MATFORD
Matford was a car and truck manufacturer in France from 1934 to 1939.
In the 1930's, the Ford Motor Company was quickly expanding its European production. Before 1934,a front wheel drive version of Ford Model Y had been produced with an 8 hp engine under the marque Tracford. In 1934, Mathis had financial problems while Ford wanted to increase production and the Mathis plant in Strasbourg seemed to be more suitable than the one in Courbevoie where Tracford had been produced. A joint venture of Ford and Mathis was created under the name of S.A. Française Matford which copied the style of contemporary British Ford models and soon became one of the biggest competitors of Mathis. The plan had been to produce the Matford models alongside those from Mathis but in reality few of the latter were actually made.
Mathis production stopped in 1935 and a range of V-8 engined Matfords was put on the market which were very similar to the American Ford Model 48s with their V-8 3622cc engines. A unique French design appeared in 1936 with the Alsace with a choice of a 2.2 or 3.6 litre V-8 engine. The 1937 models featured a V-shaped windscreen and a cabriolet was also launched joined in 1938 by an estate car. Matford ceased car production in 1939 with the build up of truck orders for the French army. Largely because of its proximity to the German border the Stasbourg factory was closed and a new one opened at Poissy near Paris in 1939 and the links with Mathis were severed.
The firm was reorganised in 1939 under the name Ford Société Anonyme Française and this company used the Ford trademark instead of Matford.
Matford cars achieved success at the Coupe de Dames (1936) and at Monte Carlo
(1938).
If you have a Photo of a Matford and would like to see it displayed
here.
Please send it to us and help contribute to Automotive History Online.
Contact Us Home France Links Site Updates
Copyright © 2005 - 2007 Randall Glover, All rights reserved.
Much of the material on this website is in the public domain and has no copyright attached to it. Original articles & Photo's appearing herein are subject to copyright. Please don't copy stuff from this site without asking; it may belong to someone! Material on this website is presented solely for historical research and educational purposes only. Any trademarks appearing on this site are the sole property of the registered owners. No endorsement by the trademark owners is to be construed, nor was any sought. The products, brand names, characters, related slogans and indicia are or may be claimed as trademarks of their respective owners. The use of such material falls under the Fair Use provisions of intellectual property laws.