In defense of the French....The DS

Poststructural Pub
1

I drove one of these yesterday…
Citroen DS.
What a fun car! Too bad they’re hard to find in good shape. This thing has a pneumatic suspension that raises and lowers depending on road conditions and speed. The one I drove was one of the last variations made that had a 2.3 litre engine (this was also turbocharged, an aftermarket modification). Handled very well for a 1974 French touring car. If I wasn’t neck deep in two Mini projects I’d buy one as my long-distance road car.
Anyone else drive one?

2

Hi Tyler

If the are available in the States / Canada, why not try the C5 - the latest Citroen model with hydropneumatic suspesnion - great for cruising long miles in.

http://www.citroen.co.uk/level3/modelpage.asp?pagetype=c5

David

3

The C5 looks great, but sadly, we have been unable to get a great deal of the better European cars here, including Citroen.
I’d probably still buy the DS for the classic appeal it has.

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My brother had one for about six months, during the phase when he’d buy any old banger and run it into the ground. It actually ran for about three months before breaking down, and one day a bloke knocked on the door, and offered him £10 for the wingmirrors, and my brother agreed, if he took the whole car away as well.

5

I’ve driven, for a short time, a SM version.

A Maserati V6 adds the missing piece to a great car. It was a deal made by Citroen and Maserati in 1968, but the car arrived during the 1970’s oil crisis, and never really got a chance. It’s a shame that Maserati’s electrics are so poor. It often seems that Marelli’s (electric supplier for most Italian cars at that time) sole purpose was to show that you could build automotive electrics worse than Joseph Lucas’ products. :boggle:

dave boling

6

[/quote]
It often seems that Marelli’s (electric supplier for most Italian cars at that time) sole purpose was to show that you could build automotive electrics worse than Joseph Lucas’ products. :boggle:
dave boling[/quote]

Lucas Electrical AKA The Prince of Darkness

7

INDEED!!!
I change out ALL the electrical components in my Minis for that reason…

8

damn, i thought this thread was about the unmentionable one..

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If you had ever owned a British, Lucas Electrical equipped car during the 50s or 60s, you would have used and heard a great deal of unmentionable language. On the other had, it did give me the ability to curse a blue streak for a full three minutes without ever repeating myself. :smiley:

10

I think the unmentionable one was at the head of Lucas in the 60s