Well, after that run of more mainstream cars, I want to get back on the wagon of unusual rides. Since I’ve never been one to go less than full throttle in that direction (witness my choice in cars), I’ve found a Peugeot 604 to feature today. These cars have always kind of reminded me of a contemporary Mercedes in terms of their general proportions, and my experience with them is limited to spotting one on the street and saying “hey! that’s a Peugeot 604!”, causing general confusion and eye-rolling around me. I also looked at one once in a consignment lot in Santa Clara, when I was young, idealistic, and thought I could convert all my friends into liking weird cars (the score? one friend bought a Saab 900 turbo, and I changed to guiding my friends to the right cars for them).
Anyway, the story of the 604 is pretty interesting – this was the first large executive-level car they made since the 1930s, and even though it was not a great commercial success, they made money on every one since it was based on the 504. The ride also compared well to an XJ6, although the power certainly didn’t. Most relevant to our feature car, the Peugeot 604 TD was nearly the first turbodiesel production car, narrowly beaten out by the US-market Mercedes 300SD by a matter of months. Find our second-place example in Bakersfield, CA (north of Los Angeles) for $1750.
It kind of also has the proportions of a BMW Bavaria. The Germans, as well as the fuel crisis, had a lot to do with the weak sales of this model. Notice what appears to be a Peugeot 405 in the background, so the owner must be some level of fanatic. These cars look better in darker colors, but this one looks pretty clean, and the market is not that big.
Here’s a shot of where all the smoke comes out (unlike on some other cars, where the smoke comes out of the dashboard). If you’re feeling all green, you could probably do some kind of conversion on this. You might also be able to upgrade the turbo for some more power – no doubt someone else has already trodden that path. Shutlines, bumpers, etc. all look pretty straight from here, and if you’re lucky you even get glossy paint. Confirmation on that 405 is in the background.
Rear seat looks pretty good, although it’s shot at such an angle as to hide any sun damage to the top of the seat back. Combined with the absence of any shots of the front seats or dash, some questions remain. Seat belts look new.
Center console looks pretty good too – check out the cool 604 badge under the vent. Too bad there are no shots of the engine, but the seller does mention new glow plugs, hoses, belts, and brakes, and only mentions trouble with the speedometer/odometer functions.
The unfortunate thing about this car is the combination of diesel and automatic, although turbodiesel torque may make up for that. If you are worried about driving a low-power French diesel with an automatic, and you’re feeling stupidambitious, you can head down to Houston and pick up this engine from a 2008 Peugeot 407 2.2 HDI. Hey, they’re both Peugeot, so this shouldn’t be too hard, and with 170hp you’ll be scaring Priuses off the road with your speed, and making their owners cry with your fuel economy.
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March 23, 2010 at 11:54 pm |
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