DAF cars, daf variomatic
Dutch DAF is best known for manufacturing trucks, but in the late 1950s, it produced a series of passenger cars featuring its fully automated Variomatic transmission. The first car in the series, the DAF 600, was marketed as convenient and easy to drive, appealing to older drivers. This created the reputation that DAF cars were weak and boring. This uncool image kept sales low. Eventually, DAF Variomatic was sold to Volvo, which made one Variomatic car before shutting down production. A quirky feature of DAF’s cars, “going as fast in reverse as forward”, led to the bizarre sport of reverse racing, where drivers smashed up still-functional DAFs by racing them backward.
Additional info:
Volvo Cars Global Newsroom - VOLVO 66 (1975-1980)