Down On The Street: Peugeot 504 Diesel

by Murilee Martin

March 30th, 2011 3:07 AM

When I returned to my old DOTS stomping grounds to help defile a once-proud race track, I figured I might find an interesting street-parked car or two on the Island That Time Forgot. First there was this semi-custom ’62 Continental, but then I spotted the real prize.

Thanks for the picturesque background, San Francisco! The only French car I’ve ever owned was a 504 (gasoline-powered), and it was both cool and very maddening. So comfortable, yet so difficult to keep running. Believe it or not, you used to see a fair number of 504s on American roads… and, someday, I’ll get another one for myself.

This one is a much-battered diesel model, in full Ahmadinejad-grade white-sedan trim and apparently rigged to run on some flavor of biodiesel. Such stories this survivor could tell!

#1970s #504 #Alameda #Biodiesel #California #Diesel #DownOnTheStreet #Malaise #MalaiseEra #Peugeot #Peugeot504

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2 of 23 comments

Lorenzo on Mar 31, 2011

My neighbor once had a white 504, just like the that one. He got a picture of it printed in the local paper. It seems a newspaper photographer saw my neighbor and two friends pushing the inoperable 504 to a mechanic down the street for yet another repair, and the photographer noticed the custom bumper sticker one of my neighbor's friends had put on it: Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Peugeots".

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Jhwool on Apr 02, 2011

I had a gas 1976 504 in Germany when I was in the army in Germany in the late 70's It was a great car. It was supremely comfortable and very reliable. It was a great trip car which we drove all over Europe. It was actually fairly good in snow mainly due to the fact it had almost no power. I sold it when I left Germany because it did not have air conditioning and I was moving to the DC area.

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