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France

down on the street

1960 Peugeot 403, With Bonus French Car Poll

The other day I caught a glimpse of a dark blue Volvo Amazon parked just down the street from the '42 Pontiac Torpedo. I didn't have time to photograph it, but since we've had only one Amazon so far in this series, I made a mental note to get back and shoot this rare Swedish gem as soon as I could. Today I returned with my camera, and... holy crap! That's not an Amazon- it's a Peugeot 403! Yes, mere weeks after providing a Citroën GS for us, Alameda has produced another vintage French car for our enjoyment.
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classic ad watch

Citroen GSX: Brings Out Your Inner French Hoon!

Once you drop off the old man at the (train station? whorehouse?), the Citroën GSX turns you into a total menace on the roads; you'll be beating your chest and howling- and we mean literally howling- with the sheer macho joy of its mighty 65-horsepower engine. It's too bad we found this ad after selecting the entrants for the Best Car Ads Of The 1970s poll, because we think it would have made a strong showing in the vote.

choose your eternity

PCH, Hopelessly French Edition: 1925 Renault Type 45 or 1951 Citroen Traction-Avant?

We had a bit of an upset in Monday's Choose Your Eternity 3-way Superpower Showdown poll, with the French car coming in last! Yes, the '63 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint won handily, with a 55-24-22 split. That means the Italian car industry can feel the pride that comes from building the coolest- yet most nightmarish- cars very large sums of squandered money can buy! Just to show that we haven't forgotten the special place held by France in the Project Car Hell Pantheon, however, we're going to do an all-French matchup today. Thanks- and a Project Car Hell Tipster T-shirt- go to Hotrodelectric for these tips!
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movies

Crazy Frenchmen Make Amazing Sweded Version Of Spielberg's Duel

OK, so it's a Mustang instead of a '71 Plymouth Valiant, but we'll cut the makers of this homage to Steven Spielberg's Duel some slack on that detail; it's not easy finding a toy 4-door Valiant in France. Thanks to- who else?- Franzouse for the tip! [Dailymotion.com]

retro

Like Dien Bien Phu Never Happened: Traction-Avants In Vietnam

With our current obsession with French cars in general and Citroëns in particular, we hear a lot about Peugeots in former African colonies of France (and, yes, we know that Nigeria is a former British colony, which makes the new 504s you can buy there even cooler). But what about French Indochina, the crown jewel of the erstwhile French Empire? Long after the Viet Minh gave the French the boot, Citroëns continued to roam the streets of Hanoi and Saigon; the photo above comes from this batch of 1968-69 photos. And they're still there; nowadays it's possible to tour Hanoi in a clean-looking Traction-Avant. Thanks to SOS10 for the tip! [Luxury Travel Vietnam]

classic ad watch

Renault Kangoo: Room For Fat Americans And Their Donuts

Remember when Renault announced that they'd made a deal with 20th Century Fox to use characters from The Simpsons to shill the Kangoo minivan? Well, here's the result, which has been floating around the Internet for a while but hasn't landed here yet. It's about as entertaining as a French minivan could be; we're especially impressed with Homer's Donut Belt and the "money" he uses to buy a new Kangoo. What's next, Jodie Foster selling Civics?

classic ad watch

Avoid The Shaddock's Horrible Fate With The Citroën GS

We don't speak Cartoon French around here, but it's pretty clear what's going on in this edition of Classic Ad Watch: the hapless shaddock makes the mistake of attempting to drive a car equipped with a spring-based suspension, is hurled into a tree and suffers head and leg injuries as a result. Better to drive a Citroën GS (such as the one we saw down on the Alameda street last week), which protects large sentient citrus fruit from harm with its suspension hydropneumatique! Thanks to Franzouse for the tip.

down on the street

Citroen GS 1220 Club

After looking at that poor sad Peugeot in the junkyard yesterday, I decided that the '91 Peugeot 405 parked a few blocks from my house now qualifies for DOTS, 17 years old or not. I grabbed my camera and headed out on foot, taking my usual roundabout route in order to maximize discovery of new DOTSworthy machinery. Down a side street, I caught sight of some extremely French-looking taillights on a car parked in the distance. Could it possibly be... a Citroën? The DOTS Holy Grail? Yes!
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formula one

French Grand Prix Going To Disneyland?

It's no secret that F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone is pulling the plug on the French Grand Prix's current location at the Magny Cours race track. One of the main reasons being the location was way out in the countryside, not an optimal location for international tourists. And as we all know, F1 has become all about makin' money. So the powers that be got to thinking "where do the tourists go?", and came up with— Disneyland. Yes, that's right, there are plans for the most elite form of motorsport in the world to organize a race at the happiest place on Earth in Europe. More »

down on the street bonus edition

Oslo Traction-Avant... Or Denver SM?

After seeing some old Citröens down on the Oslo street yesterday, Denver's Kitt ran right out and shot a Citröen in her neighborhood. And not just a garden-variety DS or 2CV- this here is a genuine JFG-worthy SM! Looks like this one may be paying one of its all-too-common visits to the shop, but it's still alive and on the street!


down on the street bonus edition

Welcome To Oslo, Where Ancient Citroens Roam Free!

We've been getting some great Down On The Street Bonus Edition photos from our readers (so many, in fact, that it's getting tough to post them as fast as they come in- which is a good problem to have). However, when you find and photograph a daily-driven Citröen Traction-Avant on the streets of your city, you get jumped to the head of the line. Such is the case with Warpig, who has gone on an unprecedented DOTSBE binge in his hometown of Oslo, Norway. He's sent in literally hundreds of photos of interesting old cars found on Oslo's streets, and today we're going to look at some of the Citröens he's shot. Good work, Warpig, and we'll be showing more of your photos in the near future!


retro

Want a Brand New Peugeot 504? Head To Nigeria!

Supposedly the last of the African 504s was built a few years ago... yet the Peugeot Nigeria website still offers the 504 Configurator. You don't have a lot of options (though you can get a wagon), but it's a genuine late-60s-technology 504 that we must assume is built way better than the citrus-flavored examples that were shipped to North America back in the day. And the price? About $25,000 if you're showing up with dollars. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip! [Peugeot Nigeria]

down on the street bonus edition

Absinthe, Darkness Cannot Deter Franzouse From Capturing Paris DAF

When you're stumbling down a Paris street at 2:00 AM with a head full of absinthe and you spot a '73 DAF with its owner- an Armenian priest- nearby, what do you do? If you're a certified Jalopnik Project Car Hell Poster Child, you whip out your iPhone and start shooting (perhaps taking an additional swig of the wormwood first, to steady your camera hand). Make the jump to read Franzouse's description. [Classic DAF]

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choose your eternity

PCH, Franco-Prussian War Rematch Edition: Citroen CX 2000 or Porsche 928?

In a stunning upset, the Borgward Hansa wagon handed Germany a one-sided victory over the Peugeot 304 in our most recent Choose Your Eternity poll. With France long reigning as the world's lone HyperGalactic PCH OmniPower, we would be remiss if we didn't give the French a shot at prying the oil-leaking, stripped-fastener-thread PCH CryptoChampion trophy from the Germans, in order to prove that the Borgward's victory wasn't just some one-shot fluke. That's why we're rolling out some Hell Project heavy artillery today, with a pair of undeniably cool- yet just as undeniably nightmarish- machines vying for long-term residency in your Garage Of Torture.
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retro

Another Perfect Jalopnik Staff Car Located

We pleaded and begged and threatened, but nothing we could do would induce the Gawker Overlords to buy us the Carrera Panamericana '54 Lincoln for use as the Official Jalopnik Staff Car. We were brokenhearted, but all will be forgiven if the Overlords buy us this 1938 Peugeot 402, enabling us to roll up to events in the style we must have in order to make the proper impression. East Bay-based Fantasy Junction wants just $295,000 for this achingly beautiful machine, and that money might help them build a new LeMons car to replace their crushed Mazda 626, so it's a win for everyone! [Hemmings Motor News]


retro

The Peugeot 504: You Know You Want One

Even though I've owned a Malaise Peugeot 504 and occasionally wake up screaming with Peugeot Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PPTSD), I'm on board with the official pro-504 Jalopnik position. Any car that can be fixed by a Senegalese mechanic equipped with 15% of a Taiwanese socket set and a big hammer is OK in our book, and the 4x4 pickup truck version just makes it that much better. That's why it made our day when arch-tipster Franzouse sent us the Dangel Sales Brochure (warning: 2.5MB PDF download). When you're done reading that, be sure to check out the rest of the 504 Pr0n at the 504.org site. [504.org]

choose your eternity

PCH, Superpower Econobox Edition: Simca 1000 or Fiat 128?

The '38 Graham-Paige did a number on the '38 Mercedes-Benz in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, similar to Marshal Zhukov's number on Berlin (and our poll would have been even more one-sided if we'd stacked a Pobeda against the Benz). Today I feel like returning to the perennial struggle between PCH Superpowers Italy and France, because a Project Car Hell without one of the Superpowers is like knuckles without fresh scabs.
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choose your eternity

PCH, Superpower Swap Showdown: Subaru'd Renault or Toyota'd Maserati?

With Italy edging out a narrow victory over Britain in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll and advancing to the first-ever Project Car Hell Superpower Showdown with France, I decided we needed to add an extra layer of Hell to each nation's entrant in order to honor this occasion with the solemnity it deserves. Not that we won't repeat the Superpower Showdown schtick over and over, of course, but this one is first! So, what we got here is PCH Superpower cars with Japanese engines. Now, you figure maybe a Japanese engine would make such a car more reliable, but I've been careful to select car/engine combos that involve twin-turbocharged complexity and fragile-chassis-twisting power. France? Italy? You decide!
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