In depth review of a 1982 Citroen 2CV Charlseston edition, with an overview of @CV history and a test drive at the end. Car is from a private collection and not for sale. Review by Bill of Curious Cars.
I had one of these in England back in the 80s. I loved it. Another piece of simplistic oddness was the fact that these things had only two suspension springs - running lengthways along the sills (rockers) inside tubes and acted on by both the front and rear suspension arms at the same time. Ingenious. You can just imagine the French Citroen suspension engineer giving a Gallic shrug as if the rest of the world are the ones who are mad... (He may be right...) 😅
I regret to inform you that 2CV actually has 4 springs inside the tubes, and rubber bumpers on each end of the tube, allowing the tube to shift back and forth. If front wheel hits a bump, it pulls the rod, compresses the spring, shifts the tube forward, pulls the rear spring, pulls the rear wheel down, raises the rear end, and keeps the car level. Still, clever!
The car leans like a drunken sailor going around corners, but you quickly realise it's actually very stable and the handling is precise. It's also great off-road but most people don't discover this.
You forget the suspension engineers shrug with a Gauloises dangling impossibly low, while thinking about bailing from work to go shag his mistress…impossibly, perfectly, French
Very informative 2CV run down. I owned an identical 1982 Charleston which I ordered for delivery in Right Hand Drive in Paris in May 1982. My 15 month tour before shipping to Australia included Europe, England, Ireland, Canada and USA with shipment from Belgium to Halifax in Nova Scotia. Final shipment from San Francisco to Sydney. More Smiles per Mile than anything else on 4 wheels. It was my second of three new 2CV6s brought home to Australia. Current is a 1990 RHD Charleston. Total 550,000 kms over 44 years. Indeed my first one got pulled apart by myself and two friends in England to be shipped home as second hand parts from the UK to Sydney and rebuilt by 2 car club friends in Sydney. On the Canadian / trans USA Charleston expedition - so many fun adventures in the strange little antiquey car with the steering wheel on the wrong side, yellow French headlights, sardine can roof and swaying suspension - it was a real hoot. In Kentucky a gas station attendant asked permission for his boss to - "Feel my little car".... he was a blind car collector. In New Orleans a policeman jumped out of his patrol car and held his hand up to stop. I popped my head through the roof and he produced a camera from behind his back to snap a classic froggie machine in the French Quarter. In Austin the police pulled us up for having my two rear seat uni students standing up through the roof with the car swaying from side to side. Coming into San Francisco on the freeway two cops pulled me up on a fly over to tell me I could not drive in California on the red French tourist plates.... After they left I heard a beep beep from the road below. It was a Citroen DS driver who yelled to pull off the next exit. He gave me the details for two brothers in SF that serviced 2CVs. I stayed with them for 2 weeks and they gave the 2CV a much needed service and new brake pads. Never got a ticket..... AND The first night in Nova Scotia driving a rental Ford Capri (2 days before the ship arrived), I got pulled up by a police cruiser for 100 kph in an 80 zone on the North Shore. I showed him a photo of the 2CV saying I was not used to such power and today was my first day on continental North America. Instead of booking me I got invited home for clam chowder dinner with his wife and stayed the night in the guest room. What a welcome..... Even a photo of the 2CV weaves magic....
Fascinating!!!! Thank you for sharing these iconic memories with us, much appreciated.And , as a french frog, so happy to learn that this car brings as much smiles outside here, than it does here.
Awesome! These things are a lot on the road in my country (netherlands) easy to fix, easy to restore and parts are plenty. You don't want to have an accident in them but they ride very nice and smooth. 0-60 time is only measured with a calendar.
I noticed a well used example being enjoyed by its owner in the neighbourhood when I visited Amsterdam. always pinned to the floor over the speed bumps with the rag-top open. living life.
I used to work for Jerry Hathaway in California, who was the worlds foremost expert on the SM. Worked on many 2CV’s and DS’s. Not once did I ever see an engine failure in either. The engines are reliable and durable, and thus highly tuneable. Although many chose to swap the DS’s water-cooled in-line four for a Porsche air-cooled flat-six with a turbocharger and an inter cooler in place of the radiator for extra power.
HA! This is the one car I asked Bill to review in the flask giveaway! I don't know if you read my email, or if this is just coincidence. Either way, I am so happy. My mom's boyfriend had 3 of these over the years...had a sticker on the first one '1,000,000 Frenchman can't be wrong'. World's Strongest Man contest used to have the guys deadlift and carry them as a trial. In suburbia, I could out maneuver a Porsche. In the country, I helped ATV's out of the bush. Thank you so much for giving this car the Bill treatment. P.S. You DO NOT want to be the person in the middle in the back. Dangerous.
The Citroen 2CV made an appearance in "American Graffiti", and in a Peanuts movie where the gang goes to France as exchange students. Somehow, they rent a 2CV, and Snoopy drives them where they need to go.
This is the first time in my life I have seen such a car. Of course, this and every car is nothing in comparison to your gifted personality, Bill. Thank you for this and for you!
Some additional 2CV info for you. 2CVs were made in Paris 1948-1988, final production in Portugal 1988-July 1990. The Charleston came out in 1981 - as a limited edition with hounds tooth seat covers. 1982-1990 it got the grey diamond seats. Front & rear seats clipped out for picnics or bulky loads. Brakes until 1981 were front inboard drum and then front inboard discs - ten times the stopping power to go power!!! Sayings... you can tell a 2CV driver by gravel rash on their elbows - so much lean in corners. The limit of the road holding was when the door handles dig in... Engine - Air cooled plus oil cooler. Metal to metal machined finishes with no head gasket. No fan belt, fan bolted on end of crankshaft, no distributor - points fired on every stroke. Only belt is for the alternator. Crank handle for starting when battery dead. Same handle undoes the hup caps, 3 wheel nuts and 3 bolts from front mudguards.. One car crossing a desert in north Africa had the sump plug fall out and they got back with squished bananas feed down the oil filler after plugging the drain hole...
It’s so light, it would probably just be pushed out of the way, in the event of a high-road, same-lane collision. When I would take mine out on a highway, when living overseas, I’d wear an open faced motorcycle helmet and had hooked up a racing harness. Also had some padding and cross-bracing installed around the ceiling-area.
@@stoneylonesome4062 I'm not sure that's how car crashes work. It would definitely be pushed out of the way but the person in it would be pushed off the planet.
I drove one of these once. No acceleration to speak of, while making a racket of a noise. No power steering, of course, so it felt like I had to turn the front wheels with the whole weight of the engine on them with my bare hands without any gearing. The wipers were tragically ineffective and there was minimal separation from the outside. It was so hilariously funny, I broke out in loud laughter even though I was on my own. I still remember this fun moment vividly as if it had been last week. Bill didn't give the suspension enough credit as it was super comfy and very ingeniously constructed. The body roll was hilarious but the car was very safe to drive. There were even contests to tip one over by pure driving (no ramps, etc.) and nobody managed it.
I love the sound of this car accelerating through 2nd gear! Ever since I saw the beating the yellow 2CV went through in _For Your Eyes Only_ during the chase scene, I have had respect for this little car!
Used to work at a shop outside LA called “SM World” that specialized in classic Citroëns, particularly the SM (my late boss was friends with Jay Leno and we worked on all the ones he owned). We had numerous customers with basically 2 or three of those flat-2’s sharing a common crankshaft to put out more power. They’re also fairly tough little engines, given what they are, so they are receptive to tuning, mine had a tiny little turbo from an old Isuzu Gemini RS Turbo. Doing that can make it pretty adequate in terms of power, even for the highway, just stay in the slow lane, et cetera.
Very nice episode Bill, with a car other than a big Cadillac or Mercedes-Benz (which I like very much). I live in Europe (The Netherlands) and in my youth, seventies and eighties, you saw the 2CV on every corner of the street, while my father drove big Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles and Buicks :) And these days you still come across them in traffic.
My family drove Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets in Holland too in the fifties and sixties, they were somewhat common on the road. Loved American cars of that era. Most of these coped quite well with European driving conditions.
I JUST watched this video this morning. I slept horribly and was up before dawn. I felt horrible, but I watched the video because I enjoy your stuff. Today I was expecting a stressful day but it turned out great. On my way home I learned of some good news, careerwise, and I then end up seeing a Citroen exactly like the one you reviewed in this video. I thought of you and figured maybe you were giving me some good luck. Crazy or not, your content is appreciated and it was nice experiencing something positive on what I thought was destined to be a sucky day. Thank, Bill!
With that air-cooled twin, it sounds like a Kawasaki or a Yamaha. And that is the weirdest gearshift I've ever seen! But it looks like a fun local runabout. Columbo might have liked it.
This vehicle sorta reminds me of my 1959 Datsun 1000.....the first Datsun to be offered in the States....4cyl in line engine, 37hp, and four on-the -column!...I used to drag race those old VW Bugs, and usually win, at least up to 40mph or so!...that car would grudgingly cruise on the freeway at 60mph, but it sounded so strained that I rarely attempted that!...Amazingly, there is a website, has a few of these boxy-looking, first-effort Datsuns on display--but parts do not exist for these anymore!
I really enjoy listening to your fun and informative stories.. creme de la creme of youtube car reviews, with hearty humour. And that radio voice! 🤠 Greets from Scandinavia ✌️
My Mother had a few of these when I was a kid and I thought they were so embarrassing when all my friends parents were in nice dull Fords and Volvos. Just love the 2CV now
I remember when I was in college in Midland, MI there was a Peugeot 505 wagon that roamed around and I thought it was weird as hell. Love ya Bill! Excited to see the changes
Hi Bill and thanks for the review of this marvel of ingeneering simplicity. I am French and these cars are more and more scarce on the road. But well preserved ones are soaring in value. Could you do a review of a Citroen DS 23 Pallas and a Renault 4 ? The DS is now a collector's car which costs a ton of money. The Renault 4 is still very cheap and amazingly reliable. Many are still in use in Africa. They can run in dusty and sandy environments and be repaired on field or in any western african village. There is even a French rally raid in Morocco every year with Renault 4s ( the 4L Trophy).
Back in the eighties these were imported to Canada new and rebadged with VIN plates of old ones that were already registered here. They were treated as restored cars.
Bill, you say you had access to 10 or 15 Citroens?! Please do review these wonderfully curious cars. I always thought the DS models were so futuristic and in fact were used in a bunch of sci-fi movies. French cars are so cool and weird and from what I understand also comfortable and practical. Please share if you can and always appreciate the work you put into educating us about the history of these amazing cars, and experiencing them firsthand so we can live vicariously through your impressions!.
Yes Citroens are extremely comfortable cars, especially the BX models that had the adjustable hydraulic suspension system. Light the cars floated not on the road.
@@curbozerboomer1773 I’m not certain about him stepping away. He has mentioned traveling and finding cars so I think it will transition to more of him doing cars in various locations and cars that aren’t coming in through AHN. I could be wrong, but he also mentioned a smaller dealership in this specific video. So it didn’t sound like he is stepping away. Just changing it up some.
Hey Bill, thanks so much for the flask, it's been put to good use since I got it!! Sorry about the extra shitty, muggy weather there in Naples. I hope that you have a great time in the mountains at the cabin!!! I wish you good luck with your future endeavors with the new dealership!!! I will miss the Dalton & snowflake reports!!! Thanks for sharing this fun video of this unusual French car!!! 👍🥃
Haha -- I had my car serviced today and when I looked over the receipt it said a guy named Dalton did the tire inspection. Laughed to myself and almost asked that somebody else re-check to make sure the work was actually done! I'm pretty far from Florida, by the way.
Fantastique, Bill....Sacre bleu!, Naples weather seems eerily similar to London weather these days - tres merde! .... You just can't beat Citroens for sheer character and 'la difference'.. We had a Dyane and an Ami8, both with similar underpinnings to the 2CV, then a GS (an interesting car in its own right) when I was young. I've owned a BX16RE and a BX GTi - excellent hydro-pneumatic suspension, like the DS, GS, CX amd XM - and a C2. The C3 Pluriel was rather odd too, but I quite liked it. The GS was notable for its inboard discs and centre-point steering geometry (my father once suffered a tyre burst in London and drove 150 miles in it without any loss of control before he stopped and became aware of what had happened), and was a great drive, but I never really liked the 2CV's gearchange - very much an acquired taste. Pity that Citroens have gradually lost their unique identity, much as Mercedes-Benz no longer have that bank-vault solidity...
I owned over the space of about 10 years from 1981 onwards several Dyane's(posh 2cv) and a lone 2CV. Over here in the UK they were just cheap runabouts back then. Looking back my car buying went something like, Jag, Citroen, V8 Rover, Citroen, V6 Ford, Citroen you see a pattern here! It's still possible to pick a 2CV in Europe for under $6k but you'll need $20k plus for a restoration and the few ex French military twin engined 4x4 models go for $120k plus!
Until this video, I knew almost nothing about the 2CV. Now, thanks to Bill, I feel enlightened about how revolutionary this Citroen was in automotive history. I will never have the opportunity to drive one but I do appreciate it much more than I did when I was ignorant about its qualities. Who knew that Curious Cars could be so educational? The only thing missing was a Year in Review about what happened in France when this car was built. This video inspires me to go have a cigarette, drink some coffee with my baguette and revel in my existential crisis.
Lived in Germany in the mid 80s' compliments of Uncle Sam. These cars were everywhere. For every VW Beatle you would see on the road you would see ten of these. I had several friends that owned them and took many road trips in them. Although comically underpowered and minimalist they had a charm all their own.
I've toured in 2cvs through Europe many times, incuding crossing the Alps. A car very well received on the Continent - waves, beeps and even tears. Had some campsite discounts as well! A truly wonderful car.
I recentle discovered your channel and have enjoyed a variey of your curious cars and your wide knowledge. The Deux Chevaux -- "Duh Chevaux" -- rhymes with "DUH" -- is one of the most practical cars ever built, especially for rural postwar France where it might quite easily be carrying a sheep or a goat in the back. As a Canadian -- what's with that btw-- and as a Much Younger Person, I had a couple of memorable rides in France. First in a Peugeot 403 from Paris to Bordeaux, then back in a DS 21, where I observed the French technique of driving full tilt into an intersection while blowing the horn at full blast. Then later I was driven around Paris in a Deux Chevaux -- this was about 1961, and prosperous Parissiennes drove them as city cars even though they could plainly afford more elaborate transport. Incidentally, I apologize for being pedantic, but there is a difference between "simple" and 'simplistic. Keep up the good work,and thanks.
I have driven 2CV's for years. Loved it and it took me in good part of Europa. This video shows us a very luxurious version. The driver is not used to shifting by hand. Ref it all the way up to 6000 rpm's is not necessary and will in the end hurt the engine and use more gas. It is a light car and the 2 cylinders can deliver 27 hp. With a weight of 1200 to 1300 pounds, the motor is strong enough to transport you comfortably. There were even versions with two engines, so with that weight it was an excellent off-road vehicle that can give a good match to the modern off-road vehicle today. You can still drive well on slippery roads. With my CV I dragged other cars off the roadside in the winter because their rear wheel drive car could not stay on the road but slid to the roadside. But there were also lesser sides, rust was a major enemy in countries with a cool maritime climate and safety was not so good either.
I had three of them when I was younger and I would love to have one again but they're really getting expensive over here (Netherlands) so I'll have to make do with my Citroën XM 😄. The 2CV is really a unique piece of engineering. By the way, André Citroën (founder of the company) was of Dutch descent and the name Citroen actually is the Dutch word for lemon. His ancestors were originally fruit merchants (hence the name) in Amsterdam and later went into the diamond trade and then moved to Paris, where André was born.
Your info about Andre Citroen is spot on. And very interesting to many people. Citroen was also a Jew, I wonder if the Nazis gave him grief during the occupation?
Obviously a very common circuit from lemons to diamonds……fascinating! Only Jewish people could pull such a « hat trick » back then….amazing to say the least!
@@Petrospect guy in Connecticut _used to_ import 2cv's and other oddball things including the odd Mehari once in a while. Been a looong time and I can't recall his name. Used to advertise in Hemmings all the time.
I own an SM (Euro Spec 3.0 Litre Fuel Injected 5MT). I sent Bill an email offering to loan him my car for a week or two so he can film. Hopefully he’ll take the offer. I used to work for Jerry Hathaway in California. He was renowned as the foremost expert on the SM, which was his shop’s specialty. However we also worked on many DS’s and 2CV’s.
Your humour wrapped around great historical research on the 2CV makes this episode one of your best. My parents took a Euro vacation in 1962 taking delivery of a Mercedes and driving around Europe. Describing France, my father said the drivers were homicidal. My mother mentioned the strange little cars with corrugated panels that looked like garbage cans on wheels, the 2CV🤪
These cars are a blast! I wish I had one today. I grew up in The Netherlands in the 70's. If you were 18 and had no money for a car, about $100 would get you a used 2CV. Might be in a state of disrepair but the whole car has only about 40 parts which are all plenty available in Europe for cheap and working on these cars is like working on a lawn mower....but simpler! You don't want to use duck tape to fix these cars, because duck tape is fairly expensive you might spend more on the tape than what the car is worth. Bill shouldn't be criticizing the door cards too much, being that the video's model is a very luxurious version, IT HAS door cards, most 2CV don't, just the bare metal of the inside of the door. One big safety feature of this car...well, actually the car is unsafe, but the car can not topple over. Each time you turn a corner you think and feel it's going to topple over, but it will not. At my young age we put killer stereos in these cars, worth 4 times as much as the whole car and some how the alternator dealt with it? No problems. The car in this video, I saw, also has real door hinges! The old ones don't. just a long pin that goes through a channel of metal, you could remove a door in about 10 seconds, don't worry about electrical wiring in the doors, there is none! The seats are super soft, support is not really a thing, and the foam or springs give out after about 2 years and then you just sink into the seats, no problems there. All of them are convertibles, oh yeah...sort of. Think about that, Mercedes and BMW (both less reliable cars) charge a hefty up charge for their convertibles, not Citroen. Great car.
The person who designed the suspension said that he wanted it to ride so smoothly that a farmer could load it up with eggs and drive across a field without breaking one. I've never ridden in one but, I have read many times that the ride is amazingly smooth for such a lightweight car.
I've driven one and the ride was super comfy. The body roll was hilarious as well, but it was not unsafe to drive as it was impossible to tip one of these over.
Lovely to see this. In my country (the Netherlands) they were all over the place in their time, and you still see them. They always worked, and on the rare occasions when they didn't they were easy to fix. Originally they were generally called Lelijke Eend (Ugly Duckling), later shortened to just Eend (Duck). Almost nobody used the name 2CV. They were sometimes also known as Spijkerbroek Op Wielen (Jeans On Wheels).
I’m a french fan of yours 🇫🇷, living near Bordeaux 🍷🍇 Thank you very much for this video ! And for all the other ones, it is such a pleasure to discover each one of them. THANK YOU BILL !!!
I've always loved that car. It's ridiculous, compared to our western(american) view of automobiles. Yet, it's very genius in some solutions and quite interesting for its era. Thanks for sharing, Bill.
Great to catch up with you again, Bill. The first glimpse I got of the 2CV was (perhaps appropriately) in a 1970 episode of *Get Smart* where it was used in a particularly slapstick chase sequence. I'd been oddly obsessed with this car ever since, and I doubt I'm alone. Keep up the quirky work!
Glad your alright minus the scorching weather in Naples. Interesting ride Bill. Excited to see you hit the road in the RV after being unchained from Autohaus.
The right hand stalk with the horn is the headlight. V is 'Ville' - Town lights - parkers / low beam R is 'Route' - Open Road - low beam / high beam The illuminated rocker switch on the left is likely to an aftermarket reversing light switch. The mystery switch on the left of the speedo is the hazard flashers. The switch above the wiper switch is to check the brake fluid level. The hand brake has its own pads on the front discs and the handle has a child proof lock... Simplicity is the key... The speedo has little orange bars show the max speed in each gear. 6,000 rpm - 4th = 123 kph (down hill) max on flat 115 kph - 72 mph 6,000 rpm - 3rd = 90 kph 6,000 rpm - 2nd = 60 kph 6,000 rpm - 1st = 30 kph I have recently added a Burton Big Bore 652 cc to replace the orginal 602 cc engine plus Power Tube - I call it my 2CV7 - 20% more power and torque. Reduces 0-100 kph time from 33 sec to 25 sec Max top speed on flat 120 kph Best thing is that it doesn't lose so much speed on the uphills!!
I was lucky enough to visit Germany in the mid 80s, in America it was the very height of yuppie optimism and conspicuous consumption, and the BMW 5 series and the Mercedes E series were the sedans that so many upwardly mobile families pined for. Many had to make do with Japanese models or Buick LeSabres until they could achieve that next rung on the social climbing ladder. So it was with complete and utter shock when we walked out of the airport in Frankfurt and these cars which were such an elite status symbol of "having made it" back in the States we're just normal everyday cars being used and abused as taxis and police cars and clearly within reach of most of the population. Essentially a German Ford LTD equivalent in status and in usage. They were of course very decontented from the American versions, no air conditioning, vinyl seats, no safety glass or safety bumpers. But I never looked at the Mercedes E-Class with the same yearning again! The illusion that this was a superior luxury car with a fancy pedigree had been blown! Mercedes station wagons as emergency vehicles... Ha! Mercedes-Benz marketing really sold that upscale image to Americans and made it stick for the vast majority that never actually traveled to europe and saw what mundane workday practical vehicles they actually were designed and being used as. No doubt they were expensive in america, but it turns out that was more because of the import cost than them actually being a wildly superior machine to many of the American and Japanese cars of the time. Perception is everything.
Wonderful video; you do such a terrific job with these car documentaries. I really like that you drive these things, they're not sitting in a hauler-trailer all the time. I hope on your travels you get a chance to stop in Auburn, Michigan at the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg museum. Sometimes they fire-up a Duesenberg.
Curious Cars, curious changes. What will the future hold for Bill and the greatest car channel on RU-vid? Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 2 weeks to find out. Enjoy your trip. Would love to see some updates on the road. Love ya Bill.
I really enjoyed this review by Bill. I really appreciate the juxtaposition of the Art Deco lines and the plastic fantastic door cards. It didn’t sound half bad under full throttle either!
Great video. Thanks for laughs Bill (“you got big secondary noises there”) and going outside the box on this one. The 2CV never inspires indifference in people, they either luv ‘em or hate ‘em, as it should be with any icon.
Just some years ago, I was told there is still a factory somewhere in the south of France where they make about every part you need to build your own. On top of that, there are specialists that started out restoring these 2CVs that can build your car from all new parts. Some of them are told to build better quality than the origional factory. Hence, you can still get your own brand new 2cv.
no offense buddy but, for an American, I must admit you know pretty much your 2cv subject! well done!! I know quite well the 2 cv (as I have one in my garage...) but still, I was absolutely glued to this video! Great work, congrats!
My first car back in 1988 as an 18 year old was a secondhand 2CV Special, light blue. Loved the car but it is very flimsily built and would be a disaster in a crash. Whenever 2CV owners would see each other they waved just like motorcyclists do.
Bill, superb video! I’ve had 52 vehicles, 25 brands on 3 continents-Isetta to Rolls. Only once rode in a Citroen in London. Now I’m thinking the 2CV car is just too common; there’s 3 in town here, 2 are in the Hagerty Learning Garage. So, I’m pursuing a ‘68 Fourgonette with lettering on the side promoting a trout fishing camp near Montreal. It has a big block twin boxer transplant from the Citroen AMI- a whopping 32 HP! btw, the ‘69 Land Rover Lightweight military I’m restoring has the same air con system-with dual vent flaps to provide dual zone cooling! Keep those Curious videos coming.
Great video of a car in remarkably good shape. Would love to see the GS on this channel, especially one of the later models from 1977 to 1980 with the improved dashboard and the larger engines. That car with its air-cooled boxer, crisp handling, hydropneumatic suspension and huge cargo area was a very big step up from the 2CV and really makes you wonder what if a manufacturer with a basically similar layout like, say, Subaru would go the whole hog and adopt the Citroen suspension and spare tire placement in order to maximize comfort, load floor depth and and interior space.
Had a GS Club after owning two 2CV’s and a Dyane 6, great car and very advanced for the time. Agree it would be great to see a review of the GS…… not seen one in years here in UK.
Had two 2CV’s and a Dyane 6 which was the same underpinning’s but a less quirky body style. All were cheap to run, totally reliable and incredibly versatile little cars. Used to love rolling the roof back in summer for open top motoring. Good video, cheers from UK.
We have one just like that, (same color, same model) here in Italy. It's my wife's daily driver, and she had it even before we met, 18 years ago, and that 2CV is the only thing she's jealous about. I can snatch a drive once in a while, but NO ONE else is allowed to jump in the driver's seat of that car. It's a VERY fun car to drive and really induces you to enjoy the trip and take it easy. The ride quality is actually surprising, considering the age and simplicity of that car. Once you get accustomed to the shifter pattern, you start to wonder why other cars did not think of that. The lever is close to the steering and at the right height. Keep your distances tho...no-power drum brakes aren't exactly powerful. The very peculiar suspension gives it a floaty ride, and although there's a lot of body roll, it's almost impossible to roll over the car. But the best thing about this car is that it put a smile on everyone around her.
Truly 'odd ball' french ... which is not a bad thing ... it is so unique and nothing like the 'cookie cutter' cars that were being manufactured at the time ... Driving it actually appears to be quite the adventure Bill ... I thought l wouldn't ... but l actually love it ... 😍
That thing looks like a VW screwed a horse drawn carriage. Weird but cool! I got the flask too Bill super stoked to have won!!! Keep up the awesome content brother 🙏🙏🙏🙏💪💪💪💪
Just looked up The Autocar's 1953 road test of the 375cc, 9bhp version. Did you say not much pep? 0-30 mph took 22.7 secs and 20-40 in 3rd gear was 1 minute 21.3 secs! Max? 39.3 mph. Despite that I think that Andre Lefebvre, who engineered the Traction, the 2cv and the DS has to be one of the greatest automobile engineers.
Next to to spare tyre in the trunk, on the left, you find the plastic made winter grille, made in order to keep the motor heating when it's freezing outside.
Here in Argentina we had a bunch of those, but they were called 3CV. First they came imported, then Citroen started making them here with the van version!
"Eat sausage and schnitzel and while they sieg heil at the beach" lol. I don't think I've heard a more un-PC rant in years lol. And I shouldn't but I laughed in shock and awe. Hysterical LOL
Thanks Bill. I’ve got one in New Zealand. They’re selling in excellent order for around $NZ30,000 which is about $$21,000 US. Great fun. We have Raids here, too. Thanks
in the Netherlands we have allot of 2cv's . we grew up with it. there are still many people who use a 2cv as a daily car. I have two at the moment :-) its a way of life.
Bill, I always enjoy your videos - but I have to say this is the funniest one I've ever seen. Have loved the Deux Cheveux since my family went on vacation to Europe in 1976 - then the one in For Your Eyes Only.... I was laughing right along with you while you were driving it!
