Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 23. Chapters: Abarth Simca 2000, Matra Bagheera, Matra Murena, Matra Rancho, Simca 1000, Simca 1100, Simca 1200S, Simca 1300/1500, Simca 1307, Simca 5, Simca 6, Simca 8, Simca 9, Simca Alvorada, Simca Ariane, Simca Aronde, Simca Chambord (Brazilian model), Simca do Brasil, Simca Esplanada, Simca Profissional, Simca Vedette. Excerpt: The Simca 1000 was a small, rear-engined, four-door saloon manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1961 to 1978. The car was inexpensive and, at the time of launch, quite modern, with a brand-new inline-4 watercooled engine of (at this stage) 944cc. Production began on 27 July 1961, with the official launch taking place at the Paris Motor Show on 10 October 1961. At the time of the launch, cars could be ordered in one of three colours (red/rouge tison, egg-shell blue/bleu pervenche or off-white/gris-princesse). However, the show stand featured two additional body colours and the range of colours available to customers was soon expanded. The company's marketing strategy was characteristically imaginitive, and having acquired a Paris taxi business in 1958, in November 1961 Simca replaced 50 of that company's Simca Ariane based taxis with 50 much smaller (but evidently spacious enough for the relatively short journeys normally undertaken by taxi) Simca 1000s: thus the stylish little car, often with iconic Paris landmarks in the background, quickly became a familiar sight on the capital's roads. Pictures of Simca 1000s working as Paris taxis turned up in the press. It was nevertheless made clear that this was not a permanent change and after a few months the red and black Simca 1000 taxis were removed from circulation and replaced with more conventionally sized taxis. Use of the RR layout was a first for Simca, although leading auto-makers in France and Germany had been applying it to mainstream small cars for more than a decade. In addition to the rear engine, the fuel tank of the Simca 1000 was located in the rear, behind the rear passenger seat. This gave the car a 35/65 front/rear weight distribution, with an extremely light and nimble front end and a responsive oversteer on curvy roads. The interior was considered "surprisingly" spacious for this class of car, with plenty of space for four, although the luggage locker under the front hood/bonnet offered onl