Vintage French Cars to Hit the Streets of NYC for Bastille Day

This Sunday, you might see a fleet of tiny, brightly colored vintage cars zooming up Riverside Drive, coasting along Fifth Avenue, or cruising up Park with an entourage of mopeds in tow. These iconic Manhattan streets are part of “La Route” for the 2024 Bastille Day Rally and Rendevous hosted by the Greater New York Citroën and Velosolex Club. For the past 25 years, the gathering has brought together car enthusiasts, Francophiles, and crowds of curious onlookers. We spoke with one of the event organizers and other Citroën enthusiasts in New York and beyond to find out why people love these vintage vehicles, what’s in store for this year’s rally, and how you can get involved!

Citroën hit the automotive scene in France in 1919 with the Type A, the first mass-produced French car. More than 300 new models followed this debut vehicle over the next 105 years. Perhaps the most iconic Citroën, the adorably compact 2 CV, came out in 1948. At the New York City rally, you’ll see a variety of models including many 2 CVs and the sleek Citroën DS which debuted in 1955 after 10 years in development.

During the design phase for the 2 CV in the 1930s, Citroën Director Paul Boulanger tasked the team with creating a Toute Petite Voiture, or Very Small Car. The result was the world’s first front wheel drive small hatchback. “The 2 CV was arguably the simplest car on the road,” says George Dyke, Editor of Citroënvie!. The economical car was tiny, efficient, affordable to fix, and meant to be attainable for everyday drivers. “You either like it or you don’t, but they’re very unique designs,” says Dyke, “They certainly stand out amongst the crowd.”

Citroën cars, including the 2 CV and DS, were officially sold in the United States from 1949 until 1975. The cars never sold particularly well here, so when new safety standards were released in the 1970s that Citroën didn’t meet, the company stopped American sales. Despite slow sales for new vehicles, over time, the quirky cars gained a passionate following of car lovers who appreciated the vehicles for their engineering, distinctive design, and nostalgia.

“Citroën was the only company that let the engineers go crazy,” Dyke says, “The way the cars drive and the ride is totally different than anything else on the road. If you drive any of them through town, you know you’ll get people stopping you at corners and asking what kind of car it is. Or they’ll kind of smile and look at it because of the style, or they can remember some experience they had in Europe where maybe they had an opportunity to drive around in one and see one, and now they’re seeing one here. It’s a very bonding and sentimental experience not only for people driving it but people seeing it as well.”

Howie Seligmann, the self-proclaimed #1 Citroën fan in the United States and founding member of the Greater New York Citroën/Velosolex Club, shares Dyke’s appreciation for the car’s inner workings, “Citroën brought progressive and new concepts to the automotive world in the 1900s, many of which are used today in virtually all modern cars such as; front-wheel drive, disk brakes, headlights that ‘turn’ in relation to the steering wheel position, and the first unibody/monocoque production sedan.”

“To be candid, many people see them as ‘weird’ or ‘odd’ (particularly the mechanic you might ask to work on one),” admits Tim Kinnel, an organizing Chauffeur of the annual Citroën Rendezvous in Saratoga Springs, “But Enthusiasts are true blue (white and red!).” The Citroën Rendezvous has been going on for more than 40 years and is the largest Citroën gathering in North America. It takes place annually on Father’s Day weekend.

The Greater New York Citroën/Velosolex Club started in 1999 with a group of Citroën enthusiasts who met on the internet and through mutual connections: Bill and Debra Newallo, Jorge and Carmen Tavares, the late Arnold Oshin, and Howie Seligmann and his wife Sue. Today, the core group has grown to include Steve Hassa, a Velosolex and Mobylete (moped) master technician, and Mitch Seligson, a certified automotive technician who “grew up” in a Citroën DS. Every year the club works with the French Institute Alliance Française, the NYPD, and the City of New York Parks & Recreation Department to make the Bastille Day rally a success.

You can see La Route of the Rally on the club’s website here. The cars and mopeds start in Riverside Park then drive south and cross over the 79th Street Transverse through Central Park. The parade cruises down Fifth Avenue past the French General Consulate and makes a stop at the FIAF Bastille Day Celebration on Madison Ave. Other notable sites along the route include Bryant Park, Columbus Circle, Grand Central Terminal, and Times Square. The rally ends with an after-party at the Brasserie Memere in Closter, New Jersey.

“The cars are French and the event is anchored around Bastille Day which puts a special spin on it,” Seligmann says, “Americans have a very romantic and imaginative view of France and all things French, and what we do is bring that fantasy directly to them, in front of them. They can touch it, sit in it, feel it, and take pictures of themselves next to it. We can’t bring the Eiffel Tower to New York City but we can bring a small part of France to New York City for a few hours once a year for people to be a part of it. As we say in French, ‘C’est magique!”

The best way to break into the Citroën community is to attend an event! “You meet all sorts of fascinating people that you wouldn’t bump into normally, and we’re all very friendly,” says Dyke. Citroënvie! is a great online resource for technical articles, service/repair documents, sales brochures, a Citroën Parts & Services Directory, and more.

“Our spirit was and will always be in friendship and a passion for French vehicles,” Seligmann says, “My hope is that our 2024 Rally celebration will bring more smiles as people see us driving around the city and that we are part of a movement that can help chip away at hate not only here, but in Paris and many places around the world.”

The FIAF Bastille Day celebration starts at 12pm on Sunday, July 14th. The celebration will stretch from 59th to 63rd Street in Manhattan and will include a Champagne Party, two film screenings, and more than 50 French and local vendor booths along with the gathering of Citroën cars.

Next, check out Vintage Cars Spill Out of a Crown Heights Garage and A Guide to NYC’s Little Paris