Ford Abeille
The Ford Vedette was a Ford Social Anonyme France (Ford SAF) in the automotive plant Poissy from 1948 to 1954 produced cars of the upper middle class. The vehicle was unveiled in 1948 at the Paris Motor Show, however, had been entirely designed in Detroit. It resembled the contemporary Mercury models, but featured a 2158cc V8 engine with side valves in 1936 in France under the name Aquilon (the Roman god of the cold winds) imported version. Like American Ford and Mercury vehicles this time, built the car on on a separate chassis, which was bolted to the body.
This engine already had the pre-war Matford. He made only 60hp despite its considerable fuel consumption by European standards. Reasons for the poor performance of yield were the one hand, by the laterally projecting valves related combustion chamber shape (L-shape beyond the circle of the piston as to protrude), and secondly because of the varying and often poor quality of that fuel very low compression ratio (6.8: 1).
Added to this were the restrictions that brought the only triple bearing crankshaft with it. Sustained high speeds, as they are today common in highway driving, lead in this motor to vibrations of the crankshaft that are as loud hum audible inside the car, and increased wear up to material fatigue or even cause destruction. For this reason, the engine of Simca for model year 1961 (model Vedette Chambord) was again modified: The crankshaft was a vibration damper. But not even 4000 pieces were manufactured in that model year in France. Thereafter, in Europe, the production of this engine was completed. However Simca do Brasil built the vehicle initially almost unchanged. With a few changes, which also affected the engine, the production ran until 1969.
The front axle of the Ford Vedette of the first generation was different from the same old Ford Taunus, the front had a solid axle, run as independent suspension with upper and lower wishbones, coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers. In contrast to the elaborate for this time front suspension at that time quite customary rigid rear axle with leaf springs stood. It was not until a newer model of this first Ford Vedette (German: Star) Mounted on after the sale Simca in 1954 came as Simca Vedette on the market, equipped with new independent front suspension by Earle S. MacPherson. For the first time, known as MacPherson strut design in the English Ford Consul/Zephyr was built with a unibody construction from 1950 onwards.
Since Poissy could take as an assembly plant for war damage not immediately a full car production after the war, the first vehicles were manufactured at the French coachbuilder Chausson in Gennevilliers. Chausson was at this time a specialist for buses, which remained even after the takeover by Renault subsidiary Saviem main product. Another well-known vehicle whose body Chausson produced, was the Opel GT produced from 1968. The raw materials were not too high quality in the postwar period. Important components that had manufactured a variety of suppliers were allegedly detrimental to vehicle quality and contributed to the limited popularity with. During the six years of production, there was the Vedette in different versions: a four-door hatchback (with suicide rear doors), later a four-door sedan, a four-door hatchback based on the Convertible Sedan, Sunliner called the roll roofing settled roll over the entire passenger compartment, a two-door coupe and two-door convertible with a derivative of it called dꤡpotable. The construction with separate frame on the American model allowed this variety of body styles.
Under the leadership of the new president of Ford France, Fran谩s Lehideux, the model was revised in 1950 and it received a stiffer frame. 1952 the car underwent a thorough facelift with an undivided windscreen, a redesigned interior with car cigarette lighter, also better shock absorbers, brakes and a larger trunk, which visually but did not let the car look better. At the Paris Motor Show in 1952 a luxury version was the Presented Vedette, the Ford Vend𥬠who was named by a larger 3923cc V8 engine, Mistral, driven, which had previously been used in trucks from Ford France and 84hp. In the same year, the five-door and five-seat hatchback model Ford Abeille ( Bee) Came out with a two-piece, horizontally split tailgate. With its sheet enclosed rear window cutouts and a payload of 500kg, it was considered more practical and comfortable estate. In the summer of 1952, three French riders broke on a Vedette with a streamlined body on a tubular frame in Montlhery several records in the class up to 2 liters, so they attracted some attention, the advertising took advantage.
Since the war, Ford had given the unsatisfactory sales performance and because of the strikes in Poissy tries towards the end of the decade to repel the work. A good opportunity came in 1954, when Henri Thê°¤ore Pigozzi, founder of the company acting increasingly successful French car maker Simca, according to a new factory for his growing business was looking for. Ford France was merged with Simca, where both the Ford plant in Poissy and all there produced models earned, including the renovated Vedette. The new model entered his debut at just under the name Simca Vedette, but was in some markets (including Germany and the Netherlands) sold until 1956 when Ford Vedette.
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