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Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

eupolicy.social

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Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#401

Post by torginus »

immibis wrote: post #358
torginus wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love the idea of these tiny EVs. Apparently the EU's making some legislation for them so that they can go without much of the expensive 'safety' equipment such as driver tracking. Parking cars in cities not designed for them is a nightmare, but getting around with a car is so much faster than public transport, even if your city's is fairly decent.

tangential: people also underestimate the convenience of public transport being a one-way trip, meaning you can go from A>B>C>D>A and never have to go back to a previous spot to pick up a part of your luggage that you left behind.

Personally, when not being a tourist, almost all my trips are home to some place and back again.

Public transport is great, but if you're going to a less good part of the city, or even just a place that's unfamiliar, and less frequented, it might be a bit more difficult to get around.

And public transport travel distances can be patchy based on where the stops are, especially if you're going to the outskirts of your city.

Also when having to be present in the office, that extra 15-25 mins (x2) it takes to get to and from the office adds up quickly.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#402

Post by vdupras »

alephnerd wrote: post #397
vdupras wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being beside the point. All I'm saying is: don't conflate "nobility" and "bourgeois" in your statistics and analysis. In the context of the French revolution, they're not the same. Of course the bourgeois weren't purged in the revolution. It's them who took power through that revolution. > The answer is they are all members of the elite. It was the exact same with the leadership of the French Revolution, and t…

> don't conflate "nobility" and "bourgeois" in your statistics and analysis Yet it was mid-level aristocrats that were overrepresented in the Directorate and the Council of 500. > no. Bourgeois, prior to the revolution, were not part of the elite. It's difficult to imagine, but there was a time where there wasn't such a direct correlation as today between wealth and power Yes. I know, but the initial conversation is…

> meme that the French Revolution was a quasi-communist revolution

It's not a meme. There's clearly a collectivist movement within the revolution, it's just that this force failed to take power. The "révolution de Février", in 1848 was precisely this: Paris going full collectivist, abolishing property and all, then small land owner from the provinces freaking out and all come to Paris to whoop them.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#403

Post by theodric »

I always had BMWs, like I only ever bought reasonably high-end BMWs, but when we bought our place in Ireland, I needed a vehicle on Swiss plates and insurance (for legal reasons) to use there when car rental in Ireland was running crazy money. I had a look on the Swiss classifieds sites for anything "rechtslenker" (right-hand drive) and found two Rolls Royces, a clapped out MG, and about 15 yellow ex-Swiss Post Renault Kangoo 2-seat car-based cargo vans. (I guess they wanted their mailmen to be able to step out onto the curb, hence RHD in a LHD country?) I bought the van. Weird config: right hand drive, but configured for right-hand traffic, meaning I had to replace the headlights and fog light and get it re-aligned to fit in. Automatic transmission, 1.6L petrol engine, no airbag, no wheel lock, no AC, knobs and switches, glass all around like the MPV version, but a cargo floor. It's insanely simple, the parts are practically free from the perspective of a BMW fanatic, and it's actually a hoot to drive. When we moved, I imported it with our stuff, and it's our only car now. Hauls firewood like you wouldn't believe, and tows a large 2.5m x 1.25m x 1.2m single-axle box trailer without complaints, meaning I can (and have done) shift all the sheets of plywood and drywall I need without buying a pickup. We live way out in the countryside, where the roads have grass up the middle and potholes down both sides, but the Kangoo's ground clearance is enough (especially when empty) that it's never been an issue. I hardly miss the BMW. A little French van is all you need.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#405

Post by torginus »

Aurornis wrote: post #373
torginus wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EVs are not more reliable in general, at least not according to the stats. And a lot of them haven't been on the road for long enough to know how their running costs will look like when they are a decade or two old. There's just been an article here on HN, that BMW installed a crash safety fuse that triggered on a minor fender-bender and killed the battery. It was WELDED in, and even after getting to it with a torch…

EVs aren't immune to design problem or recalls. However they don't have as much routine maintenance overhead as ICE engines. No oil changes, regenerative braking reduces brake pad and rotor wear, etc

In practice however, most manufacturers mandate a yearly inspection when the car is in warranty, and after it's not, usually the state requires you to do one at least every other year.

During these the mechanic will do the routine maintenance. I'm a casual driver, I drove like 100k km in 6 years, and my first set of brake pads still haven't worn down.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#406

Post by TacticalCoder »

Just to be clear: I was a kid at that time and although the Citroen 2CV was a cool looking car the C15 was just as fugly back then as it is today. A fucking fuglier than fugly piece of ugly shit that was, already back then, making the world uglier for everybody.

I don't dispute that it was useful and reliable: I remember the milkman and plumbers and electricians having these. Note that some had a 2CV and would just cut off the roof (don't tell me it wasn't a thing: I've got pictures of me as a kid in a 2CV whose roof was cut).

Only the french have the "taste" to create such uglyness as the C15. It's hard to understand how a country can both produce the Concorde and the C15.

Even the russian and their Lada brand never managed to create something as fugly as the 4L or the C15.

Now you'll excuse me but I've got to take a look at what nature produces:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird-of-paradise

Because that C15 brings back memories from a traumatizing time where uglyness was ruling the world.

P.S: I owned a Citroen VISA: it's hard to tell if it was only the 2nd ugliest Citroen ever after the C15 (indisputably the fugliest of them all) because Citroen produced soooo many turds.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#407

Post by alephnerd »

vdupras wrote: post #402
alephnerd wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> don't conflate "nobility" and "bourgeois" in your statistics and analysis Yet it was mid-level aristocrats that were overrepresented in the Directorate and the Council of 500. > no. Bourgeois, prior to the revolution, were not part of the elite. It's difficult to imagine, but there was a time where there wasn't such a direct correlation as today between wealth and power Yes. I know, but the initial conversation is…

> meme that the French Revolution was a quasi-communist revolution It's not a meme. There's clearly a collectivist movement within the revolution, it's just that this force failed to take power. The "révolution de Février", in 1848 was precisely this: Paris going full collectivist, abolishing property and all, then small land owner from the provinces freaking out and all come to Paris to whoop them.

> There's clearly a collectivist movement within the revolution, it's just that this force failed to take power

And there was a much more powerful core of leaders who were the children of the various types of elites within the ancien regime.

Almost the entire history of France the century after the revolution was authoritarian or quasi-authoritarian rule with the collaboration of intellectual, economic, and religious elites.

And this is why Marxists, Marxist-Leninists, Maoists, and other flavors of Communists take a dim view of the French Revolution.

If a revolution between the cultural elite and the capital elite just led to the pre-eminence of the capital elite and their co-opting of the cultural elite, that means the revolution basically had no positive impact for the overwhelming majority of the French subaltern of the 19th century.

And don't get me or my extended family started about French colonialism.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#408

Post by carlosjobim »

Hamuko wrote: post #96
carlosjobim wrote: post #92

"This Mastodon server is a friendly and respectful discussion space for people working in areas related to EU policy." "The Ford Ranger (2020). One of the most popular pickups in the US. A key selling point is that the cabin is so high you can run over toddlers without even noticing." Lovely people as always. Would you like to live neighbours with this person, or share communal facilities with him?

I'd rather live next to that guy than a guy with a big-ass truck, since I walk around my neighbourhood quite a lot.

the neighbour with a big-ass truck will help you shovel your drive-way, and invite you to a barbecue. This guy will leave an angry note on your door because you forgot your porch light on, or infringed on his laundry time.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#409

Post by Lio »

thelastgallon wrote: post #123

The French seem to be very thoughtful people who solved multiple pesky problems permanently: 1) Guillotine for the super rich 2) Nuclear to power >70% 3) C15 for people, cows, craftsmen, mini house 4) TGV 5) french fries for the fastest carbohydrate delivery, handily beating rice I wish they bring back the first 3 and do some shorts, market them to the world. Fries are doing fine.

I'm a big fan of the current range of French Renault electric cars.

The 5, 4, Megan and Scenic are just excellent.

I think the Scenic is probably the one I'd buy right now based on the range, 380 miles but the 5 and the 4 have so much character they're probably the first really iconic electric car designs IMHO.

Re: Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15

#410

Post by MrGilbert »

Braxton1980 wrote: post #388
Nextgrid wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no reason technology has to be user-hostile. You can still have an ECU and screens and everything. When it breaks the screen can be used to tell you exactly which sensor input is out of range. There's no reason parts need to be serialized and learning a new part can only be done once. You can build a modern vehicle that's still repairable.

Modules need to be programmed for your vehicle specs and country because there are different laws and functions. For example rear taillights are different in Europe vs the US. Another is that higher trims of my car have a rear climate zone which has a different fan and actuators for air flow that the module needs to know exist.

> Modules need to be programmed for your vehicle specs and country because there are different laws and functions.

So are different intervalls of oil change between Australia and Europe - and yet, even in the 90s, people were able to keep that in mind.

We got taught to be helpless by the industry, so they can help us out. If that mindset would have existed in the 60s, 70s, then there would not be a "true to OEM" aftermarket available for car parts. We need to get back to that.

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