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Federation
of British Historic Vehicle Clubs
DVLA consultation on historic vehicle registration
processes, how to respond to it and ensure your
voice makes a difference.
The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Driver
and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have launched
a call for evidence around the existing policies
and registration processes for historic, classic,
and rebuilt vehicles.
The FBHVC's provisional position is available at https://evidence.fbhvc.co.uk
Please visit and answer the questionnaire
Resources
including e-mail lists, book reviews,
magazines, links to other sites and screensavers
and lots of other goodies
Citroëns made
outside France The company was one of the
first motor manufacturers to build cars outside
its domestic territory and many of those built
were market specific and differed from the
domestic models
"You will remember from reading
your Suetonius that the proudest boast of the
Roman Emperor Augustus was that he had found the
city brick and left it marble. In the same vein,
Citroën may claim to have found the automobile a
motorised cart and made of it a magic carpet." LJK
Setright
In 1919,
Citroën launched its first model - the Type A.
From the mid thirties until recently, the
company has produced some of the most
advanced, individualistic and technically
interesting cars ever built.
Back in the
early days of the Internet (1995 to be
precise) I went on line for the first
time and being a Citroën fanatic opened
up my browser and ran a search on
'Citroën'.
The search engine came up with a grand
total of seventeen sites, one of which
was the Citroën Connection in Canada. I
somewhat hesitantly sent an e-mail to
Blair Anderson, the Webmaster - little
did I realise that this would be the
beginning of but one of many enduring
friendships.
Some of the sites were, it must be said,
rather uninteresting - a picture of
somebody's car and some text saying
"This is a picture of my car" Blair's
site wasn't like that and over the
years, he has proved to be an
inspirational mentor.
For years, Blair hosted my site on his
own dedicated Apple server but
eventually it became too large and
attracted such high volumes of traffic
that he was unable to continue with the
arrangement.
In 1995, I had volunteered to help
design the Citroën Car Club
site and with Adrian Chapman, we put
together the original site. (Adrian and
others have subsequently redesigned the
site.) The raison d'être of the Citroën Car Club
site at that time was recruitment but
while working on it, I realised that I
had such a wealth of material, that I
might just as well create my own site.
Thus in 1995, long before Citroën had a
website, Citroënët was born. Originally
it covered only one topic - a reprint of
an article originally published in the Citroën Car
Club magazine - the Citroënian
about the fabled D
Sport. Over the years, it has
grown and expanded to several thousand
pages devoted to all aspects of the
marque including details of Citroën's production
cars, prototypes,
concept
and show vehicles, commercial
vehicles, resources for the
Citroën fan such as book lists, e-mail
lists, memorabilia, screensavers,
articles, etc.
I currently
drive a C5
(X7) 2.2 HDi 200 the latest in a
long line of Citroëns.
Julian Marsh
Terminology
- I have used the French designations
where appropriate - thus a berline
is a saloon car (UK) or sedan (US), a limousine
is a six light berline, a break
is an estate car (UK) or wagon (US), a camionette
or fourgonnette is a
light truck or delivery van, a cabriolet
is a convertible or drophead coupé and a fauxcabriolet is a hard top
coupé.
The term CV stands for
cheval vapeur (literally 'horsepower') and
is a fiscal rating applied to cars sold in
France and should not be confused with bhp
or brake horsepower.
I have used metric measurements in the
main although where appropriate, for
instance when quoting historic documents,
other measurements and units have been
used.
Spelling
- British English spelling is used
throughout except where quoting documents
that originally used other variants of
English. I have also used British
automotive terms such as bonnet
(hood), boot (trunk), bulkhead
(firewall), driveshaft
(half shaft or axle shaft), dynamo (generator),
gearbox (transmission), monocoque (unibody),
propshaft (drive
shaft),
petrol (gasoline), quarterlight
(vent window), revcounter
(tachometer), scuttle (cowl),
silencer (muffler),
sill
(rocker panel), topgear (high
gear),
tyre (tire), windscreen
(windshield) and wing (fender).
There is also quite a bit of French,
Dutch, German and Spanish...
Is the Citroën
DS a Citroën?
PSA's clumsy attempt at rewriting their
own history in 2017 More
The DS
brand was created by
PSA Peugeot Citroën on 1st June
2014.
Prior to this, the name DS had
been used for a range of cars sold
as Citroëns.
The question facing this site and
many others, as well as Citroën
clubs and magazines is whether
coverage should include the DS
cars now that DS is a marque in
its own right.
more
Citroën - a
(very) brief history The company was
founded in 1919 by André Citroën and the first
cars went on sale that year.
He employed mass production techniques for the
first time in the European automotive industry
and was also the first to set up a service agent
network.
If early models were not particularly unusual in
terms of technology and styling, all this would
change with the release in 1934 of the Traction
Avant which set the pattern, some 50 years ahead
of its time, for the modern motor car. No
chassis, front wheel drive, aerodynamic
coachwork, excellent handling and roadholding,
attention paid to safety, etc.
Unfortunately, André Citroën died shortly after
this car was launched and shortly after he had
lost control of his company to tyre makers
Michelin.
Prior to the birth of the Traction, Citroën had
mastered the art of publicity with advertising
campaigns the like of which had never been seen
before - the Eiffel Tower illuminated with his
name and the company logo, trans-continental
journeys, the setting of endurance records, etc.
Citroën was renowned for its use of advanced
technology - high pressure hydraulics - first
shown to an astonished world in the mid 1950s -
with the fitting of self-levelling suspension
which offers absolutely unrivalled ride comfort
and for the first reliable application of front
wheel drive in the mid 1930s. The hydropneumatic
system remained in use until 2017.
The launch in 1949 of the 2CV confounded the
critics - here was a car which was so different
from its contemporaries that it was doomed to
fail. Slow, noisy and ugly, it was the
antithesis of the post war offerings of other
manufacturers - and yet it was to have a
production run that spanned five decades and
generated enthusiasm bordering on the fanatical.
The single most important event in automotive
history (after the invention of the road wheel
and had it been thought necessary and possible
to reinvent that, then that too would have been
part of the design - the steering wheel was
however reinvented) occurred in 1955 - the DS19.
In the 1960s, the company acquired automotive
pioneers Panhard et Levassor and in 1968
acquired Italian manufacturer Maserati.
Citroën was acquired by Peugeot
in the mid 1970s and under their control,
much of what set Citroën apart from other motor
manufacturers, including hydropneumatic
suspension, was discarded. However, in the
run up to its 90th birthday in 2009 the company
seemed to have rediscovered itself and some
modern products are more innovative than they
had been.
In 2019, the marque and its enthusiasts
celebrated the company's 100th birthday with
events throughout the world.
The marque has an incredible worldwide following
with hundreds of clubs. Every four years the
International Citroën Car Clubs Rally (ICCCR)
meeting is attended by thousands of visitors
(and their cars) from all over the world.
Citroën DS stories in Asia/Histoires
de Citroën DS en Asia
And you thought you knew everything
about the DS? In this book Pierre
Jammes tells us the unheard and
fascinating stories of the mythical
Citroën DS in Asia. He has scooped
archives, searched through secret
collections and most importantly, he
has let their owners do the talking.
Although many books have already been
published about the Citroën DS in
several languages, none has ever been
written on this particular topic. That
makes this book a must for every
Citroën enthusiast.
Author Pierre Jammes is a Frenchman
based in Asia, where he drives a
Citroën DS. As a hobby, he has
gathered together a unique collection
of material about the DS in Asia over
the last ten years. Olivier de Serres,
a prominent Citroën DS specialist and
author, wrote the foreword of this
book. The book is bilingual: the text
is in English and French.
In this comic book you will find not
one, but two stories in which the
Citroën GS plays the leading role.
Eva works for an antique dealer and has
to transport a valuable package from
Paris to Marseille. When she wants to
get on the train she notices she is
being followed. She runs away and
literally bumps into Gilles, who helps
her escape in his Citroën GS. An
extraordinary chase follows in which all
the qualities of the GS come in handy...
To please his colleague, Citroën
salesman Marcel buys a lottery ticket
from him. He thoughtlessly leaves the
ticket in the glove compartment of the
Citroën GS, which he delivers to a
customer in the afternoon. That evening
it turns out that Marcel's ticket has
won the first prize. When he tries to
get his ticket back, it turns out that
the GS has already changed hands. The
beginning of an exciting adventure...
There is an English and a
French version of this book.
PANHARD & CITROËN A marriage of convenience
Citrovisie's long awaited book provides an in
depth view of the 12 year relationship between
Panhard & Levassor and Citroën. In September
1967, after 76 years of automobile manufacture,
the last Panhard 24 rolled off the production
line. The Panhard spirit, however, lived on at
Citroën: the people and the know-how that came
directly from the Avenue d’Ivry benefitted the
manufacturer on the Quai de Javel.
More than fifty years have now passed and authors
Yann Le Lay and the late Bernard Vermeylen recount
the fascinating history of the ‘marriage’ between
Panhard and Citroën. Translated into English by
Julian Marsh. A must for everyone who is
interested in both brands, and for those who are
simply curious about automotive history in
general.
This book is available in English
and French. Order now
90 years of the
Traction Avant
On 18th April 1934, Citroën launched the first
modern car. To celebrate the ninetieth anniversary
of this momentous event, CitroExpert has produced
a CITROSPECIAL
POSTCARDS
M. Carpedi shows the most beautiful postcards from
his extensive collection. The central theme: cars
from the period between 1945 and 1975!
The period of the ‘Trente Glorieuses’, 30 years of
optimism, dynamism, creativity and glory. New were
the television, fridge, the Citroën DS, the
Caravelle, motorways... Extra fun: almost all postcards include a
QR code. By scanning it, you can see what the
place where the photographer stood years ago looks
like today!
The texts in the book are in Dutch, French and
English.
A brand new Citroën book!
Citrovisie and Citroexpert have joined forces and
present this new and unique Citroën book.
Available right now!
Every year between 1960 and 1975, Citroën hired
American designer Henry de Ségur Lauve to design
cars that suited the taste of American consumers.
He drew new DSs and SMs and maybe also influenced
the lines of the GS and CX... Much of the
spectacular designs ended up in the Citroën
archives and were forgotten. After more than 50
years, this book showcases his work prominently
for the first time. A unique piece of Citroën
history! Order here
The XM book in English!
Author and publisher Thijs van der Zanden has
collaborated again with Citroënët Webmaster Julian
Marsh to bring you the definitive
work on the XM (and Xm too)
Sketchbook of a
Citroën designer
Dan Abramson worked as an automotive designer for
Citroën for 21 years. His work included the
Citroën XM, the Citroën Xantia and the Citroën C6
and of course countless projects that never got
beyond the drawing board.
The CX book in English!
Author Michael Buurma and publisher Thijs van der
Zanden joined forces with translator and Citroënët
Webmaster Julian Marsh to produce the definitive
work on the CX. More
details here.
New Citroën book by Citrovisie:
"BX, a new generation of Citroën"
- Available now -
In this book, author Thijs van der Zanden
describes the history of the Citroën BX. Fully
updated with new photos and extra visual material
this edition has been translated into English by
Citroënët Webmaster Julian Marsh. Reviews
