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Chenard-Walcker, also known as Chenard & Walcker, was a French automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer from 1898 to 1946. Chenard-Walcker then designed and manufactured trucks marketed via Peugeot sales channels until the 1970s. The factory was at first in Asnières-sur-Seine moving to Gennevilliers in 1906. The make is remembered as the winner of the very first Le Mans 24 Hours Race in 1923. ==History== Ernest Chenard (1861–1922)〔 was a railway engineer and maker of bicycles with a factory in the rue de Normandie at Asnières-sur-Seine, then just outside Paris on its north side. He joined with mining engineer Henri Walcker (1877–1912)〔 in 1898 to make motor tricycles. Together they founded their automobile business on 19 January 1899, with Chenard in charge of design and Walcker sales and finance. The business was formally registered as Chenard, Walcker et Compagnie in 1900. In order to ensure short-term commercial viability they started out producing a quadricycle,〔 but in 1900 their "first true automobile", the "Chenard et Walcker Type A" was homologated with the authorities.〔 This had a two-cylinder, engine of their own design which drove the rear wheels through a four-speed gearbox and an unusual transmission system. From the gearbox there were two drive shafts, one to each rear hub, with the hubs driven by gear teeth cut on the inside. The car was shown at the 1901 Paris Salon. The "Chenard et Walcker Type B" followed in 1901〔 and a fuller range was very soon on offer. In March 1906 the company went public, in the process being renamed as the Société Anonyme des Anciens Étabissements Chenard et Walcker, and moved to a new factory at Gennevilliers in 1908.〔 The new name has caused confusion over the years as to whether the cars should be called Chenard-Walcker or Chenard et Walcker. Both names seem to have been used. Annual production steadily increased with a major market being the supply of taxis especially in Paris. In 1910 they made over 1500 cars making them the ninth largest car maker in France. A six-cylinder car of joined the line up in 1913 and at the outbreak of war in 1914 the model range consisted of the six-cylinder and fours of , and capacities. During World War I Hispano-Suiza aircraft engines were made as well as military versions of the Type U car.〔"The Rise and Fall of Chenard-Walcker", ''The Automobile''. November 1996〕 With peace, only production of the six-cylinder, now called the Model UU, was resumed but in 1920 a brand new four, the 12CV, was added. FAR commercial vehicles were also made. Following the death of Ernest Chenard in 1922, his son Lucien Chenard (1896–1971) took over.〔 The 3-litre car of 1922, designed by Henri Toutée (1884–1943) who had been with the company since 1906, with overhead camshaft engine was the winner of the very first Le Mans 24 Hours Race, in 1923 driven by René Léonard and André Lagache, both engineers employed by Chenard et Walcker. A 2-litre version, the 10/12 was subsequently sold to the public. In 1925 Chenard et Walcker was the fourth largest car maker in France.〔 In 1927 the company entered into a tripartite "consortium" (collaboration) with Delahaye and Rosengart, sharing designs and components. Unic were also offered a place in the consortium but declined the offer.〔 The "entente" was advertised in 1929 with the slogan "L'Union fait la force"〔〔."L'Union fait la force" = roughly "Union is power"〕 The arrangement lasted almost four years, until 1931, when it would be Chenard et Walcker that broke with the other partners.〔 In a letter dated 13 June 1930 to Delahaye, the company's president stated that it seemed quite impossible to continue the collaboration as it was then working, and the collaboration was formally dissolved at the end of September 1931, the fifteen intervening months having been used by the partners to configure their separate model ranges, although some "run-out" models from the period of the collaboration continued to appear after 1931. Front independent suspension was introduced on some 1934 models and also front-wheel drive using Grégoire designs on the Super Aigle models but this was not a great success as it was launched at the same time as the Citroën Traction Avant but was considerably more expensive. In the same year the Aigle 8 with V-8 engine was launched. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chenard-Walcker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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