The French Suck at Designing Cars
- Thread starter 1X83Z
- 49 comments
- 1,693 views
- 12,993
- USA! USA!
In a shock move this week Citroen has been forced to admit that its cars actually have no prices at all. The surprise announcement came after a customer tried to buy a special edition Saxo Plastique (Cashback £4995) and asked their dealer for a price list. Red faced Double Chevron officials finally conceded that nobody had tried to pay full whack for a Citroen in living memory. "Our policy has been to just try and flog as many as possible and bugger the second hand values," said a Citroen UK spokesman. "And at these prices you can just throw them away and start again." Citroen cashback offers have now been running for seventeen years, which is quite a long time according to experts. "We haven't printed any new lists for a good while now," our spokesman confessed. "Somebody found one for an Ami 8 behind a filing cabinet, but we don't sell that anymore do we?"
Citroen insists it will soon be back as a prestige name and will stop throwing cash back at customers like "quite expensive confetti". Failing that, spies say the company may simply adopt a barter-based system under which buyers could, for example, offer a horse, two mountain bikes, a first born child and a really nice watch in return for a C5 2.2 Hdi Exclusive SE estate
BTW, I agree.
Citroen insists it will soon be back as a prestige name and will stop throwing cash back at customers like "quite expensive confetti". Failing that, spies say the company may simply adopt a barter-based system under which buyers could, for example, offer a horse, two mountain bikes, a first born child and a really nice watch in return for a C5 2.2 Hdi Exclusive SE estate
BTW, I agree.
- 10,081
- WFG9
Actually, I think french cars look a lot better than some cars i've seen.
did the french design the mr-2 or the 300m?
did the french design the mr-2 or the 300m?
- 5,198
- Montana
- DethMOPAR340
i agree :thumbsup:
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
Well no, you shouldn't be. The thing is, that when you have a look inside a Multipla, you suddenly get it. I mean, yes, the thing is inexcusably ugly, but inside it's a marvel of packaging and design. This is a car that's designed around the people inside, not the people outside.
As for the French, well I quite like the Avantime, and, having run a couple of base-model French cars, you have to say that they're reliable. We had a Renault 5 for two years, and including the purchase price, and all non-fuel bills, plus hiring cars for long journeys, the thing cost us £1500...
We're now driving a Renault 19 that cost £500 to buy, and has been flawless thus far.
Actually, I'm forced to agree about the design itself. I don't think there's a person in the world who would call it pretty on the outside, but the straight-up windows is literally brilliant. Truthfully, it's a well-designed car. But the problem is that Americans do NOT want something like that as their rental car. The lights in the windshield plainly suck.
I actually liked the Avantime until I saw it next to the CLK, C70, and 3-series coupe. And in that environment it's just hard to see why someone would buy an Avantime over any others.
- 19,699
- Alabamamania
Ugly examples, Yes! But at least the French are brave in designing cars. Seen anything original pop out of Detroit lately? For crying out loud, they made the new Viper look less aggressive and less original. And some of the latest concept cars from Japan are inexcusably ugly. Toyota Pod, anyone?
I feel that automotive styling, as a whole, is no different than it was 10 years ago or even 80 years ago. You had some gorgeous designs, simple-but-timeless ones, some dullards, and hideous monsters. The same goes today; these stylists are trying to one-up each other...some go too far.
It only means the automobile is appreciated as an art form.
And French cooking is awesome (excluding frog legs and escargot), if you've every had a talented chef prepare it. There's more than burgers and fries in this world!
I feel that automotive styling, as a whole, is no different than it was 10 years ago or even 80 years ago. You had some gorgeous designs, simple-but-timeless ones, some dullards, and hideous monsters. The same goes today; these stylists are trying to one-up each other...some go too far.
It only means the automobile is appreciated as an art form.
And French cooking is awesome (excluding frog legs and escargot), if you've every had a talented chef prepare it. There's more than burgers and fries in this world!
It doesn't need to be original to be good! I don't think many people would call the Ford 49 ugly, or the Chevy Belair concept, or the Chevy SSR.
Why are you judging concept cars, anyway, pupik? It's what hits the streets - for some reason the French let the crap designs slip by.
Why are you judging concept cars, anyway, pupik? It's what hits the streets - for some reason the French let the crap designs slip by.
- 9,209
- DerAlta
I have to throw my two cents in here.
Only in american do we let the designers make a beautiful car, then have the engineers screw it up.
For instance, in the Dodge Dynasty you had to open the door to adjust the seat. The Dodge Neon, headlight switch is mounted in such a way that if you take a corner and slide a bit in the seat, your knee shuts off the lights. Not fun.
On topic of the Aztek (Pontiac), that's a case where the designer had an idea in mind, and let the engineer work it out. Someone got fired over that one.
I owned two Dodge Daytonas. I didn't learn from teh first one. The second one blew up driving down the highway at 70. The seasl in teh turbo went, dumping coolant into the engine. 8 mile walk in the rain...at 10pm in October, in Vermont.
and to stay on topic, Yes, the French have a way with their cars. Similar to the urban legend of their respect for deodorant.
AO
Only in american do we let the designers make a beautiful car, then have the engineers screw it up.
For instance, in the Dodge Dynasty you had to open the door to adjust the seat. The Dodge Neon, headlight switch is mounted in such a way that if you take a corner and slide a bit in the seat, your knee shuts off the lights. Not fun.
On topic of the Aztek (Pontiac), that's a case where the designer had an idea in mind, and let the engineer work it out. Someone got fired over that one.
I owned two Dodge Daytonas. I didn't learn from teh first one. The second one blew up driving down the highway at 70. The seasl in teh turbo went, dumping coolant into the engine. 8 mile walk in the rain...at 10pm in October, in Vermont.
and to stay on topic, Yes, the French have a way with their cars. Similar to the urban legend of their respect for deodorant.
AO
You know French Cars aren't all that bad? The :renault: Magane and Clio are fine cars and highly competitive in their Market :thumbsup:
And the old renault Turbos :burnout: are still pretty desirable amounst the Boy Racers in Europe
I suppose maybe the majority of :USA: Americans look at European Cars the way most of the Europeans look at US SUV's?
The :fiat: Italian Multipla, as GG says is not that bad a car If you just step back from looks :magnify: and have the mind set that the car is aimed at a European family who want:
-Practicality not looks
:up:
-Lots of Space
:up:
-Good Safety
:up:
-A low buying Cost :2cents:
:up:
-Low Maintenance and running
:up:
-etc...
Then it's a good car :car: in it's class and Market?
And the old renault Turbos :burnout: are still pretty desirable amounst the Boy Racers in Europe
I suppose maybe the majority of :USA: Americans look at European Cars the way most of the Europeans look at US SUV's?
The :fiat: Italian Multipla, as GG says is not that bad a car If you just step back from looks :magnify: and have the mind set that the car is aimed at a European family who want:
-Practicality not looks
:up:
-Lots of Space
:up:
-Good Safety
:up:
-A low buying Cost :2cents:
:up:
-Low Maintenance and running
:up:
-etc...
Then it's a good car :car: in it's class and Market?
- 1,803
- mr_pushrod
And you are all forgetting how advanced Citroens were. DS, GS, SM, CX, all beautiful advanced and comfortable cars. I drive a GSA and it beats most modern cars for comfort. I have four wheel disc brakes, 4 wheel independent self levelling hydropneumatic suspension. Ok, so the modern Citroens aren't as advanced but they are still good cars. Peugeots are regarded as some of the finest handling cars in their class and Renault can be relied on to produce something innovative once in a while.
Originally posted by alexy2k
You know French Cars aren't all that bad? The :renault: Magane and Clio are fine cars and highly competitive in their Market :thumbsup:
And the old renault Turbos :burnout: are still pretty desirable amounst the Boy Racers in Europe
I suppose maybe the majority of :USA: Americans look at European Cars the way most of the Europeans look at US SUV's?
The :fiat: Italian Multipla, as GG says is not that bad a car If you just step back from looks :magnify: and have the mind set that the car is aimed at a European family who want:
-Practicality not looks
:up:
-Lots of Space
:up:
-Good Safety
:up:
-A low buying Cost :2cents:
:up:
-Low Maintenance and running
:up:
-etc...
Then it's a good car :car: in it's class and Market?
I agree, French cars aren't so bad in other areas, but can you honestly call the new Clio good-looking compared to a Civic hatch or the like? What is the deal with its front bumper?
In fact, compared to the (admittedly, better looking) Alfas, the Renaults are the way to go. Remember, Alfas are famous for having their doors fall off.
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