Simca

I’ve been concentrating quite a bit on British cars lately, so I thought I’d go French for a few days for a bit of variety. Meet the Simca 1100 pick-up - although this example, as one of the last mid-eighties examples, was badged as a Talbot. With the 1100 hatch, Simca basically invented the Golf years before Volkswagen did - but the pick-up has a big claim to fame as well. More tomorrow! Pic taken at the recent NEC Practical Classics resto show.

While the rebranding of #Chrysler Europe as Talbot did not succeed, the choice of name itself was quite clever as it had previously been used by both the British (formerly #Rootes) and French (formerly #Simca) sides of the operation. Automotive genealogy can be complicated. One snag - did this old, if illustrious, brand really resonate with buyers? Here’s a British Sunbeam Talbot Alpine convertible from 1955. Pic: the #GreatBritishCarJourney #Sunbeam #Talbot #WeirdCarMastodon #davidsdailycar