never thought I would see one of these stateside.incredible find. It's amazing how versatile the 2cv chassis was. I always thought those wheels were cool and the suspension was interesting to say the least.
There's a twin to this car running around San Francisco from time to time. Not a bad car to restore really, you can buy all the body panels new and 2cv-related parts are *relatively* easy to come by.
they used to produce this citroens in my country for decades.mehary,pick up,two doors sahara&4doors.two cylenders engine(604cc)really is not fast nor powerfull but it is a nearly perfect city car&gas mileage is close to 65 mpg(4.5L/100KM)as long as you keep changing oil they will last forever as most of those are still on road after afew decades.it never fillips over just the way the suspention system is.but most people in USA do not like french cars so they do not even care about all those cool facts about this car.
WHY MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE FRENCH CARS IN USA?I HAVE BEEN TO MORE THAN 40 COUNTRIES&USA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT YOU RARELY SEE A FRENCH MADE CAR.SOME SUPER POPULAR CARS IN OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE PEUGEOT 504(PETROL OR DIESEL)THAT YOU SEE AFEW IN PDX(BUT IN MOST STATES YOU DO NOT EVEN SEE ONE)AND SOME PEOPLE SAY SOME BAD STUFF ABOUT THEM&ALMOST ALL OF THEM NEVER HAD ANY FRENCH CARS.MY GUESS IS FRENCH CAR MAKERS PROBABLY COULD NOT DEVELOPE A DECENT EMISSION SYSTEM FOR THEIR CARS(PETROL MODELS)&THAT IS WHY THEY DID NOT LAST VERY LONG IN USA.BUT IN SOME PLACES LIKE S.AFRICA(WHERE I GREW UP)AFTER 30 OR 40 YEARS YOU CAN STILL SEE ALOT OF PEUGEOTS ON THE ROAD&WHEN I SAY AFRICA THAT CONTINENT IS KILLING CARS FASTER THAN THE BITE OF KING COBRA(HARSH WEATHER,NO ROADS,DIRT ROADS,LOW QUALITY FUEL)EVEN SUPER TOUGH CARS LIKE 70'S TOYOTAS&DATSUNS ALL DIED BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE PEUGEOT504S(ALMOST 90% OF THOSE ARE STILL IN USE EVERY DAY)NOT TO MENTION I HAVE COME ACROSS QUIET AFEW 504S WITH OVER 1 MILLION KM ON CLOCK.
YES. PLACE SPECIAL COMMENT OLD CAR FRENCH. GOOD CAR. SOMETIMES IN MY COUNTIRES THEY CALL THESE OLD CARS THE "SPECAIL BOX STEPPER" BECAUSE OF BOX LIKE SHAPE. MAYBE YOU HEARD? SOMETIMES VERY STRONG, EVEN DIRT IN GASOLINE NOT KEEP THIS CAR FROM RUNNING. ALSO SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THESE CARS IN "RISTRETTO" STYLE, NOT ESPRESSO, BUT SIMILAR, BUT CAR. BUT MY FAVORITE LONG LASTING CAR IS VOLVO RUNS FOREVER.
actually,that comment about french cars&how they survived in africa&why they don't last very long in states is very interesting.peugeot is the king of light weight diesel vehicle(been making diesel cars since 1927)not to mention peugeot/citroen has been making diesel motors for FORD since 1998(according to FORD's web over 5 million engines so far)and in march2012 peugeot had signed a contract with GM to make diesels for them&why they do not last long in usa is a million dollar question?504&505 diesels with over 500k miles is not unheard of.in reality peugeot has no interest in returning to north america for afew reasons:1-shiping cars to here is not cheap.2-peugeot is already making it'smoney out of us market(making all those motors).3- they are doing too well in other countries.not to mention car market in usa is kind of wierd,some super reliable cars in other places you see non or very afew here&some cars that no one wants them in other countries are among the best selling cars here.
Never had a problem cornering or staying in/ on a Mehari and driving them through Africa, never seen one melt, even during searing Namibian & Botswana summers. I have seen them droop over time when left unwashed and unkempt for decades, but then what car wouldn't?
My father bought one of this to my mother when we live in Paraguay. With it me and my brothers learn to drive on the late 70's Great little car, lots of fun going with it at High School. And virtually unbreakable. Of course, it was simple, easy and cheap to drive, slow and by today standards, probably not very safe. But we love it.
In reference to the previous comment about why there are not too many French cars in the USA, the reason is the same as to why there are not many old import cars in the US at all. Due to the size of the country and the vast interstate system, most older imported cars simply could not survive the long sustained high speed driving that is common in this country. About the only imported car that could was the Volkswagen, which was specifically designed for it. Then the French automakers pulled out (Peugeot was the last to go in 1991 IIRC) right about the time they had cars that could stand up to the use, but they had a bad name in the states by then.
"...why there are not too many French cars in the USA..."
This comment applies to many USA imports. It also requires a parts and service network. Only a collector will wait months on a replacement part. A dd needs infrastructure and a manufacturer willing to invest.
The city where I grew up, in the 1960s, had one import car dealer. It looked like a halfway house for the scrap yard. Lots of British sports cars waiting on parts and repairs. Some VWs and misc. It required stamina to own an import back then. FIAT was fix it again Tony. Detroit has lost a lot of ground in 2013! (We'll see how Fiat does in the 21st century.).
!!!! How did you find this? This must one of lik 5 of these in the U.S. I know some people who would kill for a chance to own a car as rare as this (I have must have weird friends)
The car great! The idea of cruising down the beach, top down, in a classic Mehari sounds pretty awesome. I'd take a Renault Rodeo 4 over this though.
Best of OPC. 
25 comments:
YEAH!!
never thought I would see one of these stateside.incredible find. It's amazing how versatile the 2cv chassis was. I always thought those wheels were cool and the suspension was interesting to say the least.
What the...
Ah the suspension of the 2cv made all the more perilous by the open cockpit. How'd you like to go around a corner in one of these at (any) speed?
They're great in sand, sold here in I think 1970 only. They melted quick in California. That's right, melt, not rust.
i am starting to think that you bring cars out of museums and just photograph them in random parking spaces.
Amazing find. Not something I'd feel comfortable driving in traffic, but very rare stateside.
This is a real local car. I've saw it out at Portland International Raceway once.....not racing though!
North American models have a front very specific with their round headlights. Those sold in Europe had square headlights
You show offs...
body always rust free ! :-)
Sebastien
First a Marina, then a Magnette, now a Mehari?! Man, what rare as hell vehicle whose name starts with M are you going to find next? LOL
Mangusta Please!
There's a twin to this car running around San Francisco from time to time. Not a bad car to restore really, you can buy all the body panels new and 2cv-related parts are *relatively* easy to come by.
they used to produce this citroens in my country for decades.mehary,pick up,two doors sahara&4doors.two cylenders engine(604cc)really is not fast nor powerfull but it is a nearly perfect city car&gas mileage is close to 65 mpg(4.5L/100KM)as long as you keep changing oil they will last forever as most of those are still on road after afew decades.it never fillips over just the way the suspention system is.but most people in USA do not like french cars so they do not even care about all those cool facts about this car.
WHY MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE FRENCH CARS IN USA?I HAVE BEEN TO MORE THAN 40 COUNTRIES&USA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT YOU RARELY SEE A FRENCH MADE CAR.SOME SUPER POPULAR CARS IN OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE PEUGEOT 504(PETROL OR DIESEL)THAT YOU SEE AFEW IN PDX(BUT IN MOST STATES YOU DO NOT EVEN SEE ONE)AND SOME PEOPLE SAY SOME BAD STUFF ABOUT THEM&ALMOST ALL OF THEM NEVER HAD ANY FRENCH CARS.MY GUESS IS FRENCH CAR MAKERS PROBABLY COULD NOT DEVELOPE A DECENT EMISSION SYSTEM FOR THEIR CARS(PETROL MODELS)&THAT IS WHY THEY DID NOT LAST VERY LONG IN USA.BUT IN SOME PLACES LIKE S.AFRICA(WHERE I GREW UP)AFTER 30 OR 40 YEARS YOU CAN STILL SEE ALOT OF PEUGEOTS ON THE ROAD&WHEN I SAY AFRICA THAT CONTINENT IS KILLING CARS FASTER THAN THE BITE OF KING COBRA(HARSH WEATHER,NO ROADS,DIRT ROADS,LOW QUALITY FUEL)EVEN SUPER TOUGH CARS LIKE 70'S TOYOTAS&DATSUNS ALL DIED BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE PEUGEOT504S(ALMOST 90% OF THOSE ARE STILL IN USE EVERY DAY)NOT TO MENTION I HAVE COME ACROSS QUIET AFEW 504S WITH OVER 1 MILLION KM ON CLOCK.
That last comment.....Jesus Christ.
YES. PLACE SPECIAL COMMENT OLD CAR FRENCH. GOOD CAR. SOMETIMES IN MY COUNTIRES THEY CALL THESE OLD CARS THE "SPECAIL BOX STEPPER" BECAUSE OF BOX LIKE SHAPE. MAYBE YOU HEARD? SOMETIMES VERY STRONG, EVEN DIRT IN GASOLINE NOT KEEP THIS CAR FROM RUNNING. ALSO SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THESE CARS IN "RISTRETTO" STYLE, NOT ESPRESSO, BUT SIMILAR, BUT CAR. BUT MY FAVORITE LONG LASTING CAR IS VOLVO RUNS FOREVER.
actually,that comment about french cars&how they survived in africa&why they don't last very long in states is very interesting.peugeot is the king of light weight diesel vehicle(been making diesel cars since 1927)not to mention peugeot/citroen has been making diesel motors for FORD since 1998(according to FORD's web over 5 million engines so far)and in march2012 peugeot had signed a contract with GM to make diesels for them&why they do not last long in usa is a million dollar question?504&505 diesels with over 500k miles is not unheard of.in reality peugeot has no interest in returning to north america for afew reasons:1-shiping cars to here is not cheap.2-peugeot is already making it'smoney out of us market(making all those motors).3- they are doing too well in other countries.not to mention car market in usa is kind of wierd,some super reliable cars in other places you see non or very afew here&some cars that no one wants them in other countries are among the best selling cars here.
Punctuation is your friend.
I honestly gave up trying to read some of these posts.
Louis de Funes movies "Dromedar"
Never had a problem cornering or staying in/ on a Mehari and driving them through Africa, never seen one melt, even during searing Namibian & Botswana summers. I have seen them droop over time when left unwashed and unkempt for decades, but then what car wouldn't?
My father bought one of this to my mother when we live in Paraguay. With it me and my brothers learn to drive on the late 70's
Great little car, lots of fun going with it at High School. And virtually unbreakable. Of course, it was simple, easy and cheap to drive, slow and by today standards, probably not very safe. But we love it.
In reference to the previous comment about why there are not too many French cars in the USA, the reason is the same as to why there are not many old import cars in the US at all. Due to the size of the country and the vast interstate system, most older imported cars simply could not survive the long sustained high speed driving that is common in this country. About the only imported car that could was the Volkswagen, which was specifically designed for it. Then the French automakers pulled out (Peugeot was the last to go in 1991 IIRC) right about the time they had cars that could stand up to the use, but they had a bad name in the states by then.
"...why there are not too many French cars in the USA..."
This comment applies to many USA imports.
It also requires a parts and service network.
Only a collector will wait months on a replacement part. A dd needs infrastructure and a manufacturer willing to invest.
The city where I grew up, in the 1960s, had one import car dealer. It looked like a halfway house for the scrap yard. Lots of British sports cars waiting on parts and repairs. Some VWs and misc. It required stamina to own an import back then. FIAT was fix it again Tony.
Detroit has lost a lot of ground in 2013! (We'll see how Fiat does in the 21st century.).
!!!!
How did you find this? This must one of lik 5 of these in the U.S. I know some people who would kill for a chance to own a car as rare as this (I have must have weird friends)
The car great! The idea of cruising down the beach, top down, in a classic Mehari sounds pretty awesome. I'd take a Renault Rodeo 4 over this though.
http://www.eurocarblog.com/post/3262/cars-for-the-beach-1969-renault-rodeo
good grief, look at the number of typos I made in that last comment
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