Re: Suzy-Q's Grand Finale
From: p404c (tippett@shaw.ca)
Date: Sun 18 May 2008 - 22:06:12 EDT
--- In peugeot-L@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Murphy" <fmmurphy@...> wrote:
>It needs to be said that I have always believed that the most
>important equipment for the owners of ancient Peugeots is, in
>increasing order of importance: Automobile Club Membership
>(one call gets you help); a cell phone with a fully charged battery >
(Club membership virtually useless without it) and, lastly, but most
>importantly, an abiding faith in the benevolence of God.
Hi Mike,
Too bad it came to that at only 205,000 miles; that's a short-ish
lifespan for a Peugeot, so it seems! The symptom sounds like a clogged
catalyst, by the way.
The comment you made above is the reason why I gave up on trying to
have one of these as a daily driver about a year ago. None of those
three conditions is acceptable to me, for various reasons! We decided
that it was too difficult to travel with a totally orphaned and 20 year
old car, as reliable as they can be, with the possibility of
abandonment in Winnipeg or California and the top-dollar rental of a
Chevy to get home again....and getting a newer or lower km one would
not alleviate any of the concerns.
About Peugeot and me:
When I was in Paris a little over two weeks ago, I decided that it was
not worth my while to go to Peugeot headquarters as I have done on my
nine previous visits since 1980, to berate them for not selling cars
over here.
Firstly - no secret here - I don't like the looks of any new generation
Peugeots. The only decent-looking one they still make IMO is the 206
(not much longer due to the 207) and 1007 (not much longer because it
is a slow seller and the electric doors fail frequently). The 407
Coupé is tolerable, but the rest are god-awful, especially the rear end
of the 308 hatch. Unbelievably gross.
Secondly, Peugeot never listened to my gentle rantings before, either
the sermons delivered in person or the letters. Why would they now,
even if I would have considered a 407 308 SW or similar car?
By the way, I did get into the back of a 407 SW in Germany while at a
dealer in Lohr and this long car did not pass the "me behind me" test,
where I set the front seat for me and then attempt to sit behind. Not
even close: my head was about 4 inches too high and my knees were
jammed into the seatback. My short little B 200 is WAY bigger inside.
And despite its van-like looks, I think it is better-looking too.
Autohaus Karpf in Lohr/Main had two gorgeous 406 Coupés for sale, one
being so nice that it was in the showroom. They were not long on rear
passenger room either but who cares, when you are in the best-looking
car of the last two decades? ;-)
Thirdly, there are far far better things to be doing when in Paris than
a car showroom crawl, so we made the most of our time work for all five
of us.
Now that they've been gone for 17 years, it seems less likely than ever
that they will subject themselves to the US and Canadian car markets.
In 1995 I would have put the chances of a return in the following 10
years at 50%; now I would put it at 1%.
I would have been more interested in encouraging Citroën and Renault to
return actually, particularly the latter, based upon their current
models. I didn't though, although I mentined (to the astonishment of
the young guy in the C_42 showroom) that they have been gone for 35
years. They're both making some pretty nice cars these days. The C5,
although it shares the 407's platform, looks 100% better (even though
it does have a large front overhang too) and the C6 is sweet.....just
weird enough to recall the glory days of French car design.
I still have to attend to the 405 and get it up and running as a beater
for the kids. This might happen in a year or so. I already have two
cars insured; I'm not looking forward to the third!
About the 404 Coupé, well time marches on, and in February next year
I'll have owned it for 20 years. Michel Verdier of Le Club 404 assured
me when we had get-together with him in Clichy that 20 years sitting on
a restoration project is not unusual (that WAS reassuring, I thought I
was the only one), but at least I have bought about 11 grand worth of
restoration parts for this car over the two decades. Family needs,
including frequent travel, take priority. It needs to be said that I
proposed to the family a while back that I unload the 404 C and flog
the spare parts on eBay, and the horror they all expressed at the
thought was heartwarming. And so it goes....
Anyway, best of luck, Mike, with your remaining fleet of orphaned
Peugeots, and I hope that your trinity continues to work for you.
Mike Tippett
Mercedes-Benz B 200 (7.5 L/100 km lifetime)
smart fortwo cdi pulse cabriolet (3.9 L/100 km lifetime)
Peugeot 404 Coupé Injection (8.5 L/100 km since I've owned it)
Peugeot 405 DL (8.2 L/100 km lifetime)
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