The Citroen Dyane was an evolution of the more famous 2CV, focussing on more power (most had a 602cc engine with all of 32bhp), a construction that permitted more efficient production, a hatchback and more modern style.
But in 1963, it could only have been French and only a Citroen. Just look at it.
In 1977, Citroen offered a van version, known as the Acadiane replacing the 2 CV based AK van, or Fourgonnette. Acadiane was a pun by Citroen based on Dyane and the prefix “AK” used by Citroen light commercials for many years,
A working, rather than preserved, Fourgonnette is now rare sight but you still catch plenty of Acadianes in active service around rural France. There is somethinG supremely practical and obvious about the long travel suspension, flat floor with very little intrusion from the susepnsion and big square sided box on the back to make these idealy suited to carrying everything a rural Frenchman needs. Don’t worry about the aerodynamics of the profile – with 602cc and comforable cruising pseed of 50mph,that was probably the last of your concerns.
picture from www.citroenet.org.uk
These are still seen around many rural French markets and villages. The red van featured was in the town of Issgeac in the Dordogne, being used for some local delivery or other. Their use by the French post office is not long ago either.
And if all else fails, paint it up and use it for and to promote your restaurant. What Pierre Boulanger would make of this, 65 years after his 2CV was available, appearing like this with a mobile telephone number on it is something to ponder….
Nice, but slow and dated by the time it was launched.
The Renault 4 fourgonette (light truck) was a much better alternative.
Actually the Dyane was conceived by Citroën to try to give the more successfull Renault 4 a run for its money, which the earlier featured Citroën AMI series really did.
Designed by a very old Louis Bionnier (the man who is also responsble for the brilliant design of Panahrd’s 24BT and CT series and for the Panhard Dynamique, a streamline car launhed int he thirties of the last century)
Come on Rammstein, we had our own winner !! 🙂
Is n’t it odd we beat the sh*t out of cars or light vans like these, and they are really worth some serious money today.
Drove a (company) DAF 33 Van and was so ashamed of its reputation being an ol’wives jet !
But the thing was great to haul parts for the MG at night !
Were those DAF thingies ever exported, and how many of those were actually built? Do like the Acadiane more though, being less conventional.
Were DAFs ever exported? Yes. There was a dealer on south Michigan Ave in Chicago in about 1967-68. The salesman looked at me like I was strange-why else would a young kid come into a DAF dealership, especially while driving a 1960 Plymouth Fury?
It took awhile, but the DAF’s Variomatic (snowmobile) transmission is now seen more and more on today’s cars. My Subaru Impreza has that transmission and having driven it for nearly two years I no longer pay much attention to it (nor do I use the paddle shifters unless I’m in very mountainous areas).
I’ve no idea of the production numbers of the DAF 33 commercial vehicles, but I guess they were only popular in the Netherlands and maybe Belgium. I just learned, from the ad above, that they also had a pick-up version of the DAF 33. I never saw one in the metal, although I was on the road a lot in the seventies. Then again, vans (small and big) have always been the norm here when it comes to commercial vehicles.
Here’s the pick-up. (Photo: Joost J. Bakker)
Guess you’ll have to write an article about the Daffodil and the DAF 33 my dear !
LOL
Rammstein, I’m more familiar with the DAFs my dad drove back then. But these models had diesel engines. And were much bigger.
But the smaller ones were certainly unique thanks to the Variomatic, what we call a CVT now.
wow! that’s like the loveliest cargo compartment ever put upon a penalty box.
too bad those DAFs are inexistent, even in germany. let alone the bestelauto.
Another CC that brings back some memories, as illustrated below. Yes, I know it’s a 2cv van and not an Acadiane, but I immediately connected the two.
The picture was taken in 1975 near Odense on the Funen island of Denmark, during a wonderful cycling trip. Before we left, we had been assured that Denmark was flat as pancake, but when we got there we discovered that our itinerary would take us through what the locals jokingly referred to as the ‘Funen Alps’. As you can see, my companions found it was a bit of a struggle. It’s probably the only way anyone ever got overtaken by a 2CV van going up a hill!
I wonder if the word ‘Acadiane’ might (also?) be a pun on Dyane and ‘Acadienne’, the French name given to a woman from Acadie, that part of Atlantic Canada that has deep French roots, and a connection to the Louisiana Cajuns (itself a word derived from ‘Acadien’, which denotes a man from Acadie).
The French and Italians built a lot of vans based on their small car models. Here’s another one I remember very well from my younger years, the Fiat 127 Fiorino from the seventies.
Many small vans were built along similar lines: Ford Courrier (Ford Fiesta), Renault Express (Renault 5), Avotvaz used a Riva based one, something based on the Moskvitch existed. Even the Morris Minor had a version (which may even predate the Citroen). Did any similar small vans exist in the USA?
Not really. The full-size sedan deliveries only sold a couple thousand units a year even in their prime, and most commercial users just buy a hatchback (or wagon back in the day) and put the seat down. Alternately, a pickup with a shell.
There aren’t really any tax advantages for a “light truck” over a “car” in this weight class, and since the mid-’60s any imports would’ve been at a severe disadvantage due to the “chicken tax” tariffs. (Ford imported the first generation Transit Connects all with second-row seats and glazing that was discarded once they cleared customs, while Mini withdrew the Clubvan after only 50 units were sold at a stiff premium over a Clubman wagon).
Hate to use the word “iconic”, but like every other iteration (saloon, convertible, Traveller), the Morris Minor van is an enduring British icon from the Miss Marple era – the classic conveyance for local florists, bakers etc. Also used in fleet quantities by the old GPO, which operated both the Royal Mail (bright red vans) and the telephone system (bright yellow vans). I think production of the Minor van continued into the 1970s specifically for this one huge customer.
Funny thing. Never been a fan of french anything. When I left the military a datsun pickup with a shell was my equivalent of this. When I moved to the country I suddenly did not need to go fast. Another 10mph would put this in my wheelhouse. I think everything on the page would work for me.
I dont reckon any of those came here new but lots of immigrants bring cars out and there are one or two of these vans about they couldnt compete on price with the commonwealth stuff we once had tariffs on imported cars and we have plenty of Morry Minor vans already.
I saw a 2CV van about a month ago, being thrashed through a corner pretty quickly to the point where I hope his brakes are really good for the inevitable surprise around a corner one day.
I drove a small van recently, a Hillman Imp. The were initially sold as Commers, and had no windows (installed later), and because of the rear engine the load floor was high. To compensate the roof was raised, although the higher floor works in your favour in some cases with less bending required.
The car I drove was very nice, I was surprised to find it didn’t have a twin-carb engine! The suspension was slightly modified so it still had the characteristic go-kart handling.
Looks like a tiny hearse…
One peculiarity (among many) of the post-war UK tax system was the application of a sales tax called Purchase Tax to an ever-changing selection of goods deemed either to be luxuries, or export preference. (We wanted to make sure that our unquenchable home market demand for eg Austin Atlantics didn’t deprive you American folks of getting all you wanted.)
A quirk of Purchase Tax was that it was applied to cars, but not to vans, even if the van was no more than an estate car without rear windows. It wasn’t unheard of (in our family, for instance), for Pa to buy, say, a Ford Anglia van and fit some rear seats, saving handsomely on tax in the process.
And you complain about travelling in a Chevy without opening rear windows! Dammit, at least you HAD rear windows.