To break up the monotony of the V.I.S.I.T. posts, and ignoring the fact you you Hoons simply did not send in much great stuff, today we will look at French cars which are currently living and dying in Poland. As we have previously, when we looked at the American cars living and dying in Poland, we will utilize Zlomnik.pl and its readers.
I previously introduced Zlomnik to Hooniverse; we looked at cars around my old neighborhood, the country as whole, and even a junk yard in Norway. Check out the website, they even have a handy translator now.
Like anywhere else, French cars were imported to Poland more as a stylish alternative to boring square boxes than anything else. No one who wanted reliability and durability bought them. That says a lot when you compare these to much cheaper Eastern Bloc cars, which sure as heck were far from being as solid as a ’88 Hyundai Excel.
Even in the 1980’s, I remember owners of these car being somewhat different; they would dress differently, they would have flair, and they all smoked a lot. They were proud of their cars, the way a parent has to be proud of their underachieving child. They had style, they had grace, they looked great while performing minor repairs on the side of the road.
Enjoy the cars, identify as many of them as possible.
No sure if French, but interesting.
So much weirdness/awesomeness: Visa camper and Renault 9 locomotive were perhaps the biggest surprises. Who builds a camper on a Visa platform anyway? That Visa itself could fit into the bed of some domestic pickup I'd bet. It's like a Fiat 500 camper or something…
That Simca Matra Bagheera is pretty stylin' The Pug 305 we did not get in the states, cause it would have looked awful.
That red Fuego rocks.
That's not a Visa though, it's a C15. Which does have a Visa front half, I'll give you that. It used to be quite a common van. It's like a Ford Transit Connect.
<img src="http://www.motorstown.com/images/citroen-c15-e-02.jpg">
Look at this video of the Citroën Roma Motorhome!
[youtube p_Vsnx3aLlg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Vsnx3aLlg youtube]
Je suis en amour avec ce véhicule. Nous devrions aller dormir dehors en ce moment!
Here goes:
The title picture, clockwise, starting top left:
Citroen BX
Citroen SM
Citroen H van
Renault 4 ("quatre L")
Then, in order:
Citroen XM
Matra/Simca Baghera
This might be a "voiture sans permi": a small car with a very limited top speed (25MPH?), that can be driven in France without a driver's license. Usually seen driven by drunks who lost their licenses…
Peugoet 505 (and VW wagon in the background)
Citroen BX
Citroen H van
Citroen XM
Renault 16
Renault 11 (it's a Diesel!)
Citroen CX
Renault 11
Citroen SM
NOT A FRENCH CAR: Autobianchi/Lancia Y10
Citroen VISA
Citroen XM stretch limousine
Renault 21
Renault 9 rail conversion (the coolest of the lot!)
Citroen CX
I admit defeat on this one. It does have French license plates from the Gard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gard
Renault 4
Renault 4 utilitaire (with custom exhaust)
Renault 9
Renault Fuego
Renault 4
Renault super 5 in utilitaire version, 5 doors and 3 doors.
Renault 5
I have not lost my license!
It's a Tasso Bingo.
That's the one with the overbored Suzuki Hayabusa mill, isn't it? Or a Lombardini diesel? I forget which. Bound to be one or the other.
My understanding is there's a Lombardini version and an electric version.
Shocking!
True, they're not just blowing smoke.
Citroën XM
Simca Matra Bagheera
I have no idea what that little red thing is!
Peugeot 305 (with VW Passat Variant).
Citroën XM (next to a Polski Fiat 125)
Renault 16
Renault 11
Citroën CX
Renault 11
Citroën C15 Roma Motorhome
Citroën SM
Lancia Y10 (not French 😉 but there is a red Peugeot Partner in the background.
Citroën Visa Leader
Citroën XM (Tissier?)
Renault 21 Hatchback
Renault 9
Citroën CX
Peugeot 203
Renault 4 GTL
Renault 4F6
Renault 9
Renault Fuego
Renault 4 TL
Renault Express and Renault 5 "Supercinq" (twice)
Renault 5 "Supercinq" GT Turbo (with a Citroën ZX next to the Ford Sierra)
<img src="http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/2471/4cvf.jpg"> You might know, cause it has a big French vibe going for me. It's from an old photo from Poland. It sort of looks like a 203, 4cv, or topolino but really not like any of those in all details.
Also that Matra is lust worthy!
As it is in Poland, my best guess would be Skoda 1102…
<img src="http://www.imcdb.org/i291018.jpg" width=670>
Definitely, you're the best, thanks! And another example of a car where minilites would not work which agrees with your rule.
[youtube –LVpA5UdGM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–LVpA5UdGM youtube]
I'd really like one of the miniature campers. I have half a mind to build one out of a Transit Connect.
The most interesting thing I saw in the past week was a Silverado that was cobbled together from at least three different Silverados, and I didn't have my camera on me since I was going to get some groceries. Maybe everyone else has the same problem?
That little red thing (not the HY) is a Tasso I think.
Bingo! (See my earlier comment above.)
Why the Citroen Visa after the Autobianchi Y10 has an italian license plate ?
The Blue Renault 16 was a TX version, the top range with a 1.6 liter motor