While admiring the bizzare French cars at Carlisle the other day, it occurred to me that I don't remember ever having seen a French car as the basis of an article or build up by GRMS.
Peugeot is the most obvious choice. But what about a road test in a Citroen DS? Or finding someone who actually autocrosses one, or has figured out a way to make one go faster? A Maserati engine, that's got to be worthy of an article! Some of the Citroens actually had one.
Cause french cars suck so bad no one drives them? Ive seen a Renault once in my life on the road. Thought it was a prius, didnt care.
In reply to chiodos:
Careful, you'll angry up the natives.
Apparently you're not allowed to dislike a car just because you don't like it.
I too cannot understand French cars, awkward styling and questionable mechanicals. Every one I've worked on has been a pain.
You know, we recently did a Classic Motorsports cover story on French cars. Check the July 2014 issue. Neat stuff.
In reply to Trans_Maro:
I have always wondered which is more comfortable, citroen or Cadillac. Do they still use that crazy hydraulic suspension thats marvelous until it isnt?
Idk why but this keeps popping in my head. "French assault weapons for sale, never fired, only dropped once"
David S. Wallens wrote: You know, we recently did a Classic Motorsports cover story on French cars. Check the July 2014 issue. Neat stuff.
Came here to say this - it was a really good article
That's because we never got the really good French cars. If we would have gotten the Pug 205 or the Renault Clio/Alpine then I bet we would have seen a lot of articles about french cars. Instead we got the 505 and Alliance and no offense, they were never really worth writing much of anything about.
In reply to chiodos:
You need to venture across the pond and spend a few minutes behind the wheel of a Clio V6 RS. It's not the fastest around a circuit, the newer 4 cylinder turbo versions with the engine in the traditional location are. But it's absolute lunacy. A deafening V6 itches away from you back in a hatchback that looks like it was attacked by an APC catalog from 2001. But the mental combination works, you'll have a monster grin until you slide off track backwards at speed.
In reply to captdownshift:
Id love to drive a clio rs, doubt anyone would trust me with one though haha. I understand they made some great hot hatches, just none landed here, so that's why I had to come in and rustle some jimmies.
In reply to bmw88rider:
That pretty much sums it up. The majority of interesting French cars are all smaller cars that didn't make it to the US but are very popular with our type of crowd in Europe.
I'm in France this week. Lots of very lovable odd cars on the road. We are driving a Dacia Duster diesel with a 6spd manual.
Growing up a neighbour had a Renault Dauphine and another had a Caravelle, there was a small dealership in the next town. Montreal had a pizza chain that used Citroen 2CVs as delivery cars, and a DS sedan wasn't common but not unusual to see either. Renaults were part of the AMC dealership inventory for a few years here in 'Murica,too. I owned a 1967 Simca Estate for a few months after I graduated from university. There were French cars around until the 70s and then the AMC tie up until that failed. Living in Canada we tended to have more French and English cars than were sold here,I think.
Three lugnuts (bolts?) per wheel on a Le Car. That's all I got for French cars.
noddaz wrote: Three lugnuts (bolts?) per wheel on a Le Car. That's all I got for French cars.
Pretty much standard on all French small cars. Citroens were that way as were most Renaults and smaller Peugeots.
Family has owned a few Frog built cars... all Pig outs, 2 - 505 (one turbo diesel, the other gas), and a 405 Mi16. The 405 was mine and it was just ok... what it did teach me... I don't like sound capsule/cancelling type cars... you felt so isolated from the outside...
I use my hearing as an aide to how I drive... the 405 made it tough and I always had the window down a little....
those Citreon's are going up in value!
local guy just bought one, in California, drove it all the way to AUSTIN TX. not any problems except said it is not a true USA Interstate cruiser, 55-60 mph just fine, 75-80 not so much!
he paid $30 grand for it, its almost perfect, minor quibbles.
I have a friend who repairs and restores Citroens for a living.
He has a supercharged Maserati V6 is his super mod ice racer.
Three lug bolts- Didn't Penske do that on the Trans Am cars ?
My first car was French. A Renault 4CV.
My first car was a 1966 Renault Dauphine. 850cc/45cu.in. watercooled 4 in back. Dad and I rebuilt the engine and it used wet sleeves like a big diesel. It got 45mpg, which was great since I got it during the first opec embargo! The shifter was the size of a pencil and there was a big warning sign on the dash not to replace it with anything bigger or longer, lest it break the transaxle! After the rebuild it would really hum along on the highway, but if you got it above 65mph you couldn't steer it, a'la "Unsafe at any speed" style.
Maybe we need an issue on orphans. And no cheating by using Pontiac and Plymouth! I'm talking never had much of a following when new but we love 'em anyway. Renault GTAs, Peugeot 505 turbos, RWD 626s, Merkurs, EXPs, XT6s, etc.
I almost bought a 505 Turbo before my 164, but it got sold out from under me. It was stuck in third gear. The transmissions are made of glass (Jeepers are probably familiar with the Peugeot transmission- it's the same one from the 87-89 YJ with different gearing) but otherwise they are stout little cars and a hoot to drive. They ride very nicely. I love the looks too, the sedans are slightly reminiscent of some JDM cars I like. The wheel bolt pattern is a very odd 4x140, which severely limits wheel choices, and many parts for the Simca I-4 Turbo engine are NLA or only available from a handful of Pug suppliers.
Check out this Pug promo from 1988, touting their SCCA successes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TQpgdgPTog
The FDM (is that a thing?) Matra Murena would also be high on my list. Who here wouldn't want a mid-rear with pop-up headlights and three-across seating?
noddaz wrote: Three lugnuts (bolts?) per wheel on a Le Car. That's all I got for French cars.
Ever see a Smart?
I'm building a 73 Citroén SM into a Lemons car now. It's...different. And scary. And that's saying something as my last weird lemons build was a Rolls Royce.
I think the mindset for working on French cars is similar to the one for aircooled Volkswagens.
Take everything you know about how a car should be put together and throw it out the window.
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