Maximag was the name of a Swiss automobile, produced by Motosacoche, based at Carouge, a suburb of Geneva, from 1923 till 1928.[1]

Maximag
IndustryManufacturing
Founded1923 (as an automobile manufacturer)
Defunct1928
Headquarters
ProductsAutomobiles

By the time it embarked on automobile manufacturing, the company had already established itself as a maker of engines and motor cycles.[1][2]

From 1924 the cars were also assembled in Lyon which enabled them to be sold in France without being penalized by the tariff barriers that separated the national markets of the two countries in question.[2]

Cars edit

The manufacturer took at stand at the 19th Paris Motor Show in October 1924 and exhibited a sporty "voiturette" style car powered by a 4-cylinder 1095cc side-valve engine with a cylinder bore of 59 mm (2.3 in), which placed it in the 7HP tax band.[3] The car sat on a 2,400 mm (94.5 in) wheelbase and was priced by Maximag at 14,850 francs when fitted with a small 2-seater "torpedo" body.

The same car was on display two years later at the 20th Paris Motor Show in October 1926.[4][2] Engine displacement and wheelbase were unchanged but now, in addition to the sportily styled "torpedo" body, the car was available with what was listed as a 2-door "conduite intérieure" body.[2] ("Conduite intérieure" was a slightly old-fashioned and upmarket designation, inherited from the horse-drawn carriage business, for what in this context was a small conventionally boxy saloon/sedan.[2])

Further reading edit

  • Harald Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie. United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8. (German)
  • George Nick Georgano (Chefredakteur): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 3: P–Z. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1. (English)
  • George Nick Georgano: Autos. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, Paris 1975. (French)

Sources and notes edit

  1. ^ a b Georgano, Nick (1968). The Complete Encyclopaedia of Motorcars 1885-1968. London: George Rainbird Ltd for Ebury Press Limited. p. 373.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1927 (Salon [Paris, Oct] 1926). Nr. 78s. Paris: Histoire & collections: 73. 2006. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1925 (Salon [Paris, Oct] 1924). Nr. 72s. Paris: Histoire & collections: 73. 2005. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ There was no "Salon de l'Automobile" in 1925 due to the venue having been allocated to an Exhibition of Decorative Arts.