Mathis (cars)
Mathis was an automobile manufacturer that was located in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg. Alsace belonged until 1918 to the German Empire, then to France.
Prehistory
Emil Mathis (also Émile ) owned since 1898 the company Auto -Mathis -Palace, where he sold cars waited and repaired. Since 1901, he had the general agency of the automobile manufacturer De Dietrich in Strasbourg.
Thus came into being a friendly contact to Ettore Bugatti, the beginning of February 1904 as a designer for De Dietrich worked from 1902 in the factory Niederbronn. After De Dietrich wanted to be confined to his Lorraine automobile production, the two decided to make himself a motor vehicle. On 1 April 1904, the agreement was signed. The vehicles were marketed as Hermes simplex. During the next two years, the model was produced in a very limited number of pieces. From 1906 on, the relationship between Emil Mathis and Ettore Bugatti deteriorated. The two young men ended their cooperation.
Company History
1910 founded Emil Mathis Mathis EEC and again made vehicles that were now marketed as Mathis. Were built cars, vans and trucks. After the end of the First World War it was converted into a public limited company (SA ). In 1934 with Ford Société Anonyme Française (Ford SAF), a joint venture under the brand name Matford was closed, which existed until 1940.
Between 1949 and 1952 tractors were manufactured under license from Minneapolis - Moline under the brand name Mathis Moline. 1950 ended automobile production. 1954 Emil Mathis sold the factory to Citroën.
Rolling stock
The first car that ranged from the small four-cylinder model with about 900 cc up to the large range eight-cylinder model. A special feature was the also offered Weymann bodies; this used instead of a wooden scaffold planking of a covering made of oilcloth, horsehair and a leatherette surface. This construction provided enormous weight advantages.
By 1914 took Mathis motor vehicles participated in numerous races. It was mainly to production vehicles that were equipped with a lighter body. They proved their reliability and drove among other things, the big prize of the ACF in Dieppe in 1912 and the Grand Prix de France at Le Mans in 1913 with.