In every age, there are those who enjoy that which is different. Folks who astray from the usual, either due to fondness for the uncommon or a quest for new solutions or experiences.
Today’s series of vintage images featuring a ’64-’65 Citroën DS wagon seems to be such a case. From the looks of things, someone wanted to taste something quite different from your garden-variety Ford and found it in this nicely loaded Citroën DS. Then, piled on miles and miles across the US over the years, leaving a short but nice record of its journeys.
So, how about checking out America as seen by this DS wagon between 1965 to 1969?
A few caveats before we begin our journey. First, the images in this post came from more than one source. If there was an original upload for the whole lot, it’s gone or I never managed to trace it. Some deductions might be wrong on my part as I patched these together (with added help from a related post on a Citroën DS forum). So do feel free to add your own conclusions, or additional info in the comments section.
Now that we’re ready for the trip, we should perhaps start at the owner’s place. Or as the French say, chez lui. Here he’s in a shot dating from 1966, with the rather new DS posing on the snow alongside an older Ford wagon.
- A couple of additional shots from the same date capture the DS putting its renowned hydropneumatic suspension to work. Excitement is evident in these: “Look fellas, this is no ordinary Ford!”
And where could home be? Folks at the DS forum figured the wagon was at the owner’s workplace in this image…
Which they have traced to this period ad from Brainerd, Minnesota. Could the DS belong to Mr. Rosenberg himself?
Enough speculation. Let’s get on with some traveling and check out what this Citroën wagon can do.
La belle voiture had actually found itself crisscrossing a great deal of the continent as early as 1965. Here it is, still sans official plates.
And if I read my Google Lens right, the DS has reached Colorado in this image.
Early on the DS’ travels, Mr. Owner seems to have shown to be a crafty fella. What looks like a nicely made homemade cargo carrier appears invariably on the DS’ roof rack in the 1965 shots.
And here’s the wagon again in Colorado, at the Wolf Creek Pass on the Continental Divide.
Here is another shot from 1965, with the DS reaching New Mexico.
Summer 1966 was another one of exploration, and the DS got a new cargo carrier. And who (and where) could the family be visiting on this shot? Relatives perhaps?
That 1966 trip reached the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. And if I may say, the DS’ futuristic shape seems so fitting in this otherworldly location.
In this image dated to 1969, the DS reaches Covey’s Little America in Wyoming. Here, the couple is traveling light, as the wagon is only using its factory rack.
And if you must know, Covey’s Little America has appeared in a previous vintage postcard gallery here at CC.
That 1969 trip extended to California, where the wagon took a ferry boat to Balboa Island.
And once again, visiting family/friends on that 1969 trip. Perhaps the right way to close a long trip?
So that does it for this brief tour across America in the past, all courtesy of this Citroën DS. We may never quite know the wagon’s whole story, nor that of its family, but for me, it’s been a pleasant voyage. And for that, I’ll say Mercy Beaucoup!
“Merci (without y) beaucoup” !
I was saddened to see that the pictures with the Rosenbergs themselves didn’t show them wrapped in furs. But good to see a French car bust the myth of enduring unreliability and provide years of faithful service across about 2/3rds of the country.
I’ll also declare that I’ve been to every location identified here but there was never a Citroen to be seen at the time I was there. Perhaps I blinked and missed it.