Simca Esplanada

You know this is going to be a good story when I have to begin the tale of this Brazilian Simca by talking about Ford, in France.

Ford Société Anonyme Française, or Ford SAF if you prefer, had been operating since 1916 as the French importer of Ford vehicles from the U.S.

Started by the head of Ford of Britain, the French arm brought in Model Ts, As, Ys, and Bs — but without a dedicated production facility, there was no way they could build desirable vehicles for the French and European market as tastes started to shift. 

Mathis, a French automaker (that I'll eventually get around to talking about…) had just built a new plant in Strasbourg and agreed to a partnership. Ford SAF would become Matford, an amalgam of Mathis and Ford. 

Then, as it happens, the Second World War broke out.

Ford's post-war plans for Matford were clear when it reintroduced vehicles as Ford sans 'Mat', but the brand's blend of vehicles, engines, styling (not to mention the runaway success of vehicles like the Citroën Traction Avant) gave the bosses a lot to worry about, and in 1947 asked Dearborn for help.

In 1948, Ford in France introduced the first homegrown model, the Ford Vedette. 

And sold so few that by 1954, Ford France had offloaded the entire operation — factory, plans, cars — to Henri Pigozzi, the Simca boss. 

Plans included the all-new Vedette model, developed by Ford but launched by Simca in 1958 for the European market. (Someday I'll write about that car specifically, and its "Rush-Matic" transmission…)

Here's where it gets very confusing.

You may recall that Simca was, at that time, best described as the French arm of Fiat. 

When Chrysler decided to enter the European market, it bought shares in Simca from Ford, who had retained stock through its partnership with the French automaker. Chrysler then turned to Simca’s other partner, Fiat, buying enough stock to gain a controlling interest in Simca.

Due to local regulations, Simca owned only 50 per cent of its overseas Brazilian operations, but after Chrysler gained control of Simca, the Americans controlled what happened in Brazil as well.

The Vedette had been made locally in Brazil from 1959, but by the mid-1960s and several fascinating local market iterations, it was considered quite staid. 

Solution? Chrysler invested in a significant upgrade for the Vedette, using it as the basis for its new halo car, the Simca Esplanada, introducing it at the 1966 São Paulo Motor Show.

With modern exterior styling, the large sedan started to suddenly make more sense for buyers. The Brazilian operation saw fit to upgrade the interior, with reclining leather seats and Jacarandá wood trim. Order the top-of-the-line model and you got a vinyl top, too. 

Initially, the Esplanada was so terribly built that the U.S. Chrysler team demanded 53 improvements to the car. By the summer of 1967, the quality had improved enough for Chrysler to offer — get this — a 2-year warranty, at the time a big deal in Brazil.

Most interestingly for us car nerds was its exceedingly unique V8 engine.