Citroen XM Forum

russ92xmsed wrote:One of the reasons why we are getting larger wheels on new cars is down to the physical size of new cars.

Gosh yes, it came home to me this afternoon washing the Activa just how mighty moderns are. So yes, it was me who made it rain...

Neighbour has a newish Poxhall Septum or whatever the wretched thing is called. The big Poxhall, the successor or to the Reptra I guess.

Long story short, I splashed it with the hose whilst washing mine and as his was spotless and knowing how our hard water leaves white lime-spots I leathered it off for him. The huge bulk of the thing then became very apparent and made both the Activa and XM seem very tiny.

I find the Fraud Mundaneo and Fracas appear to be incredibly bulky cars. The former seems a very lardy old thing.

Jan-hendrik wrote: I am still quite happy with the way Bertone designed the XM.

Quite agree Jan. Bertone did a grand job Both the design of the XM and Xantia have stood the test of time well and are rapidly becoming timeless. I can't see any of the products of today being so. I fear that in a very few years they'll look dreadfully dated and dowdy.

russ92xmsed wrote:consequently caused them to become fussy and over detailed.

That Russ, is one of my biggest gripes against modern car design. And I thought it was simply because the designers were completely bereft of ideas and skill. Now I know why and it all makes sense Doesn't make the end result look any better in my eyes though...

Jan-hendrik wrote:

vive la difference wrote:Hi Everybody
Seeing as we are talking alternative wheels on am XM !!
Available now!!
Brian

Thank you, but no thank you. I am still quite happy with the way Bertone designed the XM. I haven't really seen anything that improved on his studio's work. Being it different wheel sizes, body kits, double-triple headlights, lowered suspension or spoilers. But this is just my personal opinion. Do not be deterred by this and do what you wish in your search for something better or more exciting

Absolutely Jan. They got it right the first time!

There are some cracking XMs out there though that have been modified...

Dean's Prestige and Darren's V6 24V "T LAF" are two of my favourite XMs...

Notice though that they're not radical modifications but subtle mods that work very well...

CitroJim wrote:

russ92xmsed wrote:One of the reasons why we are getting larger wheels on new cars is down to the physical size of new cars.

Gosh yes, it came home to me this afternoon washing the Activa just how mighty moderns are. So yes, it was me who made it rain...

Neighbour has a newish Poxhall Septum or whatever the wretched thing is called. The big Poxhall, the successor or to the Reptra I guess.

Long story short, I splashed it with the hose whilst washing mine and as his was spotless and knowing how our hard water leaves white lime-spots I leathered it off for him. The huge bulk of the thing then became very apparent and made both the Activa and XM seem very tiny.

I find the Fraud Mundaneo and Fracas appear to be incredibly bulky cars. The former seems a very lardy old thing.

Jan-hendrik wrote: I am still quite happy with the way Bertone designed the XM.

Quite agree Jan. Bertone did a grand job Both the design of the XM and Xantia have stood the test of time well and are rapidly becoming timeless. I can't see any of the products of today being so. I fear that in a very few years they'll look dreadfully dated and dowdy.

russ92xmsed wrote:consequently caused them to become fussy and over detailed.

That Russ, is one of my biggest gripes against modern car design. And I thought it was simply because the designers were completely bereft of ideas and skill. Now I know why and it all makes sense Doesn't make the end result look any better in my eyes though...

So it was you who ruined my sill plans today! JIM!!!!

There is a new Focus parked outside in the street at the mo. it is huge. Compare it to the XM, it is nearly as long, and as wide if not more so.
It is a challenge to make cars look good now, most are quite difficult to like.... and to be honest, I think the current C5 is a rare example that has pulled it off extremely well. Very nice car.
There are many well known reasons for the cars getting bigger, safety, technology, blah blah blah....but I think what is now happening is these things are starting to get smaller and more compact. Miniaturisation is starting to benefit. So hopefully will get smaller, lighter and more delicate cars to look at. But there is one BIG factor for larger cars....larger people. We're all fatties!!!


Quite agree Franklin, having said you can't improve on the original design. If you do modify, keep it subtle.

russ92xmsed wrote: So it was you who ruined my sill plans today! JIM!!!!

Sorry Russ I have no cleaning plans for tomorrow so hopefully the weather should be a bit better. The BBC says it will be and as they were absolutely dead right about today perhaps they will be about tomorrow...

What are you doing with your sills?

Lets hope so...today has been a complete washout.

My sills are being treated inside for rust. It's all in my blog....I need to pull back the carpet and get right into the front drivers side sill. It seems solid at the mo, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it will need sorting out properly at some point.

So it is a job of trying to stop it in its tracks.

That's a job I plan to do on all my cars this summer Russ...

robert_e_smart wrote:They are 18s Franklin. I look forward to seeing them on a XM.

Not got Photoshop on this laptop so just used a free online editor - just a quick job...

Gosh Franklin, I'm not using those wheels! They make the calipers move to the opposite sides of the discs

Seeing Neil sign up on here made me think what some Dotz Hanzo alloys would look like on a Black XM...



Once again just a quick job, wheel at the back is a touch too big, but you get the idea...