(First Posted January 18. 2014) Although Vietnam has no museum dedicated to motor vehicles, reflecting the recentness of mass vehicle ownership in the country, Ho Chi Minh City has more historic automobiles on public display than any city that I have seen. The government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam displays them for their roles in Vietnam’s war-torn past, so they come with a political message. Viewed only as historical artifacts, though, they provide some insight into the diverse world of automobiles that existed in Saigon prior to the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, as seen above in a 1960s photo of Saigon Notre Dame Basilica, the seat of the city’s Roman Catholic archdiocese and still the most recognizable landmark in the city.
This article will avoid all political debates and focus on the vehicles themselves. Mentioning the historical events that involved each vehicle will be necessary to explain why they are on display, but the purpose is not to endorse or criticize any side in the conflicts described.
A large collection of historic automobiles resides at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, formerly the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Vietnam that U.S. forces defended during the Vietnam War and that fell in April 1975. The most prominent is the 1950s Citroen Traction Avant regularly parked in front of the building, profiled earlier. Additional historic automobiles from the 1950s and 1960s reside in a display in the back of the building.
The museum displays these automobiles in what used to be the courtyard behind the palace. Now, most of the courtyard has become outdoor seating for a restaurant around the block from the museum, and the display of cars sits cut off from the museum, looking completely out of place. I found these cars by accident when I happened to stop in the restaurant for an overpriced com tam (grilled pork with broken rice, a favorite dish of southern Vietnam). They represent three European countries: Simca, Peugeot, and Renault in France, Lambro from Italy, and Ford of Germany.
The Simca appears to be a 1951-55 Simca 9 Aronde, a small front engine/rear drive sedan with a 1.2L overhead valve four. The Aronde was a popular model in France and helped Simca to become the second largest automaker in France by the end of the 1950s. According to the museum sign, this car had a long history of use in support of Communist guerillas in the Saigon area, pre-dating the entry of U.S. troops into Vietnam by a decade. From 1955 to 1972, it transported weapons, equipment and personnel between Cu Chi and Saigon.
The Renault is possibly newer but a far older design. It is a Juvaquatre wagon, produced from 1950 to 1960, under the name Dauphinoise from 1956 onward. Renault introduced the Juvaquatre in 1937 and discontinued it as a sedan in 1948, replacing it with the highly successful 4CV that ran from 1947 to 1961. Instead of making a 4CV wagon, Renault continued the Juvaquatre as a panel van and station wagon until 1960. This Juvaquatre was used during the 1968 Tet Offensive to transport Viet Cong wounded from the Go Vap district in northwestern Saigon to Cu Chi.
A Peugeot 403 rounds out the trio of French cars. The 403, previously covered here and also as a wagon here, lasted from 1955 to 1966, with Pininfarina stying and a 65 horsepower 1468cc pushrod hemi-head four. This particular example was used to transport Communist leaders in Saigon and neighboring provinces from 1962 to 1970.
The Lambro is a three wheeled cargo carrier based on the famous Lambretta scooter, introduced by Innocenti in 1949, immediately after the Lambretta (the Lambro continues to be produced in India using the original Innocenti tooling by Scooters India Limited). Like the Lambretta scooter, the Lambro was highly popular in Vietnam, and it and the older French cars would have been suitable for moving inconspicuously around Saigon. This Lambro 550, a model with a 200cc engine produced in 1965-67, was used to transport weapons and explosives to Saigon for the 1968 Tet Offensive.
This 1960-64 Ford Taunus stands out among the French cars and Italian scooters/three-wheelers in this display, just as it would have in similar traffic on the streets of Saigon during the 1960s and 1970s. It belonged to Ngo Ba Thanh, born in 1931 and deceased in 2004, one of Saigon’s leading lawyers from the war years of the 1960s to the economic reform policies (do moi) of the 1990s. Never a Communist Party member, instead a self-declared peace activist, she spent several years in prison during the 1960s for her opposition to the war. During the 1990s, she became a leading architect of Vietnam’s economic reform policies as a member of parliament, then a consultant to foreign businesses in Vietnam. Being a public figure and not part of an underground organization, she could drive an unusual automobile around Saigon.
A German Ford Taunus, like the British Ford Cortina in the opening photograph, would have been an unusual automobile in Saigon during the 1960s and 1970s. This wartime street scene, with a Traction Avant and a 4CV taxi in the foreground, an American sedan behind them, and a VW Beetle visible in the background, provides a fairly typical mix of cars seen in period photographs. The Taunus wears quadruple round headlights instead of the lozenge shaped units that it would have had when new, probably replacements for damaged original headlights that were unavailable as spare parts in Vietnam, being exclusively for an uncommon model.
Another significant collection of historic vehicles resides in Reunification Palace, originally built as the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Vietnam during the 1960s. It was the stage for the final act of the fall of Saigon in 1975, when a tank of the army of North Vietnam crashed through the front gate on April 30, bringing the wars in Vietnam to an end. The vehicles on display there all have a connection to the fall of Saigon.
Tucked into a corner of a basement corridor in Reunification Palace, ignored by most visitors, resides an M151A2 jeep used in the surrender of South Vietnam, minutes after North Vietnamese tanks drove into the palace grounds. General Duong Van Minh, who had taken over as President of South Vietnam only two days earlier, stood near this jeep when he had this famous exchange with the commander of the first North Vietnamese Army unit in the palace: “I have been waiting since early this morning to transfer power to you.” “There is no question of your transferring power. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.”
General Minh then rode in this jeep to a radio station, where he broadcast a message declaring the complete dissolving of the government of South Vietnam and the end of the war. The government of Vietnam later restored the jeep and preserved it as a historical artifact.
The M151 series, given the delightful U.S. military acronym MUTT (“Military Utility Tactical Truck”), was the Vietnam War-era successor to the original Willys jeeps of the Second World War and the M38 jeep of the Korean War. Designed with a monocoque body that gave it a lower center of gravity and more interior space, and independent suspension with coil springs front and rear, it was more advanced than earlier military jeeps with their separate frames and solid axles with leaf springs. The M151 series and its independent suspension became known for handling problems and rollovers, however, so the armed services scrapped all but a few instead of releasing them for sale to civilians as surplus when they acquired Humvees during the 1980s and 1990s. The M151 series became an evolutionary dead end in the history of jeeps.
A short distance from the M151A2 jeep resides a more conspicuously displayed Mercedes W110 Fintail sedan, a 200 with a gasoline 2.0L four cylinder engine, produced from 1965 to 1968. It belonged to Nguyen Van Thieu, president of South Vietnam from 1965 until he resigned on April 21, 1975, shortly before the fall of Saigon. He flew out of the city five days later, abandoning most of his possessions, including the Mercedes.
Thieu’s Mercedes is in remarkably good condition that is probably original, given the considerable wear (down to bare metal) to the paint on the headlight pods and tailfin tips. Its condition reflects having had constant professional care throughout its life as a president’s personal car and then as historical state property. Only two details let it down: the cheap plastic wheel covers that belong on a mid 1990s Dodge, and a missing hood ornament (there may be a North Vietnamese war veteran with a great three-pointed star war trophy).
Being a four cylinder 200 with hand crank windows, this Mercedes indicates that the life of a corrupt dictator was less luxurious during the 1960s compared to today.
The most significant historical vehicles in the Reunification Palace grounds reside outside, in the northeast corner of the compound. They are the first two tanks which entered the palace gate on April 30, 1975. #390, a Chinese-made T59, was first, followed by #843, a Soviet-made T54. They are of the same design, with the T54 being the original Soviet tank and the T59 being a Chinese copy.
#390 and #843 are restored to like-new external condition and apparently are being carefully preserved, with their main gun muzzles and mantlets, machine guns, and engine compartment grilles under plastic covers. The T-54/55 and T59 are still the most numerous tanks of the People’s Army of Vietnam, and these two may still be considered military property to be kept ready for possible wartime use.
This photograph of #390 from April 30, 1975, with #843 probably in the background to the right, shows what these tanks and their crews looked like after several weeks of front line combat service. Bent and broken sheet metal shields over the tracks, mud caked tracks and wheels, and obvious fatigue on the faces of the crew are evident. Note that the same lamp post seen in the first photograph of the tanks is visible in the background of this photograph, showing where these tanks currently reside.
The cars shown in this article all are on display in state museums in Ho Chi Minh City. Outside of them, there is an emerging classic car scene, with a Saigon Classic Car Club already organized and with an internet presence, and other groups probably in existence as well. The website of the Saigon Classic Car Club shows members with Citroens and other French cars of all ages, American cars of the late 1950s through early 1970s, VW Beetles and Microbuses, Mercedes, Toyotas, and others. It also shows “barn finds” of dusty old cars rediscovered after being forgotten for many years.
I believe that the classic car community worldwide will hear a lot more about Vietnam in the future, as Vietnamese auto enthusiasts find and restore more cars such as the Citroen DS seen above in a recent photo taken at Saigon Notre Dame Basilica. Vietnam is a country whose people have a rapidly rising standard of living and a keen interest in automobiles and motorcycles. As they rediscover the cars from all over the world that accumulated in their country during the 20th Century, they will have many interesting vehicles to show to classic car enthusiasts worldwide.
Why would they put those wheel covers on that Mercedes? Not historically accurate and quite tacky
I believe that making this Mercedes look good has not been a priority for them. It belonged to the man who for ten years led the regime that the current government of Vietnam fought against during the war. Given that, it must have been hard to justify spending scarce hard currency importing expensive foreign car parts for it in the 1970s and 1980s when Vietnam was a war-devastated, impoverished country in the Soviet bloc, and after several decades, the car probably became an afterthought.
Aside from the wheel covers, they also did not replace the missing hood ornament, and they also were as cheap as possible with the tires, which were generic and also mismatched, with snow tires on the rear wheels.
I can understand not replacing the hood ornament and paint, and even the tires. The car would still be historically accurate. The wheel covers really bother me because of the historical inaccuracy. They just don’t fit the car’s history. Maybe the car was in use until the 90’s and somehow acquired those wheel covers while it was still in service?
The steering wheel is seriously misaligned as well. 180 degrees off while the wheels themselves are straight ahead….
Maybe it was a not-so subtle dig at Thieu and/or his Mercedes? It’s about the worst desecration one can imagine doing to a vintage Benz 🙂
Yep, I thought that as well. An attempt to humiliate the car and its owner.
The M151A2s were all either cut up or crushed when taken out of service, due to severe rust problems and rollover propensity. None were sold to the general public except as scrap metal.
Great story!
Thats normal for American forces, all the new equipment manufactured for WW2 that was unused was dumped at sea one of the clauses in the supply contracts was army equipment especially vehicles were not to return to the US to flood the market slowing new car sales after war ended not so over here we ran ex army vehicles for decades and the spare parts supply has only recently dried up.
Did they ever make a good military Jeep this was the last attempt and it still suffered from the original defects easy rollover and too small?
Uh, I just saw one yesterday at a car show, and its not the only one I’ve seen, so I respectfully disagree with your post.
Hell, they have an owners club, how can you have an owners club for a car that was never sold to the general public?
The M151was made in one or another different variant from 1959 to 1982, with over 100,000 being made, some M151’s were still in service with the US military until 1999 believe it or not. It gets a worse “make believe” rep than it actually has, mostly from people that really know nothing about it.
I have found the same things as Carmine, which is why I stated generally that most (not all) M151s were destroyed and that the handling/rollover problems were a reputation (not necessarily reality). Another factor to keep in mind is that large numbers were sold or donated to foreign militaries, and all exported M151s are now >25 years old and can be re-imported easily.
M151 was not WW2 manufacture and not subject to lendlease conditions.
“…Vietnam has no museum dedicated to motor vehicles, reflecting the recentness of mass vehicle ownership in the country”
I expect this would also make “Curbside Classics” (i.e., old cars still in regular use, as opposed to collectors items) much less common, which would help make the few old cars spotted in the wild that much more interesting.
Thanks for look at a car culture very different than the one I am used to!
A very interesting piece. The variety of cars there is quite wide.
For all of the horror stories I have heard about keeping a Citroen DS on the road, it is amazing that this feat can be accomplished in Vietnam.
The DS is certainly a complicated vehicle, but there may be a surprising amount of experience with them in Vietnam, as well as parts cars for spares. The photos that I have seen show a surprising number of DS’s in Saigon. This photo was taken in 1957, only two years after the introduction of the DS in 1955. I count seven DS’s in this photo, and there may be more off to the sides.
I agree the Vietnam classic car scene is very dynamic. I have been collecting information about the Citroen DS in Asia, past and present, and I am amazed at the the pace at which they continue to be found and restored in the Saigon area. By the way I drive a DS in Bangkok every week… They are not so difficult to maintain. Well yes maybe they are, but they are so beautiful ! http://www.dsinasia.com/Vietnam/Vietnam.html
There was a reason why Saigon was called the Paris of the orient, the French always brought there culture and life style : baguettes, catholicism and architecture.
I wonder if American cars were stigmatized during and after the war?
In that street shot I can only see one American vehicle a Cornbinder Scout parked next to a Vauxhall Victor being a French colony did they even buy US cars,
Although Bryce is correct that the cars sold in Vietnam were from France while it was a French colony and remained mostly French even after independence — even Ho Chi Minh had a Peugeot 404, which is preserved in a museum in Hanoi — there were many American cars in Saigon. Photographs show a wide variety of American cars and pickups in Saigon during the 1960s and early 1970s. They would have mostly belonged to US military and embassy personnel, and many would have been shipped back to the US, but clearly some remained. The Saigon Classic Car Club has several American cars in its group photo.
I would suspect many American cars remained at the end of the war. Simply no time to get them on board a ship and get them out of there. One could use Clark Air Base as an example. When Mt. Pinatubo blew in June 1991 it was a sudden event and Clark ended up closed immediately. I was in Manila that February and then Manila and Angeles City (Clark Air Base) in November 1991.
All through the 90s American cars were all over the city streets of Angeles City as Air Force personnel bugged out quickly and cars stayed where they got covered in ash. The place was an absolute mess and took some time to clean up. On the other hand, the Navy had time to leave Subic Naval Base and with that time Navy personnel could get their cars out if they so desired. Nonetheless, Navy personnel did leave some as not worthwhile to ship out.
During the war, there would have been no issue with American cars in South Vietnam as the USA was an ally and after the war Vietnam was so devastated that any working vehicle was probably put to work unless it had a significance(such as a car Ho Chi Minh rode in or that benz in that museum from the last dictator of South Vietnam etc) Look at Cuba and Iran(two countries that really don’t like the USA much), large quantities of American cars there. In Cuba it is out of necessity due to no new cars but in Iran where there is plenty of new cars to be had, American cars not only are present but treasured (there are good amount of car clubs in Iran)
I would suspect a car would have been just a car in post war Vietnam with no stigma of place of manufacture. Look at that pic of the DS above, it was taken in 1957, as the DS came out in 1955(a year after The Battle of Dien Bien Phu(which ended the war and kicked the French out of Vietnam) it shows that there was no stigma attached to French cars
Good points, Leon. I would like to add that the main stigma against American cars may have been created by post-Vietnam War US government policies, which imposed trade sanctions on Vietnam until the 1990s. Spare parts for American cars would have been very difficult to obtain in Vietnam during the late 1970s and 1980s. (Ironically, it would be much easier to evade US economic sanctions now, with parts production heavily offshored to China and other foreign countries.) Keeping a few old, gasoline-thirsty American cars running probably would have been a low priority for sanctions evasion, so most of these cars probably ended up retired and in storage for long periods of time, or scrapped for their steel.
This is probably very late, but Leon needs to learn a bit of real history. Not the fake pro communist stuff that is all too common now days. His comments need to be corrected.
The definition of a dictator includes the fact that he/she has never faced an election and that his ‘people’ have never been given a opportunity to say whether they want him as their leader.
Nguyen Van Thieu was the democratically elected President of the Republic of Vietnam (twice) not “it’s last dictator”. It’s interesting that the great freedom loving hero Ho Chi Minh never faced an election and his government and party never faced an election (a democratic one anyway).
As he was never elected Ho Chi Minh was the real dictator.
Americans have no problems with driving Japanese, German, or British cars even though they fought long and bloody wars with them. Most Americans view things like this as ancient history. I suspect many Vietnamese feel the same way.
This is a very fascinating piece. Thank you.
Clicking on your link to the Saigon Classic Car club proved quite interesting. While I cannot read Vietnamese, the banner picture alone shows quite a formidable variety – even a ’71 Ford LTD.
The orange Mustang in the banner picture is noteworthy as well. I saw it featured in a lengthy article in a Vietnamese car and motorcycle magazine which was the Vietnam edition of a glossy British automotive magazine, with some local content and some international content. So it seems that the Saigon classic car community has the attention of Vietnam’s emerging automotive press, which bodes well for its prominence in the future.
Another great post from Mr. Kim. Very good reading.
Good story amazing that anything survived the Vietnam conflict, I owned one of those Simca Arondes more rust than metal but it was an end of liife bomb by the time I bought it havent seen one in a long time.
Thank you for this. What struck me more than the cars was the cathedral. It looks like it was lifted directly from Portland or Biddeford, Maine. Catholic communities with French roots think alike, architecturally at least.
Cool pics, especially that Simca! I can narrow it down to a 1954-56 model (earlier ones had a different grille).
If you ever get the chance, there’s a tiny treasure trove of classic cars hidden behind the King of Laos’ palace in Luang Prabang. If memory serves, there are 3 interesting cars: a late 50s Citroen DS (in petty bad shape), a ’58 Edsel sedan and a ’70 Lincoln. There was a sign saying you couldn’t take pictures and somebody there actually enforcing it — most uncommon for S-E Asia — so I haven’t been able to snap those.
I did, however, find this in the streets of Luang Prabang. I think it’s a Toyota Corona, but it’s been either heavily modified or I’m completely wrong. Anybody got a clue?
Saw a lot of interesting old cars in Laos. Might need to write something up about it sometime…
Back end of same car — if it is a T40 Corona, it’s had a tough life. But it’s still going!
I have just looked at a few pictures of the facelift that the present government in Vietnam have given the opera house in Ho Chi Minh city and to be fair to them, its an absolutely outstanding job. The name of the government there may not have changed but the attitude definitely has, so I would say in the fullness of time Thieus Mercedes will be restored to its original state.
The classic car scene in Vietnam is kicking ! I now of at least 20 DS there… see for example the presidential DS, now exposed in what might be the first classic car museum in the country:
http://www.dsinasia.com/Vietnam/prestige.html
Gentlemen,
Could you please help me make contact with any classic car club in Vietnam, eg Saigon Classic Car Club.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Phil.
This is Ford Deluxe 1940 sedan, i was found in Vietnam last year. I think this is the only one still in a good shape in Vietnam now. Start to rebuild in this year, i really want to find out history of this car but not sure it can be found in US using vin number.
When the Americans stepped up their presence in South Vietnam in the ’60s, mostly American cars were imported. I have found it out when researching the history of Citroen in that country. See here: http://www.dsinasia.com/Vietnam/history.html
By the way did you know that a Citroen was the first car assembled in Vietnam, in 1969 ? It was named “La Dalat” and was based on the 2CV, the “ugly duck”.
Is anyone interesting in a Vintage Club Car in Saigon ?
I guess their is a lot of people with a classic car in their garage.
Lets meet to discuss about this topic !
As usual, the commies are full of lies and propaganda. That white Mercedes was definitely not President Thieu’s car. He and his predecessor Ngo Dinh Diem had black Mercedes limousines which after 1975, were shipped to North Vietnam for some corrupt high-ranking and corrupt commie political commissar’s personal use.
Very Interesting !
I have a 1967 Mustang Fastback that is fully authenticated and the data tag and the Marti Report shows it was exported. The original Data Tag reads: So. Vietnam.
The car, whatever it is, in the lower left corner of the lead pic has a great deal of ’64 Dodge Dart about the hood, fenders, headlamps, and front end in general.
Ford Cortina Mk1, post 1964 refresh in this case but launched 1962.
I have never seen a Taunus 17M (P3) with four round headlamps. They have the large oval headlamps with single parabolic reflectors like in the photo below.
Some export markets had them. Not many made it to America or any right-hand-drive markets but those that did would’ve due to the sealed-beam requirement in the former case and the lack of right-focusing low beams for the original design in the latter.
Another possibility is cheaper replacement should one of the headlamps got gored or burnt out. The headlamp capsules were very common with fleet or commercial vehicles in the United States for many years.
There’s another historical / political vehicle that Robert didn’t cover in his fascinating article. And it introduces another major manufacturer and car building nation: the British Motor Corporation. The Austin A95 Westminster that the senior Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức used in his 1963 anti-Diem self-immolation protest (caution, confronting images if you look it up) is displayed in Hue. Has been restored at least once but deteriorated now.
I spent two years in Vietnam in the late 60s. Was never in Saigon, most of the time in and around Hue. In all that time, the number of American cars I saw could be counted on one hand.