(jazzy upbeat music)
- [Sam] Back in the days,
the engineer had final say on the design of the car.
It wasn't marketing, it wasn't sales.
(car door slamming) So when they were given
a task to produce a car that had to carry four people,
(car engine cranking) travel medium distances,
and consume less gas, they came up with the Citroen 2CV,
and it has everything that was needed and nothing else.
(car engine puttering) (jazzy upbeat music)
I don't live in France, but I wanted to bring a piece
of the French car history with me.
This car was a true bon find, one owner,
in a town called Tulle in France purchased in 1961
by a baker who kept it all his life.
I love the patina. I love the colors.
I love that the sea foam green (speaks in foreign language)
as it is in France has weathered the way it has weathered.
It has plenty of surface rust,
and it gives her just tons of character,
and I have no intention of changing that.
She's 1961. She drives every day.
I will take this car across country tomorrow
in the state that she is, and she will be fine.
(jazzy upbeat music)
The simplicity in engineering makes this car.
Air-cooled, two-cylinder.
Has no belts whatsoever.
The oil cooler fan is directly onto the crank shaft.
The whole entire car is but 1,100 pounds.
All the body panels are stamped steel.
The 2CV doesn't have a gas gauge.
It has a leather strip that is graduated
from zero to 25 liters.
You remove it from the gas tank, you read where you are,
and you put it back in.
So some little quirks,
but the simplicity makes this car really brilliant.
(gas cap clicking) (jazzy upbeat music)
This little engine produces about 23 horsepower.
It's a gearbox with three gears and an overdrive.
My model has a centrifuge clutch.
When you've stopped, you don't have to have
the clutch engaged to shift in second, third, and overdrive.
You use the clutch.
The way the gears function,
the way it's completely unprecise,
the way you have to learn that pattern or lack thereof
to be able to make it shift is what makes it,
ironically, really enjoyable.
You have the windows open, you have the top rolled back,
and you sort of don't care if it goes fast or not because,
at the end of the day, it's moving forward.
That's what matters. (jazzy upbeat music)
There's this espresso truck in town, a Citroen as well.
It sits in various spots in the city, and so when I drive,
I try to find it, stop by, and get an espresso.
It always makes, again, it makes people laugh
because they see the truck, and then they see my car,
and it's just really a fun, little outing to try to
scout for that truck, and then find it
and just get an espresso, and then be on my way.
(car engine puttering)
I'm not quite sure where I'm going to go.
Just go out, and I drive.
I have couple of routes that I like to take.
It's not a very well-insulated car,
so I try to go early in the morning
when we can roll down the top.
(jazzy upbeat music)
Usually, my outings are 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour.
If I take the dog, we'll stop somewhere.
We'll just play fetch.
The dog rides next to me, and he just enjoys it.
He is a little bit of an attraction of his own.
That's what makes it fun.
(car engine puttering) (jazzy upbeat music)
When you drive a special car,
it doesn't matter if it brings you from point A to point B.
Is what it makes you feel that matters.
For me, this car is the feeling that I am driving
a piece of French heritage.
So, I'm very proud to drive this car.
(car engine puttering) (jazzy upbeat music)
It's slower than anything else on the road
at any given time.
Yet, nobody honks at me. Nobody loses their patience.
When they see me, when they drive behind me,
people high five, the thumbs up.
Adults, 60 years old, 80 years old, it doesn't matter.
People are not going to be aggravated.
They're going to smile.
It makes me smile.
It relaxes me even though sometimes
it's not that easy to drive it.
I just enjoy the whole process of driving this car.
(Sam speaking in foreign language)
(car engine puttering) (jazzy upbeat music)