Yes, it's a Matra M530. If you got this one right, you probably spend way too much time obsessing over off-brand European machinery. Don't worry, that's a good thing!

since Jalopnik readers seem to enjoy odd french cars,i stumbled upon this one last weekend.
In a Paris parking garage i saw this Matra M530.
I had never seen one in RL so i had to look some things up.
They were made from 1968 till 1973 .and came with a Ford Taunus 1700 cc 4 cyl engine.
here's some basic info.
to me,it looks like the ugly nephew from the Matra Djet

Too bad i couldn't make some pictures from a larger distance.
I did the best i could.
you could make it a ' guess the car' quiz?

Cheers,
a big fan of your jalopnik features DOTS an PCH.
WaffleChocolatBeer ( yes i'm belgian,not french)

Unfortunately, I can't find the name of the reader who sent in these photos, but we can enjoy our unintentionally anonymous photographer's description:

I just came across this beautifully conserved Peugeot 204 in Saint-Brieuc, France. It was parked on the same street as the Commerce chamber I was heading to for a press conference on the Global financial crisis.

I can't really tell, which year it is from seeing it, all I know is that the car was actually sold between 1965 and 1976. It also was the best seller in France for three consecutive years (1969; 1970 and 1971). There were 5 versions: 4-door sedan (like that one), 2-door coupe, convertible, station wagon and delivery van. That one seems in very good condition, but the little sunroof protection (can't remember its name) was probably recovered from a blue one.

Please take note of "oh so vintage" details like the yellow headlights and the black/aluminum license plates. The latter mean give us two options: The owner has had it since at least 1993 (that year, they changed plates to white/black letters in the front, yellow/black letter in the back), or it has been in the same "département" since at least 1993. The change in the law stated that if the registration changed that the owner would need new plates, he would have to adopt the new color scheme.
Also, did you know that the yellow headlights have a cool historical story? I learned that recently as a matter of fact. It goes back to Wolrd War II. When the Germans invaded, their vehicles had white headlights. To distinguish the ennemies, the French autorithies decided to make yellow headlights mandatory. It's only in 1993 (again?) that we came back to white headlights.

In the heart of one of France's wine areas, Burgundy, in between the rolling hills, rivers and forests, you'll find a beautifully restored 18th century castle. Next to the castle is a museum, called the Presidential Cars museum (Musée des Voitures des Chef d'Etat).

The museum grew out of the passion of one man, Frenchman Olaf Delafon, a former stock trader working in the USA. His love for old cars grew into a passion, and he started collecting special cars; those used by the heads of state. The private collection turned into a public museum in 1993 after thousands of people asked to see the cars.

He placed the presidential cars, all in different state of restoration, in the castle's barns. Today his collection contains cars from US Presidents JFK (1962 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine) and Eisenhower (1953 Chrysler Crown Imperial), USSR Presidents Kroutchev and Brejnev (1960 Zil) and French Presidents like De Gaulle (1960 Renault Rambler) and Mitterand (1979 Citroen CX Prestige). He's even got a Popemobile and the car belong to the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceaucescu (a Mercedes 600 Pullman).

Though all these cars are special, some are a bit more special. For example, the museum has the Citroen DS19 car that was blown up when they tried to assassinate the General De Gaulle.

The heavily armored 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine belonging to the Emir of the Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is also shown. The front window has been replaced by a window used on airplanes, and tall chrome has been painted black, giving the car a sinister and dangerous look.

Some cars still have the original dust on them as they were found. One even has a sign on it saying "Original Dust".

Like all museums, there's even a souvenir shop, but this one is special. Olaf has on sale toy cars dating back decades, a nice touch for a museum.

The museum is open every day, and starting next year April, a new exhibit will open, called "Barn Finds". Here, Olaf will be showing cars "as they come in", in other words, you'll see the cars without restoration, full of dust, rust and bird droppings.

The castle itself can be visited on request, and they cater towards large groups, specially vintage car groups. On request, the owner will give you a guided tour of all the cars. [Voitures Presidentielles]

—Mike Werner

It appears that the guy in the 5, finding himself behind the CX, takes a "short cut" across the countryside in order to reappear… still behind the CX. Some pretty good Franco-hoonage here, and that's what counts!

So to test out my theory I left the camera at home today and went about my day. In the afternoon, while walking to a meeting, what do you know, I come across a beautiful vintage Ford Transit (Mk II I think, the '78 to '86 production run, yes the Ford streak continues!).
Well technically I stumbled upon a beautiful yellow one first, and then, hidden by a moving truck, there was a grey/blue/bondo beater one with a high roof ( a camper top of some kind) that was even cooler, or at least more sinister.
The guys in the moving truck were quite amused by the weird dude in the Corduroy suit, snapping pictures of two old vans with a look of genuine happiness on his face...
I hope you find these two vans as I cool as I did!
bon weekend

Police stopped France and his housemate Russell Van Richmond for racing a Porsche Cayenne against a green Lamborghini across Seabreeze bridge. When they were pulled over Richmond, who is the son of one of J.C's dad's ex-wives, protested saying "I want your commander now. I am a France. Do you know what that means? We own this city."

It apparently didn't impress police because France was allegedly so drunk he could barely climb out of the car and had a bag of a "white, cakelike substance" in his pocket.

Richmond kept screaming to the police "I am gonna have your job. This is the biggest mistake ever. You are so done in Daytona." How Ironic.

According to reports, Richmond's last words to police were "Oh, shit" when they searched his pockets and found a tablet of hydrocodone.

Our favorite quote, though, was from an unidentified woman in Richmond's Porsche who told police he was "going so fast, I put my seatbelt on." We're pretty sure you should wear a seatbelt anytime you go out for a drive with a coked out, drunk person.

France has been suspended from Grand-Am indefinitely.

[Daytona News-Journal, Photo Credit: TMZ]

Yes, even on the way to The Crusher, these 1960s and 1970s American cars just burst into song when they catch sight of the happy, low-CO2-emitting Peugeot 207. Bonus points to anyone who can identify all the singing cars. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip!

When you're done here, you might enjoy our favorite VW ads, then continue your car-advertising overdose with the Datsun, Toyota, Renault, General Motors, British Leyland, Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, Honda, and Chevrolet ads.

1995 XM Pallas	1975 GSX	1987 BX
1973 GS	1980 2CV	1977 GS
1988 AX	1987 AX Hit FM	1985 CX

My requests to have the Gawker Overlords pay my way to France and fund the Team Jalopnik Humber Sceptre have met with stony silence from Gawker HQ, so I won't be participating in StreetSafari's 2009 Czech Wrecks Rally this year. The lineup includes Rovers, Skodas, Renaults- in fact, all the European counterparts to the '85 Olds Cutlass Ciera will be there! I'm sure we'll get some photos to share from the participants later on; for now, here are some shots from the '08 event:

Click next to see our ten favorite international drives from the list, in no particular order. For the rest of the Drives of a Lifetime check out the full National Geographic list.

Photo Credit: Kloppster

Country: Italy
Where: Amalfi Coast
Why: Beautiful coastline, towering bluffs, and bella donnas make this one of the best drives along the Mediterranean.

Photo Credit: artemanuele

Country: Canada
Where: Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Why: This 185-mile loop around part of the island shows off a verdant, unmarred coast filled with wildlife and blessed with cool climate year-round.

Photo Credit: Jim Dollar

Country: England
Where: The Cornwall Coast
Why: Celtic ruins, narrow roads, crashing waves, and the odd Cornish beauty conspire to make this one of the best drives in Western Europe.

Photo Credit: Cosygreeneyes

Country: Netherlands
Where: Bollenstreek Route
Why: The Bollenstreek Route, a.k.a. The Flower Route, gets its name from the miles of road cutting a path through acres and acres of tulip fields. Explosions of color fill the eye, making this a perfect spring journey.

Photo Credit:

Country: Canada
Where: Manitoba Prairies
Why: Not for the agoraphobic, this seemingly endless expanse of farmland and prairie opens the mind and evokes the spirit of life before the Internet.

Photo Credit: GarySimmons

Country: United States
Where: Hana Highway, Hawaii
Why: Gorgeous black-sand beaches, tropical greenery, and water everywhere — this is why people cross thousands of miles of empty Pacific to visit a spec of volcanic rock. Nearly 600 curves and 59 bridges don't hurt either.

Photo Credit:

Country: France
Where: Provence
Why: Ever dream of crossing a quiet countryside in a Citroen SM, then pulling into a little bistro for a glass of the local vintner's craft in the company of a stunning brunette mademoiselle? You were picturing Provence.

Photo Credit: Doozzle

Country: Jamaica
Where: The Pirate Route (Port Royal to Kingston)
Why: The island nation is small enough to cross in a day, and in crossing it you'll see beautiful coastline, small hillside villages, and the City of Kingston.

Photo Credit: Teepi

Country: New Zealand
Where: Lord of the Rings Route, North Island
Why: Whether you're a fan of the movie trilogy or not, New Zealand feels like Middle Earth. And to quote Flight Of The Conchords: "New Zealand: Rocks!!!"

Photo Credit: Man's Pic

Country: Canada
Where: Montreal, Area Loop Drive
Why: They can't all be coastlines, can they? From the urban heart of Montreal outwards toward wine country, this is a varied drive so wonderful Alfa Romeo named a car after it.

Photo Credit: Vox Photo

Just click on any of the thumbnails below to jump to the original post about that car.

1937 Beardmore	1953 Citroën	1956 Morris	1959 Morris
1960 Peugeot	1960 Triumph	1961 Morris	1963 Land Rover
1965 Austin	1965 Alfa Romeo	1966 Jaguar	1966 Lancia
1966 Volvo	1969 MG	1969 Volvo	1969 Volvo
1969 Citroën	1970 Volvo	1971 Volvo	1971 MG
1972 Triumph	1972 Steyr	1973 Volvo	1973 MG
1974 Jensen-Healey	1975 Citroën	1975 MG	1977 Fiat
1977 Volvo	1978 Jaguar	1978 Saab	1980 Volvo
1981 Fiat	1982 Fiat	1984 Jaguar	1985 Alfa Romeo
1985 Saab	1985 Peugeot	1986 Jaguar	1988 Renault
1988 Peugeot	1989 Ferrari	1989 Alfa Romeo	1991 Peugeot
1991 Alfa Romeo	1991 Rolls-Royce

The plant is surrounded by gas canisters connected to a worker by an electrical cord. It's assumed the canisters are actually empty, but following the kidnapping of other executives, no one is trying anything. The gas canisters probably wouldn't blow up the building but, if they are filled, could set a gigantic fire. (H/T to Cale!)

[The Detroit News]

ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images

Citroën Mehari-driving Project Car Hell Poster Child Franzouse stumbled across this fine 1968 motion picture and was kind enough to send in a tip. After seeing the sad Olds Vista Cruiser earlier, I thought it would be nice for us to see a GM Skywagon while it's still young and healthy. Here's what Franzouse has to say:

Just came back from a business day-trip to Brussels (hooray for Thalys): they make the best French fries there, amazing. Anyways, I'm watching a 30 year old French movie right now titled "l'Homme à la Buick" (the man with the buick). Pretty cool story, and ok film about a provincial dandy who is actually a smuggler and drives around in a big buick station wagon often being chased by cops in DS's and 404's.

There's always the infamous Wankel-powered Citroën GX Birotor (rotary + Citroën= boiling brain), but Novaload has found us something even better: Trevor Fiore's 1980 Karin concept car. Fiore seems to have approved of the 3-seater concept, but didn't want to emulate the boring three-abreast seating of the Matra Bagheera. On the Karin, the driver sits in the middle and the two passengers sit slightly behind and to the sides. Since it's a Citroën, the steering wheel and instruments were taken from the fevered brain of a surrealist science-fiction paperback cover artist. This car so gets the Jalopnik Stamp-O-Approval™!
[Citroenet]

After a three-month stint in 2006 as CEO of airplane manufacturer Airbus, Streiff was appointed CEO of the PSA Group in November 2006. Thierry Peugeot, the chairman of PSA’s supervisory board, stated the following:

Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the supervisory board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary.

Streiff’s replacement will be Philippe Carin, the CEO of steelmaker Corus.

The Carpocalypse has hit France’s rigid industry—where 10% of the workforce is employed by carmakers—particularly hard: PSA has lost $453 million in the year 2008 and is planning to cut 11,000 jobs this year.

Both PSA and rival Renault will be given an emergency loan of $4 billion by the French state.

Photo Credit: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images, ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

Source: BBC

According to polls, the French gave a higher approval rating to Yasser Arafat than they did to George W. Bush, but they like Barack Obama almost as much as Zidane. Once that fact became clear to GM's European marketers (and after they did a little research to see what kind of copyright unpleasantness the DNC could hit them with across the Atlantic), a new ad campaign was born! You want deals, monsieur? Here's the deal: Buy a new Chevrolet Captiva (aka the Daewoo Winstorm and platform cousin to the Equinox) and Le Général will pick up the value-added tax for you, which amounts to a hefty €5800 rebate. Similar deals apply to the Epica, Nubira, and Lacetti. Just imagine those marketers at the meeting that cooked up this campaign, cheering and fist-bumping after each bullet point in the PowerPoint slide show:

•Yes We Can… take advantage of the fact that the American and French flags use the same colors!
•Yes We Can… likewise take advantage of the fact that our biggest division is named after a Frenchman!
•Yes We Can… badge-engineer any vehicle, any place, any time!
•Yes We Can… get this dust-gathering inventory off the showroom floor!

[Chevrolet.fr, thanks to Franzouse for the tip and the billboard photo!]

Well, it turns out that the 1966 Mustang from Un Homme Et Une Femme was restored a few years back, and we're pretty sure that Vroomscreech has spotted this very car down on the street- in front of a movie theater, of course- in Santa Monica California. Apparently the car in the movie was adorned with both 184 and 145 door numbers, for plot reasons we'll probably never know; this is either the actual car or the work of a heavy-duty SoCal Lelouch fan.

While Richard Milhous Nixon drove a man-of-the-people-esque '48 Mercury woodie wagon during his first senatorial campaign, once he got to be president, by God, he was going to roll in a vehicle befitting a man of his stature. A car that would show the doubters, the back-stabbers, the East Coast elitists, and- especially- the treasonous press that here was a man not to be trifled with! A man who would make you pay for trying to thwart him during his rise to power! For that, it pretty much goes without saying that you need a great big Cadillac Fleetwood, and that's just what Nixon got once he became president. His first presidential ride was a 1967 Fleetwood 75 limo, outfitted with the best in commie-bullet-stopping armor plate and- we're assuming here- a gold-plated Dilantin dispenser. Now, you'll need to add the presidential goodies yourself, but it's no sweat finding a suitable Fleetwood; take, for example, this 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limo, priced at just $1,250. That leaves you plenty of cash left over to fix the rust (the seller says "needs body work," which- given that the car is in Minnesota- we're interpreting as "more air than metal") and have the interior done in leather embossed with the presidential seal. Throw a microfilm-stuffed pumpkin in the trunk and you'll be ready to roll!

Sure, Nixon had a lot of power, but de Gaulle had style! Not only that, when you're choosing a President Grade Hell Project, you need to ask yourself: did a Cadillac ever save Nixon's life? The battleship-like construction, hydropneumatic suspension, and excellent handling of the Citroën DS saved de Gaulle at least twice, once when some right-wing dingbat tried to machine-gun him, and again when his DS drove right through a roadside napalm bomb explosion. Clearly, the DS is the way to roll like a president, but it's going to be tough to find one in the same price range as that super-cheap Caddy. Not to worry, though, because all tortures good things are possible in Project Car Hell; we've found this 1967 Citroën DS sitting with a price tag of just two grand! The seller (apparently suffering from the kind of Citroën Fatigue that renders one incapable of using punctuation or capitalization) claims the car is "nearly rust free"- which we're inclined to believe, given that this DS is in Arizona- but follows that statement with the less encouraging "needs new interior and a little work done its been sitting for some time." You figure maybe the hydraulics need complete replacement a little work, and possibly the engine is frozen solid requires some freshening, but so what? If it was good enough for de Gaulle, it's good enough for your garage!

Went for a walk yesterday, daytime for once, and I wound up in a neighborhood I usually stay away from, the champs Elysées. Attempting to steer away from that pickpocket cesspool, I veered off and found myself on the Avenue Gabriel, which borders the back wall of the garden of the President's Elysée Palace (I steer away from that place too usually).
In this heavily guarded place, right across from the back gate is a theater in whose parking lot I found a true beaut.
An Opel Kadett C ('73 to '79) covered in graffiti. Lots of pic here, great litle details, but a mystery: the front windshield is clear of graffiti, the interior is worn but clean, I saw a valid insurance sticker, French DoT tags... so I asked one of the any cops around if they knew anything about the car: it's driven by a member of the current play, the director they think. "The guy is an excentric" (my kind of person), they wouldn't say more but their non answers told me that in their mind he didn't pose a security threat... Which is just as well because I'd love to see that variflex suspension.
Hope you like it. On a technical note, it is parked on the lot of a public, government-owned theater, so I know it's not a full DOTS, it's not on private propery either :)