Citroën
Citroën was a French automobile manufacturer founded in 1919 in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine. It pioneered four world-first production car technologies: front-wheel drive with unibody construction (1934), hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension (1954), modern disc brakes (1955), and swiveling headlights (1967). It also launched the 2CV in 1948, pioneering soft interconnected suspension. Citroën gained international reputation mass-producing armaments in WWI. It became the fourth-largest carmaker in the world in the 1930s, peaking in 1932 with the Traction Avant. Cost struggles aggravated by the Great Depression led to bankruptcy in 1934 and takeover by Michelin. Its double-chevron logo derived from André Citroën’s application of double helical gears, which he acquired after seeing them used by a Polish carpenter around 1900.