FOREST Citroen fan Michael Tennant of Littledean can vouch for the reliability of the Light 15, first produced in 1924 – he has just been to the Arctic Circle and back in one.
The distinctive motor, dubbed "the Maigret car" in the 1960s after a successful TV series about the famous fictional Paris cop created by Georges Simenon, gets a warm welcome wherever it goes, says Michael.
"In fact I do a lot of trips with the Citroen Club, and this time six cars went. I was going to go with my girlfriend on this one but unfortunately she was on holiday in Scotland so I drove alone.
"It was a good trip – a total of 3,282 miles there and back. The car has somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 miles on the clock now."
He bought it 38 years ago while 'Inspector Maigret' – played by British actor the late Rupert Davies – was driving around Paris in a Light 15 and lighting his famous pipe by scratching matches on walls in the unsavoury districts of Paris.
Michael has made long trips before including a 2,809 mile tour of France and trips to many European countries.
"We went on this particular one because someone in the club had a son out there, so off we went," he said. "I'm retired, so my time's my own now."
Interestingly enough his car was made in England. Citroen had a plant in Slough which made the Light 15, one of its more successful models.
They were produced from 1924 until the early 1960s.
Michael's destination was the Polar Circle Centre in Norway – nearest town Kilboghamn – which is closed for most of the year because of weather conditions.