4CV for 458,000 francs (or 399,000 francs for the reduced specification Renault 4CV Service) the price of the Rosengart must have been hard to justify. 1952 saw the arrival of an Ariette break (station wagon) to replace the unsuccessful Vivor. The break was some heavier than the Ariette saloon at and offered an impressive maximum load capacity of . Mindful of the uncompetitive price of the Ariette, early in 1953 the company (following the example set a few months earlier by the Renault 4CV Service) introduced a stripped-down version called the Artisane. It shared the body shell of the Ariette but without the chrome décor or the wheel trims. The bumpers were coated only in paint and the car was available only in a dark shade of grey. Inside everything that could be removed was, including the back seat. The Artisane was priced at 599,000 francs which was a saving of more than 10% on the price of an Ariette, but by this time the market reception for the Rosengart Artisane was no longer the critical issue. The end A few weeks after the end of the 1952 Paris Motor Show the Societé Industrielle de l'Ouest Parisien (SIOP company) was forced to file for bankruptcy. Financially the founder of the Rosengart auto-business, Lucien Rosengart was little affected since he had sold the business, including the right to use the Rosengart name, to SIOP in 1936. By now, aged 72, he had retired to the south, and had not been in day to day contact with the business for several years. Late in 1952 the gates of the Neuilly plant were closed with the loss of 1,700 jobs. Following negotiation with bankers and other creditors the plant was reopened early in 1953 and production of the Ariette resumed at the rate of approximately four per day, with plans for a rapid increase in those volumes. However, the underlying problem remained that the car could not be sold at a competitive price without selling in large numbers, and it could not sell in large numbers because the price was not competitive. The company closed its doors in the summer of 1955, after failing to launch its new car, the Sagaie, a development of the Ariette with a flat-twin engine. References External links http://www.ritzsite.nl/Archive/0812.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20110726142434/http://www.ekeren-ton.nl/ http://www.rosengart-museum.de/ https://www.webcitation.org/6CN8mVEjO?url=http://www.bmwism.com/bmws_designers.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20120207170607/http://www.club-rosengart-france.fr/ http://www.cartype.com/pages/2588/rosengart_brochures Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Car manufacturers of France Manufacturing companies based in