DOTS: Surprise 2CV!

[WhoIsTheLeader]

My love of Citroens has been well established here so it won't surprise you that I was absolutely thrilled to catch a glimpse of this well loved 2CV6 Charleston on my trip to Savannah, Georgia.

This is the first time I've actually heard Citroen's .6 liter flat twin in action. 29 horsepower of fury! If it's a real Charleston, that is. The wheels are supposed to be body color but the other details seem to be correct.

Previously I have spotted a yellow Charleston in traffic. This is actually the third 2CV I've spotted, but the other was heavily modified.

The Charleston edition was supposed to be one year only for 1980 but was so popular it stayed in production. Most people will agree that this particular swoopy paint job suits the car wonderfully. The world is a brighter, happier place for this wonderful little car.

[Cé hé sin]

@whoistheleader
I've been in a 2CV and a Charleston at that. It was an interesting experience, although I suspect actually owning and driving one would pall fairly quickly.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@cé-hé-sin said in DOTS: Surprise 2CV!:

although I suspect actually owning and driving one would pall fairly quickly

Only one way to find out

I wouldn't want one as my only car but it seems to me it would make an ideal classic.

[Jb boin]

Trivia : Savane was a trim of the Renault 4.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@jb-boin Haven't spotted one of those yet. Looking up Savane brings up low quality dress pants but I figured it out eventually. I do like the matching bright orange paint.

[Jb boin]

@whoistheleader
This one has good quality photos :

The Savane (which means Savanna in French) was a late model trim (started in 1986 while the R4 dated back from 1961) based on the TL, with specific decals and upholstery.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@jb-boin Interesting. I like how they released special edition of old cars to keep them fresh. It has certainly worked well for Dodge in our current century. I like the 4 a lot but I'd rather have a 2CV.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader Yes!!! That's awesome! I've only seen 3 in person as I passed them on the road in Lunenburg one summer....the soundtrack from those little 2-cylinders was glorious and amusingly cheerful lol!

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike Yeah I'd never heard one before. The other one I saw on the road was too far away. This one had a quiet Savannah night to make it stand out. Officially, my Citroen spot count is now at 5. One Traction Avant, one H Van, and three 2CVs. Sad that I've seen so little of one of my favorite brands but the new Ami is supposed to be a rideshare vehicle in D.C. so might even be able to drive one if that doesn't fall through. Nevermind that I've never been there.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader What???They're bringing the Ami over here SOMEWHERE? That alone is pretty cool!

I've seen 6 Citroens I can remember and have proof of...probably 7?

Two 2CVs in a row (for some reason I was misremembering and thought it was 3), the locally-owned SM, an Acadiane Dyane-based van, and some modern Citroen Jumper/Relay RVs:

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike The imported campers are really weird because we have that vehicle here but just not as a Citroen. I wonder how easy a fascia swap would be. . .

As Atlanta isn't exactly a place that you'd import a car to drive around in for a while, the whole idea seems strange to me. And very expensive.

I guess so many 2CVs on this side of the Atlantic are Charlestons because they had the most powerful engine and are comparatively better equipped. The cost of them over a regular 2CV might not be a lot in comparison to the cost of shipping.

Just gonna drop that H Van here because I can. He claimed to have a dedicated Citroen mechanic work on his. I need to figure out where that is and visit.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader I think NA-spec Promaster (ne: Ducatos) have had a few changes, as the FIAT 500 had when it first arrived here...that being said, later Euro 500s received the changes they gave to the car here, so it could be possible that the fascia would just swap over? Completely different drivetrains though...

I remember somewhere reading that there is a company that sells modern drivetrain swaps for H-vans to make them better in modern traffic (they really aren't great to drive in modern traffic...really slow, no oil filter so oil changes like every 5000kms, etc...Hubnut said he drove one on a long trip once and, though he loves them, would never do it again). I think they use Ford Ecoboost engines and transmissions or some such?

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike It really amazes me that the H Van was sold for so long when its drivetrain was outdated before it was ever used for that application. You have to be pretty committed to have one, especially in America.

[BeaterGT]

@whoistheleader Look what's popped up on my local CL. You're the first person who came to mind!
https://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/mc-afee-1964-citreon-hy/7402076109.html

[Jb boin]

@rallydarkstrike said in DOTS: Surprise 2CV!:

I think NA-spec Promaster (ne: Ducatos) have had a few changes

In Europe it has only been available with diesel 4 cylinders engines or now in electric and most of them are sold with manual transmissions.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@beatergt The guy I chatted with said it was great as a food truck because it is wider than a regular van and a lot taller but is still maneuverable. And that the looks get him noticed. Of course, finding someone to work on it might be a little difficult. And I don't have 40k to drop on one.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@jb-boin Yup, I knew they were diesel-only, just didn't know what variety!

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader I'm usually not as big a fan of modern engine drivetrain swaps in the H-van...but because they were pretty dated to begin with, drivetrain-wise, they are one exception I am OK with!

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike It does make sense but you definitely lose some of the character. You also lose some of the slowness though. Now I'm thinking about all sorts of interesting engines to put in it that would add something interesting to the equation. The SM's Maserati engine?

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader Doubt it would fit in the front!

I wonder if the smallest engine available for the NA-spec ProMaster (ne: Ducato)

[Nauraushaun]

@whoistheleader said in DOTS: Surprise 2CV!:

The Charleston edition was supposed to be one year only for 1980 but was so popular it stayed in production.

i'd like to add emphasis here, that a car designed in '39 and sold from '49 can be so popular more than 30 years later. it's like if the 1990 corolla was still in production today virtually unchanged, except more so because cars were advancing much, much faster back then.

[Nauraushaun]

@cé-hé-sin said in DOTS: Surprise 2CV!:

@whoistheleader
I've been in a 2CV and a Charleston at that. It was an interesting experience, although I suspect actually owning and driving one would pall fairly quickly.

i disagree, i think driving one at least would be a blast every single time. chris harris seems to agree!

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@nauraushaun said in DOTS: Surprise 2CV!:

i think driving one at least would be a blast every single time

I have to agree here. The experience is such a radical departure form anything you could have bought in the last 20 years that I don't think you'd ever be bored. And they're still fun enough to drive underneath the novelty.

I also have great respect for those cars that far outlived their expected lifespan. The 2CV is a great example but previously in this thread I talked about how the H Van had an outdated engine to start with. It was basically a Traction Avant engine and even that wasn't exactly groundbreaking to begin with. Also, isn't it weird that the Traction Avant became the first ever hatchback like 20 years after it was first designed?

[StreetsofPerth]

@whoistheleader The Traction thing is pretty amazing. The Renault 16 typically gets hailed as the first hatchback, but the Traction Commericale was the grandaddy of them all.

Even the DS was in production for 20 years, although I suppose it was still advanced by 1975, save for an ancient engine.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@streetsofperth said in DOTS: Surprise 2CV!:

The Renault 16 typically gets hailed as the first hatchback, but the Traction Commericale was the grandaddy of them all.

The closest modern equivalent I can think of would be the Dodge Challenger and Charger gaining a widebody variant 12 years into their production run but even then it's not nearly as innovative. It's just adding a factory body kit when usually cars lose options over their production run.

There aren't many of the truly long lived designs left. The Lada Niva and UAZ Loaf are still in production somehow. And there are more recent ones like the 25 year old Chevy Express and the even older Econoline though that's now only a cutaway chassis. Even then, those are commercial vehicles.