1 SDP TOPICAL Keep the Peace with Armour The Austrian Armed Forces takes its task of being ready at all times to protect peace in the country very seriously. This means that not only must the training be constantly completed but also modern technology, which never stands still, has tobe incorporated into the Armed Forces. Onestep in this direction was the decision to update the medium-sized M 60 A1 battle-tank in the Austrian Armed Forces (first introduced in 1964 and in operation with two tank battalions). lf this were not done then expensive new units would have to have been acquired. The re-equipping order for the M 60 A3 was awarded-hardly surprisingly-to Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge Gesellschaft in Vienna. This is not a matter of minor cosmetic adjustments, but rather of replacing a whole range of essential constructional elements and components. The improved battle-readiness thus achieved is of international standard. The first delivery allocation was recently handed over by the Steyr Director General Dipl.-Ing. Otto Voisard to the Minister of Defence, Dr. Robert Lichal. Thanks for Asking 100,000 Fiat Pandas, the "super boxes", climb around the world with all-wheeldrive components Made in Austria through difficult terrain-three times more than the Fiat headquarters in Turin had expected. Hardly surprising that the ltalians, Germans, French and Japanese are queueing up outside the AII-Wheel-Drive Centre in Graz to acquire the vital components for incorporating into their cars. Because the demand for 4WD cars is undiminished. The keenest Panda purchasers are the ltalians, followed by the French, The Britons and the Swiss. Thal the people in Graz are world champions in the construction of all-wheel-drive transmissions is also proved by the 1st Place in the Rally World Championship. The most attractive reward for the work put into the project is the three-year contract which the Managing-Director of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, DDr Friedrich Laussermaier, was able to sign a few weeks ago with the Fiat Director for International Operations, Dr Lorenzo Cesari. This contract foresees delivery of four-wheel drive transmissions for the transporters and small bus series "Ducato" (which is identical with the Peugeot J 5 and the Citroen C 25). In Graz a new visco-clutch and a completely new rear-axle construction have been built. The co-operation with the Ducato gear-box works is also handled by Steyr. MAGAZINE 43 Years with Puch When the barely 18-year-old electrician Johann Fussi joined Puch in July 1945 the bomb-damaged plant was making iceskates. Now, after years with Puch, Fussi, a highly valued production manager, is leaving an enterprise which has a worldwide reputation in the field of all-wheeldrive technology. Johann Fussi, born in 1928, has not only lived through, but also fashioned fourand-a-half decades of post-war Puch history. As a representative for the Customers Technical Advisory Service he travelled throughout Europe in the '50s from the north of Norway to the south of ltaly. He also undertook three trips to the USA to persuade innocent lawn-mower salesmen about the qualities of Puch motorcycles which were marketed there under the trademark ''Allstar". And even when Fussi was not on the road as an Advisor, he was still not necessarily at harne. He took part in numerous motor-cycle races and Alpine Rallies, such as the famous "6 Days" and so on. Fussi "settled down", so to speak, towards the end of 1962 when he was put in charge of automobile production (Puch 500, Haflinger etc.). From 1970/71 onwards Fussi was Production Manager for the Pinzgauer range; and in recent years he has also been Assistant Head of Production for the Puch/Mercedes "G", and the AII-Wheel Drive VW-Synchro Transporter. 15
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