His crusades to popularize the advantages of motorized vehicles are not less popular. To get an idea of Citroen's costly methods and almost Texan-like think-big style, 200,000 light bulbs and miles of wiring were necessary to 'Citroenize' le Tour d'Eiffel. Airplanes could be seen scribbling the name Citroen over Paris in 1922nd three years later citizens could read the same message on the Eiffel Tower, written in light. Unlike tis competitors at the time, Citroen made use of vast advertising campaigns as well as elaborate and lengthy publicity crusades. Right before the beginning of the 30's, Citroen would introduce the C4 and the C6, the latter having been an important achievement for the French constructor as it was both his first 6-cylinder car and the first to reach 62 mph. ![]() More advanced models would be introduced years later, such as as the B12 in 1925 and the B14 in 1927. This particular vehicle was also available in a three seater version called 'Le Trefle' (Clover Leaf) which garnered a lot of acclaim. The first Citroen Taxis appear, followed by the release of a newer car model, the Type C, a lighter more compact but less powerful vehicle than its predecessor, the type A. Having paid interest to the area of road-building vehicles and military equipment, Citroen experimented with the half-tracks which he called 'Autochenilles'.īy 1921 Citroen had gained enough popularity to become an element of the Parisian lifestyle. By next year, 1920, Citroen had already produced almost 10 times more cars.ġ920 brought along a series of technological improvements, many of which would later become labels of the Citroen marque. In only 6 months after its release the Type A sold 2,500 units. These two juxtaposed traits led to an overall positive reception of the vehicle. The main advantage of the model A was its versatility as, except its chassis and engine, everything was custom made or could be chosen directly from the factory out of a wide range of options, including body types and spare wheels.Īnother great thing about the model A was its affordable price. The first car produced by his factory was simply named Type A, a vehicle powered by a 4-cylinder 1326 cc engine that could propel the car to a speed of 40.4 mph (65 km/h). It was during this period that he started thinking about the things that he would do after the war will have been over. Having shared a fate similar to other car builders, Citroen had to covert its assembly lines to cate for the need of arms and ammunition during wartime. ![]() Having seen the process and being fueled by his own desire of making cars, Citroen would deliver his first automobile in 1919, shortly after the end of World War I. ![]() Fascinated by the working methods of Henry Hord, he paid a visit to his assembly lines in the US, where he carefully analyzed the logical steps that had been taken in organizing such a working place. The same year the visionary engineer founded another company mainly focused on developing carburetors based on a patent he had earlier obtained. Andre was only 27 at the time.īy 1913 the company had changed its name into 'Societe des Engrenages Citroen' (Citroen Cog Factory). The years of study paid off and, after having worked for a time with the car company 'Mors', he moved forward to establishing his own company. At the age of 20, he enrolled at the Polytechnical school in Paris, having fully embraced the idea of becoming an engineer. Upon completing his high-school years, young Andre had already become charmed by technology, a passion that he had first felt at the age of 10 when he discovered the writings of Jules Verne. ![]() As US-based punk group Antiflag raised 'A New Kind of Army' with the release of one of their discs, so did Citroen within the automotive industry.īorn in 1878, Andre Citroen was the son of a wealthy diamond Dutch merchant. The founder of the famous avant-garde French car workshops shared a lot of the attitude that the punk-wave brought forward much later: he was a revolutionary. Although punk was still far from emerging in the 19th century, Andre Citroen would have probably liked it.
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