1956 Citroen Traction Avant Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The Traction Avant was introduced in 1934 and was made until 1957. It had a unitized body, rack and pinion steering, front wheel drive,torsion bar suspension, wet sleeve fully re-buildible engine with overhead valves. By 1948 it along with the Ferrari were the first cars to be offered with radial tires. When compared to anything out there introduced at the time, there was nothing like it. The handling is like that of a modern car. The only thing is it's a bit underpowered by todays standards. It was a car that was preferred by the robbers and the police alike. The Nazis even preferred them to their German rear wheel drive vehicles for their off road capabilities when they occupied France. Driving the car is a pleasure with a vehicle that seems to ride on rails with the way it tracks. I do find it a bit funny when you pull into a filling station and you are pumping gas, the question usually comes up: "What's that?" I have found that pronouncing the name Cit- ro- en will cause a confused look on people's faces and you find yourself repeating the name three or four times before you say: " It's a French car" Then the person will look at you and say: Oh, I thought it was a Ford that you cut the running boards off of." Apr 16, 2008