Corona be damned, I did something slightly risky and flew to the old country and see my folks for Christmas. It was that or losing the plane tickets, which were booked before the pandemic hit. Yuletide intercontinental travel is not what it used to be: both to and from Japan, I flew on nearly empty Dreamliners instead of packed jumbos. Once in France, I went to my usual digs in a village in Provence – the southern Alps, nice and secluded. It also happens to be a good place to spot some unusual CCs…
Rural France is obviously a haven for older French cars, so we’re going to be seeing a few of those here. But let’s not imagine that there are no foreign cars at all – particularly from large carmaking nations, such as Italy and Germany. This early ‘90s Opel Corsa is a case in point.
It goes further than that, sometimes. Though they are no longer imported nowadays, Lada Nivas are still extant and will likely remain so for years to come. These are tough, cheap and practical workhorses, after all. And plenty were sold, as this one, with a coveted factory-made LPG conversion, making these even cheaper to run, as well as relatively clean. Those classic ‘70s Soviet looks are just the cherry on the top.
I also happened upon a very well-preserved 2nd-gen Honda CRX – definitely not a common sight in these climes, but obviously someone’s pride and joy. The most striking difference between traffic in France and in Japan is cleanliness. The Japanese are OCD about their vehicles and tend to repair everything, so cars there are usually in perfect condition. This is far from the case elsewhere, particularly in southern Europe.
As a result, although one still encounters several Peugeot 205s on a daily basis, most are falling apart or caked in layers of filth, which makes for a poor subject to immortalize. I eventually lucked out and found this one, a relatively unmolested Junior, the most basic trim with the 950cc engine, made between 1986 and 1989.
There are also plenty of 309s still puttering about, also usually in pretty sorry states. These are basically the 205’s unloved bigger cousin, though their history is a tortured one. Developed by Talbot to find a way to squeeze every ounce of life out of the old Simca engines, the 309 was hastily repurposed as a Peugeot. Since all the -05 numbers were spoken for, this odd duck was launched in 1986 with this odd number. According to the license plate, this is a 1992 model.
Unlike these Peugeots, which are still in the doldrums of banger-dom, the Citroën 2CV has become a valuable commodity. This one is hiding, unrestored, still with its original license plate. Those are becoming rare indeed…
Restored examples like this similarly beige mid-‘80s car are now the majority. Prices for these tin snails have gone through the roof. A very nice one will go for €10-15k, which is pretty much what a serviceable Traction Avant also goes for nowadays. Madness!
Try as it might, the Renault 4 was never anywhere near as iconic (nor as currently valuable) as the Citroën it so blatantly attempted to overthrow. Late ‘80s / early ‘90s cars like this one are still seen on occasion, but are now fewer in numbers than the air-cooled Cits, according to my empirical observations.
I had very limited luck with bigger cars for this singles post, sorry to say. (Stand-alone posts are a different matter, as you will see over the coming week or so). The only photo-worthy one I managed to catch was this late model (1991-94) Citroën BX. These cars are the ideal banger: nearly indestructible, it seems – particularly in diesel form, they are also supremely comfortable, with that magic carpet suspension and marshmallow-like seats.
For whatever reason, I encountered two eerily similar A2 Golfs – both GTDs, i.e. a GTI with a 1.6 litre turbodiesel. This gray one is quite worse for wear, with its broken headlamp and scruffy overall condition.
This black one, which hasn’t moved in quite a while either, looks like it’s wearing its 30-plus years with more aplomb. In case you’re wondering, that high-viz jacket on the dash signifies that this car is owned by a member of the “gilets jaunes” – a sort of leaderless protest movement that had its heyday a couple years ago.
While we’re on VWs, there are still a number of rear-engined representatives of the marque in this part of Europe, but most come in the form of the water-cooled T3 van. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer my boxers to be dry rather than wet. (It’s probably a straight-4 Diesel in any case, but I’d rather not entertain such an unpleasant thought.) Anyway, in terms of minivans, this French trip was to provide a far more exotic surprise.
That’s right, a good old Pontiac Trans Sport. I distinctly remember seeing these advertised on French TV back in the early ‘90s – one of the only Pontiacs ever widely offered on that market. My father drove a 6000 wagon in those days, so I paid quite a lot of attention to these. And they went nowhere fast. In the country of the Renault Espace, few were convinced by the GM Dustbuster. If an American minivan was required, the one to get was the Voyager, not the Trans Sport. This is a very rare survivor.
While we’re in the white goods section, here are a couple interesting large French vans. This LWB Citroën C25 mobile home, now over 30 years of age, seems to still provide some sort of service. Launched in 1984 as a replacement to the iconic Type H, the C25 was built in Italy and developed as a JV between Fiat and PSA. These were sold under the Citroën and Peugeot marques in France, as an Alfa Romeo and a Fiat in Italy and as the Talbot Express in the UK. The French versions used the Peugeot 504’s 1.8 litre petrol engine, or the Citroën CX’s 2.5 litre Diesel.
And in the other corner, the C25’s main rival, the Renault Trafic. This pre-1989 facelift high-roof van is in decent nick, given its age. These replaced the Estafette and, though sales in their home country stopped in 2001, the first-generation Trafic has been made since 1980 to the present day under many marques: Opel, Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Winnebago, Inokom and, currently, Tata.
That interior is unmistakably ‘80s Renault, as are those taillights and headlamp / turn signal combos, which bear a strong whiff of R9. These trucks are interesting in that they could be ordered as FWD, RWD or AWD. This one, being called “T 1000 D,” is a LWB model with a 1000kg load capacity and a Diesel engine; the T, being for “Traction,” makes it a FWD. Rear drive vehicles were “P” and 4x4s were “V.”
On the other end of the spectrum (in terms of size), here are a couple of VSPs that I bet haven’t been featured in too many CC posts, though I did catch one a couple years back. VSP is the French acronym for “License-Free Vehicle” – one can drive these gutless wonders on the road without a driver’s license. Maximum speed: 45kph. The one above is a very recent Aixam Crossline – quite a popular model, all things being relative.
Photobombed by a comparatively huge Fiat Panda, this is a 2004-10 Ligier X-Too. What a weird carmaker Ligier is: they have been successfully making these tiny things to keep the lights on since the late ‘70s, while simultaneously (and less successfully) running a Formula One team.
Finally, to end things on a touch of class and beauty, here’s a very nice Fiat 124 Sport Spider (circa 1970-72, if I’m not mistaken?) found outside a Citroën dealership. That’s all my week-long French trip yielded, CC-wise. Oh, aside from another four or five cars, which we will visit in greater detail as soon as I can write them up. I’m back in Tokyo and under quarantine for two weeks; that’s the price to pay for travelling, these days. Not that I’m sick – I’ve been tested twice, negative both times – but the Japanese are very cautious with this COVID-19 business. As they should be, given the age of the population.
So I’ve got a couple of weeks free to write as much CC posts as I can, plus a lot of material. Let’s seen how much I can churn out.
The most interesting car in these excellent pictures, is for me the photobombing Panda 4×4!
What a treat, merci!
I think I’m liking that Panda 4×4 as well, followed closely by the Lada Niva. Although I would think a Mk2 GTD would be a pretty satisfying car to drive, at least with two and a half decades of rose tint post-my-own-GTI’s…
I’m curious. How do the license free vehicles work? I could see pros and cons especially here in North America where public transit is an afterthought.
Perhaps they’re the all-weather equivalent of our DWIcycles.
My favorite is the Peugeot 205 coupe. Such a nice iteration of ’80s car styling. I understand they are very nimble and responsive to drive. There was also the Peugeot 205 GTI, which was quite the thing in Europe, when it was new. The 205 was never sold new in the U.S. Living in Europe in the mid-80’s, the style of these really stood out in a sea of lesser vehicles, and in a nice size, not too big, not too small.
Last year I was in Grenoble and was struck by the paucity of older cars. I was on the look out for larger French cars but saw very few other than the odd Safrane and 607.
I tried to do a photoseries on the Clio and failed to find one from each generation.
Your photo of the Corsa A (1982-1993) made me look twice. In Denmark where I am these are extinct; you´ll see tonnes of Corsa Bs and 205s are not that rare and nor are AXs – all around the same period. I had not noticed the Corsa A is all but gone.
May I ask where the title photo is from?
I give the owner of that Pontiac transport kudos for keeping the old girl on the road for almost 30 years. It must be love. The body panels aside from the roof are all made of polymer plastic which is why appearance wise it looks quite good. Cannot be easy or cheap for a European to source replacement parts for 30 year old GM vehicle. One brother had one of these for a time in the 90s. An employee lease. If I recall there was a fairly large quantity of these things that had a paint flaw, so GM made them available for a crazy low lease price to employees. Another brother had the Chevy version for many years. Though maligned for not checking all the boxes of the Chrysler’s, they both served their young families actually quite well. Thanks for sharing, I always enjoy your stuff!
The roof is plastic too. It is interesting to see all the little modifications they made for EU regs, but probably easier if you owned one yourself like me. I kept mine going until three years ago. It was getting leaky and noisy from shrunken gaskets (among a lot of other problems) but it was rear axle/suspension rust (specifically the bases of the coil springs) that finally did it in.
Tokyo, the French Quarter. It’s very convincing, I must say.
For me, the R4, which I’ve always preferred over the long-faced, mower-engined and faintly absurd 2CV. Not for me that motorhome: the 1.8 Pug motor worked life the hard way just to keep a 504 up with traffic so I’m sure the only way this home could be mobilized up any incline would be by getting out and pushing.
Is there a reason why so there are so many old cars in use? If one was to go to a poorer rural area in Oz, there might be a couple of ancient and haggard Japanese utes and a bigger number of maybe 15 y.o. Holden Commodes and Ford Foulcans, but not the 25 and 30 y.o. jobbies you have here. I know that the rural mindset tends to be “use until worn out and then keep using anyway” but parts of rural France seem to belong in Parsimonia.
I’m a Renault 4 fan too. I worked for a farmer who used it for everything, and it was just perfect for the job. Simple, well-suspended and somehow able to keep going for years despite being almost completely worn out.
Your question about older cars is a good one. Perhaps it’s just to do with operating conditions? In my experience, even rural Oz cars need to do longer distances at faster speeds and the climate is typically pretty harsh. In rural France you would be puttering from village to market town perhaps, just a few kilometres, doing less than 80kmh. When you’re in Parsimonia you neglect the car, but you use it very gently.
The French don’t care so much about a dent or two in their cars and most cars used in rural areas are parked in the barn or somewhere away from the weather.
I also believe the French always approached more like a means of transport, French cars were never the fastest in the world but were capable of travelling long distances in a comfortable way.
And practicality was an issue for the French as well as fuel consumption, French road tax was paid in the fuel, so economical cars were preferred by the French, e.g. the Ami 6 Break was the best selling French car as it was roomy and seen as an alternative for the Renault 4, the 204 Peugeot with its FWD and 1100 cc engine was popular because it was as roomy as its big brother the 404 Peugeot but less expensive to buy and to run.
Dear Tatra I always enjoy your posts but you are living the dream, the hectic super organized correct Japanese society and when you get mad of this you can retire in the laissez-faire way of life dans le Midi.
I am happy to see rural France still does exist with a few old forgotten cars somewhere in the barn and taking life the easy way.
Going to the BAR for a coffee and a croissant and just babbling about things of life that are really important in these hectic Euro times !
Really odd, that you call the BX indestructible. I mean, I’m sure you’re right for France. But in Denmark these were very common in the eighties and now they have all but disappeared. There’s one close to where I live but other than that I may see one a year. It’s probably our excessive use of salt that has got to them.
I´d agree with Mads. I saw my annual BX gliding off the motorway near Aarhus. It´s probably the same one I saw last time. On the other hand the 405 is still not quite so rare as the BX and it´s physically very similar (apart from the suspension) as far as I know.
Southern Europe is much kinder to old cars than places like Denmark — see the comment from Richard above about the Opel Corsa. The BX and the Corsa A are contemporaries and aged similarly, i.e. not too well in wetter / colder areas.
Mechanically though, both the Citroen and the Opel are pretty bulletproof. Just like the Peugeot 205 or the VW Golf. On the other hand, Alfas, Lancias, big Renaults (R19, R21, R25) or anything made by Austin/Rover dating back to the early ’90s has now disappeared from the roads, though they were once common.
But here in Holland we still have loads of Xara Picasso’s from the first generation and now the Xantia estates are slowly disappearing. There’s also still plenty of the real Twingo ‘s overhere, I believe that many cars go to the scrapyard because they’re out of fashion or owners do not want to pay a sudden ‘expensive’ repair job.
I checked some local websites for used vehicles and although many BX’es have been recycled, there are still over 20 for sale.
And let’s face it how many Mondeo’s, Vectra’s, Primera’s or Passat B5’s are left or 190 Mercedes?
I’m glad you were able to get away for the holidays! Quite a bunch of interesting finds here, and I’m interested to see what your full-length writeups will be from this trip.
Somehow, I never knew that Ligier was a mini-car manufacturer. In fact, I’ve scarcely thought of Ligier since the early 1990s when I used to follow F1, but I wouldn’t have guessed that their main line of business would be License-Free Vehicles.
I like the Citroën BX! One observation in light of reading Poindexter’s post this morning on the Ford Fairlane where he mentions “automobile script”: I can’t think of any car with two more different styles of badges than on this BX’s trunklid. The modern, blocky “Citroën” script and the flowing, flamboyant “Millesime” script look like they’re taken from two different cars.
Oh, and that Trans Sport? What an utterly bizarre find. I bet somewhere in Europe there must be a GM Dustbuster fan club.
The colour composition in your lead photo is awesome. That splash of blue Citroen 2CV against the mostly stone coloured buildings is excellent.
That 1994 Pontiac Transport is indeed a survivor. Twenty six years is a great long time to have avoided the death knell of corrosion to the underside. Most excellent find.
We had a number of Lada Nivas in their day here in these parts. I’ve not seen one for some twenty five years I’m guessing.
Those VSP are always a source of amusement and intrigue. I always enjoy playing the game of trying to identify where the lights were borrowed from, whilst admiring the builders’ ability to follow fashion for shapes and colours.
But I don’t want to own one.
Fiat Spyder please, with a side dish of €10k Traction Avant