L'Argus is a French magazine devoted to automobiles, aimed at individuals and professionals. It is particularly renowned for its used vehicle rating, published under the Argus rating brand. Historically weekly, it became bimonthly in January 2015.
The newspaper was founded in 1927 by Paul Rousseau under the title L'argus de l'automobile et des locomotions. Although the passenger car was already its main subject, the weekly then covered news on a variety of rolling, flying and navigating machines. He positions himself in favor of the automobile and firmly advocates for its development. Its audience, made up of users and professionals from the outset, expanded considerably from the 1950s thanks to the widespread use of private cars and the development of motorized vehicles. To meet the new expectations of the general public readership, L'argus reoriented its content from the mid-1980s: from an opinion newspaper, it gradually transformed into a practical useful magazine centered on the problem of purchasing and vehicle sales. In addition, it deployed part of its services on Minitel in 1985 and its entire range of products and services on the Internet in 2000.
Since 2007, the newspaper has further distinguished its two types of readership: the version published for individuals, sold on newsstands, is also available accompanied by supplements dedicated to professionals, by subscription. L'Argus on the Internet is accessible at the addresses largus.fr (for the general public) and pro.largus.fr (for professionals, with or without subscription), as well as on a mobile application.
Since 1993, L'argus has awarded the Utility Vehicle of the Year Trophy and since 2008, the Private Vehicle Trophies.
History
From creation to World War II L’argus de l’automobile et des locomotions was founded in 1927 by Paul Rousseau (1868-1941), a personality from the worlds of the press and sport, also passionate about automobiles. At the time, the motorized vehicle was still a luxury or very utilitarian good. But Paul Rousseau decides to promote its growth through a newspaper. The launch was financed by Ernest Loste (1874-1944), a friend who achieved success in the automobile trade by becoming Fiat general agent for France in 1904 and the brand's first French importer.
As its name suggests, the journal was originally interested in all types of locomotion, even if its content focused on the private car. Its title also reveals its ambition to be the rigorous “reporter” of their news: the term “argus” refers to the giant of Greek mythology Argos Panoptes who had a hundred eyes. Intended for users and professionals alike, the weekly intends to remain impartial between its different readerships, as it indicates in the first issue: “Our ambition is to achieve agreement among consumers, manufacturers and tradespeople ". In order to defend their interests, he fought for the adoption of policies favoring the development of the automobile, taking public authorities as the main target. In addition, he believed that “cars are needed at all prices” (1929) and campaigned from the outset to make them a good accessible to all social categories.
From the first issue, the framework for L'argus was laid out, which will remain over the decades, beyond developments. The weekly is mainly interested in economic news and motor sports, but a range of articles covers all other automobile and locomotion information (technical progress, new products, equipment, professions, traffic, road traffic safety, exhibitions and fairs, statistics, etc.) - certain subjects aimed specifically at professionals. Practical sections complete the articles: classified ads, L'Argus addresses, prices of new vehicles (industrial and agricultural vehicles, bicycles, motorboats, passenger planes, two-wheelers, etc.) and "Market" prices. used cars”, ancestors of the famous Argus rating, the brand under which the company now sells its rating service. These average prices (passenger cars, industrial vehicles and two-wheelers) were first provided by the Bureau Veritas organization until 1931, before being developed internally and taking the name "official rating of L'Argus".
The text takes up most of the 8 black and white pages in 360 x 530 mm format. The columns are narrow, the articles concise, accompanied by small illustrations. Printed in a few thousand copies, the title gradually established itself during the 1930s, retaining its content and form, until the Second World War disrupted the life of the newspaper. Indeed, in addition to a reduction in volume, most often to four pages, publication is sometimes interrupted and the content disrupted. Many articles are concerned with the economic (sur)life of the automobile, while the absence of production and imports puts the new market on hold, which also has the effect of inflating market prices. second hand. The scarcity of automobiles, aggravated by requisitions in particular, forced L'Argus to adjust its ratings as best it could. It must also take into account certain developments in demand, such as the valuation of gas-producing vehicles, sought after due to the gasoline shortage, or the impact of government regulations. With the Libération, when it became a question of returning or compensating requisitioned vehicles, a decree entitled “Price of motor vehicles requisitioned by the military authority” stipulated that “the basic prices of the required motor vehicles are determined […] for vehicles tourism, according to the data in the table published on July 6, 1944, under number 847 of L'Argus de l'automobile et des locomotions, under the heading: Used car market, official rating from L'Argus ".
In 1941, Paul Rousseau died. Regarding his succession, the editorial team indicates in the May 22 issue (n°692) that it goes to those whom he “had himself chosen and trained”. Jacques Loste (1905-2001), son of Ernest Loste, took the reins of the newspaper, which he joined in 1930 and of which he has been editor-in-chief since 1938.
The Trente Glorieuses Years and the oil crises
After the world war, the pre-war content and tone quickly resumed, but until the end of the 1950s we still found articles recalling the consequences of the war on the automobile. In addition, the newspaper did not return to its usual 8 pages until 1947. The reconstruction then made it possible to bring France into a period of great economic growth, the Trente Glorieuses (1945-1973), during which the country discovered the consumption of mass. Thanks to the growth of the industry during the 1950s and 1960s, decades which constitute the “glorious twenty of the automobile”, the private car became democratized. Logically, its popularization benefits the newspaper, whose audience widens and its content develops, the number of pages increasing accordingly - 10 pages in 1948; 48 pages in the early 1980s.
During the period, L'argus barely changed its appearance, except for the notable adoption in 1955 of the famous red for the name L'argus in the title logo. The content is maintained, as is the editorial line. However, the weekly is in tune with the new concerns of the consumer society and is increasingly interested in the vehicle as a common product. From the beginning of the 1960s, he introduced a section of tests where all types of locomotions were “faced with L'Argus tests”. From the end of the 1970s, the presentation of automobile products, mainly new products, gained importance. In addition, the newspaper gave more and more space to classified ads - around 10% of the newspaper's surface area in 1952; 40% in 1972.
Furthermore, in a context marked by the widespread growth of motorization, the articles devoted to the various categories of locomotion are also enriched. Above all, L'Argus extends its second-hand rating section to numerous machines: agricultural tractors (1950), combine harvesters (1955), road tractors (1959), caravans and coaches (1967), airplanes (1968), semi-trailers and trailers (1970); the rating of two-wheelers, stopped at the beginning of the 1930s, returned to the newspaper (1981). At the same time, L'argus is refining the method of using its average prices. From 1963 for example, they can now be adjusted with greater precision depending on the number of kilometers traveled.
Finally, the rise of the automobile having transformed its challenges, L'argus is redoubled in vigor when it comes to defending the interests of its readers. Under the pen of its director-editor-in-chief, the tone hardens. Jacques Loste is mainly concerned with taxation and notably campaigned against the vignette introduced in 1956 and the increase in VAT on automobiles in 1969.
New technologies From the 1980s, in a mature automobile market marked by increasingly complex ranges, L'argus adapted to a readership increasingly demanding information and advice. Thus, the sections presenting the models, notably through tests, become essential and dedicated special issues appear. Although the content remains in broad terms, the weekly positions itself as a true purchasing guide, for all categories of transport. A rating is available for almost every type of vehicle, including minicars (1998), collector vehicles (1999), motorhomes (2001) and self-propelled agricultural handling vehicles (2004).
The pen of L'argus changed hands in the mid-1980s, when Florence Loste, Jacques' daughter, took over as editor. She reoriented the editorial line, strongly attenuating the political commitment of the newspaper by resorting to moderate activism, which is expressed in particular within the editorials, as is customary.
The form is also evolving. Until the mid-2000s, the newspaper regularly modernized its appearance. In 1984, 1996 and 2004, it reorganized its content into full-page sections and lightened its presentation by adopting more and more color and illustrations, the newspaper also having changed its format for the first time in 1984 (285 x 410 mm ). From now on, the weekly is more like a magazine than a newspaper.
This period of the 1980s was also marked by the rise of Information and communications technology (NICT) which pushed the press to reinvent itself in order to survive. For L'argus, these tools rather constitute an opportunity for development, by offering a possibility of complementing the weekly. Since 1985, the Minitel's functionalities have made it possible to develop the Argus rating, which improves over time to allow the average price to be adjusted according to the characteristics specific to each vehicle (age to the nearest month, number of kilometers, optional equipment, etc.). On Minitel, L’argus offers distinct services for individuals and professionals. In addition to the price, the most important are the second-hand markets and the estimate of repair costs. Until the beginning of the 2000s, the telematics service recorded a growing number of connections, without overshadowing the paper format: it was during the decade following its opening that the weekly experienced its largest circulations (sometimes more than 200,000 copies). The enthusiasm that Minitel arouses is not denied by the arrival of L'argus on the Web in 1997.