The search for a very good GSA Break

I received a phone call from a Dutchman who wanted "a very good GS break" and would appreciate my help to find one. He did not have many indications about color, options..but wanted "quality, lunulle or five speeds. "Happily he did not want the last two in the same car

I started searching in April, asking Citroen relations, scanning adds, receiving pictures. In the process, I had important experiences, including --Visiting a "perfect unrusted car" with funny brown holes every where (owner said he did not repair" because it was good to let water out") --Teasing myself with "artistic" pictures, David Hamilton's style, showing a poorly repainted car

And , one day, an old lady on the phone told me they were ready to sell their First hand, light metallic blue GSA Bk. She asked her daughter to take picturess and send them "thanks to l'ordinateur" I had a wing, a wheel, an engine, a seat on the pictures. Nice uncomplete jigsaw puzzle to play with. and it was attractive, unrusted reassuring. I asked for other pics: impossible, daughter was away So I asked for the nearest train station: None

So I arrived there next day in an empty local bus, dicussing during 30 km with the lonely driver, who could not understand why I was coming in this lost place to buy a car Car was nice but dirty,good maintenance as said during phone calls, complete Citroen History These nice old people just forget to tell one wing was deeply scratched and battery very frail. So i bought a battery and delivered the blue baby the next morning, 800 km latter

Just after the purchase.	The dashboard looks brand new	The original papers where still with the car	The new owner of the car

These 800 km allowed me to feel this lovely animal: It is strange to see how they could mix then very poor quality with great engineering Fragile door locks, hard flimsy dashboard, original petrol smell , poor carpets, noisy creaky controls...The list would be never-ending, as everywhere you put your eyes, something seems ready to break or tear. In the same time this lovely cars provides great confort, nice average speed, silence, space, fuel economy thanks to a very citroennesque way of thinking Engine ,suspension, brakes, clever rear compartment with modular loading area...everything thing is well organised to take "l'Autoroute du soleil" to reach Marseille during the night, take the boat and spend the holidays on corsican roads

But you have to live with a dash which demonstrates what could go wrong between industrial design and industrial production...It is just unbelievably badly made and ugly...And funny

Eric ANTONI-GAUTIER