Ford Vedette
Encyclopedia
Ford SAF
Ford SAF was the French subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed under various names between 1916 and 1954, when Ford sold the manufacturing business to Simca....
in their factory in Poissy
Poissy
Poissy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center.In 1561 it was the site of a fruitless Catholic-Huguenot conference, the Colloquy at Poissy...
from 1948-1954. Introduced at the 1948 Mondial de l'Automobile
Mondial de l'Automobile
The Paris Motor Show is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held around October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show was the first motor show in the world, started in 1898 by industry pioneer, Albert de Dion. The show...
in Paris, it was designed entirely in Detroit (resembling contemporary Mercury
Mercury (automobile)
Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...
models), but featured the Poissy-made 2158 cc Aquillon sidevalve V8 engine of Ford's Flathead engine family
Ford Flathead engine
The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...
, the same as in pre-war Matford
Matford
Matford was a car and truck manufacturer in France from 1934 to 1940.In the 1930s, the Ford Motor Company was quickly expanding its European production. Before 1934,a front wheel drive version of Ford Model Y had been produced with an 8 hp engine under the marque Tracford...
cars. It was and would for at least six years remain the only French car with a V8 engine. Importantly, the Vedette was the first car to feature the new independent front suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
concept developed by Earle S. MacPherson
Earle S. MacPherson
Earle Steele MacPherson was an automotive engineer, most famous for developing the MacPherson strut in the 1940s.-Biography:Earle S. MacPherson was born in Highland Park, Illinois in 1891, and attended the University of Illinois...
, known today as MacPherson strut
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
s.
Uneasy beginnings
Due to the fact that the Poissy factory could not resume complete automobile production immediately after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, many vital components had still to be made by various subcontractors, which reportedly had an adverse effect on the quality of the car and contributed to its limited popularity. Over the six years in production, the Vedette was available in several body styles, ranging from the original four-door fastback
Fastback
A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.-History:...
(with rear suicide door
Suicide door
A suicide door is a car door hinged on the trailing edge, the edge closer to the rear of the vehicle. Such doors are rarely used on vehicles in modern times because of their disadvantages....
s) through the later four-door saloon, a Sunliner two-door landaulet
Landaulet
A landaulet or landaulette is a car body style, "an enclosed sedan or coupé with a folding top at the extreme rear quarter, over the rear seat."...
based on the saloon (with a roll-down roof over the entire cabin), a two-door Coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
and, based on it, the Cabriolet Décapotable (a two-door convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
).
Enter Mr. Lehideux
Under the direction of the new company president, Mr. François Lehideux, Ford France refreshed the car for 1950, and again in 1952, when the car finally received a one-piece windscreen, new interior and bumpers, better brakes, lengthened rear overhang and trunk - and a cigarette lighter. The 1953 October Mondial de l'Automobile also saw a luxury version of the Vedette, the Ford Vendôme, fitted with the bigger 3923 cc Mistral V8 engine, previously used in Ford France trucks. Also debuting in 1953 was the five-door, five-seat Abeille (French for "beeBee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
") estate with a two-piece tailgate
Tailgate
Tailgate is an American English word denoting the door or 'gate' at the back of a wagon, pickup truck, SUV or other similar type of vehicle that is hinged at the bottom and can be opened for the convenience in loading cargo into the rear of the vehicle...
, advertised as both practical (with a payload
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
of 500 kg (1,102.3 lb)) and comfortable.
Enter Mr. Pigozzi
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 SimcaSimca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
, 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
Simca Vedette
The Simca Vedette is a large car, manufactured from 1954-1961 by the French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. It was marketed with different model names according to trim and equipment levels...
, but was sold as the Ford Vedette in some markets (including Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany) at least until 1956.