It found its way on to the streets of New York as a taxi and drove through the deserts and jungles of Africa.
The Peugeot diesel engine was used by Ford of Europe in their Granada and Sierra cars, in the Mahindra Jeep like vehicles, in Leyland / DAF vans and other cars. They also found their way, along with the suspension, into the Paykan, the Iranian version of the Hillman Hunter. It was also used in the P4 military vehicle.
In short, it was a car that was respected and loved everywhere... Except in the US, where it was a sales / marketing and PR disaster. Peugeot was positioning itself as a near-luxury car in the US. It was going head to head with BMW, Audi, Volvo, and Saab. Peugeot assumed that the 1970s oil crisis, along the new higher prices of gasoline, would send US consumers into showrooms looking for diesel cars, as it had done in Europe. It didn't. While BMW, Audi and Volvo introduced a few token diesels in the US, Peugeot basically bet the the farm on them. They lost the bet. Diesels never caught on in the US and Peugeot dealers were stuck with cars no one wanted. Near-luxury car buyers could afford the higher prices of gasoline and had no desire for slow, smoke belching diesels. The few buyers in this market segment who wanted a diesel usually went with a Mercedes Benz car as it was a better known name.
This 504 is in remarkable condition. It has 119,000 miles on it and the seller says everything works. Like most cars of the 1970s, Peugeots rusted badly. This one appears to be rust free.The asking price for this car is a sky high $9,909.00. That's more than I'd pay for an old Peugeot, gas or diesel. But, if having a funky old diesel means something to you and having one of the nicest ones in North America means even more, this car might be worth the price.
Located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, click here to see the eBay listing.