We’ve yet to do a proper full-on CC on the 403, although our Pug-master in South Africa, Dawid Botha, will undoubtedly share his one of these days. So let’s consider this one posted at the Cohort by Roger Carr as an apéritif. Apart from its significance in French and global automotive history, the 403 played the key role in establishing the brand in the US during the fifties. At that time, it was highly regarded among the import set as a very well built, tough, comfortable but yet somewhat sporty sedan. Of course, this was well before the time that sporty import sedans like BMW made their mark here.
The 403’s styling was of course by Pininfarina, and is regarded as a particularly successful example of the “pontoon” style that took the the auto world by storm on the heels of Pininfarina’s trend-setting 1946 Cisitalia 202. The 403 went into production in 1955, and was superseded by the new 404 in 1961, but continued to be built for several more years.
Its 1468 cc hemi-head four made 65 hp, but was very amenable to tuning, and there was a after-market for parts to do just that. I remember David E. Davis writing about his tuned 403 that he drove in the late fifties.
I actually owned a 403, but it was a non-runner that graced my Santa Monica apartment parking spot for way too long. Like almost all SoCal cars, its body was utterly rust-free. That was seductive, but it takes more to bring back a tired beater than just a rust-free body, and I never got around to it. The apartment manager seemed quite relieved when I passed it along to the next sucker. Lesson learned: buy the best condition of car you can, and stop day dreaming about restoring that old 403. But I still miss it.
I love these old Puggers. One of these in station wagon form passed through the family in the Sixties. It was a good, tough, unstoppable car that was replaced by a 404 wagon. Altogether we owned three Peugeots, all wagons. Wonderful cars.
You had the 403. Did you also have the threadbare, shabby raincoat?
No, but I did drive my teachers crazy at the end of class by saying, “Oh, one more question…”
That was during my junior exec days, so I had a nice new Brooks Brothers rain coat like that. Still do; it’s way to un-shabby for me to consider wearing now. I should throw it under my car for a while to get it looking right.
There must be an industry rule requiring eccentric TV detectives to drive unusual cars. Patrick Jane’s DS 21 in “The Mentalist” is the latest instance.
Even worse are the shows that depict detectives driving around in their classic personal cars. A couple of years ago, a show set in Memphis (starring the guy from My Name is Earl) drove his silver blue 65 GTO on his official police business. On the NBC show Grimm, the Portland OR detective drives his early 70s Toyota Land Cruiser. Dudes – there are parking lots full of free Crown Victorias that are full of gas that you can drive while you keep your cool old car for weekend fun.
The one that sticks in my mind is “Burke’s Law”, starring Gene Barry as an independently wealthy police detective. He always showed up at crime scenes in a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Fun concept, though.
I used to wonder how Crockett and Tubbs paid for Daytonas, Testarossas and vintage Caddy convertibles on a detective’s salary.
I eventually figured out the answer is, “Because if we don’t give the audience fabulous cars to look at, they might start noticing how lousy the show is.”
Don’t forget Banaceck and his Packard Darin Convertible.
@Mark,
About Banacek’s Packard, we see it mainly in the opening credits in the earlier episodes, he sat more often at the rear bench of a Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limousine http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_190795-Cadillac-Fleetwood-75-1972.html
@ArBee
Add also, from the British series “the Persuaders” where Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) drive an Aston-Martin DBS and Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis), a Dino 246 GT http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=66701
Cover story for Crockett & Tubbs was that cars, suits, other expensive stuff was drug-related forfeits.
Millmech
+1
We had a 403 sedan in the early 1960s, with a crank sunroof. Our other car at the time was a ’61 LeSabre; soon my parents were to befriend a Pontiac dealer and within a few years we had two gorgeous 1965 Bonnevilles in the driveway, a wagon (our first car with a/c) and a convertible. The next foreign car wasn’t purchased for another 25 years – a 4WD turbo Subaru GL wagon – so I don’t expect they had an enjoyable experience with the Peugeot.
There are still a couple of 403s roaming free here rarely sighted but obviously still loved, mostly the mark made by bmw is the patch of dead grass after the local parts specialist collects the remains fancy bimmers were all the rage at knock down used import prices but the parts still cost heaps when it stops.
Europe is so ‘green’ and anti personal car these days, and yet they invented them.
So, they are not buying cars as much, but then when plants are underutilized and get closed, they riot in the streets. What do they expect? Just build cars and park them? Then crush them since they are not green?
I never cared for Peter Falk in Columbo, I felt the character too sneaky and snarky to be fun. However I did like him driving the taxi in Mad Mad World.
Turnabout is fair play I suppose in Europe now. In the early 90s, when GM was suffering mightily in NA operations, Europe kept the company afloat. Now the roles are reversed, NA is doing well now and Asia is booming but Europe is suffering. Europe is pretty much going through the consolidation that the domestics went through over the last 10 years. We lost Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Plymouth, Mercury, who knows who else as car design has become narrowed. I suspect that before I am dead, and I still have at least 20 years on the averages, there will only be 5-6 major worldwide dominant players with all the brands henceforth. Even niche players are part of large entities now, look at Rolls Royce.
Falk was great in the Great Race alongside Jack Lemmon too!
Came across this former Oregon resident, clearly itching to return home…
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nvn/cto/3849204573.html
The listing states “Lived most of its life in warm dry Oregon”. Oregon is dry?
Peugeot’s problem is that they stopped building Peugeots.
Peugeot are situated at the Swiss- German border, in the east of France where the people have a more Germanic approach then the real French attitude.
Sauerkraut with Poupon Grey so to speak.
Peugeot always built cars that were comfortable, drove real well, were strong (look at the 404’s and 504’s still in use today in Africa e.g.) and still had that typical French ride.
Peugeot also missed the buzz in the US, one should not let French people run an American import I guess.
I never ever understood why the 205 range was not introduced inthe US, they had a line of compact cars for everyone, from a 3 or 5 door Diesel to a GTI and a GTI convertible.
With France’s medieval – read communist- worker relations and a “social democrat” as a president ( who promised no labor places would get lost) it is impossible for the Peugeot family to continue in this way, they already had to sacrifice a company called Gefco, a large player in logistics to keep the car factories in business.
But GM wil most probably not take over PSA (Peugeot Citroen) because Opel is facing more or less the same problems in Europe and lets face it, the Saab takeover cannot be described as one of GM’s best deals.
Not even to speak of the sale to Mr Victor Muller, which ended into a disaster for Saab.
I will be very sorry to see Peugeot go, they are able to manufacture good cars, but somehow could not turn themselves into a world brand.
And that , while ther have been plenty of opportunities for Peugeot back in the sixties and the seventies.
Hi,
glad to se you like the car, and the photo. The photo was taken in Issigeac in the Dordogne, one of the most special mediaeval villages in France, and the car was in the parking area for the weekly street market.
It’s been along time since Peugeots were considered sporty in Europe – conservative and competent, and in a few cases like the 205GTi brilliant, maybe- but not approaching BMW’s image or reputation. Many recent models have just been plain dull – see the 307, 308 and 407 for details.
Peugeot 403 404 504 were great cars and there are a lot still survivors. Peugeot 205 206 and 207 are too idle, they wouldn’ t ever fit the average American expectancies for a reliable machine , apart from being too tiny. Peugeot 309 407 and Pickup Hoggar were forgotten big errors. Today Peugeot is trying to intro strange shapes to fit unexplored new niches like Peugeot 1007 , 4008, 5008 and 107.
To save PSA from bankruptzy, it’s documented big Chinese corporations as DongFeng bought the 34% of French factory and now the Chinese ceos have a strong determination to induce their criterias. So that’ s the way Peugeots are constructed now , not to mention the amount of Chinese components and parts which assembles every Peugeot no matter its building plant ( France, UK, Brazil, China, Argentina and so on ) China do knows very well how to make up and make distribution even in CKD alternatives. It seems the only Peugeot’s division that can still mark some leading trend-setters are the models made under the Citroen brand with their proven engines offering a cool rejuvenating line as e.g. Cactus, all the sagas of the so called Picasso plus the revolutionary XXI century Mehari in only electrical configurations. Citroen is doing the battle, meanwhile Peugeot can keep the pace thanks to Chinese investments who injected ‘ em the bucks enough to rescue the whole PSA company. Perhaps hitherto Peugeots won’ t be those Pininfarinesque icons anymore but just fashion designs with a lot of Chinese adn using a French
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