Peugeot 604: the American challenge

In the first half of the 1970s, Peugeot offered its popular 504 model to the American market in two main body styles – sedan and station wagon. For potential customers on the other side of the Atlantic, this was a rare opportunity to acquire a European diesel car, although interest in such exotics was more than modest. The main buyers not only of Peugeot, but also of most other European brands, were only a handful of people on both coasts of the United States, where the attitude towards European car culture had always been more liberal. In the local market, Peugeot was classified as a mid-size car, where it competed mainly with other European cars such as Volvo piese auto online.

Peugeot 604: the American challenge

During this period, however, Peugeot had the ambition to return to the luxury class, where it had a serious presence in the pre-war era. At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1975, the French company first showed its all-new executive sedan, the 604, whose design was traditionally designed by Pininfarina. This car, which was quite large by European standards for its time, was undoubtedly its most ambitious and luxurious offering in decades. Peugeot aimed to offer a comfortable ride, a spacious interior and numerous amenities, while using many of the technologies developed for the smaller 504. This included the popular 2.8-liter V6 engine, created in collaboration with Renault and Volvo, which offered plenty of power, as well as two inline four-cylinder diesels. The Peugeot 604 was a modern, moderately conservative car that relied on simpler but time-tested engineering.

In the first year of the model's market debut, sales in Europe were very good, and this encouraged the company's management to promote it among American buyers. The model was introduced in the United States in 1977 at a price of $ 10,990, which was a serious challenge to other European favorites such as the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz 280E and Jaguar XJ6. Although it surpassed the large German sedans in many ways, the Peugeot 604 could be bought for half the price of the BMW 7 Series. It was sold in the United States with some cosmetic changes, as well as the obligatory massive shock-absorbing bumpers, which, combined with the completely restyled front, gave it a very specific and unusual image. Additional equipment to reduce harmful emissions dulled some of the engine's power, but on the other hand, the precise suspension and four-wheel disc brakes met many of the criteria that had attracted local consumers mainly to German production until then.

The Peugeot 604's maximum power reaches 133 hp, it is equipped with a five-speed gearbox, and it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 10 seconds, which is not bad at all for a car with a curb weight of 1696 kg. The American menu, of course, also includes a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission.

The Peugeot 604 was sold in the US until 1984, after which its place was taken by the slightly more compact but much more modern 505 model.

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During this period, however, Peugeot had the ambition to return to the luxury class, where it had a serious presence in the pre-war era

In the first year of the model's market debut, sales in Europe were very good, and this encouraged the company's management to promote it among American buyers