Posts Tagged armand peugeot
Peugeot – From Coffee to Cars
The Peugeot Family has been in business in some form or another since the seventeen hundreds. From the production of coffee to bicycles in the early part of the twentieth century, automobiles would be the next big thing to come along.
The company produced its first automobile in 1889. The car was steam powered and had three wheels. However, steam proved to be unwieldy and cumbersome for use in any personal passenger vehicles. After meeting with Gottlieb Daimler, Armand Peugeot decided that the gasoline internal combustion engine was much more suited to what he had in mind. Peugeot acquired a license from Daimler to use their engines in Peugeot vehicles. Cars produced by the French company would remain powered by Daimler engines until the first Peugeot engines were developed in 1896.
Just as it had always been, Peugeot continued to produce a variety of products up through the turn of the twentieth century when Armand Peugeot formed his own company to focus exclusively on automobile manufacturing.
Peugeot would become an early influence on car racing in Europe and would remain a power in this arena for years to come. Around the time of World War 1, Armand decided to try his handed at motorcycles. His family had longed produced some of the finest bicycles in Europe. Armand was just as successful at motorcycles as his family had been with bicycles and the Peugeot Auto Company has produced motorcycles every since.
Once Europe became embroiled in World War I, Peugeot, just as most other manufacturers of the time, turned their attention to the war efforts. They eventually became a major manufacturer of arms and military vehicles throughout the remainder of the war. Once the allies were victorious, the focus once again turned to car production.
The French car company entered the United States market in 1958 with the Peugeot 404. Peugeot was never able to find its niche in American society and for the most part consumers simply ignored the brand. After several attempts to pique the curiosity of the American car buyer, Peugeot decided to cut its losses and withdrew from the American market. This did not exclude the company from going after American car manufacturers in Europe, however. In 1978, the company took over Chrysler Europe. Chrysler Corporation was suffering from heavy financial losses both at home and abroad and accepted the offer to take the ailing division off its hands almost immediately. Earlier in 1974, Peugeot had also acquired Citroen and for a brief period had interest in Maserati as well. The acquisition of so much debt so quickly proved nearly to be the undoing of Peugeot in the early eighties. The introduction of the popular Peugeot 205 was credited with the company’s recovery from the brink of financial ruin. While the 205 was able to save the company from complete collapse, Peugeot was still experiencing some financial stress.
For the future, Peugeot has announced a goal of selling 4 million units annually. In order to accomplish this, the French car manufacturer has plans of pursuing some of the more exotic markets in the world such as China, Russia and South America. Due to the weakening of the U.S. Dollar, there has been some talk of a return to the American market. At this point, that may well be speculation only.
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Why Lease Peugeot Vehicles?
The French manufacturer Peugeot has long been on the radar for drivers due to their reputation for producing high quality, affordable, family-friendly vehicles. First founded in 1891 by Armand Peugeot under the name Societe des Automobiles Peugeot, Peugeot’s roots go way back to the 19th century.
The Peugeot family first started off in the coffee mill and bicycle manufacturing industry. Inspired by using steel rods to produce bicycles; the Peugeot family turned their hand to automobile manufacturing around the turn of the century. The first Peugeot vehicle (a three-wheeled steam powered car) was produced in 1889 but the 3-wheeled design was quickly abandoned in favour of 4-wheeled vehicles with petrol-fuelled engines.
Since its first foray into the world of automobile manufacture; Peugeot has gone from strength to strength. With an annual yearly revenue of around €55 billion (2008) it’s clear the new range of Peugeot models (106, 206, RCZ Coupe, 308 etc) are proving to be a big hit with drivers all around the world. In fact, Peugeot models are constantly topping the lease lists of major companies around the globe.
So, what is it that makes Peugeot vehicles such a popular lease choice?
· Affordable pricing: Unlike other vehicle manufacturers in its class, Peugeot hasn’t got greedy. Peugeot have kept true to their promise of creating family-friendly, reliable vehicles for affordable prices.
· Great track record: Peugeot are constantly topping the list for reliable vehicles and it’s not hard to see why! State-of-the-art engineering and a great knowledge of the automobile industry has led Peugeot to design and manufacture a range of vehicles which really stand the test of time, no matter how careless the driver.
· Wide variety of models: Over the last few decades, Peugeot has designed and manufactured a wide range of models which perform well on both city streets and country roads. Universal in their appeal; Peugeot vehicles are often credited with having the personality their counterparts so regularly lack.
Whatever your likes or dislikes; it’s hard to find fault with Peugeot’s fantastic range of commercial and non-commercial vehicles. Professional and affordable; it looks like Peugeot is the French brand which won’t be disappearing any time soon.
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A Brief History Of Peugeot; From Dresses To Cars
The cars we see on the forecourts of Peugeot dealerships today can trace a rich heritage back more than a hundred years. The company however originally manufactured many other items before it decided to enter the car manufacturing industry. Far removed from cars in dealerships was the manufacture of steel rods that were used to construct crinoline dresses. It was through the manufacture of these circular rods however that eventually led Peugeot into making their first form of transport, the humble bicycle. In fact the nineteenth century saw Peugeot using their knowledge of steel to produce ‘Le Grand Bi’ more commonly known around the world as the penny farthing.
Once Peugeot had decided to manufacture cars it was under the name of Armand Peugeot. Their first car, rather than utilising internal combustion used steam power as a means of propulsion. This three wheeled car did not however make it to dealerships; only four were ever made making them somewhat of a collector’s item today. The preference of steam however did not continue for long, with the help of Gotlieb Daimler the internal combustion engine soon became the power plant of choice.
Always a company to embrace technological advances, the cars in the early Peugeot dealerships were the first to have rubber tyres, created to improve the ride quality of early cars they were severely limited by the fact that instead of being pneumatic, were instead made from solid rubber. Even in this early stage however Peugeot had a clear dispensation for motor sport, entering these early cars into various racing events of the time.
At the turn of century Peugeot had cemented its place in the hearts of the French motoring fraternity. Dealerships began were founded amazingly selling three hundred cars out of a total of twelve hundred sold in France during 1899. Also during this period Peugeot manufactured motorcycles, using the bicycle heritage from previous years. In the four years after 1899 Peugeot became France’s favourite car manufacturer, selling more than half of the total cars sold in dealerships across the country.
It was not until the twenties that Peugeot made the decision to divide its bicycle and car manufacturing efforts. The bike company continues until this day producing some of the best bikes on the market while the motoring division continued to court the French public with affordable and reliable cars. During this period, dealerships saw the arrival of the Type 201, the cheapest new car in all of France throughout the twenties. It was with this car that Peugeot tested their retractable roof designs. This theme is still present today with the Peugeot producing the 206 cabriolet, a design harking back to the immensely popular 201.
After the war years Peugeot turned its back somewhat on a French public who struggled to produce disposable income, instead making a concerted effort to open many dealerships in the United States. Not being totally successful in capturing the rather insular American car market it was during this period that collaboration with Renault was established as well as working closely with Volvo on a variety of design aspects.
As a result of great selling figures in Peugeot dealerships during the seventies and with the help of the French government a takeover of rival manufacturer Citroen was launched. The buyout saw many dealerships come under the control of the company making it the largest car manufacturer in France. A situation that continues to this day thanks to the efforts of company chiefs to give each company its own distinct identity.
So what can be drawn from this history? Undoubtedly Peugeot has a rich heritage in manufacturing; also it has proved a dedication to producing affordable and reliable cars not only for the French public but for the entire globe. Who would have guessed that one of the most illustrious car manufacturers of the modern day started their existence manufacturing dresses?
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