Citroen 2cv pages • Hacker News Board

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#91

Post by jaclaz » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 7:59 AM UTC

morninglight wrote: post #66

RicoElectrico wrote: post #61

Someone please explain why 2CV was produced for so long (1949-1990) - even in communist countries which were technologically backwards production of 2CV's contemporaries (like FSO Warszawa) was long stopped (1973 in that example).

The 2CV was inexpensive and indestructible. It was perfect for 3rd world nations that the French had colonized. The 4 wheel independent suspension could go over worse potholes on unpaved roads than you have ever seen. And if something did break, you could either fix it with a coat hanger or find a nearby shade tree mechanic with enough experience to get the job done. I fell in love with it back in the '60's and wante…

Yep, the "other" (inexpensive and indestructible) car was the Renault R4:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_4

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#92

Post by jaclaz » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 8:04 AM UTC

ur-whale wrote: post #2

The Mehari [1] (red car on front page) was an amazing car (4 wheel drive), that was used by the French military for a while and later became very emblematic of the St-Tropez area of France in the 60's and vacationing there. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_M%C3%A9hari

Very few Mehari's were 4x4.

As a side note what was really interesting was the (very rare) 2CV "Sahara" (it was 4 wheel drive with two engines):

https://buy.motorious.com/articles/features/316288/this-citr...

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#93

Post by HelloNurse » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 8:25 AM UTC

prmoustache wrote: post #81

kragen wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From my point of view, making the taxable horsepower a completely different thing from the actual horsepower is a fraud. Maybe you mean that the fraud was perpetrated by the tax office and not Citroen?

No it wasn't because from the start these were called "chevaux fiscaux" and nobody was mistaken the 2 kinds of horsepower. At the time nobody cared about the real horsepower anyway. Until the late 80's the only benchmark that people view in term of car performance capability was the top speed and at a lesser level the 0 to 100kph numbers. The first speed limits had been introduced only in 1974 and at first been prese…

Italy similarly had, and possibly still keeps around for backwards compatibility, the same sort of large "cavalli fiscali", used exclusively as a measure of tax brackets, not of actual power.

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#94

Post by spaniard89277 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 8:28 AM UTC

olivermarks wrote: post #32

My Francophile artist dad, who was a terrible driver, had a sky blue deux chevaux. He used to drop me off at school sometimes in the morning (UK midlands). For urban driving he typically drove in 2nd or 3rd gear at around 23 mph which was very slow in a straight line and terrifying around corners and roundabouts. I used to see ashen faced drivers out of the passenger window trying to understand why his engine was scr…

My granpa had one and he always said it was fantastic for snow.

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#95

Post by foxbee » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 9:16 AM UTC

Now i want to drive along a winding road in sunny mainland France eating a beautiful Jambon-Beurre.

They should make a lovely, pastel, electric version of this. I bet it would be a hit!

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#96

Post by robin_reala » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 9:18 AM UTC

amelius wrote: post #38

They should really make a modern retro version of the 2CV, like they did with the MINI and VW Beatle. It's such an iconic car.

Nissan kinda did, in the early 90s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_S-Cargo

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#97

Post by alex_duf » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 9:53 AM UTC

foxbee wrote: post #95

Now i want to drive along a winding road in sunny mainland France eating a beautiful Jambon-Beurre. They should make a lovely, pastel, electric version of this. I bet it would be a hit!

With today's regulations the car would have to look fundamentally different, so your best bet is to make the conversion yourself, or pay someone to do it!

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#98

Post by jamexcb » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 9:53 AM UTC

haunter wrote: post #6

The GSA had a beautiful dashboard https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FL0xd9wXMAAdIm8.jpg

I have a GS that is even more beautiful. The dashboard has very nice and soft curves. And of course the radio is between the seats. And has two separated fans. One for cold and other for hot air. 4 disk breaks! http://www.citroenet.org.uk/passenger-cars/michelin/gs/image...

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#99

Post by alex_duf » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 9:54 AM UTC

janlukacs wrote: post #31

How I miss the "old" internet. These fan made websites used to show up in google serps ages ago. I've never ran into these personal websites in the past 3+ years, no matter how deep I search.

I wonder if there's a way to twist the arm of a search engine into revealing these gems

Re: Citroen 2cv pages

#100

Post by voqv » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 10:08 AM UTC

alex_duf wrote: post #97

foxbee wrote: post #95

Now i want to drive along a winding road in sunny mainland France eating a beautiful Jambon-Beurre. They should make a lovely, pastel, electric version of this. I bet it would be a hit!

With today's regulations the car would have to look fundamentally different, so your best bet is to make the conversion yourself, or pay someone to do it!

With so many e-bikes popping up, with extra cargo space and even seating for 2 people (electric rickshaw bikes), I wonder if we can go full circle and bring back old cars like 2cv or Model-T with significant speed limits of 30kmph and reduced safety requirements. More and more european cities are starting to have 30kmph speed limits.

To people already preparing to explain how ridiculous that idea is, I know :)

It's more of a pipe dream. Just physically makes no sense to carry around 60kg of an ultra lightweight car (estimate taken from lightest Shell eco-marathon prototypes) instead of the 40kg of the heaviest ebikes. Not sure if there's any feasibility wiggle room.