Description
Author: David Jacobs, Softbound,128 Pages, ISBN: 9780850458732, First Edition, 1989 - Second-Hand book in perfect unread condition !
Modern-day motoring is rarely a leisurely experience. Today's overcrowded roads are a nightmare: we all know the frustration of endless traffic jams, spaghetti junctions, stop signs and hazards of every description.
Yet in these difficult conditions there exists a strong nonconformist movement.
The twentieth century motorist need not follow current trends: the latest show-room model, with turbocharging, power-assisted steering and the acceleration of a rocket is fine, but is its driver any better off when confronted with the inevitability of the morning rush, or crowded holiday escape routes?
A car that is both cherished by its enthusiastic owners and ridiculed by its antagonists as a 'snail on four wheels' does not go unnoticed, wherever its owner takes it, which is often along scenic B roads rather than on aggressive motorways. Now more than forty years old, this famous French road runner lives on, to the delight of its fans the world over.
A vehicle of French origin which is sadly no longer manufactured at its famous though unaccessible factory at Levallois, to the north-west of Paris, the 2CV is now produced in Portugal: its design, which has evolved at such a slow rate, ensures that it has never lost its appeal to young and old alike.
However, the two horse-powered oddity has never been able to escape from criticism. Why the ridicule?
Admittedly it has a small air-cooled engine, tortoise-paced transmission, frugal instrumentation, minimal 'refinements', even to the non-existent wind-down windows! Surely, though, the car scores points for its lack of complexity and for not being built and run by computers. If there is nothing much to go wrong, nothing much will go wrong. In extremes of temperature, the air-cooled 2CV survives where others do not; the push and pull gear rod may not be sophisticated, but is a useful place to rest your arm!
And, for the same price, what other car can you buy which offers 'convertible' driving with incredibly low fuel consumption, a car which can last virtually a life-time? T
he 2CV is undoubtably a legend. Its status of 'cult' vehicle cannot be denied, but it most certainly is a much loved and greatly enjoyed motoring experience.
'CITROEN 2CV' is designed to illustrate, with interesting pictures and surprising facts, that there is a lot more to this vehicle than an 'umbrella on four wheels!'
