Philips 8-Track Players?

Hello fellow trackers. I'm a newbie to the group, so please bear with
me. I'm 28 yrs old and have been collecting 8's for a few years now.
I currently have three players which are all in working condition. A
Pioneer H-22, some old player I inherited bearing the name "Takara"
and a recently acquired beautiful old Philips AM/FM stereo receiver
with 8-track. (those old "all in one" systems you're all familiar
with) Up until now, I've NEVER seen a Philips unit with an 8-track
player, and by the way, the player runs BEAUTIFULLY. The belt is in
good shape, the head alignment is right on, and the speed is very
accurate and consistent. The motor even looks like it might be AC,
but I don't know since I didn't take the cover off the unit. I don't
think the player was hardly ever used. The head still looks new and
shiny without the slightest speck of dirt or oxide. I picked it up at
Value Village (a chain-wide thrift store) for $6.00! My question is,
did Philips ever have a "hand" in the 8-track market, or might this
possibly be from a different manufacturer, except they put the
"Philips" name on it? (a practice which I understand was quite common
in the '70's electronic marketplace). I knew Philips was a prime
designer behind the cassette format, and that's what strikes me as
weird. Anyway, just thought I'd pass this along, and if anyone might
know anything further. The unit was made in Japan BTW. Thanks in
advance.


Keep trackin'

Brad.