"the developer is a disputed fact that invites a claim by the opposing camp.  I have therefore changed ""developer"" to ""eponym"", since there is at least no apparent dispute about the source of the automobile's name.  This maintains the familial link with the vehicle without getting into the substantive dispute at the wrong place.  
18:09, 2003 Oct 28 (UTC)

Thanks, that may at least defuse things a little.  

My personal thought is that if this is to get any mention on Ferdinand or Ferry Porsche's page the text should relate to them directly, rather than being the same cut and paste sentence.  

Mentioning that Ferdinand Porsche gets most of the popular credit for a lot of things that were actually as much or more a product of his employees, and pointing out that this is common practice in the design industry  the boss gets the credit  would be a bit more NPOV.  Mentioning Komenda as one of those who gets overlooked in favor of the boss would be OK for me too.

 22:46, 28 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Before I get any further on this subject, I would like clarificaton about the relative roles of Ferdinand and Ferry in this issue.  I would like to see the fact of Ferdinand's univolvement nailed down before I approach the matter of Ferry, or before I try to address the simple revert battle now going on here.

The bulk of the story clearly belongs on the Komenda page.  A one-sentence reference on the Ferry page saying that Ferry's claim is disputed is appropriate, and it should then refer those who want more on the story to the Komenda page.  01:57, 2003 Oct 29 (UTC)

This is the situation that I think is the truth, from my reading.  When Ferdinand Porsche set up an independent engineering consultancy in Germany (in the 30s?) although he was the company founder and head engineer he employed a number of other engineers - the jobs were too big for just one man.  Among the men he employed was Erwin Komenda, who had previously worked for Daimler-Benz and before that Steyr.  Komenda was an expert in auto body construction and the engineering of pressed sheet metal bodywork, that I can determine.  

Ferdinand Porsche's field of expertise seems to have been the mechanical aspects of vehicles, engines and the like, and the overall team direction.  Komenda worked on the bodywork of the KDF-wagen (later to become the Beetle) among others.  Komenda definitely worked on translating ideas for the basic shape into sheet metal and the detail design of the bodywork.  Many of the plans and patent applications from this period are signed by Komenda and applied for with his name on them.  Whether his were the first pencil sketches that were turned into auto bodies I am less sure.  It's certainly possible that they were, though I am sure others in the team including Ferdinand Porsche had a lot of input.

JUST A THOUGHT:

Shouldn't this page consider division into chapters:

(i.e.)
Early Life
WWI
WWII

Porche is a fascinating man with a career so linked with the World Wars  but that almost seems lost and in this bio. His involvement in WWII with the Nazis in both the Racing circuit and in the War effort really shaped his life and that that of the world. He represents a true place in history - so perhaps a chapter insersion could better work here.  Just a suggestion.
DH - 10/16/05
Postwar, Porsche's son Ferry and the other engineers who had worked for Ferdinand during the war came together (initially in Austria) to design cars.  Ferdinand was imprisoned until 1949 for war crimes relating to the use of slave labor in projects he worked on.

Between them, a car was designed that became the Porsche 356.  Komenda played a big part in this.  It would be incorrect to say that he was the designer, per se, because he only worked on the bodywork.  However, its construction was his, and probably much of its styling.  He also worked in a similar capacity for later Porsche cars.

What I think needs to be done is to write more about Ferdinand's consultancy and Ferry's postwar sports car company so Komenda can be placed in his proper context.  WHen part of a larger article it will seem less 'heavy'.

Protected

In this case, it's rather difficult to revert to a pre-edit-war version. Since there's no getting around the fact that I agree with Wik that the link should not be included, I have protected the page on a version including the link, to avoid the perception of bias. 

I've seen both Wik and Lir resort to edit wars (not infrequently with each other), and there's something you both need to understand: '''edit wars are