C&G 404's were only 35% Australian content. A problem because they were supposed to be 45%. Renault built ones were 55%. I think the warranty man was Ansing not Anson. His father was a rear drive Renault expert.
Disconnected Ramblings
- Thread starter Russell Hall
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Amsing I think?
If you mean Ian Amsing he came to renault punt rd in about 73 as service manager left in 74 to go to Regan motors then left early eighties I think to form partnership with rino dozzi from Regan motors (enzos brother) Amsing and dozzi in abbotsford,not sure how long that existed for but bumped into rino about 12 or 13 years ago and he said Ian had passed away.sad to hear as he was one of the nice guys to work for.i may stand corrected on some timeline dates .jim
He was involved with the R8 rally team, I remember the papers said the diffs had failed in a rally and I made a snide remark to him about it. He put me in my place with a you shouldn't believe everything you read in the papers dismissal. Of course it wasn't the diffs, it was the universals.
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Bob Watson always said it was the English hewland diffs.
It was commented on in the car industry at the time that Renault was never able to convert its rally successes into Australian sales.
That sparks a memory of Ian talking of going with enzo I think to a blokes backyard garage late sixties early seventies out around Croydon area to get some gears made for the r8 rally cars.reckoned this bloke was a wiz and knew his sh&t.turns out was peter holinger if I remember correctly..jim
Not a photoshop. Some owners lucky enough to still have a 402 thought the 203 inferior in space and comfort. They tended to hang on until the 403 came. Late 1930's cars were usually the best for passenger comfort. This owner wished to combine the modernity of the 203 with the comfort of the 402. Hoehener didn't have a rush of copycat orders.
From 1956 to 1979 the Dougherty Road West Heidelberg plant was central to the French car presence in Australia.
This advertisement for 1961 gives a clue to the problems which beset Continental & General. The price of 1218 pounds is inked out and replaced by 1278 pounds. Not such a big difference but it was because of a flawed government economic policy implemented at the end of 1960 which caused a major recession. Unemployment soared and car sales fell. There was an election at the end of the year and Menzies held power by 125 votes in one seat.
Peugeot sales were and are very price sensitive. Sales could double or halve because of price changes. The market had its own idea of what a Peugeot was worth which was not always the same as the importer. Factors beyond the control of the importer often frustrated attempts to increase sales beyond those achieved by the 203. True today when sales are not dramatically greater than 203 levels. The optimism of 1955 and the prospect of record 403 sales in 1956 was turned into a halving of sales by new government imposts.
At the end of 1959 the move to a single assembly operation in the modern ex Simca plant brought sales of the price reduced car in 1960 which topped those of the 203 only to be dashed by the Credit Squeeze never again to reach that level with either the 403 or 404.
The Credit Squeeze was quoted as the reason there was no timely release of the 404 but I suspect other factors.
Peugeot sales were and are very price sensitive. Sales could double or halve because of price changes. The market had its own idea of what a Peugeot was worth which was not always the same as the importer. Factors beyond the control of the importer often frustrated attempts to increase sales beyond those achieved by the 203. True today when sales are not dramatically greater than 203 levels. The optimism of 1955 and the prospect of record 403 sales in 1956 was turned into a halving of sales by new government imposts.
At the end of 1959 the move to a single assembly operation in the modern ex Simca plant brought sales of the price reduced car in 1960 which topped those of the 203 only to be dashed by the Credit Squeeze never again to reach that level with either the 403 or 404.
The Credit Squeeze was quoted as the reason there was no timely release of the 404 but I suspect other factors.
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Geoff Russell had a fantastic run in 403s around 1960, wins in Armstrong 500, Mobilgas Economy Runs, Victorian Rally Champion and Alpine Rally. We got to talk to him at Southport on the 2006 Ampol Rerun and he said it was a fantastic car. Geoff drove the Regans KF2 404 in the 1966 Southern Cross Rally and other events. Geoff was an excellent driver, also drove for Ford in Cortinas and was part of the Australian Works Team that took Falcons to the East African Safari in 1962. He was still racing Commodores in the 1990s I think.
When Austin merged with Morris to form BMC this left the Victorian Austin distributor, AUSDIS, without a product. Many Austin dealers took up other franchises. An AUSDIS subidiary, Northern Engineering, took up assembly of Simcas in Macauley St North Melbourne. They built a dedicated plant to assemble 3500 cars per year in the new suburb of West Heidelberg. Plant was known in the trade as the Northern Assembly Plant. The sales manager of Simca came out for the opening in 1956. The AUSDIS used car division was reformed as Continental and General Distributors. The plant was efficient, they knocked a hundred pounds off the price and the Aronde at 1037 pounds was outselling the 403. When Simca was sold to Chrysler in 1958 plans were made to move assembly to Adelaide Chrysler in 1959. So a new deal was struck to take over Peugeot and Studebaker assembly in 1959, under the name Continental and General Distributors. The last 403's assembled at the Canada plant in Keys Rd Moorabbin carried a Continental and General plate. The first 403's left Heidelberg in August 1959 accompanied by an advertising campaign and a big price reduction to 1218 pounds. As a comparison an FB Holden was 1107 pounds. A full page advertisement in the Melbourne Herald was an expensive spend. Although 1960 was a record sales year for Peugeot the credit squeeze hit the operation hard and sales never recovered to the expected level. For a number of reasons Peugeot sales declined during the early 1960's and the plant was under utilized. By 1964 it was making far more Studebakers than Peugeots.
The Simca example gives a guide as to Peugeot pricing in Australia. In Australia the Simca was cheaper that a Peugeot which was always assumed because they were of lower quality. That may have been true but in France to Aronde sold for exactly the same price as the 203. In 1963 Chrysler was selling the Aronde for 999 pounds. Confirms that the 203 could have been sold perhaps fifty pounds cheaper with single plant assembly but that it wasn't too severely over priced.
An interesting advertising approach to what was not the strongest ability of the 203, hill climbing. The 203 was rated to climb a 1 in 3 hill in first. The earliest 203 had a large gap between first and a much higher second. My 203 climbs the Pentlands in third quite easily but fully laden or faced with a long winding hill it can fade quickly. If revs are allowed to fall too much in second a change down into the non synchro first is required. It does not like a restart. The 1951 model is much better with a lower second. The 203C is better again. A Holden would easily pass a 203 on a climb. So would a 403. A few 203's were fitted with a 21 tooth diff wheel to give higher gearing. I don't think it was successful.
South Coast NSW price list late 1952 or early 1953. De Luxe probably means a heater. Commercials have been cut off.
A 4 cyl Jowett Javelin was dearer than a 6 cyl Holden, no wonder they didn't sell many in Aus.
The selling of imported 203's alongside Australian assembled ones was a result of the import quotas the government introduced at the end of 1951. Australia had enjoyed a surge in export income because of unprecedented demand for wool at prices that can only be described as phenomenal. War had broken out in Korea, it was cold country and America bought the Australian wool clip for uniforms, needed at any price. Some graziers got the equivalent of million dollar wool cheques and imports soared. The boom only lasted a year. Imports now exceeded exports and in the simple economics of the time Menzies explained no country could spend more than it earned. So importers of cars, tractors and trucks were qiven quotas of 60% of their 1951 imports. Harden & Johnston moved to have the 203 assembled in the old T.J. Richards body works in Adelaide (now owned by Chrysler). In the 1952 sales total of 974 a calculation would indicate 103 Adelaide assembled cars.
A poor quality scan of a newspaper cutting but important because this was the advertising campaign for the release of the 404. From the Melbourne Herald or Sun, late 1962. You have to admire the advertising copy writers. They were presented with a car over priced for its class. What did they do? They took a Worlds Seven Finest Cars list John Bond publisher of Road and Track put together in 1958 during the American release of the 403 and hyped it up. So trying to create an impression of quality cheap at the price. It didn't work. Peugeots were well known in Australia and respected but as worthy bread and butter family cars. Customers were prepared to pay a little more than a Holden but this was too much. A new shape EJ Holden was 1051 pounds and a top of the range Premier 1400. They didn't sell.
There were two aspects to the failure of the 404 launch. One was over pricing, the other was the delayed release which meant they were leading with a three year old model. Peugeot had been pushed into the American market in 1958 at the urging of the French government. This seemed to be a great success and in 1960 some 20% of Peugeot production went to the U.S.A. Australia had never delivered on the promised sales volumes and may have not been a priority for either supply of the new model or favorable pricing.
The sales results were brutal. The 403 had sold 2379 cars in 1960, reduced to 1299 in 1961 by the Credit Squeeze. The 404 sold 452 examples in its launch year of 1963. It was outsold by the 403. In 1964 sales of both models combined fell to 632 cars, the lowest since 1950. C&G had to act and negotiated a new price agreement with Peugeot. Price was reduced 12% to 1175 pounds for the 403 and 1275 pounds for the 404. This caused a big loss to C&G because they had more than a years kits in stock. Sales began to increase and in 1969 Renault had sales up to 1853 units, still well below the peaks of its predecessors.
The sales results were brutal. The 403 had sold 2379 cars in 1960, reduced to 1299 in 1961 by the Credit Squeeze. The 404 sold 452 examples in its launch year of 1963. It was outsold by the 403. In 1964 sales of both models combined fell to 632 cars, the lowest since 1950. C&G had to act and negotiated a new price agreement with Peugeot. Price was reduced 12% to 1175 pounds for the 403 and 1275 pounds for the 404. This caused a big loss to C&G because they had more than a years kits in stock. Sales began to increase and in 1969 Renault had sales up to 1853 units, still well below the peaks of its predecessors.
Mention must be made of the unfortunate 404 performance in the Ampol Trial of 1964. The 203 and 403 both established their credibility with victories in major Australian rallies. The 404 had established a good reputation in the East African Safari. When Ampol came up with the idea of a 7000 mile rally in the tradition of the earlier Round Australia trials this was a chance for a much needed boost to the 404 sales here. So Continental and General announced a works entry with well known drivers. Jack Murray/ Roy Denny, Bob Holden/ Monty Love, Ron Green/ David Johnson. There was quite a lot of publicity around the entry and Gelignite Jack. They were expected to perform well, perhaps win. They did neither. Ron Green came in 18th. Ballarat privateer Alan Crabbe who had driven a 203 in the 1958 Ampol came in 24th. Bob Holden came in 36th and Jack Murray 40th. I saw Alan Crabbe's car. Absolutely standard and finished the event in perfect condition. They were beaten by Holdens, Falcons, Cortinas, VW's and Volvos. The result was no mention could be made in advertising that Peugeot was proven for Australian conditions. Advertising subsequently focused on East African Safari rally success.
