Talk:Simca 1307

Is it really visually identical to the Moskvich Aleko? It's similar, but definitely not identical.

I've just tweaked a paragraph from this:

The manufacturing of 1510, Alpine and Solara, along with the smaller Horizon, ended at the beginning of 1985. In the United Kingdom they were rebadged as the Rapier and Minx (names sourced from the days of the Rootes Group), which were badged depending on trim level rather than bodystyle. Production of these models was limited and by the end of 1986 the range stopped production completely, as Peugeot scrapped the Talbot marque on passenger cars.

to this:

French manufacturing of 1510, Alpine and Solara, along with the smaller Horizon, ended in 1985. In the United Kingdom the last cars were rebadged as the Rapier and Minx which were badged depending on trim level rather than bodystyle. The names were sourced from the corporate ancestor of Chrysler Europe, the Rootes Group, having been used on the Sunbeam Rapier and Hillman Minx. Supply of these models was limited and by the end of 1986 the range disappeared completely, as Peugeot scrapped the Talbot marque on passenger cars.

The reason being, we need to clarify: did French production stop before British production, or did they stop together, with British ex-stock cars being rebadged and sold long after production had ceased? I've changed the words to remove the ambiguity, but now there are some facts simply not covered. – Kieran T ^{(talk | contribs)} 23:54, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

We could do with a picture of the vehicle for those of us unsure of what it looks like.

Some guy.

Simca 1307 as trendsetter

I just modified the line implying that in 1975 the Simca 1307 somehow (along with the 1973ish Passat) created the sector of full sized European hatch backs. Maybe I should have triggered here a discussion before modifying the text. I hope I don't offend by discussing it only retropectively. But surely the Renault 16 defined the sector ten years earier (in 1965). And (for those of us sad enough to remember) the Austin Maxi came along in 1969. The Passat and the Simca 1307 WERE significant fot their manufacturers and for the European market(s) for various good reasons detailed in the respective wiki articles, but I don't think it's fair to number them among the early European full-size / family car sized hatch backs. Or?.... Charles01 06:50, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

I think you're right. The motoring press did make a really big fuss about the "Chrysler Alpine" (here in the UK), but I think it was more of interest because it was seen as a big step for the manufacturer, rather than for the car market as a whole. I'm wary of giving too much credit to the Renault, to be honest, since it's often built up into praise for "the first hatchback" which it simply wasn't — but that's more a matter for the Renault's article ;-) – Kieran T ^(talk) 09:27, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Can we please refrain from editorializing in an already scantily-referenced article? PrinceGloria 17:28, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Fair point, we're fine-tuning something that shouldn't really be there at all. Why not be bold and remove it? ;->

Regarding your edit summary question about the "Simca Solara" — the Simca article itself claims that the last car to wear a Simca badge was the Solara. Of course, we can't use one article here as a reference for another, so it requires research, but for what it's worth, the red Solara pictured in the Wikimedia commons (see the link to that I recently added) bears a Simca badge on the bootlid. This could of course have been added by a Simca fan, but it's enough evidence to make me want to know more and not dismiss the possibility. Anybody reading this have a good reference book they'd care to look into? – Kieran T ^(talk) 17:43, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Plastic bumpers

When I was a kid I remember how unusual looking this car seemed with its plastic bumpers. Surely this must have been one of the first mainstream cars to have plastic bumpers, and it was only several years later that they became common. Surely this should be mentioned, if I am correct? Jason404 (talk) 00:07, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

At risk of sounding overnerdy, it depends on where (and maybe when) you were a kid. The Renault 5 was launched roughly three and a half years earlier than the Alpine, and the style of its bumpers / fenders appears to have been what inspired the Alpine's. The Renault 5 quickly rocketed up the sales charts in France and Italy - for all I know other southern European markets too. However, sales were pretty slow in UK for the first year - until the market persuaded Renault to give the Brits a floor mounted gear lever - I think applying some sort of cable linkage - which was a lot less direct and less fun to use, but at least the lever was in the 'right' place. By 1975 there were LOTS of Renault 5s in England. (By 1982 I was driving one of the early ones.) These days three and a half years seem to flash by in a few nano-seconds, but back in the early 1970s it felt like an awful long time. The slightly more serious point is that if anyone pioneered wannabee dodgem plastic bumpers in the mass market it was Renault with the Renault 5 (followed up with the Renault 14, launched about the same time as the Alpine but which we've most of us forgotten). Still, this is from memory checked to Renault 5. Maybe someone can remember something hitting the mass market with plastic bumpers before Jan 1972: I can't. Regardless of all that, I'm sure a case can be made for the Alpine's bumpers having been significant: the article could certainly do with more interesting facts (and the French and German entries on it also look pretty thin, considering the car's high profile during the '70s). Maybe you are the one who can improve the entry - with or without mention of those bumpers? Regards Charles01 (talk) 07:35, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Ah, well, there was the Triumph Herald I suppose!! Jason404 (talk) 09:24, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Dodge Alpine

Wasn't this car also called Dodge Alpine in for example Colombia? images --Boivie (talk) 06:07, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

File:Simca 1307 GLS 1978.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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