Seattle Citroën
Challenger Motors
UPDATED 4/2024
THE EARLY YEARS
Any stories of Citroën dealerships in the USA really must start with Challenger Motors in Los Angeles. Challenger began selling Traction Avant Citroëns in early 1938, making them one of the first companies to import Citroëns into the USA. Challenger was not the first importer, but was the first successful importer of Citroëns.
The very first company we can find that tried to import Citroëns into the USA was called, Mutual Auto Credit of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They ran advertisements in local papers in the fall of 1936 for Traction Avant sales. But it was an unsuccessful venture. By 1937 their ads disappeared and the building went on to be a Studebaker dealership.
Los Angeles Times, December 1938
Another importer of Citroëns in the 1930’s was a place called, Northwest Light Car, located in Portland, Oregon. Their first Traction Avants went on sale about a year after Challenger, in late 1939. Northwest Light Car managed to sell Tractions for a few years in Oregon, making them something other than a complete failure. Challenger however, went on to last with Citroën for 6 decades, making them the longest lasting Citroën dealer in North America...by a big margin.
According to articles published many years ago in various Citroën newsletters, a pair of financial promoters started Challenger Motors in 1938. These two men saw an opportunity to import Citroëns in order to grab part of the French import car market that was sweeping Southern California in the 1930’s. A February, 1939 newspaper article in the L.A. Times identified a man named Pearson Carmean as the president of Challenger Motors and Don U. Billings was listed as the general manager. Don U. Billings' name had been associated with many automotive ventures in the L.A.-area in the 1930’s, including operating a dealership for Willys-Knight, Graham, and Whippet cars.
Citroën was not a recognized manufacturer in the state of California and as such, Challenger had to take out a manufacturing license in order to get the cars registered. As a result, all of their pre-war cars had a “Challenger” serial number plate. The cars were referred to as Challengers or Challenger-Citroëns. Despite the fact that they legally should have been called Challengers, they were often simply referred to as Citroëns.
Los Angeles Times, February, 1939
Perhaps the most well-known “Challenger” Traction that still exists today is one that showed up on eBay in the year 2000. This car was a heavily modified Challenger cabriolet that turned up in the back lot of an automotive paint shop in the L.A. area. This car was ultimately purchased by Wiljan Cats in Holland and has now been fully restored. The following photo is a before/after composite photo from the Citroënvie website. Notice that when the car was restored, it underwent some changes to improve its appearance, including reshaping the nose to accommodate the correct grille.
We are aware that a handful of other Challenger Tractions still exist, but there does not appear to be any organized attempt to count or list the surviving cars. As a result, we will tackle this challenge! If you know of a surviving Challenger-Citroën or Challenger-Renault, please let us know and we will add it to the list that we have started at the end of this article. While we believe that Challenger Motors was formed in 1938, a few of the first cars that they imported were 1937 models.
Citroenvie website
TYPICAL CHALLENGER SERIAL NUMBER PLATE FROM A PRE-WAR TRACTION
Photo provided by Lincoln Sarmanian
THE CHALLENGER-RENAULT
In the late 1930’s, Challenger tried to import one other French car using the Challenger manufacturer’s license; a Renault Juvaquatre. The Juvaquatre was originally conceived in 1936 by Louis Renault as a small, affordable car which went into production in 1937. Production lingered on way too long with the last example rolling off the assembly line in 1960.
The plan to sell Challenger-Renaults was apparently short-lived. After all, how could a frumpy car like this Renault compete with the sleek and modern Citroën?
Notice from the advertisement (right) that Challenger-Renaults were being marketed in other local showrooms; Darrin Motors and Fred Fudge Motors. There will be more about these two dealers later.
How many did Challenger sell? Difficult to say, but we found a dealer in L.A. named Charles Niemann who was trying to sell twenty 1940 Challenger-Renaults in 1943. It appears that Challenger must have unloaded new, but unsold Renault-Challengers off on other dealer(s) after they had given up on them themselves. So we know that they imported at least twenty of them.
Los Angeles Times, September, 1939
A really quite nice body badge from a Challenger Renault Juvaquatre was found by an NWCOC member at a swap meet (right).
But not only did a badge turn up, but a Challenger-Renault car surfaced in California in 2002. Unfortunately, this car will never run and it is very likely that there are no other survivors.
BODY BADGE FROM A CHALLENGER-RENAULT, MOST LIKELY FROM 1939 OR 1940
Photo provided by Lincoln Sarmanian
Photo provided by Lincoln Sarmanian
SAD LOOKING CHALLENGER-RENAULT, MOST LIKELY A 1939 OR 1940, SITTING IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERT
THE FRED R. DEAN CONNECTION
In 1938, Challenger attempted to supply Traction Avants to another So-Cal dealer, Fred R. Dean, a Nash dealership in Long Beach. However, we suspect this didn’t really amount to much since any connection between Citroën, Challenger Motors, and Fred R. Dean seemed to start and stop with a single (barely legible) newspaper article in the Long Beach Telegraph Press newspaper in June of 1938. The article did note however that Fred R. Dean had several Challenger Citroëns on display in his showroom in mid-1938. Did they sell many? We don’t know.
Long Beach Press Telegraph, June 1938
THE DARRIN MOTORS CONNECTON
Several of Challenger’s advertisements from the late 1930’s indicate that Challenger-Citroëns and Challenger-Renaults were being displayed and/or marketed at other dealerships in the Los Angeles area, including one called Howard Darrin, sometimes referred to as Darrin Motors.
There was a Howard Darrin who was a famous automotive designer who had spent time in the 1920’s and 1930’s with the great coach builders in Paris. He ended up in the late 1930’s with a shop on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles where he built special-bodied cars for Hollywood elite such as Clarke Gable, Errol Flynn, and Greta Garbo. Is the Howard Darrin that Challenger was working with the same as the famous coach builder? It sure seems so! But the relationship was brief.
Los Angeles Times, February, 1939
THE FRED FUDGE MOTORS CONNECTION
Fred Fudge Motors was a popular Plymouth and DeSoto dealer of the 1930’s that operated out of several locations in the Los Angeles area, including 5701 Pacific Boulevard. The Fred Fudge name shows up in several Challenger advertisements of the late 1930’s as a seller of Challenger’s cars. Once such example is the Challenger-Renault advertisement a bit earlier in this article.
It seems that Challenger had set up agreements with several L.A.-area dealers (Fred R. Dean, Howard Darrin, and Fred Fudge) to help sell Citroëns and Renaults. The connection to these dealers however, was short and seems to have only lasted a year or perhaps two (1939 and 1940).
CHALLENGER AND STOCK CAR RACING
A man named Rajo Jack (real name Dewey Gatson, but also known as One-eye Jack or Jack DeSoto) was a popular black race car driver in California in the 1930’s.
In March of 1939, while driving a Ford, Rajo was defeated in a race at L.A.'s Southern Ascot raceway by a new car to the California racing scene; a Citroën Traction Avant. The Citroën was driven by a sometimes rival, sometimes partner, named Bud Rose. Rajo Jack was clearly impressed with the Citroën since he went on to use them (and win) in other races. For example, Rajo won the 250 mile stock car race in a Citroën that is discussed in the newspaper article (right). It turns out that Citroëns were very successful and popular in the California racing scene in the late 1930's and early 1940's.
We wondered if the Citroëns that were used by Rajo Jack, Bud Rose, and others had been supplied by Challenger Motors. Sure enough, with a little digging, we found that Challenger was indeed the company supplying the cars (see example, right). Also, we found a photo that shows a Challenger logo on the door of one of these cars.
There is a wonderful short movie clip of L.A.'s Ascot raceway with Challenger-Tractions HERE. The Traction in the clip was driven by Bud Rose who went on to win the race!
Oakland Tribune, May, 1940
Richard Bonfond
RAJO JACK
CHALLENGER LOGO ON DOOR
Screen Grab from YouTube “Car Racing In California (1939)”
TRACTION AVANT (RIGHT) AT ASCOT RACEWAY IN LOS ANGELES IN 1939
Incidentally, if you want to learn more about Rajo Jack and the racing scene on the west coast of the USA in the 1930's and 1940's, we recommend this book, The Brown Bullet, Rajo Jack's Drive to Integrate Auto Racing by Bill Poehler.
THE CHARLIE DIRSCHERL YEARS
Articles published in several old Citroën club newsletters provide details of a key event that triggered an important change for Challenger Motors. The story goes like this: at the beginning of WWII, the Germans sank a freighter that was carrying Challenger’s next shipment of cars. This forced the owners to see the writing on the wall that the war was going to result in a business-crippling interruption of the supply of cars and parts, so they decided to bail out and sell the business.
Enter Charles Dirscherl. Charles Karl Dirscherl was born January 25, 1907 in the small Bavarian town of Furth im Wald, Germany. Charlie, as most knew him, had a dream to come to America and signed up with a shipping company carrying iron in hopes of landing in New York. An article in an old Sacramento Valley Citroën Club (SVCC) newsletter relates a story that his freighter hit an iceberg and the crew had to abandon ship. He sailed for another two years before docking in Boston where he jumped ship and spent his first night in a bus station with $5.00 to his name.
As time moved on, Charlie slowly moved west. He found a job in a tool and die factory in Wisconsin where he became a master at creating almost anything made out of steel. Eventually he ended-up in California and opened a car repair garage in Los Angeles at the intersection of Melrose and Sweetzer Avenues. He aptly named his business, Melrose-Sweetzer Service. Charlie’s repair shop was also a Beacon gas station and Charlie ran the gas station part of the business as well. Charlie’s daughter remembers that Hollywood celebrities such as Bob Hope, Carmen Miranda, John Wayne, and Roy Rogers would come in to have their gas tanks filled by Charlie.
In these early days, Challenger Motors needed help servicing the cars they were importing and Charlie did some (or all?) of their maintenance and repair. Thus, the relationship between Charlie Dirscherl, Citroën, and Challenger Motors had begun.
Charlie took over Challenger in the early 1940’s, most likely in late 1942 or 1943 when the original owners decided to bail out due to the war’s interruption of cars and parts from France. There was a gradual transition of the business name from Melrose-Sweetzer Service to Challenger Motors as both names were used simultaneously in the 1940’s and even into the early 1950’s. Eventually however, the Melrose-Sweetzer Service name disappeared.
MELROSE-SWEETZER SERVICE AT 8275 MELROSE AVENUE, 1942
Photo provided by Toni Werk
MELROSE-SWEETZER SERVICE AT 8275 MELROSE AVENUE, 1942
Photo provided by Toni Werk
A FAMILY BUSINESS
Charlie’s daughter Toni remembers that her mom had a prominent role in the business:
“…My mom, Lindy (short for Sieglinde), supported dad by bookkeeping, (repairing) wiring in the cars, and repairing upholstery and headliners. She was a "Jackie of all trades" and could fix anything!...”
Charlie and Lindy Dirscherl at some point dropped the "r" at the end of their last name, as most people were tripped up at the pronunciation. As a result, Charles’s daughter, Toni grew up as Toni Dirschel.
Photo provided by Toni Werk
CHARLIE AND LINDY DIRSCHERL, EARLY 1940's
Photo provided by Toni Werk
CHARLIE DIRSCHERL, EARLY 1940's
SURVIVING THE WAR YEARS
The number of pre-war Citroëns that were imported by Challenger is unknown, but it has been estimated to be somewhere between 100 and 300. Based on vintage photos, newspaper advertisements, other media presence, and the number of surviving Challenger-Citroëns, it is not hard to believe this number.
During the war years, Charlie maintained the Challenger-Citroëns by whatever means possible since the flow of spare parts from France had been interrupted by the war. Being a machinist by trade, he knew how to get things done. Gearbox breakage was common and long-time Citroën guru Chuck Forward relates a story that Charlie had seven sets of ring and pinion gears manufactured locally with straight teeth. Charlie claimed he could hear the cars coming from a block away by the howl they made.
A reader named Charles Crittenden contacted us and advised that in addition to ring and pinions, Charlie Dirscherl also had other gearbox parts made during the war years. Examples are the transmission gears in the following photo which were modified by welding non-Citroën gears to the hubs of damaged Citroën gears.
Charles Crittenden notes, "...Back in 1987 I met Willy Witken the owner of General Engine & Parts Industries, Inc. I found out that Willy repared the second speed gears for Charlie during WW2..."
Amazingly, Charles still has a set of these modified gear pairs.
Photo provided by Toni Werk
CHARLIE DIRSCHERL SURVEYING ACCIDENT DAMAGE AT MELROSE-SWEETZER - PHOTO EARLY 1940’s
DUE TO THE LACK OF PARTS FROM FRANCE DURING THE WAR YEARS, CHARLIE DIRSCHERL HAD MANY PARTS MADE OR REPAIRED LOCALLY
Photo provided by Charles Crittenden
TRACTION CABRIOLETS
Legend has it that many of the pre-war cars that Challenger imported were Traction Avant cabriolets. Based on newspaper classified advertisements for the Los Angeles area in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, this seems to be true. In 2023 we obtained some original sales records from Challenger and sure enough, there were lots of cabriolets sold, many being 1938 models. How many? Considering that (at least) 3 survive today, period photos exist of many more, and some sales records that survive, it is safe to assume that Challenger sold quite a few - probably dozens. The surviving cabriolets that we know of are listed at the end of this article. We suspect that not many Traction coupes were sold.
Photo provided by Toni Werk, photo probably early 1940's
CHALLENGER CABRIOLET PARKED IN FRONT OF MELROSE-SWEETZER GAS STATION
THE POST-WAR YEARS
Challenger’s media presence was very quiet between 1944 and 1947. But in 1948 they resumed advertising used cars, parts, and service. Throughout the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, they appeared to have survived on used car sales and repairs of not only Challenger-Citroëns, but on other orphan makes such as Simca, Peugeot, Renault, Panhard, and Fiat. They also worked on domestic makes.
It wasn’t until 1952 that they started advertising that they were selling new Citroën Traction Avants again. Initially it was not clear if these post-war Tractions were still being sold as Challenger-Citroëns or if somehow the problem with the manufacturer’s license had been resolved with the State of California, thus allowing them to be sold as Citroëns. But it seems to be the latter. In 2023, Charlie Dirscherl's daughter provided us with a treasure trove of old documents from Challenger Motors and among them was a letter from August 01, 1952. In this letter, Citroën told the state of California Motor Vehicle Department that Challenger was now a factory authorized dealer. This letter appears to mark a distinct change of business model for Challenger Motors, since they were no longer acting as a "manufacturer" and could therefore sell the cars as Citroëns instead of Challengers. This also presumably meant that the factory would now be better supporting spare parts, warranty issues, etc. This letter is provided below.
Provided by Toni Werk
1952 LETTER WHERE CITROEN DECLARES TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THAT CHALLENGER MOTORS IS A FACTORY AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR CITROEN CARS AND TRUCKS
And sure enough, after this date it seems that Charlie Dirscherl advertised his cars simply as as Citroëns, such as in the ad below.
Los Angeles Times, August, 1952
POST-WAR CHALLENGER ADVERTISEMENT FOR NEW TRACTION AVANTS
However, not all was well between Citroën and Charlie Dirscherl in the early 1950's. In 1952, Citroën appears to have reneged on an agreement with Challenger Motors about exclusive distributorship of Citroëns in Southern California. A Citroën employee named Lucien Paradis allegedly tore the exclusive distributorship away from Challenger and handed it to nearby Campbell Motors. You can read a bit more about this dispute in the Campbell Motors article, HERE. By 1955, Citroën came to the USA to run things themselves, so any distributorship dispute became moot at this time.
Richard Bonfond
TYPICAL BADGE THAT WOULD BE FOUND ON THE SIDES OF THE HOOD OF A CHALLENGER TRACTION AVANT
CITROEN COMES TO TOWN
It was not until 1955 that the Citroën factory decided to formally set up an operation on the west coast of the USA, under the name Citroën Cars Corporation. Citroën made Challenger Motors a formal dealership under the new American operations, even though Citroën’s own facility was being set-up at 8423 Wilshire Boulevard, less than 2 miles away. An interesting letter still survives where Citroën announced to Challenger Motors that Citroën themselves were now the importer and distributor of Citroën cars. The letter is dated February 10, 1955, a bit before the DS era. This letter is provided (click to enlarge).
Provided by Toni Werk
THE DS ERA
The year 1956 is very early insomuch as DS production is concerned and it was 1956 when Challenger started selling the DS. According to most sources, a small number of DS’s, about 62, were manufactured as model year 1955, but none of these made it to North America. In 1956, DS production increased to something like 9868 cars. And it appears that several of these 9868 cars made their way to Challenger Motors. We recently obtained some records from the early days at Challenger Motors and among these records are original sales invoices from 1956. These records show that at least nine 1956's were supplied to Challenger Motors. The earliest of these cars is serial number 422 which was invoiced to Challenger on May 15, 1956. This is a very early car indeed! Invoices for these nine cars are provided (click to open).
Provided by Toni Werk
In the early DS era, the Citroën presence was growing fast in the USA. In 1959, Citroën’s dealer list shows something like 19 authorized dealerships in California. By the time Citroën’s 1960 dealer directory was published, the number of California dealers had ballooned to 33, most located in Southern California. This undoubtedly provided plenty of competition for Challenger Motors; but they not only survived, they outlasted all of the others.
Los Angeles Times, March, 1959
1959 ADVERTISEMENT SHOWING THE BLOSSOMING NUMBER OF SO CAL DEALERSHIPS
Challenger went on to sell DS’s in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and early 1970’s. In the earlier days they sold other models (2CV, Ami6, Panhard, etc), though not as successfully. At the same time, Citroën’s own facility was doing the same thing 2 miles away on Wilshire Boulevard.
In 1963, Charlie decided to move the business to what would be its final location: 6065 Melrose Avenue. Challenger remained in this location for over 30 years.
THE SM ERA
Challenger Motors did not offer the SM model at all, as SM sales were left to nearby Irv White Buick, where Jerry Hathaway got his start. We understand that the Citroën factory had very specific ideas about who would sell the SM, causing consternation among some of their existing (and long suffering) dealership network. Charlie went on to disparage the SM model, mainly due to its temperamental engine.
The following photo shows Charlie Dirscherl’s daughter, Toni, standing in front of an SM that was on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Notice that the SM is a European model, suggesting that the US model was not yet available for the auto show (we understand that the show was held in November of 1970). A second photo recently emerged of this display car that has better color.
Photo provided by Toni Werk
SM ON DISPLAY AT THE 1971 LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW
Photo provided by John Sage -- FinchHaven Digital Photography
SM ON DISPLAY AT THE 1971 LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW
THE JACQUES LAUDE ERA
A Frenchman named Jacques Laude bought Challenger Motors from Charlie and Lindy Dirscherl in about 1981, thus allowing Charlie the ability to semi-retire. But who was Jacques Laude? Site contributor Greg Long interviewed Jacques Laude in early 2024, so we can fill in a few gaps we had in prior releases of this story.
Jacques Laude was a Citroën employee in France at the time that the SM was being developed and was a test driver of the SM prototypes. Below are some notes from Greg's interview:
"...(Jacques Laude drove) those 2 door DS's with the Maserati engines (SM mules) during the SM development phase. Driving them was his full time job starting in 1968! He put 650,000 miles on Citroëns as a test driver. Jacques indicated there were four of the mules and I asked him whether he drove them on the secret test track (La Ferte Vidame) or out in the public... he said public roads. I asked him whether people asked him about the cars and why it wasn't secret? He said they were pretty primitive looking with poor fit-and-finish so people just thought he had probably made it himself! He never opened the hoods in public..."
"...Jacques mentioned that one of the SM mules he was driving caught fire and burned to the ground..."
The Citroënet website has some photos of these prototype mules HERE.
Citroën Cars Corporation in the USA needed help with the launch of the SM in the USA and hired Jacques Laude for this purpose. So in the fall of 1971, Jacques moved to California and began working at Citroën's facility in Los Angeles. Greg's notes go on to say:
"...When the SM was coming to America they needed someone to teach the technicans about them... so (after moving to the USA), he traveled all over the States and Canada training folks on the SM. He said he initially came over in September, 1971 when there was only one SM in the country...."
JACQUES LAUDE IN 2024
Jacques Laude worked at Citroën Los Angeles for a few years but by about 1978, Laude tried to strike out on his own with a Maserati repair business in L.A., named, Performance Auto Imports. Jacques heavily advertised his business for a brief period of time in 1978, when suddenly in 1979, Jacques Laude’s name was associated with another L.A.-area Citroën dealership; Don Runnalls Citroën Sales and Service. Greg's interview with Jacques indicated that he was never able to make Performance Auto work, in part due to problems leasing space to operate from.
In the mean time, Charlie Dirscherl’s reign at Challenger Motors lasted until 1981 when Jacques Laude entered the picture and became the new owner of Challenger Motors, thus allowing Charlie Dirscherl, now in his mid-70’s, the ability to semi-retire.
Jacques Laude brought in his prior Maserati experience and worked on SM’s and Maseratis at Challenger Motors (Charlie Dirscherl didn't have much interest in SM's). Charlie’s daughter Toni recalls that both her dad and mom remained at Challenger after the business was sold, helping Jacques Laude well into the 1990’s.
Jacques Laude indicated that Lindy Dirscherl quietly passed away while resting in the Challenger Motors office in 1991 and Charlie himself passed away in early 2000.
Los Angeles Times, December 1979
MASERATI TRAINING CERTIFICATE FOR JACQUES LAUDE
Photo provided by Bibliopticus Alanskii
Los Angeles Times, November 1981
1980’s CHALLENGER ADVERTISEMENT IN THE CALIFORNIA CITROEN CAR CLUB NEWSLETTER
Jacques Laude ran Challenger Motors repairing the aging Citroëns until it closed for good in 1997, 25 years after the last new Citroën DS had been sold and 60 years after Challenger Motors was first formed. Two photos taken on Challenger’s last day of operation are provided below.
Photo provided by Bibliopticus Alanskii
Photo provided by Bibliopticus Alanskii
CHALLENGER MOTORS’ LAST DAY OF OPERATION, 1997
After Challenger Motors, a man named Tom Pena used the building as an automotive brake shop until 2015 when the building was sold by the Dirscherl heirs. Currently, the building is a pet supply store.
CHALLENGER MOTORS' LOCATIONS
Challenger Motors was associated with several locations in L.A. in the early days, but settled in at 8275 Melrose Avenue for 20 years, and then at 6065 Melrose Avenue for 34 years:
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1355 S. Flower Street (Late 1930’s)
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1254 S. Figueroa (Late 1930’s)
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1160 S. Figueroa (Early 1940’s)
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8275 (8269-8275) Melrose Avenue (1943 to 1963, the Dirscherl years)
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6065 Melrose Avenue (1963 to the 1997, the Dirscherl and Laude years)
Only the last building remains.
Google Maps, 2021
THEN AND NOW
Photo provided by Toni Werk
Google Street View, 2021
8275 MELROSE AVENUE, 1942 AND 2021
Photo provided by Bibliopticus Alanskii
Google Street View, 2021
6065 MELROSE AVENUE, 1997 AND 2021
SOURCES AND CREDITS
Northwest Citroën Owners Club (NWCOC) issue #80 contains a history of Challenger Motors that was originally written by long-time Citroën guru Chuck Forward who personally knew many of the players involved with Challenger. We have extracted portions of the NWCOC story for this article. We have also drawn from past articles that were published by the Sacramento Valley Citroën Club (SVCC) and from articles in the Hollywood-based Citroën Car Club (CCC). Richard Bonfond helped and he is always a source of amazing Citroën knowledge. Other content came from scouring archives of old newspapers and other media which is now available and searchable in digital form.
The following people helped with the preparation of this article (alphabetically): Richard Bonfond, Chris Dubuque, Chuck Forward, Allan Meyer, and Lincoln Sarmanian.
We would like to express a special thank you to Charlie Dirscherl’s daughter, Toni Werk, who provided invaluable stories and photos for this article.
Photo provided by Toni Werk
ROSTER OF SURVIVING CHALLENGER CARS
Never before has a list of surviving Challenger-Citroëns or Challenger-Renaults been made. So we are starting one here. PLEASE HELP US COMPLETE THIS LIST.
1
YEAR: 1938
SERIAL NUMBER: 406914
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Wiljan Cats
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Holland
NOTES: Found in back lot of a body shop in LA. It was advertised on eBay in 2000. Eventually sold to Wiljan and restored in Holland.
Photos from Citroenvie website
2
YEAR: 1937
SERIAL NUMBER: 200877
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Charles Crittenden
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Palm Springs, CA
NOTES: This was formerly part of Don Runnalls' collection of cars that were stored in Runnalls' desert compound in California. Charles Crittenden, who bought it after Runnalls died, indicates that based on the serial number, it appears that this car is a 7CV, not an 11CV. We think he is right and that it is a 1937 model 7C.
Photo provided by Mike Andrews
Photo provided by Charles Crittenden
3
YEAR: 1938
SERIAL NUMBER: 382879
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Unknown
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Believed to now be in Paris
NOTES: Possible "Girard" version. This car was originally sold by Challenger, most likely in 1938. It then made its way back to Challenger and was re-sold as a used car on October 8, 1947 for $901.25. We have a copy of the 1947 invoice below (click to enlarge). Later on, it was sold to Erik DeWidt by a collector in Canada. The car is now believed to be in Paris.
Photos provided by Erik DeWidt
4
YEAR: 1937 (Renault)
SERIAL NUMBER: Unknown
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Pat McMahon
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Riverside, CA
NOTES: Found in Coachella Valley, California by Lincoln Sarmanian in 2002. Same car appears to have been offered on eBay in 2015. Its location in 2015 was listed as Riverside, CA.
Photo provided by Lincoln Sarmanian
5
YEAR: 1938
SERIAL NUMBER: 417575
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Lincoln Sarmanian
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Vashon Island, WA
NOTES:The original owner was Jack O’Rans’ Uncle Timmy (O’Ran?) who was in the US Navy and had seen Traction Avants when he was in France. When he was stationed in San Diego he became aware of Challenger Motors and went up to get one. He modified it for circuit racing, which was popular at that time. It has a straight pipe exhaust cutout, lots of added instrumentation, but essentially stock other than that.
Photos provided by Chris Dubuque
6
YEAR: 1937
SERIAL NUMBER: 369084
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Larry Lewis
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Toronto, ON
NOTES: The car was displayed in the Mullin Museum's Citroën exhibit in 2017. The museum obtained it from a woman named Amy Schugar – a musician who lives in Arizona. She had found it for sale in the Southern California. In 2021, the car appeared to be on the auction block by Mullin museum. In April 2023, it was advertised on eBay from a car dealer in Palm Beach, Florida. It was apparently sold to Larry Lewis in Toronto for $8750.
Photos provided by George Dyke
7
YEAR: 1939
SERIAL NUMBER: 433495
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Dave Burnham
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Delanson, NY
NOTES: Purchased from Red Dellinger's estate. Not running. No engine/transmission. Awaiting restoration.
Photo provided by Dave Burnham
8
YEAR: 1938
SERIAL NUMBER: 300879
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Bernard Lacroute
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Napa, CA
NOTES: Car was restored by Mark Rodriguez in 2013 and sold to the current owner.
Photo provided by Bernard Lacroute
9
YEAR: 1939
SERIAL NUMBER: 431584
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Ross Boundine
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
NOTES: Currently under an extensive restoration in 2021 in L.A. Previously owned by a man named George Trivoli who owned it since at least since 1964.
Photo provided by Ross Boundine
10
YEAR: 1940
SERIAL NUMBER: 168804
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Richard Voss
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Black Diamond, WA
NOTES: In need of a total restoration. No engine, transmission, or wheels. Been in Black Diamond for many years.
Photo provided by Richard Voss
Photo provided by Richard Voss
11
YEAR: 1938
SERIAL NUMBER: 406915
LAST KNOWN OWNER: Mullen Collection
LAST KNOWN LOCATION: Oxnard, CA
NOTES: The Gooding & Company auction house listed this car in ealry 2024. According to Gooding's website, the car was owned by a man named John Bowen until his death in 2015. Peter Mullen then obtained the car. After Peter Mullen's passing, the car is now being offered for sale. The car is missing the drivetrain.
Gooding & Company
Gooding & Company