Peugeot 604: Француздық сәндік автомобиль тарихы

The Peugeot 604 is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1975 to 1985. 153,252 cars were sold during its 10 year production life. It was made in France and also assembled by Kia in South Korea, between 1979 and 1981. The Pininfarina designed 604 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1975 and drew praise for its formal, handsome styling. Denmark's Bilrevyen 1976 ("The Car Review 1976"), for example, described the styling as possessing a "calm elegance". Sales began in September 1975. using its bulkhead, doors, and part of the 504 floorpan, and usually powered by the then new 2.7 litre V6 PRV engine, developed in conjunction with Renault and Volvo, It augmented the Peugeot range. In the UK the car was sold for £4,785 (compared to £4,399 for a BMW 520, £4,361 for a Citroën CX Pallas, and £3,485 for a Ford Granada 3000 GL). The 604 had several noteworthy attributes. From the 504, it inherited a damped and supple ride, equal to a contemporary Jaguar XJ6, its "good handling", its spacious passenger compartment and highly rated steering described as "a model of its kind", and "one of the finest yet produced". This was especially appropriate for the car in its role as a limousine. Despite critical success, the 604 was a commercial failure. The production of 153,252 units was half that of the V8 engine Rover 3500 and an eighth of its stablemate, the CX. Peugeot made a profit on each car made, primarily because of the shared tooling and engineering with the 504, but the car ceased production without an immediate successor. France's car manufacturers have not had much success internationally in the executive segment after the Citroën DS's successor, the underpowered Citroën CX. The 604 era was perhaps the last point at which PSA Peugeot Citroën could theoretically have focused resources on becoming a viable long term competitor in this lucrative market segment. PSA Peugeot Citroën actually went in the opposite direction, creating a third competitor, the Talbot Tagora. The German manufacturers did not hesitate to exploit this confusion in France, with cars like the 1974 BMW 5 Series (which also entered a segment new for the manufacturer) that had relatively good build quality. German cars created an unassailable position in the executive class auto market during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Germans were not challenged again until Japan addressed this segment 15 years later. Like the situation in the US with the Lincoln Town Car, French luxury cars are now primarily used in fleets. The 604 was introduced during the recession caused by the 1973 energy crisis, which created a marketplace that was even more unfriendly to large engined cars in France. Contemporary journalists attributed this relative failure to a variety of reasons, such as the conservative styling, the lack of technical innovation, modest performance, and a reputation for problems with rust. Others said that the recent energy crisis made this an inauspicious time for Peugeot (along with Renault, whose own six cylinder saloon went on sale a few months earlier) to be moving into the market for six cylinder saloons. However, by the time the oil shock hit the western economies Peugeot, along with joint venture partners Renault and Volvo, presumably believed they had invested too much in the design and development of production facilities for the new shared engine that would power the 604, to abandon the venture. By 1981 7,000 examples were produced. Peugeot did launch some detuned economy versions of the 604, but they did not do much to increase the car's overall sales. Most surprisingly, a turbodiesel version was introduced at the 1978 Geneva Motor Show, alongside the expected 305 D. Peugeot initially tried to convince buyers of the upper middle class that the 604 had "The engineering of the Mercedes Benz 280E, the handling of the BMW 5 Series and the elegance of the Jaguar XJ6" but did not convince enough buyers of this proposition. Sales, which were only strong for a few years after launch, dipped further in 1980 following the launch of the 505, and the last 604 rolled off the production line in 1985. A mere 581 examples were produced in 1985, with sales continuing into 1986. Peugeot's next major executive car, the 605, was launched in 1989 although a V6 engined 505 served as an interim flagship model. Today the 604 is a rare automobile in United Kingdom there are only 17 that are road legal as of the second quarter of 2014.

The 604 was launched in March 1975, at the Geneva Motor Show. It was originally available in a single specification, as the 604 SL. In 1977, the 604 was launched in the US in carbureted V6 SL trim, with twin rectangular headlights and larger bumpers. In September, the somewhat quicker 604 TI model with Bosch K Jetronic fuel injection and a five speed manual transmission was added. In late 1978, for the 1979 model year, the 80 horsepower 604 D turbo turbodiesel model was introduced; it entered production in February 1979. The diesel could be ordered with either a four or a five speed manual transmission, as well as the GM sourced three speed automatic. The US 604s receives a larger 2849 cc engine, although with no change in power. In 1980 the 604 underwent a minor facelift, featuring a new rear view mirror, while the bonnet badge was removed, the indicators were changed to orange, and there was also a new plastic dashboard and gearstick. The limited edition luxury "Grand Comfort" model with power windows and locks, a sunroof, tinted windows, and other amenities was also made available this year. US sales "faded away" during 1980. The existing diesel model was replaced with two different specifications, GRDT and SRDT. Total body immersion anti corrosion treatment was also introduced across the entire range. The turbo diesel was now exported to US, where it replaced the already absent V6 entirely. In 1984, the 604 GTi with a 2.8 litre engine was introduced, replacing the 2.7 litre STi. Also, the new GTDT diesel model was introduced. US sales were discontinued after 1984. In November of the next year (1985), the production of the 604 came to an end. As a partial replacement, a V6 version of the 505 soon appeared, and in 1989 the front wheel drive Peugeot 605 arrived to fill the empty slot left by the 604.