he idea ofcars ofdifferent makes sharing from motor-industry bodies and fiom polirical cnalirion rook pou er in France. leading lo a spare rhe same bndyshell i' hardly *hocking. sources. for CirroE;. Pcugeot dnd Renault ro ol .trrker and ro tonccrtions on pay and conrJi- le,:'t of all if) ou remember BMC\ prolilic behave in such a way that the\ were not.een a. rionr rar nracle production rnore evpensive and :.:Jse-engineering in the '50s and '60s. Nor was abusing a siturrion of near-monopoly. Jimrnirhed prufitability. In a tense inJurrrial and --:; prrctice simply a qmical post- 1945 response This uas all the more Derrinenr in a conrexr political climate, rhe biq marque' felr wlnerable : h- nerr realism ofthe afier-war years: N uff- where France had slipped down the uorlJ league anJ ferred that ifthev i ereni seen as sood cid- ..-. : Jre.,ed up Ilorrisej as Wolseley' before table of motor rnanufacturers and u-hcn ihe zen' ther mighr be minaced wit} na tio-nalisarion '.\1\ i. 1.r.r;, Rootes made Sunbeam-Talbots coruttrywas in an economicrecession. Relativelr br a Curnmunist-supportcd goternment under -:,'f Jolled up Humbers. speaLing, tie French moror indusrry u as u ctL. pressure fiom workplace miliranrs. B:: these *ere in-house body-sharings, the with too feu succe,'sful large firms anJ roo manr .\dding to rhe impulsion ro do something. rhe ..:::< :r Peugeot-CitroEn deriving the Citrodn ailing ones. Not onlv rhar. bur the prorec nq\\ government set up a National Economic \ 'rnall I \ - m il\ Peuscoi l0o. The notion oflening tion provided l,y tariffbarricr: \ as Dro\inc Council drat recommenderl grearer organisation .: .:.rr';leru.irourbodyshellisacomplerel! illu'orv. To get around impon resrricrions, bort anJ discipline among : :. dre manu[acrurers and t]rc ::'r::nrnLr: rtdoesn\happentoday.irdidni Ford, with Mathis, and Fiat, with Simca, were to establishment of collaborative ventures. '. :: rn c"-lier post-rrar times. and it onl) set up shop in France, to the considerable Prompted by this, the car makers' federation :.:::.. :r.::pened betueen the wars. Of those disquiet of the 'Big Three'. talked ofreducing the number ofmodels each :_::.-ri :: i\cepdons. mostwere Ftench. Whar ifasmall '.'.-:-. butnor insigni6cant rnanufac- offered. curnng dou n on comfet ition bet\.r een :::','rld France -lvalcter _:.: hare been different fiom lurer such as Chenard er were lo tDc \ anous marqucs. : ::iesi Part of the answer is that the srumble. and be snapped-up - say - b1 General A further and increasingly rclcvant reason for ,j-.- :.-.i. -.:::::.r:ket h:rd elolr-ed differentlv in the Motors? For an induso-y alreadl raumati'ed by propping up the smaller Erms amounted again :. ' . : .:roJ. \\}ereas br lhE Iat; lSJ0s the lql4 collapsc ofCitroEn. rhrse wrrr rsrv to enlightened self-interesr. With their tradition :- . ! :::.:- :: ::ker s as dominated by a'Big Sir', realworries jJsdfiably so. because Chenard dii ofcarrying out subcontract w.rrk to rnrke ends --. file for bankruptry in Io36. rneet. small enterprises could rake on the mili- - -:,- .. fh.rc"r,rhu.pre\\ure.both Worse, in 193 6 the left-wing Front Populaire tary contracts growing in number as France 'aa :.:: : 1 :,:_::::' .July 2006 r.,A Nouvnf,r,E 10fl4 cv .tr *.-*. i,l*lfri$X*?:tir'^1i::T.;T^o"T[tI re-armcd in response to the rise of Hitler-leav sing arrrl po.srhlv rvt n subsidising rr. fhi. u.rr wheel-drivc rnodels for 19.16l idr rll steelshei.. ing the'Big Three'to concentrare on the rciected by rhe r',,ul,l-bc rcciliienr'.rI rh. frorn Chausson. The four-ljsht saloon w!s the unintermptcd mass-production of motor cars. .uppurl. u ho fearrJ Lhrl u ould be.r n,,t}. r, d br sarne as rhat used bv Nlatfc;d. Ford! French In thc second half of the I 9l0s there was thus thc r'rrhrace oftheir suppore,l protccrorr. branch, andwas effeitivellthe srrnc shellon the a conjunction of reasons for helping smaller ln rhe.nd, po'.rLrly,'nce rhe hear haJ l,rrn Briti.h.\lodelo2rnrl rhcpo.r \\ \\ I PiL,r. mrrufucrurerr. bringing r,r life ide:rs rhar had rJi.siluted by rhe rapid demi.c. rn luJ -. of lhe Wlcn rhe fr^,d mo,lel. r. r. :,hrndoned t - heen Jir, urred fru rtlc..hlmrng cr r makers and lrt,rrt Popultirr g, rrrrr rrenl. none uf rli. r'ar nc 19J7, the sane irnd rehted six-lig:: ", bodl I politicians and in the press since the end of .hcll urs continued rrr.r rr<u rirnge nr rL _. the previous decade. One thoughtwasto encour, drire ChenarJ.; rhr. 'r''l. 'oon lollo"e'' age a grolpingofsmall firrrs. Bringing togcther s*itch to either I I CV Clitro€n or Ford \-S :' Chenard et \Valckcr, Ariis. Unic. Latil and La units. During lalo. Chqnard cr \\i1.".- Licornr. for cxrrrple. uoulJ put ln anrual trLen orerL,r Ch.russon,snrhe u.eoIr-, uul l,ut o[\ornelhing, ",rr trll00 i ehrr'lrs under .lrrlls fitred nertly into rhc inJrr.L- the.amcumhrcllt.onLh.bd'i.of lqJi rcFi.rrl being piec.,J t',gct-hrr. Ar un a.ide. - - tions, and give the combined group a 47o share 'l_ rn od els, one-lirne prq.r:- ofthe market roughly equivalent to that then about. Instead, thc bigJ firms and in particular Delaunav-Bellevillc used Cher:: : . -. cnjoyed bv Ford or Sirnca. Louis Renault u,as a Citro€n- contented themselvcswith the ad hoc for its plcidding six-rylinder 1l( nrung proponenl of thrs ider. adrc,c:rring :t provision ofbodics and mechanical components The four-c,vlinder Aislc ii : - Frcnch 'Auto-Urion'. basecl on the Gerrnln to ccrtain minnows ofthe industrv. cars had transverse-lelf r:: :. combinr tI,rr narne and smtller "f Lrniting manrr. Amid-classnanufacrurersituaiedbelowsuch suspension, a conlenrionl -- fa. nrrer' * ho * ould rat iunalise iheir rangrs rnd second-ranking prestige marques as I Iotchkiss womt-and-sector steerin. share components to reduce costs. Another and'lilbot, Chenard et Wrlcker had effectively Bcndixbrakes, so l ere L:: : .rgg,.rion u;r [.,r each ofrhc'tsig fhrec ro inrtiarcd the lricricc !vhen ir rcl'odicd iti lutomotile design. Th:.:.: -' rponror l.rnrllrr corrpanl. rrLng it under rr. conservrtivcJy stvled and unsuccesslil front- ecccptable ro,rdhol J::. while a 193 7 price of FFr29,500 for a Luxe four- up the coachbuilt saloon was replaced by a four- wheels, rhe new model was not inelegant - door Aigle was not hugely adrift ofthe FFr2 5,900 door. Called the Rivoli, this used a lightly although the carlost a l.itde of is grace when the Cino€n was asking for an Onze Normale. Alas, modified Onze L6gdre monocoque, shom ofis front wings became valanced during 193 7. Chenard! hopes oTmaking 300-500 per month ham-shaped front members. Because the shell Under the Citro€n bodvshell. the Licorne ofthe mainstay Aigle 22 proved sadly optimistic: retained the central instrument dial abandoned chassis was reaine4 with is'nansverseleaf fr ont by the I 93 9 modefyear C&Ws averagC rnondrly on the Tiaction Avant inJune '36, it is tempting suspension, inefficient cable brakes and old- output, of all models, was 149 units, against to think that Citrodn was merely using La fasliioned friction dampers. It was extended in is CiroEn's mondrly average of 5588 cars. Unsur- wheelbase by 2.4in to mate with the body, and prisingly, the company did not re-enter the one thought was to encourage a the company made play in is advenising on how private-car market after the war. {r'ms.. the monbcooue shell was isolated from the frame Perhaps rhe best known of the French trans- g oJPt-rg of small lours by felt and irbber insulation'eliminating all testites is La Licome. By the I 93 0s dre company Renauit was a slrong proponent, noise and vibration'. Aveilable as an 8CV with a - also known simply as Licome - had an esrab- l450cc sidevalve ensine, an ohv lOCV of I 8l'lcc lished image as a producer ofsturdy and reliable advocat rng a French'Auto Union' or an ohv I I CV of 2-000cc, the Riroli enabled La mid-class motor cars, often carrying atrractive Licorne to keep is prices relatively steady for csdr* ork bu r never in the s[ghtest bit sponing. Licome as a repository for obsolete bodyshells; 1937, despite a general upwards trend. A regular presence at sman concours d'elegance, this thesis doesn't quite hold up, because the cars Joining the Iiivoli early in 1937 was a bigger ther'u ere aimed at women drivers, one of the also have the single scltde vent introduced by saloon using the Onze Normale body and called cabriolet body sryles being named F6mina. By Citrodn at the same time as the new dashboard, the Normahdie, after the French transadantic I 916 all its ca rs were equipped with independent The Licome radiator shell was used, naturally liner ofthe same name - then verv much in the front suspension and most had ohv engines. At enough, the wings - adapted Tiaction items - news for having won the BIue Riband for the rhar stage, Cinodn came into the picmre. were l.inked by running boards, and there was a fastest crossins of the Adantic, The new model fi e lonom-of-the-pile models continued louwed bonneg plus a chrome surround for the replaced the saloon venions ofthe next size up in largell' unchanged for I 93 7, but in the next range spare-wheel cover. Sitting on pierced steel Li Licorne's range, and was powered by the 1 50 C assic & Sports Car July 2006 I lCVengine or a l4CV'four' of 2438cc; again It is tiought that few of these were built, and Delahaye 134 fromwhich it borrowed its 2l50cc the Licome chassis had to be lengrhened slig-hdy that only a handful of the smaller Commerciale pushrod engine.