Lynn's 2CV

A surprise invitation from Citroen headquarters in Paris, France, arrived in December, 2025, courtesy of George Dyke, President of "Citroenvie!", the big Canadian Citroen enthusiast club ( https://citroenvie.com/ ). Citroen is now sponsoring a 2-car Formula E race team, and hoped for some local Citroen enthusiasts to display their cars at the race in Miami, January 31, 2026. Philippe Laine, the former owner of our 2CV (Charlotte) and a Citroen devotee, took the lead in arranging participation for several of us. He negotiated some nice benefits: Motel room, grandstand seating tickets, payment toward our trailer for transporting Charlotte to the Miami venue, etc. Heck yeah, we were IN for participating in this unexpected adventure. Why trailer the 2CV to Miami? Well, South Florida superhighway traffic is fast, frantic, dangerous and no fun...exactly the opposite of the attitude needed to safely travel in Charlotte. Finding quiet back roads to use for the 75+mile journey would...

  Several elements came together to allow me to tear into the mechanical part of Lynn's 2CV a little bit. One was we decided this would be her FLORIDA car, and not be taken to live with us in the mountains of North Carolina. Too many steep hills and intersections there, for a slightly nervous stick-shift driver. So, it will live in my garage. Second was there's only one "John Garage" here for working on cars, meaning we had to get rid of the project car I'd kept the past 11 years, to make room for Charlotte. It was time for someone else to enjoy that car anyhow: a 1999 BMW M Coupe, commonly known as the "Clownshoe". I sold it soon after we got Charlotte, using an online auction service called "Cars and Bids". Interesting experience, resulting in the car being transported to its new home in Connecticut in January, 2026. Third: we were invited by the Citroen factory to appear as their guest at the Miami Formula E grand prix race on January 31. Ci...

  Just before Thanksgiving, 2025, we became owners of Lynn's new old 2CV, which she promptly named "Charlotte". Next came the fun prospect of learning how to drive and play with Charlotte...these cars are NOT like other cars you've encountered. Low power: 28 horsepower from an air-cooled 2-cylinder engine driving the front wheels. Four-speed manual transmission: shifted by a black ball attached to a rod sticking out of the dashboard that you push or pull while tilting the ball one direction or another to select the proper gear. Suspension: soft enough to run across a freshly-plowed farm field without cracking any eggs in a basket kept in the passenger seat (one of the design parameters specified in the 1930's when the car was originally designed in France). Convertible: Fabric top which you roll back from the windshield into a tight cylinder strapped above the rear window. Handling while driving: Pretty conventional until cornering at speed, when the car lays over...

How and why did we become owners of Lynn's 2CV in 2025? Well, the answer to that question requires some context and a little history. Lynn taught French here in Palm Beach  County middle and high schools for 22 years, and took many student groups to visit France and other Europe destinations during Spring breaks. She fell in love with the Citroen 2CV's seen almost everywhere, in various conditions and stages of repair. They are truly the People's Car, with millions of them having been built between the late 1940's and 1990 when production ceased. We collected small souvenirs of the 2CV from markets and shops over the years. After Lynn's retirement, we travelled throughout France on our own, and never failed to spot 2CV's hauling people, goods, and pets everywhere.... we took photos of them when we could. Finally, in 2014, we rented a 2CV in Burgundy and spent a memorable day flogging the car through all the backroads and scenic chateaux we could find. It was sp...