A gaggle of rare French machines from the OldMotors archive today; once again from Martinique. A trio of Peugeot 403 pickups are fronted by a Renault Goélette minibus, set to take people from Fort-de-France to…
Posts tagged France
Flashback: Rue de l’Écureuil en Rouen
A Sunday flashback today to 1970s France and a spectacularly diverse array of machines that were, at the time, just people’s regular cars. So where are we? Rouen, more specifically Rue de l’Écureuil, circa 1971….
Bonnet Djet: The Mid-Engined Arms Race
The “D” in Djet was there purely for pronunciation purposes. The car’s creator, the already famous René Bonnet, wasn’t sure if his fellow French would properly pronounce the English-language word “Jet!” the way he wanted….
Panhard PL 17: The Two-Cylinder Tiger
Today our feature car is a 1960 Panhard PL 17, a highly unconventional car with its origins in the 1940s and the imagination of talented French engineer Jean-Albert Grégoire. But to really understand where it…
French Flathead: Simca Vedette Trianon
The Simca Vedette began life as the Ford Vedette – and its history is as complex as a Château Latour red. This Vedette Trianon, the base model at the time, dates from 1955, a period…
The New Wave Eighties: Renault Fuego
The Renault Fuego was old news by 1985, and definitely *not* a success in the U.S., where survivors are very rare now, but it was a nice car to drive and had a style all…
Raising Arizona: The Peugeot 309
When Chrysler sold off its European assets to Peugeot in 1978, the former Simcas, Chryslers, and Hillmans that comprised the disparate lineup mostly became Talbots for 1979 (though the Simca named lingered on some small…
Bastille Day Memories: Citroën Traction 15-Six
Joyeux 14 Juillet à tous! For this Bastille day and the 100th Anniversary of Citroën, here’s an old shot of a rare six-cylinder Traction Avant. Every year for Bastille day, the New York Citroën and…