Weird, Useless Car I Really Want

Citroen Ami 8 Estate. 32horsepower, a crank start, a 0-60 time of approximately 30 seconds, apocalyptic body roll and I think I'm in love.

I think they forgot to put fenders in the rear.

A Daewoo and now a Citroen?

Dude, you're in the wrong kind of love.

You need to get yourself checked.

Why on earth would they build a car to have that much body roll? I just can't wrap my head around that, and I saw Per drive the Volvo at this past year's Challenge.

It getz teh gurls, yo!

it's got that much body roll due to it's odd suspension. If it is similar to the 2CV.. the wheelbase gets longer as the suspension moves and it was designed to have a very soft ride for use on bumpy country roads

The french believe in a smooth ride.

Rumour was the 2CV had the goofy suspension so that the farmer could drive across a plowed field and not breakk the eggs on the way to market.

And while it might look weird, I recall chassing someone in France back in the 80's; I was driving a 240Z and he was driving some goofy French car that used the doorhandles as part of the suspension when cornering.

It might have been local advantage or driver skill, but I was having a hard time keeping up with her!

Appleseed wrote: It getz teh gurls, yo!

probably true....they like cute/weird. (e.g. smart cars, VW bugs)

Come on, admit it, what you really wish you could own is a Renault Vel Satis. But the U.S. government and your budget are keeping you from "biting the bullet" on that one.

I would love one.

That would make a sweet golf cart replacement for gated communities.

I agree with you completely on wanting one, but I'd prefer an ID/DS.

JoeyM wrote:

Appleseed wrote: It getz teh gurls, yo!

probably true....they like cute/weird. (e.g. smart cars, VW bugs)

Now we know why you're building that Datsun rep.

integraguy wrote: Come on, admit it, what you really wish you could own is a Renault Vel Satis. But the U.S. government and your budget are keeping you from "biting the bullet" on that one.

Absolutely I want a Vel Satis. I also want a DS, and a Citroen C6, and a Peugeot 404 and pretty much every old, really weird French car.

I want these cars because they are unsporty in the extreme (as opposed to every other thing I own or would own), they are so wildly not-a-BMW-conformity-machine, there is no way I could drive an Ami 8 anywhere without laughing the entire way and, best of all, they are so squishy and comfy that you could simply waft everywhere. Sort of like the bargemobile Cadillacs but with super-mini consumption and that certain French eccentricity!

Honestly, I think the DS is one of the most beautiful, desirable cars ever made. It's the true top of my weird French car lust list.

thatsnowinnebago wrote: I think they forgot to put fenders in the rear.

Fenders are for the weak.

DaewooOfDeath wrote: Honestly, I think the DS is one of the most beautiful, desirable cars ever made. It's the true top of my weird French car lust list.

It is weird the DS and SM are about the only French cars I don't want and I have never understood why the DS is always on the best looking car lists. I think it is hideous.

I think I would buy and drive just about any Citroën if they existed in my area and in my price range. From the 2CV to the DS, from the Ami to the CX, they're all really cool. I'd especially love a CX with the Series-1 rotating-drum speedometer.

The only Renault I really love is the Avantime.

DaewooOfDeath wrote:

That looks like a real life scene from Cars or Cars 2. That kind of body lean and suspension articulation doesn't even seem possible.

I always thought the Ami looked like some weird crab-based monster out of a black-and-white '50s Corman flick:

In reply to mad_machine:

They're basically overgrown 2CVs so yes, the suspension is almost identical.

Graefin10 wrote:

JoeyM wrote:

Appleseed wrote: It getz teh gurls, yo!

probably true....they like cute/weird. (e.g. smart cars, VW bugs)

Now we know why you're building that Datsun rep.

Hey, a fat man schlepping turtles across the road needs all the help he can get!

I say go for it. If it has the 602 cc engine from the 2CV, there's a spec 2CV racing series in the UK that uses a hot cam that'll get you even more girls. And apparently later models of the Ami used front (and even sometimes rear) sway bars that will help the girls not get seasick.

93EXCivic

You are kidding? A DS is ugly? What I don't understand is why the Corvette is considered to be such a phallic substitute....while the DS (depending on whether it has the "mandatory" two tone paint scheme or not) looks WAAAAY much more like a phallic symbol.

I'd want to own a CX, if that were possible, and I guess If I ever really had the money I would have picked one up 2 or 3 times in the last 3 or 4 years.

The Lane Museum has several Citroens, I love the great dashboards and the very unusual seat upholstery.

Small French cars have unbelievable roadholding, they just roll and grip. It makes no sense.