Тальбот Тагора: Француздық сәтсіздік моделінің тарихы

Model of car

The Talbot Tagora is an executive car developed by Chrysler Europe and produced by Peugeot Société Anonyme (PSA). The Tagora was marketed under the Talbot marque after PSA took over Chrysler's European operations in 1979. PSA presented the first production vehicle in 1980 and launched it commercially in 1981. The Tagora fell short of sales expectations, described as a "showroom flop" just a year after its launch, and PSA cancelled the model two years later. Fewer than 20,000 Tagora models were built, all of them at the former Simca factory in Poissy, near Paris, France.

Chrysler Europe began development of the Tagora in 1976, under the code name C9, with the goal of replacing the unsuccessful Chrysler 180 series. Following the same development pattern as with the Horizon and Alpine models, the responsibility for the Tagora's technical development remained in France, while the styling was devised at Chrysler's design centre in the United Kingdom. An early proposal for the name of the car was "Simca 2000".

The original C9 prototype was a modern styled saloon with a low beltline and large interior dimensions made possible by the long wheelbase. The British design team initially proposed some stylistic features inspired by the Citroën SM, including a front glass panel between the headlights to accommodate the number plate, round front wheelarches and rear spats. However, Chrysler management in the United States deemed these features too extravagant, so the design of the C9 became more conventional: front and rear wheelarches were squared off and the spats lost, and the license plate was placed on the front bumper as on most cars. To better balance the tall silhouette, the beltline was raised. Over the course of development, the C9 also lost its vertical taillights in favour of more "fashionable" horizontal ones.

The main competitors in the executive vehicle market offered engines bigger than the biggest 2.0 litre inline four engine used by Chrysler Europe, and a six cylinder engine was generally expected. Consequently, the company had to seek a new engine for the Tagora. One candidate was a straight six manufactured by Mitsubishi, but it proved unsuitable for a car of this class. The other proposal was the Douvrin V6 engine (the "PRV"), a joint development of PSA, Renault and Volvo. Since the Tagora would be in direct competition with PSA models that used the PRV, it seemed unlikely that Chrysler would be able to procure that engine. While the C9 project was well advanced, PSA already had a crowded lineup in the large vehicle segment, including the renowned Citroën CX, the slow selling Peugeot 604 and the newly launched Peugeot 505. But with so much having already been invested in the project, PSA decided to press ahead and complete the development of C9, albeit with modifications to allow the use of shared parts with other PSA models. The Simca double wishbone front suspension gave way to MacPherson struts adopted from the Peugeot 505 and 604, and the rear axle was replaced with that of the 505, much narrower than the one originally planned, as it was designed with respect to the 505 body width. The C9 front end was extended to accommodate the optional PRV engine: now that the model belonged to PSA, using the PRV presented no problems.

Following the renaming of Chrysler Europe's models to the Talbot marque, the C9 was christened the Talbot Tagora, and the first batch of cars rolled out of the former Simca plant in Poissy in 1980. The same year, PSA presented the Tagora at the Salon de l'Automobile in Paris. Following a hands on demonstration of the model to the press in Morocco in March 1981, the car went on sale in France in April and in the United Kingdom in May. The British billboard advertising campaign boasted "The new Talbot Tagora. Luxury and performance redefined." During the first fifteen months of the car's existence, in 1980/81, a mere 16,169 Tagoras were produced which was only one quarter of Chrysler's initial projections. Sales proved insufficient even for this production level, and volumes plummeted by more than 80 percent in 1982. In December 2010, Practical Classics reported that 99.09 percent of all UK registered Tagoras were no longer on the roads. The last UK registered Tagora on the road, has been declared on a SORN (statutory off road notice) since 2016. The last UK registered Tagora has been put back on the road as of September 2022

The Tagora Présidence was a concept car designed by stylist Sunny Atri at the Talbot design studio in Whitley, Coventry. The concept was created to generate interest in employing high end Tagoras as chauffeur driven limousines by users such as business executives and government officials. The donor model for the Présidence was the 2.6 SX, which had an interior appointed with Connolly Leather upholstery and brass highlights, plus a host of electronics including a telephone, dictaphone, text message receiver, and television with VCR. Originally valued at £25,000, the Présidence now resides at a car museum in Poissy.

The Tagora was not greeted with much acclaim by the British motoring press. Autocar reviewed the Tagora in its 2.2 litre GLS iteration, and summed it up as "excellent, if not a great advance". L. J. K. Setright of Car magazine asked who could want one given the crowded market into which it came. Concluding a group test in Car, the Tagora was described as a "problematic newcomer" considered the Tagora a "usefully effortless, uncomplicated, simple to drive and very comfortable car". The recurring theme of published tests was the Tagora's lack of clear advantages or of a competitive edge. In comparing the car to its likely competitors, Autocars verdict was that "the new Talbot is highly comparable with the others, and deserves to sell as any of them, although it does not come out with any startling advantages which you might expect of the latest appearance on the scene". Those cars against which the Tagora 2.2 GLS was compared were the Ford Granada 2.3 GL, Opel Rekord 2.0S, Renault 20TX, Rover 2300 and Volvo 244 GL. Of these cars, the Tagora was the second most expensive but did not have a superiority among the significant attributes of speed, acceleration, interior room or chassis design. Out of the comparison group the Tagora had the second highest top speed, was the third fastest to 60 mph though it had the best overall mpg (by 0.7 mpg). In terms of interior room, it had the fourth best legroom (front/rear). Motor Sport also noted the car's modest competence in comparison with the Rover 2300 (launched 1976), saying that the Tagora had more leisurely acceleration. The view was that the Tagora had the advantage of refinement, good manners and, in V6 form, good performance. Rust was identified as the single biggest problem for the surviving cars, usually around the rear suspension mountings. Buckley suggested that the car might attain collectible status by 2003.

In terms of engineering, the Tagora had no major flaws (except perhaps for the poor cabin ventilation). The 1979 energy crisis, however, dealt a blow to the European automotive market: the large car segment contracted significantly, making Chrysler's initial sales projections unrealistic. The Tagora was ultimately launched under the Talbot brand, which was not established in the marketplace and had a confused pedigree, putting the car at an immediate disadvantage in an executive car market dominated by well established offerings such as the Ford Granada. In the view of Martin Buckley Talbot did not advertise the car effectively so "people did not know about the car".

As the British magazine What Car? opined, the Tagora "has such a complete blandness of style as to disqualify it instantly in a market where character and status count for so much." The design of the Tagora was focused on practicality, providing exceptional cabin space at the expense of style. The steep windscreen formed a quite strange angle with the relatively short, wedge shaped bonnet. The car was wider and taller than most of its competitors, and buyers were unaccustomed to such proportions. The PSA sourced axles had very narrow tracks relative to the width of the body, which provided an awkward look, especially at the rear. Nor did the plain, plastic dashboard stir enthusiasm among reviewers and prospective customers.