So I hopped into a search engine and turned up this Wikipedia entry for Simca. Scrolling down to the section titled "Aronde and Ford SAF takeover," it seems that Simca took over the Ford SAF factory in 1954, as explained in the entry for the Ford Vedette here. It also seems Ford found operating in France difficult, so pulled up stakes just as a redesigned Vedette was being launched. Wikipedia's entry for the Simca Vedette is here.
The story continues in the captions below.
And early Simca Vedette. It was produced in France 1954-1961. Its design was Ford's new mid-1950s European model produced in several countries.
German Ford, wheelbase = 102.5 inches (2604 mm). Compare especially the passenger compartment greenhouse and door cutlines with the cars shown in the following two images.
British Ford, wheelbase = 107 inches (2718 mm). Longer than the Taunus forward of the front door hinging.
Probably a 1956 model, wheelbase = 105.9 inches (2690 mm). Structurally the same as the previous two cars, though the roofline seem higher, more rounded.
Top-of-the Vedette line model. Different chrome side-trim from the Versailles model above. But compare to the Oldsmobile below.
I wonder if the Régence side trim + two-tone scheme was borrowed from Oldsmobile. Not identical, but the spirit seems pretty similar.
Front quarter view. The grille strikes me as being the most fussy-French aspect of the design.
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