''L'Auto-Journal'' is a bimonthly magazine created in 1950 by

Robert Hersant Robert Hersant (30 January 1920 – 21 April 1996) was a French newspaper magnate. He was a leader in the pro-Nazi youth movement during the Vichy wartime years, but after prison time built a major newspaper empire and engaged in conservative ...

and editor-in-chief Gilles Guérithault, devoted to automobiles. Notable journalists who have worked for ''l'Auto-Journal'' include

Roland Gaucher Roland Gaucher (13 April 1919 – 27 July 2007) was the pseudonym of Roland Goguillot, a French far-right journalist and politician. One of the main thinkers of the French far-right, he had participated in Marcel Déat's fascist party Rassemblemen ...

and

Jean-Marie Balestre Jean-Marie Balestre (9 April 1921 – 27 March 2008) was a French auto racing administrator, who became President of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) from 1978 to 1991 and President of the Fédération Internationale de ...

. The headquarters is in Paris. The journal pioneered "automobile scoops". Famously, they published pictures of the radical new

Citroën DS The Citroën DS () is a front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations, across three series of one generation. ...

in April and June 1952, more than three years ahead of the car's October 1955 launch at the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...

. Sketches of the future cars appeared, drawn by the car specialist and historian René Bellu. A further scoop picture, now showing the reconfigured rear roof-line as it would appear on the production cars, was published some two months ahead of its 1955 launch. Citroën reacted fiercely to ''L'Auto-Journals scoops, accusing the magazine of industrial espionage. The police even raided the offices of the journal. Relations with Citroën remained difficult for some years, while the motoring press more generally reacted by routinely describing Citroën as "famously secretive". ''L'Auto-Journal'' was also the first magazine to test cars in France under the everyday conditions likely to be encountered by drivers. The resulting test reports were detailed and well written. At a time when the handling qualities of many cars in post-war France were poor, this approach to road tests was a welcome innovation. The most famous test driver of the golden years of ''L'Auto-Journal'' was André Costa. At the end of 1969, ''L'Auto-Journal'' abandoned the newspaper-style broadsheet format that it had employed for nearly two decades, in favour of a magazine format. For many years after that the magazine still stood out from the crowd because the pages were longer, by approximately 15%, than those of the standard format used by other magazines.''L'Auto-Journal, 50 ans d'histoire automobile, Tome 1, 1950 - 1976'', Michel Lafon, 2003. Now computer-generated images and photoshops have replaced Bellu's drawings, but the automobile scoops are still the specialty of ''L'Auto-Journal'', especially regarding future French cars.

Gallery

Image:Ds55 autojournal.jpg, The September 1955 cover featuring the forthcoming DS

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auto-Journal 1950 establishments in France Automobile magazines Automotive industry in France Bi-monthly magazines published in France French-language magazines Magazines established in 1950 Magazines published in Paris