Thursday 19 May 2011

Recalling Picasso

D'Oh!










Another BBC story today, and it's also a trailer for Watchdog. I'm surprised the rest of the motoring media hasn't picked up on this one because it is a howler - and a dangerous one at that.

The Citroen C3 Picasso......an attracive (if cubist) car, was, unsurprisingly for a Citroen, designed in France - where they drive on the right side of the road. That is right as in "left/right" not right as in "right/wrong" - after all, we all know that the left is the right side to drive on. (That sentence won't make a lot of sense if translated from English!)

Now to convert this car to drive on the left, you need to move the controls to be on the right and therein lay the problem.

I've experienced problems with French cars before - I think the pedal positioning of the RHD Peugeot 206s, for instance, is an accident waiting to happen.

But the C3 Picasso's problem is that, rather than move the whole brake mechanism, they put a bar running the width of the car where the pedals go. This means that someone stretching out in the passenger seat, can move the bar and apply the brakes.

This could lead to some serious rear-ending - leaving you with a face like this...










Apparently reluctantly, Citroen are recalling more than 20,000 cars.

Enough to make you weep...

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