This week the Peugeot 404 is remembered.
Born: 1960
Died:1975.
The 404 was the successor to the more rounded 403, which had gained an enviable reputation for reliability and sturdiness in several parts of the world where France had colonial interests. Designed by Pininfarina, its angular shape and finned finish wasn't as sharp as some contemporary cars from other makers, notably the Ford Consul and the Morris-Austin Oxford/Cambridge series cars, but arguably for that very reason, it had a longer life as it didn't date so easily.
In 1964 a diesel was added to the powerplant options, and in France this was to prove very popular and remained as a key option right up to the end of the model's life.
If the body hardly changed at all over the 15 years of the car's production, there were some modifications to the interior, but a look at the dashboard shows a classic layout for the times.
The wagon was also introduced first in 1962 at the Paris salon, and went into production immediately for the following model year. Popular both for ambulance and police work, its 8-seater capacity also made it an excellent family car, which was echoed by that particular version's designation as Familiale. The car was popular in many parts of the world, including Australia and the US, where it was billed as "The World's Toughest Car". A number of 404s were modified for competition, especially for events like the Tour de France, and especially the East African SafarI. It proved to be a tough contender, and many 404s were always among the finishers.
When production ceased in 1975, more than 2.7 million units had been sold.