Not in any store: David Allen stands through the
convertible top of a 1956 Citroen 2CV
at his Buford business. Allen, of Buford,
says he is the only broker of the French-made
Citroen in the United States - and possibly the world.

Only Allen can get you a Citroen

By Angela Church
TheTimes

BUFORD - The only broker in this country, and possibly the world, for the French Citroen, touted as "the ugly little car that everybody loves," is just down the road in Buford. David Allen, "Citroen Enthousiaste," has been involved in matching buyers and sellers "kind of like a dating service" for five years, he says. "Most people in Buford refer to me as the guy with the funny French cars, " Allen says.

Those funny cars - not available through dealers in the United States since 1975 - don't seem to be very popular in this part of Georgia, he says. He has delivered only one vehicle locally. That was to a Buford man last year, he says.

Elsewhere in the country, however, the popularity of the 2CV "Deux Chevaux" - which Citroen stopped producing last year after more than 40 years of production brings more than 100 clients a year to the Buford business. the clients are often among the country's rich and famous.

Last fall, Allen received a phone call from musician Billy Joel. Joel was trying to find a 1967 2CV for his wife, model Christie Brinkley, as a Christmas Present. After a long search, Allen located a Burgundy and black charieston model in Europe. lt was delivered to the couple's Long Island, N.Y., home three days before Christmas, he says.
"l bought a Deux Chevaux for Christie, who lived in Paris for a number of years," Joel said in a phone call Friday en route to Australia, where he and his wife will be vacationing this month. "l knew she still had a great fondness for things French and the Deux Chevaux screams France. As for me, I think the car is homely, and yet somehow appealing. "

Dealing with the elite is not new to Allen, though, he says. Allen recently located a pair of matching 2CV4s for Ronald Lauder, chief executive of Estee-Lauder Corp. in New York. Lauder wants one car to be delivered to New York and one in France, Allen says.

An Atlanta native, Allen has been in the Buford area for 15 years. He and wife, Cathy, live in Forsyth County. He came into this unique business as a Citroen owner who loved his car, he says.
"Other people started asking me where they could get a car," he said. "It grew and mushroomed into what is now a full-time preoccupation. "
While the 2CV is the most popular car of the Citroën line (Allen owns nine himself) few Americans are familiar with it, he says. The James Bond movie, " for your eyes only" stimulated some new interest when it featured a 2CV rolling over and over down a hill, Allen says. The car landed upright and was promptly driven away by Bond.

The car is simply designed. There are no radiators, thermostats, water pump, hoses, head gaskets, distributor, fuel injection, turbo anything, power anything or computer anything, Allen says. lt proves remarkably dependable, economical and requires very little maintenance, he adds.
"Form follows function. There's nothing much to go wrong. Because this is so, nothing much will go wrong, " he says.
The two-cylinder car also gets up to 55 miles a gallon, which has increased its appeal during the increasing fuel prices and general concern over a recession, he says.

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