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Films:
Attaining Nirvana In A Citroën DS
I love the DS/ID Citröen. The engineering in this vehicle rivals anything on the market today. And when you think that Citröen built this car for twenty years it mind boggling. No, it does not have a computer. No, it will not do 0 to 60 in 4 seconds. But, that is not what this car is about.
Citröen made this to ride smooth and travel at 80+mph for hours on end. The first time I saw one was 1968 and I wrote to Citröen for more information. I still have the engineering that shows at least 50 different things that cars of the same era did not have. The Hydropneumatic suspension was actually licensed to Rolls Royce for a while. You could hear the bumps but I swear you felt nothing. It was like driving your living room couch down the highway, like watching a giant screen TV of the road passing by. The fast you went the better it felt. Then, the U.S. gov’t and all their “laws” about cars (emissions, safety,etc.). If I were Citröen, I would have pulled out of the U.S., too. Now the DS/ID are true milestone cars. Nothing else came close in the 20th century.
This was the best part of moving to Europe and later – getting the Internet in the mid-90s here – all the weird, glorious cars out there that we Americans had no clue about. The trip and the internet gave us the opportunity to learn that there were more than muscle cars out there.
Where I live it is all about the American and Japanese brands. French and Italian cars were about as rare as little green men from Mars.
I have always loved these cars. I remember seeing one being driven near my hometown as a child and asking my father, “what is that?” My father’s taste in cars had always been US centric and he said something to the order of , “…I have not idea…”
I also started (probably like many of you) developing a taste for cars by wrenching on my own, perusing auto magazines, and attending nearby car shows (ironically, the ones near me are still very much US muscle car centric, but I gravitate to the oddball Euro or Japanese offering).
It is as if Citroen decided to drop a car 30 years ahead of its time in the mid 1950/s. I could not imagine what the first onlookers must have thought seeing one in the flesh. It also is to me that the focus of this car was everything but the engine. The engine (while reliable) was really not the focal point of the car. The serene ride is.
I love these cars and in fact owned an old ID19, the Ds’s cheaper, somewhat simpler sibling back in the early 70s. As revolutionary as the hydropneumatic suspension was and considering how much everyone loves the incomparable ride quality, I’ve always wondered why no other manufacturer ever duplicated it. Yes, there are cars and trucks with air suspension and adjustable ground clearance, but truly nothing I’ve ever driven rode as softly as these Citroens while maintaining reasonable sharp handling.
You don’t think that redefining standard production engineering tolerances from 3/1000 to 1/1000 ground breaking enough? Or deliberately designing the car for low centre of gravity and low drag co-efficient in a wind tunnel ground breaking enough? Maybe being the first to make monocoque chassis on a production is just so much meh. Remember this is a car designed in the late forties, early fifty’s. My 1973 model uses fibre-optics for one component (very basically I admit – but still!). Who invented crumple zones for passenger safety? Not ground breaking enough really, when you think about it. Have you compared what cars were available in 1956… metal and leaf springs, crossply tyres, off-centre hubs… Nah you’d be best staying well away from the DS/ID range it would shatter your illusions.
Beautiful clip about one of my favorite cars. Thanks to the owner for sharing and thanks to Petrolicious for making my day. @ Greg Long: I purchased your book because of the Petrolicious review. I tremendously enjoyed reading it and I can highly recommend it. Would like to read a bit more about Tanner and Mr. Bryant and yes about Citroen. Hope there is more to come one day.
Congratulations to Petrolicious for this video and Jeff for his car. I’m French and I’m used to see Citroën DSs on French roads. But I’m very impressed to see American people get interest for French Cars. For us, we cannot imagine French car brands like Citroën are known In USA !
The DS is very important for French people. Of course, that’s an amazing machine but, that’s more like an icon for us. This car saved the French president Charles de Gaulles in “The Petit Clamart attack” in 1962 and we can see a flying DS in the French classic movie “Fantomas”. All of that create the Legend of this car in the 60’s. In French language, “DS” is pronounced like “Déesse”, that can be traduce by “Goddess” in English ! And to finish, a split DS realized by the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco and a famous advert of the DS with a version with wheels replaced by balloons added to the legend of the DS.
I’m very happy to see this car in California, in the video of Jay Leno few weeks ago and now in this video with Jeff, enjoy !
As cynical and critical as I’m capable of being .. credit is due when credit is deserved . And this video most certainly deserves it !
Primarily because first and foremost it is entirely devoid of all the posturing , holier than thou attitudes , superiority complexes , overly romanticized ideologies etc found amongst far too many classic car enthusiasts as well as in more than a few of the articles/videos that have appeared here of late . Its about a man … who admits to his iconoclastic and eccentric tastes [ brought on by his involvement in the music business …. gee .. go figure 😮 ] talking about what brought him to the car he now loves .. while discussing the car in realistic and honest terms rather than the usual reams of arrogant bs far too many in the classic car world like to spread around like so much manure in an open corn field .
Fact is .. Mr Suhy .. at least on video seems to be entirely devoid of excess attitude of any kind … period … never mind just from the classic car world perspective [ trust me .. as one in the music business since the 70’s … lack of excess attitude is even more rare in the music profession ]
Suffice it to say that though Mr Suhy’s musical tastes and my own no doubt probably differ somewhat .. I’m betting he’s a person I’d gladly knock a few micro brews down with .
Combine the car [ a personal favorite ] with Mr Suhy’s distinct lack of attitude … some damn fine cinematography , good location spotting … and well ..
Damn fine job Petrolicious crew … a video destined I’m guessing to remain in my top ten for a long time to come
Another beautiful video — of a wonderful car.
And, should you like DS’s, you’ll certainly like my new book FOUND. Petrolicious did a wonderful review here on their site… http://petrolicious.com/book-review-found
I first noticed the DS for the wrong reason. When I was a boy, a certain eccentric doctor lived just above my family’s apartment and owned one of these which he parked in the driveway just beneath his bedroom window. Well, he often woke up in the middle of the night to relieve himself. I suppose it must have been terribly inconvenient to make the trip to the bathroom so he’d open his window and… water the car from above, which in turn always woke me up because my open bedroom window was situated right next to his DS. It wasn’t funny then.
Fact is the DS still makes some 90\% of whats being made today look ancient and out of date by comparison . Sad that Citroen has never seen fit to re-release the DS with all the good stuff intact while updating that which needs it . My guess is if they did they’d knock one outta the ball park … as well as one into my garage
… in addition… great car … excellent video … an enjoyable , heartfelt [ and feels like and honest one ] story … here’s hoping he remains true to his current ideals … as well as …. Tube electronics +1
But err … every serious GearHead worth his or her 10W40 knows about DS’s … what they’re capable of [ when well maintained ] etc . Heck … a friend over London way even has an SM he uses daily . It just takes the right car and the right people taking care of the complicated and lovable little beasts when it comes to Citroen’s two finest [ SM & DS ]
So Mr Suhy
Rock On – Drive On – Remain Calm [ even when the DS does throw a fit ] and do please – Carry On
TJ aka MJ aka GuitarSlinger
