Molsheim

"Of a creator’s personality. But probably none was as con- “cerned as Bugatti to perpetuate this situation. Faced with the attractions of large-scale series production and lower costs, he retained his independent outlook, his freedom to invent, and his urge for perfection down to the smallest de- tails. Production costs meant nothing to him, once he was set on an idea. He took little notice of trends among rival car manufacturers, and paid no more attention to the pre- sumed tastes of the public. It is all the more remarkable that the public followed his so often. Such was the case with the first type he produced at Molsheim."

"“What a surprise it is (he wrote), when just outside the typical Alsatian village of Molsheim you come across a ham- let of long, low buildings with brassbound doors of polished oak and with cement paths between them, all so clean and tidy, not a loose stone or spot of dust about anywhere . . . A car factory, that? Surely not! and yet .. . “It was my first visit to the Bugatti factory. He had asked me to go on a Saturday afternoon—‘We'll be able to talk quietly then.’ “There were no workmen about, the place was desérted. And this added to the feeling of being suddenly confronted with something unusual and beyond classification. “Visiting this domain of the Sleeping Beauty was one sur- prise after another. I stopped at the door of the first ‘work- shop’ to look at the lock, the catch and the hinges, for all were made of brass and were spotless; nor was there a trace of fingermarks on the copper door-plate. ‘Locks made by Bu- gatti, the proprietor pointed out. And those words ‘made by Bugatti’ were to keep echoing in my ears. The explana- tion of the shining cleanliness of all the doors into the various workshops—I almost wrote ‘the various sanctuaries of mechanics’—was quite simple. During working hours, an employee did nothing else but keep the paths and the work- shop floors clean—and the door-plates, from which all oily marks left by mechanics were wiped away immediately they were made. Such marks were infrequent, however, for it was a general rule to wipe one’s hands before leaving the work- shop."