Messier (automobile)

Messier was a French automobile manufacturer, based at Montrouge, on the southern edge of Paris, from 1925 till 1931.Linz, Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.''Georgano: ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.''Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.''

Origins

George Messier owned a factory for "pneumatic equipment" at least as early as 1920. He also developed a type of air suspension for automobiles. In 1920 he created the company ''Messier Automobiles'' and marketed the air suspension. From 1925 he produced automobiles on his own account, using the Messier name. In 1931 Messier abandoned automobile production in order to concentrate primarily on aircraft landing gear after having built and flown the Messier Monoplace Laboratorie monoplane, to test a retractable bicycle type undercarriage.

At least one source claims that Messier's air suspension was the basis for the revolutionary Hydropneumatic suspension of later Citroën models including, most notably, the 1955 DS. The inventor of the Hydropneumatic suspension, Paul Magès, was born in 1908,http://paulmages.com so it is feasible that heard of the ''Messier'' system, but he used oil and not air as the springing mechanism.

The cars

The notable feature of the cars was their air suspension. The engines were bought from specialist engine manufacturers. The first cars used a 4-cylinder engine from CIME. There was a racing model powered by a overhead camshaft unit while Touring and Limousine bodied 4-cylinder cars were fitted with a overhead camshaft unit. In October 1924 the manufacturer took a stand at the 19th Paris Motor Show, preparing to market his small cars during the 1925 model year. They were advertised as "voitures sans ressorts" ''(cars without springs)'', highlighting the unconventional pneumatic suspension. In place of springs the cars featured above each front wheel pneumatic tubes of compressed air, each of diameter. Similar tubes were fixed in place of the rear suspension, shorter than the tubes at the front, but also slightly thicker, each having a diameter.

By October 1928, it was clear from the cars exhibited on the Messier stand at the 22nd Paris Motor Show that the manufacturer had "changed class". There were 6-cylinder cars with engine capacities of and and 8-cylinder models of developing and producing . The largest engines came from Lycoming Engines of Pennsylvania, while engines from other American suppliers were also used.

The 8-cylinder "Messier Type H" was offered with two alternative wheelbase lengths of respectively and . Many of the 50 built were fitted with ambulance bodies.

External links

History of the Messier Company
(In French)

Reading list

*Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, . (German)
*George Nick Georgano (Chefredakteur): ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile.'' Volume 3: ''P–Z.'' Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, . (English)
*George Nick Georgano: ''Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours.'' Courtille, Paris 1975. (French)

References

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Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1920
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1931
1920 establishments in France
1931 disestablishments in France