, named Thury and Nussberger, which drove up to 49 km/h.

In the first experimental phase, vehicles with electric or combustion engines followed. In the period from 1897 to 1906, no fewer than 19 passenger car factories were founded. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, there were 5,400 automobiles in circulation in Switzerland, over a third of which came from around 25 local factories.

However, the more manual, at best semi-industrial, production of passenger cars did not survive the strong economic ups and downs between 1920 and 1945, while the commercial vehicle industry that emerged in the 1920s was able to hold its own for longer. After the Second World War, there were initiatives in luxury, racing or prototype manufacturing, but these remained niche products or unique items, in complete contrast to the importance of the Swiss supplier industry.



I hope I don't bore the Model T community and get kicked off the forum...

greetings from Switzerland