Traction Avant is French for front-wheel drive. It is synonymous, in automotive circles, with Citroën, the first manufacturer to make the concept a commercial success. It derives from Citroëns first such model, introduced in 1934, which became known as the prototypical French car: a low-slung sedan, almost invariably black.Because of his adaptation of mass-production manufacturing techniques and for building inexpensive automobiles, Andre Citroën is often called the Henry Ford of France. He became involved with the automotive industry when his gear manufacturing company began building engines for supplier Sizaire et Naudin in 1905. He visited the United States in 1912 and toured Fords Highland Park, Michigan, plant. He then resolved that he would build an inexpensive car for Frenchmen. The Type A Citroën, introduced in December 1918, sold for 7,250 francs (then about $1,225), undercutting everything else on the French market. A smaller, less expensive C3 in 1921 pretty well ended the French affair with cyclecars. In 1924 Citroën again visited America, touring the new Ford Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan. He returned to France with a license from the Budd Co. to build all-steel car bodies. Andre Citroën was a keen promoter and a competitive businessman. He set out to outgun archrival Louis Renault with a wholly new car. Citroën pulled out all the stops: Unit-body construction, all-independent suspension, front-wheel drive and an automatic transmission were planned. Citroën engaged Andre Lefebvre of Voisin as chief engineer; designer Flaminio Bertoni styled the body, which was done in collaboration with Budd. In little more than a years time Citroën launched its all-steel-bodied cars on the road, though the automatic proved to be troublesome and was replaced by a three-speed manual. The Type 7 (7CV, for its horsepower rating under the French system) debuted on March 3, 1934. Citroën applied the name Traction Avant to the car to distinguish it from the 7CV rear-drive model that was still in production. Very soon, people were calling it simply Traction. Through the mid-1930s the Traction came in three sizes, Legere, Normale and Familiale, with 1303-cc (7CV) to 1911-cc (11CV) ohv four-cylinder engines. The Familiale had seats for nine, and a commercial version came with a two-piece rear hatch to serve the needs of tradesmen. In 1938 a 2867-cc six (15CV) was added, dubbed Reine de la Route (Queen of the Road). Montreal native Richard Boudrias has owned this 1939 11 Legere cabriolet for about 10 years. Originally imported in the 1960s by a returning American serviceman, it was restored by Boudrias over the course of four years. Its off-white color, while not an exact Citroën hue, is not novel for prewar Tractions, which were available in red, green, blue, beige and gray as well as the archetypal black. Driving a Traction Citroën is not as odd to the novice as it would have seemed before front-wheel drive conquered the world. What is novel is the method of shifting gears: A long rod that protrudes from the dashboard (the French call it cuillere a moutardethe mustard spoon) traces a reverse H pattern, with first up and away, second down and near, etc. Its action is precise, owing to adjustable-rod actuation of the front-mounted gearbox. The rack-and-pinion steering is fast, the handling most agile and the engine is smooth and silent. Its hard to believe this car is more than 60 years old.In the immediate postwar period, French car manufacturers were assigned segments of the market by the government. Citroën drew the middle- and upper-class sedan markets, and cabriolets and coupes were dropped. The line consisted only of two sizes of the 11CV four and the 15CV six, all in black. These were joined in 1948 by the economic 2CV, whose gestation had been interrupted by war. Traction production contin-ued with minor changes, though the appearance of a six-cylinder in 1954 with hydraulic rear suspension hinted at future models. The radical and highly hydraulic DS was shown to the public at the 1955 Paris Motor Show. Still, the Traction soldiered on, with the last one, an 11CV Familiale, sold on July 25, 1957. But Andre Citroën did not see his Traction grow up. Having lost his company in bankruptcy to Michelin, its principal creditor, he died of cancer in 1935.