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78-452: André-Gustave Citroën ( French: [ɑ̃dʁe ɡystav sitʁɔɛn] ; 5 February 1878 – 3 July 1935) was a French industrialist and the founder of French automaker Citroën . He is also remembered for his application of double helical gears . Born in Paris in 1878, André-Gustave Citroen was the fifth and last child of Jewish parents, diamond merchant Levie Citroen and Masza Amelia Kleinman. He

156-523: A heliport . The Sécurité Civile has a detachment there close to maintenance facilities. Customs facilities are available and especially busy during the Salon d'Aeronautique airshows held at Le Bourget on the other side of the city. The 15th arrondissement is located in the southwestern part of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine. It includes one of the three islands in Paris, the Île aux Cygnes (Isle of

234-750: A "go slow" on production of trucks for the Wehrmacht , many of which were sabotaged at the factory by putting the notch on the oil dipstick in the wrong place, which resulted in engine seizure. In 1944 when the Gestapo headquarters in Paris was sacked by the French Resistance , his name was prominent on a Nazi blacklist of the most important enemies of the Reich, to be arrested in the event of an allied invasion of France. Citroën researchers, including Paul Magès , continued their work in secret, against

312-575: A 10 HP car that would be better equipped, more robust and less costly to produce than any rival product at the time. The result was the Type A , announced to the press in March 1919, just four months after the guns fell silent. The first production Type A emerged from the factory, located at Quai de Javel , Vaugirard , Paris , at the end of May 1919 and in June it was exhibited at a show room at Number 42, on

390-477: A 38.2% share of Citroën and on 9 April 1976 they increased their stake of the then bankrupt company to 89.95%, thus creating the PSA Group (where PSA is short for Peugeot Société Anonyme ), becoming PSA Peugeot Citroën . In May 1975 Maserati was sold to De Tomaso and the new Italian owner was thereby able to exploit the sales potential of the models and technology developed by Citroën, as well as to utilise

468-586: A First World War air reconnaissance photography specialist with the French Air Force ; he was capable and efficient and finished the war with the rank of captain. He was also courageous, having been decorated with the Military Cross and the Legion of Honour. He started working for Michelin in 1918, reporting directly to Édouard Michelin , co-director and founder of the business. Boulanger joined

546-450: A company, which was being picketed by striking workers who had been blocking access to the factories for four weeks. The demonstration was successful and six days later work at the plants resumed. Jacques Lombard, one of the company's senior managers, had gone public with his concerns, criticising the strikes. PSA gradually diluted Citroën's ambitious, highly individualistic, and distinctive approach to engineering and styling. All through

624-565: A control valve, with actuating pistons in the gearbox cover to shift the gears in the transmission , and the clutch was operated automatically by the system, so there was no clutch pedal. From 1957 the ID19 model offered a simplified hydraulic system, with manual steering and conventional manual gearshift, and a significant price reduction. From 1968, with revised front end style, the DS also introduced auxiliary driving lights, that moved directionally with

702-708: A model in the profitable middle range of the European market, plus the massive development costs a string of new models: the GS , GS Birotor , CX , SM , Maserati Bora , Maserati Merak , Maserati Quattroporte II , and Maserati Khamsin . Each of these models is a technological marvel in its own right. Thus, forty years after the bankruptcy related to the Traction Avant , Citroën went bankrupt again, losing its existence as an independent entity; selling Berliet and Maserati and closing Comotor. Fearing large job losses due to

780-653: A museum of its many significant vehicles: the Conservatoire with 300 cars. In line with the severe decline in European car sales after 2009, worldwide sales of vehicles declined from 1,460,373 in 2010 to 1,435,688 in 2011, with 961,156 of these sold in Europe. In 2011, the PSA Group was close to forming a partnership with BMW, for the development of electric and hybrid vehicles, but the talks fell through, shortly after Groupe PSA, Citroën's parent company, had announced

858-755: A new one between PSA and Toyota is now producing cars like the Citroën C1 in the Czech Republic . The China joint venture began selling cars in 1984 and building them in 1994. The range of family cars there included the C3 and Xsara and locally designed cars like the Fukang and Elysée models. By 2014 the brand had increased its Chinese sales by 30%, amid overall market growth of 11%, and ranked highest in China's 2014 JD Power satisfaction survey. Citroën

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936-461: A partnership with GM, which later also failed. Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën continues growing, and has developed eight new car designs exclusively for the China market. By 2016 Citroën (and Peugeot ) faced the same challenge as Volkswagen in China: there were too many sedans and hatchbacks , but not enough models in the strong selling SUV and minivan /MPV categories. The brand ranked highest in

1014-568: A round trip from August to December 1925. This vehicle is now fully restored and in the collection of the National Museum of Australia . In 1924, Citroën began a business relationship with the American engineer Edward G. Budd . From 1899, Budd had worked to develop stainless steel bodies for railroad cars, for Pullman in particular. Budd went on to manufacture steel bodies for many automakers, Dodge being his first big auto client. At

1092-663: A study to clarify and support brand differentiation within a brand portfolio". Citroën entered the Indian market in early 2021 with the launch of the C5 Aircross SUV manufactured at the Hindustan Motors Thiruvallur plant in Tamil Nadu , India. In early 2009, Citroën announced the development of the premium brand DS , for Different Spirit or Distinctive Series (although the reference to

1170-468: A successful six-year stint working with Mors between 1908 and the outbreak of war . The decision to switch to automobile manufacturing was taken as early as 1916, which is the year when Citroën asked the engineer Louis Dufresne, previously with Panhard , to design a technically sophisticated 18HP automobile he could produce in his factory once peace returned. Long before that happened, however, he had modified his vision and decided, like Henry Ford , that

1248-766: A technological leap forward was pursued to a limited extent: in 1965 the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used this type of suspension, while the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 600 and Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 tried to replicate its advantages with a costly, complex and expensive to maintain, air suspension , that avoided the Citroën-patented technology. By 1975, the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 was finally produced with this proven system and Mercedes-Benz continues to offer variations on this technology today. During Citroën's 1968–1975 venture with Maserati ,

1326-510: A unitary body with no separate frame , four wheel independent suspension and front-wheel drive . Whereas for many decades, the vast majority of motor cars were similar in conception to the Ford Model T – a body bolted onto a ladder frame which held all the mechanical elements of the car, a solid rear axle that rigidly connected the rear wheels and rear wheel drive . The Model T school of automobile engineering proved popular because it

1404-471: A very soft, interconnected suspension, but did not have the more complex self-levelling feature . This car remained in production, with only minor changes, until 1990 and was a common sight on French roads until recently; 9 million 2CV variants were produced in the period 1948–1990. 1955 saw the introduction of the DS , the first full usage of Citroën's hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system, tested on

1482-526: Is a global brand, except in North America, where the company has not returned since the SM was effectively banned in 1974 for not meeting U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) bumper height regulations. In 2016, Peugeot–Citroën South Africa (PCSA) announced that they were going to stop importing new Citroën models into South Africa in order to focus on increasing Peugeot's sales in

1560-561: Is the Héliport de Paris, the city heliport, just nearby the border with Issy-les-Moulineaux . The loi du 16 juin 1859 decreed the annexation to Paris of the area between the old Wall of the Ferme générale and the Wall of Thiers . The communes of Grenelle , Vaugirard and Javel were incorporated into Paris in 1860. Politician Charles Michels (born 1903) was elected a deputy for

1638-629: The Champs-Élysées in Paris which normally sold Alda cars . Citroën persuaded the owner of the Alda business, Fernand Charron , to lend him the show-room, which is still in use today. This C42 showroom is where the company organises exhibitions and shows its vehicles and concept cars. A few years later, Charron would be persuaded to become a major investor in the Citroën business. On 7 July 1919,

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1716-647: The Dyane , and soon the Peugeot 104 based Citroën Visa and Citroën LNA . Peugeot was typically prudent with its own finances. Then, PSA purchased the ageing assets and substantial liabilities of Chrysler Europe for $ 1, leading to losses from 1980 to 1985. PSA resurrected the Talbot name for the Chrysler cars, but stopped producing cars with the badge in 1987 as the cars were considered unreliable and poorly-made. At

1794-490: The Faubourg Saint-Denis area of the 10th arrondissement of Paris and moved in 1912 to 31 Quai de Grenelle in the 15th arrondissement of Paris . André Citroën (1878–1935) built armaments for France during World War I ; after the war, however, he realized that unless he planned ahead he would have a modern factory without a product. Citroën was already experienced in the automotive business, thanks to

1872-849: The M2 Half Track Car and M3 Half-track versions. The U.S. eventually produced more than 41,000 vehicles in over 70 versions between 1940 and 1944. After their 1940 occupation of France, the Nazis captured many of the Citroën half-track vehicles and armored them for their own use. Citroën used the Eiffel Tower as the world's largest advertising sign, as recorded in Guinness World Records . He also sponsored expeditions in Asia ( Croisière Jaune ), North America (Croisière Blanche) and Africa (Croisière Noire), demonstrating

1950-689: The Montparnasse Cemetery , the funeral being led by the Chief Rabbi of Paris. On 9 October 1958, while the Motor show was running, the city fathers renamed the Quai de Javel as the "Quai André Citroën," in recognition of the transformation effected since the city's 15th arrondissement , two generations earlier characterized by market gardening, had been selected by Citroën as the location for Europe's first mass production car plant. This

2028-552: The 15th arrondissement under the Popular Front ; he was taken hostage and shot by the Nazis in 1941. A Métro station and street now bear his name. As in all the Parisian arrondissements , the fifteenth is made up of four administrative quarters ( quartiers ). The early airfield here has been encroached upon by urban development and a sports centre, but the residual area, mainly laid to grass, continues to serve Paris as

2106-432: The 1960s, Citroën undertook a series of financial and development decisions, aiming to build on its strength of the 1950s with the successful 2CV, Type H, and DS models. Nevertheless, these maneuvers were insufficiently effective, and Citroën went bankrupt again in 1974. These measures were to address two key gaps facing the company: These steps include: The teams of Charles Marchetti and Citroën began working together on

2184-438: The 1980s, Citroën models became increasingly Peugeot-like. The 1982 BX used the hydropneumatic suspension system and had a typical Citroënesque appearance, whilst being powered by Peugeot-derived engines and using the floorpan later seen on the Peugeot 405 . In this respect PSA followed the worldwide motor industry trend of platform sharing which is a logical way to reduce costs whilst selling apparently different models. By

2262-465: The 2014 customer satisfaction survey by JD Power in China, above luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW , and above mass market brands, like Volkswagen, ranking only thirteenth and seventeenth respectively. In the first ten months of 2014 in China, the sales of Dongfeng Citroën cars increased by 30% in an overall market growth of 11%. Despite the near-death financial experience of PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2014, and financial rescue by Dongfeng Motors ,

2340-655: The 2019 Geneva International Motor Show , the manufacturer presented the Ami One concept car to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Then, in May 2019, it unveiled the Citroën 19_19 Concept at the Viva Technology show in Paris. In the early 1980s, Citroën was targeted by union action. On 25 May 1982, events led to a mass demonstration in the streets of Paris, when approximately 27,000 workers affirmed their wish to work at

2418-476: The 526,443 of 1971, and enough to lift the company past Peugeot into second place among French auto makers when ranked by sales volume. The older models continued to sell well: the peak production period of the DS was 1970, and 2CV was in 1974. As the 1970s progressed, circumstances became more unfavourable. In 1973, Fiat sold back to Michelin its 49% stake in the PARDEVI holding company that owned Citroën,

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2496-439: The Citroën and DS brands worked to develop new technologies with the hope to grow 15% by 2020, according to Citroën CEO Linda Jackson and DS CEO Yves Bonnefont . In the end sales of the Citroën and DS brands in Europe and China fell by 22% by 2019, and fell even further during the 2020 COVID outbreak. In January 2020, Linda Jackson was succeeded as CEO of Citroën by the deputy CEO Vincent Cobée , and she would instead "lead

2574-431: The Citroën and Fiat joint announcement indicated that the benefits foreseen for their union in 1968 had failed to materialise. This was not in line with the tyre company's long-term strategy of ending involvements in the car manufacturing business and created a very unstable ownership situation. The company suffered another financial blow with the 1973 energy crisis . The gamble on Comotor and Maserati showed that there

2652-632: The Citroën high-pressure hydraulic system was used on several Maserati models : for power clutch operation (Bora); power pedal adjustment (Bora); pop-up headlights (Bora, Merak); brakes (Bora, Merak, Khamsin); steering (Khamsin) and the entire Quattroporte II prototype, which was a four-door Citroën SM under the skin. Citroën was one of the early pioneers of the now-widespread trend of aerodynamic automobile design, which helps to reduce fuel consumption and to improve high-speed performance, by reducing wind resistance . The DS could happily cruise at 160 km/h (100 mph) without any discomfort for

2730-750: The Michelin board in 1922 and became president of Citroën in January 1938 after the death in a road accident of his friend Pierre Michelin remaining in this position until his own death in 1950. In 1938, he also had become Michelin's joint managing director. During the German occupation of France in World War II Boulanger refused to meet Dr. Ferdinand Porsche or communicate with the German authorities except through intermediaries. He organized

2808-593: The Paris Motor Show in October 1924, Citroën introduced the Citroën B10 , the first all-steel body in Europe. These automobiles were initially successful in the marketplace, but soon competitors who were still using a wooden structure for their vehicles, introduced new body designs. Citroën, who did not redesign the bodies of his cars, still sold in large quantities nonetheless, the cars' low price being

2886-512: The Traction Avant, tearing down and rebuilding the factory (in five months) and the extensive marketing efforts, were investments that resulted too costly for Citroën to do all at once, causing the financial ruin of the company. In December 1934, despite the assistance of the Michelin company, Citroën filed for bankruptcy. Within the month, Michelin , already the car manufacturer's largest creditor, became its principal shareholder. However,

2964-475: The Turcat-Mery Co.; M. Delage, the automobile designer. The design was not feasible and Citroën turned to other projects. Citroën founded the Citroën automobile company in 1919, leading it to become the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the world by the beginning of the 1930s (specifically 1932). The costs of developing the advanced front wheel drive unibody Traction Avant and redeveloping

3042-561: The automobile industry only in niche brands, like Porsche and Ferrari . Citroën unveiled the Citroën 2CV or Deux Chevaux signifying two tax horsepower and initially only 9 hp (6.7 kW), at the Paris Salon in 1948. The car became a bestseller, achieving the designer's aim of providing rural French people with a motorized alternative to the horse . It was unusually inexpensive to purchase and, with its small two cylinder engine, inexpensive to run as well. The 2CV pioneered

3120-406: The basis of over 9 million Citroën cars, including the DS , SM , GS , CX , BX , XM , Xantia , C5 , and C6 . Self-levelling suspension is the principal user benefit: the car maintains a constant ride height above the road, regardless of passenger and cargo load and despite the very soft suspension. Hydropneumatic suspension is uniquely able to absorb road irregularities without disturbing

3198-536: The best post-war opportunities in auto-making would involve a lighter car of good quality, but made in sufficient quantities to be priced enticingly. In February 1917 Citroën contacted another engineer, Jules Salomon , who already had a considerable reputation within the French automotive sector as the creator, in 1909, of a little car called Le Zèbre . André Citroën's mandate was characteristically demanding and characteristically simple: to produce an all-new design for

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3276-612: The body panels; it was named 2010 Car of the Year by Top Gear Magazine , and was awarded best supermini four times in a row by the JD Power Satisfaction Survey UK and second most efficient supermini (Citroën DS3 1.6 e-HDi 115 Airdream : True MPG 63.0mpg) by What car ? behind the C3 . In 2013 the DS3 was again the best-selling premium subcompact car, with 40% of the European market share, validating

3354-532: The business model of this product development. 15th arrondissement of Paris The 15th arrondissement, called Vaugirard, is situated on the left bank of the River Seine . Sharing the Montparnasse district with the 6th and 14th arrondissements, it is the city's most populous arrondissement, with a population of 229,472 as of 2020. Tour Montparnasse – the tallest skyscraper in Paris – and

3432-449: The clearing of obstacles, fording shallow (slow-moving) streams and changing tyres. Since Citroën was underfunded, its vehicles had the tendency to be underdeveloped at launch, with limited distribution and service networks outside France. Consequently, the early DS models experienced teething issues with the complex hydraulic system, eventually, the hydraulic seals and system component design were sorted, becoming reliable. Licensing such

3510-487: The construction of the Eiffel Tower for the World Exhibition , making him want to become an engineer. Citroën was a graduate of the École Polytechnique in 1900. In that year he visited Poland , the birthland of his mother, who had recently died. During that holiday, he saw a carpenter working on a set of gears with a fish bone structure. These gears were less noisy, and more efficient. Citroën bought

3588-601: The country. In May 2019, it was reported that PCSA would re-introduce the Citroën brand into South Africa, this was later confirmed by PCSA, in August 2019, that new Citroën models will go on sale in the middle of October 2019. From 2003 to 2010, Citroën produced the C3 Pluriel, an unusual convertible with allusions to the 1948–1990 2CV model, both in body style (such as the bonnet) and in its all-round practicality. In 2001 it celebrated its history of innovation when it opened

3666-453: The development of the RE-2  [ fr ] helicopter . From a model range perspective, the 1970s started well, supported by the successful launch of the long-awaited mid-size Citroën GS , finally filling the huge gap between the 2CV and the DS – with a 1-litre, hydropneumatically suspended car. The GS went on to sell 2.5 million units; 601,918 cars were produced in 1972 alone, up from

3744-459: The express orders of the Germans, and developed the concepts that were later brought to market in three remarkable vehicles – a small car (2CV), a delivery van (Type H) and a large, swift family car (DS). These were widely regarded by contemporary journalists as avant garde , even radical, solutions to automotive design. Thus began a decades-long period of unusual brand loyalty , normally seen in

3822-406: The factory to produce it at the same time, led to bankruptcy in 1934. It was taken over by the main creditor Michelin , who had provided tires for the cars. The Traction Avant after initial problems improved the sales for the company, and was a great success and was in production apart from during World War II until 1957. He died in Paris, France, of stomach cancer in 1935, and was interred in

3900-474: The family moved to Paris; upon arrival, the French tréma was added to the surname (reputedly by one of André's teachers), changing Citroen to Citroën . His father died by suicide when André was six years old (presumably after failure in a business venture in a diamond mine in South Africa). It is reputed that the young André Citroën was inspired by the works of Jules Verne and had seen

3978-452: The firm established its reputation for innovative technology with the Traction Avant . This was the world's first car to be mass-produced with front-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension, as well as unibody construction, omitting a separate chassis, and instead using the body of the car itself as its main load-bearing structure. In 1954, they produced the world's first hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system; then

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4056-404: The first customer took delivery of a new Citroën 10HP Type A . In the same year, it produced 30 cars daily, totaling 2,810 vehicles, with 12,244 produced in 1920. That same year, André Citroën briefly negotiated with General Motors a proposed sale of the Citroën company. The deal nearly closed, but General Motors ultimately decided that its management and capital would be too overstretched by

4134-571: The former automobile manufacturing plant of Citroën, which operated until its closure in the 1970s, and which had been demolished during an eight-year period, between 1976 and 1984. In 1998, André-Citroën was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan . Citro%C3%ABn Citroën ( French pronunciation: [sitʁɔɛn] ) is a French automobile brand . The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company

4212-575: The historical Citroën DS is evident), to run in parallel to its mainstream cars. The slogan of the DS car marque is "Spirit of avant-garde". This new series of cars started early in 2010, with the DS3 , a small car based on the floorpan of the new C3. The DS3 is based on the concept that preceded the C3 Pluriel production model and the Citroën DS Inside concept car. The DS3 is customisable with various roof colours contrasting with

4290-466: The image of the Maserati brand in a downward brand extension to sell 40,000 of the newly designed Bi-Turbo models. The truck manufacturing company Berliet was sold to Renault . This new PSA venture was a financial success from 1976 to 1979. Citroën had two successful new designs in the market, the GS and CX . In the wake of the oil crisis, the brand also had resurgent sales for the 2CV and

4368-452: The late 1980s, many of the distinctive features of the brand had been removed or altered. Peugeot's conventional switchgear replaced Citroën's quirky but ergonomic Lunule designs, complete with self-cancelling indicators that Citroën had refused to adopt on ergonomic grounds. The cars were "more banal and conventional", but also able to break into new markets, like fleet vehicles in the UK. In

4446-537: The main selling point, which factor however caused Citroën to experience heavy losses. In 1927, the bank Lazard helped Citroën by bringing new much-needed funds, as well as by renegotiating its debt—for example, by buying out the Société de Vente des Automobiles Citroën (SOVAC). It went even further by entering in its capital and being represented on the board; the three directors sent by Lazard were Raymond Philippe, Andre Meyer and Paul Frantzen. André Citroën perceived

4524-684: The meantime Citroën expanded into many new global markets. Beyond existing manufacturing plants in Argentina , Chile , Vietnam , and Yugoslavia , it added Iran , Greece , Romania , and China . In the late 1970s, the firm developed a small car for production in Romania known as the Oltcit , which it sold in Western Europe as the Citroën Axel . That joint venture has now ended, but

4602-421: The need to differentiate his product, to avoid the low price competition surrounding his conventional rear drive models in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1933 he introduced the Rosalie, the first commercially available passenger car with a diesel engine , developed with Harry Ricardo . The Traction Avant is a car that pioneered the mass production of three revolutionary features that are still in use today:

4680-410: The neighbouring Gare Montparnasse are both located in the 15th arrondissement, at its border with the 14th. It is also home to the high-rise Beaugrenelle district and the Front de Seine riverside development, as well as the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles convention centre, where the 180-metre Tour Triangle is set to house a 120-room hotel and 70,000 square metres of office space in 2026. Close

4758-429: The occupants and is often compared to riding on a magic carpet for this reason. These vehicles shared the distinguishing feature of rising to operating ride height when the engine was turned on, like a "mechanical camel" (per Car & Driver magazine). A lever ( later replaced by an electronic switch ) beside the driver's seat allowed the driver to adjust the height of the car; this height adjustability allows for

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4836-417: The occupants. The firm began using a wind tunnel in the 1950s, helping them to create highly streamlined cars, like the DS, that were years ahead of their competitors, and so good were the aerodynamics of the CX model, that it took its name – c x {\displaystyle \mathbf {c} _{\mathrm {x} }\,} – from the mathematical term used to measure the drag coefficient. In

4914-507: The patent for very little money, leading to the invention that is credited to Citroën: double helical gears. In 1901, at the age of 23, André Citroën partnered with André Boas and Jacques Hinstin, whom he had known since their days at Lycée Condorcet . Together, they invested a significant portion of Citroën's inheritance to found the company "Citroën, Hinstin et Cie," a manufacturing business specializing in gears, particularly V-shaped helical gears. The company started with about ten workers in

4992-464: The patent for very little money, leading to the invention that is credited to Citroën: double helical gears. Their distinctive pattern was reputed to be the inspiration for the double chevron marque of the Citroën brand. In 1908, he was installed as a chairman for the automotive company Mors , where he was very successful. During World War I , he was responsible for mass production of armaments . Citroën gained an international reputation during

5070-451: The poor cash flow situation and the unstable ownership structure, the French government arranged talks between Citroën and Michelin culminating in the merger of Automobiles Citroën and Automobiles Peugeot into a single company. Thus, one year after the break with Fiat, on 24 June 1974 Citroën announced the new partnership, this time with Peugeot. to whom Michelin agreed to transfer control of the business. In December 1974 Peugeot S.A. acquired

5148-442: The potential for motor vehicles equipped with the Kégresse track system to cross inhospitable regions. These expeditions conveyed scientists and journalists . Demonstrating extraordinary toughness, a 1923 Citroën that had already travelled 48,000 km (30,000 mi) was the first car to be driven around Australia. The car, a 1923 Citroën 5CV Type C Torpedo, was driven by Neville Westwood from Perth , Western Australia , on

5226-425: The rear suspension of the Traction in 1954. The DS was also the first production car with modern disc brakes . A single high-pressure hydraulic system was used to actuate the power steering , the suspension and brakes; the brakes were fully powered, not power assisted, as pedal force was not a component of braking power. The gearshift, (semi- automatic transmission ) was also powered by the hydraulic system through

5304-430: The revolutionary DS , the first mass-produced car with modern disc brakes , in 1955; and in 1967 they introduced in several of their models swiveling headlights that allowed for greater visibility on winding roads. These cars have received various national and international awards, including three European Car of the Year awards. Born to a Dutch father and a Polish mother, both of Jewish heritage, André Citroën

5382-417: The steering, improving visibility at night. Production from 1956 to 1975 totalled almost 1.5 million cars. The streamlined car was remarkable for its era and had a remarkable sounding name – in French, DS is pronounced [de.ɛs] , which sounds the same as déesse , which means Goddess . It placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition. This high-pressure hydraulic system would form

5460-457: The takeover, thus, Citroën remained independent until 1935. Between 1921 and 1937, Citroën produced half-track vehicles for off-road and military uses, using the Kégresse track system. In the 1920s, the U.S. Army purchased several Citroën-Kégresse vehicles for evaluation followed by a licence to produce them. This resulted in the United States Army Ordnance Department building a prototype in 1939. In December 1942, it went into production with

5538-468: The technologically advanced Traction Avant had met with market acceptance, and the basic philosophy of cutting-edge technology used as a differentiator, continued until the late 1990s. Pierre Michelin became the chairman of Citroën early in 1935. Pierre-Jules Boulanger , his deputy, became the vice-president and chief of the engineering and design departments. In 1935, the founder André Citroën died from stomach cancer. Pierre-Jules Boulanger had been

5616-662: The war, and more as the leading production expert in France. His activities were extensive in connection with the Renault plant, which employed 35,000 men in the manufacture of munitions during the war. In the middle of 1919, Citroën was one of the directors of the Société Française Doble, Paris, to build steam cars in France. Some other directors of the company were Paul Sicault, of the Renault Co.; M. Mery, of

5694-582: Was a cousin of the British philosopher Sir A. J. Ayer (the only son of his aunt Reine). The Citroen family descended from a grandfather in the Netherlands who had been a greengrocer and seller of tropical fruit, and had taken the surname of Limoenman , Dutch for "lime man"; his son however changed it to Citroen ( pronounced [siˈtrun] ), which in Dutch means " lemon ". In 1873

5772-494: Was a serious flaw with the plan particularly for companies producing engines with high fuel consumption. In 1974, the carmaker withdrew from North America due to U.S. design regulations that outlawed core features of Citroën cars (see Citroën SM ). Huge losses at Citroën were caused by the failure of the Comotor rotary engine venture added to the strategic management error of going the 15 years from 1955 to 1970 without

5850-436: Was born in Paris on February 5, 1878. At the age of 7 his father committed suicide as a result of a failed business venture. Citroën was a graduate of the École Polytechnique in 1900. In that year he visited Poland, the homeland of his mother, who had recently passed away. During that holiday, he saw a carpenter working on a set of gears with a fish bone structure. These gears were less noisy, and more efficient. Citroën bought

5928-559: Was considered cheap to build, although it did pose dynamic defects as automobiles were becoming more capable, and resulted in heavier cars, which is why today cars are more like the Traction Avant than the Model T under the skin. In 1934 Citroën commissioned the American Budd Company to create a prototype, which evolved into the 7 fiscal horsepower ( CV ), 32 hp (24 kW) Traction Avant. Achieving quick development of

6006-738: Was founded on 4 June 1919 by André Citroën . Citroën has been owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired 89.95% share in 1976. Citroën's head office is located in the Stellantis Poissy Plant in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine since 2021 (previously in Rueil-Malmaison) and its offices studies and research in Vélizy-Villacoublay, Poissy (CEMR), Carrières-sous-Poissy and Sochaux-Montbéliard. In 1934,

6084-467: Was the second celebrity name for the street which in 1843 had been baptised "Quai de Javel," in recognition of the chemical factory that had been set up to produce a range of industrial acids, and which later numbered the well known eponymous "Eau de Javel" ( bleach ) among its products. In 1992, the Parc André Citroën public garden in Paris was named after him. It was built on the site of

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