Here's an image that those of you following my Twitter feed might have got a glimpse of when I posted it on there four months ago in May 2012. Up on the hill above Lyon lies the neighbouring commune of Sainte-Foy-Lès-Lyon, and this is the French town's obligatory Renault garage. I was passing here one evening (that's my Queen Geanine on the roadside) and not expecting to witness what was on show in the window: this cosy couple of classics, an R4 and a Citroën 2CV side by side and taking pride of place to passers by. This could have been a scene anywhere in France between 1961 and the early 1990s when the R4's production was ceased. To see such a sight of two old classics actually for sale (although both already sporting 'sold' notices) twenty years later is simply astounding. I do often state to people that French society seems to be about thirty years behind the rest of the world but hey, let's not get into that....

I noted a rally plate in the windscreen featuring, amongst other images, the R4 Super-Torpédo of a nearby resident I know, Pascal Bouvier, whose own classics can be seen in People's Pics entry number PP286. A few enquiries in his direction revealed a bit more information (English translation below):

'La 2 cv est une (fausse) Charleston. La GTL appartenait à un client du garage; elle a été repeinte (bleu ozone, il me semble) et je leur ai donné un volant pour remplacer celui d'origine qui avait été mangé par un chien. Elles appartiennent au personnel du garage et je pense qu'ils ont mis les panneaux "VENDU" pour être tranquilles! La plaque de rallye que tu as vue est celle du club des amateurs de véhicules anciens de Ste-Foy.'

English: 'The 2CV is a (fake) Charleston. The GTL belonged to a customer of the garage; she had it repainted (blue ozone, it seems to me) and I gave her a steering wheel to replace the original which had been chewed by a dog. They belong to staff at the garage and I think that they put the 'SOLD' boards on for a bit of peace! The rally plate that you saw is that of the amateur classic vehicle club of Ste-Foy.'

Renault France were themselves impressed enough to reply to my tweet stating 'Elle a l'air comme neuve cette belle 4L'.