Top hits #3: Citroen's Goddess

Uga Boga said:
Its curvy looks and slippery shape encouraged the Citroen faithful to dub the iconic DS series "The Goddess".
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That and the fact that "deese" is "goddess" in French... :rolleyes:

Chris
 
In their day? Put on your flame-proof suit before the D owners read that! :roflmao: :roflmao:
 
danielsydney said:
Great car in their day....:D
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Scoff, scoff......still VERY much a GREAT car! Always will be! :headbang:
 
zykyra said:
Scoff, scoff......still VERY much a GREAT car! Always will be! :headbang:
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I think I might sell tickets to the next CCC of NSW meeting. We will have a special event that night, called "who picked on a DS this month?":nownow:

The loser gets to drive home in a dark blue C3:eek:
 
I think they were far more than just that Daniel, they were wayyyyyyy ahead of their time, and in fact still are! john s<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
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I agree with you 100% only now some of the features are being copied. Look at that new crap Lexus 4x4 with turning lights. :nownow: :rolleyes:
 
danielsydney said:
I agree with you 100% only now some of the features are being copied. Look at that new crap Lexus 4x4 with turning lights. :nownow: :rolleyes:
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Indeed, but also, the vauxhall/holden astra, and the ford focus are starting to play with turning headlamps. The Citroen C4 and C6 at least acknowledge where the idea started from in their advertising!!! john s
 
The Citroen C4 and C6 at least acknowledge where the idea started from in their advertising!!! john s<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
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here here....:D
 
Did you hear about Merc stealing Citroen's idea with the LCD screen in the C4? How it uses the sun's light to portray the LCD GUI...

Would these automobile manufacturers stop stealing Citroen's innovation, darn cheap idiots without innovative R&D teams! :nownow: :mad: :evil:

Oh one more thing, Volvo are looking into using the central steering wheel boss design. :mad:
 
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danielsydney said:
I agree with you 100% only now some of the features are being copied. Look at that new crap Lexus 4x4 with turning lights. :nownow: :rolleyes:
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Turning headlights are an old idea dating back to at least 1930 :rolleyes: when cadillac had optional directional driving lights ( $57.50 extra) and a few years later Tatra T77 and T87 had a third central headlight that turned with the steering.
1948 Tuckers also had a number of advanced safety features including a centrally located turning headlight but only about 50 of these cars were built.I agree Citroen DS were most innovative, interesting and best looking French car ever built, but not the first car with turning headlights :2cents: :cheers:Hugo
 
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citds67 said:
Turning headlights are an old idea dating back to at least 1930 :rolleyes: when cadillac had optional directional driving lights ( $57.50 extra) and a few years later Tatra T77 and T87 had a third central headlight that turned with the steering.
1948 Tuckers also had a number of advanced safety features including a centrally located turning headlight but only about 50 of these cars were built.I agree Citroen DS were most innovative, interesting and best looking French car ever built, but not the first car with turning headlights :2cents: :cheers:Hugo
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Interesting... i always thought it was a Citroen invention, nevermind, i'll still claim it as one ;)
 
Uga Boga said:
Did you hear about Merc stealing Citroen's idea with the LCD screen in the C4? How it uses the sun's light to portray the LCD GUI...

Would these automobile manufacturers stop stealing Citroen's innovation, darn cheap idiots without innovative R&D teams! :nownow: :mad: :evil:

Oh one more thing, Volvo are looking into using the central steering wheel boss design. :mad:
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lol hope your joking.

Mercedes-Benz has the highest R&D spending of any car company at the moment according to The Economist. I believe they also hold the highest number of patents but I could be wrong.

Its not about stealing ideas, but innovation is a good thing and its good to see the French brands back in the game (after a leave of absence).

If you call it stealing, just think about it... only Mercedes would then have airbags, ABS brakes etc etc. At the end of the day, manufacturers can make money from these innovations by licensing them out to other firms.
 
They may spend the most on R&D, doesn't mean they have the MOST innovative R&D team.

Citroen has probably been the most innovative out of all marques, well known to take the plunge/risk with new ideas etc.. :citplak: :citplak: :citplak:

Remember who brought you fuel injection (first car to use it was the DS?), FWD - Traction Avant (;)), hydropneumatic suspension, power steering, high pressure braking, disc brakes, semi automatic gearbox etc... :D

Shane, help me get out of this one!!
 
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I'm not saying Citroen are'nt innovative, no-one would.

But, and I'm sure Shane would agree, in recent years it has not been the French makers strongest suite.

The concept of "innovation" is surely in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I'd consider radar cruise control (Mercedes) more innovatice than a steering-wheel with a solid centre (Citroen).

All I was hoping to express was the weightings firms put on R&D. PSA and Renault-Nissan are all mass market firms and as such R&D is not their priority, so don't pretend otherwise.

2003 Top R&D spending firms (Absolute, $US)
1. Ford Motor ($7.5bn)
2. Pfizer ($7.13bn)
3. Daimler-Chrysler ($6.9bn)
4. Toyota Motor ($6.2bn)
5. Siemens ($6bn)
6. General-Motors ($5.7bn)
7. Matsushita Electric ($5.2bn)
8. IBM ($5.1bn)
9. Glaxosmithkline ($4.9bn)
10. Johnson and Johnson ($4.7bn)
11. Sony ($4.7bn)
12. Microsoft ($4.7bn)
13. Nokia ($4.5bn)
14. Intel ($4.4bn)
15. Volkswagen ($4.2)

This order has changed slightly since this list was compiled. Frankly I was shocked at Ford's position, and the position of auto firms generally. Its perhaps not entirely surprising the French are not there (car makers anyway) since they are a bit small. What we'd really like is the R&D spend per car The Economist reported a while back.

Anyway, hope that shows you just how seriously car makers take R&D, and that its farcical to think its just the French doing all the work.

Some might say the French should consider spending money trying to work out how to make cars that ride properly again. Some might say the Japanese ought to spend money thinking about how to make a car interesting. "Innovation" is a bit subjective in this sense I guess.

EDIT: That list is complied by MIT btw.
 
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