The End Of The French Car
A bit of light reading for everyone wishing they were in Geneva, munching on some pain au chocolat while paying $8 for a Nespresso. CAR magazine contributor Stephen Bayley has a very entertaining essay entitled “ The End of the French Car“, in which he laments the demise of the quirky, compact French automobile.
Bayley’s thesis is that once France lost it’s cultural capital, the cars began their inevitable decline
When did the decline start ? Back in those first paragraph student days, I could sit on a train for thirty-six hours to Madrid and have for company only my French philosophers and the latest copy of Auto Journal with all its fabulous news of new French cars with oleo-pneumatic suspension and strange seating arrangements. Who can say whether it was cause or effect, but when French culture as a whole lost its authority, the cars became boring. Who reads Sartre today ? Exactly.
Sure, the death of the Citroen C6 was a bit of a turning point; the large French luxury sedan with superb ride quality and great design (and admittedly, not much else) had finally lost any relevance in the wider marketplace. But I’m not so sure that it’s time to bury French cars for good.
The Renault 4 and Citroen 2CV that Bayley venerates are no longer with us, but in their place, we have the Dacia. Not as quirky or memorable, sure, but designed to fulfill the same promise of cheap transportation for those who may not have been able to afford a new car. The Peugeot 205 GTI may be dead, but just around the corner, there is a Peugeot 208 Hybrid with a two-cylinder engine that will hit 60 mph in about 8 seconds (roughly the same as a 205 GTI, maybe a bit quicker, depending on who you ask) and weighs a couple hundred pounds less than the 205. If anything, the demise of French cars won’t come from a lack of competent product, but market forces that have little to do with the cars themselves.
More by Derek Kreindler
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I've always like Renaults. Last year I lost my mind and bought a 2008 Prius. The best car purchase decision I've ever taken. So I sold it last month and got myself another Renault, a 2007 Mégane. Manual, petrol, with nice leather seats and electrical failure (rear windows are on general strike) but the chassis is really good, and the comfort is OMG. Now, I'm not so sure about Peugeot-Citroen stategy, but I don't worry at all for Renault. First they have Carlos Goshn, and his alliance strategy with Nissan that is working slowly but surely. Dacia addition is brilliant. The only question would be about the Frenchness of Renault, and in general on the fact that middle class are shrinking, so there are Premium and Low-costs cars, but the Renault buyer base is just disapearing. They have a decent designer now (see latest Clio, Captur, Zoe). And for the last few years they have become truly reliable. Now they have a man on charge for the past year or so, called Carlos Tavares. Remember that name! This man is a Renault nut, and that will save the brand (its identity). First he ditched the Gordini revival that was made 3 years ago and criticized by the enthousiasts (these were just glorified Renault Sport models). Gordini will come back soon, but completely differently, as more hardcore track versions of the Renault Sport range. He's making Alpine coming back, with the partnership with Catheram. And Alpine is going to be at the 2013 24 hours of Le Mans (probably first through heavy sponsoring/light engineering as I can see a serious project built in few months time). He will also refresh the "Initiale Paris" brand (luxury trim of current Renault models), it will be the answer to Citroen's DS line. The fact that this guy is a Renault enthousiast means that he undestands the cultural part of the brand, and take the right decisions. I think he will make sure Renaults will keep their "Frenchness".
Things are moving : http://www.french-cars-in-america.com/