10 ms·

Very cool. Would be even better if they included pricing.

jacquesm 4y ago
2CV: 4500 dutch guilders, Dyane 4800, AMI 6250, GS 8000, D-Special 12000, DS 17000. For French Francs multiply by three or so, German Marks divide by 1.10. I was in a crash in a 2CV, it was my first car and after that never got into another one. The damage was incredible given the kind of accident it was.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  The 2CV always seemed like a death trap to me. It could not get approved in the USA for import; I’m guessing because of safety regulations…although no Citroen cars were available in the US at all.
  - Svip 4y ago
    Citroën sold cars in the US till around 1975, when the US introduced regulations that essentially prohibited the hydropneumatic suspension. Citroën even had US spec versions of the DS and the SM for the US market. I am not sure whether the 2CV was ever sold in the USA, but it has definitely been imported. I think in the US, the limit is 25 years before you can import a foreign car. I've encountered plenty of 2CVs and Méharis in North America.
    - jacquesm 4y ago
      I've seen a DS in Canada, but only once. (Toronto)
      - Svip 4y ago
        Speaking of Toronto, I once had the pleasure of being driven around the city in a Méhari.
        jacquesm 4y ago
        I hope it was in summer :)
      - hyakosm 4y ago
        I've seen two 2CV in Montréal, with Québec immatriculation on the back and French immatriculation on the front (modern post 2009).
    - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
      > Citroën sold cars in the US till around 1975 I lived in the USA in 70s and 80s. I never saw more than 1 or 2 Citroen cars in all of that time. And those two cars were stared at by everyone like aliens.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    In US traffic an accident between your average 60's US built car and a 2CV would amount to a death sentence for the occupants of the 2CV.
  - masklinn 4y ago
    Afaik it could be sold in the US just fine (this is a car created in 1948, safety regulations were not really a thing). The issue is that it could not be sold: it was particularly low-powered even for french cars of the time, the original model barely reached 40 mph (out of a 9 hp engine), and the later fastest models topped out around 70. The 2CV had literally been designed to cross freshly ploughed fields and drive on unpaved roads, it just was not suitable for the interstate-expanding American market.
    - jacquesm 4y ago
      I had one of the faster models but even those could not reliably overtake a truck, chances are that when you tried to come out ahead of the lee of the truck you'd be blown back. More than once I had to sheepishly fall back all 60 feet to go back behind and let others pass.
  - tveyben 4y ago
    My mom drove a 2cv in LA - it got imported from Europa (not sure if it was from Denmark or France) as spare parts in order to get it ‘on the Road’ ;-) This was ca. 1983. She still have it but drives a ‘74 beetle daily. I remember (when briefly living in LA) that we drove it from LA to Las Vegas in july (also in the mid 80’ies). It was HOT! People always got shocked when the hood was piped open and showing of an engine that have the size of a lawn mower (relative to the typical V8)…
- Svip 4y ago
  I've been a big fan of Citroëns for a long time, but I cannot quite get the 2CV. I get it's cute, but I think the Dyane is actually cuter. I can see how it lives up to André Citroën's 1930s vision, but what has always truly captured me is the engineering in the hydropneumatic suspension. Fortunately, my first car was (and is) a Citroën DS 23. I have not tried Citroën's new suspension (seems to be limited so far to the kind of car, I don't particularly care for), partly because I've grown disgruntled with Citroën since about the time PSA (or whatever they are called now) started the DS brand, but I really ought to.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    The 2CV makes perfect sense if you look at why it was designed: 'an umbrella with wheels'. The Dyane is much better as a car but it was also a bit more expensive and people really loved the 2CV for its lines and thought the Dyane to be too blockish. My second car was a DS (a DS 21 to be precise), I loved it and ended up touring the former east bloc with it (and ended up living in Poland because of it).
    - Svip 4y ago
      Was your DS 21 pre- or post-1968? Basically, did it have the red or the green fluid? I once drove mine from Denmark to Provence and back again, it was an experience, and not without problems (it started to leak around Paris). I am not sure I would make that big of a trip in it again (although, some part of me hopes I will). Since those days, I've mostly made the big trips in my '98 Xantia.
      - jacquesm 4y ago
        Green. It was one of the latest made (1974). I've done plenty of really long trips with it (many thousands of km), but I did replace all of the accessible high pressure LHM tubing at some point to get rid of the periodical 'Arret!' light on the dash because the system lost pressure. I can also tell you from experience that trying to drive a DS without pressure is both an art and a body building exercise at once. Xantia is a great compromise between 'modern' and 'old fashioned', a bit plasticy but the one I had I drove into the ground over many 100's of thousands of km. The final nail in that particular coffin was to lose the headgasket somewhere between Munich and NL and just continuing the trip, it even got decent fuel economy but it wouldn't start up after being shut down and once we looked into the engine it was declared a miracle that it made it all the way back. Great car, all around and given the distances covered ultra reliable. The real problem in the DS model is the semi-automatic gearbox which is super finicky regarding hydraulics levels (you'll notice a ticking sound when it is trying to engage and can't quite make it due to a lack of fluid, you can temporarily fix that under the hood by forcibly actuating it but driving it like that is really not recommended. Nor is driving it when one of your drive shafts breaks and you block up that side of the drive train. Nice low engine revs though, we jokingly called it 'economy mode'. I also had an ID-19, a simpler but altogether far more robust car.

2CV: 4500 dutch guilders, Dyane 4800, AMI 6250, GS 8000, D-Special 12000, DS 17000. For French Francs multiply by three or so, German Marks divide by 1.10. I was in a crash in a 2CV, it was my first car and after that never got into another one. The damage was incredible given the kind of accident it was.

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
The 2CV always seemed like a death trap to me. It could not get approved in the USA for import; I’m guessing because of safety regulations…although no Citroen cars were available in the US at all.
- Svip 4y ago
  Citroën sold cars in the US till around 1975, when the US introduced regulations that essentially prohibited the hydropneumatic suspension. Citroën even had US spec versions of the DS and the SM for the US market. I am not sure whether the 2CV was ever sold in the USA, but it has definitely been imported. I think in the US, the limit is 25 years before you can import a foreign car. I've encountered plenty of 2CVs and Méharis in North America.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    I've seen a DS in Canada, but only once. (Toronto)
    - Svip 4y ago
      Speaking of Toronto, I once had the pleasure of being driven around the city in a Méhari.
      - jacquesm 4y ago
        I hope it was in summer :)
    - hyakosm 4y ago
      I've seen two 2CV in Montréal, with Québec immatriculation on the back and French immatriculation on the front (modern post 2009).
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    > Citroën sold cars in the US till around 1975 I lived in the USA in 70s and 80s. I never saw more than 1 or 2 Citroen cars in all of that time. And those two cars were stared at by everyone like aliens.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  In US traffic an accident between your average 60's US built car and a 2CV would amount to a death sentence for the occupants of the 2CV.
- masklinn 4y ago
  Afaik it could be sold in the US just fine (this is a car created in 1948, safety regulations were not really a thing). The issue is that it could not be sold: it was particularly low-powered even for french cars of the time, the original model barely reached 40 mph (out of a 9 hp engine), and the later fastest models topped out around 70. The 2CV had literally been designed to cross freshly ploughed fields and drive on unpaved roads, it just was not suitable for the interstate-expanding American market.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    I had one of the faster models but even those could not reliably overtake a truck, chances are that when you tried to come out ahead of the lee of the truck you'd be blown back. More than once I had to sheepishly fall back all 60 feet to go back behind and let others pass.
- tveyben 4y ago
  My mom drove a 2cv in LA - it got imported from Europa (not sure if it was from Denmark or France) as spare parts in order to get it ‘on the Road’ ;-) This was ca. 1983. She still have it but drives a ‘74 beetle daily. I remember (when briefly living in LA) that we drove it from LA to Las Vegas in july (also in the mid 80’ies). It was HOT! People always got shocked when the hood was piped open and showing of an engine that have the size of a lawn mower (relative to the typical V8)…
Svip 4y ago
I've been a big fan of Citroëns for a long time, but I cannot quite get the 2CV. I get it's cute, but I think the Dyane is actually cuter. I can see how it lives up to André Citroën's 1930s vision, but what has always truly captured me is the engineering in the hydropneumatic suspension. Fortunately, my first car was (and is) a Citroën DS 23. I have not tried Citroën's new suspension (seems to be limited so far to the kind of car, I don't particularly care for), partly because I've grown disgruntled with Citroën since about the time PSA (or whatever they are called now) started the DS brand, but I really ought to.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  The 2CV makes perfect sense if you look at why it was designed: 'an umbrella with wheels'. The Dyane is much better as a car but it was also a bit more expensive and people really loved the 2CV for its lines and thought the Dyane to be too blockish. My second car was a DS (a DS 21 to be precise), I loved it and ended up touring the former east bloc with it (and ended up living in Poland because of it).
  - Svip 4y ago
    Was your DS 21 pre- or post-1968? Basically, did it have the red or the green fluid? I once drove mine from Denmark to Provence and back again, it was an experience, and not without problems (it started to leak around Paris). I am not sure I would make that big of a trip in it again (although, some part of me hopes I will). Since those days, I've mostly made the big trips in my '98 Xantia.
    - jacquesm 4y ago
      Green. It was one of the latest made (1974). I've done plenty of really long trips with it (many thousands of km), but I did replace all of the accessible high pressure LHM tubing at some point to get rid of the periodical 'Arret!' light on the dash because the system lost pressure. I can also tell you from experience that trying to drive a DS without pressure is both an art and a body building exercise at once. Xantia is a great compromise between 'modern' and 'old fashioned', a bit plasticy but the one I had I drove into the ground over many 100's of thousands of km. The final nail in that particular coffin was to lose the headgasket somewhere between Munich and NL and just continuing the trip, it even got decent fuel economy but it wouldn't start up after being shut down and once we looked into the engine it was declared a miracle that it made it all the way back. Great car, all around and given the distances covered ultra reliable. The real problem in the DS model is the semi-automatic gearbox which is super finicky regarding hydraulics levels (you'll notice a ticking sound when it is trying to engage and can't quite make it due to a lack of fluid, you can temporarily fix that under the hood by forcibly actuating it but driving it like that is really not recommended. Nor is driving it when one of your drive shafts breaks and you block up that side of the drive train. Nice low engine revs though, we jokingly called it 'economy mode'. I also had an ID-19, a simpler but altogether far more robust car.