24 Facts About Simca

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 the 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 Citroen.

For instance the Simca 1307 was sold in Britain as the Chrysler Alpine, and the Horizon was sold under the Chrysler brand.

Simca vehicles were manufactured by Simca do Brasil in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, and Barreiros in Spain.

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Businesses that emerged as France's big four auto-makers after the war, Simca was unique in not suffering serious bomb damage to its plant.

Nevertheless, shortly after the liberation the Nanterre plant's financial sustainability received a boost when Simca won a contract from the American army to repair large numbers of Jeep engines.

Government plans for Simca involved pushing it into a merger with various smaller companies such as Delahaye-Delage, Bernard, Laffly and Unic so as to create an automobile manufacturing combine to be called “Generale francaise automobile”.

Simca, faced with a determinedly dirigiste left-wing French government, the prospect of nationalisation seemed very real.

Simca had little enthusiasm for the gratuitously unfathomable complexities involved in producing a mass-market front-wheel drive car.

Simca Aronde, launched in 1951, was the first Simca model not based on a Fiat design.

The Poissy plant had ample room for expansion, enabling Simca to consolidate French production in a single plant and, in 1961, to sell the old Nanterre plant.

Simca plant received a visit by Juscelino Kubitschek before his inauguration in 1956, organized by a Brazilian General who had a family member employed there.

Simca jokingly invited Simca to build a plant in Minas Gerais, his home state.

Simca followed through and sent a letter of intent to this effect.

Simca claimed that their proposal and arrangement with Kubitschek pre-dated these rules and lobbied for exceptions.

Simca lobbied directly in Minas, but in the end were forced to present their own proposal, which was accepted with a number of conditions.

Simca quickly developed a reputation for low quality which it was unable to shake.

Simca remained based in Sao Paulo for the entire time they were active in Brazil and never moved to Minas, as originally promised.

Simca Fulgur was a concept car designed in 1958 by Robert Opron for Simca and first displayed at the 1959 Geneva Auto Show.

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 Citroen.

The rear-engined Simca 1000 was introduced in 1961 with its sporting offspring, the Simca-Abarth in 1963.

The last Simca-based car produced was the Horizon-based Dodge Omni, which was built in the USA until 1990.