The Car Challenge

[Nereus]

No, not a Caddy.

[Nereus]

No, not a Caddy.

img2.jpg (158.19 KiB) Viewed 329 times

[dtaai-maai]

It does look a bit like a Cadillac, which (given the Paris reg) probably makes it a Simca, at that point owned by Chrysler, n'est-ce pas? But as to the model - zut alors!

[Dannie Boy]

It does look a bit like a Cadillac, which (given the Paris reg) probably makes it a Simca, at that point owned by Chrysler, n'est-ce pas? But as to the model - zut alors!

Well spotted d-m, i believe it is indeed a Simca Vedette of about 1960 vintage?

[Bristolian]

Could it also be exactly the same French car but named the Ford Vedette

[Dannie Boy]

Could it also be exactly the same French car but named the Ford Vedette

Interesting Bristolian so I had to look it up.

There is more to it than this, however it would seem that Ford were struggling in France and sold out to Simca in 1954 and whilst the Vedette had been sold by Ford in France (although I think it would have been a different model), it appears that there at least, it became the Simca Vedette - a bit more below:

Facing unsatisfactory sales results, as well as disruptive strikes at the Poissy plant at the turn of the decade, Ford had been trying to dispose of the factory since shortly after the end of the war. An opportunity arose in 1954, when Henri-Theodore Pigozzi, the founder of the increasingly successful French automaker Simca, was looking for a new plant to expand its operations. Ford France was merged into Simca with both the Poissy plant and the rights to all models manufactured there — including a newly-designed new Vedette. The new car had debuted already in France under the name of Simca Vedette, but was sold as the Ford Vedette in some markets (including Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany) at least until 1956.[1][6][8][9]

[Nereus]

Yes, very good detectrive work there DM. Difficult to find a photo that did not give it away, but never entered my mind about the rego plate!

We had a few of them in Oz, in fact I tried to talk my Mother into one before the Mk2 Zephyr!
Very rare car now, although they were also made in South America, where there are a few still in exisitance.

[dtaai-maai]

staff car.jpg (18.01 KiB) Viewed 290 times

General Eisenhower apparently used one of these as his staff car for a while in WWII.

[Dannie Boy]

staff car.jpg

General Eisenhower apparently used one of these as his staff car for a while in WWII.

I had to cheat - its a Packard Clipper from 1942

[dtaai-maai]

Correct, but consider yourself soundly rebuked.

[Dannie Boy]

Correct, but consider yourself soundly rebuked.

Ok trousers down time for a good spanking. I was going to attach an image of the car in its wartime colours but it was too large.

[Dannie Boy]

What is this model and what is special about it?

[PeteC]

^ Here's the place to shrink them Dannie. Just tick 760 pixels and it works out fine. Pete

http://www.shrinkpictures.com/

[Dannie Boy]

^ Here's the place to shrink them Dannie. Just tick 760 pixels and it works out fine. Pete

http://www.shrinkpictures.com/

Thanks Pete, I'll remember that for next time

[Nereus]

What is this model and what is special about it?

It`s a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. Don`t know what`s special about that particular one, but as a model they were the first post WW2 productions.