

Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter featuring the very latest from Petrolicious. Don’t be left out—join the ranks of those who Drive Tastefully.
Already a member? Log in
We're glad you're back.
Not a member yet? Sign up
We'll get you back on track.
When I was eight years old and living in Paris, Citroën 2CVs were all over the place. Even then in 1978, they stuck out from the crowd as a strange object from the past. They didn’t look like they belonged. At my school, the kids played a stupid game called “Green Deux Chevaux”. The rules were simple: whoever spotted a green 2CV and yelled “Green Deux Chevaux” first would earn the right to punch the other kids. As a result, I hated the 2CV, but now I find them quite charming and cute. Their antique-like aesthetics have now become their appeal for me. Plus, I really enjoyed driving our fellow Petrolista Dana’s 2CV.
What about you? What car did you dislike as a kid but have come to appreciate?
Photo Sources: Low Tech Magazine, Flickr
Shame on me…
I used to hate the Jaguar E Type…
my dad had a small collection 1:24 die cast cars… One of those was a British Racing Green E Type Coupe..
hated that one…thought it was ugly…
SHAME ON ME!
now I think is one of the most gorgeous cars ever made, and i really love how it looks in British Racing Green!
(and i still got that 1:24, now in my personal collection)
Heh, so the green 2CV game was pan-European, then.
My parents had a white 2CV, and I wasn’t impressed at the time. Not a proper car. Now, of course, I realise that that was the point. A car so minimalist it became it’s own category.
Other cars I now appreciate but didn’t then aren’t so much a matter of personal maturation, as the car’s maturation. Mercedes are the textbook example of this phenomenon: they aren’t really attractive until they are at least twenty years old. And that’s always been the case. When the W124 was new, pontoons and fintails were just so much cooler. Now, I’d have a W124 over whatever is in the showrooms now. Maybe it’s to do with the kind of people who drive old versus new mercedes?
as a proud owner of a w124 cabriolet I must say you’re spot on…
I didn´t care much about the w124 when I was a teenager… now I find them appealing, even the station wagon!
It´s something about the timeless design, the way they were built back then, and the serenity and composure of the way they drive… great machines!
As you mature, your taste matures too! 🙂
Fiat 124 Spider. My parent’s used to have one that I learned how to drive stick on, but would rip on for being of Italian origin rather than German. They eventually sold it to a guy who was going to be using it for club racing. 10 years later, I kick myself for being such a wanker to my folks, and scour craigslist on a daily basis looking for a clean orange example just like the one my folks had.
My mum’s friend used to picked me up from school everyday at 5pm for 4 years in a citroen 2CV Charleston. My rear end still remembers that f…….g metal bar in the middle of the back seat. I hated it, she used to drive it like a manic, scared me to depth, I always though we would crash it. Still alive 27 years later, I have a soft spot for this car, probably nostalgia.
Every time I see one it puts a smile on my face! Although I did see a guy over taking me at 140 km/h in one of those. Being in there a that speed would just be my worst nightmare, forget about nostalgia!!!
My favorite (funny)footage of the 2CV:
Alas, no. Great website though. I sourced the photo here: http://www.boldride.com/ride/1981/Saab-900-Turbo-3d
As far as I remember I never “hated” any car! they were all engineering masterpieces to me.
but if you insist,I shall say Renault 5! I never fancied the old french rust boxes until I saw a 5 GT Turbo a couple of years ago and then I simply fell in love with the little carburetted turbo rocket.
110 was a sweet car, my grandparents used to have one in pea-green. I also drove S125 for some time as as a second car, before it completely disintegrated after being driven, slid, jumped through fields always on a full throttle. It was fun, but thank god its gone. That car with its rear engine, narrow tires and soft dampers doesnt handle anywhere near safe, and the light front doesnt help on braking either. On the other hand, the engine is not very powerful, so it its a safe fun.