Now bask in its magnificence.
Citroen has been around since 1919. Until recently, they were known as a company that defied common sense and made cars that were completely insane.Or, "quirky."
All the same, the SM is a very good looking car.
It looks like an airplane's fuselage. It's rounded, low to the ground, and suggests speed even when its standing still. The SM is a perfect example of the European grand tourering automobile.You get in it, and go on a long, comfortable trip. Then you're swathed in style and leather while blasting down the road at over a 100mph.
So what's so crazy about that?
Well, the insanity starts under the hood.
Those green bulbs are part of the suspension system, what keeps the car down on the road and absorbs all the bumps in the pavement. Most companies use shock absorbers (gas filled tubes) to do this.Citroen used a pressurized liquid. That's what's in those green bulbs.
There were more of those bulbs in back and the entire system worked to keep the car level and at the correct ride height. The system self-adjusted based on how much weight was in the car.
The steering was controlled by the same system and adjusted the amount of effort it took to steer based on speed. It took almost no effort to go through a parking lot, but took more grunt at over sixty.
Just for the record, the hydraulics were all mechanical, no computers involved.
So even though Citroen's crazy engineering is reason enough to own the SM, it's still a gorgeous car. The interior is just as stylish as the exterior.
That gearshift, which is for a manual, is a work of art.Sitting in this for a thousand miles wouldn't be a problem at all.
However, the leather seats and curved dashboard feel like they should be clouded by cigarette smoke. It would be their natural environment in the '70s.The idea of having a French styled, hydraulic cushioned, front-wheel drive Grand Tourer is shiver inducing.
Until it breaks down at least. Which it inevitably will because it's a French car.
But such is life.
This is one of my all time favorites. The DS is also good looking. We see it in movies and TVs--I think it's what Patrick Jane (The Mentalist) drives.
ReplyDeleteI owned 3 Peugeot (parent company of Citroen). At first, I was going to call you to task about that comment of them breaking down. You are half right. They would break in a way that they were still drivable. I found that they were so lovable that I put up with it.
My 1985 Peugeot S was gas-powered and came into the family brand new. The temperature control in the dash kept breaking. It was too expensive to fix after warranty, so I adjusted it manually for the summer and winter. You didn't mind the temperature in the winter because of its great heated seats.
I added a used 504 diesel, and later replaced it with a used 505 SE diesel. The vacuum pumps for the brakes kept failing on both. You could still stop--you just had to press very hard.
The Peugeot gas and the 504 both saved my life. A Pinto became airborne and smashed through the windshield and driver's side window of my 1-year old 505. The design of the A-pillar saved me.
Some years later, I was stopped at a light and a Ford F-250 ran into the rear of my 504 at about 45 mph. It drove the transmission into the engine and knocked the radio out of the dash and into my lap. After being treated over several months, the Doctor told me that if my cervical vertebrae had moved a millimeter more, I would have died at the scene. The unusual shape of the front seats absorbed some of the whiplash.
Even though I had bad experiences in 2 of the 3 Peugeot, I still have fond memories of the cars. I learned to love diesels, and I'd own one today if it was in a minivan.
There is a place in Heaven reserved for French chefs, English soldiers, Italian lovers, and German engineers. There is a place in Hell reserved for English chefs, Italian soldiers, German lovers, and French engineers.
In my dream garage there is a SM and a DS sedan. I want one of each of those.
ReplyDeleteAs for the reliability, not all French cars are that bad. They're rather like old English cars, most of it is in the electrics usually.
Like you said, these cars are usually so lovable that we just forgive them for their faults, pat them on the hood, and then pull out the toolbox.
It's probably not a coincidence that there are a number of Triumphs and MGs in my dream garage.
The SM was just worse than most when it came to reliability. I didn't have space to mention it, but it has a Maserati engine in it. So owners had to deal with Maserati mechanicals and Citroen suspension. Generally this wouldn't end well if owners didn't perform maintenance at exactly the right time.
Those Peugeots really gave their all. You were very lucky. All the same, I'm wondering how a Pinto got airborne.
Also, I've heard a similar joke. Heaven is where the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, the cooks are Italian and it's all run by the Swiss.
Hell is where the cooks are British, the police are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and it's all run by the Italians.
That flying Pinto was no Pegasus.
ReplyDeleteIt had just rained enough to bring the oils to the surface. I was stopped in the left turn lane about 3 cars back at a traffic light. There was a concrete median separating the traffic lanes.
The girl in her 10-year old Pinto with bald tires was on the cross street. She accelerated while she turned right, trying to beat the light. She came across the 3 lanes of the road, hit the median, and it launched the car into the air. She t-boned me, her front wheels suspended in the air against my fender and hood. I can't remember if her rear wheels were in the air or not.
When I called my insurance company and told the adjuster that I had just been hit by a young girl in a Pinto, the adjuster started chuckling and said, "She wasn't insured, was she?" Not only did she not have insurance; her license had been revoked and there was a warrant out for her in Memphis. Because the accident happened in the county just across the city line, and county Sheriff PSTs investigated the accident, they had to let her go.
She called her boyfriend to pick her up. I don't think she even went back to her apartment--she skipped town before the wreckers had cleared the site.
Friends of ours had passed by the accident and seen that I had gotten out of the car. They called my newlywed and told her "He's all right. He's been in an accident." It happened about 4 blocks from home. Dee Dee had just heard the traffic report about this bad accident on the radio.
I went on with the evening feeling scattered and shaken up, but otherwise OK. I had a play rehearsal to make--and adrenaline can be a wonderful thing. The next morning, I couldn't get out of bed to make it to the doc.
I healed up OK and they were able to put the Peugeot back together to run for another 12 years.
There's really only one word that can sum all that up.
ReplyDeleteWow.