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The Berliet Foundation: the history of French commercial vehicles |
| The Foundation has a collection of 260 vehicles of 27 different makes, covering the period from 1886 to 1984. |
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The Berliet Foundation was created in January 1982. Its aim is both national and international: that of preserving and presenting the history of French trucks, coaches and buses of all makes, as well as the history of automobile making in the Rhône-Alps region.
Its computerised archives and documents contain more than 260 000 references on some 200 different makes, and include drawings, catalogues, technical data sheets, maintenance manuals, photographs and posters. Two assistants are responsible for computerising documents. Numerous volunteers help with classifying and filing while others carry out research to improve knowledge of these vehicles. The foundation also welcomes university students for research projects.
The Foundation's material comes from donations, and is often in a poor state when it arrives. Two professional mechanics are responsible for restoration work, but they often have to call on outside specialists in areas such as tyres, wooden cabs and bodywork, where certain skills have become scarce. The Foundation is not a museum. Its resources and facilities are not open to the general public. It is primarily a collection of vehicles that have been preserved for a particular educational purpose, namely to highlight the cultural aspects of the automobile industry.
These vehicles from a past era are only put on display during motor shows or exhibitions, or for the anniversaries of historic events. And once a year, specially for the Friends of the Association, at their annual get-together. |
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| Paul Berliet |
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