(From Wikipedia)
Simca (Société Industrielle de Mécanique et Carrosserie Automobile) (Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a
French automaker, founded in November 1934 by
Fiat and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by
Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi (born
Enrico Teodoro Pigozzi, 1898–1964). Simca was affiliated with
Fiat and then, after Simca bought
Ford's French activities, became increasingly controlled by the
Chrysler Group. In 1970, Simca became a subsidiary and brand of
Chrysler Europe, 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.
During most of its post-war activity, Simca was one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in France. The
Simca 1100 was for some time the best-selling car in France, while the
Simca 1307 and
Simca Horizon won the coveted
European Car of the Year title in 1976 and 1978, respectively — these models were
badge engineered as products of other marques in some countries. For instance the Simca 1307 was sold in Britain as the
Chrysler Alpine, and the Horizon was also sold under the Chrysler brand.
Simca vehicles were also manufactured by
Simca do Brasil in
São Bernardo do Campo,
Brazil, and
Barreiros (another Chrysler subsidiary) in
Spain. They were also assembled in
Chile,
Colombia[
citation needed] and the
Netherlands[1] during the Chrysler era.
Chrysler
In 1958, the American car manufacturer
Chrysler Corporation, which wanted to enter the
European car market, bought 15% of the Simca
stocks from
Ford in a deal which
Henry Ford II was later reported as having publicly regretted. At this stage, however, the dominant shareholder remained
Fiat, and their influence is apparent in the engineering and design of Simcas of that period such as the
1000 and
1300 models introduced respectively in 1961 and 1963. However, in 1963 Chrysler increased their stake to a controlling 64% by purchasing stock from Fiat, and they subsequently extended that holding further to 77%. Even in 1971 Fiat retained a 19% holding, but by now they had long ceased to play an active role in the business.
Also, in 1964 Chrysler bought the British manufacturer
Rootes thus putting together the basis of Chrysler Europe. All the Simca models manufactured after 1967 had the
Chrysler pentastar logo as well as Simca badging. In 1961 Simca started to manufacture all of its models in the ex-Ford SAF factory in Poissy and sold the factory at Nanterre to
Citroën. The rear-engined
Simca 1000 was introduced in 1961 with its sporting offspring, the Simca-
Abarth in 1963. The 1000 also served as the platform for the 1000 Coupe, a handsome
sports coupe sporting a
Bertone-designed body by
Giorgetto Giugiaro and 4-wheel
disc brakes. It debuted in 1963 and was described by Car Magazine as "the world's neatest small coupe". 1967 saw the more powerful 1200S Bertone Coupe that, with a
horsepower upgrade in 1970, could reach the dizzying speed of almost 112 mph (180 km/h), making it the fastest standard production Simca ever built.
[20] In 1967 a much more up to date car, the 1100, appeared with front wheel drive and independent suspension all round, and continued in production until 1979. On 1 July 1970 the company title was formally changed to Chrysler France.
Collapse of Chrysler Europe
The most successful pre-Chrysler Simca models were the Aronde, the Simca 1000 and the front-engined
1100 compact. During the late 1970s Chrysler era, Simca produced the new
160/180 saloon,
1307 range (
Chrysler Alpine in the
UK) and later the
Horizon, (
Dodge Omni and
Plymouth Horizon in the USA), both of which were named European
Car of the Year at launch. However, Chrysler's forced marriage of Simca and Rootes was not a happy one: Chrysler Europe collapsed in 1977 and the remains were sold to
Peugeot the following year. The Rootes models were quickly killed off, and the Simca-based Alpine/1307 and Horizon soldiered on through the first half of the 1980s using the resurrected Talbot badge. The last car to carry the Simca badge was the 1980 Solara, a 1307 with a boot, but by 1981 this had become a Talbot, thus ending the Simca marque entirely.
