Last Traction Avant-1954.

 

I know that, (hence the "even today"), I was just reiterating that NOT all French car designs are ugly.

A Peugeot 406 coupe prehaps?
The Citroen C4 you see above, Citroen C2, Renault Megane Renaultsport (most won't like that though... thats merely a personal preference), Citroen C6
Admittedly I don't like anything from the current Peugeot stable (ugh, THAT NOSE), but I would put its sister, Citroen, right behind Audi and Alfa in having some of the best looking cars available...


Anyhow, I managed to steer another thread -sorry!

 

I know Citroens quite well. The 1955 design was revolutionary, and copied over and over again by everyone for decades. But IMO, that '55 design is still ugly today, from any angle. When copied by others, the good points were refined, the bad ones left behind.


Show me a good looking Panhard..I dare you. Same-o same-o: Renault, Simca, Puegeot; Talbot, Citroen after 1954. The Delage's from the 1930's and the Delahaye's from the same period are quite nice. The Bugatti's are a masterpiece. But nothing French has had style since that prewar period. French cars take Avant Garde to the extreme. The French invented Art Deco, and still use it today, after 84 years. Streamlined Moderne would be a better term, since it grew from Art Deco. Both styles fall down hard on modern cars. From the 30's, it's a different story. Quite frankly, I don't like much of anything today. As Lee Iacocca said when the 1986 Taurus/Sables were introduced..."It looks like a flying potato!" Styling hasn't changed much since...it's still the flying potato-jelly bean look today...just awful.

 

you guys know nothing about ford trucks, i bring up facts and look you arent even talkig bout ford, its always somethign else, why are you here? frenchy

 

I'm here to help ppl, and most of my posts are on part number research, take a look and you'll see. A few are on automotive history as the one above is. I'm not French. I usually know what I'm talking about, unlike some, who post mindless gibberish only they can understand, which is not beneficial to anyone. As far as knowledge is concerned....

 

no jibberish here, just facts, and I dont think your math was right. cause the same 3 Tundras sit on that lot.

 

I assume you are talking about the Goddess herself?
One of my personal favourites. But thats just me.

If you want to look at some modern cars that don't follow the "flying potato" styling... some of Alfa's (the Brera), TVR (350C) dare to be a little different.


Oh, and what about Hispano-Suiza in your list? (Better than Bugatti's of the day in my humble opinon - not having driven either) I consider them French, because all of my favourite models came from the French arm... (make mine a J-12)


Now we are just sounding like car geeks (which I am sure isn't the case!!! )


And Mr 93RangerXL4x2... you are just jealous

 

that I dont know all this, I guess so.

 

I have no idea about Tundras sitting on any lot, and made no reference to them.

I DO know that by if one multiplies the number of kilometers by 6, that will convert kilometers to miles. Therefore 224,000kms is 134,400 miles, not the 164,000 miles that you posted.

I'm not getting into any debate with you about Ford facts. I have over 2000 automotive history books in my personal library and have read them all. I doubt you've read much past see Spot run.

 

I wouldn't call Hispano-Suiza a French car. Many of the custom bodies were French, but the chassis and some bodies were built in Barcelona. Some were built in Riga, Latvia and Prague. When the Hollywood crowd discovered Hisso, most of the custom bodies were then made in the USA.

The founder and designer of the Hisso was Marc Birkigt, a Swiss and the man who put up the initial money to bring the first cars to production was King Alfonso XIII of Spain. Hence the name Hispano-Suiza.


Goddess...when I think of Goddess inre to cars, the Belgian Minerva comes to mind. Speaking of Godesses, did you know that the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy's hood ornament was modeled by Lord Montague's mistress? When he bought his first Silver Ghost, it had no hood ornament. So he had his mistress pose for the initial design. When Henry Royce saw it, he asked and received permission to install one on RR motorcars. Every Rolls since has had one.


There's not much from the "Classic Era" I haven't driven. Most of those cars drove like tanks, one wonders how women could drive them, much less most men. The worst of the lot is the Bugatti Royale, which has the worst brakes known to man. When a customer complained about the brakes, Ettore Bugatti said..."I build them to go, not to stop!"

 

I know originally they couldn't be called French... but after thier purchase of Ballot in 1930, they were almost exclusively a French manufacturer. Twas my understanding anyway.
Even before 1930, most of the H-6's were built there... except for some in Prague as you mentioned.
Mark Birkit (sp?) was French too...

As for the bodies being built everywhere... as I am sure you are more aware than I, that was "par for the course" back then in that market.
Earl Automobile Work (was close to you I can imagine)
Barker, Zagato, Hibbard & Darrin etc....


Anyway you dice it... they were cool cars.

 

When you come to LA, I'll take you by Earl Automobile Works, the building remains. I was friends with "Dutch" Darrin...I used to detail engines for a classic car collector in LA...so I got to meet the "greats of the industry" past and present through him. He was well connected, loaded, and never worked a day in his life, as he was the heir to a large gasket company fortune.


Marc Birkigt was a Swiss subject, not French.

I'm a Ford guy second, a automobile historian and Packard collector first.

 

Looks are objective, everyone is going to have a different opinion.

What bugs me about the Tundra is:
It doesn't have a hood, it's like 2' long?
And the rear doors on the Mega Cab are larger than the front doors.

IMO they look stoopid.

 

2. Personal Conduct . Post language and material suitable for the home or office. Do not post foul language, racial epithets or sexually explicit content in any form. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Now, now Bill, watch the personal attacks. I guess "his" grammer structure and spelling is material suitable for the home and/or office. Calling Tundra owners idiots isn't considered a personal attack and I've never seen any brand bashing in any of his posts.

Am I missing something here?

 

i loved my tacoma, treated me the best out of all the vehicles i own.

on average i put on about 35k a year.

its even more irritating knowing someone calling someone an idiot over the computer for a personal decision they made to drive a particular vehicle.

its even worse knowing that if the person was in your face, they wouldnt be calling you an idiot for driving a toyota.

awesome truck i had