Ivan: "Along the side of my friend Carl Bartz, I participated at several auto shows. For those, I modified a few cars to show the advantage of the hydraulique suspension.

Note: The following pictures were taken during the Denver Auto Show of 1960 and 1961.

Left of the DS: Carl Bartz, auto salesman of various imported brands, to the right: Ivan Frank (Denver Auto Show of 1960)

I cut out one of those cars in order to show the interior of the car. An other was fitted with an electric hydraulic pump in addition to the normal one...
(Denver Auto show of 1961)

The advantage to the additional pump permitted to to demonstrate during the show the advantage of the hydraulic suspension without running the engine!

With the additional pump, one could raise and lower the car at will. It was easier then to explain and demonstrate the superiority of this hydraulic suspension.
The heart of the car alive, I could show the regulation of the suspension’s height by installing a heavy suitcase in and out the trunk.. Further more the comfort inside was better, the power steering functional, and to finish the car showed better than on its lower stops...
An advantage of the ID and DS was the location of the spare tire!
This was one of my strong selling point...
I did not hesitate to push the fact that the spare was located under the hood and the few tools necessary inside of it because of the hydraulic suspension.
But more importantly, the fact that it was not necessary to remove suitcases or empty the trunk to access the spare to change a flat during a trip. Idem for a Break, no need to remove the load to access the spare.

Note: On the back ground, we can notice a ID 19 Station Wagon “blanc carrare AC144>> of 1962. (Denver Auto Show of November,1961)

My mum also participated! She had handcrafted a Citroen banner. My girlfriends of time were wearing it during the shows making them the official Miss Citroen during the Show...

Ivan's mum taking the pose in front of a DS. The banner still exist. I could not resist to take a picture of Ivan with it!

Denver Auto Show, November 1960.

Ivan: "I also participated and won numerous Concourse contests

Concourse contests are different from a restoration contest. To win, your car must be as clean and pretty as possible. In this attempt, all engine parts usually are painted or chromed... Keeping the car in its original condition/color is not the goal here!

Note: The all the body parts of the car have been removed to show the undercarriage. On the black and white pictures it is hard to see but several parts have been painted in a golden color. It must shine!

To the right, the same operation with his cabriolet of 1964

Ivan: "To achieve the desire result and get some extra points, often the engine and its components were polished, chromed or painted....

To keep the original state or colors is not the goal!.

The artistic research involved, using a model wearing a dress in accordance to the car colors or interior could also bring some additional points.

In those pictures the model is wearing a dress in accordance to the interior color. The original fabric under the hood has also been replaced to match! A red tissue had been purchased to go along with the body colors. It had not been retained, but transformed into a advertising flag.

For this participation of his ID in 1966, Ivan obtained the 4^th position!

In the 1950's and 1960's, Citroen held the largest non domestic market share of cars sold in the USA.
Mercedes and Rolls Royce were also present but much more expensive. Jaguar was four times as expensive. Speaking of 4 doors sizable sedan, brand new Citroen prices were comparable to a Buick, but Citroen lost their value much faster!
However the Citroen did not look anything like an American car...
Apart from the maintenance and price, Ivan attributes the failure to sell many Citroens to: the wife of the Citroen owner. The wife or owner's girlfriend did not like to be looked at while she was riding in a such strange looking car. The car was robbing and shifting the attention from the passenger to the object itself.. Many cars got returned shortly after being purchased for this reason.

Citrowagon: I think the memory of Ivan is fading a little bit. I think other brand sold more than Citroen such as Wolskwagen with the “Beetle”.
However Ivan refutes this, his declaration made earlier refers to Sedan IE: 4 doors. The Beetle being a 2 door was in a different category.