Any one herd of a Citroen CX Pallas 2500D?

[Diesel911]

I was reading Chilton's Guide to Diesel Cars and Trucks published in 1983 and they mentioned a car; the Citroen CX Pallas 2500D was being sold here in the US. Any Citroen car is a rare site out here in southren Calif. I wanted to know if anyone has actually seen or herd of the diesel version?
I don't know what a Mercedes sold for back in 83 but the book said they were asking $18,000 for the Citroen. Seems like too much to me.

Wiki shows

2.5 L (2500 cc) diesel I4 75 bhp (56 kW)
2.5 L (2500 cc) diesel I4 with turbocharger 95 bhp (71 kW)
2.5 L (2500 cc) diesel I4 with turbocharger and intercooler 120 bhp (89 kW)

"Car & Driver" magazine (U.S.) March 1987





Just look at that belt routing....I sure wouldn't want to own one.

[300DFarmer]

My '83 300d has the orig. sticker in the glove compartment. It was just over 30,000 new.

[rs899]

Yeah- I almost bought one about 10 years ago.

They were futuristic cars- way ahead of their time like Cits were back then.

The one I was looking at was in primo shape, but needed an engine rebuild. The owner had been totally anal about the car and put in a remote oil filter ( the OEM one was a PITA, I guess) .Somehow one of the lines got loose and it dumped all its oil. It ran , but there was bearing noise. The owner wanted to keep it ( he was a gearhead) but he was too sick to fix it (he must have had a bad heart- he had a hellacious scar down the middle of his chest). I chickened out at the time, and it probably was a good decision. But the car was a beauty- all leather and spaceship-like form. The CX, like the DS that I have now has active hydralic suspension much like the rear end on our beloved TDs.

The CX Diesels of the time got in the high 30s in mpg with a five speed.

Rick

[lutzTD]

to this day I have never seen a Citroen I would own... futuristic maybe, but never my future

[rs899]

well ,they're certainly not practical as drivers anymore- not even in France. But they are interesting .....

[Mark DiSilvestro]

There's usually a good assorment of Citroens at the Carlisle PA import show every year. A few years ago someone brought a CX diesel.
The CX was Citroen's replacement for the mid-'70s DS - a revolutionary series of cars that dated beck to the mid '50s.
The CX was a more modern, but more rational design, and less overly-complex than the DS, It could possibly have been a Citroen more suitable for the US-market, but by 1976, Citroen had already withdrawn from the US after a dissagreement with DOT over federal bumper and headlight regulations.
Though there may have been plans to resume US imports, and Citroen may have continued sales in Canada, so far as I know, no Citroens were officially sold in the US after 1975.

By 1983, the cheapest diesel Mercedes, the 240D, was around $23,000. And at that price, the right-hand mirrors were still optional!


Happy Motoring, Mark

[JimmyL]

The coolness factor of the Citroen is simply off the charts!! But there are just too many things to go horribly wrong, and expensive is only part of the issue.
Still, easily one of the coolest cars ever made in my whacked-out opinion.....

[OldPokey]

If you think the Wagon's hydraulic suspension system is scary, that thing's hydraulic system is a nightmare. The Citroen hydraulic system runs the power steering and brakes as well as the suspension. There are no springs - it's all done with spheres (similar to the Benz version BTW) and no master cylinder. If your engine dies you HAVE to pull over before you loose so much hydraulic pressure that the brakes quit working. In this case having a working safety brake is mandatory.

[F18]

I owned a 1971 Citroen DS21 Pallas for a number of years...used it as a daily driver. Was the most comfortable ride I have ever experienced! But if anything went wrong with the Hydroneumatic Suspension System it was a "plumbers nightmare"!! High pressure steel tubing running everywhere....

A friend had the Diesel CX and it was as comfortable as the DS21. You could take a set of railroad tracks at 60mph and never spill your coffee.
The suspension systems were unbelievable.
He rigged up some early form of a Amsoil remote oil filter system on it and ended up with a runaway diesel and bent piston rods.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by F18

I owned a 1971 Citroen DS21 Pallas for a number of years...used it as a daily driver. Was the most comfortable ride I have ever experienced! But if anything went wrong with the Hydroneumatic Suspension System it was a "plumbers nightmare"!! High pressure steel tubing running everywhere....

A friend had the Diesel CX and it was as comfortable as the DS21. You could take a set of railroad tracks at 60mph and never spill your coffee.
The suspension systems were unbelievable.
He rigged up some early form of a Amsoil remote oil filter system on it and ended up with a runaway diesel and bent piston rods.

Back in 1980, the Alexandria VA Goodwill store used to take donated cars. One day I spotted a Citroen parked there. It was a slightly beat-up white 1971 DS21, with the most gorgeous black leather interior. They wanted $250 for the car, but it was already a handfull keeping my '61 Ponton 180 and my '71 Audi Super-90 wagon on the road, and at least parts were still availible for those. I decided it would be insane to buy a car that complex, with no dealer/parts support. I also thought about getting the Citroen just for those leather seats so I could make living-room furniture out of them, but I didn't have the heart to gut that car, so I passed.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[jkoebel]

Buy a Citroen and put an OM616 into it?

[2.5Turbo]

Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

By 1983, the cheapest diesel Mercedes, the 240D, was around $23,000. And at that price, the right-hand mirrors were still optional!

That's pretty amazing considering today's cheapest MB is only about $10,000 more with today's money. Just goes to show you get what you pay for.

Using a simple inflation calculator I found, that 240D today would cost almost as much as a brand new E320 CDI!

[jkoebel]

Which makes sense, given that a 240D was an E-class, and so is the E320 :p

[Diesel911]

Thanks for all of the interesting info.