The 2CV belongs to a short list of vehicles introduced in the middle of the 20th century that remained relevant and competitive for many decades, such as the Jeep, Land Rover Series, Fiat 500, Mini and Volkswagen In 1934 family-owned Michelin, as the largest creditor, took over the bankrupt Citroën company. As far back as 1922, when they first conducted market research, they had been interested in expanding the market for economy cars (and tyres) in France, in the same way that the Ford Model T had done in the US.[5] The new president of Citroën, Pierre Michelin, had even gone as far as to build a scale model of what he had in mind at Michelin before the takeover of Citroën.[5] Citroën had stopped producing the economy cars that established the company after the First World War by the mid-1920s, when they moved to using Budd-type pressed steel bodies.[5] Michelin believed that decision was a contributor to the later bankruptcy.[5] The new management ordered a fresh and detailed market research survey that was conducted by Jacques Duclos.[5] At that time, France had a very large rural population which could not yet afford automobiles. The results of the survey were used by Citroën to prepare a design brief for a low-priced, rugged "umbrella on four wheels" that would enable four small farmers / peasants to drive 50 kg (110 lb) of farm goods to market at 50 km/h (31 mph),[12] in clogs and across muddy unpaved roads if necessary. The car would use no more than 3 L of gasoline to travel 100 km (78 mpg). Most famous, was the design brief requirement be able to drive across a ploughed field while carrying eggs, that the envisaged smallholder customer would be taking to market, without breaking them. (from wiki) thanks voor viewing and comments zoom recommended