The C5 shall return

[CitroJim]

Seems odd to push a brand downmarket when every other brand seems to be doing the opposite - unless Citroen are planning to introduce no-frills, simple and basic cars again.

There's definitely a market niche for those... I'd go for one such in an instant.

The Series 1 C1 was perhaps the last real poverty-spec car available from Citroën and none the worse for it at all...

In fact it would be a welcome relief from the headlong rush to put more and more bling on cars...

That's certainly what they seemed to be implying, Jim. I'll try and find the press release again, but it's been posted up on here within the last 12 months.

That could be very good news then The return of something like the 2CV even perhaps?

[elma]

I think when you consider who's in charge of Citroen currently that they will focus on cars with a racing class. It would be cheap and easy for them to make simple cars and badge up WRX versions etc for the marketing side.

[CitroJim]

I think when you consider who's in charge of Citroen currently that they will focus on cars with a racing class. It would be cheap and easy for them to make simple cars and badge up WRX versions etc for the marketing side.

Agreed, giving them some (even if faux) sporting pretensions often does wonders for their kudos and sales...

Ford have never been shy of doing it...

[Paul-R]

Their unofficial motto at one time was "win on a Sunday, sell on a Monday" I believe.

[CitroJim]

Their unofficial motto at one time was "win on a Sunday, sell on a Monday" I believe.

Certainly was Applied to British motorbikes more than cars I believe but I may be confused... A statement used after wins in the Isle of Man TT races perhaps?

[harryp]

Jim, thought that the 406 was built using the Xantia floorpan??

[bobins]

I've found some references to PSAs desire to re-orientate their brands a bit - though it's not in the original article I was thinking about.

"The groups three automotive brands have all been given targets and new mission statements. Peugeot is tasked with becoming the “best high end generalist brand” - or a direct VW rival."

"Citroën is aiming for sales growth of 30% by 2021, pushed by 12 new models rolled out globally, of which seven will arrive by 2018. It will become a “people-minded brand” under the heading “be different, feel good”. Citroën will offer a “fair pricing” and a “hassle-free relationship” with the brand."

"Finally, the DS brand will offer “French avant garde luxury” and five new models will be rolled out globally as part of the “continued brand construction”. Like Peugeot, DS management is looking to reduce the pricing gap with established premium auto brands."

All shamelessly copied from an article on Autocar from last year:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/indu ... oen-and-ds

On a different page on Autocar, there's an article on the Citroen one-tonne pick-up


https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new- ... pick-truck

[white exec]

...a scalpel and ruler job, that one...

[elma]

Bed size vs payload = joke pickup.
Shame, that'd be good with ground clearance and leaf springs.

[myglaren]

Looks like a minced Cactus.

[elma]

It's either that or a Chrysler hearse (pt cruiser)

[GiveMeABreak]

Why not just go back to what was good?

On another matter - just heard that James Dyson is going to bring out an Electric Car in 2020 - he's bought an old place in Wiltshire and is busy poaching about 400 techs.

All I can say, is if it's anything like our self-righting Dyson Big Ball....

[elma]

Why not just go back to what was good?

Because Citroen ....

Are you saying the Dyson ball is good or bad?
Everything Dyson I've handled has been made poorly and really unimpressed me after hearing the hype.
The airblades being my most hated example.
They seem good but they are awkward to install and need wiping down every 5-10 uses or they spill onto the floor and scum up all the channels.

I'm expecting the car to be laughable.
The colours probably will be to, would you like grey and yellow or grey and purple?
For £2.5k extra you can have a clear panel as well!

[GiveMeABreak]

I want to see some character, James, some uniqueness (not for the bad things) and a certain je ne sais quoi, but something out of the mould - be different again. Hell, if they are using DS Automobiles for the luxury segment (can't think why up to this point) and Peugeot for the mainstream - that leaves plenty of room for some ingenuity from the Citroen quarter - and I would not want to see it full of cheap shared duplicated rubbish from the Japs and the Italians or the flaming General Motors camp either.

Re the Dyson James: We got ours for free after our previous 'Animal's' motor fried a few weeks ago - was within the 5 years warranty by 4 months - beyond economic repair, so got a brand new later model. They are brilliant if you have animals - more suction than 747 jet engine.

[bobins]

Why not just go back to what was good?

That's actually an interesting point. If Citroen were to offer something like those DSs now, would they actually sell in suficient numbers to make them commercially viable ? How many cars does a large company want to sell to make them viable ? I'm not trying to be negative - I'd actually love to see Citroen put out something a bit different to the current faceless euroblobs that various manufacturers spew out.
Is it possible for a mass production car company to put out low to mid volume models and still return sufficient profit ? Can you imagine them doing a radical new design to release to the public every few years