Yeah, I know not really a GS (NAC)

Thu May 12 10:31:32 EDT 2005

Exactly.
Citroën (note the double dots (diaresis) over the "e") is the last name of
the founder André Citroën. The diaresis means that you must pronounce each
letter separately: like in "See-tro-enne".
Interestingly, Renault comes from Louis Renault (founder) and Peugeot comes
from Armand Peugeot (founder).

While I agree with you, the SM is a masterpiece (no less), Citroen is now
part of the Peugeot empire and the new cars shares the drivetrain with the
mother brand. The excentricity that defined Citroen in the past is now,
well, a thing of the past...

Look at the spec sheets:
2CV: 600cc oppose twin, air cooled, interlinked (on the same side) front
and rear suspension. When they created the 2CV, the goal was to carry 4
farmers and a crate of eggs, riding in a field, without breaking a single
egg. No wonder why they have about 12in of suspension travel... In front,
there is a leading arm and a shock absorber. In the rear, a trailing arm
and a shock absorber. A single coil spring, attached at both ends to each
wheel is enclosed in a tube running along and under the side sill. Now you
see why they can sit 4 farmers and a crate of eggs (no big strut towers) in
such a small package...

DS and SM: both shared the hydropneumatic suspension but the SM had a
Maserati V6 (3/4 of the famous Maserati V8) in place of the 4 cylinder in
the DS (the same engine that was fitted to the 30's Traction Avant). The
most unusual feature was their absence of a brake pedal. In place, there
was a rubber mushroom, pressure-sensitive. You just squeeze it a bit, and
the car would brake with much force. The first time you use it, usually,
you kiss the steering wheel... Some cars had also a semi-automatic manual
transmission; no clutch, the hydraulics would operate it each time you move
the shift lever. Very smooth, if a bit slow. The hydraulics were also
responsible of the auto-centering steering: turn the wheel to one stop,
remove your hands and look at the steering wheel unwind slowly to the
center position. That feature was not the most appreciated in the
beggining...

Ahhh, wasn't it a "cooler" world when each brand had its own specific
caracteristics ? Maybe that's why I drive a 5 cylinder turbo car...

LaR

             Dan DiBiase                                                   
             <d_dibiase at yahoo.                                             
             com>                                                       To 
             Sent by:                  LL - NY <larrycleung at gmail.com>,    
             quattro-bounces at a         Kneale Brownson                     
             udifans.com               <kneale at coslink.net>                
                                                                        cc 
                                       quattro at audifans.com, Alex Kowalski 
             2005-05-12 09:17          <akowalsk at comcast.net>              
                                                                   Subject 
                                       Re: Yeah, I know not really a GS    
                                       (NAC)                               

--- LL - NY <larrycleung at gmail.com> wrote:
> Okay, french vocab test, what DOES, Citroen mean?

Thought it was the last name of the founder - Andre Citroen...? But there
is probably some meaning, like FORD = Found On Road Dead (etc)....

Dan D
'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
Central NJ USA
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