Description
Authors: Roger Guyot & Christophe Bonnaud, Hardbound, 162 Pages, ISBN: 9782910028039, 1st Edition, November, 1999
Claude Satinet confesses: "When I joined Citroen, in 1973, I was driving a Peugeot! But, he quickly adds, "I bought a Citroen immediately, out of respect for the company. It was a 2CV".
Now heading a company whose name does not leave anyone indifferent, Claude Satinet is today driving an XM even if he admits that this model is not for him, the image the Citroen should have. "This car doesn't have the simplicity, the purity that you can,
for instance, find on a Xantia or a Xsara". How can he, today, seduce and convince the inveterate Citroen fans that the Double Chevron spirit is still alive ?
"I don't know if my task is more difficult than that of my colleagues. It is different, that's all. Each car manufacturer Manager has a different situation to manage. What is sure however, is that we don't have the right to make any mistakes
anymore. It is true, we can't be wrong but I don't want this to become too personalised. Today, I no longer decide on my own. The choices are made not only by me but by a team. One of the ways to reduce the risk, is precisely to share the decisions. In fact, the num-
ber of people who express their opinions does not exceed 50, but we are in a well-structured group and the opinions are numerous.
Decisions of product choice are collective decisions". When facing multiple proposals displaying their charms ahead of the company executives, Claude Satinet may think back to his childhood memories of a Citroen dealer whose garage was just opposite his grandmother's house."He was dismantling his cars outside because, fifteen years ago, the installations were relatively small and modest. In the beginning, my attraction for this garage was purely mechanical. By coincidence, it was a Citroen garage. I was fascinated to see the inside of the cars, to see how they worked."Today", continues Claude Satinet,"thcre are two aspects of our trade which still fascinate me: the men and the product.
Men are finally what remain constant whatever the trade. And there is the automotive product itself. One could consider that the product, due to the various style studies, as a sort of recreation. But believe me, the heavy investments involved in every new product, make it all but entertaining". Style, the word has been uttered. ! It is with the style that the Citroen Manager wants to strengthen the future of the brand name. "To me, the range of products is a key element in a company's image. Its products are the first communication made to.....
From the Foreword
Roger Guyot
Passionate about cars, particularly the double chevron brand, and chairman of Citroen Club France, Roger Guyot is a journalist and founder of the magazine, Auto Concept of which he is editor in chief At 53 he still collects cars of all sizes.
Christophe Bonnaud
This 38 year old journalist, an experienced design fan - shown here at the wheel of the Citroen C6 prototype - began his career with ALITOhebdo in 1982 before joining the Le Sport daily newspaper venture in 1987 and taking part, in 1988, in the creation of the weekly, Auto Plus. Since the beginning of 1992 he has worked for the Auto-Journal editorial team as deputy editor in chief
