I really didn't know the difference between a sunroof and a moonroof - I only worked it out yesterday. So I thought I'd share it with you. I had always imagined that a sunroof and a moonroof were exactly the same thing, but now know the rather significant difference.

A sunroof is essentially a large glass panel in the roof of a car, which is almost always heavily tinted (so all the UV rays don't come into the car and sizzle the top of your head). The idea is that you can see through the glass and up to the wonders of blue skies. Sometimes however, it is simply too hot or too sunny for that kind of thing, so you can usually cover the sunroof from the inside with a retractable sheet of plastic or fabric which shields you from the light. Alternatively, if you're diggin' the sunshine, you can (usually electrically) make the sunroof glass slide up over the top of your roof, and let the golden rays of sun in. Hence, this is why it is called a "sunroof."

A moonroof is very similar, except for one important missing feature. With a moonroof, you can't allow the glass panel to slide away and let the sunshine in - it's a fixed panel. I suppose that's why it's called a "moonroof" - you can't let the golden rays of moonshine in, no matter how hard you try.

All this is illustrated with this picture below. On the left of the picture is a sunroof for the front passengers - it's letting the sun in. You can also see a plastic grab handle in the middle of the roof which allows you to cover over the glass (you might need to click the picture so you can see it in a larger format). To the right of the picture is a moonroof for the rear passengers, which has all the features of the sunroof, without the ability to let the sun completely "in", if you know what I mean.Another cool feature you might hear of is a "panoramic sunroof". I've included this picture of one in a Citroen C4. The thing that makes it "panoramic" is that unlike the sunroof and moonroof in the previous picture, a panoramic sunroof spans the entire roof length of the car. It's like one giant sunroof. Except for the fact that it really should be called a panoramic moonroof, because it's one huge big fixed glass panel, and cannot allow sunlight properly "in" - unhindered by tinted glass.Okay, there really isn't a huge difference between these things, but if you're going to splash out such a huge amount of money on a sunroof/moonroof (usually about $2000), I think you might want to make sure it has all the features you want.

LINGO: Sunroof vs. Moonroof

Yes, you heard right. Citroen are going to revive the iconic DS. Well, at least the name of it, anyway. Here's the plan - they're basically just going to take existing C3, C4 and C5 platforms, jazz them up, call them the Citroen DS3 DS4 and DS5, and sell them alongside their "C" couterparts at a price premium. That sounds like a marketing dodginess, but I'm actually quite excited, because the idea is that these new DS models will have the same values and focus as the original DS of the previous century.I have to explain to you all why I love the DS - it's probably my favourite car of all time. That's right, no Bugatti Veyrons or Ferrari Enzos for me, just a shiny DS. And yes, before you wonder, this was the graphic in the original magazine advertisement of 1955. But comparing the DS to a spaceship was, at the time, not all that bizarre. First of all, look at it! It's a work of art, and has even inspired art exhibition in its honour. Secondly, it was designed by an artist - Flaminio Bertoni, an Italian sculptor. Such is the appeal of it's artistically space-age looks, that the DS has been used in no fewer than 638 movies.But the main reason why the DS remain such a classic is because of its technologically advanced and futuristic features. For instance, in conventional cars, hydraulic systems were only used for brakes and power steering. The DS used hydraulics in the suspension, clutch, and transmission systems also. Its hydropneumatic suspension became the hallmark of Citroen, since the system could automatically level the car over potholes and road bumps, giving it legendary status as the car with the best ride quality ever made. In fact, the Citroen DS was compared to a magic carpet - I'm not joking. This is the car that cemented Citroen's reputation for impeccable ride quality. It could increase or decrease ground clearance depending on what kind of terrain you were travelling over. And the hydraulic clutch meant that this car could be driven as a clutchless manual - which is still all the rage among supercar makers 50 years later. It also had four-wheel independent suspension, which although doesn't sound like much to people like me, basically meant that it was infinitely lighter and more agile than any of its competitors.

It also featured many world firsts, such as disc brakes, which are now common on our modern road cars. Another first was swivelling headlights (right), which turned with the steering wheel to help you see around corners at night. Even now, so many years down the track, this is a luxury feature not present on the vast majority of vehicles. The roof was made of fiberglass to keep the centre of gravity down closer to the ground, therefore helping the handling of the car. And the interior looked like something designed by a martian, which was highly desirable to a world which at the time was ingrossed in the space race.
They made 1.5 million of these things, including 1365 convertibles like this one (right), and the DS has been sorely missed ever since. It wasn't exactly perfect - hydraulic fluid leaked from everywhere, and Citroen couldn't hire enough mechanics to fix all the broken cars. But a good DS is still a legend, and so it should be. After all, Citroen spent 18 years developing this car in secret before its 1955 launch. Here was a car that was truly, and in almost every single way, ahead of its time.

Which brings me back to this modern day DS revival. Does it sound like a sell out? Yeah, probably, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't give Citroen a chance. They've surprised us before, as the original DS points out. Citroen weren't really known for anything up until 1955 before they rocketed into exclusivity (and have since become progressively more mainstream and boring, until very recently). Heck, even the classic 2CV wasn't popular until after the DS took the world by storm.

I think for a long time, Citroen have had divided priorities. Citroen of old was reknown for wacky vehicles, futuristic designs, new technologies, and… poor reliability, but never mind, that part isn't important. Then for ages, we started to see a more and more mainstream Citroen. Boring, characterless designs that appealed to the masses. They may have sold better, but were never instant classics like the DS.

But the point is, these two ideas have never been reconciled. Instead, Citroen has been constantly struggling with itself, trying to juggle lunacy with common-sense, which doesn't work in any universe. Citroen is releasing a DS lineup so that they can make models that are truly “Citroen” as we want them to be - wacky and futuristic and all that. In this way, they can make their C1/2/3/4/5/6/8 models - I can count!!! - more mainstream, and hopefully satisfy both streams of buyers.

So I'm going to try and preempt the new technologies in these modern day DS cars... but I just can't think of anything that Mercedes or Rolls-Royce or posh makers like that haven't already done. So, if these new Citroen DS cars are going to swing with me, this is the one world-first feature they must all have.

They must be able to transform into a dancing robot.

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