by the French government, which did not prioritize luxury carmakers. The Types 175, 178 and 180 ceased production in 1951. Although Delahaye managed to introduce the Type 235 in 1951, it was only an updated variation of the Type 135. Delahaye and Delage combined production dropped from 511 in 1949 to 41 in 1952 and 36 in 1953. In desperation to salvage the company after the devastating 1953 fire, Managing Director Weiffenbach tried to amalgamate with various French automakers, to no avail. He eventually orchestrated a Delahaye shareholder-approved merger, as the minority partner, with Hotchkiss. Delahaye (and Delage) closed down for good on December 31, 1954. Hothkiss in turn merged with weapons manufacturers Brandt in 1956. Bibliography Hull, Peter. Delahaye: Famous on Road and Race Track, in Ward, Ian. World of Automobiles, Volume 5, pp. 521–524. London: Orbis, 1974. References 1950s cars Delahaye vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1947