J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

My photo
Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Citroën Traction Avant et Film Noir

I am going very euro after 4 days in The Netherlands. This is a bicycle nation, and I will certainly be writing about the local bikes on Autoliterate: the basic Dutch bicycle is a handsome, well-thought-out, and extraordinarily useful machine. We 3 are riding clunkers, however. BB's bike is in the repair shop today; H's bike has an appointment for Monday.
           The Autoliterate Dutch Bike Report & Photo Essay will wait another day. Meanwhile I have been watching a flock of low-slung Citroën Traction Avants tool around Wassenaar. If you enjoy French film noir, ca, c'est le char. I'm thinking Rififi (dir. Jules Dessin); aussi, Shoot the Piano Player (dir. Francois Truffault). This was the great French gangster car. I believe they started making 'em in 1937, and production continued into the 1950s.







Posted by autoliterate at 4:59 AM

1 comment:

  1. GuitarSlingerAugust 23, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    Definitely one of the three automotive Icons ( maybe four ) that came out of Citroen when they were at the height of their powers

    1) 2CV
    2) Traction Avant
    3) Original DS

    with the SM as special mention/possible #4

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