Simca
Parent Fiat S.p.A. (1934–58) | Chrysler (1958–67) Chrysler Europe (1967–70) | |
Subsidiaries | Ford France (1954–58) [1] Simca do Brasil (1958–66) |
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Simca (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French
During most of its post-war activity, Simca was one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in France. The
Simca vehicles were also manufactured by Simca do Brasil in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, and Barreiros (another Chrysler subsidiary) in Spain. They were also assembled in Australia, Chile[citation needed], Colombia[2] and the Netherlands[3] during the Chrysler era. In Argentina, Simca had a small partnership with Metalmecánica SAIC (better known as de Carlo) for the production of the Simca Ariane in 1965.
Foundation
Simca-Fiat
The SIMCA (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et de Carrosserie Automobile) company was founded in 1935 by Fiat S.p.A., when it bought the former Donnet factory in the French town of Nanterre.[4]
The first cars produced were
Of the businesses that emerged as France's big four auto-makers after the war, Simca was unique in not suffering serious bomb damage to its plant.[7] There were persistent suggestions that Henri Pigozzi's close personal relationship with the Agnelli family (which owned Fiat) and Fiat's powerful political influence with the Mussolini government in Italy secured relatively favourable treatment for Simca during the years when France fell under the control of Italy's powerful ally, Germany.[7] Despite France being occupied, Simca cars continued to be produced in small numbers throughout the war.[7]
Following the 1944 liberation, the company's close association with Italy became an obvious liability in the feverish atmosphere of recrimination and new beginnings that swept France following four years of German occupation. Nevertheless, shortly after the liberation the Nanterre plant's financial sustainability received a boost when Simca won a contract from the American army to repair large numbers of Jeep engines.[8]
1946: a decisive year
On 3 January 1946 the new government's five-year plan for the automobile industry (remembered, without affection, as the
For Simca, faced with a determinedly dirigiste left-wing French government, the prospect of nationalisation seemed very real.[8] (Renault had already been confiscated and nationalised by the government at the start of 1945.) Simca's long standing (but Italian born) Director General, Henri Pigozzi, was obliged to deploy his very considerable reserves of guile and charm in order to retain his own position within the company, and it appears that in the end Pigozzi owed his very survival at Simca to the intervention with the national politicians of his new board room colleague, Jean-Albert Grégoire.[8] In return, Grégoire obtained the personal commitment of the surviving Director General to the production at Nanterre of his two-door AFG.[8]
It is very easy to see how the two-door AFG looked, because its four-door equivalent went into production, little changed from Grégoire's prototype, as the Panhard Dyna X. It was a car designed by an engineer, and Pigozzi thought it ugly. In trying to make it more appealing to the style conscious car buyers who, it was hoped, would appear in Simca showrooms once the economy picked up and government restrictions on car ownership began to be relaxed, Simca designers took the underpinnings of the Grégoire prototype and clothed it with various more conventionally modern bodies, the last of which looked uncannily similar to a shortened Peugeot 203.[8] This “Simca-Grégoire” performed satisfactorily in road tests in France and around Turin (home town of Fiat who still owned Simca), and by September 1946 the car was deemed ready for production. But Pigozzi was still cautious. He had little enthusiasm for the gratuitously unfathomable complexities involved in producing a mass-market front-wheel drive car.[8] The experience of the Citroën Traction Avant, which had bankrupted its manufacturer in the mid-1930s, was not encouraging. Pigozzi therefore applied to the (at this stage still strongly interventionist) government for a far higher level of government subsidy than the government could contemplate.[8] Both the “Simca-Grégoire” project and the government's own enthusiasm for micro-managing the French automobile industry were by now running out of momentum. Sensing that there was no prospect of putting the “Simca-Grégoire” into production any time soon, General Technical Director Grégoire resigned from the company early in 1947.[8]
Meanwhile, at the first Paris Motor Show since the end of the
The French economy in this period was in a precarious condition and government pressure was applied on the auto-makers to maximize export sales. During the first eight months of 1947, Simca exported 70% of cars produced, placing it behind Citroën (92% exported), Renault (90% exported), Peugeot (87% exported) and Ford France (83% exported). In the struggle to maximize exports, Simca was handicapped by the fact that it could not compete with its principal Italian shareholder, Fiat.[10]
Aronde and Ford SAF takeover
The
The 1950s was a decade of growth for Simca, and by 1959 the combined output of the plants at Nanterre and at Poissy had exceeded 225,000 cars, placing the manufacturer in second place among French automakers in volume terms, ahead of Peugeot and Citroën, though still far behind market leader Renault.[12][13]
The Ford purchase also added the V-8 powered Ford Vedette range to the Simca stable. This model continued to be produced and progressively upgraded until 1962 in France and 1967 in Brazil, but with various names under the Simca badge. An Aronde-powered version was also made in 1957 and called the Ariane which, because it was economical and had a large body, was popular as a taxi.
In 1958, Simca bought the French Talbot-Lago manufacturing company.
Brazil
The Simca plant received a visit by Juscelino Kubitschek before his inauguration in 1956, organized by a Brazilian General who had a family member employed there. He jokingly invited Simca to build a plant in Minas Gerais, his home state. Simca followed through and sent a letter of intent to this effect.[14] In the interim, Brazil had formed an Executive Group for the Automotive Industry (GEIA), which had established a set of requirements for any producer wishing to establish a plant in Brazil.[14] Simca claimed that their proposal and arrangement with Kubitschek pre-dated these rules and lobbied for exceptions.[15] Simca also lobbied directly in Minas, but in the end were forced to present their own proposal, which was accepted with a number of conditions.[15] The delays in passing the GEIA rules meant that Simca, which established its first plant in São Paulo, was unable to access hard currency and suffered severe parts shortages as a result. Simca quickly developed a reputation for low quality which it was unable to shake.[16]
Simca do Brasil was originally 50% Brazilian-owned, but after Chrysler took over Simca France in 1966 they also obtained control of the Brazilian arm.[17] Simca remained based in São Paulo for the entire time they were active in Brazil and never moved to Minas, as originally promised. Their range was built around the 2.4 liter V8-engined Simca Vedette, which entered production in Brazil in March 1959.[18] It was built under a variety of names and in a number of different bodystyles, until the Simca badge was retired there in 1969. Later models were redesigned completely, and were sold as the Simca Esplanada.
Fulgur
The Simca Fulgur was a
Chrysler
In 1958, the American car manufacturer
Also, in 1964 Chrysler bought the British manufacturer Rootes thus putting together the basis of Chrysler Europe.[4] All the Simca models manufactured after 1967 had the Chrysler pentastar logo as well as Simca badging. In 1961, Simca started to manufacture all of its models in the ex-Ford SAF factory in Poissy and sold the factory at Nanterre to Citroën. The rear-engined Simca 1000 was introduced in 1961 with its sporting offspring, the Simca-Abarth in 1963. The 1000 also served as the platform for the 1000 Coupe, a sports coupe sporting a Bertone-designed body by Giorgetto Giugiaro and 4-wheel disc brakes. It debuted in 1963 and was described by Car Magazine as "the world's neatest small coupe". 1967 saw the more powerful 1200S Bertone Coupe that, with a horsepower upgrade in 1970, could reach the dizzying speed of almost 112 mph (180 km/h), making it the fastest standard production Simca ever built.[23] In 1967, a much more up to date car, the 1100, appeared with front wheel drive and independent suspension all round, and continued in production until 1979. On 1 July 1970 the company title was formally changed to Chrysler France.
Collapse of Chrysler Europe
The most successful pre-Chrysler Simca models were the Aronde, the Simca 1000 and the front-engined
The last remaining Simca and Rootes models were discontinued by the end of 1981, and the Simca-based Alpine and Horizon soldiered on through the first half of the 1980s using the resurrected Talbot badge, which itself had vanished from passenger cars within a decade.
Meanwhile, Peugeot expanded its own brand and made use of the former Simca and Rootes factories for production of its own vehicles, although the Talbot brand survived into the 1990s on commercial vehicles.
Afterlife
Peugeot eventually abandoned the Talbot brand, and the last Simca design was launched as Peugeot 309 (instead of Talbot Arizona as had been originally planned). The Peugeot 309 used Simca engines until October 1991 (some 18 months before the end of production) when they were replaced by PSA's own TU and XU series of engines. The 309 was produced at the former Rootes factory in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, UK, as well as in the Poissy plant.
Simcas were also manufactured in Brazil, Colombia, Spain and Finland. The last Simca-based car produced was the Horizon-based Dodge Omni, which was built in the USA until 1990. The European equivalent had already been axed three years earlier when use of the Talbot name on passenger cars was finally discontinued.[24]
Models
- Simca 5
- Simca 6
- Simca 8
- Simca 9
- Simca 11
- Simca Gordini Type 15 (Grand Prix racing car)
- Simca Aronde
- Simca Ariane
- Simca Présidence)
- Simca Jangada (Brazilian model)
- Simca Esplanada (Brazilian model)
- Simca Regente (Brazilian model)
- Simca Tufão (Brazilian model)
- Simca GTX (Brazilian model)
- Simca 1000
- Simca 1000 Coupé
- Simca 1100
- Simca 1300/1500
- Simca 1301/1501
- Simca 1200S
- Chrysler-Simca 1609/1610/2-Litre
- Matra-Simca Bagheera
- Matra-Simca Rancho
- Simca 1307/1308/1309/1s510
- Simca Horizon
- Talbot-Simca Solara
Production Numbers
Calendar Year | Simca 5 | Simca 8 | Simca 6 | Simca 9 Aronde | Vedette | Ariane | 1000 and Coupe | 1100 | 1200s | 1300/1301 | 1500/1501 | Chrysler 160/180 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1936 | 7282 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7282 |
1937 | 12925 | 318 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13243 |
1938 | 14194 | 6739 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20933 |
1939 | 12131 | 7680 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19811 |
1940 | 3604 | 1911 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5515 |
1941 | 33604 | 1911 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7094 |
1942 | 632 | 2217 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2849 |
1943 | 19 | 122 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 141 |
1944 | 23 | 180 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 203 |
1945 | 47 | 65 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 112 |
1946 | 3411 | 4832 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8243 |
1947 | 3733 | 8053 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11797 |
1948 | 3901 | 14074 | 191 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 18166 |
1949 | 221 | 15580 | 10813 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26614 |
1950 | - | 26258 | 5497 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31755 |
1951 | - | 20568 | - | 21932 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 42500 |
1952 | - | 27 | - | 69028 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 69055 |
1953 | - | - | - | 61567 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 61567 |
1954 | - | - | - | 92432 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 92432 |
1955 | - | - | - | 115646 | 42349 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 157995 |
1956 | - | - | - | 133105 | 44836 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 177941 |
1957 | - | - | - | 138064 | 17875 | 14703 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 170642 |
1958 | - | - | - | 143542 | 28142 | 35068 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 206752 |
1959 | - | - | - | 194553 | 15966 | 24852 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 235371 |
1960 | - | - | - | 175384 | 13914 | 29185 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 218483 |
1961 | - | - | - | 164297 | 3813 | 33733 | 9670 | - | - | - | - | - | 211513 |
1962 | - | - | - | 84236 | - | 14284 | 154282 | - | - | - | - | - | 252802 |
1963 | - | - | - | 31522 | - | 7593 | 168654 | - | - | 58758 | 7090 | - | 273617 |
1964 | - | - | - | 21 | - | - | 113818 | - | - | 98624 | 64143 | - | 276606 |
1965 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 118655 | - | - | 64118 | 54713 | - | 237486 |
1966 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 174068 | - | - | 85658 | 67707 | - | 327433 |
1967 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 115397 | 24729 | 2352 | 78125 | 55279 | - | 275882 |
1968 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 114427 | 138242 | 5344 | 54425 | 37645 | - | 350083 |
1969 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 146321 | 146095 | 3257 | 45693 | 46910 | - | 388276 |
1970 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 133540 | 142014 | 2852 | 75732 | 30337 | 18395 | 402870 |
1971 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 122933 | 197201 | 936 | 90518 | 9420 | 63259 | 484267 |
1972 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 131595 | 260835 | - | 91608 | 9111 | 41399 | 534488 |
1973 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 136197 | 296984 | - | 88252 | 15687 | 50999 | 588119 |
Total (By 1973) | 65451 | 112390 | 16512 | 1425329 | 166895 | 159418 | 1639557 | 1206100 | 14741 | 831511 | 398042 | 173992 | 6209938 |
References
- ^ a b BUSINESS ABROAD: Ford into Simca on Time magazine, Monday, Sept. 27, 1954
- ^ "La historia de Colmotores, pionera de la industria automotriz colombiana". Elcarrocolombiano.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
- ^ "Simca and the Nekaf plant". Members.home.nl. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
- ^ ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
- ^ "Simca history". Histomobile.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
- ^ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1936 (salon [Paris, October] 1935). 1. Paris: Histoire & collections: 80–81. 1996.
- ^ a b c "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1940-46 (les années sans salon ). 26. Paris: Histoire & collections: 76–77. 2003.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1947 (Salon de Paris: Octobre 1946 ). 4. Paris: Histoire & collections: 72. 1997.
- ^ AFG = Aluminium Français-Grégoire
- ^ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1948 (salon 1947). 7. Paris: Histoire & collections: 74–75. 1998.
- ^ Motor. Vol. nbr 3598. 19 June 1971. pp. 24–25.
- ^ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1959 (salon Paris Oct 1958). 15. Paris: Histoire & collections: 55. 2000.
- ^ Unit sales are of course only part of the story, since the revenue and potential profit from producing a Citroën DS or even from a Peugeot 403 would have been far higher than that from a single Simca Aronde P60, while sales volumes of Simca's own large cars, the aging Vedette and Ariane, were by now on a steeply downward curve.
- ^ doi:10.2307/3117267.
- ^ a b Shapiro, p. 908
- ^ Shapiro, p. 909
- ^ Shapiro, p. 935
- ^ "Les SIMCA Vedette" [The Simca Vedettes]. Club Simca France (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-03-27.
- ^ The New Yorker, Volume 37 Part 1, 1961, page 31
- ^ The Fulgur - a European dream car, Automobile Year, Issue 6, 1958, page 81
- ISBN 0814330916
- ^ "Simca (Societe Industrielle de Mecanique et Carrosserie Automobile)". Allpar.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "SIMCA 1000 COUPE, SIMCA 1200S COUPE". Simcatalbotclub.org. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
- ^ "Development of the Chrysler - Talbot - Simca Horizon". Rootes-chrysler.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
Bibliography
- Simca: L'aventure de l'hirondelle, by Adrien Cahuzac, Editions E-T-A-I, 2008.
- Simca: De Fiat à Talbot (Préface de Jacques Loste), by Michel G. Renou, Editions E-T-A-I, 1999.
- Guide Simca: Tous les modèles de 1965 à 1980, by Michel G. Renou, Editions EPA, 1995
- Guide Simca: Tous les modèles de 1934 à 1964, by Bruno Poirier, Editions EPA, 1994.
- Simca: Toute l'histoire, by Michel G. Renou, Editions EPA, 1984, re-issued 1994.
- Aronde: Le Grand livre (Préface de Caroline Pigozzi), by Michel G. Renou, Editions EPA, 1993.
- Simca: Un appétit d'oiseau, by Jacques Rousseau, Editions Jacques Grancher, 1984. Re-issued 1996, Editions Rétroviseur.