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Originally a mass-market car maker with relatively straight-forward designs, Citroën shocked the world in 1934 with the innovative Traction Avant (front wheel drive) ( 1934- 1956) and until the late 1980s had a reputation for approaching auto design in a unique way. Later significant models include the H Van ( 1947- 1981, "HY"), 2CV ( 1948- 1990, The "Ugly Duckling"), DS ( 1955- 1975Events January January 1 Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up and are sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail on February 21 January 5 The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, i, "Goddess") and CXThe CX was a model of Citroen automobile manufactured and sold between 1974 and 1988. A total of 1,042,460 CXs were produced in that period. The CX is often cited by enthusiasts as the last 'real' Citroen before Peugeot took control of the company in 1974 ( 19741974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). Events January-February January 5 Dungeons & Dragons officially released. February 4 Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped- 19891989 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 7 Akihito becomes Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito. The Heisei period begins January 8 the Kegworth Air Disaster A British Midland Boeing 737 cra).
| 1934 Traction Avant 11CV |
| 1960 2CV |
| 1967 DS Pallas |
In 1928Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 See also 1928 in aviation 1928 in film 1928 in literature 1928 in mu Citroën introduced the first all-steel body in Europe. To produce these bodies Citroën acquired huge expensive machines from Chrysler. In the beginning the cars were successful, but soon the competitors (who still used wood-structure for their bodies) introduced aerodynamic body designs on their cars. Citroën had no way to redesign the body of his cars the cars were perceived as old-fashioned. Despite their style the Citroëns were sold in large quantities, but the low price was the main selling point and Citroën experienced heavy losses. That decided André Citroën to develop the Traction Avant, a car so innovative that the competition would have no response. Achieving quick development of the Traction Avant was of course expensive and contributed to ruin the financial health of the company.
Citroën also sponsored some expeditions in Asia (Croisière Jaune) and Africa (Croisière Noire), meant to demonstrate the potential for motor vehicles to cross inhospitable regions. The expeditions conveyed scientists and journalists, and were a publicity success.
In 1934 debts meant the company could not continue as it had; it was taken over by its biggest creditor, the tire company Michelin.
Citroën unveiled the 2CV at the Paris Salon in 1948.
1955 saw the introduction of the DS, which was the first appearance of Citroën's now legendary hydropneumatic suspension system. The DS featured power-operated steering, brakes, and clutch which were all operated from the same hydraulic system. This would form the basis of many Citroën cars in the second half of the 20th century, including the GS, CX, BX, XM and Xantia.In 1965 Citroën took over the French carmaker Panhard, In the hope of using Panhard's expertise in mid size car to complement its own range of very small, cheap cars ( 2CV/ Ami) and large, expensive cars ( DS/ ID). In 1967 Citroën took control of Maserati, the Italian sportscar maker and launched the sportscar/Grand Tourer SM, which contained a V6 Maserati engine. This was unfortunately timed, with the impending oil crisis making GT manufacture an unprofitable business.
Huge losses caused by failure of the Maserati tie up, coupled with crippling warranty costs by the unreliable GS and CX led to Peugeot taking over Citroën in 1976. The combined company was known as "PSA Peugeot-Citroen".
In the 1980s, Citroën models were increasingly Peugeot-based. The BX of 1982 still used the hydropneumatic suspension system, but was powered by Peugeot-derived engines. By the late 80s, PSA used platform sharing in a major fashion, the XM was the first, using the same engines and floorpan as the Peugeot 605 ; the Xantia of 1993 was identical under the skin to the Peugeot 406.
Citroën developed a small car for production in Romania, known as the Oltcit, which it also sold as the Citroën Axel.
One of the tragedies of this approach is that Citroën's quirky approach to engineering and styling has been squeezed out in favor of Peugeot conservatism. The ubiquitous 2CV was finally killed off in 1990, production having moved from France to Portugal.