When all this were fields...

[chaseracer]

Spiny Norman's earlier comment in another place got me thinking...

 

Anyone else remember visiting France in the 1970s and most of the cars being white/beige/grey and battered?

[DSdriver]

They still are around Calais.

[Junkman]

In Paris all cars were the same colour, a matte brownish grey, dotted with pigeon shit.

[scruff]

Still are in teh_ruralz. Especially down south.

 

For those going rose-tinted about the forum, check this out...

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20060815000000*/http://autoshite.com

 

 

 

[dave21478]

It wasnt even all that long ago when cars here were all interesting. I have been here 8 years now and I remember when I first arrived, people still rolled in old renny 5s, pug 205's Visas etc. Round here all the farmers rolled renny 4s and the richer ones were moving onto c15s. Cars were in all colours, most had panel damage somewhere, and a rich person in a luxury car would be in a 405 or maybe a safrane.

 

Now though, its just a monochrome sea of blobs I cant identify anymore. Swept back teardrop shaped headlights and 17 inch or larger alloys.

 

Yes, there is still the odd older (ie '90s) thing running about, but its rare and getting rarer. Quite often driving round town I play the car colour game with my nephew (since its pretty much impossible to tell a 308 from a Megane from a C3 until you are close enough to read the badge) and its a very rare thing indeed to see a car that is not black, white, silver or some metallic grey inbetween. - points go to whoever spots a car that is an actual colour.

 

I assume people are buying them on finance? The local village is full of inbred hillbilly farmer types that think nothing of using a bit of bale twine to hold their trousers up, yet they all have cars less than three years old!

[richardmorris]

It depends on the area of France really - poorer rural areas still have BXs etc driving around, but in the towns and cities people like their C3s. French scrappage scam (sic) got rid of a lot.

[mercrocker]

Its just about the same everywhere now I suppose.   I rarely travel these days except around the UK coast, but Canada, France and Holland were all places where a road trip was well rewarded with indigenous chod.   I spent some school holidays in Rotterdam with my Grandparents in the late 60s - scores of stone grey DAF Daffodils and 750s, loads of Trabants for some reason, Taunuses (Tauni) and Opels that we never saw in Britain.   Quite frankly it was bloody fantastic, school trips to France were equally well rewarded....Stuff the Roman Empire we were much more interested in Gaston's AMI6 (again, stone grey and battered) or the dolly bird in the headscarf who tooted at us from her Floride.   Even when I first visited my parents in Canada in 1982 it was possible to hire flaky Dodge Aspens and Impalas from Rent-a-Wreck and I remember the old man getting a 74 Fury Wagon as a courtesy car.   You used to be able to tell instantly where you were if you woke up on the TEE or a Berliet schoolbus just by clocking the first car you could see.   Yep, its all crap these days - an endless grim boulevard of un-bought cack.