Column Shifts . . .
Column shifts came out in the thirties, and were regarded as more modern than floor shifts. Because most cars were front-engine and rear wheel drive, a floor shift was usually more precise as the column shift had a longer linkage. This gave column shifts a bad reputation, although some could be quite good. For cars with bench front seats the column shifts allowed a center passenger to have greater comfort.
American cars usually had three speed transmissions, but European cars commonly had four speeds. On a column shift they generally used an “H” pattern with first up and toward the driver, second straight down, third up and toward the windshield, and fourth down from that. Some lengthier column shifts appeared on the Tatra 603 and the Lancia Flaminia sedan. Both those cars use rear mounted transaxles so the linkage goes from the column to shift rods in the central tunnel and all the way to the rear of the car. There were also some five-speed column shifts: Citroen introduced one in ’71 for the D series cars as an upgrade from the standard four speed. Because the mechanical layout of the D puts the transaxle at the front of the car, with the engine behind it, it made sense to use a column shift for all models because the rod and cable for the linkage can run beside the engine and down to the transaxle. I grew up driving the four-speed models and can vouch that the column linkage works just fine, better in fact than some floor linkages.
The DS was also available with a semi-automatic column shift known as BVH (Boite Vitesse Hydraulique) or Citromatic. With this, the shift lever exits through the top of the steering column rather than the side as with the manual gearbox, and it also actuates the starter to ensure the car is started in neutral. The lever is not connected to the gearbox, but to a block of hydraulic control valves. There is no clutch pedal, as this too is operated by high-pressure hydraulics via a belt driven centrifugal regulator. There is also a hydraulic slave cylinder on the carburetor connected to the front brakes to control a two-speed idle function. The gearbox itself is basically identical to the manual version aside from using a group of hydraulic slave cylinders to move the shift forks in and out of gear.
Citromatic is cool to drive because it’s almost as easy as an automatic, but gives nearly the control of a manual. It will not shift for itself, but there is almost no effort since the engine driven central hydraulic system provides 2000 -2400 psi of pressure at all times. The car will creep like an automatic in first or reverse when the brake pedal is released and the carburetor goes to high speed idle because the clutch gradually engages depending on engine speed. To shift gears, one simply lifts up on the accelerator like a manual trans and moves the lever to the desired gear. Instantly the system connects the clutch slave to high pressure, thus disengaging the clutch, dumps the pressure from the gear you’re in back to the fluid return system, connects the slave cylinder of the desired gear to high pressure, and then disconnects the clutch cylinder from high pressure. Voila!, you’ve changed gear and can reapply the accelerator. It all happens faster than a normal manual shift. It was even used on Citroen’s rally cars from the late ‘50s through the ‘70s. Some rally drivers preferred the manual, but others were quicker with Citromatic as it shifted faster and allowed left foot braking due to the automatic clutch. A few years ago some car makers came out with modern versions of this system using electronic control, including Ferrari and BMW. It really makes sense, but quite frankly I like the original concept without any electronics to crap out – there is a ’72 DS21 here in LA with around 500,000 miles on it and it still shifts fine. Unfortunately Citroen abandoned it in ’75 in favor of torque converter automatics, which undoubtedly are cheaper if IMO less pleasant to drive and generally less reliable. Here’s a link to an owner running through the gears on his DS23. He starts out in first, then goes through second and third to fourth, downshifts to third and then back to fourth, all using just fingertips on the lever:
