One for the fans of big Citroens

[Earl Marischal]

This is in a newly opened car museum on the Isle of Man:

steve

[southpier]

nice. wonder how it does on right-hand turns.

[Guest]

Cool.

[Atmobil]

Now that is a perfet combo right there

[pharoah]

I wonder if they got the idea from Mercedes? Very cool anyway.

[Foxer]

Now that is a perfet combo right there

yeah, neither knows what to do with the back of a roof.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

nice. wonder how it does on right-hand turns.

"Turn? Uh... can't do that, man. Sorry."

[DumpyDan]

mmmmmm different

[Craig Irwin]

Nobody does weird like the french.

[Joe Handley]

nice. wonder how it does on right-hand turns.

The same way as a big rig, school bus, or large box van, they go extra wide.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

RV driving 101: turn wide, turn slow.

[10thumbs]

The cool thing was too, the headlight beam turned into the curves along with the wheels!

The convertible is worth a fortune. These cars were ultra cool in my eyes, and they handled very well! The comfort was nonplus-ultra.

Very unique and cool cars, my opinion.

[jbwelda]

edited to correct a couple of typos and a misstatement

>The cool thing was too, the headlight beam turned into the curves along with the wheels!

that feature was not allowed on the USA import cars. why would you want to see around the corner?

another feature rarely discussed was the ability to lift one wheel off the ground. this came in handy when changing a flat tire, and there was a jack that flopped down to accommodate it. raise the corner, release the jack, lower the corner...wheel off the ground and car up on jack.

another feature of the very same feature was the ability to drive the car short distances (flat) on three wheels. get a flat, raise the wheel, continue on till its safe to change it.

yet another feature: the entire rear fender on each side came off via one very long chrome bolt that exited out the back of the fender, then easy matter to lift the fender off and away from vehicle giving unimpeded access to the wheel (held on by one large nut in French cars, think that had to be changed for US use).

one of the most evolved, both functionally and stylistically, probably since the Tucker. only it was sold to more open minded people so didn't have to compete against farm equipment essentially...most of the elegance was lost on that (USA) audience.

also I believe the wheel covers were made of stainless steel and one could cook up soup in them on the rare occasion stuck in the French countryside with a need for some stew with their cheese and wine.

most if not all these features were pointed out in the extensive owners manual that came with the car.

I always thought the DS21 particularly was one of the most beautiful cars in the world, ever. particularly when black with a red sunroof top like my friend had for many years. everything worked beautifully too with only a very little maintenance and care.

jb

Edited May 24, 2015 by jbwelda

[Harry P.]

I've also heard that Citroens were very advanced cars. Wacky looking to our eyes, yeah... but the engineering was way beyond what the Big Three were feeding us at the time.

[Foxer]

I've also heard that Citroens were very advanced cars. Wacky looking to our eyes, yeah... but the engineering was way beyond what the Big Three were feeding us at the time.

I think the Yugo was beyond what the Big Three was feeding us.

[jbwelda]

not sure I would go that far, foxer, that Yu(No)go was a real low water mark.

jb

[Foxer]

not sure I would go that far, foxer, that Yu(No)go was a real low water mark.

jb

I admit .. was a big exaggeration. Just that all these "muscle car" guys still think they were getting something special.

[10thumbs]

jb, driving along French back roads in the dark, and being able to have a little more light into the curve was a good thing. France has nowadays the best road system I've ever seen. Recently for instance, I drove through the entire north of France, over to Brittany on the Atlantic Coast. With the exception of a major city, Caen, there was not a single traffic light the whole way! Unbelievable. Nothing but roundabouts, instead of intersections with traffic lights that block traffic and make driving a congested nightmare. The traffic flows, all over the entire country. Even Paris was a breeze, that's a real big city too. The French have done well with their designs and planning. I don't like the food though. LOL

Michael

[jbwelda]

Michael I was being sarcastic (again). Evidently someone needed to explain the utility of turning headlamps to the NTSB or someone...but oh no OUR LAMPS MUST FACE FORWARD AT ALL TIMES!!! Oh and be sealed beam weak little inefficient candles at the same time!

jb

[10thumbs]

Hi jb, yeah I hear you about the sealed beams. What irks me though on the newer-type luxury class, especially the silly SUV's, the Xenon lights are all too high and they blind the heck out of you, oncoming and behind you.

Give me an old Citroen DS19 sled and I'd be very happy. Cool cars. They ride like a dream too.

[Junkman]

Meilenwerk in Berlin has a Tissier DS19 as well.

They are seriously racking up the miles with it, too, using it to transport classics to shows all over Europe.

[sjordan2]

The best-looking of the bunch to my eyes was the Maserati SM. Thoroughly unreliable according to the dealership where I got my Alfas serviced, but still a unique design.

[10thumbs]

Guys, there is a beautifully restored DS 19 in the neighborhood! I don't know if it belongs to visitors or not, I've seen it 3 times in the last week. It's kind of medium green, and appears to be flawless. If I see it this weekend, I'll get some pics up.

Michael