France in Focus

A special bienvenue a Curtis

Seulement une voiture ancienne, de l'autre côté du Rhin et une fois à l'autre côté du mur. Perhaps one day as new again, a real Trabant from the ("sogenannte") Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), everybody equal, everybody the same car after waiting five or more years:

Nice pics. Which one is yours OBC ?

LIke the little Dauphine. Spent many a terrified mile in one owned by a lunatic friend back in the 60s.

Hotrodder, as a rear-engine car the Dauphine had not too much weight on the front wheels, so speeding in curves was quite dangerous. Solution: put some heavy luggage under the hood. The front-wheel drive R4 was/is more predictable in curves. The story of the Dauphine.

The thing that sticks in my mind about the Dauphine was the gearstick. Didn't seem to be any feel as to where it should go, a bit like stirring a pudding basin.

My other half has had a love affair with a 2cv for years her first car, but I'm not a bit jealous.
Keep offering to buy her one for her old age.

A car produced from 1967 - 1979, a Peugeot 404 pick-up, in mint condition. replacing the 403 version and replaced itself by the 504.

RobertArthur wrote: ↑Sun Aug 22, 2021 10:57 pm Hotrodder, as a rear-engine car the Dauphine had not too much weight on the front wheels, so speeding in curves was quite dangerous. Solution: put some heavy luggage under the hood. The front-wheel drive R4 was/is more predictable in curves. The story of the Dauphine.

Too much weight on the front wheels? Don't make excuses. My mate (6foot three) always had 3 passengers so there was plenty of weight everywhere when he tried to get up on two wheels like a circus act or do doughnuts on the front lawns of people he didn't like. You wouldn't believe what he got up to after he destroyed the plucky little Renault and got hold of a V8.