Last modified: 2024-11-16 by martin karner
Keywords: switzerland | touring club suisse | automobile associations |
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The magazine 'Cyclotourisme' (#492, May 2001) shows a photograph taken during the Montreal Feria, an
international meeting in which more than 85 000 bikers took part from 28 May to 4 June 2001.
The photograph shows bikers with balloons and flags tied to the bikes. The flags are white with an emblem
in the middle. The emblem is a disc divided by three rays, representing a steering wheel. A Swiss
escutcheon (white cross on red field) is placed above the top of the wheel. Letters T, C, and S are placed
in the three quarters delimited by the rays. There are two colour versions of the flag on the picture (blue)
disc, white rays and letters, and a variant with white disc with a blue border, blue
rays and letters.
I think TCS stands for 'Touring Club de Suisse', and therefore consider
the flags as emblems of the Touring Club of Switzerland.
Ivan Sache, 31 May 2001
The white version seems not to be used very often now. The official website of the TCS
displays only the blue version, slightly different from your drawing Ivan as the emblem is outlined in blue and the little escutcheon is fimbriated in white, the lines of the lower rays of the steering wheel being not parallel.
The acronym TCS is valid for the three main languages Touring Club suisse / Schweiz / svizzero (the
German version uses the name of the country instead of the adjective, as the German adjective would have been placed at the beginning). Unlike the defunct TCF (Touring Club de France), the TCS is still very active in Switzerland. They have a big squad of rescue cars if your car starts to suffer from breakdowns, they offer a
juridical protection insurance and are also present politically to defend the rights of the motorists.
Pascal Gross, 31 May 2001
Length ca. 20 cm
Old pennant with ancient logo; below: modern logo of the Automobilclub of Switzerland (ACS).
The ACS was founded in 1898 in Geneva by former members of the Touring Club of Switzerland (TCS),
which was purely a cycling club until 1901. Since its founding, the ACS has been committed to the interests
of automobile enthusiasts. In the early years the focus was on transport policy and motorsport. Over the
decades, additional areas such as assistance services, road safety, classic cars and club benefits for
members were added.
Website: https://www.acs.ch
Martin Karner, 30 October 2024