What kind of car is this?

[NJBob]

I saw the little rascal coming up behind me and quick dug out the old digicam for a couple quick shots. A Brittish 4CV 'er sumpin'?

http://www.bobishere.net/files/What_Mirror.jpghttp://www.bobishere.net/files/What1.jpghttp://www.bobishere.net/files/What2.jpg

[eTiMaGo]

British? BRITISH???? BRITISH?????


heheh that's a Citroen 2CV, perhaps the most iconic FRENCH car ever :biggrin:

[MadMax]

Exactly, you still see a lot of them running around the French countryside; but nearly as many as you used to...

Cheers! M2

[eTiMaGo]

once, back there, we were on the highway doing about 70MPH and one passed us at a much higher speed... definitely not the original engine in there :laugh:

[SailDesign]

isn't it the same one that had canvas doors?

Don't remember canvas doors on them, but the roof is canvas. The original Moon Roof.

[Jochen]

In Belgium we call it a goat :)
And in the Netherlands it's called a (ugly) duck.

[yaris-me]

It's the Tata Nano of it's day.:rolleyes:

[NJBob]

Citroen eh? OK Definitely not English. I DID have the CV part. LOL :biggrin:

http://krisdedecker.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/05/2cv_duo.jpg

[tomato]

isn't it the same one that had canvas doors?

Not the doors, just the roof, as SailDesign pointed out. Definitely not a fast car, but very popular in France for decades.

I snapped this one in San Francisco

[eTiMaGo]

hahhahhaha POU BEL = Poubelle = Garbage Can :laugh:

[Bob_VT]

The stick shift in that was directly through the dash and not up from the floor. They were designed and balanced that if you got a flat tire they would stay upright on only 3 wheels.

There is a french bistro here in VT and they have one outside as a display piece. It belongs to the Chef.

[eTiMaGo]

some good background reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroen_2cv

:smile:

[tomato]

The stick shift in that was directly through the dash and not up from the floor.

Oh,yeah, that's right!!! I remember that now! Talk about shifting like a truck!!! Wasn't the starter on the dash, as well?


Here is a French one with the roof open:

[SailDesign]

The shifter on those (and the Dyane) was like on the Renault 4 - Reverse was where 1st is on "most" cars, 1st is where 2nd should be, etc. The shift "lever" slides in and out, and rocks side to side, a very different feeling to the regular lever, but quite nice when you get used to it.

[tomato]

The shifter on those (and the Dyane) was like on the Renault 4 - Reverse was where 1st is on "most" cars, 1st is where 2nd should be, etc. The shift "lever" slides in and out, and rocks side to side, a very different feeling to the regular lever, but quite nice when you get used to it.

Like this:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renault_4_011.jpg

[*MAD DOG*]

Hmmm that's like calling a BMW Italian!

[TLyttle]

BMW Italian? Like in Isetta? Hmm.

Those Citroen/Renault beasts are everywhere in Europe, and are just what a good car is supposed to be: reliable, economical, versatile, comfortable. I believe the criteria for the suspension was to be able to drive across a plowed field with a crate of eggs in the back, and not crack one. Suspension that pliable does lead to some hilarious cornering techniques, though; see one coming at you around a corner, and you are convinced that it will indeed roll over, and that the inside front wheel has become detached...

[SailDesign]

Like this:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renault_4_011.jpg

Yeah, except they seem to have made trhe shift pattern the same as "most" cars with the later models. Ours was an early '76, IIRC. An dright-hand drive, too, since we were in England.

[tomato]

Oh, yeah, that's true. I didn't look closely at the picture!

[IllusionX]

Not the doors, just the roof, as SailDesign pointed out. Definitely not a fast car, but very popular in France for decades.

I snapped this one in San Francisco

weird.. i think it's the same one i spotted in Montreal...