the french manufacturer citroen purchased italy’s maserati in 1968 hoping to incorporate the legendary maserati’s gran turismo V6 engine with its legendary citroen suspension. the result was the flagship citroen SM, a hopeful follow-up to the sought after DS and a contender to the jaguar and the aston of the time. the french car provided a combination of comfort, sharp handling, and high performance not available in any other car at the time not to mention the the shortest stopping distance of any car tested until then. now who would have expected that of the french? however with all its accolades the SM flopped, possibly due to to the fact that it was french, and possibly due to its less than elegant tail. the french have always been shy about bragging (although they usually have the goods to back it), something the americans, italians and the brits thrive upon. unfortunately now the italians are bankrupt, with thanks to berlusconi and the french have sarkozy working on bankrupting them. citroen on the other hand will remain as proof of french genius. by dd