This gives me the perfect opportunity to post a picture of the 404’s successor, which arrived in 1969.
In the most hotly watched automotive auction of the year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s white 1977 504 sold for $2.5 million, the proceeds going to a low-income housing project in Teheran. The buyer’s attorney would not identify his client, but did say he intended to build a museum (presumably not in the US) to house the world’s most famous (or spltiting the honor with Colombo’s 403 Cabriolet) Peugeot. The car would normally have been worth about $2000 in the local market.
This is a particularly sweet 504, the trapezoidal headlights, the chrome bumpers, and the what appears to be “tombstone” seats, even has the original mirrors that mimic the shape of the 504 logo. $2.5 mil? No, esp without the push button door handles. But it would be a steal at $2000, even more so if Ahmadinejad forgot to remove his ill gotten gains from inside the door panels (which by the way look a lot like those of the “Holy Grail” 404 featured earlier this week).
In the early 70s, the taxicab operator in my home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana decided to ditch the venerable Checker fleet and replace it with a fleet of Peugeot 504 diesels. It turned out to be a bad decision, as I read at the time that maintenance and repairs ate him up (at least compared to durable US iron of the time)
On this one, it sure looks nice. I hope the buyer has access to a bomb sniffing dog.
There were a few 504 Diesel taxis operating in NYC in the depths of the energy crisis.
Diesels are definitely servicing-intensive. The 504 D required oil changes at 2000 miles!
Forgot to mention that this is great news for any 504 driver who gets in an accident and is in need of comparably vehicles for insurance purposes.