Why Citroën Went Bankrupt Twice For The Same Reason

Citroën built some of the most innovative cars in history, and that same innovation bankrupted the company twice. In 1919, André Citroën launched Europe's first mass produced car, the Type A, then turned the Eiffel Tower into the world's largest billboard to sell it. He bet everything on the front wheel drive Traction Avant in 1934, and the gamble bankrupted Citroën before he ever saw it succeed. Forty years later, after the legendary DS and its hydropneumatic suspension, Citroën chased even bigger swings: the Maserati powered SM, the experimental Wankel engine, and a fleet of exotic models that drained the company dry right as the 1973 oil crisis hit. By 1974, bankrupt again, Citroën was forced into a merger with Peugeot.