My Daily Driver: Jure's 3 Citroens

Jure is a long-time Slovenian reader of this blog. He has three daily drivers:

- Citroen GS Pallas (1978)
- Citroen GS 1.3 Super (1979)
- Citroen CX 25 Prestige  (1985) 

1. How did you come to the decision of buying these cars?

My parents bought their first Citroen GS in 1972, and then another one in 1979. As a little kid, I thought they were fantastic cars! I remember many lovely family road trips across Europe. Every summer, we towed a camping caravan to the seaside and spent long summer vacations there. 

Being driven around in hydro-pneumatically suspended Citroens since my early childhood, I went down the same path when I got my driver's license. I bought my first Citroen GS in 1994. Two more GSes followed in 2001 and 2002. In 2013, I bought my oldest Citroen GS, made in 1971. I bought my Citroen CX Prestige in 2000. 

2. What has your ownership experience been like?

Fantastic! I found the Citroen GSes to be very reliable & durable. I have driven them all over Europe, from Arctic regions in the far north of Norway to the Mediterranean beaches. 

I don't use my CX for such long trips, the farthest I drove it was Vienna (300 km away). But I enjoy pleasant trips around my country with it. 

Driving these cars is very enjoyable, the ride is smooth & pleasant. They really shine on long road trips. These cars have given me no serious issues whatsoever, and I want to keep on driving them forever. 

3. What is your fondest memory with these cars?

My favourite aspect of owning old cars are the long family road trips around Europe. Some of our trips have been longer than 10,000 km. Doing such trips with an old car means a lot more interaction with local people, as they often approach and start talking and asking questions about the car. Also, I have been able to meet the owners of old Citroens in many countries in Europe and North America. 

If I had to single out one particular trip, it would be our trip in 2017, which took us from Slovenia to Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and then back to Austria & Slovenia. 

4. Why do you love cars?

As a kid & teenager, I wasn't into cars like most other kids. I have never dreamt of flashy fast cars. Then, when I started to drive, I got involved with the Citroen 2CV scene, and soon after also with old hydro-pneumatically suspended Citroens. The family connection (two GSes in the family) did help. A large part is probably nostalgia - beautiful childhood memories of family road trips & vacations. So I'm doing the same now, 40 years later, still with the same type of cars. I guess an important reason is also the fact that I haven't had any bad experiences or serious issues with my old Citroens, just pure joy. 

Here are some of Jure's road trip videos:

Driving the CX Prestige at home:

Jure's Instagram and Flickr.

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If you would like to participate, just answer the above four questions and submit one to three photos of your daily driver to milhousevanh at geemail. Thanks and have fun!