Rendezvous 2025 – Saratoga Springs, NY — Report

By George Dyke….

Having acquired Whimsy the 2CV artcar last year, I was thrilled this year to be able to display it at Rendezvous for the first time since the mid 90’s when Bill Stevenson, who owned it at the time, brought it to Deerfield, MA when the event was held at Northfield Mountain. Bill invited me to drive it in the 15 mile morning parade from Deerfield to Northfield Mountain. Bill trailered Whimsy there behind his VW Westfailia camper van — also painted as an artcar. Whimsy was the lead vehicle in parade while Bill brought up the rear of the Citroën procession in the VW.

Once again Whimsy led a parade at the beginning of Rendezvous activities on Friday afternoon, driving from the Hyatt Hotel in Malta to the Ice Cream Social held at the Kaleidescope Cafe on route 29 just east of Saratoga Springs.

View a full photo gallery of the Rendezvous weekend here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCikLs

Having only a 375 cc 12 hp motor, I trailered Whimsy from Toronto. Accompanying me in a convoy were; John and Tracy Meurs in their 2CV6, Jeff Teerlinck and his brother Bjorn (who was visiting from Belgium) with Jeff’s 1951 Traction 15-6 Cabriolet that he purchased from Louis Grenier in Montreal, and Arne Heayn and Sue Robuk. Arne once owned and Citroen D Break in Edmonton back in the ‘60s and he and Sue thought is would nice to see some Citroëns again.

We were all pleasantly surprised to be warmly greeted at the US border by Customs and on our way in just a couple of minutes.

Upon arrival and offloading Jeff’s 15-6 Traction cabriolet, the Bandy boys from Detroit noticed that the water pump belt was severely worn. Upon closer inspection, the water pump had seized!

As luck would have it, dripping some motor oil from the dipstick into the oiler hole of the pump managed to free the shaft somewhat, and a trip to a NAPA store 15 minutes away in the Ram pickup tow vehicle had Jeff and Bjorn return with a new belt and a grease gun to further lubricate the pump so it spun freely. Fitting the belt was a challenge as it was a tight fit getting it on the pulley even by loosening and rotating the pump all the way toward the engine block. After a good 15 minutes of frustration, the solution to mounting it was to put the belt on the water pump pulley and then get it on the engine pulley by putting the Traction in 1st gear and pushing the car so that engine turned and the belt fit into the grove of the rotating engine pulley. With that issue solved, we went into Malta for dinner — driving in style in the cabriolet.

Friday was the official start of Rendezvous and after giving some rides in Whimsy as well as in the 15-6 Cabrio in the morning, it was off to the Ice Cream Social to pick up registration packages, peruse the Rendezvous merchandise, and mingle for the balance of the afternoon.

I parked Whimsy right by the entrance off the highway, and that caused one lady who was driving by with friends to yell stop as she spotted it! She was fascinated with art on the car and the 2CV itself, so much so that I gave her a ride in it that she exclaimed it not only made her day — it was the best experience she had in a long while!

Then it was back to the Hyatt in Malta for the welcome pizza party and cannolis!

Partying ensued until we all retired for a good night’s sleep in preparation for the show field on Saturday.

A little dampness on Saturday morning did not deter folks. It was more of a mist than rain that soon dried out to be an overcast day — perfect for photographing the 80 or so cars that showed up at Lakeside Farms.

A myriad of parts, books and memorabilia were on offer at the vendor tent from; Brad Nauss Automotive, Erik DeWidt – Classic Motorcars International, FPS WEST – 2CV Parts, Trinity Citroën Repair & Restoration, and Citroënvie.

Erik DeWidt showed an extremely rare and fully restored 1959 Citroën AZU Pickup that he was selling for $35,000.

There were more than just Citroens on display; there was a first series Honda Insight hybrid (seemingly inspired in shape by the Citroën SM), 2 Panhards, the Peugeot Club of America made their annual appearance, a few Renaults, a rare Maserati Khamsin and for the second year in a row – a lovely 1953 Jaguar XK-120 coupe.

A fun-filled event for the kids that also motivated a few adults to participate was a scavenger hunt on Whimsy to pick out 19 different things in the artwork on the car. Winners got to blow the horn and experience it’s bouncy soft suspension.

Axel Kaliske und Ursula Walter drove all the way from Seattle in their 2CV and Axel delivered an informative tech session on 2CV carburetor maintenance.

A BBQ dinner at Lakeside Farms was served along with the results of the silent auction and the Rendezvous ticket raffle.

Bill Blaufuss reminded us that a welcoming video from Henri-Jacques Citroën (grandson of Andre Citroën) had been posted on the Rendezvous website, and Michael Cox offered a tribute to Mark Levenson who passed away in March.

Rendezvous Best in Show winners were also announced;

We also applauded the efforts made by the Rendezvous chauffeurs; Bill Blaufuss, Dave & Jamie Burnham, Jon Chomitz, Michaela Hellman and Tim Kinnel, who spent many long hours to organize the weekend event.

Those who stayed over Saturday night had a chance to meet once again on Sunday for a Farewell Breakfast at nearby Shenantaha Creek Park.

And one more thing…

There was an unofficial afternoon event at Shadow 66 in Ghent, NY, for those who were homeward bound in a generally southerly direction or didn’t mind a little detour. Patrick Jehanno, owner of Shadow 66 restaurant in Ghent, NY, (about an hour south of Saratoga Springs) and a massive Citroën fan, offered a buffet from 1 – 3pm.

It was a chance to sample some of Patrick’s delicious food, see his amazing collection of Citroënalia, and have a last bit of in-person camaraderie.