Confession #57: You can laugh at Peugeot-Citroen's US plans until they actually return

Citroen DS5 (Photo: Citroen)

Please forgive those of us on the Internet for getting giddy over the phrases "PSA" and "US re-entry" in the same headline. Seeing the things French automakers are putting on the auto show stands in Europe and China these days makes us American car fans envious.

After these latest quotes from brand exec Yves Bonnefort pushing PSA's DS premium line of Citroens, there's a glimmer of hope we may finally get French cars in the US sometime next decade. Or maybe it's just another false start to trick the auto scribes and bolster the pessimists.

Whatever the reality, importing a line of upscale DS cars doesn't sound totally out of the realm of possibility in this age of premium brands for the masses.

Confession #30: It's hard to know when to say goodbye

It must be the withdrawals.

I was flipping through this month's Automobile Magazine, stopping at Ezra Dyer's column as usual. He spoke of a friend with a car making a horrible noise and trying to persuade that friend to ditch it for a new car. It's a decision that hangs over everyone with a car: At what time do the repairs outweigh the cost of a car payment? When do you have to throw in the towel and say goodbye?

Maybe Dyer's column struck a slightly stronger chord with me because his friend had a Saab 9-5 wagon. As I've mentioned all-too-often on this blog, I drive a Saab 900SE. I've been driving it for four years, for most of the 45,000 miles I've put on it. It's also my first car, one I got the day after my 17th birthday. There are some good memories.