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The Citroën BX is a large family car that was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1982 to 1994. In total, 2,315,739 BXs were built during its 12-year history.〔"Dates" (Paris: Automobiles Citroën Corporate Communications Division, 1999), p.76.〕 The hatchback was discontinued in 1993 with the arrival of the Xantia, but the estate continued for another year. == History == The Citroën BX was announced in June 1982, but its commercial life really only began in the Autumn of that year,〔 with a Paris presentation on 2 October 1982 under the Eiffel Tower. The BX was designed to replace the successful small family car Citroën GS/A that was launched in 1970, with a larger vehicle. The French advertising campaign used the slogan "J'aime, j'aime, j'aime" showing the car accompanied by music written specially by Julien Clerc. The British advertising campaign used the slogan "Loves Driving, Hates Garages", reflecting the effort of Citroën to promote the reduced maintenance costs of the BX, over the higher than average maintenance costs of the technologically advanced GS/GSA; while still performing in the Citroën style on the road. The angular hatchback was designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone, based on his unused design for the British 1977 Reliant FW11 concept and his 1979 Volvo Tundra concept car. It was the second car to benefit from the merger of Peugeot and Citroën in 1976, the first being the Citroën Visa launched in 1978. The BX shared its platform with the more conventional 405 that appeared in 1987. Among the features that set the car apart from the competition was the traditional Citroën hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension, extensive use of plastic body panels (bonnet, tailgate, bumpers), and front and rear disc brakes. The BX dispensed with the air cooled, flat four engine which powered the GS, and replaced it with the new PSA group XY, TU and XU series of petrol engines in 1,360 cc, 1,580 cc and, from 1984, 1,905 cc displacements. A 1,124 cc engine, very unusual in a car of this size, was also available in countries where car tax was a direct function of engine capacity, such as Italy, Portugal and Greece. The 1.1 and 1.4 models used, in the BX till 1988, the PSA X engine (known widely as the "Douvrin" or "Suitcase Engine") the product of an earlier Peugeot/Renault joint venture, and already fitted in the Peugeot 104 and Renault 14.〔 The 1.6 (and, from 1984, the 1.9) versions used the all-new XU-series engine later used in many Peugeots, and produced in a new engine plant at Trémery built for the purpose.〔 The XUD diesel engine version was launched in 1984. The diesel and turbo diesel models were to become the most successful variants, they were especially popular as estates and became the best selling diesel car in Britain. All petrol engines were badged as 11, 14, 16, 19—signifying engine size (in some countries, a weaker, version of the 1.6 L engine was badged as the BX15E instead of BX16). The 11TE model was seen by foreign motoring press as slow and uncomfortable. The 1.1 L engine with engine code H1A was specially tuned for Italy, Greece and Portugal. It was fitted to the cars made from 1988 to 1993 and produced 40 kW (55 hp DIN) at 5800 rpm. A year after the launch of the hatchback model, an estate version was made available. In the late 1980s, a four-wheel drive system and turbodiesel engines were introduced. In 1986 the MK2 BX was launched. The interior and dashboard was redesigned to be more conventional-looking than the original, which used Citroën's idiosyncratic "satellite" switchgear, and "bathroom scale" speedometer. These were replaced with more conventional stalks for light and wipers and analogue instruments. The earlier GT (and Sport) models already had a "normal" speedometer and tachometer. The exterior was also slightly updated, with new more rounded bumpers, flared wheelarches to accept wider tyres, new and improved mirrors and the front indicators replaced with larger clear ones which fitted flush with the headlights. The elderly Douvrin engine was replaced by the newer TU-series engine on the 1.4 litre models, although it continued to be installed in the tiny BX11 until 1992. 1988 saw the launch of the BX Turbo Diesel, which was praised by the motoring press. The BX diesel was already a strong seller, but the Turbo model brought new levels of refinement and performance to the diesel market, which brought an end to the common notion that diesel cars were slow and noisy. Diesel Car magazine said of the BX "We can think of no other car currently on sale in the UK that comes anywhere near approaching the BX Turbo's combination of performance, accommodation and economy". In 1989, the BX range had further minor revisions and specification improvements made to it, including smoked rear lamp units, new wheeltrims and interior fabrics. Winning many Towcar of the Year awards, the BX was renowned as a tow car (as was its larger sister, the CX), especially the diesel models, due to their power and economy combined with the self levelling suspension.〔''Diesel Car'', p. 96〕 The biggest problem of the BX was its variable build quality, compared to its competition. The last BX was made in 1994, by which time its successors had already been launched. It had been partially replaced by the smaller ZX in early 1991, but its key replacement was the slightly larger Xantia that went on sale on March 1993. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Citroën BX」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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