When I first obtained a driver’s licence I was living in Brisbane Australia. A close school friend of mine, David, obtained his at more or less the same time. We both had an unhealthy interest in French cars which were regarded as a bit exotic in Australia at the time. We hoped that some of this aura would rub off onto the owners but soon found out that this was not the case.
Anyway, at the ripe old age of 17, we both finished up owning Peugeot 403 estates - mine being an absolute lemon with terminal clutch judder, a misfire at certain throttle openings and more putty than metal in the bodywork. I could write a book about that car and the 35 or so I’ve owned since then.
One weekend for reasons that still mystify me, we decided to drive to Sydney, down the Pacific Highway then back up the New England Highway, a total distance of around 1,900km. For reasons that are even more mysterious we decided to take my car. As my front seats had more or less collapsed, we swapped David’s seats for mine and left mine on the footpath outside my parents’ house.
To cut a long story short, we and the Peugeot made it there and back in more or less one piece and rewarded the Peugeot with a coat of bright yellow paint on her dashboard. No I don’t know why either. Some time later, I bumped into the previous owner who informed me that he had rolled the car and then passed it onto the dealer from whom I purchased her, assuming that it was a write-off. For reasons that complety baffle me, David’s father bought her off of me for the same price I paid for her, knowing the full history and fully aware of her condition. I recall that she lasted another few years.
David and I have kept in touch for the past 50 years, meeting every two or so years. We were due to meet him and his wife again in France in May this year but of course that isn’t going to happen.
Sometimes we do things when we were younger that completely baffle us when we get older, done it myself, now I’m trying to picture a Yellow dashboard 
, its nice you have kept in touch with your friend over the decades, hopefully this virus will run its course soon, and we can all try to slowly get back to some sort of normality, and you can catch up with your friend.
PS, I have a liking for French cars myself, and own a Peugeot as well as my 5.
Boz
My first car was this 1977 Datsun 100A F11, bought in 1984 shortly after I got my first job. Spent a lot of time battling the rust as was the norm for Jap cars of that age then…
Four of us went out in it for a bar meal just before Christmas 1985 & we were aiming to go to the George at Castleton. However, as we’d done the same the previous year without any problems we hadn’t bothered to book - but when we arrived we found that all the pubs in the village were packed so we decided to try The Rambler at Edale.
That meant a drive up the very steep Winnats Pass… Four-up, in a 988cc, 53bhp car with an engine which used to celebrate reaching the bottom of every hill with a celebratory screen of blue smoke from the exhaust.
When we were about half way up it became apparent that the car wasn’t going much further at all in 2nd gear, so I had to change down to 1st. Approaching the summit the car simply became slower & slower, I was on the point of having to stop & ask the passengers to get out so that I could drive up the rest of the hill but thankfully we made it at the heady speed of 5mph as we crested the hill.
My MX-5 flies up there of course!
My other French cars were;
Renault 10 - that was a good’un but had a propensity for flat tyres (Michelin X)
Renault 8 Gordini 1255cc - yes, I do wish I still had that one!
Citroen ID19 - another lemon but memorable
Peugeot 504 - great car, did many miles in that one
All had character which is rare these days
Yes I remember the old Datsuns well, an alternative to the likes of the Morris Marina, and Austin All Aggro, they actually made some nice cars for the time, particularly the 240Z which is a classic now, they also looked good and came with a lot of standard goodies, compared to some of the basic Brit offerings.
Renault also made a 5 Gordini turbo as far as I can remember, wouldnt mind one of those now , I started with a standard Renault 5 , and went on to own an assortment of French cars, including an XM estate, which was space age inside and great for a young family and a joy to drive, but had a 2.0 Turbo petrol engine and guzzled the fuel which is why I got rid of it , got stuck in the sand on a french beach once , only managed to get it out just before tide came in, by taking all the camping stuff and got some locals to help to rock it out of the sand, my sons still remind me of that one! so then bought a diesel Picasso, several French cars later and family now grown and gone, we now have a 208 1.6 Diesel GT line, so far so good.