Early Postwar New and Redesigned French Cars

France has been remarkably resilient economically following its wars.  Most recently were les années Trente Glorieuses 1945-1975.  (Recall that France was defeated by Germany in a six-week campaign in 1940.  Germany and Italy occupied parts of the country and the rest was ruled by a puppet state that the Germans eventually occupied.  In 1944 the country again became a battleground following Allied invasions.)

One instance of rapid postwar recovery was the automobile sector where the leading carmakers were able to introduce redesigned versions of pervious models or entirely new models by late 1948.

The 3 October 1946 Salon de l'Automobile de Paris saw the introduction of the totally new Renault 4 CV and Panhard Dyna, both small, entry-level cars.  Then the 7 October 1948 show featured the Citroën 2 CV minimal car, the low-mid range Peugeot 203, and the new Ford Vedette priced around 20 percent higher.

Gallery

1949 Renault 4 CV
French car buyers strongly preferred their sedans to have four doors -- even for small, rear-engines models such as the 4 CV.  Frontal design is similar to 1941-vintage American practice.  The lengthy front fender was of the same concept as 1942 General Motors cars, though the door hinge was on the B-pillar for simplification reasons.

Rear styling was closer to late 1930s practice.

Publicity photo: the models provide a sense of the car's size.

1947 Panhard Dyna
The Dyna had conventional engine placement.  The body design is 1930s -- flat windshield, distinct, separate fenders, headlights not integrated with the car's body.  Again, models provide scale.

Rear styling was also prewar.

1948 Citroën 2 CV - Bonhams auction photo
Citroën's 2 CV was essentially designed with engineering considerations foremost.  As best I can tell, head stylist Flaminio Bertoni had little or no design input.

Rear quarter view, image via IMCDb.org.  Small though it was, the 2 CV had four doors.

1949 Peugeot 203 - Netherlands auction photo
The 203 carried a 1942 American look.  And the front end looks similar to that of the Renault.  Again, B-pillar door hinging.

But the 203 wasn't a mini-car, so the styling seems pleasant, albeit not distinctive or exciting.

1949 Ford Vedette - for sale photos
The Vedette's body was originally intended to be for a small, 1949 Ford.  Ernest Breech thought the large Ford design was too large, so that body was used on 1949 Mercurys and some '49 Lincoln models.  The tooling for the small Ford was sent to France for use on the Vedette, and a new design for '49 Fords was initiated.  It seems that details such as the Vedette's grille and bumpers were designed in France.

Door hinging was on the A and C pillars.  Note the fenderline designed by Ford's styling boss Bob Gregorie.

1949 Mercury
That fenderline was to be used on both small and large 1949 Fords, the latter becoming the Mercury shown here and the small Lincoln.