- The history of the car, the history of the automotive technique, informs us on the different cultures of our professions.
France had Joseph Cugnot, the precursor, André Citroën, the man of brilliant innovations, but also Armand Peugeot, the pragmatic...
Great Britain knew James Watt, the precursor, Alec Issigonis, the man of the Mini, Colin Chapman, the father of Lotus...
It is the country of the S.U. carburetors., of the Lucas injection, of the Hydragas suspension, the country where people drive on the left side of the road.
If France is a country of constructors (Peugeot, Renault, Citroën), England was a country of group (Nuffield, BMC, BLMC, British Leyland, Rover Group) before losing a big part of its automotive identity, but it's still the country of the "kit-cars", these cars that you build yourself.
André Citroën structured the automotive repair in France, creating concessions, methods of repair, books of time. The technical communication is reserved, there, secret.
England is the country of the "amateurs" (in the french meaning : "someone who like") and the " Do It Yourself " is still dominant there.
The comparison of professional magazines back up this idea : the Revue Technique Automobile (Automotive Technical), in France, is written for mechanics, against the Haynes magazine, more explanatory, more educational.
The collector of cars also knows this difference.
In France, the car must be like it was at its origin, even though it must stay immobile, or it must travel on a trailer.
The English collector drives his car on roads of the whole Europe, night and day, in the sun or under rain, and he approves the necessary modifications.
Finally, Internet confirm this idea. Sources of information are very large, in English often, very often, and researches punctuated by "DIY" give some interesting results.
The exchange of information is remarkably quick, the exchange between the different knowledges, of the different experiences.
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