1938 Citroën 11 BL 'Traction'

1938 Citroën 11 BL in Dragnet, Movie, 1954 IMDB

Class: Cars, Sedan — Model origin: FR — Made for: USA

1938 Citroën 11 BL 'Traction'

[*] Background vehicle 

Comments about this vehicle

AuthorMessage

Lateef NO

◊ 2021-04-09 21:08

 [Image: 11b2.jpg] [Image: 11b3.jpg]

Aziz FR

◊ 2021-04-13 19:23

 Bizarre : la Traction n'a jamais été officiellement exportée aux USA, Citroën n'a commencé à y vendre des voitures qu'à partir de 1956 en commençant par la DS 19.

dsl SX

◊ 2021-04-13 20:19

 ^ Basically true, but Standard Catalog has some additional listing for Citroens 1945-48 and 1949-54 (does not mention anything pre-war):
- 1945-48 lists 11 Legere and Normale, and 15, but no prices given or numbers sold
- 1949-54 lists 11 Legere and Normale, and 15 (now with prices) and 2CV (no price given). It also gives Citroen US sales figures as 10 in 1949, 13 in 1950, 5 in 1951, 11 in 1952 and 40 in 1953.

Then in 1955-56 things start happening properly - DS arrives and sold alongside 11, 15 and 2CV. US distributor appointed for both West and East coasts, and first US Citroen showroom opened (300 Park Avenue, New York). By 1958 there were over 100 US dealers and approximately 1145 cars sold that year.

Lateef NO

◊ 2021-04-13 20:27

 Maybe this could be a "Challenger" - as mentioned by DynaMike:
DynaMike wrote Tractions were sold in the USA. During 1937/38 The Challenger Motor Car Company in Los Angeles sold some hundreds of them. But back then the make Citroën was not a registered make in California, so these Tractions were sold as Challenger. Maybe some 1939Six'es were sold by the 'City of Paris Garage' in San Francisco and San Mateo, and by 'Pacific Motor Sales' in Los Angeles.

source

Baube QC

◊ 2021-04-13 20:45

 i don't know those cars but said/seen that way, i guess its the most plausible option

so it would be called a Challenger Traction ? ( most likely with 11 BL in front )

https://cats-citroen.com/citroen_museum/ta_11bl_cab_38/index.html found one

-- Last edit: 2021-04-13 20:50:41

Gamer DE

◊ 2021-05-27 11:15

 If this car has legitimately been in the US, it is a 1945 or early 1946 as it still has Pilote wheels and what look to be hood flaps. For the first year and a half after the war, Tractions were sold as before it: https://classiccarcatalogue.com/C/citroen%201946%2002.jpg

-- Last edit: 2021-05-27 11:18:22

Lateef NO

◊ 2021-05-27 11:21

 What makes you think that it's not a pre-war version?

Gamer DE

◊ 2021-05-27 11:50

 Because we don't have any information on prewar sales. For now this is the best we can do if we are to assume it was sold there originally.

Lateef NO

◊ 2021-05-27 11:56

 Even though he doesn't come around as much as he used to, I trust DynaMike as a Citroën expert and his claim that "some hundreds" were sold in 37/38. It's as good as anything as the immediate post-war sales appear to have been measly in comparison.

Gamer DE

◊ 2021-05-27 11:59

 But these had rebuilt front ends?
Link to "i.pinimg.com"

EDIT: Here's a picture of the sedan:
Link to "41cef548pyo610dh50468nkk-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com"

-- Last edit: 2021-05-27 12:00:29

Richard Davies EN

◊ 2022-08-06 00:35

 Not a car I would expect to see, even in Los Angeles!

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