Seattle Citroën
1961
UPDATED
1/2024
DS CONVERTIBLES. It looks like it was in late-1961 when Citroën introduced the factory convertible to the USA. Scouring newspapers of the era revealed an article stating that the very first DS convertible in the USA was air-freighted at the last minute to California in November of 1960 and shown in the San Francisco and Los Angeles auto shows that were showcasing the new 1961 models.
These early convertibles in the USA had the same front end lighting that other North American DS sedans had; sealed beam headlights and Lucas front turn signals.
For the rear lighting, USA convertibles had Lucas tail lights like Euro convertibles, but American convertibles did not get the boomerang turn signals on the rear deck. Instead, one of the Lucas tail lamps on each side was a dual filament unit that incorporated the turn signal function.
LA Mirror, Nov 1960
Sportscardigest.com
USA Specification DS19 Convertible without boomerang turn signals
Boomerang turn signal on rear deck of a Euro convertible
WAGON REAR LICENSE PLATE HOLDER. According to the parts book, USA wagons received the characteristic folding license plate holder on the lower rear tailgate in 1961. This holder uses the ubiquitous Lucas license plate lights. The folding license plate holder was used on American wagons until Citroën stopped importing cars into the USA in 1972.
Chris Dubuque
Bringatrailer.com
Folding license plate holder on USA wagons from 1961
Non-folding rear license plate treatment on all Euro wagons and USA/Canadinan wagons for one year only; 1960
Mark Krahn
We think Canadian wagons received the folding license plate holder at the same time that USA cars did. Note that Canadian license plates are almost exactly the same size as USA cars.