Letter from Roger Brioult to Paul Magès denouncing the ingratitude of PSA (20 July 1989)

In this document

A letter of indignation

Roger Brioult, an automotive technical journalist based at the Château de Résenlieu (Gacé), writes to Paul Magès to denounce the silence of PSA during the launch of the "XM": according to him, the management "forgot" to mention that the hydraulics and High Pressure at Citroën come from Magès, and that Citroën was "the first in the World" to develop the "anti-dive" technique without the help of electronics p. 1.

He regrets that no advertising tribute was paid to the man who did so much for "the road holding, comfort and High Pressure braking" of Citroëns and "Peugeot 405s" p. 1.

Recognition by peers

Brioult consoles Magès by stating that "all design offices" know his work, and that the global evolution of automotive technology pays tribute to him in place of PSA p. 2. He says he is himself "outraged by the silence of PSA" and claims to have spoken about it to engineers p. 2.

Marks of personal esteem

The letter ends with warm greetings to Magès and his wife, followed by a postscript where Brioult expresses his "great pride" in knowing Magès and citing his name p. 2.

A bibliographic reference

Brioult reports having authorized a German journalist, Hans Otto Meyer-Spelbrink, to reproduce excerpts from his own books in a work on the Citroën DS, entitled Das Citroën DS Buch, published by Verlag Podszun-Motorbücher (ISBN 3-923448-55-4). He specifies that a "long illustrated chapter" is devoted to Magès p. 2.

Context

The Citroën XM, mentioned in the letter, was launched in 1989: it succeeded the CX and inaugurated the Hydractive system, an evolution of the hydropneumatic suspension designed by Paul Magès in the 1950s for the Traction Avant and then the DS. In 1989, Citroën belonged to the PSA group (Peugeot-Citroën), which shared certain hydraulic technologies with Peugeot, notably the 405 mentioned in the letter.

Roger Brioult was a renowned journalist and author, a specialist in Citroën history, having written extensively on the brand and its technology.

Archivist's perspective

This document is a rare testimony to the informal recognition granted to Paul Magès by his contemporaries, even as the company he served seems, in Brioult's eyes, to minimize his role p. 1. The personal and affectionate tone of the letter—down to the postscript about the pride of "citing his name"—reveals the esteem in which Magès was held in the technical automotive press circle at the end of his life.

The mention of the German book Das Citroën DS Buch constitutes an interesting lead for tracing the international dissemination of the memory of Magès in automotive literature p. 2. It would be useful to compare this letter with other correspondence or press articles mentioning the XM or the hydropneumatic legacy kept in the collection.