General Motors today confirmed to Autoblopnik that it intends to partner with French automaker PSA to sell Peugeot-Citroen vans in North America.
“We think there are a lot of synergies between American and French automakers,” said GM VP of Vans Stefan LeGirsky, adjusting his beret. “Working with the French is an idea whose time has come, and frankly we’re surprised that no American motor company has thought of it before.”
Thom LeWilkenson, spokesvanner for Chevrolet’s truck division, said the collaboration “makes perfect sense from an engineering standpoint.”
“The French have a knack for styling and design,” LeWilkenson said as he sipped his café au lait and took a deep drag on a Galoise, “while General Motors has a proven track record of building durable commercial vehicles. Not that it matters, because we’re just going to import a bunch of vans and slap GMC and Chevrolet badges on them, but…” He then shrugged rather indifferently.
LeWilkenson added that a product name had not been finalized, but they were considering something that would emphasize the van’s Frenchness, perhaps an Anglicized version of the French term for “the van”.
“Of course, there is no historical precedent for a partnership with the French,” said GM CEO Danoit LeAkersoneaux, who arrived fashionably late to our interview accompanied by a tall, slender Italian woman who was not his wife, “but I’m sure it will be a great alliance for both General Motors and PSA. After our initial run of véhicules commerciaux, we may introduce a second vehicle, which I suppose you could call an encore. After that, well, who knows? La ciel est la limite.”
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