The urgency of the project was increased in the summer of 1956 when the Simca chief learned of a dastardly plan by Paul Ramadier, the Minister for Economy and Finance, and a still influential former prime minister, to introduce in December 1956 an additional savage annual car tax for owners of cars with larger engines.
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In 1954 the big Simcas competed in France against the Citroën Traction which was still popular despite its twenty year old design and the Renault Frégate which struggled to find buyers thanks to a poor mechanical reputation and, it was suggested, from the reluctance of France's haute-bourgeoisie to buy a big expensive car from a state owned enterprise.
Simca | Ariane 5 | Ariane | Ariane 4 | Simca 1307 | Simca 1100 | Ariane Mnouchkine | Princess Ariane of the Netherlands | Ariane Brodier | Ariane Moffatt | Ariane de Rothschild |