User:Jonathan Fenny/sandbox1

Camions Bernard was a French manufacturing company which became renowned for its production of heavy goods vehicles

The company was founded under the name "Bennes Basculantes E.Bernard S.A." in Arcueil in the vicinity ofParis.The company's first product was a cargo truck which carry a payload of 2 tonnes.

In 1926 the company introduced a bus-chassis with underframe into the commercial vehicle market.It was powered by an American made engine In. 1929 the company changed its name to "Camions Bernard" and in the same year began to manufacture their own engines.The bus chassis was developed into various forms of bonneted goods vehicles.In 1932,Bernard began producing a vehicle which could transport a load of 6.5 tonnes.In 1935 the company unveiled a 3-axle heavy goods vehicle which could transport a payload of 15 tonnes.By the standards of the time,this was a very heavy vehicle.Around the same time Bernard began producing a diesel engine under licence.

After World War Two,Camions Bernard turned away from bus production and eventually concentrated exclusively upon the production of goods vehicles.By the end of the 1950s,some of Bernard's most powerful vehicles had engines which a power output of around 200hp.However,by the early 1960s,Bernard's vehicles were starting to seem dated and failed to meet the customer expectations of the time.Production output declined and the firm's fortunes worsened.In 1963 the large American manufacturer Mack Trucks took the firm over.Camions Bernard was renamed Automobiles Bernard.From 1963-66 the Bernard vehicles ,which were produced in France, were powered by Mack engines and featured Mack transmissions. However, in 1966 production of Bernard branded vehicles ceased.