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The Citroën 2CV (French: “deux chevaux” i.e. “deux chevaux fiscaux”, literally “two tax horsepower”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1948-1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with extremely utilitarian and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering. It was designed to move the French peasantry on from horses and carts. It is considered one of Citroën's most iconic cars.
In 1953, 'Autocar' in a technical review of the car wrote of, "...the extraordinary ingenuity of this design, which is undoubtedly the most original since the Model T Ford." It was described by CAR magazine journalist and author LJK Setright as "the most intelligent application of minimalism ever to succeed as a car." It was designed for low cost, simplicity of use, versatility, reliability, and off-road driving. For this it had a light, easily serviceable engine, extremely soft long travel suspension (with adjustable ride height), high ground clearance, and for oversized loads a car-wide canvas sunroof (which until 1960 also covered the boot).
Popular French nicknames were "Deuche" and "Dedeuche". The Dutch were the first to call it "het lelijke eendje" ("the ugly duckling") or just "Eend" ("duck"), while the Flemish called it "de geit" ("the goat"). In German-speaking countries, it is called "Ente" ("duck"). English nicknames include "Tin Snail", "Dolly" and "Upside-down pram". In the former Yugoslavia, the car was called "spaček" (pronounced "spa-check", Slovene for "little freak"). In Spanish-speaking countries, they were nicknamed "dos caballos" (two horses), "citrola", "citruca", "la rana" (the frog) and derived from "Citroën" were called "citroneta" and "la cabra"(the goat). In Denmark, the car has many names like "Gyngehest" (Rocking horse) or "Studenter-Jaguar" (student's Jaguar) while amongst 2CV enthusiasts the cars are affectionately called "De kære små" (the dear small ones). In Finland, the 2CV is known as "Rättisitikka" (Finnish for "rag Citroën") because of its canvas roof. In Swedish (at least in the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland), it's called "Lingonplockare" (since the looks are similar to a device for picking lingonberries). In Tunisia, they call it "karkassa". Hungarians call it "Kacsa" (pronounced "kacha" and meaning "duck"). In Israel, it was called "פחנוע" (pronounced "pah-noa", meaning "tin car") and in Iceland it was named "Sítróen braggi" (meaning "Citroën Quonset hut"). In Norway, the name was "Jernseng", meaning "iron bed". In Iran, it is known as "Jian / Zhian ژیان", which means "Fierce". In the U.S., it was known as the "flying rag top". American cartoonist Gilbert Shelton referred to it as the "duh-shuh-vuh", referring to the French pronunciation of "2CV". In Ireland it was noticed as the underdog or íochtarán or it was either called bucket of rust or Buicéad na meirge. This was because most imported cars at the time that come to Ireland would've to wait at the pier or harbour for at least for 3–12 months and especially in Westport, County Mayo where it is well known for its constant rain as the 2cv was very prone to corrosion/ Outside France, the 2CV's most common nickname today is "The Duck", which seemed to be endorsed by Citroën which released a stuffed toy animal in the 1980s representing a duck with Citroën on its side and 2CV under its right foot.
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