@@Samuel-gc6js Rodger Moore... sounds like a cross between a used car salesman and a dodgy publician who used to moonlight in soft porn movies in the seventies... Anyway...
My brother had a 2CV in the '80s. I loved it - a very smooth ride, top down, pootling along. But it had a tendency to overheat if you thrashed it on a hot day, thanks to the air-cooling, so Roger wouldn't have got far.
The 2CV was the first car for many, many people here in Germany back in the 60's and you do still see them occasionally. They were cheap, reliable and could be fixed with a hammer, duct tape and a wrench. They are, like the VW Beetle, pre-WW2 tech though and date back to the 30's in terms of design, so they were already outdated by the time they really went into mass production post-WW2.
Sorry, but the 2 CV was never "outdated" with its front wheel drive and front motor concept. It is still up to date with its advanced design, not the least the suspension. The VW Beetle, on the other hand, is at totally disastrous design with no safety at all with its rear engine, rear wheel drive and pendulum axels, petrol tank in front of your feet and a long, stiff steering column, useless heathing, and so on.....
@jourwalis-8835 yes but the beetle WILL start in the morning and get you to the dark side of the moon if you wanted to go there! Plus you look cool 😎 driving a Volks and not a tool 😜
Yes i see a few from time to time. there is one in my town just standing there for the past 10 years. It's always at the same place, which leads me to the conclusion that it is probably broken
@@jourwalis-8875 How can you say something like that? The Beetle's design is beautiful! Yeah, it isn't really safe, but at least, you can fit five people in it. And over the time, the Beetle has got many upgrades. In fact, the Beetle was in the 70s one of the most safest cars here in Germany.
@@Diogo503I'm sure it was scripted. There was an episode of Hammond and May talking about some cars they used in the grand tour but Jeremy was going through things at the time they were filming it so they acted like he was with them by locking him in a trunk when what they really did was just use voice samples of him screaming to make it seem more authentic. So im sure they scripted Hammond crashing because it's a running joke lol
The 2CV is a ridiculously good machine. I lived in Kenya for several years and did a lot of (amateur) rallying in the Group-B era. I started out prepping cars and driving service barges for privateers on the old-school [5-day] East African Safari, and went on to drive the event itself twice - not in a tin snail, mind you - finishing both times (although in one wet year we only limped back to Nairobi 11 hours behind the leaders). Anyway, a mad mate of mine inherited a 2CV and wanted to rally it on local events so, before spending any time or money on it, he decided to see if it would be worth the effort by first trying to break it. We threw it at the bundu, and it survived. It floated over the kind of car-smashing terrain that had once laid the proud Ford Escort works cars low. So don't let its hilarious amount of body roll fool you; a 2CV is slow 🐌👀 but tough and amazingly capable. Yes, you'll scrape the door handles on the road when cornering, but the wheels will stay planted. Great car, the 2CV.
The Citroën 2CV is undoubtedly a true French icon. Practical, frugal, and simple to fix, with few genuine motoring peers (VW Beetle excepted). Having said all that, there is no escaping the fact that it's an upside-down pram with a lawnmower engine.
Ah la perfide anglaise 😂😂c est ce qui fait le charme de nos relations depuis des siècles 😂😂😂😂sinon personne ne copie les produits Cartier Dior Chanel etc etc ?
No idea who came up with this bonmot and why, because both parts of this sentence are so very wrong and it irks me. Everyone who thought they were cultured spoke French for centuries. French cuisine is cooked everywhere by and for people who want to appear cultured, French movies are popular whenever you want to watch something with copious amounts of nudity, but want to appear cultured at the same time, etc. In fact, even the word "copy" used in this sentence made its way into Middle English through Old French copie/copier, from Latin copia (abundance). In the automotive sector, the French were highly influential. Everyone is focusing on weird and relatively recent French cars and how unique they are - and while it's true that nobody ever copied the likes of the Hélica, 2CV or DS, lots of other cars and the inventions and unique features that made them stand out at the time were copied, to the point that people stopped asking where they are originally from. The very first internal combustion engine was built in France, as was the first car with an engine in the front and a driven axle in the rear. The steering wheel? French. 4-cylinder engine? French. 4WD? French. The French were the first to race cars as well. Opel got its start as a mass producer of cars by copying a Citroën(without authorization). I think you get my point.
Actually, when it comes to cars, both Hyundai have ripped off Citroen and Peugeot: Kona is a very, very poor imitation of the Citroen Cactus several years after it’s release; and they also stole the design of the Peugeot E-Legend for their Ioniq 5.
I used to hate the 2CV when I was a teenager, but older and wiser I now have to respect it. It is not trying to be anything more than it is. Chris Harris has one and he loves it.
If you drive a 2CV flat out ( about 60mph ) on a horizontal surface and wrench the steering wheel over on hard lock to either right or left you cannot flip it onto it's side. Fact.
Renault, Peugeot and Citroën are still alive and well. Whatever happened to Morris, Austin, Rover, Triumph, MG, Vauxhall, Riley, Humber, Sunbeam...? I don't se many of those in the street.
The reason that the wheel base is longer on one side than the other on the Renault 4 is because the torsion bars are located one behind the other, in order to simplify the suspension as well as making it modifiable.
I mean, this is just comedy genius, pure and simple. Forget about Top Gear or cars or Jeremy's shenanigans or their other careers - those three are just naturally funny.
How many other car companies made cars that were complete polar opposites (simple and affordable like the 2cv as well as complex and expensive like the SM) both at the same time and sold both in the same dealerships under the same name like Citroen did?
Well today you have brands like Lada, Uaz and for a few years even Dacia (between 2004 and 2006 Dacia made the Logan and Logan MCV along with the old school Pick Up series based on the Dacia 1300/Renault 12), but yeah not to many brands.
@@chrisperyagh Fair enough, but I was referring more to the difference in technology and the year of introduction, not to the vehicle class. From this point of view, Citroën might very well be the only manufacturer to offer both very cheap and very expensive cars, as you suggested.
@@evo5dave : Perhaps it needed a new Battery or Starter-Motor ? They did also come with a starting handle. Quite unique feature, for a car of the latter half of the 20th century.
It all depends on what you mean by "great" I suppose. I agree with both May and Clarkson, the 2CV is incredibly iconic and meant a lot for millions in post-war Europe, that should not be overlooked. But as a piece of automotive design, even for its day, it's not really very "good". In fact I personally am more along Jeremy's lines, it's crap, but pretty much all old cars are anyway by modern standards. I think Jeremy is comparing it to modern standards which also isn't really fair
The Panhard 24BT is a really fascinating car. The engine is a flat twin but it has a roller bearing crank, hemi heads, torsion bar valve springs, and the exhaust is also the engine mount. The wheels are also the brake drum covers if I remember correctly.
It's a bit sad to see the English always talking about France and the French. Every day, there's something on TV or the radio about how bad the French are. When you're in France, you never hear anything about England and the English. The French don't seem to care about England, but the English appear to be obsessed with France.
"mounted steering wheel under the dashboard" as any other car i have driven. in fact its height is adjustable and they just wanted to make a silly shot... there comments arent worth anything.
4L the difference, James, as well you know is the torsion bars... French cars and Italian cars are cars not mechanical boxes. They are the only characterful cars on the planet now.
I honestly thought he was going to mention the umbrella handle gearshift. But no, fair enough, two different wheelbases on the same car, that's probably quirkier.
Weirdly, I love the 2CV but it’s because it’s the first car I remember my dad having. He didn’t have it for long, he would buy cars at auction, fix them and sell them for profit, but the 2CV was the first i remember. After that he briefly had a 60’s Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, followed by an XR2i 🤷🏻♂️😂 … he still does the same thing today, he has his Transit Van that he drives around in and most recently his “project car” was a 1990 Mazda MX5 that was a Japanese import. Blokes a nutter
@@johnough4893impossible for it to be better, seeing as the British no longer manufacture cars, all the remaining brands use foreign engines and elements (especially German) because they are owned by foreign groups. your cars are so good that they all went bankrupt^^.
Several 2CVs rode around the world; and quite a few 2CVs opened roads that barely existed as trails before : in the Andes, in Africa, in the Middle East … all in the 50s.
En los R4 las barras de torsión transversales obligaban a desplazar el eje del brazo contrario, esa era la mejor forma posible de hacer que la suspesión fuese independiente y que además no robase espacio en el habitaculo, ingeniosa solución que se mejoró todavía mas en los siguientes modelos de Renault y PSA. En el caso del R21 la explicación es simple, utilizaban el esquema de motor-transmisión evolucionado de los R12, R18, R20 y R25. Para las versiones básicas directamente se introducía el tren delantero completo de los R9/R11 por lo que seguro que fué totalmente rentable. Respecto al 2CV, nada de burlas ni criticas, es un auténtico icono de la automoción. No se que tenéis que criticar los ingleses sobre coches franceses... aparte del Mini de Issigonis, el Lotus Seven, Jaguar type E y el Land Rover Series no habeis hecho nada interesante. No hay mas que ver cuantas marcas sobreviven. Por que no destripais un "magnifico" Rover, MG o Jaguar?? Los más decentes son los que salieron con motor V8 (origen Buick), V6 (Honda), TD5 (BMW), TDV6 (Ford-PSA)...
The explanation of the Renault 21 being two separate cars to cut down on costs doesn’t make sense. It’s more expensive to redevelop a chassis for the new engine and transmission layout. Suspension body, chassis, and electrical all have to be rewired not to mention the assembly line needs to be retooled for 2 separate cars essentially! It also cannibalizes sales of that car because now people don’t know if they need a front wheel drive or all wheel drive and reduce the sales. Even further. Your criticism is beyond stupid.
The original design specification for the 2CV didn't allow for shock absorbers to keep costs down. Fortunately rhe engineers put them in anyway. Can you imagine the ride quality and handling if they'd done as they were told?
The original Mini, 2CV and Beetle should never have gone out of production. If people can choose to smoke or ski they can choose to drive a tin can. I hoped Brexit would fix a third of that equation, but all we got was loads of whinging about unimportant stuff like the economy.
The difference in distance between the left and right wheels was that if you pas a speed bump, it did not bump at the same time. It was a once off so I think it did not work so well. But was known then.
James May of all people, should know why the wheel base is different: suspension tubes that span the full width of the car for maximum ride comfort...simple and brilliant solution
Britain doesn't have any more self sufficient car maker, so, please, don't give lessons. And please, continue to stay away from EU, we're better like this, cause we can't miss british car, that does n't exist !
Frenchman here. Once upon a time Citroën was a great brand manufacturing unique vehicles. Nowadays it's just another brand of the Stellantis group that manufactures mainstream cars like umpteen others. Welcome to our bland new world of automobile clones.
I remembered the disappointed face of my Mom when Diana was proposed instead of 2 CV! It's gone through Sahara and West Asia and staying with us all my childhood ❤️
Unfortunately we're seeing more and more enormous SUV landferries on european roads. Even in Denmark, where we have some of the hightest taxes on cars in the world.
I'm in a very small minority, but the 2CV reminds me of George Lucas' "American Graffiti". Perhaps fittingly, it belonged to RIchard Dreyfuss' character.
@@ilmaio cher amis seul un anglais peut comparer une voiture de la catégorie super luxe avec une voiture d'agriculteurs, même si parfois et souvent, même pour le cas des voitures anglaises ,les voitures d'agriculteur sont plus fiable que les modèles grand Luxe
French here (i don't know why i'm here, anyway...) : for the Renault, it's always a thing that the shittiest car will be follow by the most enduring one.
The Renault 21, contrary to what Clarkson states, did need 2 bodywork/subframe versions of that model anyway simply because Renault exported US versions to the North and South America, powered by the their V6 PRV engine. In that period few Americans would by a 4cyl midsize car that had to compete with mostly V6 models of the competition. But he, being a comedian (an a good one at that) is something different from being a journalist....
I like the Renault 2 CV for most purposes. Cars in the US are getting ridiculous now. SUVs ( which suck not in a good way) are tremendously popular, and so is Trump.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
"My airplane has windows like that" - the most James May thing that has ever been said.
Aeroplane not airplane
@@tomsharpe2251 Areoplane is simply the British spelling, airplane the American. Therefore, either is fine, no need to be nitpicky.
aeroplane is british? i thought airplane was british 😂😂 @@jama211
The 2CV was the greatest Bond car ever! It’s chase scene is outrageously iconic.
Roger Moore's fave because he didn't care if it got bashed 😂
* ITS
* ROGER
@@Samuel-gc6js Rodger Moore... sounds like a cross between a used car salesman and a dodgy publician who used to moonlight in soft porn movies in the seventies...
Anyway...
"iconic" ? Now there's a word you hardly ever hear.
My brother had a 2CV in the '80s. I loved it - a very smooth ride, top down, pootling along. But it had a tendency to overheat if you thrashed it on a hot day, thanks to the air-cooling, so Roger wouldn't have got far.
The 2CV was the first car for many, many people here in Germany back in the 60's and you do still see them occasionally. They were cheap, reliable and could be fixed with a hammer, duct tape and a wrench. They are, like the VW Beetle, pre-WW2 tech though and date back to the 30's in terms of design, so they were already outdated by the time they really went into mass production post-WW2.
Sorry, but the 2 CV was never "outdated" with its front wheel drive and front motor concept. It is still up to date with its advanced design, not the least the suspension.
The VW Beetle, on the other hand, is at totally disastrous design with no safety at all with its rear engine, rear wheel drive and pendulum axels, petrol tank in front of your feet and a long, stiff steering column, useless heathing, and so on.....
@jourwalis-8835 yes but the beetle WILL start in the morning and get you to the dark side of the moon if you wanted to go there! Plus you look cool 😎 driving a Volks and not a tool 😜
Yes i see a few from time to time.
there is one in my town just standing there for the past 10 years. It's always at the same place, which leads me to the conclusion that it is probably broken
@@jourwalis-8875 How can you say something like that? The Beetle's design is beautiful! Yeah, it isn't really safe, but at least, you can fit five people in it. And over the time, the Beetle has got many upgrades. In fact, the Beetle was in the 70s one of the most safest cars here in Germany.
@Corristo89 : Exactly. This is why the original Beetle is still iconic and the 2CV is........something else?
The Hammond crash during Jeremy's rant is so random. I love it :)
I can't remember, did he really crash on this episode or was just a scripted dialogue for that moment?
@@Diogo503I'm sure it was scripted. There was an episode of Hammond and May talking about some cars they used in the grand tour but Jeremy was going through things at the time they were filming it so they acted like he was with them by locking him in a trunk when what they really did was just use voice samples of him screaming to make it seem more authentic. So im sure they scripted Hammond crashing because it's a running joke lol
Also just the casualness of "Hammond's Just Crashed, Hasn't He?" before Clarkson moved on like nothing happened.
2:00. Not to mention the fact it saved Britain's James Bond from the baddies in "For your eyes only"
Take the low road
I’ve been looking for this Renault 21 clip forever lmao. Finally will remember where it is now 😂
Which episode is this from? Please
The 2CV is a ridiculously good machine. I lived in Kenya for several years and did a lot of (amateur) rallying in the Group-B era. I started out prepping cars and driving service barges for privateers on the old-school [5-day] East African Safari, and went on to drive the event itself twice - not in a tin snail, mind you - finishing both times (although in one wet year we only limped back to Nairobi 11 hours behind the leaders).
Anyway, a mad mate of mine inherited a 2CV and wanted to rally it on local events so, before spending any time or money on it, he decided to see if it would be worth the effort by first trying to break it.
We threw it at the bundu, and it survived. It floated over the kind of car-smashing terrain that had once laid the proud Ford Escort works cars low.
So don't let its hilarious amount of body roll fool you; a 2CV is slow 🐌👀 but tough and amazingly capable. Yes, you'll scrape the door handles on the road when cornering, but the wheels will stay planted.
Great car, the 2CV.
The Citroën 2CV is undoubtedly a true French icon. Practical, frugal, and simple to fix, with few genuine motoring peers (VW Beetle excepted). Having said all that, there is no escaping the fact that it's an upside-down pram with a lawnmower engine.
Renault 4 had two torsion bars at the back,one in front of the other,and the same length trailing arms.
Exact! And many Renault were built like that: R6, R16, R5, Twingo, etc
"The French copy no one, and no one copies the French."
Ah la perfide anglaise 😂😂c est ce qui fait le charme de nos relations depuis des siècles 😂😂😂😂sinon personne ne copie les produits Cartier Dior Chanel etc etc ?
No idea who came up with this bonmot and why, because both parts of this sentence are so very wrong and it irks me. Everyone who thought they were cultured spoke French for centuries. French cuisine is cooked everywhere by and for people who want to appear cultured, French movies are popular whenever you want to watch something with copious amounts of nudity, but want to appear cultured at the same time, etc.
In fact, even the word "copy" used in this sentence made its way into Middle English through Old French copie/copier, from Latin copia (abundance).
In the automotive sector, the French were highly influential. Everyone is focusing on weird and relatively recent French cars and how unique they are - and while it's true that nobody ever copied the likes of the Hélica, 2CV or DS, lots of other cars and the inventions and unique features that made them stand out at the time were copied, to the point that people stopped asking where they are originally from. The very first internal combustion engine was built in France, as was the first car with an engine in the front and a driven axle in the rear. The steering wheel? French. 4-cylinder engine? French. 4WD? French. The French were the first to race cars as well. Opel got its start as a mass producer of cars by copying a Citroën(without authorization). I think you get my point.
Except when they do. The modern tank layout was invented by the French, scuba equipment, the bikini, the humble hair dryer, the metric system etc etc.
The way it should be..be unique,be ignored
Actually, when it comes to cars, both Hyundai have ripped off Citroen and Peugeot: Kona is a very, very poor imitation of the Citroen Cactus several years after it’s release; and they also stole the design of the Peugeot E-Legend for their Ioniq 5.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's impossible to dislike anything other than the fixed rear passenger windows on the 2CV.
If you're hot, open the roof.
@@maartendeen8404Then you have the sun beating on you directly
@@maartendeen8404 And every once in a while, when you pass a speed bump, it falls back on your arm ! 😉
@@maartendeen8404but then someone will see you. 😂
I love the 2cv , its so quirky, so eccentric, which it is why it is so FRENCH.
I used to hate the 2CV when I was a teenager, but older and wiser I now have to respect it. It is not trying to be anything more than it is. Chris Harris has one and he loves it.
If you drive a 2CV flat out ( about 60mph ) on a horizontal surface and wrench the steering wheel over on hard lock to either right or left you cannot flip it onto it's side. Fact.
Hmm, unless the chassis snaps due to hidden rust under the bulkhead!
If my aunt had balls, we would called her my uncle...
Renault, Peugeot and Citroën are still alive and well.
Whatever happened to Morris, Austin, Rover, Triumph, MG, Vauxhall, Riley, Humber, Sunbeam...? I don't se many of those in the street.
That's because the British have never made a car worth keeping.
@@thomasmeredith9124
An Austin Healy 3000 is worth keeping.
If you live in Britain, you'll see Vauxhalls everywhere.
@@ReddwarfIV Yeah, but it’s badge engineering.
Or see them...
The reason that the wheel base is longer on one side than the other on the Renault 4 is because the torsion bars are located one behind the other, in order to simplify the suspension as well as making it modifiable.
i love those old french cars
I mean, this is just comedy genius, pure and simple.
Forget about Top Gear or cars or Jeremy's shenanigans or their other careers - those three are just naturally funny.
Drama queens?
How many other car companies made cars that were complete polar opposites (simple and affordable like the 2cv as well as complex and expensive like the SM) both at the same time and sold both in the same dealerships under the same name like Citroen did?
Well today you have brands like Lada, Uaz and for a few years even Dacia (between 2004 and 2006 Dacia made the Logan and Logan MCV along with the old school Pick Up series based on the Dacia 1300/Renault 12), but yeah not to many brands.
@@deanromania6748 They didn't offer a luxury model car comparable to the Citroen SM in their lineup though.
@@chrisperyagh Fair enough, but I was referring more to the difference in technology and the year of introduction, not to the vehicle class. From this point of view, Citroën might very well be the only manufacturer to offer both very cheap and very expensive cars, as you suggested.
Not as extreme due to shared underpinnings, but during their last years of US production, Studebaker offered the Lark and The Avanti.
Japanese manufacturers routinely sell both cheap city cars and high-performance GTs under the same brand.
Love it or hate it. 2CV is an iconic vintage 🇫🇷 car
I'm with May on the 2CV!
Listen Mr. Clarkson, the 2CV is the greatest car ever.... And don't you forget it 😜
Seriously though, I used to have one, and I loved it 🥰
It truly is, I respect you my bro
I used to regularly have to push my mate's and I hated it
@@evo5dave : Perhaps it needed a new Battery or Starter-Motor ?
They did also come with a starting handle. Quite unique
feature, for a car of the latter half of the 20th century.
It all depends on what you mean by "great" I suppose. I agree with both May and Clarkson, the 2CV is incredibly iconic and meant a lot for millions in post-war Europe, that should not be overlooked. But as a piece of automotive design, even for its day, it's not really very "good". In fact I personally am more along Jeremy's lines, it's crap, but pretty much all old cars are anyway by modern standards. I think Jeremy is comparing it to modern standards which also isn't really fair
So did I - and a Dyane and an Ami6 Break1
The Panhard 24BT is a really fascinating car. The engine is a flat twin but it has a roller bearing crank, hemi heads, torsion bar valve springs, and the exhaust is also the engine mount. The wheels are also the brake drum covers if I remember correctly.
Let's not forget the love of making the gearshift pattern upside down and backwards from the pattern in every other car producing country.
It's a bit sad to see the English always talking about France and the French. Every day, there's something on TV or the radio about how bad the French are. When you're in France, you never hear anything about England and the English. The French don't seem to care about England, but the English appear to be obsessed with France.
Agreed.
Not sure what you expected from a special showcasing French cars.
How can you hate the duck?! Clarkson, that's dissapointing.
Pretty sure he likes it :)
"mounted steering wheel under the dashboard" as any other car i have driven. in fact its height is adjustable and they just wanted to make a silly shot... there comments arent worth anything.
I love how Jeremy said on purpose that the 2cv can withstand a 500ft drop!
I have doubts about that!
He actually says 300 feet.
Citroën is the most quirky yet popular car brand that exists. Specially their older models
There is a slight difference. The French cars work and are a plenty and still on the roads and still being made. In the UK, ... not so much.
2CV has one of the best passive suspensions ever made. The older models had even vibration dampeners on the front suspension arms
James is actually right about the 2CV. A lot of planes do have windows like that, the Cessna 172 for example.
4L the difference, James, as well you know is the torsion bars... French cars and Italian cars are cars not mechanical boxes. They are the only characterful cars on the planet now.
Characterful is just a copout way of saying bad
@@EresirThe1st Ferraris are highly characterful, and completely unreliable, does that make them bad?
I honestly thought he was going to mention the umbrella handle gearshift. But no, fair enough, two different wheelbases on the same car, that's probably quirkier.
Weirdly, I love the 2CV but it’s because it’s the first car I remember my dad having. He didn’t have it for long, he would buy cars at auction, fix them and sell them for profit, but the 2CV was the first i remember.
After that he briefly had a 60’s Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, followed by an XR2i 🤷🏻♂️😂 … he still does the same thing today, he has his Transit Van that he drives around in and most recently his “project car” was a 1990 Mazda MX5 that was a Japanese import. Blokes a nutter
Ahahah!
And when you look at British cars today… oh wait, there aren’t any left!!!
Yes, and they're still better than any French car.
@@johnough4893impossible for it to be better, seeing as the British no longer manufacture cars, all the remaining brands use foreign engines and elements (especially German) because they are owned by foreign groups.
your cars are so good that they all went bankrupt^^.
@@gregutdmglaucos3757 Irony is lost on you, isn't it?
@@gregutdmglaucos3757I mean Land Rover and Jaguar are British. They don't share platform , engine or parts with Indian parent company
Mclaren, which are better than any French car.
Poor 2CV really did drop later on...
The wheels are different lengths apart to keep the car driving straight on roads that are usually cambered to encourage water runoff
The 2CV was built for bad french rural roads. It was the perfect car for farmers.
The 2CV is awesome, I used to own one and I used to drive it in fields, it was like a tank, it would literally drive anywhere
Next time I order a croque monsieur I will surely ask for a side of 2CV
Several 2CVs rode around the world; and quite a few 2CVs opened roads that barely existed as trails before : in the Andes, in Africa, in the Middle East … all in the 50s.
1:37-1:47 understandable, but a little too harsh of a comparison on the car.
From 1977 to 1985 I had a 2CV. It remains the best car I have ever owned. 🇫🇷
James May : all steering-wheels are under the dashboard 😂they have to be.
Mine isn't its in front of the dashboard.
In front. Not under
I had a Dianne and loved it. If they still made them I'd have another. Modern cars damage my already bad back.
Renault 4 and 21 are one of the most comfortable cars that I've ever drove in.
En los R4 las barras de torsión transversales obligaban a desplazar el eje del brazo contrario, esa era la mejor forma posible de hacer que la suspesión fuese independiente y que además no robase espacio en el habitaculo, ingeniosa solución que se mejoró todavía mas en los siguientes modelos de Renault y PSA. En el caso del R21 la explicación es simple, utilizaban el esquema de motor-transmisión evolucionado de los R12, R18, R20 y R25. Para las versiones básicas directamente se introducía el tren delantero completo de los R9/R11 por lo que seguro que fué totalmente rentable. Respecto al 2CV, nada de burlas ni criticas, es un auténtico icono de la automoción. No se que tenéis que criticar los ingleses sobre coches franceses... aparte del Mini de Issigonis, el Lotus Seven, Jaguar type E y el Land Rover Series no habeis hecho nada interesante. No hay mas que ver cuantas marcas sobreviven. Por que no destripais un "magnifico" Rover, MG o Jaguar?? Los más decentes son los que salieron con motor V8 (origen Buick), V6 (Honda), TD5 (BMW), TDV6 (Ford-PSA)...
The explanation of the Renault 21 being two separate cars to cut down on costs doesn’t make sense. It’s more expensive to redevelop a chassis for the new engine and transmission layout. Suspension body, chassis, and electrical all have to be rewired not to mention the assembly line needs to be retooled for 2 separate cars essentially! It also cannibalizes sales of that car because now people don’t know if they need a front wheel drive or all wheel drive and reduce the sales. Even further. Your criticism is beyond stupid.
Use a real language.
Found an idiotic frog, how very french
@@thomasbaker6563what is wrong with you
There is a lever under the steering wheel to adjust its height James.
The original design specification for the 2CV didn't allow for shock absorbers to keep costs down. Fortunately rhe engineers put them in anyway. Can you imagine the ride quality and handling if they'd done as they were told?
Had a Renault 21. Here in the States it was called the Medallion. Truly one of the best cars I ever had. Was really normal for a French car.
The original Mini, 2CV and Beetle should never have gone out of production. If people can choose to smoke or ski they can choose to drive a tin can. I hoped Brexit would fix a third of that equation, but all we got was loads of whinging about unimportant stuff like the economy.
The difference in distance between the left and right wheels was that if you pas a speed bump, it did not bump at the same time. It was a once off so I think it did not work so well. But was known then.
James May of all people, should know why the wheel base is different: suspension tubes that span the full width of the car for maximum ride comfort...simple and brilliant solution
This epitomises how Clarkson has no comment of a classic design. The 2CV is the car I want, if he hates it then I want it.
How about ‘Form Follows Function’? One of my favorites.
You may hate the Citroen 2CV, but I really enjoyed my Citroen 138CV very much!
as much as it pains me to say it May is right about the 2CV.
James Really Hate french , i allways enjoy when he say French people "peasants and communists"
Britain doesn't have any more self sufficient car maker, so, please, don't give lessons. And please, continue to stay away from EU, we're better like this, cause we can't miss british car, that does n't exist !
I think the actual reason Jeremy hates the 2cv is because of how popular they were with hippies. Hence, the vegalism comment.
Frenchman here. Once upon a time Citroën was a great brand manufacturing unique vehicles. Nowadays it's just another brand of the Stellantis group that manufactures mainstream cars like umpteen others. Welcome to our bland new world of automobile clones.
i had two 2cv's and loved them :)
I remembered the disappointed face of my Mom when Diana was proposed instead of 2 CV!
It's gone through Sahara and West Asia and staying with us all my childhood ❤️
It can also double as a boat or a motorcycle.
Ultimately, it is this absolute bad faith that amuses us.
And then there are the fantastic British cars. Name one, I'll wait.
Dropping it from a 100 feet? Probably. Hitting it with 100 km/h? Not a chance.
Bring back the 2CV, hairdryer motor and duracells for the electric age
Are any cars in Europe bigger than a lunchbox?
Unfortunately we're seeing more and more enormous SUV landferries on european roads. Even in Denmark, where we have some of the hightest taxes on cars in the world.
"it's evidence" am i allowed to use that? or is it copyrighted
0:16 Probably because of the spur-gear differential.
All Renault 4 were front-wheel-drive, the rear suspension has long torsion bars, and the left one is mounted in front of the right one.
Not really an answer, every car has a differential.
@@truecamvidea5881 Of course, but the asymmetric rear wheels have nothing to do with the diffential.
Let’s find out 🎉
The 2CV: my dream car.
The 2CV IS a really crap car compared to decent cars, but as a cheap people mover, it's a Rolls Royce compared to walking.
Unlike Jay Leno, Jeremy doesn't have the passion for cars.
Not weirs. Fabulous all weather sports car
I'm in a very small minority, but the 2CV reminds me of George Lucas' "American Graffiti". Perhaps fittingly, it belonged to RIchard Dreyfuss' character.
And the french are still making cars, meanwhile brits.......are making nothing.
Marvellous!
Which episode? Is this from?
Les voitures anglaises on commencée d'être de vrais véhicules quand il on vendu leur marque au indien 😂🎉🎉
Still waiting to see a French vehicle in the same league as an Aston Martin or a Mac Laren. Have fun with your Ami.
@@ilmaio cher amis seul un anglais peut comparer une voiture de la catégorie super luxe avec une voiture d'agriculteurs, même si parfois et souvent, même pour le cas des voitures anglaises ,les voitures d'agriculteur sont plus fiable que les modèles grand Luxe
@@ilmaio Does the bugatti brand ring a bell? It far surpasses an aston martin or a mac laren.
Correct
Why oh why is that Hammon guy still on the show sooty as a replacement I think 😂
now i want to see the helicopter...
2CV versus Lada Riva
I dont need to visit an alien planet. Just visit France
id rather own a 2CV than a lamborghini
, , , episode in which we mostly just talk about the Citroën 2CV. smh
1:12 British government: write that down! Write that down!
The Renault 4 looks like a child could push it over 🙂
Why he said cycling like its a bad thing
French here (i don't know why i'm here, anyway...) : for the Renault, it's always a thing that the shittiest car will be follow by the most enduring one.
Our car is not weird, our car is good
Il fait juste ça pour arriver au fait qu'il va balancer une Charleston en bon état d'un hélicopter....
@@-Griffin- stay mad 🥖
@@Jeffgordonfan24hesthegoatNASCAR is BORING.
@@rigoloweb4762 go watch the most recent finish at Kansas and come back to me 🤡
The French cars suck more than your country sucked 🍆 when Hitler came in and took it easily 😂
Brits talking about weird French cars…that’s the real joke.
French cars... better than british cars)
Middle School bullies trying to be funny.We are not amused.
Dude clearly never watched Top Gear before
Two shades of grey...humm...sexy!
Was it dropt from a helicopter
Go Mac!
The Renault 21, contrary to what Clarkson states, did need 2 bodywork/subframe versions of that model anyway simply because Renault exported US versions to the North and South America, powered by the their V6 PRV engine. In that period few Americans would by a 4cyl midsize car that had to compete with mostly V6 models of the competition. But he, being a comedian (an a good one at that) is something different from being a journalist....
Anyway!! 😂😂
I like the Renault 2 CV for most purposes. Cars in the US are getting ridiculous now. SUVs ( which suck not in a good way) are tremendously popular, and so is Trump.
Well what you like does not exist. The 2CV was Citroën, not Renault.