The Car, Luxury


The Universal Exhibition of 1900, held in Paris, is the opportunity to show the progress in science and technology. Nevertheless, the exhibition devotes a little space to "triumph" car, the latter being always exposed with bodybuilders in cabs hippomobiles. But this situation does not last.

The car is a luxury item that is exposed. Major auto shows are born in Tuileries park in 1898. Only cars that travel the distance Paris-Versailles-Paris accepted in salon. The year 1902 is the first auto show in full, at the time called "International Exhibition automobile." 300 exhibitors are represented in the show. A "society of encouragement," now known as "Automobile Club de France", was founded in 1895 by Albert de Dion, Pierre and Etienne Meyan Zuylen.

The car is far from meeting an immediate success. Félix Faure and said at the show that the models set "are ugly and smelly". Very soon, however, we see mass for these devices. The crowd continues to grow each year automotive dream. It is also a means of assessing the financial situation of each reflects a social rank. Have a large powerful car can be distinguished from masses populaires. Apart from the Ford Model T, produced for the greatest number, European cars are still in 1920 or luxury vehicles is tourism. As explained by historian Marc Boyer, "automobile serves only the rich walk around their castellanies".