LA DEUCHE

Modesto –the California city where I lived before moving back to France three months ago– is the epitome of car culture in the USA. Native son George Lucas immortalized Friday night cruising in his 1973 movie American Graffiti. If you recall, a famous French car is featured in the film: a young Richard Dreyfuss steps out of an old Citroën 2 CV.

A patriotic specimen. Check out the roll-back roof.

I doubt I’m the only one who had a love affair with this iconic car. It was Dad’s first car when my parents ditched their Vespa and bought their Deux Chevaux about the time I was born. Truth be told: this car left an indelible imprint on three generations of French people.

Clearly, the perfect choice for a wedding: note the tulle flower at the top of the antenna.

The concept and design originated in 1938 but production in earnest only started ten years later; the car would be produced until 1990. In order to appeal to the masses (and sell more tires since Michelin had just bought Citroën…) engineers were charged to develop a Toute Petite Voiture that would sit four passengers, reach a top speed of 60 km/h (about 37 miles per hour) and burn only 3 liters of gas to cover 100 km (equivalent to 78 miles per gallon.) The cahier des charges for the suspension specified that a basket of eggs transported through a plowed field would not turn into a messy omelet. We must salute marketing genius when we see it: the car has always been extremely popular in rural areas.

I saw this one at a vide-grenier; not for sale, though.

Indeed, you will not see many 2 CV on the streets of Paris nowadays: since 2016, vehicles manufactured before 1997 have been deemed very polluants and City Hall has banned their use within the city limits unless they are registered as voitures de collection or are used for sightseeing tours, a very popular activity in the capital. But in my (current) neck of the woods, I still encounter 2 CV on a daily basis. On a bright February day ten years ago, I even saw a truffle-hunting pig stepping out of the back of a 2 CV camionnette!

There is a spiffy Charleston model in the light grey/dark grey combination that’s often parked across from the lycée. Other color combinations for the Charleston included the classic black/Delage red (it looks maroon) and a rare yellow/black model.

The car is immediately recognizable because the overall design was barely modified through its four decades of production: same rounded shape, flip-up windows, and roll-back roof. One noticeable change: the original butterfly doors were eventually replaced with a less “suicidal” set up… And the engine eventually reached a whopping 602 ccs versus 375 ccs on the very first model. A little more than 5 million units were produced worldwide. The 2 CV is so well loved that car clubs were founded in its honor: of course, they organize car shows and help owners find parts.

Over the years, I’ve noticed a one-of-a-kind 2 CV often parked at Carrefour or Intermarché. The car is mostly dark green but has gone through several paint “upgrades:” on a photo I took in 2014, the front fender on the passenger side was cream instead of black.

Many old 2 CV end up being “personalized.” Sometimes the farmer just wants to replace a rusted fender on its utilitarian vehicle. Sometimes an aficionado yearns to make his car unique through customized paint jobs or accessories.

A bright green 2 CV sits on my neighbor’s property, less than 300 feet from my office. It would need a lot of TLC to hit the asphalt!

A well-traveled 2 CV. I wonder whether it actually visited all the countries featured on its flags.

Customized hood ornament. Perfect!

Michel Robillart, a professional woodworker, made the news last year with his wooden 2 CV. Photo credit: Guillaume Souvant/AFP.

If you’re truly a fan, like Michel Robillard, you spend 6 years of your life building a 2 CV out of various fruit woods. And it runs!

Old 2 CV never die!

Some fun links to explore:

The Citroën Official Website features lots of photos and even sounds of the beloved 2 CV

This INA short film shows how the 2 CV is the perfect vehicle to take on a picnic

If you are a Netflix subscriber, check out this episode (C4:E4) of Comedians in Cars having Coffee where Jerry Seinfeld and Gad Elmaleh drive a vintage 2 CV in the streets of New York.

Vocabulary

La Deuche (or Deudeuche): nickname for the 2 CV
Deux Chevaux: lit. Two Horses; what the initials 2 CV stand for, in reference to the (fiscal) two horsepower engine
Toute Petite Voiture: Very Little Car
Le cahier des charges: lit. notebook of responsibilities; specifications
Polluant: polluting
Voiture de collection: collector’s car, vintage car
Camionnette: van; in this case, the back seat of the 2 CV was removed to increase cargo capacity.
Le lycée: high school  

THE TORINO

Continued from The Arrival

Right after our protein-rich American breakfast, we picked up a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle to scour the classifieds in search of the perfect vehicle. Our knowledge of American cars was pretty much confined to what we had seen on TV and on the silver screen: Steve McQueen’s Mustang and Michael Douglas’s Ford Galaxie. But we knew American cars came in two sizes: huge and huger. We needed something in the "huger" category to transport seven passengers, suitcases, tents, and sleeping bags. We zeroed in on station wagons priced at $1000 or less and found two candidates. We split up: Fred and Jean-Marc took BART to check on the two leads, the rest of us stayed in Oakland to kick tires at used car lots on Auto Row. We would rendezvous at the end of the day at the Hilton where our first night was comped.

First off, we hunted down a Western Union office to send telegrams (telegrams!) to our families. We could find public pay phones at every street corner but they were not a good option because of the amount of change required for international calls. The nine hours of décalage horaire didn’t help either. Then we walked up and down Broadway in search of a suitable car. Dismal results. After several hours spent trekking in the sun and fighting sleepiness, we only had one viable prospect: a mustard yellow Ford Torino with 135,000 miles on the odometer and a price tag of $1200. We hoped Jean-Marc and Fred had better luck. Alas, they came back bredouille as well: the first car had already been sold by the time they got to that address; the second one, all the way south in Daly City, turned out to be a tas de ferraille.

We comforted ourselves with a meal of Big Macs, French fries and chocolate shakes. In our book, this was quite a treat: there were only two McDonalds in Paris in 1977 (or in France, for that matter) and eating at a fast food joint was borderline elitist. In retrospect, it sounds very weird. Summarizing our day, we realized that intellectual knowledge and life experience are two sides of a coin. Our tired feet confirmed what our foggy brains had known for some time: European cities are dense, American ones are spread out. Utterly exhausted, we retired for the evening with the assurance that tomorrow would be another day: we were in America and Scarlet had said so.

The next morning, we quickly gulped down a Continental breakfast. We knew we would have to check out soon and it would be impossible to go car hunting with all our luggage: we agreed to bust the budget and buy the Torino. After a bit of negotiation, we shook hands with the dealer for $1150 and a spare tire. Traveler's checks (traveler's checks!) were signed and I was now the proud owner of one seventh of a car, my first car. Set up with our own wheels, camping gear, and a brand new copy of the Guide du Routard, we felt free, independent, and confident. We were looking forward to the most excellent adventures. They started that very night when we camped in the hills of Berkeley.

Continues at Modesto, First Look

Vocabulary
Le décalage horaire: time difference
Bredouille: empty handed
Le tas de ferraille: scrapheap, lit. a pile of scrap iron
Le Guide du Routard: The Rough Guide (at that time, the Rough Guides were quite a bit “rougher” than their current edition. They were the hitchhiker and backpacker’s bible and promoted traveling on a dime.)

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Everybody who grew up in Modesto during the 1950s has fond memories of cruising, that adolescent rite of passage immortalized by George Lucas in his 1973 film American Graffiti. Yes, the force is strong in Modesto but car culture is stronger yet! A spontaneous Friday night activity for teenagers anxious to show off their cars and pick up some dates, cruising originally took place on 10th street but had already moved to McHenry Avenue –the “new” main drag– by the time Modesto became my home; instead of a weekly happening, it had morphed into a once-a-year celebration (Graffiti Night) held on Saturday night right after graduation.

I personally never joined the bumper-to-bumper parade: I like to keep a bit of distance from noxious fumes… Rick and I preferred to walk down the street and admire the shiny classic cars and custom hot rods. Besides, the street offered terrific entertainment as well: 50s and 60s music, girls in poodle skirts, cops on horses, the very heavily tattooed guy who showed up with a huge python coiled around his neck year after year.

The City Council banned cruising in 1993 as the event had become too unruly. There were several dark years where Modesto seemed to forget its rich car history. Graffiti Night was finally resurrected into Graffiti Summer: throughout June, car aficionados from all over descend upon Modesto to enjoy several classic and custom car shows, festivals, Hula Hoop contests, and a “regulated” car parade that once again extends to McHenry Avenue. Maybe it’s no longer spontaneous enough for George Lucas; maybe he’d rather keep the memories of his youth intact. The Native Son has attended only once.

I did a double-take last year when I was in Paris: there was a car show right behind the Hôtel de Ville and all vehicles on display were belles américaines, like the legendary Chevys and Fords of American Graffiti, the true stars of the movie. Guess what: George wasn’t there either.

Vocabulary
Les belles américaines: the beautiful American cars (i.e. classics)