Citroën 2CV

Last weekend while wandering the streets of Prague, I came across what appeared to be a very old car in fairly good condition. However, after doing a little research, I believe it's most likely a late model of its original production run.

(From Wikipedia) The car is a French Citroën 2CV (CV stands for "deux chevaux" or two horses). It was an economy car produced from 1948 to 1990. The car was designed by Pierre-Jules Boulanger to be a low-priced, rugged "umbrella on four wheels" that would enable two peasants to drive 100 kg of farm goods to market at 60 km/h, in clogs and across muddy unpaved roads if necessary. The car would use no more than 3 liters of gasoline to travel 100 km. Most famously, it would be able to drive across a ploughed field without breaking the eggs it was carrying. Boulanger later also had the roof raised to allow him to drive while wearing a hat.

The 2CV was a great commercial success: within months of it going on sale, there was a three-year waiting list. The waiting list was soon increased to five years. At that time a second-hand 2CV was more expensive than a new one because the buyer did not have to wait. The purchase price of the 2CV was always very low. In Germany in the 1960s for example, it cost about half as much as a Volkswagen Beetle. European nonconformists protested mass consumer culture and owning a 2CV was like being in a club - 2CV owners would wave to each other on the road.

The 2CV was mainly sold in France and some European markets. Only a few thousand 2CVs were sold in North America when they were new - the car was so small and inexpensive that the cost of transport alone put it into a different and uneconomic price category. In 1988, production ceased in France but was continued in Portugal. The last 2CV rolled off the Portuguese production line on July 27, 1990. In all, a total of 3,872,583 2CV sedans were produced.

I can't imagine buying a car as late as 1990 that still looked so ancient. Imagine almost 4 billion of these cars were produced! However, the Mini, original VW Beatle and Hindustan Ambassador were cars that had similar lengthy production runs.