Talk:Chrysler Horizon

First move

The following was found on Talbot Horizon. I changed that to a redirect to point here, but we should check to see if any information should be merged. —Morven 19:14, Aug 2, 2004 (UTC)

Talbot Europe launched the Simca Horizon as a French-built five-door hatchback in 1978, for a while it was sold in the USA as a Dodge Sunbeam. But for the first year it was unavailable in Britain.

That all changed at the end of 1979, when Chrysler sold its European division to PEUGEOT and the Horizon was badged across Europe as a Talbot. Production also took place at the Ryton plant in Coventry.

The Horizon was good to drive and reasonably practical but its design quickly became outdated in comparison with modern designs like the Ford Escort and Vauxhall Astra/Opel Kadett.

Horizon production ceased at the end of 1985 but the chassis lived on until 1993 underneath the new Peugeot 309, which was also built at Ryton.

Few people can remember that there was once a car called a /Talbot Horizon, and even fewer can remember that it was once European Car of the Year. It is probably one of the most forgotten cars in the history of motoring.

I can't find anything that useful here, Morven, and certainly didn't know the 309 and Horizon shared a platform. Sounds like it was written by that 213.122.x.x chap. Stombs 06:59, Jan 6, 2005 (UTC)

Electric model?

Chrysler -Talbot produced, but never marketed, a 4-passenger electric subcompact city car in the US in late 1977-early 1978/I actually saw a shipment of such cars on the lot of a Cioncinnati Chrysler-Plymouth dealer. I'm certain Chrysler would never have designed, profuced or deliverd such a car to dealers had it not been financially worthwhile. So my question is: Why did Chrysler never market this car? Who stood to lose if this elevtric car were marketed? Who stood to gain if it were not marketed? One thing is for certain: Had this electric car been marketed, the US and perhaps the rest of the world as well would have been much less dependent today on oil. JDS, Kefar-sava, Israel

I don't think it would have been feasible for Chrysler to actually mass produce those (if they weren't custom jobs), since they were close to bankruptcy during that time. --ApolloBoy 02:23, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

In the late '70's third party conversions (to electric) of mass produced gasoline automobiles were fairly widespread in the US. I worked at a Toyota dealer that had an electric Renault 5 in it's inventory that was eventually destroyed in the late '80's after sitting unsold for over 5 years. I suspect the Chryslers you saw were similar third party conversions (probably of an Omni or Horizon.) And, ApolloBoy is 100% right: Chrysler had a hard enough time not losing its shirt selling gas powered cars at the time.Meersman 05:59, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Picture

We could do with a picture of a European Horizon - there was one of the American version, but I notice that someone has quite reserved it for the Omnirizon page.

Subcompact?

Apologies for some really bad edits, but I'm not sure about the designation of this car as a "subcompact" in the first sentence, in an article that then goes on to compare it to rivals such as the Golf and Escort, which are "compact" (and also, neither of those terms is in use in Europe anyway). Anyone got a bright idea as to how to make it consistent and correct? 92.21.143.70 (talk) 16:37, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

There is, of course, no simple answer because people of different sizes take a different view. And there are different norms in different countries. If you live in Sicily or Andalucia, an Opel Rekord or a Volvo 144 are large cars. If you live in Germany or Sweden or Norway they are medium sized family cars. Once you go to the land of the Chevrolet Impala the differences in perspective only increase. The Horizon sold in considerable numbers on both sides of the Atlantic, albeit differently branded in different markets. You can take a look at the opening para on the Vauxhall Victor to see one attempt (mine)at a solution. Feel free to adapt that or to improve upon it for the Horizon. Feel free to look at the Victor's talk page to see me banging on about the subject at greater length. Happy day. Charles01 (talk) 16:48, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

first British-built hatchback of this size?

The article says "The Horizon was the first British-built hatchback of this size — launched two years before the Vauxhall Astra, three years before the European Ford Escort Mark III and five years before the Austin Maestro.". What about the Austin Maxi?? Dieselnutjob (talk) 12:44, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

There's no such car as a Simca-Talbot Horizon

It's either a Chrysler-Talbot Horizon (with Chrysler pentastar) or a Talbot Horizon. Simca-Talbot never occurred simultaneously, since the Talbot badge was replacing Chrysler-Simca from 1979 with the PEUGEOT takeover of Chrysler Europe. See [1] --Robert (talk) 22:43, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

DarkPrinz is a somewhat problematic user, just check out their history. He's moved countless pages relating to the French automobile industry, often to much worse names. I don't know what to say to stop him, and thought that Chrysler Horizon was a good compromise between the Eurocentric and the Americentric viewpoints. Other, more obvious, names are also better than the current mish-mash.  Mr.choppers | ✎  01:11, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Requested move 9 May 2021

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Well OK, after a month this has been lingering in RM queue, the only thing that everyone agrees about is that the current "Simca-Talbot Horizon" is inappropriate. Per WP:NOGOODOPTIONS I'm picking up Chrysler Horizon as a reasonable alternative proposed in the discussion and (I guess) allowed by WP:CARNAMES. Should anyone disagree, please open a new RM. No such user (talk) 14:41, 10 June 2021 (UTC)

---

Simca-Talbot Horizon → Chrysler Simca Horizon – The car was originally introduced as the Chrysler Simca Horizon (sometimes just called Simca, sometimes written "Chrysler-Simca") in its home market. "Simca-Talbot Horizon" is a mish-mash of names and was never applied. Simca-Talbot seems to have been briefly used on some marketing material during the transitional period, in 1980. It was also sold as the Chrysler Horizon (UK) and Talbot Horizon, and during a transition period (1980) it was often listed as the Talbot Simca Horizon. No one name is clearly more important than any other, and therefore the original domestic name should be the title of this page.  Mr.choppers | ✎  13:26, 9 May 2021 (UTC)

Your opening premise is, I believe, incorrect. The car was launched in France and Germany and Italy and Switzerland and and and as the "Simca Horizon". It was launched in England, Scotland and Wales as the "Chrysler Horizon". I don't know what name it was given in of Ireland ("northern" and / or "southern" as we called the two "halves" in England) - nor, indeed, in Sweden. And when it turned up in the States it was badged as a Plymouth/Dodge and, especially under the skin, significantly different.

"Chrysler Simca Horizon" is a name applied retrospectively in an attempt to make sense of the muddle, and it has caught on with some, though not all, wikipedia contributors. But applying it to the car as though that is the name with which it was launched, marketed and sold is an unnecessary anachronism aka wrong. I agree with your opinion that "no one name is clearly more important than any other". But there is a logical disconnect in where you let this take you. The car was manufactured in France and rebadged for sale in England. If your starting point is that "the original domestic name should be the title of this page", then you should be opting for "Simca Horizon". The car was indeed assembled also in Spain using subassemblies imported from France. With Caudillo Franco dead and the Spanish government desperate to join the EEC, there had been a massive and recent dilution of the "local content" requirements, when it came to defining what could be taxed as a domestically produced car and what had to be punitively priced as an import.

As far as I recall, and according to wiki-en the "Chrysler Horizon" was also assembled in England, but volumes were modest, and Ryton/Coventry assembly started only AFTER the thing had been rebranded as the "Talbot Horizon" (Chrysler having by then sold the European manufacturing and marketing operations of "former Rootes" and "former Simca" to Peugeot). I would assume - though the manufacturer's marketing department would have kept quiet about this - that English assembly used imported engines and body pressings. You'd hardly import all the tooling needed to build in Coventry an ancient Simca-designed engine in the small volumes needed for British sales just of the Horizon and Alpine. Ditto the heavy presses for a relatively small volume of body panels.

As for wishing to avoid a "mish-mash of names", that's great and I agree. Order out of chaos: what's not to like? But it's not really the mission of wikipedia to apply a name retrospectively in order to impose a false semblance of order on the chaos that was Chrysler's Europe organisation during the 1970s. Nevertheless, if you believe that "the original domestic name should be the title of this page", then your vote will go to "Simca Horizon". The Brits won't like it, though!

Be well Charles01 (talk) 09:21, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

PS - Different language versions of wikipedia seem to embrace differing levels of wiki-muddle about the naming of this car. However, the German language entry spells it out with teutonic clarity in a couple of lines. And I happen to know that your German is a whole lot better than mine! Copy ;n paste: "Die Markteinführung fand im September 1978 als Simca Horizon von Chrysler Europa statt. Der Wagen wurde (als Simca Horizon) zum „Auto des Jahres 1979“ gewählt. ...Da PEUGEO den europäischen Zweig von Chrysler im Sommer 1978 aufgekauft hatte, wurde das Fahrzeug [erst] August 1979 durch den neuen Eigentümer weitervertrieben, jetzt unter dem neuen Label Talbot-Simca Horizon. [Erst] Frühjahr 1980 fiel der Name Simca ganz weg. "

@Charles01: - yes, and until a week ago I thought the car was called simply Simca Horizon when first introduced. But then I went and looked at some late seventies French new car guides as well as at some of the introductory brochures, and nearly all of them read "Chrysler Simca" or "Chrysler-Simca". Here an original press photo. I do not have a strong preference for either name, I would just like to find out what its name was and give this page a stable, correct title. I am beginning to suspect that Chrysler (or Simca) never knew themselves. The thing even had a "Chrysler" badge on the leading edge of the bonnet, and Simca badges on the boot. I have even found a 1980 brochure which does call it "Simca-Talbot"... I suggest we enjoy this period German video, which sometimes calls it "Chrysler-Simca" and sometimes just Simca. Yet another period image.

Long story short, I am okay with Simca Horizon but the majority of sources I could find point to Chrysler Simca Horizon. Best,  Mr.choppers | ✎  13:37, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

Intriguing stuff. In terms of timelines, French wiki says it was presented [to the press] in October 1977 and went on sale in January 1978. I guess I'll go with that, although when I was in France for a couple of days in May or June 1978 there were still very few around. (But ... I nevertheless found one before I came home.)

The brochure you show which identifies it as a "Chrysler Simca Horizon" would be more persuasive on this business if it was in French, but from details provide by the uploader it appears to be in Dutch.

On your next link, I'm afraid by the time I got to it it had turned a bit fuzzy. I cannot tell where the "original press photo" was produced, nor which market it was targetting nor the date. There is what looks like an address on the bottom left but I cannot read it. Might there be a better copy somewhere?

On "yet another period image" that certainly includes the words Chrysler and Simca next to each other. I cannot read what is actually written on the leading edge of the bonnet/hood at the front. Intentional ambiguity?

For some reason I couldn't get past some google crap about google cookies which wanted me to click one of those "I agree" buttons from Google, so I have yet to access the "period German video". But I sense that you included this "for fun" rather than "as evidence". Dank U en tack.

By 1980 they do indeed seem to have been calling it Simca-Talbot in some markets, but that's not necessarily the same as the launch name. I don't find wiki-fr or wiki-en terribly clear on when it was called what. Hang on, I have another idea ... I'll ask Rene Bellu:

In "Toutes les voitures francaises 1979 - salon 1978", the manufacturers are listed alphabetically and "Chrysler France" is listed under "C" - between "Chapron" and "Citroen", and on pages 9 - 14. But that doesn't answer the question about what the Horizon was called. Much of the intro rubric is concerned with the Peugeot take-over: "Chrysler France deviendra juridiquement une filiale de PSA-Peugoet-Citroen a partir di 1 janvier 1979" (with apologies for my typoes and laziness about not adding the accents). The Horizon gets almost two pages to itself, on pages 11-12. Almost always he just calles it "la Horizon". There was a new variant which he calls simply "la nouvelle Horizon SX". I begin to believe that Rene Bellu agrees with you where you write, "... that Chrysler (or Simca) never knew themselves". Except, Rene Bellu was there at the time as a specialist journalist interested in the auto industry, so presumably he asked the right questions even if they would not give him clear answers. I was about to give up on Rene Bellu when I got to the second paragraph on page 12. There he writes, "La Simca Horizon SX utilise le moteur 1442 cm3 de l'Horizon SX mais avec une puissance [plus elevee] pour compenser les pertes d'energie dues a la transmission automatique". So when writing what amounts to a detailed report on the October 1978 Paris motor show, when the car had been on sale for approximately ten months, he calls it a "Simca Horizon" one time and a "Horizon" lots of times. He does not call it a "Chrysler Horizon", and of course at that point no one knew (except, perhaps, at Sochaux) that Peugeot would add the "Talbot" label half way through 1979.

So .... without knowing more about (1) the dates and (2) the target markets (evident from the languages / address?) for the links you produce, I do not know how much weight to give them. But based on the evidence that I do have about the French market, I still think that it was launched and for more than a year sold in France as the "Simca Horizon", but I also sense that Chrysler France would have been aware that, if they were ever able to agree terms with a buyer for their European business a change in ownership was on the way, and they may already have been soft pedalling on promoting the "Simca" brand with this new model, even in France itself.

As an aside, you may be aware that in 1954, when Simca took over the Ford France business and the much prized Poissy plant, the Ford Vedette was immediately rebadged as the Simca Vedette in France (and Belgium) even though in Sweden I understand they went on badging it as the Ford Vedette for several more years. So ... when it came to (1) avoiding Anerican car names on the home market and (2) being confusing about their brands and model names ... these guys had form.

No further thoughts. Unless you will give us more on the dates and languages for those links you included, and for which thank you.

Best wishes Charles01 (talk) 15:13, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

@Charles01: I guess it was a "Simca Horizon" but as it was built by Chrysler, it also included Chrysler badges and mentions here and there? FWIW, a lot of people refer to it as the last Simca. I am unsure what it was called in Sweden, but it had zero impact and our market doesn't really count when it comes to French cars. l'Automobile Journal write "Chrysler Simca Horizon", but again, it can be read as manufacturer—brand—model and I am not sure what the naming guidelines are or what's the best name. It's as if Toyota printed brochures that read "Toyota Lexus LS400".  Mr.choppers | ✎  20:53, 13 May 2021 (UTC)

We know - think we know - Chrysler was in a desperately dire state at the time, so presumably French management in France (no doubt in a team peppered with the odd depressed American who understood little French keeping an eye on them) did what worked for them, while the guys in the US were focused on Chrysler US. So I guess it's not entirely to be wondered at if even at the time they didn't allocate too much marketing budget to letting the punters know what to call it, even to the extent they agreed the matter among themselves. In England lots of people had negative associations concerning the Chrysler name which was associated with the recently intensified decline of a formerly proud set of brands (Hillman/Singer/Sunbeam/Humber): and the Simca marque suffered from being French without being particularly "interesting" (Renault 16, Citroens) or dependable (Peugeot). And then there was Simca. Actually the Simca 1100 had its admirers in England and Scotland, which gave the Horizon a bit of credibility as its successor. I think they must have sold more Horizons in England than in Sweden. But it was still pretty niche, despite competing in a growing and trendy sector (Morris 1100/ Ford Escort and hatchbacks trying to be like the Golf but more aggressively priced ie cheaper). The poor Horizon lacked too much kudos even in England, where Chrysler-Simca did at least have access to quite a large dealership network. Elsewhere in Europe - apart from France and Spain - it was a bit of a "so-what?" car. Not too much attention paid to what to call it. And as with Toyotas and Mitsubishis and Datsuns/Nissans, what you or I want to call it will depend to some extent on the motor magazines we were reading in the 1970s and 1980s in/from which ever country / countries we lived in at the time. I think I think that of the available options "Simca Horizon" probably still works best for me, even though back in 1978 and 1979 I'd have been reading about it in Autocar, Motor and (especially) "Car Magazine" as the "Chrysler Horizon - Car of the Year! 1979". Over the years I remember that I've uploaded at least one picture of a French-built "Chrysler" from that period, only to have some wiki-comrade helpfully correct the name from "Chrysler" to "Simca". I guess that may be part of what's influencing me on this discussion. Ho hum. Charles01 (talk) 08:57, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

It seems like it was called the "Talbot Horizon" during most of its life, both in its home market and in other markets. Wouldn't that be a good article title, even if it wasn't its first name? ⛐Boivie (talk) 15:41, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

I could have swore that WP:CARNAMES stated that we are to use the introductory name when none takes precedence, but apparently I dreamt that (or it was changed since I last read it). [throws up hands and walks away].  Mr.choppers | ✎  00:44, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

After reading WP:CARNAMES myself a couple of times, I can agree as well. At the very least, the current title needs to be changed (it combines two brands, used consecutively). Along for pure simplicity, judging from the article, it looks like Chrysler Horizon is the most appropriate candidate (Simca was largely exclusive to France; Talbot replaced both from 1979 onward). Thankfully, the American version is titled under Dodge Omni, minimizing potential confusion. -SteveCof00 (talk) 07:26, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

What is the rationale for the article's current name? Two things about it strike me as a bit odd: the hyphenation of Simca and Talbot, and the absence of any reference to Chrysler (considering that the article states it was "designed by Chrysler Europe" and "produced ... under the Chrysler, Simca, and Talbot nameplates"). PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 08:18, 6 June 2021 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.