Translation of a Consumer Reports article (June 1959) on the failure of American air suspensions

In this document

This single page is a typewritten translation of an excerpt from the American magazine Consumer Reports, dated June 1959.

The text reports that the air suspensions launched by American manufacturers for the 1958 model year, despite an "intense advertising campaign," were "received rather coldly by the public," to the point that "several manufacturers have already ceased production" p. 38.

Consumer Reports states that these American air suspensions "do not provide road comfort comparable to that provided by the hydropneumatic system of the CITROEN" p. 38. Their main recognized advantage is limited to the automatic leveling of the vehicle by inflating the rear air tanks when loaded p. 38.

The page bears a handwritten signature in pencil legible as "M. Magès," as well as a passage underlined in ink corresponding precisely to the sentence unfavorably comparing the comfort of American air suspensions to that of the Citroën system p. 38. A number "59" is written in pencil at the top and bottom of the page, a likely filing reference.

Context

At the end of the 1950s, several American manufacturers (General Motors, notably with the Cadillac, or Ford and Chrysler) had introduced air suspensions as an argument for modernity and comfort for their 1958 models. These systems, technically less advanced than that of the DS Citroën — unveiled on 6 October 1955 with its hydropneumatic suspension designed by Paul Magès, whose plans date back to 17 February 1944 (Hydropneumatic suspension plans with differential interaction (17 February 1944)) — indeed experienced reliability issues and were gradually abandoned at the turn of the 1960s.

Consumer Reports, a benchmark magazine for consumer product testing in the United States, enjoyed recognized authority with the American public, which made this type of article particularly valuable for Citroën in terms of image.

Archivist's perspective

This short document, kept and annotated personally by Paul Magès as evidenced by the pencil signature, illustrates the attention paid by the engineer, then deputy head of Super-Control within the Citroën design office (Draft letter from Paul Magès to Mr. Sarre and interview plan of 11 May 1969), to the critical reception of competing technologies.

The passage underlined in ink — which repeats word for word the most flattering sentence for the Citroën system — suggests that this translation likely circulated within the design office as a comparative argument, in support of Magès' technical choices against American attempts at air suspension.

This document is part of a larger set of internal reflections conducted during the same period on the comparative merits of suspension systems, as evidenced by the B.E.A. meeting sheet of 17 January 1961: comparison of air/hydropneumatic suspension, which extends this comparison a few months later.