Yes, the French do make cars, although
few come to the U.S.A. Europeans, South Americans and
the Middle East have been treated to a variety of French
makes for over a century. In 1957 Renault produced his
first hit in America with the Dauphine. Much more acceptable
than the Fregate and 4CV, it took on the Volkswagen
Beetle to capture the economy car market and lost. Not
that the Dauphine was not a good car. The "Beetle"
simply created a "love fest" image that few
could understand. Not dissuaded, Renault then created
the R8 and Caravelle, followed by the 12 and R16. American
Motors began importing popular models such as the LeCar
and Fuego and did so until 1986.
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A few U.S. importers sold the beautiful
Facel/Pininfarina coachbuilt Simca 8 in the early 1950s,
but success came when Chrysler Corporation began importing
the Aronde in 1958 and later the 1000. But with the
arrival of the Plymouth Valiant in 1960, dealerships
began phasing out the Simca in fear that it would take
sales away from their own small car.
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Citroen surely made an impression on
American World War II solders and the uniqueness of
the Traction Avant and 2CV made them rather novel cars
to import. The DS19 was the first hit in America and
owners seemed to love them. Another hit, the DS21, followed,
then the masterpiece... the Maserati-engined SM in 1971.
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With Pininfarina styling, the 1955
Peugeot 403 entered the U.S. in 1948 and sport car magazines
began showing race car driver, Phil Hill, in their advertising.
The succesful 403 led to the 404 and 405 and additional
models took Peugeot all the way to 1991 when the 405
and 505 models ceased to be imported into the U.S.
French engineering and French design both unique and
interesting have introduced, with limited success, many
other makes including Deulsch-Bonnett (D.B.), Talbot-Lago,
Panhard and Facel Vega:
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And the greatest of all the
French cars... Bugatti! Prewar Bugatti history
is well known and their greatness well-deserved
and well-established. Few are aware, though, of
an early postwar attempt to re-establish the company.
The 1949-51 Type 101 model was a minor effort,
but in the 1990s the Bugatti has once again been
resurrected. More recently, backed by Volkswagen
(now also the owners of Lamborghini and Bentley),
Bugatti has financing that hopefully will bear
fruit. Several "pre-production" examples
have decked auto show stands only to disappear
as new ones are developed. Impressive press kits
indicate that VW is serious.
