Classic cars in the movies is a great catch phrase.It is also a well worn cliche.What makes a car a classic? What makes it steal the show from the main character?
Muscle, car chase scene, quirky story line? Maybe,maybe not, maybe the car in question is just so unlikely that it speaks for itself.
I would argue that Citroen's ubiquitous 2CV or, to use the correct French term, Deux Chevaux, is a great candidate for the best classic car ever to appear in a movie.However, how many people out there actually know what it looks like, never mind having driven or owned one?
There is one in the classic film American Graffiti, and it is a gem amongst the muscle cars, a pearl amongst the hot rod swine, and a modicum of sanity in the all pervading, high octane mix. Sure the 55 Chevy was one cool car and the '32 Ford Coupe was awesome, however, the real star of the film was the '67, bent and battered, Citroen2CV.
From its curvy exterior, wacky pull out seats, full length sun roof to its twin cylinder air cooled, either 435cc or 602cc powerhouse, this car oozes cool.
Step inside a 2CV for a whole new driving experience. There is a stick shift to start with, protruding through the dashboard like an umbrella handle. First gear and reverse gear are on the same axis, so beware when starting off that you do not shift from first to reverse. It is easy once you know how. The drivers and passenger windows are hinged in the middle, horizontally. Fantastic idea and great for catching that unsuspecting traffic cop on the chin when he asks for your license.You just try telling him to back off a little in order for you to open the window.
When you do set off, the real fun starts at the first corner. These little beauties were meant to be able to drive over a ploughed field in France,with the passenger carrying a basket of eggs on their laps. The test was the suspension had to cope with the field and the eggs were not to be turned into an omelet on the drive. Hence, the lean and give in the suspension is truly amazing. Drive behind one and be surprised and amused that a car can roll this much and not fall over, the true mark of excellence. Also be prepared to laugh a lot as well as quite often the horizontal driver and passenger windows open at this point, making the 2CV look like its about to sprout wings and take off. Next up is the full length sunroof. Held on by two clips at the front, you simply roll it up, all the way to the back if you so desire and secure with two other clips. This solution is so simple and so effective that one cannot but wonder why other manufacturers did not follow suit. Then comes the seat removal bit, two clips again and the back seat is out, it takes about 10 seconds, the trunk then is huge and the seat doubles up as a great alternative for the picnic by the river, instead of the tartan rug favored by more conventional people.
American Graffiti was a truly great film; it launched a few careers and for sure brought back many memories for the baby boomers. The 2CV was just so out of place, so wrong amongst the other cars that it just had to steal the show.
Which it did.