Kettcar (toy)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Kettcar from the front (2015).
A Kettcar-like vehicle from a competing company, side view.

Kettcar is the brand name of a vehicle for children ( pedal car ). The word is a registered trademark of Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co. KG .

A Kettcar is a four-wheeled vehicle designed for children. It is based on the popularity of non-powered soapboxes , was first launched in 1962 and, according to the company, has sold 15 million times since then. In today's vehicles, the brand Kettcar the effected drive by means of pedals , via a chain , the rear axle drive. The drive thus corresponds to the bicycle drive . The Kettcar is braked with a lever-type drag brake . The brake lever operated by the driver acts on a metal rod mounted parallel to the rear axle. Kettcars can be controlled using the steering wheel .

At the beginning of November 2018 it became known that Kettler was threatened with bankruptcy. On October 11, 2019, the creditors' committee finally decided to “end” the Kettler company, which will release around 400 of its 550 employees from October 16, 2019. Production stopped at the end of January 2020.

etymology

"Kettcar" is a word formed from the initial syllable of the name "Kettler" and the English word "car" (= " car ").

“Kettcar” has developed into a generic name for pedal cars. Duden online defines the Kettcar as a “children's vehicle driven by pedals via a chain”. The term was included in the Duden dictionary in 1974. In addition to the derivation of the company name in connection with the English "car" in brackets, the association with the chain drive is also given for the origin of the word.

Web links

Wiktionary: Kettcar  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kettcar. In: kettler.net. Heinz Kettler GmbH und Co. KG, accessed on August 12, 2012 .
  2. ↑ handelsblatt.com (November 2, 2018)
  3. ↑ spiegel.de November 7, 2018: Kettcar manufacturer on the verge of collapse
  4. ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine November 6, 2018: Is the Kettcar about to end?
  5. ↑ Kettler: The last days of a traditional company. January 31, 2020, accessed June 25, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Martin Niewendick: Childhood dreams in danger, in: Tagesspiegel, 03.03.2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Kettcar®, the or that. In: Duden online. Bibliographisches Institut GmbH, accessed on August 8, 2013 .