The development of steam power was rife with patent trolling, even before Watt.

Oh, I get that. It's amazing how many people seem utterly unable to parallel park, or have any awareness of where the corners of their car are.

I've never found parallel parking a problem, having owned several large cars with shockingly bad visibility. However, I am still in awe of my mother-in-law, whom I have seen parallel park an F350 dually in one single, swift movement, into a space that I didn't even think that it would fit in.

Ha. I will admit to naming my late (and dearly missed) Xantia the Galactica. The entire experience of driving a Citroën is somewhat otherworldly – you still have a steering wheel, pedals, and a gear lever, but it's just not quite the same. I always likened it to piloting a spaceship.

Confusingly, the much later XM and Xantia models were styled by Bertone. Because nothing can ever be straightforward.

Looks like a Matra Murena to me. A slightly bonkers plastic-bodied, 3-seater, mid-engined French sports car. Yay!

There must have been something wrong with it - a DS (or other gas-suspended Citroen) in working condition has a fantastic ride. Sure, the suspension is soft, and there's plenty of body roll, but it shouldn't bounce or wallow. Same with lurching under braking - they actually drop the rear suspension slightly under…

Hydraulic brake actuation. (Which probably didn't work if the engine conked out.)

This. I've had several Citroëns, and the ride is just incomparable. Plus, there are other benefits, too. You don't need a jack to change a wheel – the tool kit on my Xantia instead came with a nifty collapsible axle stand. Simply set the suspension to full-high, put the axle stand underneath, lower the suspension, and…

I've always been rather taken by the 164. Its crisp styling sits well with me – like a sharply-tailored Italian suit, and that V6 is a thing of true beauty. I haven't been behind the wheel of one, but I gather that their road manners are excellent, and worthy of the Alfa name, despite being FWD. And for less than 4…

They built Citroëns in Iran, too - the SAIPA Xantia (a license-built Citroën Xantia) started to be built there just before it was discontinued in the rest of the world.

The Triumph straight-six (in carburettor form) had a similar priming handle on the engine-driven fuel pump, too. Handy.

They're usually placed so you can hit it with your thumb while still holding the wheel. Plus, with the gorgeously skinny spokes used on steering wheels of the era, there'd be no room for buttons!

Yes! I started work on a barn-find 1956 MGA Roadster this summer, and I've never felt in better shape! Plus, the satisfaction of the first start, and having it move under its own power for the first time in 30+ years, has made me feel happier than I have in a long time.

In Citroën's defense, the bizarre dash layout on the CX was apparently the result of ergonomic studies, and is supposed to be very easy to use once you figure out where everything is (I've never driven one, so I can't vouch for that). Self-cancelling indicators bother me anyway.

That seems to be the modus operandi of TTAC these days. Lots of political scaremongering, and less and less actual automotive journalism. It's fairly obvious that Bertel Schmitt and his folks have an agenda and are pretty shameless about pushing it.

Kind of like a better-looking Pontiac Aztek.

The French, and Peugeot especially, are masters at making FWD cars handle - think 205GTI, 405 Mi16, Citroën Xantia Activa etc. I, for one, am highly jealous.

The Rover's a bit of an oddball – they look infinitely better in European form, with faired-in headlamps and sensible bumpers. It's funny what you say about the Rover, though – that was very much their image until the SD1 came along: mild-mannered and sophisticated. The SD1, especially in its sporty forms, was…

Even better, because the SD1 has a proper hatch. The luggage area in that thing is ENORMOUS.