. . . all you need to know about Citroën
The double inverted-chevron logo is its own clue to Citroën's origins, which began when the automobile manufacturer Mors brought in helical gear-maker Andre Citroën to reorganise and manage its operation.
Then, as happened most European carmakers, WW I put the company into the war effort, in Citroën's case producing munitions. After the war, Andre used the same production methods as Henry Ford. His "first mass produced French car" was the 10 HP Type A or Torpedo.
In 1921 his company produced the 5CV, nicknamed "Petit Citron" because of its yellow colour, and later the "Trefle" (clover) because of its three seats. As sales of his products increased,Citroën used the marketing ploy of providing free road signs to local authorities which had the Citroën brand and a company slogan on them. He had already gone the road of building small models of his cars for sale.
In the same decade, a number of cross-desert expeditions were undertaken by Citroën vehicles for similar publicity purposes. They even included a trip from Beirut to Peking, via the Himalayas and the Gobi Desert. By 1929 the company was producing an astonishing 100,000 cars a year.
The 7CV, "La Traction Avant", of 1934 was the first front-wheel-drive car, and with its low-slung body was well received at the Auto Show of the same year. But Citroën's finances were problematic after the Wall Street crash and the effects of a number of strikes. In 1935 Andre Cityroën was forced into liquidation and he retired after handing over his shares to Michelin.
After WWII, the company presented what had been a dream of the now-deceased Andre Citroën, the 2CV, which remained the carmaker's main product until 1955.
That year, the next revolution spawned by Citroën was the futuristic DS. It had Citroën's front-wheel drive, height adjustable hydraulic suspension, power steering and a semi-automatic gear box.
Other distinctive models, to varying degrees of success, included the Diane 6 in 1969, the diesel-powered CX in 1974, the Visa of 1976 and the GS of 1978. The 1970s saw another financial crisis and Citroën came under the control of Peugeot.
In the early 1980s, the company brought out the BX, which included a considerable use of composite plastic in its bodywork. The end of the decade saw the very conventional but highly successful AX small car - among the advertising gimmicks used was a depiction of the car being blessed by the Dalai Lama's representative in the Potala Palace in Lhassa.
In 1991 Citroën went back to its futuristic format with the XM large luxury car, though it never managed to retain the essential classic aspect of the DS.
The Xantia a few years later was actually so good that it hastened the demise of the larger XM, though all mass-manufacturers were by this time finding it difficult to sell large cars against BMW and Mercedes.
In the mid-1990s, the AX was replaced by the Saxo. Today's models along with it are the C3, the Xsara, the C5, and MPVs the Berlingo, the Xsara Picasso and the C8.
Best Car: The DS 19
Worst Car: The Visa, only for its looks, though
Weirdest car: The 1970 Dalat built in South Vietnam