...or as a couple of anecdotes I heard years ago: "Put in in 'R' for 'Race'!", or (if an automatic) "'P' for 'Pass'" (both jokes were pulled on relatively new drivers in Driver's Ed)!
Would your average gearbox *allow* you to engage reverse when going from fifth? The baulk rings on the synchromesh are usually set to prevent this. You might get a horrible graunching sound but you'd never get to the stage of the two clutch plates turning in opposite directions as you were about to bring up the clutch (a thought which brings tears to my eyes!). Thinking of wrecking gearboxes, one of my dad's automatic Hillman Hunters once suffered a "mental breakdown" and decided for reasons best known to itself to select first gear while he was driving at 70 on the M1. Dad said the engine made a scream of pain, the rev counter needle tried to wrap itself around the end-stop and the car decelerated rapidly (engine braking). He said he'd redefined the scientific definition of the millisecond: the time between this happening and him slamming the selector into neutral to end the engine braking so he coudl control the car. Surprisingly after he'd calmed down on the hard shoulder for a few minutes, the car would not only let him limp to the next junction but also seemed to be changing gear normally so he decided to risk completing the 200 mile journey home. But the garage decided to play it safe and replace the gearbox under warranty in case of unseen internal damage. He never heard back from Hillman's technicians any explanation once they'd stripped down the old gearbox.
I first learned to drive in a Renault 12 and then drove my Dad’s Citroen GS and then his GSA as the company he worked for also owned the local Citroen garage. I loved them and they were great to drive. I became so used to driving them that I thought all cars had brakes as good. I remember some family friends came up for the weekend and the dad had a Morris Marina. He let me drive it and when I applied the brakes at the bottom of the first hill at a junction it just did not stop until the whole car was over the line. I sh** myself and never drove it again. I loved those cars.
I learned to drive in a Morris Marina back in 1984 and indeed it was the dullest car I ever drove. My girlfriend's Mini 850 was far more exciting. Even my first car, a battered Honda N360 was more amusing to drive... 😐
Going through some old pictures at the weekend I remembered a family friend had an eclectic range of cars, I first remember she had a Mk10 Jag in pale blue followed by a green Citroen CX, she then had both a GS and then a GSA both in pale blue. She had a C6 on order when she sadly died, never did find out what happened to that car or what colour it was to be!
Totally agree with you, Ian, about the rear end of the GS. It's very much more aesthetically pleasing, in fact, dare I say it, prettier! Very interesting that for the GS, Citroen thought that the European dashboard would be a bit too much for us Brits, then they hit us straight between the eyes with the GSA one.
There's quite a lot of subtle differences that are only noticeable side-by-side, such as the rear side windows being a similar shape but not quite the same. The GS has the better looking exterior but the GSA the better dashboard.
i believe the late dash of gs was a more evolved than the gsa wich is none of the cars you have there the gs had more space in the interior compared to the gsa and also returned to a similar early dash with less space and you're showing a right steer version for the uk wich makes it diferent from the rest of Europe model , in my family we had several models from citroen but not as main car kind of either than mercedes confortable . I even bought the three diferent ami's as a fun hobby , it seemed a boat on the road and if with 5 passegers it would give the feeling of being drunk while driving but they were good cars they were bought very cheap no restoration done anr thousands of kilometers they did with only gas not anything was needed in this already old cars that cost me around 85 what today is 150€ and the van cost a 100€ for the time kind of a inflated dyane or 2CV , the one with a strange back glass like 75 degrees inclination to the trunk door , but also had all gs versions since they came out , they had class and small engines but some traction cars would get stucked in a stream of water in the country side ,the gs at the highest position didn't had problems and the dash you showed only had it on a sportive version of the gs car it had more power but not powerfull , i think it was a 1.275 cc.'s as others , nice video tgose cars if driven by a young guy it would appear several ? signs above is head the hand brake and the position of the radio was unique above the hand brake there were several options of functions in that final triangle , those days every brand was a statement no car was as another , today several are the same ,i wouldn't know wich to choose , i think i bought this year the most recent car of my life a 2005 , three years ago i bought 3 citroen xantias in perfect condition and all were diferent i spent almost 1.000€ but i sold the gasoline one for 1.000€ , a 1.8 L in perfect condition these are maybe the most confortavle cars around with more than 20 years
I remember my dad saying that the GS was considered to be cutting edge design back in the early 70s. Such a cool instrument panel on the GSA, I also liked the French-only earlier version.
In the mid to late 70’s, mainly motivated by 8 year olds determination to ensure that my Dad didn’t crash over a cliff after hitting an unexpected broken couple of bottles on a road that ended in oblivion I told my Dad to buy one of these. He refused to buy a Citroen at that time. Disappointing. And then suddenly, and unexpectedly, I came back from Uni in Newcastle in 1991 to find he had bought a BX Gti. Cool Dad after all. I love these cars.
Must say, I absolutely love that GS dash/instrument panel area. Citroen have somehow managed to make what looks like a relatively standard instrument cluster look very attractive.
What a lovely video this is. I’ve had both GS and GSA. The latter being far more practical. Those indicator switches are so well designed. Easy to touch and hold for lane changing. A harder press keeps the indicators on so you can let go of the switch. …and a very light press to cancel them. It’s a gem of a car unlike cars today. Nice one Hubnut… and yep, the parcel shelf half retracts 😉👍
@@pawes7518 I believe that there was a very similar colour available on the Volvo 244 at the time and a certain VW Beetle shade was Quite close as well. Vibrant.
Dad part exchanged our Vauxhall Viva SL in 1978 for a lovely brand new black Citroen GS Pallas from a place called Ebdons Automobiles in Cheltenham. I can still remember the beige interior and how lovely it smelt inside when we picked it up. Happy days indeed.
Ah the delicious 1299 cc 5 speed with the fabulous ride, handling, braking and comfort.. Insanely fast and secure on a winding and undulating roads... A great car to fang along for hours. I loved my 1220 sedan. Before that I had a 1015 Cmatic, and later a 1220 wagon Cmatic, and finally a leased GSA X1 1299 5 speed autoroute basher... I think my ideal would be a GSA Wagon 1299 5 speed.
I never really forgave my father for talking an 17 year old me out of buying an 20 year old GSA with almost no sills left.. He managed to convince me to pass up a really nice Samba Rallye for a shitbox of a mk2 Astra 1300 as well.. The bastard.
It's something of a rite of passage the first time your realise that your dad actually can know less about something than you do, and give you really bad advice.
My dad never pushed me to buy anything But he was the kind who could fix anything and it's a trait I picked up from him. He's dead 23 years now and I've still got his tools 🙂👍
i never understood why Citroen didn't make the GS a 5dr hatchback from the get-go. Same for the Alfa Sud. Both cars got a rear hatch only when the newer facelift model came out. Strange because so many other cars were already being built with hatchbacks like the Renault R4,5, 6 and 16 and the Simca 1100. Even Citroen themselves had already recognised that a hatchback was becoming desirable because the Dyane had one and the Ami also. But somehow they decided that the GS didn't need one . Same for the CX. So conservative while the technology of the cars was so avant garde. Strange.
The Ami was never a hatchback, only saloon or estate. I think the lack of hatch in both the GS and CX had more to do with the structural integrity of the car than anything else. The rear window on both goes quite far forward up the roof, hence they would either need a very high rear panel like the GSA later got or a fixed panel behing the rear seat as they both had which kinda negates the point of a hatch since you can't put the seat down for extra loading space.
It only dawned on me recently how similar the front end styling on the GS is to the Ami, only nowhere near as snarling or aggressive looking as the early Amis. Almost like a larger late model Ami but with straighter lines. We had a beige GS Club estate back in the late '70s (PDY 648R) with that SM-style dashboard. It took a fair while for our dog to get accustomed to the suspension without being travel sick - he eventually managed over two hours no problem.
That's true ..the GS design was an extension of the Ami , the only difference was the bonnet of the GS made you say ''wow'' ...but the Ami bonnet design gave you a headache.
When my Dad asked me to advise him about his first purchase of a brand new car I was a young motorcyclist with a tendency to believe all the wonderful things that 'Car' magazine said about the GS and persuaded him to buy one in 1972 when they eventually became available. I learned over time that Citroen had done the difficult parts of the design but run out of time and/or cash to do the easy bits. My penance was to repair it, replacing the cams because either they were too soft or the valve springs were too strong. With the replacement cams we bought a set of 'modified' springs which turned out to be the same again minus the inner concentric springs. The starting handle was very handy when doing valve clearances and ignition timing. Cold starting was poor, but got better when we realised that pulling out the choke fully was not sufficient. You had to pull it against a spring until the engine fired. It had many faults, including rear discs that rusted away because the rear brakes didn't really do anything, inboard front brakes that caused loud torsional vibration just before bringing the car to rest and wore out pads quickly (although they could be changed without tools or jacking the car), and a clutch adjustment that required the use of three hands whilst hanging upside-down. On the plus side it it was utterly smooth and could cross (un)level crossings at great speed with only a momentary rumbling noise disturbing the passengers. It's great to see such interest in a car that made ordinary cars of the period seem rather agricultural in comparison.
Great video... many thanks - my father had an Ami 8, which I confess I never really liked, but not long after got a GS Club which I drove on a few occasions and was very impressed by. It would have been around a '75 car with round instrument dials, I think. I do remember he drove back from London to Norfolk and (having been squeezed in by a truck on the North Circular and hit the kerb...) only on getting back was it apparent that the front tyre was totally flat. Not a hint of control issues, a tribute to the safety of Citroen's hydro-pneumatic suspension and the GS's steering geometry.... I later owned a BX16 RE and one of the last of the BX GTis...great cars!
Fond memories of my dads 1978 GS Pallas in blanc meije. 1222cc. Had those rear lights and a manual sunroof instead of black vinyl roof. Looked stunning when new as these two examples do now 👍
Back in the day a lot of my friends drove the Citroen GS the main reason was the resale value was not very good and you could pickup a good cheap example most of my friends found them fairly reliable with a bit of problems with suspension and under body rust but nothing serious
The first car I owned was a 1976 Citroen GS 1220 Club Break. Followed by a 1978 Lada Niva and then, in 1988, I bought my 1977 Land Rover series 3. The Land Rover is still one of my daily drivers.
It's funny how the GS makes the GSA look more modern in comparison. I do love that flat loading GS boot though but the GSA instrumentation is a delight
Hello from Manchester. Thank you for this wonderful video. You took me back to memory lane. My father had a GS Special. Obviously a later version, cause it looked more modern than the one you showed. We travelled most Western Europe. Starting from Athens to Yogoslavia, Austria, West Germany. Up to the Netherlands France down to the borders of Northern Iraly and to Switzerland. Obviously we've traveled every year. From early August to September back before schools started
Don't forget to mention how warm this car was in the winter. Because the heat came straight from the manifolds the car was warn in minutes. I loved it we also had one with the fabric/ vynal roif
I love them both and prefer the exterior styling of the GS but having watched this Ian, I think I'd choose the GSA for its hatch back and funky dash. Thanks for showing us.
That GSA dashboard is one of the worst I've ever seen on any car. It looks repulsive: unevenly-illuminated rotating drums with numbers printed on, that side-view diagram of the car, those coke-can rotary/rocker switch combination switches (on a par with my Grandpa's Hillman Avenger). The French LHD version of the GS dashboard didn't look as good as the UK RHD GS dashboard which is simple, straighforward, legible and free of gimmicks. With a hatchback and a larger, low-revving engine (preferably water-cooled to avoid such a noisy fan), a horizontal radio (avoids getting peanuts and biscuit crumbs in the cassette slot!) and a handbrake which had the release knob on the correct side (ie reversed from the LHD model) - with those things, the GS would have been even better than it already was.
I think the GSA dashboard is pure genius. You can quickly tell how fast you're going because the speedo only shows the speed you are doing. Muscle memory soon has you able to operate many functions without looking or removing a hand from the wheel.
Thank you for another very interesting video. I like your analysis of the European cars of the 1970's, particularly the French ones. Being French myself and having grown up in the 60's and 70's and always been a car enthusiast even as a kid, your videos bring me back some nostalgia of that time. I am now living in the USA where most of the cars you are describing in your videos are totally unknown.
As a psa fan, and lover of citroens of most years (sorry ax and bx). But as a kid in the 70's, I remember the GS coming over to here. And it's purity of design throughout makes the GS the winner for me. And in the current almost identical to the extreme anonymous European family cars, and lumpy plastic Japanese models, it takes me back to the 70's and 80's boring square, all the same econoboxes and family saloons in particular, only citroen and long in the tooth SAABS gave curvy, obvious aerodynamic and beautiful cars. Only the arrival of the hatchbacks with the Golf, Renault 5, fiesta, fiat 127, and the mk1 metro, gave us different designs, shapes and sizes that I think was part of the reason they took off. You could find your car in the car park and suited your sense of style. If only citroen hadn't gone crazy with trying to design the XM for the American Market, and their unique and pretty cars could have continued, instead of the 6yr cycle of platform and design priority swinging from Peugeot to citroen and back to the detriment long term until recently of citroen, with Peugeots iconic 206, 406 beating the ax, bx, etc into the dust, even on homegrown in France. It's awful we had to wait for the DS3, and the retro hints of the c3 and c4's, and the startling arrival of the cactus and mpv citroens of the current range to show citroens curves and uniqueness is starting to be valued again. But it was a rough 30yrs for us fans (disclaimer I have both mk1 and mk2 C4's, and honestly the mk is so much more citroen than the mk2).
The GS has the indicators on the CORRECT side for the UK's wrong sided steering wheel, so you can change gear while indicating. Nice to see the GSA's control satellite and dash ( and also vents and choke pull, as later used on the Visa) which has the indicators on the left. This was when car manufacturers got bored of RHD vehicles! Centre handbrake lever though. Nice! In the 1970/80s, these cars were the future. In 2021 IMHO, they are still the future!
Great to see these two cars side by side. My dad had a metallic blue GS Pallas with 1222cc engine and semi automatic, you changed gear but the clutch was automatic. So comfortable to ride in and the seats were so soft. I liked some features of the GSA but always felt it was a bit more down market so to speak as you pointed out the more plastic bits but then we were coming from the Pallas! I think the GS certainly rode much better than our Xantia we had later on and again our Xsara Picasso (the proper Picasso) we have now. Thank you for showing the two side by side. Happy and safe & fun motoring.
The GS and all hydropneumatic Citroens are perfect candidates for electric conversion. They even _sound_ right with electric drive, as if they should always have had it (particularly the DS though - straight out of Back to the Future, GATTACA and several other scifi classics).
An excellent video making all the salient points. From early 1015cc to late 1299 5-speed, the character was the same. It was the same car. The things that made it so went beyond engine size or appointments. Some cars are like that.... Alfasud, ADO16 and certainly the GS. I never recall thinking they were underpowered, but I drove a 2cv. Many people thought they were. Amazing ride. Amazing "driving experience" and wonderful brakes. The GSA somehow seemed a fraud, as the boot lip negated the excellent "kneel down" suspension setting for loading awkward objects. The controls and fittings made every drive a private episode of Space 1999. And the sound of the motor was.... well.... I liked it. Some didn't. But it revved. And it revved. Luckily, as I don't recall a very tightly spaced gearbox. Very French.... Small engine dictated in part by vignette. Very Citroen. A pig of a job to get to some mechanical parts. But one always forgave it. I am amazed that any survive, but am pleased that they do. I don't think I've seen one on the road in the UK this millennium. Excellent video. Full throttle nostalgia. Best model? Early 1015cc Spécial, probably in that terrible cream/beige finish and with no exterior trim. Gorgeous.
There are actually some Citroen GSes in California. I met a GS owner in Berkeley CA a few years ago, and we went for a short drive - fantastic experience!
I brought a GS which had been owned by a family going through a divorce. It was quite cheap but most panels had been punched and major components damaged. The clutch was almost instantly toast and everything else had been thrashed to within 5% of its life. A really bad buy. The cloth seats were rotting due to UV light (a common Citroen quirk). The round dial dash was really nice though. The one thing I liked. Moral is to never buy a car from a breaking home as the non car owner will take out their anger on the other by beating the crap out of their car, in obvious and also hidden ways.
Amazing that 'basic' cars could be so innovative and stylish in the 1970's, and 1980's. A Citroen GS/GSA, an Alfa-Sud, or a Marina? (sadly the Marina was the bigger seller in the UK).
Bloomin' marvellous to rewatch. I love these comparisons between different generations of the same car, and it would be great if you could do it more often, though I don't doubt the logistics would be challenging.
One of my all time favorites! The Citroën GS, preferably in the 1220 Club-trim. I've had my eye on one some 15 years ago. It needed some technical work, but the body was rust free. Some dents and scratches, but that honestly added to the caracter of the car. And it had the older style rear lights! I was in love. I just didn't had the time to do her up, so i passed on her. I still regred that...
Excellent video detailing the differences between the two, you can tell by the time we entered the 80's it was plastic fantastic trim wise and all the bright work seemed to vanish.
the GS rev counters were know as very accurate so accurate I visited a scrapyard to get one for my tuned up 850cc mini ...plenty rusted out GS's to choose from...mid 80's...
I had a GS Break, a GS and a GSA. The most comfy car I ever had. If I could afford to buy a classic and had a garage, a GS or GSA would be the most likely candidate.
Citroen really were innovators! You mentioned the estate versions of both the GS and GSA with the bumper integrated into the tailgate. Here in Australia we never saw anything like that until the Holden Camira wagon was released in 1982. The split chin spoilers on Giselle reminded me of the first Alfetta GT from the mid 70s. Wanted one sooo bad, but did not have the extra bucks in 1976 so plumped for a 1.8 sedan instead. Can’t recall seeing a GS or a GSA here in Oz.
I thought I'd prefer the GSA but I found the GS to be much more elegant. I was blown away by the boot design as I've never seen a boot easier to access than a hatch before.. Magnifique.
HubNut without even watching this I know this is one I will watch multiple times. Btw. I encountered the gentleman who owns that Kombi you tested in Sydney - looks like he and i are both fans of 7-11 $1 coffee! Thanks for your dedication into producing all this fabulous content. Greetings from Australia
My dad had two GSes - or else a GS and an early round-dial GSA. Funny, I could have sworn both were hatchbacks, but the first was 1977 because we already had it (though maybe not for long) by the time we moved house, and you say only the GSA in 1979 had hatchback. I can still remember the very fine-texture stretchy Lycra-like cloth on the seats, the noisy high-revving air-cooled engine and the lovely ride that the hydropneumatic suspension gave - and the party-trick of raising the suspension to silly heights that almost required a ladder to get in and out, and the weird way of making one wheel raise (aided by an axle stand) in order to change a wheel. Seeing the starting handle aperture, I imagine that means the engine was not transverse, as I always assumed.
I have blurred memories of my grandfather having a gsa and possibly later an estate CX Pallas? Both seemed bonkers to a young me. The GSA had the controls from something out of a cartoon.
Good vid. We had an X reg GSA Club estate in bright yellow in the 80s and it had the earlier GS dash, so I was always confused when folk used to talk about the crazy ‘GSA dash’ as I’d only ever known it as conventional
Actually lots of parts in the GS (including door handles, levers, switches etc) are shared with other Citroen models. As for the fan, it is not a single speed in the GS; it is a two speed for the cold air blow and a single speed for the hot one.
An interesting factoid regarding the GS/GSA engine is that in 1300 form it was also used in BFG motorcycles, at least one of which, complete with sidecar, was imported into Canada. It belonged to one of the employees of the dealership where I used to get my bike serviced. Not exactly good looking, but functional with a large fairing. It lacked the crazy Citroen dashboard. Apparently, that part came off a Renault 5 Alpine.
@gilburtonThere was also the Amazonas in Brazil that used a locally-made VW Beetle engine. It ended up being sold in the US as a kit with no engine because there was no way for the manufacturer to get it past any construction standards. Here in Canada the editor of one of the French-language bike magazines bought one off Transport Canada to use as a decoration in his house after they had seized it from the person trying to import it because it failed to meet any Canadian construction and safety regulations. And let's not forget Boss Hoss whose entire lineup is powered by Chevrolet V8 engines mated to an automatic transmission. The surprising thing is that, like the BFG, the adaptation works remarkably well. On a side note regarding the Shifty 900. I remember reading about it in Italian magazines at the time and they all uncharacteristically lay heavy criticism on it, particularly the gearbox. It turns out the one thing the Shifty couldn't do well was... shift.
A lot to say on the differences ....the GS ventilation is tangibly inadequate and ineffective despite all the controls -the car gets stuffy even in cold weather. The GSAs ventilation and fan control is so much better. The early GSAs had the RHD GS dashboard with the rev counter and speedo closer together (a gratuitous attempt at updating the RHD cars ? )...the early GSAs also did not have electronic ignition (as I know to my cost having been stranded in my W-reg a few times by duff condensors) , I think electronic came in in 1982. I think I mentioned when we met that when I had Giselle, it had Special seats but the Pallas seats were piled inside-the seller was a Citroen enthusiast after all, even had a pic of a BX on their living room wall ! The GS estate never had a parcel shelf as standard but it was an accessory. The GSA estate had exactly the same (standard) shelf as the hatchback- Ian, you are unlucky with that non-functioning parcel shelf as I had a black "venetian blind " working spare that I gave away at a rally before I knew you had the car...you were welcome to it, honest !
The gear knobs look identical to the one on my AX, complete with "patina" Always loved the look of the GS and GSA, wish my own little Citroen was as whacky!
Ian, please try to test drive a 3 speed clutchless manual one-if there are any left (robotised clutch I would think) A pale blue one was the family car after I passed my test in '85 and I'm afraid that it put me off owning a Citroen for life.I can see the Gallic appeal though.Cheers good vid.
My dad had a GS (or maybe early GSA with the GS-like dashboard) with C-Matic and (at least for Dad's car) it was a pig to drive because the gear-changes were very notchy. The actual take-up of power was reasonably smooth but the lever moved with a very noisy, clicky motion - rather like those early computer keyboards where every key was a clicky mechanical switch. And of course it had the woolly rice-pudding feel of any car (auto or manual) with a torque converter. I like a fixed ratio between engine and gearbox, without any rubbery variation. A true robotised clutch and robotised synchromesh gearbox (as is an option on the modern VW Golfs) would be a very different beast. I'd like to test-drive one of those.
Like the dash and hatchback practicality of the GSA but prefer the Chrome of the GS. Would be a tough call in the very unlikely event of me having the chance to pick one over the other. Unless only one was an estate - that would definitely swing it! 👍🏻
I remember as a child my father nearly bought a GSA but it was way too expensive and underpowered for his taste. He bought a Renault 30 in the end which had a rather alarming quirk: When worn it would spirt the front break pads on to the road which made things a little hairy if they needed changing and my father didn't realise until the car took matters in to it's own hands!
What is the econometer about on the GSA? And what is the light on the dash on the right side with the “eye” logo? It is where you have the little clock on the left, but then on the right. And very nice kind of comparison! Cheers from Belgium!
My Dad owned a GS. They were lackluster cars, probably the first of a long list of poorly made Citroëns to be manufactured. They felt flimsy, poorly assembled, a very pretentious dashboard, cheap plastic everywhere, nothing lasted long, had a whimsical suspension, felt underpowered and made a galling noise. After the majestic DS, who could like them? There were many better cars on the same class, on sale back then. We also had a FIAT 124 Special T about the same time, and that was a really rewarding car! 💪
Interesting that the GS dashboard has Pallas marking. My friend had a red GSA Special which she sold to buy a silver GSA Pallas which I thought was such a great looking car.
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"You don't often go from fifth to reverse"
Just the once, I generally find.
...or as a couple of anecdotes I heard years ago: "Put in in 'R' for 'Race'!", or (if an automatic) "'P' for 'Pass'" (both jokes were pulled on relatively new drivers in Driver's Ed)!
Once is quite enough...
Would your average gearbox *allow* you to engage reverse when going from fifth? The baulk rings on the synchromesh are usually set to prevent this. You might get a horrible graunching sound but you'd never get to the stage of the two clutch plates turning in opposite directions as you were about to bring up the clutch (a thought which brings tears to my eyes!).
Thinking of wrecking gearboxes, one of my dad's automatic Hillman Hunters once suffered a "mental breakdown" and decided for reasons best known to itself to select first gear while he was driving at 70 on the M1. Dad said the engine made a scream of pain, the rev counter needle tried to wrap itself around the end-stop and the car decelerated rapidly (engine braking). He said he'd redefined the scientific definition of the millisecond: the time between this happening and him slamming the selector into neutral to end the engine braking so he coudl control the car. Surprisingly after he'd calmed down on the hard shoulder for a few minutes, the car would not only let him limp to the next junction but also seemed to be changing gear normally so he decided to risk completing the 200 mile journey home. But the garage decided to play it safe and replace the gearbox under warranty in case of unseen internal damage. He never heard back from Hillman's technicians any explanation once they'd stripped down the old gearbox.
I had a 1977 GS Club Estate. A great little car. I liked the way Citroen cut out the rusting process by building them from rust in the first place.
I first learned to drive in a Renault 12 and then drove my Dad’s Citroen GS and then his GSA as the company he worked for also owned the local Citroen garage. I loved them and they were great to drive.
I became so used to driving them that I thought all cars had brakes as good. I remember some family friends came up for the weekend and the dad had a Morris Marina. He let me drive it and when I applied the brakes at the bottom of the first hill at a junction it just did not stop until the whole car was over the line. I sh** myself and never drove it again.
I loved those cars.
I learned to drive in a Morris Marina back in 1984 and indeed it was the dullest car I ever drove. My girlfriend's Mini 850 was far more exciting. Even my first car, a battered Honda N360 was more amusing to drive... 😐
@@duartesimoes508 hondas were nice at the time
Going through some old pictures at the weekend I remembered a family friend had an eclectic range of cars, I first remember she had a Mk10 Jag in pale blue followed by a green Citroen CX, she then had both a GS and then a GSA both in pale blue. She had a C6 on order when she sadly died, never did find out what happened to that car or what colour it was to be!
Totally agree with you, Ian, about the rear end of the GS. It's very much more aesthetically pleasing, in fact, dare I say it, prettier! Very interesting that for the GS, Citroen thought that the European dashboard would be a bit too much for us Brits, then they hit us straight between the eyes with the GSA one.
I had a used Gspecial 1100 in the 80s. Loved it.
There's quite a lot of subtle differences that are only noticeable side-by-side, such as the rear side windows being a similar shape but not quite the same. The GS has the better looking exterior but the GSA the better dashboard.
i believe the late dash of gs was a more evolved than the gsa wich is none of the cars you have there the gs had more space in the interior compared to the gsa and also returned to a similar early dash with less space and you're showing a right steer version for the uk wich makes it diferent from the rest of Europe model , in my family we had several models from citroen but not as main car kind of either than mercedes confortable . I even bought the three diferent ami's as a fun hobby , it seemed a boat on the road and if with 5 passegers it would give the feeling of being drunk while driving but they were good cars they were bought very cheap no restoration done anr thousands of kilometers they did with only gas not anything was needed in this already old cars that cost me around 85 what today is 150€ and the van cost a 100€ for the time kind of a inflated dyane or 2CV , the one with a strange back glass like 75 degrees inclination to the trunk door , but also had all gs versions since they came out , they had class and small engines but some traction cars would get stucked in a stream of water in the country side ,the gs at the highest position didn't had problems and the dash you showed only had it on a sportive version of the gs car it had more power but not powerfull , i think it was a 1.275 cc.'s as others , nice video tgose cars if driven by a young guy it would appear several ? signs above is head the hand brake and the position of the radio was unique above the hand brake there were several options of functions in that final triangle , those days every brand was a statement no car was as another , today several are the same ,i wouldn't know wich to choose , i think i bought this year the most recent car of my life a 2005 , three years ago i bought 3 citroen xantias in perfect condition and all were diferent i spent almost 1.000€ but i sold the gasoline one for 1.000€ , a 1.8 L in perfect condition these are maybe the most confortavle cars around with more than 20 years
IMO it's very rare for a facelift to improve the appearance of a car.
I remember my dad saying that the GS was considered to be cutting edge design back in the early 70s. Such a cool instrument panel on the GSA, I also liked the French-only earlier version.
In the mid to late 70’s, mainly motivated by 8 year olds determination to ensure that my Dad didn’t crash over a cliff after hitting an unexpected broken couple of bottles on a road that ended in oblivion I told my Dad to buy one of these. He refused to buy a Citroen at that time. Disappointing. And then suddenly, and unexpectedly, I came back from Uni in Newcastle in 1991 to find he had bought a BX Gti. Cool Dad after all. I love these cars.
Must say, I absolutely love that GS dash/instrument panel area. Citroen have somehow managed to make what looks like a relatively standard instrument cluster look very attractive.
GS truly is a thing of beauty
Cracking video! I am more of a GS person (I own four), but I wouldn't say no to a nice GSA.
The lighting, indicator, horn and switch etc pods were just like those on my Visa Spéciale
Visa Gti was a bit of a hot hatch
What a lovely video this is.
I’ve had both GS and GSA. The latter being far more practical.
Those indicator switches are so well designed.
Easy to touch and hold for lane changing.
A harder press keeps the indicators on so you can let go of the switch.
…and a very light press to cancel them. It’s a gem of a car unlike cars today.
Nice one Hubnut… and yep, the parcel shelf half retracts 😉👍
Both are beautiful and the GS had a lovely Orange colour that was divine with the disc wheel covers.
My dad had GS Special in early 80s, bought in Nederlands. The color was very similar, it was "brun Vésuve" as I remember.
@@pawes7518 I believe that there was a very similar colour available on the Volvo 244 at the time and a certain VW Beetle shade was Quite close as well. Vibrant.
Dad part exchanged our Vauxhall Viva SL in 1978 for a lovely brand new black Citroen GS Pallas from a place called Ebdons Automobiles in Cheltenham. I can still remember the beige interior and how lovely it smelt inside when we picked it up.
Happy days indeed.
Ah the delicious 1299 cc 5 speed with the fabulous ride, handling, braking and comfort.. Insanely fast and secure on a winding and undulating roads...
A great car to fang along for hours.
I loved my 1220 sedan. Before that I had a 1015 Cmatic, and later a 1220 wagon Cmatic, and finally a leased GSA X1 1299 5 speed autoroute basher...
I think my ideal would be a GSA Wagon 1299 5 speed.
A friend of my Dad bought a gold GSA in 1986 his first new car he loved it so much he had it for nearly 20 years.
That cill on the GSA boot made getting a heavy weight out a real test as the car followed you up. Loved them.
Love the early GS. Really nice styling
I never really forgave my father for talking an 17 year old me out of buying an 20 year old GSA with almost no sills left.. He managed to convince me to pass up a really nice Samba Rallye for a shitbox of a mk2 Astra 1300 as well..
The bastard.
It's something of a rite of passage the first time your realise that your dad actually can know less about something than you do, and give you really bad advice.
My dad never pushed me to buy anything But he was the kind who could fix anything and it's a trait I picked up from him. He's dead 23 years now and I've still got his tools 🙂👍
i never understood why Citroen didn't make the GS a 5dr hatchback from the get-go. Same for the Alfa Sud. Both cars got a rear hatch only when the newer facelift model came out.
Strange because so many other cars were already being built with hatchbacks like the Renault R4,5, 6 and 16 and the Simca 1100. Even Citroen themselves had already recognised that a hatchback was becoming desirable because the Dyane had one and the Ami also. But somehow they decided that the GS didn't need one . Same for the CX. So conservative while the technology of the cars was so avant garde. Strange.
The Ami was never a hatchback, only saloon or estate.
I think the lack of hatch in both the GS and CX had more to do with the structural integrity of the car than anything else. The rear window on both goes quite far forward up the roof, hence they would either need a very high rear panel like the GSA later got or a fixed panel behing the rear seat as they both had which kinda negates the point of a hatch since you can't put the seat down for extra loading space.
It only dawned on me recently how similar the front end styling on the GS is to the Ami, only nowhere near as snarling or aggressive looking as the early Amis. Almost like a larger late model Ami but with straighter lines.
We had a beige GS Club estate back in the late '70s (PDY 648R) with that SM-style dashboard. It took a fair while for our dog to get accustomed to the suspension without being travel sick - he eventually managed over two hours no problem.
That's true ..the GS design was an extension of the Ami , the only difference was the bonnet of the GS made you say ''wow'' ...but the Ami bonnet design gave you a headache.
The rear is what definitely makes me prefer the GS.
When my Dad asked me to advise him about his first purchase of a brand new car I was a young motorcyclist with a tendency to believe all the wonderful things that 'Car' magazine said about the GS and persuaded him to buy one in 1972 when they eventually became available. I learned over time that Citroen had done the difficult parts of the design but run out of time and/or cash to do the easy bits. My penance was to repair it, replacing the cams because either they were too soft or the valve springs were too strong. With the replacement cams we bought a set of 'modified' springs which turned out to be the same again minus the inner concentric springs. The starting handle was very handy when doing valve clearances and ignition timing. Cold starting was poor, but got better when we realised that pulling out the choke fully was not sufficient. You had to pull it against a spring until the engine fired. It had many faults, including rear discs that rusted away because the rear brakes didn't really do anything, inboard front brakes that caused loud torsional vibration just before bringing the car to rest and wore out pads quickly (although they could be changed without tools or jacking the car), and a clutch adjustment that required the use of three hands whilst hanging upside-down. On the plus side it it was utterly smooth and could cross (un)level crossings at great speed with only a momentary rumbling noise disturbing the passengers. It's great to see such interest in a car that made ordinary cars of the period seem rather agricultural in comparison.
Always time to talk about GS's. Very pleasant childhood memories.
Great video... many thanks - my father had an Ami 8, which I confess I never really liked, but not long after got a GS Club which I drove on a few occasions and was very impressed by. It would have been around a '75 car with round instrument dials, I think. I do remember he drove back from London to Norfolk and (having been squeezed in by a truck on the North Circular and hit the kerb...) only on getting back was it apparent that the front tyre was totally flat. Not a hint of control issues, a tribute to the safety of Citroen's hydro-pneumatic suspension and the GS's steering geometry.... I later owned a BX16 RE and one of the last of the BX GTis...great cars!
Very interesting. I have 4 GS’s. I had not seen the GSA dash before. 👍
Fond memories of my dads 1978 GS Pallas in blanc meije. 1222cc. Had those rear lights and a manual sunroof instead of black vinyl roof. Looked stunning when new as these two examples do now 👍
Gorgeous GS in Rouge Masena! I had two CXs that colour and it really shows them off.
Back in the day a lot of my friends drove the Citroen GS the main reason was the resale value was not very good and you could pickup a good cheap example most of my friends found them fairly reliable with a bit of problems with suspension and under body rust but nothing serious
The old GS has a very clean design, really pleasing. The GSA has the best Dashboard ever, so be happy Ian!
Similar styling changes as in CX between series I and II. Both brilliant 🙂
Absaloutly beautiful cars both have character and reliability Brilliant video Ian 👍
The first car I owned was a 1976 Citroen GS 1220 Club Break. Followed by a 1978 Lada Niva and then, in 1988, I bought my 1977 Land Rover series 3. The Land Rover is still one of my daily drivers.
Volkswagen, 1971: "We're switching from air cooled to water cooled." Citroën: _"Nonsense!"_
It’s interesting at how many places I see you. Keep up your good work! (I just discovered this channel here)
Beautiful - Both of em!
It's funny how the GS makes the GSA look more modern in comparison. I do love that flat loading GS boot though but the GSA instrumentation is a delight
Hello from Manchester. Thank you for this wonderful video. You took me back to memory lane. My father had a GS Special. Obviously a later version, cause it looked more modern than the one you showed. We travelled most Western Europe. Starting from Athens to Yogoslavia, Austria, West Germany. Up to the Netherlands France down to the borders of Northern Iraly and to Switzerland. Obviously we've traveled every year. From early August to September back before schools started
Just feel I lost out in 1987 when I was listening to people saying don't buy one of those because.
Don't forget to mention how warm this car was in the winter.
Because the heat came straight from the manifolds the car was warn in minutes.
I loved it we also had one with the fabric/ vynal roif
I would, but the reality, with my GSA at least, is that all the heat is in the middle of the car, with the outer vents leaking cold air...
I love them both and prefer the exterior styling of the GS but having watched this Ian, I think I'd choose the GSA for its hatch back and funky dash. Thanks for showing us.
That GSA dashboard is one of the worst I've ever seen on any car. It looks repulsive: unevenly-illuminated rotating drums with numbers printed on, that side-view diagram of the car, those coke-can rotary/rocker switch combination switches (on a par with my Grandpa's Hillman Avenger). The French LHD version of the GS dashboard didn't look as good as the UK RHD GS dashboard which is simple, straighforward, legible and free of gimmicks.
With a hatchback and a larger, low-revving engine (preferably water-cooled to avoid such a noisy fan), a horizontal radio (avoids getting peanuts and biscuit crumbs in the cassette slot!) and a handbrake which had the release knob on the correct side (ie reversed from the LHD model) - with those things, the GS would have been even better than it already was.
@@Mortimer50145 oh I didn't say it was beautiful, brilliant or even legible. I like it because it's quirky and amusing.
I think the GSA dashboard is pure genius. You can quickly tell how fast you're going because the speedo only shows the speed you are doing. Muscle memory soon has you able to operate many functions without looking or removing a hand from the wheel.
Thank you for another very interesting video. I like your analysis of the European cars of the 1970's, particularly the French ones. Being French myself and having grown up in the 60's and 70's and always been a car enthusiast even as a kid, your videos bring me back some nostalgia of that time. I am now living in the USA where most of the cars you are describing in your videos are totally unknown.
As a psa fan, and lover of citroens of most years (sorry ax and bx). But as a kid in the 70's, I remember the GS coming over to here. And it's purity of design throughout makes the GS the winner for me.
And in the current almost identical to the extreme anonymous European family cars, and lumpy plastic Japanese models, it takes me back to the 70's and 80's boring square, all the same econoboxes and family saloons in particular, only citroen and long in the tooth SAABS gave curvy, obvious aerodynamic and beautiful cars.
Only the arrival of the hatchbacks with the Golf, Renault 5, fiesta, fiat 127, and the mk1 metro, gave us different designs, shapes and sizes that I think was part of the reason they took off. You could find your car in the car park and suited your sense of style.
If only citroen hadn't gone crazy with trying to design the XM for the American Market, and their unique and pretty cars could have continued, instead of the 6yr cycle of platform and design priority swinging from Peugeot to citroen and back to the detriment long term until recently of citroen, with Peugeots iconic 206, 406 beating the ax, bx, etc into the dust, even on homegrown in France.
It's awful we had to wait for the DS3, and the retro hints of the c3 and c4's, and the startling arrival of the cactus and mpv citroens of the current range to show citroens curves and uniqueness is starting to be valued again. But it was a rough 30yrs for us fans (disclaimer I have both mk1 and mk2 C4's, and honestly the mk is so much more citroen than the mk2).
The GS has the indicators on the CORRECT side for the UK's wrong sided steering wheel, so you can change gear while indicating.
Nice to see the GSA's control satellite and dash ( and also vents and choke pull, as later used on the Visa) which has the indicators on the left. This was when car manufacturers got bored of RHD vehicles!
Centre handbrake lever though. Nice! In the 1970/80s, these cars were the future. In 2021 IMHO, they are still the future!
Great to see these two cars side by side. My dad had a metallic blue GS Pallas with 1222cc engine and semi automatic, you changed gear but the clutch was automatic. So comfortable to ride in and the seats were so soft. I liked some features of the GSA but always felt it was a bit more down market so to speak as you pointed out the more plastic bits but then we were coming from the Pallas! I think the GS certainly rode much better than our Xantia we had later on and again our Xsara Picasso (the proper Picasso) we have now.
Thank you for showing the two side by side. Happy and safe & fun motoring.
There was even a 3 speed semi automatic GS available. It worked pretty much like Honda's Triomatic box.
The GS and all hydropneumatic Citroens are perfect candidates for electric conversion. They even _sound_ right with electric drive, as if they should always have had it (particularly the DS though - straight out of Back to the Future, GATTACA and several other scifi classics).
I had one of those, handled really well on tight roads.
I had a 1983 GSA Special break, we also had a 1977 GSX2 which is practically extinct now, and a 1974 GS Club with the cathedral lights.
An excellent video making all the salient points. From early 1015cc to late 1299 5-speed, the character was the same. It was the same car. The things that made it so went beyond engine size or appointments. Some cars are like that.... Alfasud, ADO16 and certainly the GS.
I never recall thinking they were underpowered, but I drove a 2cv. Many people thought they were.
Amazing ride. Amazing "driving experience" and wonderful brakes.
The GSA somehow seemed a fraud, as the boot lip negated the excellent "kneel down" suspension setting for loading awkward objects.
The controls and fittings made every drive a private episode of Space 1999. And the sound of the motor was.... well.... I liked it. Some didn't. But it revved. And it revved. Luckily, as I don't recall a very tightly spaced gearbox.
Very French.... Small engine dictated in part by vignette. Very Citroen.
A pig of a job to get to some mechanical parts. But one always forgave it.
I am amazed that any survive, but am pleased that they do. I don't think I've seen one on the road in the UK this millennium.
Excellent video. Full throttle nostalgia.
Best model? Early 1015cc Spécial, probably in that terrible cream/beige finish and with no exterior trim.
Gorgeous.
Two beautiful cars, I wish I could buy it here in the United States. Thank you very much from California.
There are actually some Citroen GSes in California. I met a GS owner in Berkeley CA a few years ago, and we went for a short drive - fantastic experience!
I brought a GS which had been owned by a family going through a divorce. It was quite cheap but most panels had been punched and major components damaged. The clutch was almost instantly toast and everything else had been thrashed to within 5% of its life. A really bad buy. The cloth seats were rotting due to UV light (a common Citroen quirk). The round dial dash was really nice though. The one thing I liked. Moral is to never buy a car from a breaking home as the non car owner will take out their anger on the other by beating the crap out of their car, in obvious and also hidden ways.
I owned a GSA Break for 3½ years, great car, pretty fast as well.
We used to have a blue GS club, remember it well, I used to push the air suspension lever from the back with my foot on long journeys!
Lol. My dad would have given me such a leathering if I'd done that.
Very interesting. Classic Hubnut . Id love a left hand drive GS Break, now.
Beautiful dash on the GSA. My parents had a X3, great car but sensitive to corrosion
Amazing that 'basic' cars could be so innovative and stylish in the 1970's, and 1980's.
A Citroen GS/GSA, an Alfa-Sud, or a Marina? (sadly the Marina was the bigger seller in the UK).
Bloomin' marvellous to rewatch. I love these comparisons between different generations of the same car, and it would be great if you could do it more often, though I don't doubt the logistics would be challenging.
One of my all time favorites! The Citroën GS, preferably in the 1220 Club-trim. I've had my eye on one some 15 years ago. It needed some technical work, but the body was rust free. Some dents and scratches, but that honestly added to the caracter of the car. And it had the older style rear lights! I was in love. I just didn't had the time to do her up, so i passed on her. I still regred that...
Both absolutely lovely cars.
Excellent video detailing the differences between the two, you can tell by the time we entered the 80's it was plastic fantastic trim wise and all the bright work seemed to vanish.
Thanks! I've always wondered what was the difference between these two. For the untrained eye they sure look more or less identical.
the GS rev counters were know as very accurate so accurate I visited a scrapyard to get one for my tuned up 850cc mini ...plenty rusted out GS's to choose from...mid 80's...
Had a GS new in '79.found it underpowered and the paintwork was literally bubbling up within 2 years.crazy place to put a radio!-between the seats.
I had a GS Break, a GS and a GSA. The most comfy car I ever had. If I could afford to buy a classic and had a garage, a GS or GSA would be the most likely candidate.
Citroen really were innovators! You mentioned the estate versions of both the GS and GSA with the bumper integrated into the tailgate. Here in Australia we never saw anything like that until the Holden Camira wagon was released in 1982. The split chin spoilers on Giselle reminded me of the first Alfetta GT from the mid 70s. Wanted one sooo bad, but did not have the extra bucks in 1976 so plumped for a 1.8 sedan instead. Can’t recall seeing a GS or a GSA here in Oz.
I thought I'd prefer the GSA but I found the GS to be much more elegant. I was blown away by the boot design as I've never seen a boot easier to access than a hatch before.. Magnifique.
Easier in some ways, but you do have to bend down quite low, especially when the car has sunk down!
HubNut without even watching this I know this is one I will watch multiple times. Btw. I encountered the gentleman who owns that Kombi you tested in Sydney - looks like he and i are both fans of 7-11 $1 coffee! Thanks for your dedication into producing all this fabulous content. Greetings from Australia
So much love for Citroen. Fascinating cars 👍
My dad had two GSes - or else a GS and an early round-dial GSA. Funny, I could have sworn both were hatchbacks, but the first was 1977 because we already had it (though maybe not for long) by the time we moved house, and you say only the GSA in 1979 had hatchback. I can still remember the very fine-texture stretchy Lycra-like cloth on the seats, the noisy high-revving air-cooled engine and the lovely ride that the hydropneumatic suspension gave - and the party-trick of raising the suspension to silly heights that almost required a ladder to get in and out, and the weird way of making one wheel raise (aided by an axle stand) in order to change a wheel. Seeing the starting handle aperture, I imagine that means the engine was not transverse, as I always assumed.
Correct. Longitudinal engine. Oddly, the short-lived Wankel-engined GS Birotor has a transverse engine!
Personally never been a big Citroën fan except the DS however still intresting learning about them
I have blurred memories of my grandfather having a gsa and possibly later an estate CX Pallas? Both seemed bonkers to a young me. The GSA had the controls from something out of a cartoon.
What a superb video. Educative and entertaining. What a avant-garde cars where both the GS and the GSA.Vive La France Vive La Citroën
Good vid. We had an X reg GSA Club estate in bright yellow in the 80s and it had the earlier GS dash, so I was always confused when folk used to talk about the crazy ‘GSA dash’ as I’d only ever known it as conventional
I am more of a "Chrome" style person, so i like the GS a lot.
What an interesting comparison of 2 similar but different cars. Good video content as always Ian, here's to the next one.
HubNut is protecting his Rim. Oh Matron!!!
I was not aware of most of this. Nice! And thanks!
That was interesting to watch I still prefer the dashboard in the GSA looks so 80's sci-fi
Hi Ian, interesting to see the difference between the two cars,
I hand an S reg GS basic 1100 cc - god I loved that car
Actually lots of parts in the GS (including door handles, levers, switches etc) are shared with other Citroen models.
As for the fan, it is not a single speed in the GS; it is a two speed for the cold air blow and a single speed for the hot one.
These old Citroen's are cool!
That rear 3/4 view of the GS👌
An interesting factoid regarding the GS/GSA engine is that in 1300 form it was also used in BFG motorcycles, at least one of which, complete with sidecar, was imported into Canada. It belonged to one of the employees of the dealership where I used to get my bike serviced. Not exactly good looking, but functional with a large fairing. It lacked the crazy Citroen dashboard. Apparently, that part came off a Renault 5 Alpine.
@gilburtonThere was also the Amazonas in Brazil that used a locally-made VW Beetle engine. It ended up being sold in the US as a kit with no engine because there was no way for the manufacturer to get it past any construction standards. Here in Canada the editor of one of the French-language bike magazines bought one off Transport Canada to use as a decoration in his house after they had seized it from the person trying to import it because it failed to meet any Canadian construction and safety regulations. And let's not forget Boss Hoss whose entire lineup is powered by Chevrolet V8 engines mated to an automatic transmission. The surprising thing is that, like the BFG, the adaptation works remarkably well. On a side note regarding the Shifty 900. I remember reading about it in Italian magazines at the time and they all uncharacteristically lay heavy criticism on it, particularly the gearbox. It turns out the one thing the Shifty couldn't do well was... shift.
A lot to say on the differences ....the GS ventilation is tangibly inadequate and ineffective despite all the controls -the car gets stuffy even in cold weather. The GSAs ventilation and fan control is so much better. The early GSAs had the RHD GS dashboard with the rev counter and speedo closer together (a gratuitous attempt at updating the RHD cars ? )...the early GSAs also did not have electronic ignition (as I know to my cost having been stranded in my W-reg a few times by duff condensors) , I think electronic came in in 1982. I think I mentioned when we met that when I had Giselle, it had Special seats but the Pallas seats were piled inside-the seller was a Citroen enthusiast after all, even had a pic of a BX on their living room wall ! The GS estate never had a parcel shelf as standard but it was an accessory. The GSA estate had exactly the same (standard) shelf as the hatchback- Ian, you are unlucky with that non-functioning parcel shelf as I had a black "venetian blind " working spare that I gave away at a rally before I knew you had the car...you were welcome to it, honest !
The gear knobs look identical to the one on my AX, complete with "patina" Always loved the look of the GS and GSA, wish my own little Citroen was as whacky!
Ian, please try to test drive a 3 speed clutchless manual one-if there are any left (robotised clutch I would think) A pale blue one was the family car after I passed my test in '85 and I'm afraid that it put me off owning a Citroen for life.I can see the Gallic appeal though.Cheers good vid.
My dad had a GS (or maybe early GSA with the GS-like dashboard) with C-Matic and (at least for Dad's car) it was a pig to drive because the gear-changes were very notchy. The actual take-up of power was reasonably smooth but the lever moved with a very noisy, clicky motion - rather like those early computer keyboards where every key was a clicky mechanical switch. And of course it had the woolly rice-pudding feel of any car (auto or manual) with a torque converter. I like a fixed ratio between engine and gearbox, without any rubbery variation.
A true robotised clutch and robotised synchromesh gearbox (as is an option on the modern VW Golfs) would be a very different beast. I'd like to test-drive one of those.
The gearchange in my GSA is pretty poor. The GS felt a little better but it certainly isn't Citroen's finest bit of design.
The HubNut GSA is the best car of any TH-camrs.
Very nice work Mr HubNut.
Nice little "fix-me-up" caravan project at 8:41, hmmmm
The Citroen BX replaced the GSA in 1983 but the GSA continued for a few years after like this very late car.
Like the dash and hatchback practicality of the GSA but prefer the Chrome of the GS. Would be a tough call in the very unlikely event of me having the chance to pick one over the other. Unless only one was an estate - that would definitely swing it! 👍🏻
I remember as a child my father nearly bought a GSA but it was way too expensive and underpowered for his taste. He bought a Renault 30 in the end which had a rather alarming quirk: When worn it would spirt the front break pads on to the road which made things a little hairy if they needed changing and my father didn't realise until the car took matters in to it's own hands!
Thought that registration looked familiar , My dad had FJX 505S an orange Lada
RHS GS dash is Bertone-esque rally style. I thought it was the one of the best parts of the driving experience.
What is the econometer about on the GSA?
And what is the light on the dash on the right side with the “eye” logo? It is where you have the little clock on the left, but then on the right.
And very nice kind of comparison!
Cheers from Belgium!
My Dad owned a GS. They were lackluster cars, probably the first of a long list of poorly made Citroëns to be manufactured. They felt flimsy, poorly assembled, a very pretentious dashboard, cheap plastic everywhere, nothing lasted long, had a whimsical suspension, felt underpowered and made a galling noise. After the majestic DS, who could like them? There were many better cars on the same class, on sale back then. We also had a FIAT 124 Special T about the same time, and that was a really rewarding car! 💪
Interesting that the GS dashboard has Pallas marking. My friend had a red GSA Special which she sold to buy a silver GSA Pallas which I thought was such a great looking car.
I would LOVE to see a comparison test between a standard GS and a GS Birotor, I think there are a couple of Birotors in the UK