MORE BEANS THAN CAR
When we decided to start our business, we already knew the vehicle we wanted for our excursions into the countryside. It’s light, rugged, reliable, and economical on gas, affordable, French/Vietnamese, and “more beans than car”. Perfect! No other automobile in the world can boast being able to carry its own weight in load! In fact, the Citroen La Dalat weighs in at 570 kg with a full tank of gas. That’s just about 10 jute bags full of cacao beans (each bag weighs about 60 kilos).
Citroen La Dalat
La Dalat is the first car ever to be produced in Vietnam. They were constructed from 1969 to 1975 by Société Automobile d’Extrême-Orient, a subsidiary of Citroen present in Indochina since 1936.
Less than 5000 were produced during this war torn period. They were assembled from a Citroen 2cv platform, and received the same engine as the larger Dyane 6 or plastic-bodied Mehari. The history of Citroen is peppered with clever technologically advanced vehicles built for the most demanding climates and terrains. The La Dalat is one of them, and we’d love to eventually have one be part of our history.
