Majorette Simca 1308 and Matchbox Matra Rancho



We all know our vehicles from our own country, from America to Europe to Japan, yet there are a few countries that know their vehicles even if they are not well-known worldwide.  One of these auto manufacturers is from France, home to the Renault and Citroen, and also the Simca line that was at one point Chrysler's entry into europe.  The collaboration of Chrysler and Simca produced the 1308 sedan/hatchback, while parts from the previous-generation 1300 contributed to this quasi-pickup SUV hybrid called the Matra Rancho.









Majorette Simca 1308

Introduced in 1975 the 1308 was the beginning of front-wheel drive cars in a wedge-like shape adorned by a five-door hatchback profile.  The car was also sold as Chrysler products and even as a Peugeot model as well.  The front has a forward angular look with flush lamps, while the back has a hatchback design that allows for plenty of cargo space while still retaining seating for five.  The 1308 was very popular in France and inspired Citroen to create the BX line of cars, but outside of France the car was not as popular to rivals such as the VW Passat and Opel Vectra.  The car and the entire Simca line disintegrated in 1985 even though some of the models lived on as Russian-built versions.  The powertrain is a 1.5L OHV I-4 that produced an estimated 80 horsepower through a four-speed manual transmission.









Majorette made lots of versions of the Simca 1308, along with the classier 1300 model.  My tester came in blue with the amber headlight covers that are very 1980's Euro-look.  The front has the wedge-shape look with a center grille between the flush headlights and as part of the grille is the front license plate that slots below the metal bumper.  The sides show a vastly large car with rather large front and rear doors, while the roof at the rear tapers off in a hatchback design.  The rear has rectangular taillights that I detailed, a trailer hitch for towing (and it has done much of that in the past), and Simca 1308 badges on the hatch that joins the Chrysler badge up front on the hood.  The interior has seating for four with a black dashboard design, floor shifter, and at the rear plenty of cargo in the cargo area ranging from suitcases to golf clubs and all of them fit back here with plenty of room; this is one of the most highly-contented cargo area details in 1:64 scale that i've seen so far, and the kicker here is that there's still room left to add more cargo on top and still keep the hatch close!










Matchbox Matra Rancho

When you have a need to get into the rugged truck business and you don't have a truck platform, you come up with creative ways.  Look at Subaru and AMC Eagle division that took their typical vehicles, lifted them, and added an all-wheel drive system.  Common place in other countries is taking car platforms and making the rear half into a pickup truck.  For the Rancho it required a car platform with an entirely new body and some attention-grabbing features despite lacking an essential component.  Introduced in 1977 it capitalized on the Range Rover success by offering the off-road look at an affordable price.  Based on the Simca 1100 mini pickup platform it uses a taller greenhouse at the rear that features removable side windows for a safari look.  The body is constructed of fiberglass and polyester for a lighter and more rugged look, while the interior has enough room in the rear for three rows of seats.  This design would inspire the upcoming Renault Escape van.  Despite the rugged looks it lacks four-wheel drive, settling for the front-wheel drive combination of the 1.4L OHV I-4 that produces 80 horsepower and a 5-speed manual transmission.  The style of the Rancho at the rear also inspired the look of the Land Rover Discovery as well.










There were a few good replica's of the Rancho available in the 1980's, and one of them was Matchbox.  However, most of the Matchbox versions were littered with graphics so finding a clean one like this yellow version is hard to come by.  The front has the 1100's round headlights, which are part of the window trim, inside the black front grille with two driving lights and MATRA letters across the hood.  On the sides the orange stripe runs along the black trim that wraps around the wheels and gives the Rancho a macho look, large side windows, and even a roof rack that would provide inspiration for the Nissan Xterra.  Those round things at the rear pillars are actual lights (or cargo lights in pickup speak) and my tester wears the earlier basic Matchbox wheels (later ones have the more rugged 8-spoke wheels).  The rear has an open center section with a tailgate that can open down, a trailer hitch for towing, detailed taillights, and RANCHO on the upper part of the roof.  The base underneath is metal and offers a working suspension even if it does not have much room to work with such large tires.  The interior has a five-passenger layout to allow plenty of room for the cargo area in the rear.  The dashboard is similar to the 1300 and has a very basic control layout with shifter on the floor.  Both the Rancho and the 1308 provide a look into a short-lived French manufactuere that tries to be ahead of the curve yet ends up losing it all in the end.




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