Citroën History Disdain at Stellantis
Henri-Jacques Citroën, grandson of André Citroën, posted on Facebook yesterday about his last visit to the Citroën Conservatory which was dependent on Stellantis and which permanently closed its doors in July 2024.
Henri-Jacques writes that it was a remarkable museum, a reflection of Citroën’s great creativity, where all the main models designed since 1919 could be admired… (The 2nd photo shows Henri-Jacques standing in Andre Citroën’s original office that was preserved at the Conservatory.)
He went on to further say that this sad and inadmissible closure is explained in a post he put on LinkedIn in July 2024. It is a frank account of the closure and Stellantis’ disregard of Citroën’s historical significance.
We couldn’t agree more with his sentiments and we are honoured to publish this English translation of his LinkedIn post here:
Respect the glorious past.
Disturbing news: THE CONSERVATOIRE CITROËN, the world’s largest hashtag#Citroën vintage car collection, is closing permanently on June 30th.
This impressive collection of over 300 vintage vehicles, presidential cars, and concept cars from another era, was beautifully presented in a well-appointed HANGAR on the former site of the AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS factory (Seine-Saint-Denis), sold by the PSA Group in 2017.
The lease for the shed has just expired, and NO ARRANGEMENT HAS BEEN AGREED ON to move and “store” these beautiful cars, whose preservation requires great care! Their future storage location remains a MYSTERY.
For the past ten years, formal CITROËN MUSEUM PROJECTS have been presented to PSA and then STELLANTIS management by L’AVENTURE PEUGEOT-CITROËN-DS (an association affiliated with Stellantis). ALL REFUSED, without hesitation!
All this against a backdrop of CONSIDERABLE PROFITS proudly announced over the past two years by Stellantis…
If there were a need to finance the construction of a museum, there is no shortage of PREFERENTIAL FUNDING from the European Union, the French government, the Region, the Department, and the relevant city.
Stellantis announces that this collection will be visible again in 4 or 5 years in a museum to be built somewhere…
Remember that the presence of Citroën, DS, and Peugeot STANDS at the famous SALON RETROMOBILE 2024 (Paris) was also rejected by Stellantis, for the first time in decades!
SO THE PAST NO LONGER EXISTS? No longer enjoy an INSPIRING HERITAGE?
To save a few relatively meager savings, should we DEPRIVE THE POPULATION OF THE PLEASURE of seeing all these GEMS that are these vintagecars, which have often left their mark on their era and the lives of families?
Let’s not forget: “THE FURTHER YOU CAN LOOK INTO THE PAST, THE FURTHER YOU WILL SEE INTO THE FUTURE” (Churchill)
Hi George, thx for the reminder!
About 2 years ago, I wrote a similar article on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/citro%2525C3%2525ABn-history-after-shutdown-conservatoire-quo-vadis-stephan-joest-ku6ze/
Enjoy the read!
Take care, keep up the passion ///Stephan.
One of the more negative trends of these times is not only a disdain for the past, its achievements and icons – such as the pinnacles of design reached by Citroën automobiles – but seemingly deliberate attempts to denigrate and erase them, usually because of the perceived shortcomings of a previous era and the actions of its achievers. As far as I know, devaluing either Citroën’s founder or its subsequent products could never be justified on any grounds. Each generation predictably and foolishly ignores the accomplishments and lessons of its predecessors, but this insult by the current board and management of Stelantis goes further, it is almost vandalism. Failing to appreciate the contribution of Citroën to the automotive art and its many innovations that contributed to the entire industry’s engineering improvements and subsequent successes smacks of hubris, and history tells us where that leads. Let’s hope the “4 or 5 years delay” is not just a tactic to let the criticism pass quietly but is a promise to be fulfilled. Time will tell.
To be quite frank Geoff, I doubt Stellantis will last another 4-5 years. By then, not just Citroën but ALL the companies in that group will be either gone or sold off for whatever good will remains.