Simca Vedette

In the early 1950s, Henri Théodore Pigozzi was looking to expand the manufacturing operations of his Simca company, which was enjoying much success at the time, thanks to the popular Aronde. At the same time, Ford was seeking to divest itself of its French subsidiary, Ford SAF, which had a factory in Poissy, close to Paris, where it had been manufacturing a large car called the Ford Vedette. The Poissy plant was large and there was capacity for further expansion. The Vedette was a larger car than anything that Simca had on offer at that time. These points attracted Pigozzi, who decided to take over the entire factory, along with the rights to the cars manufactured there. The cars appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1954 on the Ford France stand, but there was no mention of the Ford name on the covers of the brochures offered to potential customers. The name "Ford" appeared just once, in very small print, on the final page, presumably in order to avoid confusing customers who would be expected to call the cars "Simcas" from 1 December 1954, the date set for the formal hand-over of the business. In export markets the name change was less immediate, and even in adjacent Belgium, in January 1955 at the Brussels Motor Show the cars were still appearing on the stand of the Belgian Ford importer, sharing the space with models imported from Ford of Britain. ==First generation==

The acquisition by Pigozzi took place in July 1954, just when Ford was poised to launch its new, modern Vedette, Power was transferred to the rear live axle through a three-speed manual transmission with column shift. The Vedette had independent front suspension (by MacPherson struts) and drum brakes on all four wheels. As the new model caught on, Simca was able to increase production from the 150 daily achieved during Ford's ownership of the factory to 250 cars a day. Pigozzi maintained a schedule of year-to-year model revisions, much like US manufacturers. For 1956, an estate version called the Simca Vedette Marly joined the line-up and the whole range was revised. A new license plate holder was added to the front bumper and the rear license plate now concealed the fuel tank filler. A peculiar addition was a pedal-operated windscreen washer, while other more ordinary changes included a second odometer, also known as a 'trip meter', for measuring partial distances. The Versailles and Régence were made even more comfortable with the addition of central armrests (Versailles in the rear only, Régence in front and rear), while the Trianon was simplified, losing bumper guards and chrome windscreen decor. In 1957, an option of the Gravina automatic clutch was added, along with better brakes and more direct steering. The Trianon regained the chrome decor around the windscreen, while the other models acquired slimmer tail lights and the front ornament was replaced with a new design. Fender-mounted V8 badges were introduced but, although the whole range featured the same V8 engine, the new badges appeared on the fenders of only the Régence and Marly. Production figures • 1955 – 42,439 • 1956 – 44,836 • 1957 – 17,875 ==Second generation==

}} After three years in production, the Vedettes were given new names and a new, elongated body, with a more ornate front end and large tailfins, making the cars even more American-looking than before. This was part of a styling trend shown by most large European cars of that period, which were, to some extent, inspired by American styling, as tailfins appeared on Peugeots, Fiats, BMC models (Pinin Farina-styled), Fords and even Mercedes-Benz cars of that era. The engine was uprated to (now called Aquilon 84) but the fiscal qualification of the car remained unchanged. The small-engined 4-cylinder Ariane, of which 166,363 were produced, survived until 1963. Production figures • 1958 – 28,142 • 1959 – 15,966 • 1960 – 13,914 • 1961 – 3,813 == Models (Brazilian market)==

}} The model was continued for longer in Brazil, where it was the first V8-engined car to be built. The Ford-sourced Aquilon 2.4-litre V8 engine underwent a number of improvements, first increasing power to (the Tufão version), then to (called Emi-Sul due to its hemispherical combustion chambers, as used in Chrysler's Hemi engines). Trim levels included the Présidence as the top-end model, Chambord as the mainstream model and the Alvorada, later renamed Profissional, as a base model, mainly marketed towards taxi drivers. There was also the Jangada station wagon, based on the Marly. The cars were eventually replaced by a version with new sheetmetal, called the Simca Esplanada. Related models included the Simca Présidence, Simca Rallye, Simca Jangada station wagon. Throughout the 1960s, Simca do Brasil gradually introduced parts produced by local OEM parts suppliers. In 1961, the Chambord received an improved engine with and 15% more torque, a slightly shorter differential. 98% of the parts were of Brazilian production. A special version, called the Tufão (whirlwind) featured some additional luxury items in its interior. 42,910 units of the Chambord were built up to 1966, and the engine output gradually rose to . These more powerful Chambords had an acceleration from 0 to in 14.3 seconds and a top speed of . In November 1966 Simca introduced the Esplanada at the Salão do Automóvel, Brazil's sole motor show, as a replacement for the Chambord. Simca Alvorada The Simca Alvorada was a radically stripped-down version based on the posh Chambord as a result of a demand by the Brazilian government of President Juscelino Kubitschek that every car manufacturer must offer an affordable basic version within their range. The idea was to give as many Brazilians as possible the possibility to own a car. The concept of a very basic version of the Simca Vedette had been previously attempted in Simca's home country France, with the Simca Ariane. While this was welcome news for Volkswagen, for example, Simca do Brasil was not exactly pleased with the idea as the brand had established itself comfortably in the luxury car sector, in a way that Simca back in Europe never managed. Having had no plans to launch a cheap car, with no other options available, Simca do Brasil reluctantly created an entry-level version of their successful Simca Chambord. The Simca Alvorada appeared in 1963 with just two colours as option (grey and a faded yellow), no chrome, no trimmings, and a very simple interior. As a silent protest the car was named after the place the order to create this model came from: The Palácio da Alvorada, the presidential palace in the capital Brasília. The spartan car found very few takers, in spite of its lowered price, with only 378 examples built in the two years it was available. But the Profissional was 30 percent cheaper than its far posher brother, the all chrome and leather Chambord. The production numbers of this version apparently were never documented and, unlike the Alvorada, the Profissional had no distinct range of chassis numbers. Production figures are thus mixed in with those of the Chambord. The Profissional was discontinued in 1966, as the Chambord range was replaced by the new Esplanada. ;Production (Brazil) • Chambord – 42,910 (includes Profissional) • Présidence – 848 • Rallye – 3,992 • Jangada – 2,705 • Alvorada – 378 Total: 50,833 ==Australian production==

Following an announcement in July 1959 that it would assemble and market Simca models in Australia, Chrysler Australia produced the Vedette Beaulieu through to 1962, using both fully imported and locally sourced components. ==References==