XM in Califorina????

[Citroenfan]

Got referred to this forum from the XM group . Have owned and driven, for my own use, only Citroen's since I got my driver's license in 1961 at the tender age of 16.....Fortunately my life partner is also a Cit nut - makes life easy. Having D's in the wilds of the USA is bad enough (Cit skipped out on us in 1973) - but having one of the 50 XM's ever sold in the US can make life quite interesting.

Steve in Southern California, USA.

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi Steve and welcome to the Forum. Great to have you both on board!

[Stickyfinger]

Hi Steve.....bet the XM makes for a few second looks

[Citroenfan]

Hi Alasdair - sometimes - OTOH our 2CV6 gets more smiles per mile than anything else on the road.......Though both D's in actuality (along with the SM) get more finger pointing than the XM does. The XM's 'shape' is not nearly as 'iconic' as the D's/SM/2CV. OTOH driving the XM (once I got its ride sorted out - at least to my liking) is like driving an SM with LOTS of rear seat leg room .

Take care,

Steve

[Stickyfinger]

Do you plan on increasing your Citroen stock with a CX or such or are the legal barriers to high to import now ?

[Citroenfan]

Hi Alisdair - No The real problem is that one can only drive one car at a time - the California Highway Patrol (CHP) sort of frowns trying to do otherwise . OTOH there are a more than a few CX's owned by local club members. And to be honest, the D's are my real passion. And, frankly, remove the V6 engine, the DRAVI steering and sexy sheet metal from an SM and you have a D with little to no leg room for the rear seat passengers......The XM is a quite nice car - but its electronics are its biggest problem. D's, OTOH, are very straight forward and extremely reliable. My 72 has been across the US 3 times and through Canada once. Nary a problem. Got the car (salvaged from being crushed) in 2002. Had 485,000 miles on it. Tore it apart, rebuild the engine (upping CR to 9.3:1 in the process), had the cam modified. That unit now has 142,000 miles on it - nary a problem and still burns virtually no oil between changes. Was a bit put off by it being a BVH, but once I figured out to how set the various components - fell in love with the system (my first ever BVH D). Right now up on blocks getting completely repainted body panels, new interior and bright work. When done in a bit, will look like it just rolled off a show room floor.

FWIW - the Mullin Auto Museum in Oxnard, CA has a year long exhibit on the history of Citroen (http://tinyurl.com/m9xtwfk)

Steve

[van ordinaire]

I remember seeing a DS in NYC on my 1st American visit, back in '79, & it looked amazingly incongruous then - & I was familiar with them or, at least, their appearance, so the reaction you get now comes as no surprise.

There are now so many 2CV's going to America that it's started to increase their price here, although why Amricans want RHD ones is a bit of a puzzle. D's on the other hand are being re-patriated by the French, Dutch & Germans in particular as they've realised that a car that no one else wants from a dry state is a good idea, if only as the basis of a restoration.

Glad you've found us - but, given your considerable experience of the marque & no small amount of expertise, I do wander how we can help, except to provide some comraderie, of course.