Someone talk me out of this....

[tdskip]

Nope - you got it right Dale!

 

[Silverghost]

How do you know it is French....by the OUTRAGEOUS accent of course! <apologies to Monty Python>

 

[Brosky]

They had a really swell steering wheel for that moment in time.

I think that you are right about the suspension moving, but I thought that was to help you change a tire.

I always thought that Inspector Clousseau should have had one of these. It would have been fitting to the role, but even Peter Sellers could only carry a joke so far.

 

[YankeeTR]

I'd sooner have a Bugatti...

 

[prb51]

Peeguats are unusual and I understand the attraction (kind of).
The only Frog cars that ever appealed to me were the pre war GP models. The newer models seem somewhat 'socialist' in nature....althougha Facel Vega ain't to bad.

 

[Aeroken]

My father had a 1967 Peugeot 404 when I was growing up (and a 403 before that). I remember the 404 being a really interesting car and I credit it with my love of non-mainstream automobiles. I remember the automatic transmission with the gear order reversed (PARK was all the way down) and the turn-signal stalk was on the right of the column and the headlight control on the left side. It also had a emergency crank starter that I successfully did exactly ONE time (and was sore for a couple days afterwards!)

For the most part it seemed pretty reliable and relatively low maintenance. The air filter was in an oil bath which rarely required attention and I believe the driveshaft was bathed in oil (never remember replacing u-joints). The odd wheels with no center hole were a pain, Sears dreaded us coming in for tires or balancing because they wouldn't fit on their machines.

Unfortunately the lack of parts availability (and this was in the early 80's when Peugeot was still here!) made it very difficult for my non-car-guy father to keep it going. It was a sad day when it left (I'm glad I was off at college when it got hauled away!). I very briefly considered looking for one when I was looking for a project a few years ago, but quickly came to my senses and bought British again /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif.

 

[70herald]

The 403 was COOL. The 404 was cool. Much after that, not so cool. In New Haven, CT, I believe the children of several dealer employees were able to attend good colleges thanks to the money my sister spent for service there on her 505.... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

Peugeot and all of the French care companies have significantly improved their quality control in recent years. At this point, they at least on par with the better American cars. They also have been on quite a roll of turning out very stylish vehicles (which aren't weird for a change!) Some models like the new Peugeot 407 or the almost the entire Citroen lineup are really sharp. They even have taken the little minivan concept very and really come up with some nice solutions for vehicles which can handle 7 on an occasional basis. Despite exchange rates which currently make Japanese vehicle a much better deal here, the French are holding their own very nicely.

 

[Brosky]

But will they stand up to the salt used on American roads in the winter? That was a major downfall of the French cars in the past.

BTW, I loved my two Renault R-10's. Great engine and 4-speed. They went anywhere in the snow with skinny Michelin X tires because of rear engine, RWD and the fenders were cheap and easy to replace.

Back in western PA, we had our summer cars and we had our winter cars. 442's and GTO's went nowhere fast in two inches of snow, so these were the "winter units".

 

[Tinster]

You rich guys!! Winter cars/summer cars- indeed.

Back in western PA, MY crowd of pals, we
had our maypop summer tires** and our retreaded
winter snow tires for $10. a pair.

** Maypops were also fondly called our "racing slicks!"

Paul, I plumb forgot you were a "Bucket of Rocks" guy,
my bad! LOL

d

 

[Brosky]

Dale,

I was never rich. I just worked for a new car dealer and got decent cars cheap!

While you were busy basking in the Ligonier sun with cold Rolling Rocks, I was slaving away trying to make flat rate.

 

[70herald]

But will they stand up to the salt used on American roads in the winter? That was a major downfall of the French cars in the past.

No idea if they will hold up to salt. The 4 or 5 inches of snow we get each winter disappear in a few hours. I remember most American cars dissolving the huge quantities of salt which were dumped on Michigan's roads. Not that I am a huge defender of French cars, but the rusting away problem was hardly limited to the French.

 

[Brosky]

Very true indeed. But the American cars stayed in the market and the French cars are all gone because of the bad rap from the rust belt and their quality issues.

And again, the quality of American cars in the 70's was nothing to brag about either, but they did turn it around.

Waiting a long time for parts never helped either.

 

[RonMacPherson]

Did you ever do an alignment on a Citroen? Or a Renault?

I worked for Vittone's Econo Auto Center in the early 70's after I got back from Europe. We did some servicing on the Citroens and a few Renaults. The SM's weren't too bad a car, but an alignment on one of the smaller Citroen four doors(can't remember the model designation right now) was fun as all four wheels were tracking differently. The left front was ahead of the right front, the left rear was ahead of the right rear so trying to get a reading was LOTS of fun.

 

[DrEntropy]

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif

LeCar was an alignment nightmare too.

If I never touch another French car it'll be too soon. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

 

[NickMorgan]

How could you buy a car that begins with "Peew.."?

I think the French pronounce it PUR...geot. My first car was a Renault 12, which was a fantastic car. I subsequently bought a brand new Renault 5 (I think you had LeCar over there). It was the worst car I ever owned, although I did win the Moorfoot Trial with it in 1990. The tropy had Jim Clark's name on it - he won the trial in 1957, I think!
Sold the Renault and have never bought French since.

 

[Roger]

Pronounced more like Puheog, with soft g like the second in garage.

I had 2 when I lived in France - 309 and 205GT. One was staid, but utterly reliable and the other was anything but staid, though reliable too. I regretted selling them when I left.

 

[jjbunn]

I remember having to give my Renault 4 two weeks written notification if I ever wanted to overtake anything. Not that it was often required: the thing could pass a tractor quite easily, given a few miles run up, but only if the tractor was pulling a heavy load.

 

[TR3driver]

Hey, that sounds just like Dad's 504 ! To pass a lightly loaded tractor, you had to catch him going downhill.