Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bought Ford's French subsidiary, became increasingly controlled by Chrysler. In 1970, Simca became a brand of Chrysler's European business, ending its period as an independent company. Simca disappeared in 1978, when Chrysler divested its European operations to another French automaker, PSA Peugeot Citroën. PSA replaced the Simca brand with Talbot after a short period when some models were badged as Simca-Talbots.
The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer Earle S. MacPherson, who invented and developed the design.
The Lincoln Versailles is a mid-size luxury car that was marketed by Lincoln from the 1977 to 1980 model years. The first Lincoln introduced outside of the full-size segment, the Versailles is a rebranded version of the Ford Granada and Mercury Monarch. Replacing the Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia, the model line was introduced as a competitor to the Cadillac Seville.
The Ford flathead V8 is a V8 engine with a flat cylinder head introduced by the Ford Motor Company in 1932 and built by Ford through 1953. During the engine's first decade of production, when overhead-valve engines were used by only a small minority of makes, it was usually known simply as the Ford V‑8, and the first car model in which it was installed, the Model 18, was often called simply the "Ford V-8" after its new engine. An automotive milestone as the first affordable V8, it ranks as one of the company's most important developments. The engine was intended to be used for big passenger cars and trucks; it was installed in such until 1953, making the engine's 21-year production run for the U.S. consumer market longer than the 19-year run of the Ford Model T engine. It was also built independently by Ford licensees.. The engine was named on Ward's list of the 10 best engines of the 20th century. It was a staple of hot rodders in the 1950s, and it remains famous in the classic car hobbies even today, despite the huge variety of other popular V8s that followed.
Chrysler Europe was the American automotive company Chrysler's operations in Europe from 1967 through 1978. It was formed from the merger of the French Simca, British Rootes and Spanish Barreiros companies. In 1978, Chrysler divested these operations to PSA Peugeot Citroën.
The Ford Comète is a car that was built between 1951 and 1954 in France by Ford SAF. Intended as the luxury model in the range, the Comète's bodywork was built by FACEL, who later produced the better-known Facel Vega luxury cars under their own name. The original engine was a 2.2 L V8 produced by Ford SAF of French design, also used in the Ford Vedette, with a Pont-à-Mousson 4-speed manual transmission fitted.
Stellantis Australia, known unofficially as Chrysler Australia or FCA Australia, is the official Stellantis subsidiary in that country, operating as distributor of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Leapmotor vehicles. However, there had previously been a "Chrysler Australia Ltd" which had operated as a vehicle manufacturer in Australia from 1951 until 1980, and was subsequently taken over by Mitsubishi Motors Australia.
The Simca Vedette is an executive car, manufactured from 1954 to 1961 by French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. The Vedette competed in France's large car market at a time when the economy was finally returning to growth and enjoyed moderate success with its American style finished off by the Italian designer Rapi. It was marketed with different model names according to trim and equipment levels. The Vedette was Simca's largest model at that time, and it went on to spawn a more economical version, the Simca Ariane.
The Ford Vedette is a large car formerly manufactured by Ford SAF in their Poissy plant from 1948 to 1954.
The Simca Ariane is a large saloon car launched in April 1957 by the French automaker Simca and manufactured in the company's factory at Poissy until 1963.
Ford France is the French subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed as a manufacturer under various names between 1916 and 1954, when Ford sold the manufacturing business to Simca.
Simca do Brasil was the Brazilian subsidiary of the now defunct French automaker Simca. It started out in the late 1950s assembling the Simca Vedette imported in kit form from France and selling it in three versions, the Chambord, Présidence and Rallye. Later the company manufactured the radically restyled Esplanada with improved engines and, with increasing control by the Chrysler Corporation over the French concern, was taken over with the American car giant becoming its majority shareholder. During its ten years of market presence Simca defended its market share against fierce competition from Volkswagen, Ford, Chevrolet and Willys. The brand disappeared from the Brazilian market in the late 1960s following a strategic decision by its owners Chrysler.
The Simca Esplanada is a large car manufactured by Simca do Brasil in Brazil from 1966 to 1969. It was manufactured at Simca do Brasil's São Bernardo do Campo factory. Launched at the 1966 Salão do Automóvel in São Paulo, it replaced the Simca Chambord and related models. The basic platform of the Esplanada can be traced back through the French-built Simca Vedette to the Ford Vedette. The Emi-Sul engine was derived from the Ford Motor Company flathead V8 of 1932, thanks to the use of Zora Arkus-Duntov's "Ardun" hemispherical cylinder heads. This iteration was the last version of that design to be built for a production car.
The Ford Taunus 17 M is a middle sized family saloon/sedan that was produced by Ford Germany between August 1957 and August 1960. The Taunus 17M name was also applied to subsequent Ford models which is why the car is usually identified, in retrospect, as the Ford Taunus P2. It was the second newly designed German Ford to be launched after the war and for this reason it was from inception known within the company as Ford Project 2 (P2) or the Ford Taunus P2.
The Stellantis Poissy plant is a car plant belonging to Stellantis located in Poissy, Yvelines, France. It is dedicated to the manufacturer's Platform 1 cars, which are cars in the subcompact class, with an annual output of approximately 200,000 cars. Together with the R&D Centres at Carrières-sous-Poissy and at Vélizy, it is one of three major establishments that the company runs in the department.
The Talbot-Lago Sport is a coupé-bodied sports car introduced by the manufacturer in May 1955 that was Talbot-Lago's last production model. 54 were built. After a couple of years the Talbot-designed engine was replaced with a BMW unit and the car was rebranded as the Talbot-Lago America.
The Ford Vendôme is a large car that was manufactured by Ford SAF at their plant in Poissy, France, from 1953 until 1954.
Thames was a commercial vehicle brand produced by Ford of Britain.
The Ford Abeille is a sedan with a two-piece opening tailgate at the rear and downmarket trim intended as a commercial variant of the Vedette that was produced and sold in the French market between 1952 and 1954. The bodystyle is similar to that of the 1949 Kaiser Traveler. In addition to the tailgate and durable interior, the rearmost side windows were covered from the interior, almost all chrome elements were replaced with painted pieces, and the Vedette's grille was replaced with a simple mesh.
