Citroen XM Forum

There was a lot of very nice cars there, a lot of very shiny cars, its kind of like looking for the drop in the ocean.

I had a guy come over and was having a good look, asked if it was mine then said " I don't like French sh1t, I'm a jap car guy personally but sometimes you look at a car and know they just got it right, and this is one of those, its lovely".

It got a lot of respect from all sorts of people and I think getting the cars out to these more open shows a good thing to help build the image of the XM in the eyes of the general public, rather than hide them away at club meets, It can only help survival rates of xm's and remove misconceptions.

D

I found similar at Brodsworth last year. The curiosity value was worth the entrance fee itself. Mine was the only one of those funny cars that go up and down. A lot of comments about not seeing one for ages, what happens when the suspension breaks, where's the engine - I thought they were all big engined automatics etc etc. I found that people were just fascinated by the car and wanted to ask questions.

It's very interesting, the XM really does attract the attention of all sorts of people, especially kids. Only the other day whilst cleaning the C5 a family walked past the XM and the young lad elbowed his dad and said look at that! I get neighbours asking about it. Never fails to attract attention.
I agree with the Japanese car guy, it's a very successful, clean and well balanced design. It's strange enough to look different, but it's conventional enough to look special and not too extreme.

They will always be a curiosity. Part of the enjoyment of owning one.

Photos made it onto facebook though and your xm has made some chat

Looking increadably shiny too Dean..

I've not seen any photos anywhere of the show yet but I'm not on Facebook.

D

Dean wrote:...and I think getting the cars out to these more open shows a good thing to help build the image of the XM in the eyes of the general public... It can only help survival rates of XMs and remove misconceptions.

Dean, I think you're bang on with this. Citroen folk don't need (by and large) any convincing of the merits and uniqueness of the XM, but the public at large - and many other car enthusiasts - just have no idea even what the car is, and many couldn't even identify it as a Citroen from a distance!

A bit of public exposure is a good idea, and this is a good time to do it. Perhaps we should try to stage a gathering in a very public location (as opposed to a rally field, as Dean says) with a dozen cars, turn a few heads, and get a bit of media coverage. I won't suggest Malaga....there are far handier locations!

Dean wrote:I've not seen any photos anywhere of the show yet but I'm not on Facebook.

D

Ive just scrolled through fb for half an hour now and i cant bloody find it..

Most comments were about your hadlamp conversion D ...

Here we are .. Found it.. It made it to Fb autoshite page..



Looking rather shiny dean..

White Exec wrote:

Dean wrote:...and I think getting the cars out to these more open shows a good thing to help build the image of the XM in the eyes of the general public... It can only help survival rates of XMs and remove misconceptions.

. . . but the public at large - and many other car enthusiasts - just have no idea even what the car is, and many couldn't even identify it as a Citroen from a distance!

Last year, at Brodsworth, I was parked almost opposite a 1970's Roller. Make no bones about it the car was in immaculate condition with all the accessories laid out. Like most people I went over to have a look and got talking to the owner. He'd had the car over 20 years and taken his time getting his weekend car into this condition. We then mooched over to mine and I explained what I had done to my XM and what was left to do. He was impressed by the colour and the interior and asked all sorts of questions. Then he said look at them round his car. I said he should be proud of the attention it was getting. He said the only reason it's getting a look in is because it is a Rolls Royce, otherwise they wouldn't be interested. Ironically he said they're ten a penny, you can buy a decent RR for not much more than yours, but the difference is everyone knows what a RR is but yours brings back memories from when someone in the street had one - that car with the funny suspension.

He said he couldn't remember seeing an XM at any meeting he'd been to in recent years. He'd seen plenty of 2CV's, the odd GS and DS but never a XM. Food for thought.

Indeed.
In the 14 years this show has been on i saw 1 DS last year and the odd 2cv and H van, Its about time we got the cars out there.

D