If anyone is qualified to write a book on French vintage cars, it is my good friend John Bolster. His is the kind of knowledge that does not spring from reading books, or from perusing the pages of old motoring magazines. John’s acquaintance with the many marques produced in France is first-hand, for the cars he describes are as familiar to him as are the modern machines he drives from week to week. Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Salmson, Amilcar, Hispano-Suiza, Talbot – yes these, and others, are readily recognizable as part of the history of motoring in France. However, how many people have heard of Fivet, Alda, Alva, Automobilette, Delpuech, Diable, Induco, Jock Muller, Kiddy, Panthere, Pesturie-Planchon and others with delightfully bizarre names? Like the author, I had great admiration for the small French sports cars of the 1920’s, and for the great machines that rolled down from Paris to the Riviera, in those pre-depression days when manufacturers sought for elegance and superb engineering, and every car was as individual as the purchaser could wish. Delaunay-Belleville, Sizaire-Berwick, Hotchkiss, Voisin, Ballot, Cottin et Desgouttes – many famous coachbuilders lavished all their finest craftsmanship on these magnificently-conceived chassis. Yet the French also produced some pretty awful machines in the days when every small garage in Paris seemed to be building anything on wheels. For instance who can possibly imagine anyone purchasing a Desmoulins? This had a couple of Ballot engines of different capacities and no gearbox. To obtain the extra power needed to climb hills, the intrepid pilot merely cut in the’spare’ engine! Yes indeed, the story of French vintage cars is the history of motoring, and when readers climb into their modern machines, they should spare a thought for the French, who invented motor-racing. CHAPTER I From the War to the Depression. The rise and fall of the French. II The Design of French Vintage Cars. The logic behind some typical mechanical features. III Proprietary Engines Descriptions. DIRECTORY OF FRENcH VINTAGE Cars. Over 300 marques are described including such familiar names as. ALMA, AMILGAR, ARIÈS, BALLOT, BIGNAN, BUGATTI, CHENARD ET WALKER, CITROEN. DION-BOUTON, DELAGE, HISPANO-SUIZA, LORRAINE-DIETRICH, PANHARD-LEVASSOR, PEUGEOT, RENAULI, ROLLAND-PILAIN, SALMSON, SIZAIRE-FRÈRES, TALBOT, VOISIN. See photos for condition. Please view my other items.
